By Sean Scarpiello
As alternative forms of education such as charter schools are becoming increasingly common, magnet schools have also been gaining popularity in the past several years. Magnet schools get their name from their highly specialized programs and curricula which attract students from all over. Further, they are simply public schools that draw students from all across the district and school zones which offer classes in the levels of elementary, middle, and high school. Magnet schools were originally designed in the 1960s to help reduce segregation in schools; however, they are now being revived and are drawing students individualized teaching styles too. These days, magnet schools have much more to offer and result in improved academic success in a number of different areas for students in kindergarten to grade 12.
First, magnet schools continue to bring diversity and innovative learning techniques into the classroom. They often require some sort of interview or entrance exam, but magnet schools also have high graduation rates, high college acceptance rates, and more. This is done by hiring specialized teaching staff that have a passion for their subjects. Together, this leads to fewer problems with discipline, higher student attendance, and increased teacher satisfaction. Compared to regular public schools, these improvements definitely make magnet schools appealing. Further, magnet schools have also reported having increased parental involvement in education which is one of the greatest factors leading to academic success. With all of these huge benefits in mind, many think that magnet schools would be expensive to educate students. However, magnet schools are publicly run schools that are designed to lure in students from different areas within a school district.
In light of all of these huge benefits to magnet schools, it is the highly specialized programs that attract most students. Many magnet schools have classes and curricula focused on subjects such as technology, entrepreneurship, engineering, humanities, and even the arts. Since classes are highly individualized for students, there are very low dropout rates and students continue to pursue these specialized fields after graduation. Despite these concentrations in different fields of study, magnet schools are not the same as vocational or technical schools. While some students attending magnet schools opt out of attending college, many magnet schools boast college acceptance rates of 100%. After graduation, many students report success in college and in the workplace due to emphasis placed on learning skills and practical application of knowledge rather than the regurgitation of facts in class. Also, students are urged to collaborate with each other in forming ideas and arguments for discussion, further adding to a well-rounded and people-based education experience.
Overall, magnet schools have a lot to offer and provide a lot of different benefits for students. Aside from receiving a specialized and individualized education from enthusiastic teachers, students also are engaged in innovative curricula centered on collaboration and learning alongside others. Best of all, a magnet education is available to practically anyone who lives in a district with magnet schools. In all, magnet schools are highly beneficial to the field of education as they offer a high quality yet low cost education to many students.
Source: http://www.magnet.edu/about/what-are-magnet-schools
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Moodle: A Completely No Cost Learning Platform
By Sean Scarpiello
While there are many different online educational tools available to teachers and students, many of them have high costs. However, the teaching technology Moodle allows teachers to easily organize and plan class activities in an online format for free. Already, Moodle is used by a number of different universities, high schools, and even corporate offices for online classes, training, and work seminars. Further, Moodle can be easily and effectively brought to any classroom where students have access to email.
To start Moodle in your classroom, head to Moodle's website, where free online content can be accessed. By working through the school’s own server or by getting help from one of Moodle’s partners, teachers are able to bring all of Moodle’s services to their students simply by having students log on with their school or personal email. Then, teachers can create different lessons, assignments, readings, and quizzes. For students, this means class work can be completed anywhere that there is access to an internet connection. Also, students, teachers, and parents can be directly connected to each other for clear communication for things like homework questions, late assignments, or progress reports.
While there are many other softwares that are similar to Moodle, none of these educational technologies are available at no cost to students or teachers. Further, the program can run on a school's existing server or another server which can be easily configured by a school's IT department. Both teachers and students have found using Moodle to be simple, easy, and beneficial to learning. In fact, surveys show that between 80% and 90% students reported using Moodle for homework and classwork most days of the week. There are also many testimonials on how students enjoy some of Moodle’s other functions such as a digital drop box which allows electronic documents to be turned in instantly from school, home, or elsewhere.
In the whole scheme of things, Moodle is not a groundbreaking software. There are many other similar learning platforms such a Canvas and Blackboard. However, what makes Moodle fantastic is that it is free. Further, its web-based content is easy for teachers to design and easy for students to complete. This holds especially true with Moodle’s online quizzes with instant feedback and open teacher-student communication. In all, Moodle is a very beneficial education software because of its ability to effectively bring education to more students through the implementation of technology at no cost.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2014/04/18/lubricating-the-wheels-of-technology-in-education/
http://moodle.com/
While there are many different online educational tools available to teachers and students, many of them have high costs. However, the teaching technology Moodle allows teachers to easily organize and plan class activities in an online format for free. Already, Moodle is used by a number of different universities, high schools, and even corporate offices for online classes, training, and work seminars. Further, Moodle can be easily and effectively brought to any classroom where students have access to email.
