# data[].attributes.headline
Technology Integration in the Classroom: Is there only one way to make it effective?

# data[].attributes.subject
Technology Integration in the Classroom: Is there only one way to make it effective?

# data[].attributes.headline
The Importance of Integrating Technology Effectively in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
The Importance of Integrating Technology Effectively in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The importance of integrating technology effectively in the classroom

# data[].attributes.headline
Blended Technology & Classroom Learning:

# data[].attributes.subject
Blended Technology & Classroom Learning:

# data[].attributes.body
Ted Talk: Jessie Wooley Wilson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Blending technology and classroom learning: Jessie Woolley-Wilson at TEDxRainier

# data[].attributes.headline
Technology Integration for the New 21st Century Learner

# data[].attributes.subject
Technology Integration for the New 21st Century Learner

# data[].attributes.headline
Benefits of Integrating Technology in Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Benefits of Integrating Technology in Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Implementing technology in the classroom provides richer learning opportunities for students.

Technology puts students at the center of learning, and the benefits are clear.

According to statistics gathered for a recent NUITEQ infographic, the use of technology can not only boost collaboration opportunities and student retention but also make information more accessible - 95 percent of students with connectivity use the internet for research.

Technology also broadens learning opportunities, the infographic states. For instance, in the Oostburg School District, in Wisconsin, Cisco TelePresence technology makes it possible for students to stay connected with classmates during long medical absences.

Although many educators recognize the power of classroom technologies, some schools lack the infrastructure that is necessary to support technology-enhanced learning. According to the infographic, 80 percent of schools have insufficient internet access.

Learn more about how one school expanded its Wi-Fi connectivit y to make the most of classroom technologies, or scroll down to see all six benefits described in the NUITEQ infographic.

Buenaventuramariano/ThinkStock

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Ways Students Benefit from Technology Integration [#Infographic]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Implementing technology in the classroom provides richer learning opportunities for students. Technology puts students at the center of learning, and the benefits are clear. According to statistics gathered for a recent NUITEQ infographic, the use of technology can not only boost collaboration opportunities and student retention but also make information more accessible - 95 percent of students with connectivity use the internet for research.

# data[].attributes.body
Jane McGonigal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how.

# data[].attributes.headline
Open Educational Resources (OER): Resource Roundup

# data[].attributes.subject
Open Educational Resources (OER): Resource Roundup

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Open Educational Resources (OER): Resource Roundup

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An educators’ guide to open educational resources with information about online repositories, curriculum-sharing websites, and sources for lesson plans and activities.

# data[].attributes.headline
Blended Learning and the Future of Education

# data[].attributes.subject
Blended Learning and the Future of Education

# data[].attributes.body
Monique Markoff

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Click here-- blended learning and the future of education: Monique Markoff at TEDxIthacaCollege

# data[].attributes.headline
Flexible Classrooms: Providing the Learning Environment that Kids Need

# data[].attributes.subject
Flexible Classrooms: Providing the Learning Environment that Kids Need

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Flexible Seating Elevates Student Engagement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Breaking up rows of desks fosters collaboration and empowers kids to think about how they work best.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As maker education gains steam, many educators are looking for ways to incorporate making and tinkering into their schools and classrooms - often on a shoestring budget.

"Kids are saying they want to learn more about technology and science, but they also want to experience it creatively and use it personally," said Dale Dougherty, founder of Make Media, which produces Maker Faire and Make Magazine. "One of the ways we can do that is create more makerspaces for kids.

But what makes a makerspace? Dougherty and other maker movement advocates have identified several common elements of successful makerspaces:

They promote learning through play and experimentation.

They're cross-disciplinary, with elements of art, science and craftsmanship.

They offer tools and materials that encourage students to create rather than consume.

Makerspaces can be elaborate learning spaces equipped with sophisticated tools and supplies, but they don't have to be. To find out how easy it is to create a makerspace with limited space and resources, take a look at the infographic below then read on for more information.

Click the image to download the infographic.

Step 1: Secure some space.
It doesn't need to be fancy. It doesn't even need to be large. At The Ellis School in Pittsburgh, girls tinker at "Innovation Stations" that are tucked into hallways and the corners of classrooms, said technology director Lisa Abel-Palmieri.

Sometimes finding space is simply a matter of reprioritizing. For example, Shannon McClintock Miller, a former teacher librarian at Van Meter Community School in Iowa, had an office in the corner of her library. She decided to convert it into a makerspace for students.

"It's not about our stuff," she said. "School is about the kids, and the kids are really grateful we made this for them."

That jibes with what Dougherty advises educators to do.

"I'm a big fan of making do. Just get something going and declare it," Dougherty said. "Usually there's some space already available. Maybe it used to be a shop class that was shut down. Let's reinvent it. It could be an art studio, a biology lab or a computer lab. It can be all of those things mashed together because we want to allow interdisciplinary exploration."

Step 2: Put stuff in it.

3D printers, Arduinos and agile furniture are great if you can afford them, but they don't necessarily define a makerspace. Instead, start with what you have and let it grow organically.

"You could throw in discarded materials from around your school and say, 'Kids, let's make something,' and they can have as good an experience as if you had $100,000 to build the space," Dougherty said. "Just get it started, and then reach out to engage your community. You'd be surprised. People have tools and materials they don't use and would love to donate.

"You can create a space for kids that becomes richer and richer over time."|

Step 3: Invite kids to play.

Sure, you can develop a curriculum for your makerspace. Sometimes it's helpful to give students a starting point, especially if they're new to the concept of tinkering in school. But it's just as valuable, if not more so, to let them explore on their own, Dougherty said.

"I value space over curriculum here," he said. "I value opportunity over rigidity."

Once you've got a functioning makerspace, you can start looking at how to take it to the next level - for example, getting community support and helping students extend their projects into the digital realm where they can share and sustain them. But the important part is to just get started.
Join ISTE's STEM Network to discuss maker projects with educators who are transforming education. Not a member? Join ISTE today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Infographic: Create a school makerspace in 3 easy steps

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As maker education gains steam, many educators are looking for ways to incorporate making and tinkering into their schools and classrooms - often on a shoestring budget. "Kids are saying they want to learn more about technology and science, but they also want to experience it creatively and use it personally," said Dale Dougherty, founder of Make Media, which produces Maker Faire and Make Magazine .

# data[].attributes.headline
Transforming  Lessons through the SAMR Cycle

# data[].attributes.subject
Transforming  Lessons through the SAMR Cycle

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Examples of Applying the SAMR Model can Help Teachers Understand and Embrace it

The SAMR Model for integrating technology into teaching, developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, has gained a good deal of exposure in recent years. "SAMR" is an acronym that stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. The SAMR model provides a technique for moving through degrees of technology adoption to find more meaningful uses of technology in teaching and move away from simply using edtech for tech's sake.

We recently discussed the SAMR model during an Academic Technology Work Group meeting at The College of Westchester. We examined the video, SAMR in 120 Seconds. One thing that really struck me is how much the example helped, so I made it a point to gather and/or create some more examples.

Following are 8 examples of the SAMR process, each taking an example of a typical classroom exercise that does not use technology and walking it through each phase of SAMR. For half of these, I searched and borrowed from examples that teachers had written about online (original sources are provided - in some cases I tweaked the example a bit). I also created examples of my own. In working through this, it became apparent to me that while Substitution and Augmentation can be relatively straightforward conceptually, there is even more room for interpretation when it comes to Modification and Redefinition.

The goal of this exercise was to help me (and readers) better understand the SAMR model, and to really see how lessons and assessments can be transformed while considering the benefits of evolving them through these stages. I find it particularly interesting to see the vast difference between the original lesson and the redefined lesson - there is often a much wider range of skills required in the latter stages, and lessons can become much more engaging and collaborative when modified or redefined.

Lesson: Writing a Short Paper
Taken from: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/08/samr-model-explained-through-examples.html. A modification of an idea found at https://edofict.wikispaces.com/SAMR+Examples. Taken from: https://edofict.wikispaces.com/SAMR+Examples and modified. Idea taken from: https://sites.google.com/a/msad60.org/technology-is-learning/samr-model and slightly modified. In this example, we take a simple form of assessment and evolve it into a collaborative group project.
Original Assignment: A hand written paper.

Lesson: Geography & Travel

Original Assignment: An overview of a location consisting of hand written content supplemented with compiled cut-and-pasted magazine clippings.

Lesson: Understanding Shakespeare

Original Assignment: Read a Shakespeare play in traditional printed format.

