By Sean Scarpiello
When looking back onto the changes that have occurred in the last decade years in education, it is amazing to see how many of the educational tools used in classes just ten years ago have become completely obsolete. Just thinking back to my elementary education years, we had very basic computer programs like the pixelated Oregon Trail game and the creative software Kid Pix. If you told any student, teacher, or education professional back then that within the next ten to fifteen years that schools would distribute iPads, computers, and individual email addresses to each of their students, no one would believe you. Technology moves at an extremely rapid pace, and while the field of education often struggles to keep up with the latest gadgets, it makes me wonder about many of the today’s different educational resources that will be obsolete in the next fifteen years to come.
It is very difficult to predict what exactly will be outdated in education, simply because technology is moving so fast. However, one of today’s most common educational resources that has been used for decades in the classroom that I see becoming obsolete in the upcoming year is paper. With the today’s heavy integration of technology in education, many educational institutions already have the ability to go completely paperless. In fact, if my college wanted to go completely paperless in classes by tomorrow, it would really not be a problem at all. Reports can all be submitted via email or other online software, while tests and homework can be distributed and completed over the internet. My school even has the ability to send financial and billing information to all of its students and employees through web adviser software. This can even hold true in elementary level education too. Email addresses through companies such as Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, and others are essentially free to everyone. Therefore, essentially every student with a family computer and internet connection can “plug in” to class and complete coursework through technology. There are even schools that give their students their own email addresses for school. Less than four years ago, when I was in high school, we did not even have our own school based emails. Ten years ago, I hardly if ever sent out an email. Now, there are middle school students who send out multiple emails daily.
Looking beyond the idea that only worksheets, homework, and tests in schools will go paperless in the upcoming years, we can also expect textbooks to go paperless as well. Every day, companies are bringing digital memory to us at lower and lower costs. This, along with the increase in technology in education will inevitably lead us to a textbook free classroom. Students will eventually be able to simply log into their iPad or laptop and pull up thousands of pages of textbooks in the form of eBooks. In the long run, this will definitely save schools money, as they can purchase eBooks for lower prices and even rent eBooks for a limited amount of time at even lower costs. Further, schools will not have to pay to replace large sets of worn-out textbooks every few years.
While going paperless in the upcoming years in the field of education is just one of the many major changes we will see, there will definitely be a lot more of today’s educational resources simply becoming obsolete as technology advances. As these changes come about, I am sure that they will come with a lot of benefits for both schools and their students. Schools will be able to save money in many different areas, while students will receive a much more individualized and fun form of education through technology. Overall, this leads us to a field of education where more students can receive a higher quality of education at lower costs, all through the integration of technology.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck in AP Classes
By Sean Scarpiello
With the cost of college being so high today, many students are enrolling in Advanced Placement (AP) classes during high school in hopes of saving money in college. When taking an AP class, students are essentially taking a college level class. Then, at the end of each AP class, students can take a test to determine if they can receive full college credit for the course. If a students do well enough on their AP test, skipping a class can allow them to take other classes to work towards a double major, or even shorten their college experience down to three years, saving them money altogether. Yet, while there are many financial benefits to this option, there also seem to be a few problems with this arrangement.
Many different colleges have different opinions on AP classes. Some schools have very strict policies on them, while others are very relaxed. Therefore, it is very important for students to look into these college policies when choosing a school. For example, at my college, if a student takes AP Biology 1 and 2 in high school and receives a 4 on the AP test, they can skip General Biology I in college. If a student scores a 5 on the AP test, they can skip both General Biology I and II. Other colleges have different polices and will allow students to skip classes with lower scores on the AP tests. And while this sounds like a great idea, there are even more specifics students should look into when choosing a school, AP classes, or even a graduate programs. Because while colleges have their own opinions on AP coursework, so do many other institutions.