To start Moodle in your classroom, head to Moodle's website, where free online content can be accessed. By working through the school’s own server or by getting help from one of Moodle’s partners, teachers are able to bring all of Moodle’s services to their students simply by having students log on with their school or personal email. Then, teachers can create different lessons, assignments, readings, and quizzes. For students, this means class work can be completed anywhere that there is access to an internet connection. Also, students, teachers, and parents can be directly connected to each other for clear communication for things like homework questions, late assignments, or progress reports.
While there are many other softwares that are similar to Moodle, none of these educational technologies are available at no cost to students or teachers. Further, the program can run on a school's existing server or another server which can be easily configured by a school's IT department. Both teachers and students have found using Moodle to be simple, easy, and beneficial to learning. In fact, surveys show that between 80% and 90% students reported using Moodle for homework and classwork most days of the week. There are also many testimonials on how students enjoy some of Moodle’s other functions such as a digital drop box which allows electronic documents to be turned in instantly from school, home, or elsewhere.
In the whole scheme of things, Moodle is not a groundbreaking software. There are many other similar learning platforms such a Canvas and Blackboard. However, what makes Moodle fantastic is that it is free. Further, its web-based content is easy for teachers to design and easy for students to complete. This holds especially true with Moodle’s online quizzes with instant feedback and open teacher-student communication. In all, Moodle is a very beneficial education software because of its ability to effectively bring education to more students through the implementation of technology at no cost.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2014/04/18/lubricating-the-wheels-of-technology-in-education/
http://moodle.com/
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Collaborating with College Students
By Sean Scarpiello
Many of my friends who are education majors at my college are going through the final stages in getting their teaching degree by student teaching at nearby elementary and middle schools. Part of their finishing requirements involve creating interesting, yet informative lesson plans on a variety of different topics. To do this, many of these soon-to-be teachers came up with clever ideas. However, one student teacher was really innovative and decided to come up with a whole new structure to her lesson plans. She decided to invite her friends who were political science and chemistry majors to come in and teach the class about some of the cool things they were learning in their college classes.
For the students in class, this meant that they were going to have some new visitors teach them about the latest material. For the college students, this meant finding a way to present difficult, current data in a way that young students can understand. As a result, this lesson plan was an absolute success. The political science major came to give a lesson on the structure of the US government in which he used visuals to demonstrate where government officials work and how they get elected. The chemistry major led a class discussion on the properties of water and demonstrated some cool experiments with water. These fun and interactive lessons with new faces and fresh perspectives worked out great for students as they were keen on listening to an “expert” on new material.
While the teacher and student teacher could have easily taught the class these lessons, bringing in someone with more experience in each of the different subjects allows the class to be taught in an unfamiliar and interesting way. Further, this gives teachers more time to focus on designing other lesson plans. For the college students, this was a change from the stereotypical class presentation in front of their peers who probably already understand a lot of what is being presented. Instead, college students were able to direct their presentations at students who are young and still looking for their passion in education. Furthermore, a lesson where a someone new comes in to present is great because the lesson plan is open and taught by someone with an extensive background in the field.
One other benefit of this is that it stimulates young students’ minds. By seeing someone who is working a job or learning a lot about a certain topic teach the class, they get to witness the passion and knowledge of political science or chemistry college students. In this particular case, the students attending the elementary and middle schools where these presentations occurred have a low college attendance rate. In the very least, by having these older students teach the class and share their experiences, it motivates students to work harder in school so that one day they can go to college too.
In all, by having nearby college students or others with backgrounds in different fields come and present to an elementary or middle school class, there are a number of different benefits students can enjoy. Students get a fresh perspective from new faces that have a different teaching style than what they are used to. Teachers and schools get well-designed lesson plans from people with a lot of knowledge in the field, and a class gets taught by a passionate and knowledgeable person at no additional cost. Overall, these types of lesson plans are innovative as they bring a higher quality of education to students, at no cost, through collaboration.