An Assessment Exercise
Original Assignment: Show understanding of fractions on a worksheet by coloring in blocks.
Original Assignment: Take a quiz, answers handwritten in a printed form.

Following are some example lessons, evolved through the SAMR model, that I have tried my hand at creating.It's easy to get caught up in worrying about how effectively an approach constitutes "modification" or "redefinition", but that's not the point of the exercise. To my way of thinking, it's more about understanding the difference between a just replacing or augmenting a "paper" lesson with a "digital" one and actually evolving it in a beneficial way and exploring new possibilities.

Lesson: Art/Painting
Creative Commons license image source.
Original Assignment: Drawing a picture using traditional brush, paint, paper. Of course, there is a a big difference between doing this by hand in the traditional manner and doing it digitally. Digitally is by no means better, it is just different and opens up some interesting possibilities.

Substitution: Use a digital drawing/painting program (like MS Paint) to draw/paint a picture.

Augmentation: Use a tool that allows the creation of your masterpiece to be layed back (like Educreations, for example).

Modification: Pull a background image to use as a canvas. You could even scan something hand drawn and use that.

Redefinition: Create Artwork Collaboratively using a Collaborative Online Whiteboard (like Twiddla or one of these other tools).

Lesson: Email Etiquette

Original lesson: Review printed copies of Email Etiquette concepts and guidelines.

Lesson: Learning Fractions

Substitution: Use an Excel Worksheet to let students color in the blocks.

Augmentation: Use Google Sheets to let students color in the blocks, where the teacher can offer feedback directly on Google Sheets.

Modification: Use Google Sheets and direct students to online examples and supplementary learning materials for areas that they might struggle with.

Redefinition: Use a Fractions App instead (here are a handful of examples for iOS devices).

Lesson: Phys Ed - Learning To Hit a Baseball Well

Original Assignment: Learning how to hit a baseball by watching and listening to a Coach or Phys Ed instructor show you and then trying it yourself.

Hopefully these example of lessons modified through the SAMR cycle help to encourage you to think about how you leverage technology to make some of your lessons more interactive, collaborative, and engaging with some of the many great technology tools available today! Here is a set of tools that may be helpful when working to evolve your lessons: 10 of the Most Engaging Uses of Instructional Technology (with Dozens of Resources and Tools).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
8 Examples of Transforming Lessons Through the SAMR Cycle - Emerging Education Technologies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Examples of Applying the SAMR Model can Help Teachers Understand and Embrace it The SAMR Model for integrating technology into teaching, developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, has gained a good deal of exposure in recent years. "SAMR" is an acronym that stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) provides a framework for describing and targeting the use of technology to enhance learning. The TIM is supported by a complementary suite of online tools and a large collection of professional development resources.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) and TIM Tools Introduction, 2013 ISTE Presentation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What does effective technology integration look like? What does it mean? How can it be described in a way that provides guidance to teachers at every experience level? The Technology Integration Matrix provides a framework for defining and evaluating technology integration, sets a clear vision for effective teaching with technology, and gives teachers and administrators a common language for setting goals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

We have understood for a long time that expert teachers are those who can bring together their deep knowledge of subject matter with profound understanding of what is good for learning. The combination has been described as Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and is more than the simple addition of two parts. The fusion is what enabled expert 20th century teachers to transform subject content and represent it in ways that made it accessible to individual learners in their specific contexts.

In the 21st century, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is providing us with new ways to access and process knowledge in every field. ICT is also transforming pedagogy by providing new ways to engage learners.

Expert teachers now are those who can bring together knowledge of subject matter, what is good for learning, and technology (ICT). The combination is described as Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). It is more than simply adding ICT to traditional approaches. It depends upon deep knowledge of how ICT can be used to access and process subject matter (TCK) and understanding how ICT can support and enhance learning (TPK) in combination with PCK.

The expertise embodied in the TPACK of a teacher is different from the knowledge of a discipline expert (say a scientist or a historian), a technologist (a computer scientist), or an expert on learning (a psychologist). Teaching mathematics to Year 5 learners requires different pedagogical uses of ICT than teaching history in secondary school or literacy in the early years. In each case, the expert teacher needs to make creative links between what is being learned (content), how it is taught (pedagogy), and the appropriate tools (technology).

Watch a keynote presentation by Mishra and Koehler at the TTF conference Sydney Australia, March 2011.This presentation addresses two key themes: 'What does TPACK mean for education in Australia?' and 'Unifiying the Vision.' Here is an explanation of the development of the TPACK concept; an explanation by the authors of the TPACK theory; A discussion on the way TPACK is gaining momentum; Examples of TPACK in action across the world; Developing and measuring TPACK and Planning for the future.

TPACK - Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

This professional website was developed by Dr Matthew J. Koehler, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at the College of Education, Michigan State University. The website provides content from one of the two theorists who developed the TPACK model.

Punya Mishra's web

Punya Mishra, Professor of Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at the College of Education, Michigan State University, publishes an ongoing digital archive. Mishra is one of the two theorists who developed the TPACK model.

Ideas videos

'Ideas videos' (or iVideos) are 'short, two-minute, digital videos designed to evoke powerful experiences about educative ideas' (Wong et al., 2007, p.1). The videos were created by prospective K-6 teachers as part of their course with Lecturer Matt Kearney, at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia during semester one, 2011. (Wong, D, Mishra, P, Koehler, MJ and Siebenthal, S 2007, 'Teaching as filmmaking: On appreciating the aesthetics of educational experience', in Girod M and Steed J (eds), Technology in the college classroom: Education. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.)

Learning activity types wiki

School of Education, College of William & Mary Williamsburg, Virginia USA
This is a virtual place for people interested in learning to 'operationalise TPACK' via curriculum-based learning activity types ('ATs').

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is TPACK? | Teaching Teachers for the Future

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We have understood for a long time that expert teachers are those who can bring together their deep knowledge of subject matter with profound understanding of what is good for learning. The combination has been described as Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and is more than the simple addition of two parts.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Technology Enhances Teaching and Learning 

# data[].attributes.subject
How Technology Enhances Teaching and Learning 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This article was originally published in the Fall 2000 issue of the CFT's newsletter, Teaching Forum.
By Ellen M. Granberg
Students at the Owen School's Strategy in the New Economy seminar enter a classroom that looks like any other, except that a projection system and video screen have been installed. Their professor announces that today they will be joined by a guest lecturer, a senior VP from a Fortune 500 corporation. What makes this guest lecture unique is that the students are sitting in a Nashville classroom but the guest lecturer is speaking from his home office in Estonia, via video technology.

This is an example of one of the creative ways faculty members at Vanderbilt are using technology to enhance their students' learning. In the scene described above, Owen Professor David Owens, along with Professor Bart Victor, use video conferencing to bring an international guest speaker to their organization studies seminar. Across the University, faculty are using technology to help students master subjects from elementary and secondary school instruction to bioengineering to structural equation modeling. They are developing their own skills while making students comfortable with the technology that will help them be successful after leaving Vanderbilt. As they introduce more and more technology into the classroom, faculty are finding it raises the quality of class discussion and involves students much more deeply in their own education.

For this issue of the Teaching Forum, we spoke to four Vanderbilt faculty members, each of whom is using technology to enhance their students' learning.

Owen Management Professor David Owens uses videoconference links to bring in guest speakers and incorporates video and audio technology into most of his lectures.

Psychology Professor Andy Tomarken teaches methods and statistics courses in a computer lab, allowing him to integrate traditional lecture with demonstration projects using the methods he is teaching.

Peabody Professor Margaret Smithey guides her students in the preparation of multi-media classroom presentations including clips from the Internet, video, audio, and news archive footage. She has opened an e-conference for interns from her courses who want to stay in touch with their fellow students and professors, and she maintains a library of digitized video clips, taken from live and simulated classroom settings.

Department of Biomedical Engineering Chair Tom Harris directs a new NSF-funded center focused on developing technology-based bioengineering teaching materials and curriculum. He is collaborating with several partners, including Peabody Professor John Bransford.

What Technology Brings to the Classroom What these faculty members have in common, and what they share with many others across the campus, is a commitment to exploring the opportunities technology offers for improving the quality of classroom instruction.

Professor Margaret Smithey describes how technology allows her to capitalize on unexpected turns in class discussion. "Yesterday afternoon my students had specific questions about classroom management, so at that point I said 'let's look at these scenarios that I have on a CD.' The CD brought to life their questions. I think seeing actual classroom scenarios related to their questions makes learning come alive for my students better than if I gave my opinion or told a story."

Professor Tomarken, who teaches advanced statistics and methods classes, says incorporating computers into class discussion can also make extremely difficult courses much easier for students to grasp.

