6 ways video technologies are fundamentally shaping education

Video technologies’ continue to have a profound impact on K-12 and higher-ed classrooms as educators and students report increases in achievement, engagement and active content creation, according to a new survey from Kaltura.

Ninety-nine percent of institutions report they have teachers regularly incorporating video technologies in their curriculum. More than half are using video for student assignments, with 21 percent reporting that more than half of their students actively create video (up from 10 percent in 2016). Seventy-three percent of higher education institutions use video technologies for remote teaching and learning.

The survey gathered responses from more than 1,000 educators, administrators, students, IT and media staff, and instructional designers.…Read More

How 4 states are purchasing digital resources

As more states move through the digital transition and acquire digital resources for teachers and students, it is more important than ever to establish clear-cut processes to obtain high-quality materials.

Now, a new resource from SETDA offers a look at different state-level procurement models to demonstrate how various states have implemented policies and procedures to procure digital resources, instructional materials and devices.

State Procurement Case Studies: Spotlight on Digital Materials Acquisition was developed in collaboration with state and district digital learning leaders, instructional materials directors, procurement offices and academic officers.…Read More

Report: Which districts show a higher OER adoption-and why?

Only one-third of school districts said they are aware of both the term “open educational resources” (OER) and its licensing, according to a report from the Babson Survey Research Group.

The report, funded by a grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, found more encouraging news when it comes to OER adoption–two-thirds of participating districts are aware of at least one open full-time course curriculum alternative, and more than one-third have actively considered at least one.

What We Teach: K-12 School District Curriculum Adoption Process examines the degree to which K-12 districts are aware of and have adopted OER, as well as the process districts use to select and adopt full-course curricula materials.…Read More

5 ways educational games improve learning, according to teachers

When teachers used digital educational games in the classroom, students raised test scores by more than half a letter grade in only three weeks, according to a study from researchers at Vanderbilt University and partners at Legends of Learning, a research-driven educational game platform.

The new research, published by the Journal of the Learning Sciences, demonstrates the benefits of game-based learning for students when compared to students who had no access to such games.

Substantial Integration of Typical Educational Games into Extended Curricula” involved more than 1,000 students of 13 teachers in 10 diverse urban, suburban and rural schools in seven states.…Read More

ISTE issues Digital Citizenship Week challenge

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) will leverage Digital Citizenship Week (Oct. 16-20) to raise awareness of the importance of teaching digital citizenship to students of all ages. ISTE challenges students, educators and parents to take time each day during Digital Citizenship Week to explore what it means to be good citizens in a digital world.

“The need to teach digital citizenship skills has never been greater. These skills include concepts like how to use tech to organize around good causes, how to respectfully disagree online, and how to distinguish between true and false information. As our interactions with friends, community members and government leaders become increasingly mediated by technology, we must model and teach the behaviors we hope to see in our next generation of digital leaders,” said ISTE CEO Richard Culatta.

ISTE is providing a number of resources to support schools and families in taking the Digital Citizenship Week challenge:…Read More

Celebrate Digital Citizenship Week this week!

Internet safety, online communication, digital footprint, strategic searching, copyright and fair use–these days, “tech skills” encompass so much more than simply learning to type and download files. Across all content areas and grade levels, teachers are now addressing the digital citizenship skills kids need to be safe and responsible online.

At Common Sense Education, we believe in a whole-community approach to digital citizenship that engages not only students and teachers in the conversation, but families and the wider community as well. Our K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum along with our Connecting Families program give schools and communities a foundation for addressing these critical topics in and out of the classroom.

For Digital Citizenship Week this year (Oct. 16-20, 2017), we’re calling on all educators, parents, and community members to raise awareness about the importance of teaching digital citizenship by sharing our starter kit: Get Dig Cit-Ready. Whether your community is just getting started with digital citizenship, is looking for resources to share with teachers or parents, or is ready to initiate a school- or district-wide program, there’s something for you here.…Read More

New AI tool helps teachers tackle math

As the new school year begins, elementary school teachers are now able to access a new, free online artificial intelligence (AI) tool designed to strengthen their math instruction and help students learn at higher levels.

The IBM Foundation announced the availability of Teacher Advisor With Watson 1.0, software that uses Watson AI technology–trained by some of the nation’s leading math experts, with feedback from more than 1,000 teachers–to provide elementary school teachers with targeted math resources for their kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms.

Faced with the pressures of limited time, higher academic standards, diverse student needs, and the responsibility to teach many subjects and multiple grade levels, elementary school teachers have expressed a critical need for easy-to-use, well-designed math resources and ongoing support.…Read More

Adaptive literacy? 3 must-knows for teachers and admin about adaptive learning

The use of differentiated instruction to individualize each student’s learning experience is becoming more common in today’s elementary classrooms, but creating meaningful differentiation for a typical class of 25 students or more can still be a challenge. What should educators and administrators know about adaptive learning?

In “Adaptive Literacy Learning 101,” presenters reviewed findings from Tech & Learning’s 2017 survey on adaptive learning and highlighted key points that everyone should know.

1. Value is Abundant…Read More

App of the Week: Digital planning board

Ed. noteApp of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. Click here to read the full app review.

What’s It Like? 

Planboard is an organizational tool (website and app) for lesson planning and tracking standards coverage. Start by creating a free account with Chalk.com. Next, create color-coded subjects–which can be further organized into sections if the subject is taught to more than one group, or class, of students. Then, add subjects to a schedule using a built-in calendar. Creating and organizing lessons is the final step; templates are available and editing tools allow users to embed videos, attach documents, include links to Google documents, and more.…Read More

Survey: Daily classroom edtech use on the rise

Sixty-three percent of K-12 educators use edtech in their classrooms each day–an increase from the 55 percent reporting the same in 2016, according to an annual survey from the College of Education at the University of Phoenix.

Laptops are most commonly used (86 percent), while other technologies include educational apps (58 percent), 3D printers (21 percent), and social media (41 percent, up from 32 percent in 2016).

Seventy-one percent of teachers said they allow students to research subjects via the internet; 66 percent use games and simulations to help with learning; 49 percent use web-based tools to help students improve writing and comprehension skills; 37 percent let students use video to produce their own content; and 20 percent use clickers to keep students engaged.…Read More

How to assess your district’s digital readiness

How do you know if your school system is high performing in its use of technology? What are your strengths and weaknesses? While there are many free, self-assessments, how do you get a rigorous, outside expert assessment?

A first step is for districts to learn about CoSN’s new Digital Leap Success Matrix (Matrix) which outlines the practices needed to be a successful digital school system. And, CoSN has created a new fee-for-service CoSN Peer Review process using this Matrix to determine how a district aligns to best practices by expert external peers.

The Matrix focuses primarily on ten key areas: Leadership & Vision, Strategic Planning, Ethics and Policies, Instructional Focus & Professional Development, Team Building and Staffing, Stakeholder Focus, Infrastructure, Information and Data Management, Communications Management, and Business Management.…Read More

18 edtech developments set to impact schools

Coding as a literacy and the rise of STEAM learning are two key trends driving K-12 technology adoption for the next 1-2 years, according to the latest New Media Consortium and CoSN Horizon Report.

The report is organized into 6 key trends, 6 significant challenges, and 6 developments in edtech that are going to impact K-12 teaching, learning and creative inquiry.

Overall, the report series tracks the five-year impact that innovative practices and new technologies have on K-12 education.…Read More