Many of my friends who are education majors at my college are going through the final stages in getting their teaching degree by student teaching at nearby elementary and middle schools. Part of their finishing requirements involve creating interesting, yet informative lesson plans on a variety of different topics. To do this, many of these soon-to-be teachers came up with clever ideas. However, one student teacher was really innovative and decided to come up with a whole new structure to her lesson plans. She decided to invite her friends who were political science and chemistry majors to come in and teach the class about some of the cool things they were learning in their college classes.
For the students in class, this meant that they were going to have some new visitors teach them about the latest material. For the college students, this meant finding a way to present difficult, current data in a way that young students can understand. As a result, this lesson plan was an absolute success. The political science major came to give a lesson on the structure of the US government in which he used visuals to demonstrate where government officials work and how they get elected. The chemistry major led a class discussion on the properties of water and demonstrated some cool experiments with water. These fun and interactive lessons with new faces and fresh perspectives worked out great for students as they were keen on listening to an “expert” on new material.
While the teacher and student teacher could have easily taught the class these lessons, bringing in someone with more experience in each of the different subjects allows the class to be taught in an unfamiliar and interesting way. Further, this gives teachers more time to focus on designing other lesson plans. For the college students, this was a change from the stereotypical class presentation in front of their peers who probably already understand a lot of what is being presented. Instead, college students were able to direct their presentations at students who are young and still looking for their passion in education. Furthermore, a lesson where a someone new comes in to present is great because the lesson plan is open and taught by someone with an extensive background in the field.
One other benefit of this is that it stimulates young students’ minds. By seeing someone who is working a job or learning a lot about a certain topic teach the class, they get to witness the passion and knowledge of political science or chemistry college students. In this particular case, the students attending the elementary and middle schools where these presentations occurred have a low college attendance rate. In the very least, by having these older students teach the class and share their experiences, it motivates students to work harder in school so that one day they can go to college too.
In all, by having nearby college students or others with backgrounds in different fields come and present to an elementary or middle school class, there are a number of different benefits students can enjoy. Students get a fresh perspective from new faces that have a different teaching style than what they are used to. Teachers and schools get well-designed lesson plans from people with a lot of knowledge in the field, and a class gets taught by a passionate and knowledgeable person at no additional cost. Overall, these types of lesson plans are innovative as they bring a higher quality of education to students, at no cost, through collaboration.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs) vs. Traditional Colleges
By Sean Scarpiello
Within the past few years, Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs) have become increasingly popular. And as companies such as Udacity and Coursera begin attracting many new students, colleges and other higher education institutions are beginning to worry. Schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford have already begun developing their own forms of web-based courses; however, the majority of higher education institutions have not yet developed these technologies in this quickly evolving market of education. As a result, many four year institutions fear that these changes may lower enrollment in upcoming years. Further, educators at these institutions are quickly trying to raise awareness on the importance of a traditional college learning experience.
As I prepare to graduate from a four year liberal arts institution, I cannot help but think back on my experiences. In retrospect, I find that there were many introductory classes where many students simply do not need the stereotypical college class to succeed. In these cases, I believe a well-designed MOOC could easily replace such classes. This is because much of the initial college courses taken by freshmen are for distribution as well as simply building a foundation of knowledge for success in upper level classes. In fact, much of the material being discussed in these classes has been widely known for decades- even centuries- and I doubt that many professors find teaching these intro courses intellectually stimulating. Therefore, a MOOC that is designed to require a lot of the basic class material to be learned and applied on exams would be beneficial to students. Also, a question and answer component to this MOOC, where students can ask professors questions regarding the material, would definitely benefit students.
Looking at more upper level classes, I still find that there are many areas where MOOCs could be used to substitute traditional college lectures, but there are also many subjects that cannot be successfully covered by MOOCs. This is especially true for the STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects where a lot of material is being updated day by day as our understanding of cutting edge science progresses. This, along with many open discussions, debates, and labs in other sorts of classes which allow students to engage each other in a traditional setting, enforce that colleges with a physical campus and classroom cannot be replaced. I have seen this firsthand in classes that discuss biochemistry, biophysics, ethics, philosophy, and political science . Open discussion in many social science courses improve class by adding debates and dialogue into class. My institution even requires students to complete a senior capstone experience where I have personally been able to collaborate with one of my professors on research that is largely unexplored. This type of education is vital and can only be achieved at a traditional college and not in an online format.