One of the challenges of teaching advanced statistics to students who often lack a strong math background is "translating theoretical stuff into a workable set of concrete analysis, "Tomarken says. "I find that it's really important to talk about different types of models from the point of view of specific problems and that's really where the ability in class to have stuff be on the projection system is critical."

Access to a computer-equipped classroom can also be important. "I like to get students interacting with software in the class, "Tomarken says. "I find if you just send them home to do it on their own, they run into real problems. When they follow me, typing in on their own computers, that facilitates their learning."

Last semester, Tomarken also faced another problem - the lack of a good textbook for teaching structural equation modeling to social science students - that he solved using technology. "There is no book that is perfect, that really is appropriate, for this class. There are either books that tend to be too easy or too hard or just not broad enough in scope." Tomarken solved this problem using the Prometheus system, by placing his lecture notes on the web. This not only replaced the textbook, it allowed students to spend more time focused on the lecture and less time copying formulas from the board. "I told them, you don't have to write anything, it's all on the web, just listen."

Technology Changes Teaching, Not Teachers While all the faculty members interviewed for this article believe technology has great power to influence their teaching, no one feels it fundamentally changes them as teachers. "I've always wanted a very interactive classroom," Smithey says. "I want it to be very theoretically based and I know exactly what I want my students to learn. I think technology has improved the quality of what we can access." Smithey also emphasizes the importance of technology being used for a clear purpose. "I never want to use technology just for technology's sake but to support my students' learning."

Professor Tomarken feels that integrating statistical software and visual models into his courses means he comes into class "better prepared" but doesn't think it changes him as a teacher. "I usually am pretty interactive with the class." He does, however, credit the accessibility of computers with reducing the "passivity factor" in his classes. "They have to type things in, they have to click on the mouse. I think it's pretty lively in a lot of ways."

How Technology Enhances Learning Professor Owens, Smithey, and Tomarken all feel they can see technology enhancing their students' learning, particularly when students use the technology directly. David Owens requires his students to do at least one group project entirely over the Internet. "They're not allowed to do it face to face," Owens says. "They aren't allowed to say, "I'll call you tonight.' They have to do everything virtually. In this project, they have a lot to figure out about group process, what things are done best face to face, what things are done best asynchronously, what things are done best in an anonymous chat room. And they figure it out. It's...so much more powerful than my sitting up there saying "the group process models show..."

Professor Smithey requires her students to complete a series of computer assignments from a course CD that she has developed. Smithey values these pre-class assignments because they save classroom time and improve the quality of class discussion. "When the students complete their CD assignments, they come to class with a common context. We are able then to discuss particular class dilemmas or teaching dilemmas that everyone has watched, analyzed and reflected upon. So, we can start there and go with our class discussion rather than having to take 20 or 30 minutes of class showing the video and asking the specific questions. They've done all that in the computer lab."

Technology can also improve the dynamics between teachers and students, often leading to enhanced learning. "Students can see you're doing a lot of work to further their education and I think that there's an appreciation factor that ultimately contributes to their own motivation," Tomarken says.

Students who may question how much their professors care about teaching can also see evidence of the time and trouble taken to prepare for class. "I think sometimes graduate students, or possibly even undergraduate students, go in with the mindset that this teachers doesn't really give a darn about teaching and I think using technology is a real way of communicating 'yes I do,'" Tomarken adds.

Technology Brings Challenges Introducing technology into the classroom can also bring a set of challenges. First among them is finding the time needed to incorporate new technology into courses. Professor Smithey not only uses the technology herself but also requires her student to produces multi-media projects during the semester. "If you're going to ask the students to do such a challenging project, you have to be available to them. You have to have support. There has to be some relief time to learn about the technology. You don't have to know the details of technology but you have to understand it well enough that you can envision what your students need to know about using it."

The technology itself can fail, leaving an instructor to resort to back up. Technology also changes rapidly and it takes time to keep up with technical changes that influence how equipment and software perform in the classroom. Professor Owens points to a digitized news show he purchased from CBS: "I have the CD in here and one of my fears is that someday I'll pop it in the classroom and it won't work. It's a constant upkeep."

Professors Tomarken and Owens also note that having computers in the classroom can distract students from the class itself. Teaching in a classroom equipped with computers "actually introduces the potential for students to be doing something on the computer that doesn't have anything to do with the class," Tomarken says.

"I occasionally go parading around and check out what people are up to," Owens says. Some people take notes on the computer, some people try to get the lecture slides up on their screen so they can see them up close, some people do e-mail, surf the net, do whatever." He agrees with Tomarken that students' personal use of computers in class is an issue that needs to be examined, "through whether that's worse than day dreaming I don't know."

Need for University Support Support by the University for the use of technology is also critical. Bringing technology into the classroom uses resources ranging from computers to classrooms to graduate assistants, and university wide coordination is essential for ensuring an effective learning environment for students.

"One element that is essential is support in the form of graduate students to help students with technology," Smithey says. "It is impossible for one faculty member to support an entire class of students in creating innovative ways to use technology. You can continue to use CDs that you have in your own library, you can continue to connect to the Internet from the classroom, but additional faculty support is necessary to take technology use to the next level of requiring our students to use technology in a way that prepares them for using it in the future classrooms."

Physical facilities are also important. Keeping the technology in working order is crucial but so are other issues such as ensuring a classroom's physical design supports the best possible use of the technology. "You have a very real problem if you have big nice screens and nice projectors but the screen is in front of the white board; if you want to write and have slides at the same time, it's difficult if not impossible," Owens says.

Moving Forward with Technology As the University moves towards an increasingly coordinated approach to the use of technology, several efforts are underway at Vanderbilt to determine just how technology can be used to most effectively enhance learning. One effort is the VaNTH Center in Bioengineering Educational Technologies, a joint effort between Vanderbilt, Harvard University, University of Texas, and Northwestern. Among is several priorities is research into the value of technology, such as web-based education for teaching bioengineering. The research team is collaborating with specialists from the Learning Technology Center at Peabody and with the Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS).

"It's recognized that bioengineering teaching materials are not very well developed and there is not a broad consensus on bioengineering curricula," says Thomas R. Harris, chair of Vanderbilt's Department of Biomedical Engineering. "We need a new way to look at bioengineering education. Why not use the modern methods that we've been developing in the learning sciences and learning technology, and really take a look at this from an entirely new point of view?"

The result is a $10 million NSF grant for Vanderbilt and its academic partners to develop a new curriculum in bioengineering, one that utilizes fundamental principles of learning science and "is driven by technology, web based technology, simulations, slides, interactive systems, and tutoring and homework systems," Harris says.

Although the grant focuses on the development of bioengineering, the collaboration between Peabody's Learning Technology Center and the Department of Biomedical Engineering has the potential to benefit students and faculty in all areas of the university because part of the research involves determining exactly which technological tools best enhance learning.

"One of the things of concern is that in higher education a lot of people are very critical of technology as being just a waste of time and money and so forth. Well, is that right or not?" Harris asks.

"If a particular piece of learning technology is no good, we're going to be happy to identify it as such. We'd like to be able to guide the decision of educators and administrators about what is effective and what is not. And if you can begin to show major advances for some of this, then the justification for the additional investment is there."

Another potential benefit this research offers is the opportunity to develop a much better understanding of the kinds of resources required for faculty to use technology in ways that consistently enhance student learning.

"There could be a small investment that could dramatically increase our effectiveness if we do it right," Harris says. "That's the key. We have to know how to do it and what to do. So if we get in and do research in this center and we find out some of the mistakes and things you ought to avoid, I think that you could tailor a system that could dramatically increase effectiveness and make faculty more effective."

Harris believes that effective use of technology has the potential to transform the student-teacher relationship at the undergraduate level. "I think we're going to see a revolution in the interaction between students and teachers," he says. "I think the relationship to undergraduates is going to become more like the relationship to graduate students in the sense of more direct personal interaction. By using technology we're going to be able to use the power of the person, who they are and what they are. The teacher's inspirational role is going to become much greater."

Like Harris, Professors Owens, Smithey and Tomarken also see new opportunities to use technology in the classroom. David Owens wants to pursue his interest in virtual teams by developing a course run exclusively on the Internet. Andy Tomarken plans to continue integrating computer interaction with more traditional classroom activities. Margaret Smithey would like to use videoconference links to allow her students to observe a live classroom setting and then interview the teacher afterward, all via video. In each case, these faculty members, like many others across the University, will continue to use technology to challenge both themselves and their students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Technology Enhances Teaching and Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This article was originally published in the Fall 2000 issue of the CFT's newsletter, Teaching Forum. By Ellen M. Granberg Students at the Owen School's Strategy in the New Economy seminar enter a classroom that looks like any other, except that a projection system and video screen have been installed.