Referring back to my example, if a student scores a 5 on the AP test, they can skip the two general biology classes and jump right into upper level biology classes. But does a student really want to do that? Many graduate and doctorate programs in the sciences require that students take the general science courses at a four-year college. Therefore, it would be a shame if a student chose to bypass these general biology courses early in their education, and then had to retake these courses later to get into a graduate degree program. Further, while AP courses technically are the equivalent of a college level class, they are not equal in a few ways. The biggest way in which they differ is that AP classes lack the lab component of many science classes, which, for science majors, is very important. A student who tests out of general science course with a lab may struggle through the lab components of their upper level classes. This is because they enter higher level courses without the ability to properly write abstracts, read scientific articles, and use proper lab techniques which are the fundamentals taught in first year science courses.
Even when taking non-science courses in college, high school classes such as AP Statistics, AP History, or AP English simply lack the college course layout. Sitting through a college class is much different than those in high school. College classes are generally shorter, require much more independent work outside of class, and students have much less one on one contact with their college professors than they do with their high school teachers. Therefore, I feel as if AP classes work well as a jumping off point for students when they get to college. This is because students learn all of the material of a college level class in high school, but when they take the same class in college, they can focus on the course’s structural differences and get used to what it takes to succeed in a real college class.
Another option that works well for students planning on taking AP classes for college credit is to take AP classes in subjects you do not want to major in during college. While it is still great for students to take AP classes in fields their interested in, AP credit works best for the students who can avoid certain types of classes altogether in college. A great example of this would be a political science or business major who took an AP science course in high school. Most colleges require just a few science distribution courses, so if the student can bypass courses they need to take for distribution through the use of AP credit, they have an upper hand. Plus, this political science or business major, who may never use this science again or in their career, can completely avoid having to take the difficult science course with expensive textbooks and long labs. With this option, they can completely cut their college experience short a year by finishing distribution and general education classes before they even arrive at college. Otherwise, these students can cut out these general requirements and pick up a double major or take classes they can greater benefit from during their four years at college.
Overall, while AP courses are fantastic, it is important to approach them strategically. By doing this, students can take the AP classes will most benefit them financially in college by allowing them to cut college short and save on tuition or for focusing on more important classes in their major. In fact, if high schools increased the numbers of AP courses offered, students can save a lot of money not just in tuition, but also textbooks, lab fees, and more. In all, AP classes are great for education as they provide it at a lower cost for many students across the United States.
With the cost of college being so high today, many students are enrolling in Advanced Placement (AP) classes during high school in hopes of saving money in college. When taking an AP class, students are essentially taking a college level class. Then, at the end of each AP class, students can take a test to determine if they can receive full college credit for the course. If a students do well enough on their AP test, skipping a class can allow them to take other classes to work towards a double major, or even shorten their college experience down to three years, saving them money altogether. Yet, while there are many financial benefits to this option, there also seem to be a few problems with this arrangement.
Many different colleges have different opinions on AP classes. Some schools have very strict policies on them, while others are very relaxed. Therefore, it is very important for students to look into these college policies when choosing a school. For example, at my college, if a student takes AP Biology 1 and 2 in high school and receives a 4 on the AP test, they can skip General Biology I in college. If a student scores a 5 on the AP test, they can skip both General Biology I and II. Other colleges have different polices and will allow students to skip classes with lower scores on the AP tests. And while this sounds like a great idea, there are even more specifics students should look into when choosing a school, AP classes, or even a graduate programs. Because while colleges have their own opinions on AP coursework, so do many other institutions.
Referring back to my example, if a student scores a 5 on the AP test, they can skip the two general biology classes and jump right into upper level biology classes. But does a student really want to do that? Many graduate and doctorate programs in the sciences require that students take the general science courses at a four-year college. Therefore, it would be a shame if a student chose to bypass these general biology courses early in their education, and then had to retake these courses later to get into a graduate degree program. Further, while AP courses technically are the equivalent of a college level class, they are not equal in a few ways. The biggest way in which they differ is that AP classes lack the lab component of many science classes, which, for science majors, is very important. A student who tests out of general science course with a lab may struggle through the lab components of their upper level classes. This is because they enter higher level courses without the ability to properly write abstracts, read scientific articles, and use proper lab techniques which are the fundamentals taught in first year science courses.
