In a recent edWebinar, Julie Alspach, Program Administrator, Virtual Learning Academy Consortium (VLAC), and David E. Kanter, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer, Calvert Education, shined a light on a shift in education. Kanter said that “the goals of education have shifted to create the independent thinkers and creative problem solvers that our world needs, both now and for the future.”
Communication and collaboration are not the same thing. There are many tools that allow educators and administrators to talk to each other, but to take advantage of edtech’s promise, they should also be able to use the tool to work together on the same projects. In her presentation, “Collaboration Near and Far in Digital Professional Learning Communities,” Geri Gillespy, Administrator of Digital Integration at West Ada School District in ID, talked about how to get the most out of online collaboration programs.
While the Wild West era of edtech may be over, there’s still some mystery over how schools decide what digital materials to buy. Similarly, researchers and developers have their own approaches to the sales process. In the edWebinar, “Building Authentic Need and Research into Edtech Development,” representatives from a large school district, a small district, a developer, and the research community answered burning questions about edtech procurement.
Join this edWebinar to contribute to the conversation as panelists representing district leaders, school leaders, and product developers discuss their challenges with edtech and the market.
The drawbacks of social media are well-documented—like anonymous trolls posting negative comments just to spark controversy. However, said Jamie Knowles, Senior Manager of Educator Professional Learning Programs at Common Sense Media, social media also has the ability to help users share their stories and shed a positive light on their activities. In his presentation, “Educators and Social Media: Avoiding the Pitfalls,” Knowles discussed some challenges of using social media but also the positive ways schools are using it to educate and communicate with their families.
For teachers that have always wanted to use augmented reality (AR)—tech that overlays content on top of the real world—but haven’t had the chance to explore it, Jaime Donally has heard you. In her presentation “Creating Classroom Content in Augmented Reality,” she gave attendees some inside help on which apps to use in the classroom. With programs ranging from beginner level to current AR practitioners, she offered 10 apps that can help educators get started with no coding skills needed.
In this edWebinar, Michelle Luhtala and guest Jaime Donally, discuss how to integrate augmented, virtual and mixed reality into any classroom.
Augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality—can immersive technology really benefit students and their learning, or are these just tech fads? In their recent edWebinar, Jaime Donally, Author, Speaker, and Edtech Consultant, and Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair at New Canaan High School in Connecticut, explained that although these technologies aren’t the answer to everything, they are transforming learning and will continue to do so going forward. In addition, while the thought of using these tools can be exciting, schools need to first plan for successful integration into the classroom and curriculum.
Two common computer science misconceptions are that it’s just about programming and that only teachers with computer science degrees should teach it. Carrie Willis, Technology Director for Valley Preparatory School and Strategic Outreach Manager for Wonder Workshop, and Caitlin Arakawa, Kindergarten Teacher at Valley Preparatory School, dispel these misconceptions, during a recent edWebinar. They highlighted that soft skills critical to student success in future fields of study such as logic, problem-solving and creativity are integral components of computer science curriculums.
In this edWebinar, gain an understanding of the AR technology and knowledge about how to effectively use the tool in the classroom curriculum.