# data[].attributes.headline
A Guide to Classroom Technologies that Increase Learning: An Educator's Resource

# data[].attributes.subject
A Guide to Classroom Technologies that Increase Learning: An Educator's Resource

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There are many compelling reasons to incorporate technology into your classroom. As Edutopia points out, technology touches every aspect of modern life, including homes and communities. Of course, technology integration is about more than a few sessions in the school computer lab to learn basic computer and software skills - much more, in fact.

According to Edutopia, "Effective tech integration must happen across the curriculum in ways that research shows deepen and enhance the learning process. In particular, it must support four key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts." What's more, the use of technology should be both routine and transparent, and it should also support curricular goals.

Educators who have been relying on traditional instructional methods without making use of the many benefits modern technology offers may be unsure where to start and what technologies are most effective for enhancing the learning experience. That's why we've created this comprehensive guide to classroom technologies that increase learning: to provide a detailed and thorough, yet easy-to-follow guide outlining the various types of classroom technologies that have proven to enhance learning (or at least show tremendous promise in doing so).

Image via Flickr by David Woo

What You'll Find in This Guide:
- Incorporating Effective Technology Integration in the Classroom: Benefits, Basics, and Best Practices
- Emerging Technologies That Will Impact Education
- Assistive Technology: Tech Tools and Resources to Aid Students with Disabilities
- Blended Learning: Finding the Balance Between Face-to-Face Instruction and Technology
- Flip Your Classroom with Technology Tools

Incorporating Effective Technology Integration in the Classroom: Benefits, Basics, and Best Practices
This section includes information and resources on the benefits of technology in the classroom and tips and best practices for incorporating technology into your classroom to enhance learning. Additionally, you will find perspectives from professionals on the value of technology in the classroom and research on the impact of increased technology integration in the delivery of instruction and learning outcomes.

A Technology Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) Studio, UIC, Chicago, 2012. Image via Flickr by Nate Burgos

One of the primary objections to the increased use of technology in the classroom is that too much interaction through technology devices can hinder social maturation. This paper reflects on recent literature to gain insights on whether technology use in the classroom helps or hinders social maturation and the impact technology has on student learning.

Mike Atkinson, Faculty Associate in the Teaching Support Centre at Western University Ontario, summarizes a keynote presentation by Dr. Connie Varnhagen from the Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta at Fall Perspectives and outlines best practices for integrating technology into the classroom (both at Western University and other institutions). According to Atkinson, Dr. Varnhagen points out in her keynote presentation that often instructional technology is thought of as a new concept, when it's actually been an integral part of classroom instruction since the introduction of chalkboards. While today's technology is certainly more advanced, it can be thought of in much the same way: as a resource to improve the delivery of instruction and enhance learning. The full presentation from Western University's Instructional Technology Research Centre (ITRC) is available here.

This presentation by Emily Springfield, MS Ed, University of Michigan, suggests thinking of instructional technology not as the type of technology or gadget, but in terms of its function. Think of technology as falling into three categories: content delivery, engagement and feedback, and assessment.

Differentiated instruction is a term that often leaves teachers feeling overwhelmed. This article offers tips for differentiating instruction using technology such as SAS Curriculum Pathways, Newsela, and EDpuzzle.

Remember that not every lesson needs to incorporate technology. The time-tested instructional habits you've developed over the course of your career are still effective in many instructional scenarios. While you shouldn't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and make use of technology when it holds promise for engaging your students and/or enhancing learning, you also shouldn't feel pressured to incorporate the latest technology into every class period, unit, or lesson.

Embrace connected learning. According to this article from the Huffington Post, connected learning can bridge interests, friendships, and academic achievement. Examples cited in this article include asking a student to prepare a report on his favorite video game or engaging a student who enjoys computer-aided drawing to create banners or posters for a classroom event or activity.

It's "important for institutions to support pedagogies related to collaboration and the learner environment." This article from Educause Review outlines several key challenges of the new era in which educators and technologists must collaborate more than ever before. Likewise, this article addresses the need for strategic partnerships to maximize the benefits of today's technology in the classroom: "Integrating the science of learning into technology-enhanced learning environments and developing a research agenda and methodologies to iteratively discover more about learning in these environments depend on multifaceted partnerships."

Technology improves learner-centered learning. This article points out that there is an increasing emphasis on shifting learning from teacher-centric to learner-centric, and offers several tips for using technology to create a more learner-focused environment.

While some educators, administrators, and even parents remain ambivalent about the prominent use of technology such as tablet computers in the classroom, more classrooms are issuing iPads to students or allowing students to provide and use their own devices in the classroom. This article from Secure Edge Networks outlines several ways in which iPads can be used in the classroom to enhance learning.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) runs the TEAL (Technology-Enhanced Active Learning) Project, which reformatted the delivery of instruction and learning environment for two freshmen physics classes at MIT, using a variety of assessment techniques to evaluate the impact of the interactive engagement across a range of student backgrounds. "The teaching methods used in the TEAL classroom produced about twice the average normalized learning gains for low-, intermediate-, and high-scoring students when compared to traditional instruction," this article notes. "These findings replicate the results of studies performed at other universities." This paper from Michael Seery also highlights some teaching scenarios in which technology is likely to have an impact.

Think of technology as a tool to facilitate active learning. As this article from the University of California, Berkeley, points out, technology is a means - not an end. It explains, "Integrating technology into our pedagogy conjures reflection on our part as educators about moving away from the ways things have been done, to imagining the ways things ought to be done. (How can I make this lesson more relevant, applied, practical, collaborative, connected, multidisciplinary, etc.?)"

A 2013 study from PBS finds that about three-fourths of teachers link educational technology to a multitude of benefits. According to the study's findings, "Three-quarters of teachers surveyed link educational technology to a growing list of benefits, saying technology enables them to reinforce and expand on content (74%), to motivate students to learn (74%), and to respond to a variety of learning styles (73%). Seven in 10 teachers (69%) surveyed said educational technology allows them to 'do much more than ever before' for their students."

The Office of Educational Technology elaborates on these findings, outlining plans for the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) initiative, which would "help educators leverage technology and data to personalize learning and improve college- and career-ready instruction, ensuring that as schools increase access to broadband Internet through the ConnectED Initiative, teachers and leaders are prepared to use these resources in a way that increases student learning and achievement."

Emerging Technologies That Will Impact Education
This section includes resources that identify specific emerging technologies that are expected to have an impact on education, as well as technologies that are already being used to transform the educational experience for both students and educators.

Image via Flickr by Ted Eytan

The NMC's (New Media Consortium) latest research efforts, the NMC Horizon Report: 2013 K-12 Edition and the NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition, highlights ten emerging technologies predicted to impact education over the subsequent five years: cloud computing, mobile learning, learning analytics, open content, 3D printing, Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs), virtual and remote laboratories, games and gamification, tablet computing, and wearable technology. This article from Innovation Excellence delves into each of these technologies with examples and case studies of successful implementation, along with estimates of time to implementation in the classroom.

Educause also discusses emerging technologies poised to make an impact on education. This article by Eric Kunnen, Associate Director of eLearning and Emerging Technologies, Information Technology at Grand Valley State University, discusses the importance of informal learning spaces, immersive and engaging environments (particularly those offering the ability to interact, discover, learn, and share), and the experience of knowledge creation as an alternative or supplement to knowledge consumption, achieved through projects such as the Makerspace created at GVU, which highlights more than 20 technologies throughout the year.

Instructional technology is more than just technology devices, also including instructional strategies and delivery methods that are new and innovative. This article from Emerging EdTech names ten emerging education and instructional strategies including flipped classrooms, smartphone apps, the gamification of education, and more. While this article was published in September 2012, the technologies listed are still highly relevant in today's educational climate. This article, also from Emerging EdTech, names ten tech-savvy web teaching apps that both students and teachers will love.

Video streaming, playing games, and social media are just a few of the technologies that can be used to enhance learning. This article names seven technologies that can enhance the learning experience and offers tips for using them effectively.

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning identifies five emerging technologies to know about. This infographic highlights cloud computing, mobile technology, game-based learning, MOOCs, and learning analytics.

There are some technologies for which we have yet to see the impact potential in education. For instance, this article discusses eight emerging technologies including a few that haven't yet achieved mass mainstream consumption - such as Google Glass, which paves the way for Augmented Reality (AR). Other emerging technologies such as virtual field trips, 3D printing, and biometrics are discussed as well.