Even when taking non-science courses in college, high school classes such as AP Statistics, AP History, or AP English simply lack the college course layout. Sitting through a college class is much different than those in high school. College classes are generally shorter, require much more independent work outside of class, and students have much less one on one contact with their college professors than they do with their high school teachers. Therefore, I feel as if AP classes work well as a jumping off point for students when they get to college. This is because students learn all of the material of a college level class in high school, but when they take the same class in college, they can focus on the course’s structural differences and get used to what it takes to succeed in a real college class.
Another option that works well for students planning on taking AP classes for college credit is to take AP classes in subjects you do not want to major in during college. While it is still great for students to take AP classes in fields their interested in, AP credit works best for the students who can avoid certain types of classes altogether in college. A great example of this would be a political science or business major who took an AP science course in high school. Most colleges require just a few science distribution courses, so if the student can bypass courses they need to take for distribution through the use of AP credit, they have an upper hand. Plus, this political science or business major, who may never use this science again or in their career, can completely avoid having to take the difficult science course with expensive textbooks and long labs. With this option, they can completely cut their college experience short a year by finishing distribution and general education classes before they even arrive at college. Otherwise, these students can cut out these general requirements and pick up a double major or take classes they can greater benefit from during their four years at college.
Overall, while AP courses are fantastic, it is important to approach them strategically. By doing this, students can take the AP classes will most benefit them financially in college by allowing them to cut college short and save on tuition or for focusing on more important classes in their major. In fact, if high schools increased the numbers of AP courses offered, students can save a lot of money not just in tuition, but also textbooks, lab fees, and more. In all, AP classes are great for education as they provide it at a lower cost for many students across the United States.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
The Integration of iPads into K to 12 Classrooms
By Sean Scarpiello
Recently, I read an article about how Princeton Day School, a private school for students in Pre-Kindergarten to grade 12, has slowly begun integrating iPads into their classrooms. While the school has not gone completely digital, the program has seen much success in the grades that are based on the iPads. Therefore, the school plans on extending the program to further digitize even more classes in future. Compared to traditional classes, the program has many advantages for school administration, teachers and students.
In the long run, integrating iPads into every classroom will save schools a lot of money. While the initial cost of buying iPads for every student in the class is great, the school will be able to save money over the following years. This is because the cost of eBooks is much lower than traditional, heavy textbooks. Also, unlike regular textbooks, eBooks do not need to be replaced every few years because they do not become outdated or fall apart. Plus, iPads offer many applications, designed specifically for the classroom, at low or no cost. With these applications, students can learn through the use of interactive worksheets, challenging games, and other options that are much more stimulating than boring, black and white worksheets. Therefore, students will look forward to learning, as they want to gain more points in a computer based grammar game or solve a math puzzle on their iPad.
This technology also offers many advantages to teachers. iPads can be used to give daily updates to students, as well as make any changes to the course syllabi. The integration of iPads allows for students to work on their assignments anywhere and turn them into their teachers instantly. Applications available for teachers on these devices allow teachers to track where students are struggling, so they can address certain problem areas in the class material. This allows each student’s education to be further individualized to meet their needs and focus on the areas where they struggle which means students will further benefit from this technology.
As students eventually graduate to work in the real world, they too will need to integrate to the technology that we use in hospitals, small businesses, banks, laboratories, and in many other occupational fields. Therefore, being exposed to technology early on in their education means that they can pick up and learn to integrate into the systems used in the workplace extremely easily. Last year, when I had the opportunity to use an iPad in my Organic Chemistry class, we had the ability to use an annotation function on our iPads to write out lab reports simply by speaking into a microphone which typed up the report for us. This technology is not dissimilar to the annotation tools doctors, nurses, and many other employees use daily in the workforce. Further, there are other applications which allow students to surpass today’s employees in many other areas in technology. Many students now are learning to make movies and animations to present in class as a project. In the real world, many of today’s employees will struggle to try and create this type of media. Therefore, those who can build an animation or movie to use in a work presentation can excel in the workplace.
Overall, while the initial price tag of iPads as a learning technology in schools may seem expensive, schools will save in the long term. Beyond the savings on eBooks and education applications, teachers and students will benefit from these technologies in many ways. In all, these sorts of programs where schools are digitizing their classrooms with iPads are sure to improve the experience of learning for many students while remaining at a low cost for schools.
