Video of the Week: 3 tips for great formative assessment

Ed. note: Video of the Week picks are supplied 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 watch the video at Common Sense Education.

Video Description: Unlock the full potential of formative assessment in your classroom! Check out these tips for how to use formative assessment apps and games such as Kahoot, Socrative, Plickers, and Poll Everywhere to check for understanding and encourage student self-assessment.

Video:…Read More

Students discover the power of coding

Got Code? This week students across the Rowland Unified School District, along with their families, are continuing their exploration of computer coding and programming by participating in Computer Science Week and the worldwide Hour of Code through December 11. “Hour of Code” is a global movement to expose students to computer science by teaching students a minimum of one hour of computer programming.

The District has launched an entire website devoted to the Hour of Code — www.RUSDcodes.com — so that families can participate in activities at home and students can use it as a resource for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education opportunities throughout the year. The new website features coding games and activities, organized by grade level, for students in grades K-12. There is also a section on Creative Coding that shows students how coding is integrated into music, animation, art & design, along with a variety of resources for both students and teachers, including free coding workshops, challenges, STEM contest invitations and student internships.

“Rowland Unified teachers are excited to continue to provide students innovative learning opportunities through coding/programming in their daily teaching by connecting it across the disciplines,” said Dr. Trisha Callella, Coordinator of Education Technology. “Coding is a powerful language and helps with problem solving and critical thinking skills that all students need whether or not they pursue a career in computer science.”…Read More

12 ed-tech tools to try this term

The school year is in full swing, so it’s time to kick things into high gear and push learning to a whole new level. Online technology tools can be an incredible asset in the classroom, enhancing the learning experience for students and making the teaching experience more pleasant and less stressful. Check out these ed-tech tools that you should definitely consider bringing into the classroom this term.

Sight Words
Sight words are those words that a child should memorize in order to help them learn how to read and write. And, the most effective way to learn those words is through repetition using flashcards and word-focused games. Sight Words helps you to supplement phonics learning through a series of lessons, flashcards and games.

Quizalize
Just because you’re doing a quiz, doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun while you’re doing it. And, on Quizalize, every quiz you find has been created to be both educational and fun. Teams of students can join forces in competition, while a live dashboard allows teachers to see each student’s strengths and who needs the most help from you.…Read More

The Friday 4: Your weekly ed-tech rewind

Every Friday, I’ll recap some of the most interesting news and thought-provoking developments from the past week.

I can’t fit all of this week’s news stories here, though, so feel free to browse eSchool News and read up on other news you may have missed.

Read on for more:…Read More

CodeCombat adds game, web development to coding platform

CodeCombat, which offers an engaging platform for helping kids learn computer science (CS), has significantly enhanced its platform in time for back to school.

CodeCombat has added major new capabilities including Game Development and Web Development, and quadrupled the number of levels available to users of its original Learn to Code module, giving students plenty of runway to keep enhancing their coding skills.

CodeCombat’s classroom product, which launched just four months ago, is now in use by 45,000 students in grades 4-12 across 1,600 schools in all 50 states – making it one of the fastest-growing companies in the ed tech space.…Read More

Cricket Media, Smithsonian launch 2016 Global Folklorist Challenge

Cricket Media, a next-generation global learning company, announced the launch of its 3rd Annual Global Folklorist Challenge in partnership with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

The challenge, open to kids eight to eighteen worldwide, asks participants to examine a local or regional tradition by interviewing a community tradition bearer and creating a video or slide show to share the story.

Cultural traditions students might explore range from dance, games, and handicrafts to cooking, storytelling, customs, distinctive jobs, and more. Comprehensive supporting materials reinforce real- world folklorist skills by defining terms, providing examples, tips, and organizational tools, and walking students through professional interview and story-shaping processes. Participants also have access to professional folklorists at the Smithsonian.…Read More

Panasonic showcases the power of K-12 interactive displays

The company’s ISTE presence demonstrated how display technology can be crucial in the classroom

Panasonic, provider of professional display solutions for education, demonstrated its BF1 display technology at ISTE 2016.

The ISTE booth featured the new refined BF1 Series Multi-Touch Screen Display, now with Color Universal Design and Intel® Pro WiDi. The BF1 will be linked to 3 different devices (C2, tablet and phone) via Ormi-Exo-U. Ormiboard Pro is a visual creation and collaboration tool that helps teachers and students build lessons, activities, and interactive games for use in any classroom with displays and/or mobile devices.