Beaver Country Day School (BCDS) in Massachusetts is a pioneer in integrating technology into the classroom. This article discusses the decision to incorporate computer coding into middle and high school courses, as well as the science behind the decision. The BCDS blog is a wealth of information on the instructional technologies the school has incorporated into instruction.

Robotics, makerspaces, and wearables are expected to become increasingly prominent in K-12 classrooms. This article from CIO discusses emerging technologies and offers tips for implementation, such as starting with desired student outcomes and making technology decisions around this framework.

Assistive Technology: Tech Tools and Resources to Aid Students with Disabilities
Assistive technology (AT) is one of the most important uses of technology in educational settings. Assistive technology devices and tools facilitate learning and interaction for students with learning disabilities (LDs) or physical limitations in ways never before possible for these students. This section includes information on assistive technology tools and resources that transform the learning experience for students with disabilities.

Image via Flickr by Comcast Washington State

One of the most compelling examples of the potential for technology to transform the educational experience is that of assistive technology for students with disabilities. As this article points out, new technologies are enabling students with both learning and physical disabilities to excel in the classroom - a feat that, at one time, proved extraordinarily challenging.

Assistive technology can be used for students with a broad range of disabilities, including cognitive issues and physical impairments. This article explains the types of learning disabilities that assistive technology can address, as well as some of the types of assistive technology tools that are available.

Assistive technology can help students accomplish goals or complete tasks more easily, quickly, or even independently. This resource is an excellent primer on assistive technology, even delving into federal law and clarifying the difference between assistive technology and educational technology.

In inclusive classrooms, technology is a powerful tool. As this article explains, "Using technology fosters belonging and interactive participation in general education classrooms for students with LD (Bryant & Bryant, 1998)." Computer supports for writing are discussed, including talking word processors, word prediction, portable note-taking devices, and other tools.

Assistive technology can address a variety of types of learning disabilities. This article from Reading Rockets outlines the types of disabilities, such as listening, organization and memory, math, reading, and writing, that can be addressed or eased with assistive technology, as well as examples of assistive technology devices and tools that are available, such as alternative keyboards, audio books and publications, electronic math worksheets, information/data managers, graphic organizers and outlining, and several other tools.

This guide is a comprehensive resource on assistive technology, encompassing everything from reasons for using assistive technology and types of assistive technology to specific technologies for reading, writing, math, organization/memory, and listening. Additionally, this guide offers advice for selecting the best type of assistive technology tool based on an individual student's needs.

Assistive technology has been proven effective in several research studies. As this article explains, "Numerous research studies on both children and adults with LD have shown (a) word processors, spell checkers, speech synthesizers, graphic organizers, word prediction programs, speech recognition systems, and optical character recognition/speech synthesis systems can be effective in compensating for difficulties in writing and reading; (b) technologies can be helpful in multiple contexts, including school, home, social, and employment settings; and (c) AT can promote independence in persons with LD."

Blended Learning: Finding the Balance Between Face-to-Face Instruction and Technology
Blended learning is a strategy aiming to balance the amount of face-to-face instruction with other instructional delivery methods, which often includes the use of technology. This section includes resources on blended learning, including information on how to use technology to achieve a more blended learning environment.

Image via Flickr by www.audio-luci-store.it

The National Education Association (NEA) supports blended learning. According to this NEA Policy Brief, "The National Education Association (NEA) believes that technology in the educational process improves learning opportunities for students, quality of instruction, effectiveness of education employees, and provides opportunities to reduce educational inequities."

Edutopia has created an excellent collection of blended learning resources, including resources on how to get started with blended learning, how to make blended learning work in your classroom, and tools and strategies to try.

Technology can be incorporated in simple ways to enhance traditional lessons. This resource discusses several ways to enhance instruction through technology, including computer games, teacher websites with discussion forums for student participation, digital textbooks, videos, and even podcasting.

Blended learning isn't all about technology. As this article explains, technology does play a role (an important role, depending on which school of thought you're consulting), but implementing blended learning isn't a process that should begin with technology. It notes, "The first rule is simple, even if it is counterintuitive. Do not start with the technology. Instead, schools should follow a tried-and-true design process to innovate successfully. The first step is to pick a rallying cry by identifying the problem to solve or the goal to achieve. Some problems relate to serving mainstream students in core subjects, while others arise because of gaps at the margins - where schools cannot offer a particular course, for example. Both areas are worthy of innovation. In either case, though, the problem or goal must not be about technology - such as trying to solve a 'lack of devices' - and lead to a deployment of technology for technology's sake."

An article in EdTech explains that technology enables blended learning. Author Wylie Wong explains how technology facilitated an effective blended learning process in one school district by balancing classroom time with online learning.

Half of all high school students are expected to engage in some form of online learning by 2019. This article explains TNTP's findings after visiting more than 20 schools across the country, including one school in which "students moved seamlessly between working independently and receiving one-on-one instruction while using an online personalized playlist that laid out everything they needed to learn over the course of the year." The article highlights four takeaways from TNTP's findings and includes links to more in-depth, downloadable resources including the working paper, "Reimagine Teaching in a Blended Classroom."

Don't think of technology for blended learning as a frill, but use it to replace and improve what you already do. "For example, a teacher who traditionally creates a handout with a series of comprehension questions could, instead, post a discussion question online using a discussion board or discussion platform," explains this article from ACSD.org.

This Blended Learning Toolkit provides an abundance of helpful resources to help educators successfully implement blended learning into their classrooms, including model courses, effective practices, and evaluation resources.

Flip Your Classroom with Technology Tools
Like many strategies and initiatives within the realm of education, schools of thought are divided on the effectiveness of the flipped classroom. Whether you employ the flipped classroom technique regularly or in rare circumstances, you'll find the following resources helpful for understanding the role of technology in the flipped classroom and the types of technology tools most useful for inverted learning.

Image via Flickr by Dan Spencer

Flipping a classroom doesn't mean eliminating lectures, and it's not merely a strategy promoted by those with a strong dislike for the lecture format of instruction. This article from Inside Higher Ed dispels these and other myths about flipping classrooms.

The primary goal of flipping a classroom is to preserve the value of lecture while freeing up in-person class time for active learning strategies. According to this resource from the University of Washington, "The main goal in flipping a class is to cultivate deeper, richer active learning experiences for students when the instructor is present to coach and guide them. Emphasis is on higher-order thinking skills and application to complex problems, and may include collaborative learning, case-based learning, peer instruction and problem sets."

The evidence is still coming in on the effectiveness of flipped classrooms, but early results show promise. According to this 2013 article from ASCD.org, "In one survey of 453 teachers who flipped their classrooms, 67 percent reported increased test scores, with particular benefits for students in advanced placement classes and students with special needs; 80 percent reported improved student attitudes; and 99 percent said they would flip their classrooms again next year (Flipped Learning Network, 2012). Clintondale High School in Michigan saw the failure rate of its 9th grade math students drop from 44 to 13 percent after adopting flipped classrooms (Finkel, 2012)."

The Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) at Duke University highlights several examples of flipped classrooms and outlines key techniques for flipping a classroom. Additionally, CIT provides a multitude of educational resources on flipped classrooms (also called inverted classrooms).

Technology used for flipping a classroom includes both newly developed technologies and older technologies that can simply be repurposed for the task at hand. This resource from the Association of College Research Libraries and American Library Association names numerous specific technology tools that can aid educators aiming to flip their classrooms. Tools such as GoAnimate, PowToon, Adobe Captivate, and SoftChalk are among the many technologies and tools discussed.

The Flipped Learning Toolkit from Edutopia discusses different types of technology and tools that will help you restructure class time and maximize learning. Technologies discussed include content creation tools like screencasting and camera-based solutions, as well as distribution tools (and how to get around the issue if your school blocks YouTube, the most obvious distribution platform).

Tech tools for flipping the classroom include video creation tools, video hosting, video interaction, and learning management tools. FlippedClass.com is an excellent resource for learning about the different types of tools that can facilitate an effective flipped classroom. The Flipped Institute is another go-to resource for any educator considering a flipped classroom format.

Teachers are using the flipped classroom methodology to provide substitute plans (and make the lives of substitute teachers much less stressful). As this article explains, "Teachers who have flipped their classrooms either create or link to content related instructional materials and post them to a web site or learning management system for students to view outside the school day. By having students view the videos and learning resources at home, teachers use class-time by helping students apply or practice the learning. Activities that have been traditionally assigned as homework are now done in class with the teacher's support. Teachers have begun using this model for providing sub plans."

