Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in exploring the intersection of education and technology in a fun, kid-friendly way, mark your calendar: On November 8, Parents of Accelerated Learners (PALNYC) is hosting NY ED Tech Family Day, an event for families to explore the intersection of technology and education through exhibits, demos, carnival-style games, interactive workshops, and even a scavenger hunt. For more information about the event, visit palworkshopsnyc.org. We asked Angelique LeDoux, the co-founder of PALNYC, to hold off on the fun for a minute and apprise us of five ways that technology is truly impacting learning. –Eric Messinger
There is no denying the rapid transformation resulting from technological innovation unfolding in education right now. While digital natives take the lead, comfortable with their new tools, teachers and education administrators are figuring out how to best apply these tools in and out of the classroom. Here are five trends to note, as well as tools and programs to make them happen.
1. Blended, Hybrid & Flipped Learning
It sounds like a James Bond cocktail preference, but the blended, or flipped, classroom model of teaching has shaken and stirred the classroom by using recorded lectures and other online tools to deliver the content—viewed outside of the classroom—while devoting classroom time for discussing, rather than presenting, the day’s lessons.
Tools & Programs: Evernote, EdModo, Blackboard, Moodle, Schoology
2. Personalized, Self-Paced & Adaptive Learning
By now, we all know the Khan Academy model of personalized learning—basically, you’re weak in algebra and your Uncle Sal sends you a targeted video lesson to improve your skills. But adaptive learning takes this to another level, by shifting and adjusting content according to sophisticated data analysis of a student’s strengths and weaknesses. A personalized, adaptive learning platform, for example, would adjust, rather than repeat, the course instruction if a student makes a mistake on a math question, but was able to demonstrate a key understanding of the core content.
Free class anyone? For young—and even lifetime—learners who want to learn at their own pace, MOOCs—which stands for massive open online courses—are free and have unlimited enrollment, providing access to courses taught by top scholars and industry experts at the world’s leading universities, like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT.
Tools & Programs: coursera.org, udacity, EdX.org, DreamBox Learning, Books That Grow, Think Through Math, Knewton
3. Gamified Learning & New Learning Tools
Gamification is the 21st century version of the Spelling Bee—a competitive, motivating, challenging, and game-based approach to learning content, without the boredom of drill and kill and memorization. Digital, shareable flashcards, 3D printing, and augmented reality are great learning tools, allowing students to improve retention, visualize and realize their inventions, and create hands-on prototypes of complex concepts.
Tools & Programs: Kahoot!, Brainscape, ClassDojo, Raspberry Pi. Honorable Mention: Quest to Learn (Middle School and High School)
4. Online Collaboration & Mentoring
Learning to work collaboratively is an essential skill that extends into the workforce, and students themselves are collaborating a lot more lately with the help of Cloud computing, GoogleDocs and class blogs, and class discussions on Twitter and other social media—not to mention Skype and Facetime. These new opportunities to work together can lead to deeper learning experiences that transcend the classroom, allowing students to look into medical labs, third world countries, social issues and more. One-on-one mentorships with scientists, entrepreneurs, and other experts are now not only possible, but a growing opportunity for keeping students engaged and exploring fields they might not otherwise consider.
Tools & Programs: GoogleDocs, ThinkBinder, Edmodo, Storybird, mind42, Skype in Education, Prezi, ePals, MentorNet, STEM Mentoring, Fellowship, iMentor
5. Assessment-Aided Learning, Learning Analytics & Communication
Why is it that we still let many kids—and their parents—only know that a child will have to repeat a grade just before the end of the school year? Imagine learning monthly or quarterly that your child isn’t grasping the math concept, or better yet, the opposite—that your child has aced the pre-assessment for a much higher level math than her peers and is ready to progress more quickly! It would be extremely helpful to make changes in what they’re learning more quickly. Assessments, learning analytics, and better communication across all stakeholders—students, educators, principals, the administration, and parents—are potentially one of the biggest game-changers of Ed Tech. Juggling the implications of assessments and analytics and keeping student data safe will continue to be a balancing act.
Tools & Programs: EnGrade, FreshGrade, ClassMessenger
Angelique LeDoux can be contacted at angeliqueledoux@me.com.