In light of all of this information, can an entire college education be provided by MOOCs? Absolutely. But if I was a business owner and a job candidate had an entirely web-based education, I would unquestionably deny them a job. MOOCs are fantastic at getting information from a textbook into a student’s head. MOOCs may even work well at enabling students to apply and incorporate information. However, MOOCs will always take second best to traditional style higher education where learning to work with other people and collaborations take priority. At college, students are always learning whether they are in the classroom or dining hall. Colleges help students learn to collaborate with their peers, work in a lab based setting, develop networking and people skills, learn to analyze and cultivate opinions, to critically think and much more. Therefore, when educators fear that a college education is no longer relevant, they do not need to worry.
Overall, MOOCs are becoming increasing effective at providing students with high quality, personalized educations, but MOOCs will fail to provide the human element of education. Further, only traditional style colleges will be able to improve a students’ ability to collaborate well with others, develop debate and discussion skills, and quickly analyze data as it is presented by others. In this regard, traditional style education is still relevant despite MOOCs improving abilities to provide low cost, individualized education to many students.
Within the past few years, Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs) have become increasingly popular. And as companies such as Udacity and Coursera begin attracting many new students, colleges and other higher education institutions are beginning to worry. Schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford have already begun developing their own forms of web-based courses; however, the majority of higher education institutions have not yet developed these technologies in this quickly evolving market of education. As a result, many four year institutions fear that these changes may lower enrollment in upcoming years. Further, educators at these institutions are quickly trying to raise awareness on the importance of a traditional college learning experience.
As I prepare to graduate from a four year liberal arts institution, I cannot help but think back on my experiences. In retrospect, I find that there were many introductory classes where many students simply do not need the stereotypical college class to succeed. In these cases, I believe a well-designed MOOC could easily replace such classes. This is because much of the initial college courses taken by freshmen are for distribution as well as simply building a foundation of knowledge for success in upper level classes. In fact, much of the material being discussed in these classes has been widely known for decades- even centuries- and I doubt that many professors find teaching these intro courses intellectually stimulating. Therefore, a MOOC that is designed to require a lot of the basic class material to be learned and applied on exams would be beneficial to students. Also, a question and answer component to this MOOC, where students can ask professors questions regarding the material, would definitely benefit students.
Looking at more upper level classes, I still find that there are many areas where MOOCs could be used to substitute traditional college lectures, but there are also many subjects that cannot be successfully covered by MOOCs. This is especially true for the STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects where a lot of material is being updated day by day as our understanding of cutting edge science progresses. This, along with many open discussions, debates, and labs in other sorts of classes which allow students to engage each other in a traditional setting, enforce that colleges with a physical campus and classroom cannot be replaced. I have seen this firsthand in classes that discuss biochemistry, biophysics, ethics, philosophy, and political science . Open discussion in many social science courses improve class by adding debates and dialogue into class. My institution even requires students to complete a senior capstone experience where I have personally been able to collaborate with one of my professors on research that is largely unexplored. This type of education is vital and can only be achieved at a traditional college and not in an online format.
In light of all of this information, can an entire college education be provided by MOOCs? Absolutely. But if I was a business owner and a job candidate had an entirely web-based education, I would unquestionably deny them a job. MOOCs are fantastic at getting information from a textbook into a student’s head. MOOCs may even work well at enabling students to apply and incorporate information. However, MOOCs will always take second best to traditional style higher education where learning to work with other people and collaborations take priority. At college, students are always learning whether they are in the classroom or dining hall. Colleges help students learn to collaborate with their peers, work in a lab based setting, develop networking and people skills, learn to analyze and cultivate opinions, to critically think and much more. Therefore, when educators fear that a college education is no longer relevant, they do not need to worry.
Overall, MOOCs are becoming increasing effective at providing students with high quality, personalized educations, but MOOCs will fail to provide the human element of education. Further, only traditional style colleges will be able to improve a students’ ability to collaborate well with others, develop debate and discussion skills, and quickly analyze data as it is presented by others. In this regard, traditional style education is still relevant despite MOOCs improving abilities to provide low cost, individualized education to many students.