Smartphone apps and tablet and desktop applications can be useful technology tools for flipping your classroom. This article from Getting Smart identifies ten teacher-tested (and approved) classroom-flipping tools.

Explain Everything, Knowmia, and Edmodo are among the many useful technologies that can streamline flipping a classroom. This article from Educational Technology and Mobile Learning outlines a few of the most useful tools and provides a more comprehensive list of Tools to Flip Your Classroom.

As every teacher is painfully aware, budgets are ever-tightening and educators are finding themselves dipping into their own wallets more and more often for technology tools and even classroom supplies. The good news is that flipped learning doesn't have to break the bank. This article from Campus Technology identifies five free or low-cost tools for flipped learning, including Doceri, the frequently mentioned Explain Everything app, and Verso.

There are hundreds of free and affordable web-based tools that enable flipped learning. This list, compiled by Edudemic, names the ten best web-based tools for flipped classrooms, including free tools like Wikispaces, Poll Everywhere, and Evernote.

Classroom technology, or instructional technology, spans categories including conceptual strategies and frameworks, technology devices such as assistive technology and mainstream devices, apps and web-based tools which fall into numerous subcategories, and more. Because there's such a diverse range of technology options, along with different opinions on the efficacy of various tools and strategies, it's not surprising that many teachers avoid introducing new technology into their classrooms simply due to information overload. With the tools, resources, and information found in this guide, you can take steps to

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Guide to Classroom Technologies that Increase Learning: An Educator's Resource - HighSpeedInternet.com News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are many compelling reasons to incorporate technology into your classroom. As Edutopia points out, technology touches every aspect of modern life, including homes and communities. Of course, technology integration is about more than a few sessions in the school computer lab to learn basic computer and software skills - much more, in fact.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Technology Can Improve Learner-Centered Teaching

# data[].attributes.subject
How Technology Can Improve Learner-Centered Teaching

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For faculty looking to create a more learner-centered environment there are always a few bumps in the road. First they need to get used to no longer being the "sage on the stage" and then there's the adjustment period for students who aren't used to being active participants in their learning.

In many ways, technology can help pave the way for both faculty and students, but only if the instructor "is adept at creating a course that capitalizes on the pedagogical benefits that technology facilitates in helping students meet the desired learning outcomes for the course," said Ike Shibley, associate professor of chemistry at Penn State - Berks. In other words, technology for the sake of technology is never good.

In the recent online seminar Learner-Centered Technology: Aligning Tools with Learning Goals, Shibley provided a roadmap for matching technological tools to course learning outcomes. Grounded in the five core principles of learner-centered teaching, Shibley explained specific ways technology can be used to get students to interact with course content in an engaging and productive fashion.

Here are some of the ways technology can help satisfy the goals of a learner-centered classroom:

1. Shift the balance of power toward the learner: Interactive online assignments can help facilitate the transfer of power and give students opportunities to practice mastering the material at their own pace. The technologies that support these activities could include wikis, online quizzes, blogs and discussion boards.

2. Use content to organize activities: Students appreciate a structured, logical flow to their courses, and how you organize your assignments and activities can go a long way in minimizing confusion. The technologies that support how you organize and communicate course materials and expectations could include an online syllabus, the learning management system, and email notifications of important due dates.

3. Think of teaching as facilitating learning: Teaching with technology enables the instructor to create learning experiences that complement each other whether the students are working on an assignment online or meeting in a face-to-face environment. The technologies that support this goal include online homework, clickers and surveys.

4. Responsibility for learning rests with the learner: Learner-centered teaching means creating assignments that allow students to practice building connections with the material, and evaluate their learning. The technologies that can be used to help students take ownership of their learning include blogs, wikis, online quizzes, and VoiceThread.

5. Evaluation provides a way to foster learning: Shibley likes to use a lot of low-stakes grading opportunities, and he gives students multiple attempts to pass online quizzes. There are numerous technologies that can help students track their progress, including online quiz banks and online platforms that enable collaboration and peer review.

Although he admits that integrating technology takes a fair amount of upfront time in terms of getting past the learning curve and choosing the correct technology to support each learning objective, Shibley says the payoff is a more engaged classroom and improved student learning.

"Technology does do a better job of keeping students on task," he said. "If it's well designed and it's not busy work, students will spend more time on task and the assumption then, which I think has been borne out and will continue to be borne out in studies of how technology can be used in an pedagogically efficacious manner, time on task will correlate with more learning and higher test scores."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Technology Can Improve Learner-Centered Teaching - Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For faculty looking to create a more learner-centered environment there are always a few bumps in the road. First they need to get used to no longer being the "sage on the stage" and then there's the adjustment period for students who aren't used to being active participants in their learning.

# data[].attributes.headline
EdTech: It Isn't Optional, It's Essential

# data[].attributes.subject
EdTech: It Isn't Optional, It's Essential

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teachers EdTech Study Infographic Plus 400+ Free EdTech Tools for Teachers
5 Facts That Educational Technology Is Essential!

1. 86% of teachers think it is 'important' or 'absolutely essential' to use edtech in the classroom

2. 965 say that edtech increases student engagement in learning

3. 95% say that it enables personalized learning

4. 89% say that it improves student outcomes

5. 87% say that it helps students collaborate

4 Facts That Teachers Do Not Use Educational Technology

1. Only 19% use subject specific content tools weekly

2. Only 31% use information or reference tools weekly

3. Only 24% use teacher tools weekly

4. Only 14% use digital curricula weekly

The Common Sense Media Survey of Educators was conducted online in the US by Harris Interactive in May 2013, among 764 public school preK-12 teachers, including 659 teachers who use edtech, 235 teachers who are high volume edtech users and 88 teachers implementing 1-to1/BYOD programs, and 205 public shool administrators.

You can find more by checking EdTech Isn't Optional, It's Essential
400+ Free Educational Technology Tools for Teachers!!!
Last but not least, I highly encourage you to check the 400+ Free EdTech Tools for Teachers that includes:

1. The 5 Best Free Flashcard Creation Tools for Teachers

2. TOP 10 FREE Timeline Creation Tools for Teachers

3. The 5 Best Free Map Creation Tools for Teachers

4. Top 10 Free Tools for Teaching Reading and Writing

5. The 5 Best Free Collaboration Tools for Teachers

6. Top 10 Free Content Curation Tools for Teachers

7. The 5 Best Free Mind-Mapping Tools for Teachers

8. The 5 Best Free Note Taking Tools for Teachers

9. The 5 Best Free Slideshow Presentation and Creation Tools for Teachers

10. The 6 Best Free PDF Tools For Teachers

11. The 8 Best Free Video Tools For Teachers

12. The 5 Best Free Annotation Tools For Teachers

13. 321 Free Tools for Teachers - Free Educational Technology

Via: www.graphite.org

Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog! Copy and Paste the following code!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teachers EdTech Study Infographic Plus 400+ Free EdTech Tools for Teachers - e-Learning Infographics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
5 Facts That Educational Technology Is Essential! 86% of teachers think it is 'important' or 'absolutely essential' to use edtech in the classroom 965 say that edtech increases student engagement in learning 95% say that it enables personalized learning 89% say that it improves student outcomes 87% say that it helps students collaborate 4 Facts ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Turn Your Classroom into a Personalized Learning Environment

# data[].attributes.subject
Turn Your Classroom into a Personalized Learning Environment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By now you've probably heard of personalized learning, which tailors instruction, expression of learning and assessment to each student's unique needs and preferences. While one-on-one instruction geared toward the strengths and challenges of each student has always been an ideal, only in recent years have technological advances allowed it to become a reality in public education.

Personalized learning capitalizes on students' almost instinctual ability to use technology, but it is so much more than technology and algorithms. It is the purposeful design of blended instruction to combine face-to-face teaching, technology-assisted instruction and student-to-student collaboration to leverage each student's interests for deeper learning. When done right, it meets several of the ISTE Standards for Students and ISTE Standards for Educators while leading to a more rigorous, challenging, engaging and thought-provoking curriculum.

Over the last four years, I have transformed my traditional classroom into a blended-learning environment that provides a more personalized learning experience for each one of my students. It hasn't been easy. It's taken a lot of research, trial and error, and adjustments. But the results have definitely been worth it.

Here are five lessons I've learned that have helped me take my classroom from a traditional sage-on-the-stage affair to a tech-assisted personalized learning haven.

1. Learn from others.

I won't lie. The journey from old school to new learning paradigm was bumpy at first. I tried blended lessons that took less time than planned, had technology failures, chose the wrong method of delivery for various types of content or skills, and generally made every mistake you can imagine. But I didn't give up, and eventually I had more successes than failures. My students' input and further pedagogical study helped me refine my lesson planning until I got it right.

