MobileMind Launches the Industry’s First Crowd-Sourced Professional Learning Hub: MobileMind Community

ATLANTA— MobileMind, the modern professional learning hub for schools, has launched MobileMind Community, the industry’s first competency-based, crowd-sourced PD platform. MobileMind customers can now create and share quality-assured micro-courses across all topics, methodologies, and technology with other MobileMind districts. 

MobileMind Community allows districts to save valuable time creating district-scaled PD for common training topics like learning acceleration, project-based learning, interactive whiteboards, LMS, and even subject-focused PD. Districts can quickly add micro-courses to their district’s learning paths with one-click cloning and edit content to fit their district’s needs. 

To learn more about MobileMind Community and how MobileMind can maximize the impact of ESSER funding, visit the company’s website and schedule a call…Read More

Tips to help IT teams manage digital transformation

From educators, IT teams, and school administrators to parents and students, nearly everyone with a stake in the education industry is aware of the promise new digital technologies hold to improve learning outcomes, increase student engagement, and add variety and depth to instruction and assessment.

Whether they’re talking about one-to-one computing initiatives, digital textbooks, using “smart” interactive whiteboards and 3D printers in classrooms, or moving to full-scale “flipped” instructional models, educators are excited about technology’s potential.

Related content: 5 key network steps to support edtech…Read More

Teachers: Budgets block classroom technology access

Ninety-one percent of teachers said they have access to computers in their classrooms.

Despite advances in digital learning tools and efforts to close the ed-tech access gap, school budgets remain one of the biggest barriers to classroom technology access, according to a national PBS LearningMedia survey of preK-12 teachers.

Although ed-tech advocates campaign for technology’s seamless integration into instruction, only 22 percent of teachers surveyed said they have the “right” level of technology in their classrooms.…Read More

New instructional technology for the 2011-12 school year

Toshiba is marketing its Thrive tablet as a tool for education.

New tablets that aim to challenge the iPad, software for managing mobile learning devices, and innovations in student response systems, interactive whiteboards, and other teaching tools are among the latest developments in instructional technology for the new school year. Here’s an overview of some of these recent developments.

Mobile learning tools…Read More

Secrets to attention-grabbing IWB content

Educators can use several IWB teaching strategies to hold students' attention.

Most educators are thrilled to have interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in their classrooms, but many wonder how to make the jump from passive teacher lectures to truly interactive and engaging lessons.

Interactive whiteboards are received with enthusiasm, but many educators still hold a traditional view of what an IWB can bring to the classroom, said Alyssa Porter, leader of product marketing and content strategy for DYMO/Mimio, during a recent webinar on the topic.…Read More

Survey reveals educators’ must-have technologies

Laptops remain the most valuable mobile technology, according to teachers.

Interactive whiteboards are the classroom technology that teachers say they most value, and though tablet-style eReader devices such as Apple’s iPad haven’t been around for long, they’re already considered the second most useful mobile classroom technology behind laptops, according to a national survey of teachers’ digital media use.

Educators are incorporating more internet-dependent technologies into their instruction, the survey also reveals—but shrinking school budgets are prompting many educators to look for free resources.…Read More

Other InfoComm 2010 exhibitor news

Broadcast Pix's Slate Portable is billed as a video 'control room in a box.'
Broadcast Pix's Slate Portable is billed as a video 'control room in a briefcase.'

Other news from InfoComm 2010 exhibitors included new developments in digital signage, interactive whiteboards and displays, and video capture and editing tools—including a video “control room in a briefcase.” Here are some of the highlights.

Digital signage solutions…Read More

Disney turns its focus to curriculum

Disney's curriculum on U.S. presidents features a whiteboard application.
Disney's curriculum on U.S. presidents features an interactive whiteboard application.

Readers with young children no doubt are familiar with Disney as a multimedia launching pad for the careers of teen superstars such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, while others might associate the company with its slew of animated features over the years. Now, Disney is hoping that educators will think of it as a provider of educational technology as well.

About 60 years ago, Walt Disney created Disney Educational Productions (DEP) and brought educational films into schools for the first time. After losing focus a bit, DEP now has recommitted to bringing educational multimedia into classrooms—and its latest set of videos combines Disney’s brand of educational movies with the interactivity of electronic whiteboards.…Read More