Monday, March 10, 2014
How to Avoid Snow Days with Technology
By Sean Scarpiello
This winter in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States, there has been a lot of snowy weather leading to many snow days for students. To combat the loss of class time, many educational institutions are implementing technology in novel ways to ensure that students continue to receive a high quality education. I recently read an article that described how the Hun School, a private K-12 school Princeton, New Jersey had prepared for a potential snow day this past Monday, March 3. As news reports predicted poor weather, the school’s administration set up a meeting online to discuss the logistics behind offering Monday’s classes in an entirely online format for students. Therefore, students can still attend class without being hindered by the weather.
To prepare for the potential school closing, teachers used the learning management system, Schoology, where teachers post assignments, images, links to website, and even tests, while also allowing a clear link of the communication between teachers and students. Further, Schoology also enables teachers to automatically grade tests and assignments in a way that allows students to track revisions and get instant feedback. Classes also planned to meet up at specific times online using Google Hangout, a textual and video chat-room free to use with a Google email account. With these sorts of educational technologies, teachers can continue to provide valuable education in the event of a school closing or delay.
In addition to the technologies being implemented at the Hun School, many other schools are using common technology in innovative ways to make up for snow days this winter. One example I have seen personally has been how one of my past organic chemistry professors has turned to YouTube to make up for lost class time. For students to be successful in a difficult course such as organic chemistry, it is imperative that students attend lecture and get direct instruction on actually applying the material. But as school closings and delays significantly reduce class time, our professor posts lectures on YouTube for students to watch outside of class. He additionally makes himself available for students to come and meet him during his office hours to answer questions. Also, students can even ask questions in the comment section which can be further discussed in class or answered directly by the professor on the YouTube page. Many students concur that these video lectures are a great way to supplement lecture material in light of lost class time.
These two cases serve as shining examples of how simple and well-known technology can be used in an innovative manner to improve education when increased school closings and delays take away valuable class time. In fact, I have been in classes where professors use these technologies to further supplement education and can attest to the great success that the additional help and material provided through these technologies can achieve. Therefore, teachers and professors who can provide technology-based learning in the face of decreased class time are bringing a higher quality education to more students at lower or no costs.
Sources: http://princetoninfo.com/index.php?option=com_us1more&Itemid=6&key=3-5-14btl
This winter in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States, there has been a lot of snowy weather leading to many snow days for students. To combat the loss of class time, many educational institutions are implementing technology in novel ways to ensure that students continue to receive a high quality education. I recently read an article that described how the Hun School, a private K-12 school Princeton, New Jersey had prepared for a potential snow day this past Monday, March 3. As news reports predicted poor weather, the school’s administration set up a meeting online to discuss the logistics behind offering Monday’s classes in an entirely online format for students. Therefore, students can still attend class without being hindered by the weather.
To prepare for the potential school closing, teachers used the learning management system, Schoology, where teachers post assignments, images, links to website, and even tests, while also allowing a clear link of the communication between teachers and students. Further, Schoology also enables teachers to automatically grade tests and assignments in a way that allows students to track revisions and get instant feedback. Classes also planned to meet up at specific times online using Google Hangout, a textual and video chat-room free to use with a Google email account. With these sorts of educational technologies, teachers can continue to provide valuable education in the event of a school closing or delay.
In addition to the technologies being implemented at the Hun School, many other schools are using common technology in innovative ways to make up for snow days this winter. One example I have seen personally has been how one of my past organic chemistry professors has turned to YouTube to make up for lost class time. For students to be successful in a difficult course such as organic chemistry, it is imperative that students attend lecture and get direct instruction on actually applying the material. But as school closings and delays significantly reduce class time, our professor posts lectures on YouTube for students to watch outside of class. He additionally makes himself available for students to come and meet him during his office hours to answer questions. Also, students can even ask questions in the comment section which can be further discussed in class or answered directly by the professor on the YouTube page. Many students concur that these video lectures are a great way to supplement lecture material in light of lost class time.
These two cases serve as shining examples of how simple and well-known technology can be used in an innovative manner to improve education when increased school closings and delays take away valuable class time. In fact, I have been in classes where professors use these technologies to further supplement education and can attest to the great success that the additional help and material provided through these technologies can achieve. Therefore, teachers and professors who can provide technology-based learning in the face of decreased class time are bringing a higher quality education to more students at lower or no costs.