I started by researching personalized and blended learning as a member of the Rodel Teacher Council (RTC) to create the Blueprint for Personalized Learning in Delaware. I was also a member of the BRINC Consortium, a group formed to implement blended learning in several Delaware districts.

Being able to work with other teachers also implementing blended learning was key to my continued growth. We worked with Modern Teacher to understand the shifts in pedagogy necessary to transition to blended learning. I heard Caitlin Tucker at a BRINC training and have used her books to guide my continued development.

All of these experiences helped me find more effective ways to lead my students while empowering them to take responsibility for their own learning. On top of that, learning from and collaborating with others is a hallmark of the new ISTE Standards for Educators, which advise us to "dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems."

2. Use the technology you have.

Although it is not the focus of a student-centered classroom, technology plays a big part in the success of this approach because it allows the differentiation of instruction, assessment and expression of learning as well as the collection of student data.

We don't have a 1:1 environment at this time, but the students - who are my co-learners and teachers - have helped me adapt to whatever tools are available. The standard hardware in core content classrooms throughout my district includes a set of 15 iPads, a projector and a document camera.

Students are allowed to use their cell phones for educational purposes. We use Schoology as a learning management system. I use Google Classroom and curriculum sites such as CommonLit | Free Fiction & Nonfiction Literacy Resources to embed high-quality digital content within our LMS. Much to my surprise, technology itself plays the smallest role in providing personalized learning for my students.

3. Let students make choices.

When I first embarked on this mission, I decided to "release" one piece of the assignment at a time in an effort to control student's' pathway through the material. Since then, I have learned to take a more personalized approach to assignments, which also aligns to the ISTE Standard for Educators that advise us to "foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings."

Class often starts with a mini-lesson, which then flows into students making choices about what they need to do next to meet specific learning targets aligned to the standards.

My units in Schoology offer guidance to the students while allowing them to choose their own learning pathways and complete the activities in the order that makes the most sense to them.

For instance, while reading a short story, they can choose between just reading or reading along as they listen to a story. They can also decide whether to annotate online or on a printed copy. They can take notes on paper or record their thoughts verbally as they analyze the story.

While my students are still required to write traditional essays on many assignments, they also get the chance to show their learning in a variety of other ways. When appropriate, they can submit their analysis by writing a traditional essay, creating a website, creating infographics, writing a script for a video that they then record or via a communication tool they suggest.

4. Choose the best content delivery method.

I had another a-ha moment when I finally understood how to choose the right delivery method for various types of content. My first few attempts included finding a video on each topic to provide background information or delivering a face-to-face lecture on a new concept, followed by an online quiz. My inaugural online lesson consisted of a folder with a page for my essential question, a copy of my PowerPoint and a link for students to submit their notes.

But I was simply using technology in place of my normal face-to-face teaching. When asked to explain the "why" behind my choices during professional learning sessions, I realized there was more to creating blended lessons than simply adding technology.

Today, I carefully construct my units with specific learning goals that drive the method of delivery and learning activities. When deciding how to structure my lessons, I look at the learning activities I've used in the past to decide which were successful and which need to be refined or replaced. As a result, instead of lecturing to students and showing them a PowerPoint during class time, I often give them screencasts or videos to watch at home.

The screencasts, which I create with Zaption, Screencast-o-matic and Video Ant, are better than PowerPoints because students can hear my voice instead of clicking through a silent slide deck. And videos are better than face-to-face lectures because they can skip forward, pause or rewind as needed until they get the lesson. They still get a chance to ask questions during our class time or online.

This flipped learning setup frees up my students to use class time to practice their skills. For instance, they might annotate a short story or poem in Google Docs or take part in a Socratic seminar. During our unit on research into social justice issues, students receive a digital review of the research process and choose their learning activities based on their needs. Some may meet with me to review how to embed quotes while other groups start planning their presentations and still others work independently on gathering valid research.

5. Assess as you go.

Instead of just giving a final exam at the end of each unit, I try to use formative assessment to enable me to give my students guidance and assistance when they need it. I use a variety of methods for this. For instance, my video lectures often include interactive questions to assess their understanding of the material. Playposit and TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing are my go-to tools for this type of assessment. And our classroom is often noisy and active as we play a round of Kahoot, which gives me instant, actionable feedback on what we need to do next, who needs to be pulled into a small group for reteaching and who would be better off in a group that pursues extended learning while I reteach the rest of the class.

I also gather formative assessment data through:

Discussion threads.

Self-grading quizzes, which give students immediate and actionable feedback on their proficiency in specific skills.

Monitoring of students works in progress on Google Docs.

Exit tickets, which assess the class' comfort level with new concepts.

I use all of this data to inform adjustments to learning activities as well as selection of resources to help students meet the standards addressed in the unit. When the assessments show a student has mastered a skill, I can provide them with instruction to go deeper or learn new skills.

6. Pull it all together.

My original objective was to transform my classroom into a blended learning model that would give my students the best access to rigorous, engaging, personalized learning experiences.

Going into my fifth year, I am pleased with the progress we've made toward this goal and excited to implement new ideas including more flexibility in seating and groups as well as a better use of formative data.

My classroom today is a vastly different place than it was five years ago. Instead of showing up to class to hear me deliver all the content and teach the skills they need to meet the standards for our curriculum, my students are now the masters of their own learning destinies.

Instead of relying on notes they take during one-time lectures, they can access and even return to my videos and screencasts and other resources when they need them most, as they are working on an assignment or reviewing for a test.

My role used to be standing in front of the room lecturing about the research process, modeling various components and monitoring students' progress toward a final, correctly formatted research paper.

Recently I began partnering with the Human Ecology Foundation to expose my students to a range of real-world issues. The students then form groups and choose one to research and propose a solution or way to make an impact. Not only are they learning to do authentic research, they will be volunteering and learning about the issue through first-hand experience. Students can even win a scholarship for their research and projects!

I am available to assist students, conduct check-ins, and assess their individual responsibilities and group outcomes throughout the project. But most of the time I just stay out of the way while they learn how to effectively research, collaborate and create presentations together.

The biggest compliment I have received since all this started came from a student in my AP Language and Composition class. He told me, "Your class is easy. I don't mean simple - I mean it is easy for me to learn because I can pick assignments that let me do my best work."

I strive to make my classes that kind of "easy" for every student I teach. Across the board, my students acknowledge that they feel better prepared for college or jobs because of our use of collaborative technology. I've had students who are now in college tell me that our use of digital content made it easier for them to adjust to college.
Robyn Howton is English Department Chair and the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) coordinator at Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware. She is a member of the Rodel Teacher Council, which created the Blueprint for Personalized Learning in Delaware, and a member of the original cohort of the BRINC consortium. This is an updated version of an article that originally published on May 19, 2015.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Turn your classroom into a personalized learning environment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By now you've probably heard of personalized learning, which tailors instruction, expression of learning and assessment to each student's unique needs and preferences. While one-on-one instruction geared toward the strengths and challenges of each student has always been an ideal, only in recent years have technological advances allowed it to become a reality in public education.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Shifting Paradigm of Teaching: Personalized Learning According to Teachers

# data[].attributes.subject
The Shifting Paradigm of Teaching: Personalized Learning According to Teachers

# data[].attributes.headline
Developing Our Understanding of Personalized Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Developing Our Understanding of Personalized Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Personalized learning" programs and the use of the term "personalized learning" seem to be everywhere in education today. It is understandable why there is such a "big to-do" about it. The achievement gap between students from high- and middle-income families and students from low-income families continues to grow, and students are increasingly diverse-- trends which are detailed in . As schools and teachers face pressure to increase academic achievement for students who enter classrooms with a wide range of ability levels, school districts are attempting to meet the individual demands of students across a spectrum of academic needs. However, "Making Learning Personal for All: The Growing Diversity in Today's Classroom," a report from Digital Promise too much of what is being labeled as "personalized learning" in classrooms today completely misses the mark.

The underlying principles of personalized learning are not new to education. Teachers have sought to meet the unique needs of students for decades, stemming from efforts to teach unconventional learners in gifted and special needs classrooms and becoming more widespread for all learners in the 1990s after the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act . The inclusion of these students in regular education classrooms broke the calcified mold of the one-size-fits-all teaching approach.