Source: http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2013/10/02/the_princeton_packet/news/doc5249a571c5691818425361.txt
Recently, I read an article about how Princeton Day School, a private school for students in Pre-Kindergarten to grade 12, has slowly begun integrating iPads into their classrooms. While the school has not gone completely digital, the program has seen much success in the grades that are based on the iPads. Therefore, the school plans on extending the program to further digitize even more classes in future. Compared to traditional classes, the program has many advantages for school administration, teachers and students.
In the long run, integrating iPads into every classroom will save schools a lot of money. While the initial cost of buying iPads for every student in the class is great, the school will be able to save money over the following years. This is because the cost of eBooks is much lower than traditional, heavy textbooks. Also, unlike regular textbooks, eBooks do not need to be replaced every few years because they do not become outdated or fall apart. Plus, iPads offer many applications, designed specifically for the classroom, at low or no cost. With these applications, students can learn through the use of interactive worksheets, challenging games, and other options that are much more stimulating than boring, black and white worksheets. Therefore, students will look forward to learning, as they want to gain more points in a computer based grammar game or solve a math puzzle on their iPad.
This technology also offers many advantages to teachers. iPads can be used to give daily updates to students, as well as make any changes to the course syllabi. The integration of iPads allows for students to work on their assignments anywhere and turn them into their teachers instantly. Applications available for teachers on these devices allow teachers to track where students are struggling, so they can address certain problem areas in the class material. This allows each student’s education to be further individualized to meet their needs and focus on the areas where they struggle which means students will further benefit from this technology.
As students eventually graduate to work in the real world, they too will need to integrate to the technology that we use in hospitals, small businesses, banks, laboratories, and in many other occupational fields. Therefore, being exposed to technology early on in their education means that they can pick up and learn to integrate into the systems used in the workplace extremely easily. Last year, when I had the opportunity to use an iPad in my Organic Chemistry class, we had the ability to use an annotation function on our iPads to write out lab reports simply by speaking into a microphone which typed up the report for us. This technology is not dissimilar to the annotation tools doctors, nurses, and many other employees use daily in the workforce. Further, there are other applications which allow students to surpass today’s employees in many other areas in technology. Many students now are learning to make movies and animations to present in class as a project. In the real world, many of today’s employees will struggle to try and create this type of media. Therefore, those who can build an animation or movie to use in a work presentation can excel in the workplace.
Overall, while the initial price tag of iPads as a learning technology in schools may seem expensive, schools will save in the long term. Beyond the savings on eBooks and education applications, teachers and students will benefit from these technologies in many ways. In all, these sorts of programs where schools are digitizing their classrooms with iPads are sure to improve the experience of learning for many students while remaining at a low cost for schools.
Source: http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2013/10/02/the_princeton_packet/news/doc5249a571c5691818425361.txt
Monday, September 30, 2013
How We Can Improve Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs)
By Sean Scarpiello
After reviewing some recently published news articles on the success of Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs), I was a bit shocked to see that there were not many fans of this technology in the academic community. Last year, many colleges made agreements with companies such as Udacity and began to give academic credit to students upon completion of many courses taken through MOOCs. However, many colleges and universities found that their students did not do well in these types of classes. In fact, one school had prematurely ended a MOOC pilot program after only two semesters with the program in place. This is because they found that half of the students who pass traditional classes ended up failing a MOOC class. So, is it that we need to go back to the drawing board and redesign MOOCs, or do we need to do something else to fix this problem?
When looking into the first MOOCs that existed, Sebastian Thurun’s Artificial Intelligence MOOC, we see that overall, a huge amount people, around 160,000 students, took the course. Of these 160,000 students, only 23,000 passed the class. This is not a very good number considering less than 15% of students graduated the course. However, it is important to remember that not one student paid for their spot in the class. Furthermore, it is difficult to estimate how many students really “took” the class by actively completing assignments, taking tests, and watching the lectures. Overall, we must consider that since students were not paying out of pocket for the MOOC they were enrolled in, we cannot expect them to have taken the course seriously. When looking back at how traditional types of classes have a much higher success rate than the MOOCs, it is important to remember that there is a price tag placed on each class. Personally, I make every attempt to attend each one of my college level classes, because when I break down the number of hours of class time over the cost of tuition, each class costs about $40 to $60, which is a lot of money that many students will not want to waste. Beyond this, MOOCs place students in a difficult position. MOOCs rely on students to take the initiative to sit down and complete classwork. In traditional schooling and in a lot of college classrooms, professors, teachers, and teaching assistants hound students for work on strict due dates. Therefore, if students want to save the money that comes along with MOOCs, they are really going to need to take some of their own initiative to sit down and work on classwork. Otherwise, it would probably be better for students who struggle at focusing to go ahead and pay to sit through formal classes.
