Making Digital Learning Easier

Much has been written on how to improve education in the United States.  One improvement suggested is to offer students a blended learning environment which I wrote about last November - ED: Blended Learning Helps Boost Achievement.   From this post Susan Patrick, president and CEO of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning stated, “the advantage of online or blended learning over face-to-face instruction alone ‘is the combination of rich student-teacher-peer communication and interactions that are both asynchronous and synchronous, better utilizing the precious resource of time during, and outside, the school day to maximize learning--and personalize it in a way never before possible.’”

In the latest issue of eSchool News, January 2011 I read about the "10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning".  The Digital Learning Council (DLC) led by two former governors, Bob Wise of West Virginia and Jed Bush of Florida, want to see two barriers removed form digital learning: the school funding formulas and seat-time requirements.  In December 2010 the DLC released a blueprint of how digital learning can transform education and Wise stated that "students today are living in a digital age, and they are learning digitally everywhere except for school." 

Susan Patrick believes that education can be improved by using blended learning to provide live teaching "and a variety of technological tool, including online learning, to educate students."  Lisa Gillis, project director of DLC states, students can ... learn at their own pace, and the curriculum can adapt on a lesson-by-lesson basis" because students can be assessed as they finish each lesson and not progress until ataining mastery. 

The DLC introduced these "10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning."

1. Student Eligibility: All students are digital learners.
2. Student Access: All students have access to high-quality digital content and online courses.
3. Personalized Learning: All students can customize their education using digital content through an approved provider.
4. Advancement: Students progree based on demonstrated competency, instead of rigid seat-time requirements.
5. Content: Digital content, instructional materials, and online and blended learning courses are high quality.
6. Instruction: Digital instruction and teachers are high quality.
7. Providers: All students have access to multiple, high-quality providers.
8. Assessment and Accountability: Student learning is the metric for evaluating quality of content and instruction.
9. Funding: Funding creates incentives for performance and innovation.
10. Delivery: Infrastructure supports digital learning.

To read the entire article please go to:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/current-issue/

To learn more about the Digital Learning Council please go to:
http://www.digitallearningnow.com/

To read the complete Elements of Digital Learning please go to:
http://www.digitallearningnow.com/?page_id=20

Ten Tips for Personalized Learning via Technology

How is technology being used in the classroom for more effective teaching, differentiated instruction and to meet the needs of every student in the school? This article outlines how one elementary school uses technology. Each classroom in the school has an interactive whiteboard, eight computers and access to digital cameras, flip cameras, remote-response clickers and PDAs.

Here are some tips from the teachers on how they use this technology with their students.

1. Deliver instruction through multiple forms of media
• Teachers access instructional videos, audio clips, animations, instructional games and other available online resources.
2. Gather and use immediate feedback on students’ understanding
• Teachers use remote-response clickers with practice questions to see where to customize subsequent lessons to meet the needs of all students.
3. Give students options
• Using digital media students are allowed to show learning through a variety of media tools.
4. Automate basic-skills practice
• Teachers use Study Island and EducationCity to identify weaknesses in student skills and then assign lessons according to the students’ needs.
5. Practice independent work skills
• Teachers have procedures so students know how to use the technology and what to do if they have a question.
6. Create a weekly “must-do” and “may do” list
• Teachers provide a list of personalized “must-do” tasks that all students need to complete and a list of “may-do” tasks that students may choose from so all students always have something to do.
7. Pretest students’ knowledge before each unit
• Teachers assess prior knowledge and tailor lessons to each child’s needs.
8. Be flexible when plans go awry
• Teachers model good problem-solving behaviors and involve students in devising alternative approaches when technology isn’t available or not working.
9. Let students drive
• Teachers let students lead the lesson at the whiteboards giving them the opportunity to capitalize on their skills.
10. Share the work of creating differentiated lessons
• Teachers work together to plan units of study with activities to meet the needs of all students.

From this list of ideas think of ways to use technology to provide differentiated instruction, feedback and choices for all of your students? Also, how are you using technology to assist in planning with other teachers?

To read the entire Edutopia article:
http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-ten-key-lessons

New video game academy won't be child's play

I read an interesting article from ASCD Smartbrief this week. The Fort Bend Independent School District will open a new Academy of Game Design and Development for students to study video games through 2D and 3D animation, graphics, conceptual art, lighting and sound mixing beginning this fall. Certainly some parents are skeptical but educators believe that these courses will help students prepare for future careers and engage at-risk students who may otherwise drop out of school.

Many college students are exposed to simulations and video games as training tools. Some video game designers may work on a game one year and the next year work on a military simulation for the government. Giving students the opportunity to learn about video game design while still in high school will give them an advantage for future careers in game design. The article states that last year alone $20.2 billion was spent on video games which doesn’t include Web-based games, smart phone applications and simulations created for government and businesses.

Rodney Gibbs, an Austin-based game developer, sees game design as a natural evolution of computer science and the shift in education as a reflection of student interest in visual arts and digital media. There are so many interactive, educational games available for students today I can only wonder what new and exciting video games will be available in the future for all students.

To read the entire article please go to:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6973739.html

Image from:   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15309615/from/ET/