A recently retired high school teacher wrote: My students did well on those [AP Exam] questions because we practiced bad writing. My teaching was not evaluated on the basis of how well my students did, but I felt I had a responsibility to prepare them for the examination in a way that could result in …
Category Archives: Opinion
Holding on
I saw this article this morning and thought it was interesting. What are things we’re doing because we’re used to them and not necessarily the best way of doing them? How can we move past nostalgia and into the present or even the future? I’m not saying that all skills and methods used “long ago” …
Do’s and Don’ts of Classroom Technology Use
Campus Technology’s Bridget McCrea recently wrote about several things a synchronous online teacher should and shouldn’t do, but the list applies to the use of technology in any class, I think. One thing McCrea does not mention, that I’ve always wanted to have when I teach, is some kind of tech or assistant in …
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Fair warning for flipped classrooms
Professor Steven Neshyba at the University of Puget Sound sent a warning to his students that they really needed to view the short videos before they came to class. “I couldn’t help noticing that some of you came to last week’s Thursday/Friday session with little or no preparation and consequently did not benefit very much …
Why aren’t we using open education resources?
The answer is two-fold, I think. But let me back up for those who may not know: an open education resource is a textbook or learning object (website, video, simulation, etc.) that has been created for anyone to use freely. Some are even open to modification and integration into other projects for free. These are …
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The unholy trinities of classroom technology usage | Dangerously Irrelevant
Ouch. Scott McLeod makes a good point, though. The comments suggest two different models for technology use in the classroom. I feel that using these technologies is not bad, if you are using them for the right reasons. Keeping students engaged? Sure. From The unholy trinities of classroom technology usage | Dangerously Irrelevant. The unholy …
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Classroom technology, innovation and the block plan
Classroom technology can be a powerful tool for education — but only when it’s used properly…The trouble is that technology has developed so quickly that most education systems haven’t been able to keep up, Michael Fullan told a crowd at the University of Oklahoma. NewsOK.com reported something the ATS team has known for quite a …
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Measuring the Success of Online Education
Take a look at just about any academic or technology related site and you’ll more than likely find an article on MOOCs. As you should, they’re all the rage. It is an exciting time for academic technology. As the internet continues to evolve, so does our capability and with it, opportunities to blend those new …
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Electronic textbooks
There are many sources for online textbooks, which are generally cheaper than physical textbooks. This can be an option for the budget-conscious student, as the College Board reports that the average students spends more than $1000 a year on books and supplies. Vitalsource, Pearson’s MyEducationLab (Pearson-published books only), and CourseSmart are a few I’ve used. Of course, …