In light of this, I do not think that MOOCs are 100% perfect and faultless in these cases. The colleges offering trial programs with MOOCs must have still had reasons to cancel these technology based classrooms. MOOCs are often criticized for being very heavy on the memorization and regurgitation of topics. This often means that many students do not learn much because they simply memorize the material for the test, and then later forget about it. Additionally, MOOCs lack collaboration and application of class material. This is a difficult task for MOOCs to include into their curriculum due to the online nature of MOOCs. However, professors teaching MOOCs could easily include pages of extra practice problems where students can apply the materials they are learning in class. The last major criticism of MOOCs is that they allow for little feedback. This can definitely hold true, but again there is an easy fix for this problem. The instructors of MOOCs could work with program designers to include question-answer modules with the professor or teaching assistant, as well as include open forum where classmates can discuss their individual issues in the class. Here, students will be able to voice their concerns with their professors and classmates, and the professor can then act to clarify certain areas in the material and answer questions that many students are asking.
In all, while there has been a lot of criticism coming from the academic community on MOOCs, it is important to remember a few things. MOOCs will take some time to get used to and many students will need to change their study habits or otherwise pay to take traditional types of classes. Also, MOOC designers can do their part by making the MOOCs as similar to traditional classrooms as possible by including places for interaction to occur among classmates and professors. MOOCs have the potential to completely revolutionize the field of education by bringing education to the masses through technology at low costs. Therefore, it is important to not give up on MOOCs until we change the way we think about them and change their designs to become more individualized and student friendly.
Sources:
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/09/moocs_need_to_go_back_to_their_roots.html
http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/09/27/faculty-members-share-experiences-moocs
After reviewing some recently published news articles on the success of Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs), I was a bit shocked to see that there were not many fans of this technology in the academic community. Last year, many colleges made agreements with companies such as Udacity and began to give academic credit to students upon completion of many courses taken through MOOCs. However, many colleges and universities found that their students did not do well in these types of classes. In fact, one school had prematurely ended a MOOC pilot program after only two semesters with the program in place. This is because they found that half of the students who pass traditional classes ended up failing a MOOC class. So, is it that we need to go back to the drawing board and redesign MOOCs, or do we need to do something else to fix this problem?
When looking into the first MOOCs that existed, Sebastian Thurun’s Artificial Intelligence MOOC, we see that overall, a huge amount people, around 160,000 students, took the course. Of these 160,000 students, only 23,000 passed the class. This is not a very good number considering less than 15% of students graduated the course. However, it is important to remember that not one student paid for their spot in the class. Furthermore, it is difficult to estimate how many students really “took” the class by actively completing assignments, taking tests, and watching the lectures. Overall, we must consider that since students were not paying out of pocket for the MOOC they were enrolled in, we cannot expect them to have taken the course seriously. When looking back at how traditional types of classes have a much higher success rate than the MOOCs, it is important to remember that there is a price tag placed on each class. Personally, I make every attempt to attend each one of my college level classes, because when I break down the number of hours of class time over the cost of tuition, each class costs about $40 to $60, which is a lot of money that many students will not want to waste. Beyond this, MOOCs place students in a difficult position. MOOCs rely on students to take the initiative to sit down and complete classwork. In traditional schooling and in a lot of college classrooms, professors, teachers, and teaching assistants hound students for work on strict due dates. Therefore, if students want to save the money that comes along with MOOCs, they are really going to need to take some of their own initiative to sit down and work on classwork. Otherwise, it would probably be better for students who struggle at focusing to go ahead and pay to sit through formal classes.
