Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
Digital and mobile learning can invigorate a dull classroom, boosting student engagement and motivating students to immerse themselves in learning.
As with any tech-based instruction, the technology is just a tool for a highly-qualified teacher to use to augment a lesson and link learning to real life.
Related content: Mobile apps for students with special needs…Read More
Last year we presented “Ten of the best Android apps for education,” which highlighted some of the best apps for Google Android-based mobile devices. Now, with recent upgrades in touch technology and HD features, we’ve come up with a new list of the best Android-based education apps for 2012.
This year’s list includes some of the most highly rated apps, both by teachers and by students, and features a range that spans from an innovative and hyperlinked dictionary developed by the Cognitive Science Laboratory at Princeton University to an interactive whiteboard app for tablets.
For every app we’ve listed, we’ve included a brief description, software compatibility, suggested use, features, price, rating, and a link to a more in-depth summary with an option to purchase on Google.…Read More
The past year saw many advances in audiovisual technology for schools, most notably the ability for standalone projectors to turn any wall into an interactive whiteboard without needing a specialized surface. Epson and Boxlight introduced interactive projector models in early 2010, and Texas Instruments added this feature to its DLP chipset later in the year.
This development injected more competition into the already highly competitive interactive whiteboard (IWB) market, although manufacturers of IWBs noted that their products could continue to be used even after the projectors wore out, became damaged, or were obsolete.
Other advancements in school AV solutions in 2010 included “green” projectors that eliminate the need for a mercury lamp (as well as lamp replacements that can cost hundreds of dollars a pop), classroom audio systems that include a “panic button” for the teacher to signal an emergency, and the development of more 3D content for education.…Read More
Earlier this year, Epson and Boxlight made news when they introduced projectors that can turn virtually any surface into an interactive whiteboard (IWB). The development meant that schools no longer have to buy separate hardware to enjoy the benefits of IWBs, whose interactive surface and ability to engage students have made them popular in classrooms.…Read More
In what educators and vendors are calling a giant step forward in education technology, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) recently announced that all major interactive whiteboard vendors have agreed to make their educational content available in the U.K. in a common file format (CFF).
By making these educational resources more shareable and accessible, many say, BECTA is setting a powerful example for change that could go global. Now, some in the United States and Canada — where such software still is mostly proprietary and incompatible — want to know when these same vendors will adopt the common file format in North America.
In 2007, BECTA—which is leading a national drive in the U.K. to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology in learning—teamed up with the RM Group, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of technology-based curriculum products for education, to address the issue of multiple interactive whiteboard (IWB) solutions each having their own proprietary software.…Read More
Recent studies from two different continents point to the value of education technology in helping students grasp important yet abstract math concepts—and in both studies, animations that allow students to visualize these concepts were central to the results.
In one research project, the use of interactive whiteboards to teach math in several schools in Great Britain was found to have a positive effect on student learning, according to a three-year study conducted by researchers at Lancaster University.
In the other project, software that takes a visual approach to teaching math contributed to double-digit gains in the test scores of several Orange County, Calif., elementary students.…Read More