Engaging learners through games: Help or hype?

By Ben L. Grimley, eSchool News, April 4, 2013 — “Engagement” has become a popular buzzword, as educators increasingly cite disengaged students as a problem that needs to be fixed. In this context, games are often trumpeted as the perfect tool for creating student engagement. But what do we really know about how engagement works? What opportunities and risks do games present as tools for increasing engagement? And how can educators judge whether a game product truly helps drive student engagement or is merely hype?

Read the entire article, plus the thought-provoking reader response, by clicking here. 

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7 Facts about Ed Tech Leaders

By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor, eSchool News, March 13, 2013 – School district technology leaders aren’t too optimistic that their ed-tech budgets will increase over the next year, and funding remains among the top challenges that face ed-tech leaders, according to the Consortium for School Networking’s first annual K-12 IT Leadership Survey, released at CoSN’s annual conference in San Diego.

The survey revealed these seven key findings:

• Eighty percent of school district IT leaders predict flat or declining ed-tech budgets.
• When asked to name their top three priorities for the 2012-13 school year, K-12 technology leaders identified Bring Your Own Device programs, assessment readiness, and broadband access.
• Budget and resource limitations, changing the culture of teaching, and breaking down district-wide barriers are ed-tech leaders’ biggest challenges
• The most common titles, when it comes to school district IT leadership, are chief technology officer (CTO) and chief information office (CIO).
• Many CTOs have held their positions for more than six years, indicating that the job position is relatively stable.
• Eighty percent of IT leaders are in charge of both instructional and administrative technology for central and school-based staff.
• School district CTO salaries tend to lag behind salaries of comparable positions in the business field.

Read the entire story by clicking here.

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How teachers are using technology at home and school

By eSchool News Staff, March 1, 2012 –  A survey by the Pew Research Center, who polled more than 2,400  of U.S. middle and high school teachers, finds that ed tech has become central to their profession. At the same time, the internet, mobile phones, and social media have brought new challenges to teachers—and they report striking differences in access between lower and higher-income students and schools.

Brief, the survey found:

• 92 percent of these teachers said the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to access content, resources, and materials.

• 69 percent said the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to share ideas with other teachers.

• 67 percent said the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to interact with parents, and 57 percent said it has had such an impact on their interaction with students.

The survey found that ed-tech tools are widely used in classrooms and assignments, and a majority of teachers are satisfied with the ed-tech support and resources they receive from their schools. However, it also found that teachers of the lowest-income students face more challenges in using ed-tech tools in their classrooms.

Read the full article by clicking here.

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New teacher survey shows digital resources support classroom learning

PBS LearningMedia’s new survey of teachers found that teachers are embracing digital resources to propel learning in the classroom.  Check out this inforgraphic with some really interesting findings.

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Spring Professional Development from PBS TeacherLine

PBS TeacherLine online professional offers busy teachers a robust collection of professional development courses.  And it’s a sure sign of spring when  PBS TeacherLine graduate courses start on March 27!  Visit our course catalog for a full list of courses or to learn more about the following:

SOST507 – America’s History in the Making: A Special Collection from Annenberg Learner
45 Hours | Enroll Now  Enrich your knowledge of American history and learn how to bring history to life in your classroom through the integrated use of video, text, classroom activities, and Web-based interactives.

TECH325 – Searching and Researching on the Internet
30 Hours | Enroll Now
Learn how to help your students develop their researching skills through responsible Web use, and explore ways to integrate primary resources into the classroom learning environment.

Here are two new PBS TeacherLine courses available for graduate credit and open for spring enrollment:

MATH527: Mathematics Illuminated: A Special Collection from Annenberg Learner
Grade Level: Kindergarten-12th | Hours: 45 | For course description and details, including full Syllabus, check out the course details page.

TECH575: Leveraging Smart and Social Digital Media in the Classroom
Grade Level: 1st-12th | Hours: 30 | For course description and details, including full Syllabus, check out the course details page.

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Technology Usage up With K-12 Students

From staff reports, e-School News, February 25, 2013 — More than half of students in grades 6-8 now have access to a tablet computer—a percentage that has doubled since last year. And Twitter use has grown three-fold among high school students in the last year, with a third of high schoolers now using the popular micro-blogging service.

These are a few of the results that the nonprofit Project Tomorrow has released from its annual Speak Up survey of students’ and parents’ technology use, as well as their attitudes and opinions about ed tech.  The findings come from Project Tomorrow’s survey of more than 364,000 students last fall.

Here are those 10 facts…

1. Students say they use the internet to help with homework at home.

2. Students want to learn any time, any place—and at their own pace.

3. A majority of students support the “flipped classroom” model.

4. A growing number of students are asking for digital texts—but print is still the preferred method of reading.

5. More students are learning via YouTube.

6. Students would like to be able to text their teachers for help.

7. Students are experiencing gaming at a younger age.

8. Use of Twitter is exploding among young people.

9. Facebook is now a regular destination for group projects.

10. Students’ use of mobile devices continues to rise.

Read the entire story by clicking here.

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Happy Digital Learning Day!

    Happy Digital Learning Day everyone!!!  WGBY is proud to support Digital Learning Day, a campaign shines a spotlight on innovative teaching practices in order to build momentum around the effective use of technology inside and outside of PreK-12 classrooms.

With over 20,000 classroom-ready, curriculum-targeted digital resources for PreK-12 educators, PBS LearningMedia is committed to supporting digital learning 365 days a year.  Explore our new collections from Masterpiece, Martha Speaks, and NOVA’s Making Stuff with David Pogue.

Tell us your story: how is digital learning making a difference in your classroom?

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Sharing Published Material With Students

By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor, eSchool News, January 11th —   Educators are often reluctant to share published works with students because they fear violation of the copyright laws. But according to the American Library Association (ALA), educators should not worry about using such material to boost student knowledge if it falls under the scope of fair use.

U.S. copyright law includes five exclusive rights: reproduction, distribution, derivative works, public performance, and public display. Creators of copyrighted works have a limited monopoly on those works, meaning they are the only ones able to profit from or sell their works, for a particular period of time under certain conditions. Currently, the “time limit” on copyright is defined as a lifetime plus 70 years.

The article goes on to explain about plagiarism, and defines the term “fair use.” Read the entire article by clicking here

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Helping Today’s Wired Students Learn to Focus

From Larry Rosen, eSchool News — While educators agree that digital technology can help students learn, there is an overwhelming feeling among many that today’s digital technologies are creating an easily distracted generation with short attention spans and that today’s students are too “plugged in” and need more time away from their digital devices.

Mr. Rosen goes on to describe the various studies that have been conducted and offers suggestions on avoiding the hazards that digital technology can have on the quality of education today.

Read the entire article by clicking here

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Common Sense Media’s Digital Passport

From eSchool News, 12/21/12, Common Sense Media has released Digital Passport, a free, web-based tool to help educators prepare students from grades 3 to 5 to use online and mobile technologies. Based on lessons from Common Sense Media’s K-12 Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum, the tool addresses issues kids face online — safety and security, cyber bullying, privacy, responsible cell phone use, and respecting creative work — and leverages a blended-learning model of classroom instruction with online videos and games extensively tested in implementation sites in seven regions across the country. Additionally, Digital Passport’s modules align to the ISTE NETS standards and Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. Public schools in Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Omaha, as well as schools in Maine and California, have committed to using Digital Passport this academic year.
Read more about this new resource in eSchool News’ report.

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