For many teachers, edtech translates to visuals and video. But during the edWebinar, “Voice Devices and Beyond in the Classroom,” the presenters made the case for using voice technology in schools to assist with all types of activities, from practicing math to classroom management, and more important, to improve listening comprehension skills.
Creativity and play are children’s work. They build confidence, encourage risk taking, and ultimately shape the soft skills young people need to negotiate school and careers. But, as children get older, their playfulness and creative spirit wane. They aren’t so keen on trying new things and are often afraid of failing when they do. In a recent edWebinar, “Building STEAM Confidence and Creativity in Middle School,” educational technology experts described how enriching STEAM-based learning experiences can enhance the socio-emotional skills students need to succeed now into the future.
In this edWebinar, we will discuss how competitions help new generations of students with self-expression and the ability to analyze and solve problems.
There is a massive demand for qualified cybersecurity talent with the current number of open positions ranging from 300,000 in the United States to 4 million globally. In a recent edWebinar, Casey O’Brien, Executive Director, National CyberWatch Center, and Jim Kowatch, CEO, Infosec Learning, underscored that to fill the demand for cybersecurity experts, secondary and higher education should focus their attention on developing cybersecurity courses that are rooted in IT operations and applications.
With all of the digital tools available to teachers these days, developing learning experiences should be a cinch, right? While virtual resources abound, the systems are not coordinated enough to fully address teachers’ curriculum-design needs and to support them as they help students build a coherent body of knowledge. But there are solutions, some already in place that are making it easier to design quality curricula that truly benefit learners.
Augmented Reality, or AR, is described by Jaime Donally in a recent edWebinar as a “digital layer in our real world that gives an illusion that it exists in our space.” She highlights that it is an exciting time, as emerging technologies associated with AR are feeling much more realistic. AR software such as Google Maps allows the viewer to have guidance as they are walking in a new area, and AR embedded browsers can display 3D animated objects in real-life environments. The key to giving students opportunities to engage in augmented reality begins with supporting teachers as they enhance learning experiences for students. Using AR software and tools such as 3DBear and MERGE, teachers have access to an abundance of activities and lesson plans that offer more in-depth content, provide opportunities for collaboration and exploration, and expand students learning experiences outside of classroom walls.
In this edWebinar, Jaime Donally, author, speaker, and consultant, will review the basics of AR, while exploring four lesson plans to use in any classroom.
“Don’t call it professional development—call it professional learning.” Jill Abbott Sr. Vice President and Managing Director at SIIA, made this statement in a recent edWebinar, with Jeff Mao, CEO, Edmoxie LLC, Bruce Umpstead, Director of State Programs at IMS Global Learning Consortium, and Ilya Zeldin, Founder and CEO of 2gnoMe. The panelists recommended that educational leaders take a deep breath and recognize that there is a crisis happening in our districts. There are a vast plethora of people who could be the best teachers ever, yet they don’t want to be in the profession. It is not easy for teachers to thrive and to grow when teacher professional development is irrelevant, generic, and unsustainable. A familiar comment by teachers regarding district or school-wide professional development is, “Well, we’re just going to ride this one out because it is going to change in two years or when we get a new administrator.” The panelists suggest that if “we can get the professional development piece done collaboratively with teachers, not at teachers, maybe we can retain and recruit highly qualified engaging and innovative educators.
This edWebinar showcases ways in which schools around the world are using collaborative digital learning environments for professional learning communities.
This edWebinar will explore pushing the boundaries of “social” media to reach and connect with educators. Join us for a collaborative discussion on “social” media.