Sources: http://princetoninfo.com/index.php?option=com_us1more&Itemid=6&key=3-5-14btl
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Study Smarter, Not Harder with StudyBlue
By: Sean Scarpiello
When it comes to studying, it is more important to study smart than it is to study hard. Many study methods, such as rewriting notes and rereading textbook chapters are often tedious, difficult, and ineffective study strategies. One educational website, called StudyBlue, is working to have students study smarter, not harder. StudyBlue is an online technology that allows students to choose from a database of pre-made flashcards or even create their own flashcards to study. Beyond the simple concept, StudyBlue offers even more benefits to improve learning and study strategies.
StudyBlue is available online on its website or even available as a free app in the iTunes Store and Android Market. This allows students to carry around classes’ worth of flashcards on their laptop, tablet, or smart phone. Further, StudyBlue has teamed up with EverNote, enabling students to link their accounts so students can organize all of their class material in a single, cohesive area. Best of all, the apps for both StudyBlue and ever note are completely free for students. StudyBlue works as a great study tool because studying with flashcards enables students to continuously think about material and keeping their minds active. Then, due to StudyBlue’s web based design, students can quiz themselves on the class material wherever there is an Internet connection.
Students are not the only ones who can benefit from such a technology; teachers can also make up their flashcards and share them with their class or the public. Teachers can even find pre-made sets of flashcards to share with their students. Already, there are thousands of flashcards already made in subjects such as math, English, biology, chemistry, music, vocabulary, history, and several languages. Plus, many college professors have already posted lists of flashcards for their students to use in specific classes. Many of these lists are available to anyone with a StudyBlue account for no cost. All through StudyBlue, teachers are able to track each student's progress and how well they perform on flashcard sets. This further helps teachers understand what areas they can review in class, as well as the material students are comfortable with. Teachers could even assign reviewing flashcards as a way to force the students to study and understand the material.
StudyBlue makes students’ lives easier when it comes to studying strategically for tests. By offering a number of free flashcards sets, students can log on practically anywhere quickly to begin studying smart for upcoming tests. Teachers jobs are also made easier as they can track student progress and understanding of class material in such a way that causes students to study. One of the best aspects of StudyBlue, as well as EverNote, is completely free for students with laptop, tablet, or smart phone. StudyBlue is definitely a useful educational technology as it brings a higher quality and personalized education to more students through the utilization of technology.
Evernote: http://straube.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-evernote-is-revolutionizing-note.html
StudyBlue: http://www.studyblue.com/
When it comes to studying, it is more important to study smart than it is to study hard. Many study methods, such as rewriting notes and rereading textbook chapters are often tedious, difficult, and ineffective study strategies. One educational website, called StudyBlue, is working to have students study smarter, not harder. StudyBlue is an online technology that allows students to choose from a database of pre-made flashcards or even create their own flashcards to study. Beyond the simple concept, StudyBlue offers even more benefits to improve learning and study strategies.
StudyBlue is available online on its website or even available as a free app in the iTunes Store and Android Market. This allows students to carry around classes’ worth of flashcards on their laptop, tablet, or smart phone. Further, StudyBlue has teamed up with EverNote, enabling students to link their accounts so students can organize all of their class material in a single, cohesive area. Best of all, the apps for both StudyBlue and ever note are completely free for students. StudyBlue works as a great study tool because studying with flashcards enables students to continuously think about material and keeping their minds active. Then, due to StudyBlue’s web based design, students can quiz themselves on the class material wherever there is an Internet connection.
Students are not the only ones who can benefit from such a technology; teachers can also make up their flashcards and share them with their class or the public. Teachers can even find pre-made sets of flashcards to share with their students. Already, there are thousands of flashcards already made in subjects such as math, English, biology, chemistry, music, vocabulary, history, and several languages. Plus, many college professors have already posted lists of flashcards for their students to use in specific classes. Many of these lists are available to anyone with a StudyBlue account for no cost. All through StudyBlue, teachers are able to track each student's progress and how well they perform on flashcard sets. This further helps teachers understand what areas they can review in class, as well as the material students are comfortable with. Teachers could even assign reviewing flashcards as a way to force the students to study and understand the material.