In light of this, I do not think that MOOCs are 100% perfect and faultless in these cases. The colleges offering trial programs with MOOCs must have still had reasons to cancel these technology based classrooms. MOOCs are often criticized for being very heavy on the memorization and regurgitation of topics. This often means that many students do not learn much because they simply memorize the material for the test, and then later forget about it. Additionally, MOOCs lack collaboration and application of class material. This is a difficult task for MOOCs to include into their curriculum due to the online nature of MOOCs. However, professors teaching MOOCs could easily include pages of extra practice problems where students can apply the materials they are learning in class. The last major criticism of MOOCs is that they allow for little feedback. This can definitely hold true, but again there is an easy fix for this problem. The instructors of MOOCs could work with program designers to include question-answer modules with the professor or teaching assistant, as well as include open forum where classmates can discuss their individual issues in the class. Here, students will be able to voice their concerns with their professors and classmates, and the professor can then act to clarify certain areas in the material and answer questions that many students are asking.
In all, while there has been a lot of criticism coming from the academic community on MOOCs, it is important to remember a few things. MOOCs will take some time to get used to and many students will need to change their study habits or otherwise pay to take traditional types of classes. Also, MOOC designers can do their part by making the MOOCs as similar to traditional classrooms as possible by including places for interaction to occur among classmates and professors. MOOCs have the potential to completely revolutionize the field of education by bringing education to the masses through technology at low costs. Therefore, it is important to not give up on MOOCs until we change the way we think about them and change their designs to become more individualized and student friendly.
Sources:
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/09/moocs_need_to_go_back_to_their_roots.html
http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/09/27/faculty-members-share-experiences-moocs
Friday, September 20, 2013
The Benefits of Sapling Learning Technologies in Science Class
By Sean Scarpiello
Earlier this year, when I was buying my books for college, I had noticed that on my required textbook list I would need to also purchase a “Sapling Pass” for my Biochemistry class. Unaware what this “Sapling Pass” was, I saw that it was required for the course, so I went ahead and paid $30 for it. During the first few days of Biochemistry, my professor brought up that this “Sapling Pass” is required and that we all need to buy one of these “Sapling Passes” to log on to our class’s Sapling page online. After receiving my books for the semester, I found my “Sapling Pass” as a small card with a code on it. I followed the teacher’s directions by going online and entering the code to gain access to our Biochemistry’s Sapling site, and I was amazed.
Sapling Learning is an online education program designed for high school and higher education level classes. I have only seen my Biochemistry site in detail, but there are also options available for other science classes such as Analytical Chemistry, Physics, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and more. On this site, my professor assigns weekly homework assignments where we log on to the Sapling Learning site, enter our usernames and passwords, and then simply click on a module to go to the problem set. These problem sets are unlike many other types of assignments available online. In these modules, we are required to mix certain chemicals, run titrations, analyze graphs, and evaluate data. Plus, there are even interactive problems where we must make up the proper molecule using the Sapling Learning software. These problem sets are extremely interactive for students and also challenge students to apply multiple concepts at once. Students can receive instant feedback and even tips while answering questions. Teachers may optionally choose to give students second or third guesses on graded assignments right after they receive tips on what they did wrong. This program goes beyond simply quizzing and grading students by further challenging students and forcing them to learn the proper mindset and problem solving strategies for science.
The program is also fantastic from the teacher's perspective. The program comes pre-loaded with a lot of different types of questions that teachers can choose to assign to students. Plus, the program tracks everything their students do on the site. This includes times their students are logged on, the amount of time spent on different problems, and which questions were answered correctly and incorrectly. Teachers can look up class statistics to see what percentage of students answered questions correctly and incorrectly. My professor looked at this data for a past problem set and reviewed certain material in class because the majority of us got specific problems wrong. Teachers also have the ability to change up the questions in such a way that every student gets slightly different answers. My professor does this so she can keep track of everyone individually and no pairs of students could work together, thereby masking the weakness of one of the partners. Beyond this, teachers can assign ungraded questions, as well as put time limits and due dates for assignments on the program.