“Panasonic is committed to continual improvement in performance, versatility, and efficiency in the education space,” says John Baisley, Senior Vice President, Visual & Imaging, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. “We are driven by a desire to deliver a superior user experience beyond expectations while maintaining our industry-wide reputation for value, reliability, and quality.”…Read More

EXO U to launch visual creation, collaboration tool at ISTE

The device-agnostic, Google Classroom-integrated, collaborative tool allows teachers and students to build lessons, activities, and interactive games

At ISTE 2016, EXO U Inc., a software development company, will launch Ormiboard, a front-of-class visual creation and collaboration tool. Ormiboard gives teachers and students the freedom to build lessons, activities, and interactive games for use in any classroom that has displays and/or mobile devices.

The device-agnostic Ormiboard goes beyond presenting and testing by opening up whole-class creation and participation. With ping-pong sharing and group collaboration, Ormiboard users create sessions where everyone can watch and participate in the lessons. In a classroom setting, teachers can select a screen from a student device and share it on the font-of-class display.

In seconds, teachers can fully integrate Ormiboard with Google Classroom, Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, and other common resources. With browser-driven publishing, lessons are assigned links and can be sent to students using Google Classroom. Ormiboard users can also share their creations with anyone, anywhere in the world through an online marketplace.…Read More

5 ways to gamify writing in the classroom

Believe it or not, writing is a natural fit for gamification techniques

You’ve surely noticed how your class gets engaged as soon as you introduce a game into the teaching process. The students get competitive, but that’s a healthy competition you want to nurture.

Have you ever thought about teaching writing through games? It’s a great strategy that helps students overcome the lack of motivation they have regarding writing assignments. Robert Monroe, a writer for EduGeeksClub and a father of a 10-year-old, explains how he made writing attractive for his son: “I realized he was bored whenever he had to write something for school. I know how fun writing can be, so I found a way to turn it into a game. I set up a private online diary and gave him brief prompts every day. He received points for each ‘level’ he passed and a prize for every big achievement. I noticed great improvements in his grammar and style in a really short period of time.”

Needless to say, you’ll need an effective strategy that will help you introduce writing games in the classroom. Read on; we have the tips you need.…Read More

EXO U launches Ormiboard Pro Visual Creation Software

New whiteboarding software offers instant sharing to any student device, classroom management, and advanced interactivity building without an internet connection

At InfoComm 2016, EXO U Inc., a software development company, launched Ormiboard Pro, a visual creation and collaboration tool. Ormiboard Pro gives teachers and students the freedom to build lessons, activities, and interactive games for use in any classroom that has displays and/or mobile devices.

The device-agnostic Ormiboard Pro goes beyond presenting and testing by opening up whole-class creation and participation. With ping-pong sharing and group collaboration, Ormiboard Pro users create sessions where everyone can watch and participate in the lessons. In a classroom setting, teachers can select a screen from a student device and share it on the front-of-class display.

Ormiboard Pro is designed for schools and districts and is primarily offered through distribution channels. Ormiboard Pro is an installed software with a perpetual license and enables complete device integration and collaborative sharing over existing networks via local WIFI (no internet access required). Ormiboard Pro is optimized for fast speed and split-view capabilities for multi-touch panels and tables, and gives administrators dashboard control over building, classroom, teacher, user and content grouping.…Read More

Survey: Teachers now use twice as much gaming and video in the classroom

Annual survey reveals digital resources such as game-based environments and online videos have experienced increased use in classrooms

Teachers’ use of game-based environments and online apps has doubled in the last six years, according to the annual Speak Up survey released on May 5.

The national report, From Print to Pixel: The role of videos, games, animations and simulations within K-12 education, reveals that in 2010, only 23 percent of surveyed teachers said they used games, compared to 48 percent of those surveyed in 2015. In 2010, 47 percent of teachers said they used online videos, and that jumped to 68 percent of teachers in 2015.

“Many more schools are demonstrating greater use of digital content, tools and resources today than six years ago and we believe that the increasing adoption of interactive, visual media in the classroom by teachers is the driver for much of that change,” said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, in a press release. “The explosion in teacher interest and usage of videos and game-based learning could be a harbinger of a new awakening for digital learning.”…Read More

13 apps that promote higher-order thinking standards

These mobile apps go way beyond games

Mobile devices are becoming increasingly common in schools because they cost so much less than computers—especially since so many students are willing to bring their own devices to school.

While mobile devices, tablets in particular, have been commonly used to reinforce math and reading skills through the use of games, they can also be used to promote the development of higher level skills and knowledge included in the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S): creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; and critical thinking and problem solving. Here are a handful of high-quality apps that reinforce these skills and promote others.

Writing skills

Students who resist typical writing instruction with pencil and paper may blossom as authors when given the opportunity to compose electronically on computers and tablets. Some that struggle with the fine motor skills necessary for producing legible print are liberated by the ability to type. Although pressing letters on a flat screen without being able to feel them may be awkward for an adult accustomed to typing on a keyboard, students that learn to type on these devices when they’re young are likely to be as skilled on them as they are on a traditional keyboard.…Read More