StudyBlue makes students’ lives easier when it comes to studying strategically for tests. By offering a number of free flashcards sets, students can log on practically anywhere quickly to begin studying smart for upcoming tests. Teachers jobs are also made easier as they can track student progress and understanding of class material in such a way that causes students to study. One of the best aspects of StudyBlue, as well as EverNote, is completely free for students with laptop, tablet, or smart phone. StudyBlue is definitely a useful educational technology as it brings a higher quality and personalized education to more students through the utilization of technology.
Evernote: http://straube.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-evernote-is-revolutionizing-note.html
StudyBlue: http://www.studyblue.com/
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Knewton's Adaptive Learning Platform
By: Sean Scarpiello
As technology continues to move into the classroom, it can be easy for students to feel as if they are not receiving an individualized education. When completing traditional types of homework assignments, teachers are able to review the thought processes of students, but now technology has made it difficult for teachers to understand their students’ thought processes. While technology can track a student’s progress, teachers often struggle with interpreting each student’s reasoning in answering questions because computers can only show teachers what questions were answered correctly and incorrectly. However, a company called Knewton has designed a plan based on adaptive learning.
In adaptive learning technologies such as Knewton, learning platforms track the progress of each individual student as they complete different assignments. Knewton’s learning platform studies the logic and reasoning that each student uses in formulating their answers. Using this data, Knewton develops a profile for each student, then begins to note where students excel and where their weaknesses lie. Knewton then integrates questions into students’ assignments that are meant to challenge yet improve students’ weaknesses. For example, if a student is struggling at word problems in physics, Knewton challenges students with questions that focus on improving critical reading skills. As a result, students can better understand how to interpret these word problems leading to their success.
So far, Knewton has been extremely successful in building a learning platform used by students at all levels. Knewton excels in subjects such as math, chemistry, biology, physics, finance, sociology, and more. In addition, Knewton’s learning platform has been used in a number of colleges and they have most recently teamed up with Pearson to reach out to even more students. In fact, the Knewton and Pearson partnership is currently being implemented at Arizona State University at a cost of $100 per student. This may seem a lot; however, this $100 fee replaces the costs of a textbook which is not needed in the program. This is a huge benefit for both companies as they can reach a massive number of students through technology that builds highly individualized education for each student.
Adaptive learning technologies such as Knewton will definitely benefit students as they bring highly individualized education to a large number of students through the use of technology that students already own. Further, Knewton’s and Pearson’s recent partnership empowers students even more as they learn the latest class material on one of the most innovative education technologies on the market today at a reasonable cost.
Source: http://www.knewton.com/
As technology continues to move into the classroom, it can be easy for students to feel as if they are not receiving an individualized education. When completing traditional types of homework assignments, teachers are able to review the thought processes of students, but now technology has made it difficult for teachers to understand their students’ thought processes. While technology can track a student’s progress, teachers often struggle with interpreting each student’s reasoning in answering questions because computers can only show teachers what questions were answered correctly and incorrectly. However, a company called Knewton has designed a plan based on adaptive learning.
In adaptive learning technologies such as Knewton, learning platforms track the progress of each individual student as they complete different assignments. Knewton’s learning platform studies the logic and reasoning that each student uses in formulating their answers. Using this data, Knewton develops a profile for each student, then begins to note where students excel and where their weaknesses lie. Knewton then integrates questions into students’ assignments that are meant to challenge yet improve students’ weaknesses. For example, if a student is struggling at word problems in physics, Knewton challenges students with questions that focus on improving critical reading skills. As a result, students can better understand how to interpret these word problems leading to their success.
So far, Knewton has been extremely successful in building a learning platform used by students at all levels. Knewton excels in subjects such as math, chemistry, biology, physics, finance, sociology, and more. In addition, Knewton’s learning platform has been used in a number of colleges and they have most recently teamed up with Pearson to reach out to even more students. In fact, the Knewton and Pearson partnership is currently being implemented at Arizona State University at a cost of $100 per student. This may seem a lot; however, this $100 fee replaces the costs of a textbook which is not needed in the program. This is a huge benefit for both companies as they can reach a massive number of students through technology that builds highly individualized education for each student.
Adaptive learning technologies such as Knewton will definitely benefit students as they bring highly individualized education to a large number of students through the use of technology that students already own. Further, Knewton’s and Pearson’s recent partnership empowers students even more as they learn the latest class material on one of the most innovative education technologies on the market today at a reasonable cost.
Source: http://www.knewton.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