Sapling Learning programs are great in that they can be done easily on the computer with any internet connection. This means homework can be completed anywhere at any time through the internet. One other benefit to Sapling is that it comes at a low $30 price for students. Furthermore, the site offers an eBook of the professors chosen textbook for 30 days completely free. The program also gives students the option of buying the eBook through the Sapling site to use on problems sets and for studying.
Overall, Sapling Learning is a fantastic program for high school and college level science classes. It makes the student’s role in learning more interactive, while allowing teachers to be more efficient and more aware of individual problems in class. Finally, the program is also available at a low cost while integrating technology into the learning process of student.
Source: http://www2.saplinglearning.com/
Earlier this year, when I was buying my books for college, I had noticed that on my required textbook list I would need to also purchase a “Sapling Pass” for my Biochemistry class. Unaware what this “Sapling Pass” was, I saw that it was required for the course, so I went ahead and paid $30 for it. During the first few days of Biochemistry, my professor brought up that this “Sapling Pass” is required and that we all need to buy one of these “Sapling Passes” to log on to our class’s Sapling page online. After receiving my books for the semester, I found my “Sapling Pass” as a small card with a code on it. I followed the teacher’s directions by going online and entering the code to gain access to our Biochemistry’s Sapling site, and I was amazed.
Sapling Learning is an online education program designed for high school and higher education level classes. I have only seen my Biochemistry site in detail, but there are also options available for other science classes such as Analytical Chemistry, Physics, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and more. On this site, my professor assigns weekly homework assignments where we log on to the Sapling Learning site, enter our usernames and passwords, and then simply click on a module to go to the problem set. These problem sets are unlike many other types of assignments available online. In these modules, we are required to mix certain chemicals, run titrations, analyze graphs, and evaluate data. Plus, there are even interactive problems where we must make up the proper molecule using the Sapling Learning software. These problem sets are extremely interactive for students and also challenge students to apply multiple concepts at once. Students can receive instant feedback and even tips while answering questions. Teachers may optionally choose to give students second or third guesses on graded assignments right after they receive tips on what they did wrong. This program goes beyond simply quizzing and grading students by further challenging students and forcing them to learn the proper mindset and problem solving strategies for science.
The program is also fantastic from the teacher's perspective. The program comes pre-loaded with a lot of different types of questions that teachers can choose to assign to students. Plus, the program tracks everything their students do on the site. This includes times their students are logged on, the amount of time spent on different problems, and which questions were answered correctly and incorrectly. Teachers can look up class statistics to see what percentage of students answered questions correctly and incorrectly. My professor looked at this data for a past problem set and reviewed certain material in class because the majority of us got specific problems wrong. Teachers also have the ability to change up the questions in such a way that every student gets slightly different answers. My professor does this so she can keep track of everyone individually and no pairs of students could work together, thereby masking the weakness of one of the partners. Beyond this, teachers can assign ungraded questions, as well as put time limits and due dates for assignments on the program.
Sapling Learning programs are great in that they can be done easily on the computer with any internet connection. This means homework can be completed anywhere at any time through the internet. One other benefit to Sapling is that it comes at a low $30 price for students. Furthermore, the site offers an eBook of the professors chosen textbook for 30 days completely free. The program also gives students the option of buying the eBook through the Sapling site to use on problems sets and for studying.
Overall, Sapling Learning is a fantastic program for high school and college level science classes. It makes the student’s role in learning more interactive, while allowing teachers to be more efficient and more aware of individual problems in class. Finally, the program is also available at a low cost while integrating technology into the learning process of student.
Source: http://www2.saplinglearning.com/
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
How DreamBox is Revolutionizing Elementary Math Class
By Sean Scarpiello
As education is quickly being taken over by different technologies, it is often easy for teachers to hand students a computer or tablet and assign work. This holds especially true in subjects such as math, where students who complete more problems and get more experience achieve more. These days, there are many different interactive games and software for students, which are fantastic when it comes to making math fun. However, while some students excel with this type of independent learning, others have a difficult time with these assignments. When designing technology for the classroom, many program designers forget that every student is different in the ways in which they think and learn. Therefore, while some students are zipping through their math assignments on their tablets, others may be struggling. A program called DreamBox, aims at eliminating this sort of one-size-fits-all math education while offering a more individualized instruction for students.
