Tag Archives: education

7 Tech Upgrades to the Old-School Science Class | Mashable

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7 Tech Upgrades to the Old-School Science Class

Technological breakthroughs have flooded into classrooms, changing the face of K-12 education. From smart boards to smartphones, these digital trends have become useful educational tools in the teaching process. While todays kids are learning the same lessons and concepts, they are absorbing in different ways.

With new apps and interactive sites, science class, in particular, has received a few upgrades. We took a look at how science technology has evolved over time, and what adjustments have been made.

READ MORE:  7 Tech Upgrades to the Old-School Science Class | Mashable

Finally, a Way to Teach Coding to the Touchscreen Generation | WIRED

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Finally, a Way to Teach Coding to the Touchscreen Generation | Enterprise | WIRED

[A] new app might be able to break through that passivity by meeting the Touchscreen generation where their fingers live. ScratchJr is a new iPad variation of the Scratch programming language, a tool created at MIT to help teach kids to code. The premise for both is the same: instead of text, Scratch uses interlocking colored blocks to mimic the logical structures and functions of a typical grown-up programming language. Scratch scripts allow their creators to direct and interact with “sprites”—cartoonish characters on the screen. By introducing kids to coding without the hurdles of arcane syntax and bug-prevention, the hope is that they’ll become engaged enough with the process that their sensibilities will shift.

READ MORE: Finally, a Way to Teach Coding to the Touchscreen Generation | WIRED.

How mobile phones are democratising education | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional

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The ubiquity of mobile phones is providing a new low cost tool for teaching in some of the poorest communities.

The following programs are discussed:

  1. MobiLiteracy
  2. Dr. Math
  3. Worldreader
  4. MoMaths

READ MORE: How mobile phones are democratising education | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional.

20 Things Educators Need To Know About Digital Literacy Skills | InformED

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Teaching digital literacy is about more than just integrating technology into lesson plans; it’s about using technology to understand and enhance modern communication, to locate oneself in digital space, to manage knowledge and experience in the Age of Information.

These are vague descriptions, as are most of the descriptions you’ll find of digital literacy in blog posts and journal articles online. What teachers need, more than a fancy synopsis of how digital publication affects the meaning of a text, is a practical and applicable guide to helping students think productively about the digital world.

[These are] the top do’s and don’ts we’ve come across–in research and in our own experience–when it comes to making students digitally literate. The post reviews 5 Teaching Practices That Destroy Digital Literacy (e.g. criticizing digitalk) and 15 Habits to Cultivate in Your Students (e.g. get used to multiple literacies).

READ: 20 Things Educators Need To Know About Digital Literacy Skills | InformED

Top 30 Applications of Google Glass in Education [Interactive Infographic] | OpenColleges

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The future is now. With Google Glass, teachers and students alike can display information in a smartphone-like hands-free format, while interacting with the Internet via natural language voice commands. With limitless possibilities at its fingertips, the education community can build closer working relationships with students, and allow children to get more involved with their learning experience. Open Colleges takes a look at how Google Glass might be used in education.

Click the link to EXPLORE all the possibilities illustrated within this interactive infographic: Top 30 Applications of Google Glass in Education  | OpenColleges


How Google Glass might be used in Education – An infographic by the team at Open Colleges

Tech sector struggling with gender diversity says key is to involve girls | Toronto Star

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Tech companies have long been criticized for their lack of female employees, especially in management and engineering roles. In the last few years, however, the industry has taken note of the gender disparity and it is slowly changing.

READ: Tech sector struggling with gender diversity says key is to involve girls | Toronto Star

High-tech gloves can teach you Braille even if you’re distracted | Engadget

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It looks like a team of Georgia Tech researchers is in the business of making wondrous, high-tech gloves — their most recent one, for instance, can teach you Braille even if youre doing something else. Similar to the piano-teaching glove they designed years ago, this new pair has vibrating motors on each knuckle that buzz in different patterns to correspond with preset Braille phrases.

Read More: High-tech gloves can teach you Braille even if you’re distracted | Engadget

SlideRule Searches for the Best Online Courses in Any Category | LifeHacker

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Online classes are a great way to learn new skills. SlideRule makes your search easier by letting you browse and search through over 17,000 online courses. READ: SlideRule Searches for the Best Online Courses in Any Category | LifeHacker

A Brilliantly Simple Design Transforms Old Boxes Into School Desks And Bags | Co.Exist

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Most schools in rural India can’t afford basic supplies like desks, and most of the students attending them can’t afford backpacks. The Bombay-based nonprofit Aarambh worked with designers to come up with an ingenious solution to both problems: Their simple stencil transforms old cardboard boxes into a convertible desk and school bag.

READ MORE: A Brilliantly Simple Design Transforms Old Boxes Into School Desks And Bags | Co.Exist | ideas + impact.

Apps for Outdoor Learning | The Digital Shift

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With spring in the air, students typically clamor to get outside—and teachers would often like to follow. April is an ideal time of year to explore outdoor learning opportunities, and these apps and sites can lead the way. READ MORE: Apps for Outdoor Learning | Cool Tools | The Digital Shift.

I would also recommend the Encyclopedia of Life’s Tools & Resources page for more tools to enhance outdoor educational activities.