For many teachers, one big problem in math class is keeping students who are advanced in math challenged, while setting a pace in which slower students can still keep up. DreamBox is an online learning program where students can log on and complete a set of interactive math assignments at their own pace, whether that be fast or slow. With this program, teachers can keep an eye on each student individually by tracking the amount of questions answered correctly and monitoring the amount of time each student spends on each question. The program also utilizes adaptive learning, which challenges students at whatever level they are at. The feedback that DreamBox gives teachers goes a long way in diagnosing students’ problem areas. Teachers can then give more private and individualized instruction for students who may be struggling. DreamBox helps teachers solve one of the biggest problems when teaching math, while challenging students at all levels.
DreamBox is also designed to be used by students anywhere. For schools that subscribe to DreamBox’s service, students and teachers have 24 hour access to over 1,000 lessons. This allows teachers to the ability to assign DreamBox assignments in class, directly after material is taught, or as homework to reinforce what was taught in class. All students need to do their homework is their family computer or tablet with an internet connection. Beyond this, DreamBox is also affordable at $25 per student per year, or $7,000 for an unlimited amount of students per year. Since DreamBox offers lessons based on the curricula of each grade in elementary school, an elementary school with a large number of students can get a lot of bang for their buck. This especially holds true because the program does not require outside textbooks for students.
Overall, DreamBox is quickly revolutionizing the way elementary math education is being taught. By providing a highly individualized and challenging math instruction, teachers can keep an eye on each of their students. This further allows teachers to give special instruction to those who are struggling, while keeping the more advanced students stimulated. This also allows teachers to recognize trends among the class so they can review topics that many in the class are struggling with. In all, DreamBox does a fantastic job at utilizing technology to bring a highly individualized elementary math education to students at low costs.
Source: http://www.dreambox.com/
As education is quickly being taken over by different technologies, it is often easy for teachers to hand students a computer or tablet and assign work. This holds especially true in subjects such as math, where students who complete more problems and get more experience achieve more. These days, there are many different interactive games and software for students, which are fantastic when it comes to making math fun. However, while some students excel with this type of independent learning, others have a difficult time with these assignments. When designing technology for the classroom, many program designers forget that every student is different in the ways in which they think and learn. Therefore, while some students are zipping through their math assignments on their tablets, others may be struggling. A program called DreamBox, aims at eliminating this sort of one-size-fits-all math education while offering a more individualized instruction for students.
For many teachers, one big problem in math class is keeping students who are advanced in math challenged, while setting a pace in which slower students can still keep up. DreamBox is an online learning program where students can log on and complete a set of interactive math assignments at their own pace, whether that be fast or slow. With this program, teachers can keep an eye on each student individually by tracking the amount of questions answered correctly and monitoring the amount of time each student spends on each question. The program also utilizes adaptive learning, which challenges students at whatever level they are at. The feedback that DreamBox gives teachers goes a long way in diagnosing students’ problem areas. Teachers can then give more private and individualized instruction for students who may be struggling. DreamBox helps teachers solve one of the biggest problems when teaching math, while challenging students at all levels.
DreamBox is also designed to be used by students anywhere. For schools that subscribe to DreamBox’s service, students and teachers have 24 hour access to over 1,000 lessons. This allows teachers to the ability to assign DreamBox assignments in class, directly after material is taught, or as homework to reinforce what was taught in class. All students need to do their homework is their family computer or tablet with an internet connection. Beyond this, DreamBox is also affordable at $25 per student per year, or $7,000 for an unlimited amount of students per year. Since DreamBox offers lessons based on the curricula of each grade in elementary school, an elementary school with a large number of students can get a lot of bang for their buck. This especially holds true because the program does not require outside textbooks for students.
Overall, DreamBox is quickly revolutionizing the way elementary math education is being taught. By providing a highly individualized and challenging math instruction, teachers can keep an eye on each of their students. This further allows teachers to give special instruction to those who are struggling, while keeping the more advanced students stimulated. This also allows teachers to recognize trends among the class so they can review topics that many in the class are struggling with. In all, DreamBox does a fantastic job at utilizing technology to bring a highly individualized elementary math education to students at low costs.
Source: http://www.dreambox.com/
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