Personalized learning in today's schools essentially amounts to "differentiation" of lessons for students of different skill levels. For example, a teacher might group students by ability in math to provide small-group instruction to remediate or extend targeted concepts. It is important to bear in mind, however, that while differentiation is part of the concept of personalized learning, it is only one component of it. A recent report by iNACOL provides a scan of the literature about how the concept is applied in K-12 education and provides examples of how the multiple ways "personalized learning" is defined underlies its varied implementation.

At a high level, personalized learning involves individualizing the entire learning experience for each learner-- not only adjusting instruction based on students' academic strengths and weaknesses, but also adjusting instruction based on their interests. It promotes student agency and empowerment by providing students with choices for learning based on how they learn best, what motivates them to learn and their academic goals. Rather than directing the delivery of content, teachers serve as facilitators and coaches who support learning that is driven by students. Pedagogical approaches such as project-based learning, experiential learning and competency-based education are related to personalized learning.

True personalized learning calls for rethinking and redesigning schools with major overhauls to classroom structures, schedules and curricula in addition to substantially changing the instructional approaches of teachers. A few years ago, t he Software & Information Industry Association, a Washington based trade organization; the ASCD, a nonprofit focused on curriculum development; and the Council of Chief State School Officers came together for a symposium and produced ten "essential elements" and "policy enablers" for personalized learning . Their work provides a framework for the systemic overhaul of the PreK-12 education system.

While personalized learning must be enabled by classroom conditions and augmented by teacher support, technology can help customize student learning. There are many edtech products that support the broader definition of personalized learning. (For an overview of some of these products, see this article and this article .) Dr. Ryan Baker , an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education , researches how students use and learn from educational games, intelligent tutors, and other kinds of educational software. Dr. Baker believes that " Several platforms get one big thing apiece right in terms of personalization, whether it's Carnegie Learning 's ability to support students in the internal steps of math problems they're struggling with, 's ability to figure out what prerequisite skills a student is missing, or the ability of the ASSISTments platform to distill student performance into meaningful reports for teachers that they can use to change their classroom practice. However, no one platform has put it all together yet."

The edtech market is crowded with companies who claim to be offering personalized learning products and services. Several of these companies, however, use a definition of personalized learning that does not encompass the full meaning of the term. For example, a company that misuses the term personalized learning may develop a software product that merely provides students with different texts to read based on their comprehension and decoding skills.

We must remember that personalized learning is served by-- not defined by-- technological tools. The biggest risk of not embracing personalized learning in its most comprehensive form is that the movement could lose momentum and fizzle out as its benefits are not realized and as Founder of concerns about student data privacy continue to receive attention. " Given the long history of ineffective fads and flavors-of-the-month in education, a level of healthy skepticism regarding new methods (such as personalized learning) is appropriate," says Matthew Mugo Fields , . GiftedAndTalented.com

Those who work in the field of edtech, including myself, have long touted edtech products and services as holding the promise to transform teaching and learning at scale. Personalized learning offers this opportunity. I challenge edtech entrepreneurs to use a broader perspective of personalized learning and to think innovatively about how to design solutions that deepen our capacity to genuinely individualize the learning experience for each student.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Developing Our Understanding Of Personalized Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Personalized learning" programs and the use of the term "personalized learning" seem to be everywhere in education today. It is understandable why there is such a "big to-do" about it. The achievement gap between students from high- and middle-income families and students from low-income families continues to grow, and students are increasingly diverse-- trends which are detailed in .

# data[].attributes.headline
How Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students

# data[].attributes.subject
How Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students Infographic

The world has changed substantially in the last 100 years, and education needs to change as well to ensure our children are fully prepared for a world we could hardly imagine when we were growing up. "One-size-fits-all" education may have been sufficient years ago. It's not now. Today, a personalized learning approach that uses technology in the classroom to pace instruction to match students' needs and tailor learning to their interests works-for both learners and teachers.

Via: www.dreambox.com

Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog! Copy and Paste the following code!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The world has changed substantially in the last 100 years, and education needs to change as well to ensure our children are fully prepared for a world we could hardly imagine when we were growing up. "One-size-fits-all" education may have been sufficient years ago. It's not now.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ensuring the Quality of Digital Content for Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Ensuring the Quality of Digital Content for Learning

# data[].attributes.headline
Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools and Resources

# data[].attributes.subject
Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools and Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
3.6 Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools & Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure. (PSC...

# data[].attributes.headline
Digital Video Transforms Teaching Practices

# data[].attributes.subject
Digital Video Transforms Teaching Practices

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Perhaps no single technology has brought a more profound change to some teachers' instructional practices than the evolution of digital video.

While the growth of online content, social networking, and multimedia production tools have all helped educators reconsider how students should consume, discuss, and demonstrate mastery of content, only the dramatic increase in video availability has led directly to the "flipped classroom" movement.

And with an increasing national focus on making more Internet bandwidth available in school and at home, there is a sense that schools are only beginning to explore video's true educational possibilities.

Educational video, as much as any other kind of content, originates from a wide range of sources that can make selecting the best content item for a given instructor or classroom an overwhelming task, however. Even the definition of what makes a high-quality educational video has changed along with the technology that is used to record, produce, and consume one.

"Part of the challenge when you have this massive array of video resources is vetting both for the appropriateness and for the value," said Mark Edwards, the superintendent of the 5,500-student Mooresville, N.C., school district.

"I think that's still hit or miss," said Mr. Edwards, whose district has earned a national reputation for its 1-to-1 computing program and achievement gains since he led a movement to embrace digital learning tools beginning half a decade ago.

Despite that hit-or-miss environment, educators in increasing numbers have been taking to the Web to find videos they deem suitable to supplement their instruction. That's especially true of teachers who have bought into the flipped-classroom approach, in which videos are used to convey content to students outside of class so that classroom time can be used for discussion and more hands-on instruction.

Kari Arfstrom, who for the past year and a half has served as the executive director of the Arlington, Va.-based Flipped Learning Network, a professional-development organization, says the choices educators using the flipped model make about video utilization are more complicated than simply whether an item is of sufficient quality. There's the question of whether to use free online resources that may be informative but not necessarily directly aligned to academic standards, or proprietary resources that are created with standards in mind but are more costly.

More tech-savvy instructors are also choosing between using already available video content or creating their own with the help of free or cheap video-production mobile apps. Such a decision includes understanding whether the subject is straightforward enough for a teacher-made video to address.

"For math and science teachers, it's pretty concrete and linear; you follow the curriculum because everything builds and scaffolds on each other," Ms. Arfstrom said. "As an English teacher, I would never have flipped my entire English class, however, I would have flipped units."

Further, Ms. Arfstrom pointed out, educators with more experience using the flipped approach have also begun experimenting with the chronology of lessons that include video content. While using video to introduce new concepts is still the most common tactic, she said, more educators are now choosing to use video to supplement already-learned content, or even to have students search online and report on how the videos they find build on their classroom learning.

Customizing Instruction

Meanwhile, as teachers learn new ways to inject video into their instruction, providers of that content are rethinking what makes good video at a time in which access to high-speed Internet connections and high-resolution mobile cameras is increasingly common. And whether those providers are companies that have origins in educational technology services, traditional print-textbook publishing, or video production for audiences outside of K-12 education, they are generally finding that the most functional video content doesn't live in a vacuum.

For example, D.J. West, a consulting manager for New York City-based McGraw-Hill Education, one of the "big three" textbook-publishing companies, said he has spent a lot of time making presentations to educators about free or affordable software programs that help teachers make their own educational videos-yet none of that software is made by McGraw-Hill Education.

The goal is to encourage teachers to then combine the resources they create with digital McGraw-Hill products that allow the teachers to curate those resources alongside content produced by the company.

"As a content provider, we really do feel we're providing a base level of research content and then allowing you to customize," Mr. West said. "We just see it making it easier for teachers to include it."

Some content providers, meanwhile, have found that as more of their consumers become familiar with creating their own videos through apps and mobile devices,they are more forgiving of lower production values, as long as the informational value doesn't lag.

"We want it to be great, don't get me wrong," said Susan Williams, a professional-learning designer for Atomic Learning, a company based in Little Falls, Minn., that specializes in online video tutorials for common educational technology tools. "But we also know if we want to capture someone's story and we have to use a webcam in front of their computer, then yeah, we'll do that.

"If the content is really good," she said, "then the production quality is forgivable."

It's partly for that reason that content providers whose roots lie in video have been trying to diversify even as video as an educational resource becomes more popular.

For example, Silver Spring, Md.-based Discovery Education, which began as solely a video-streaming service, has for a handful of years been expanding its Discovery Techbook line, which features e-textbooks for science and social studies. More recent iterations of the Techbook line have been designed to ensure that users can tap its video features while also maintaining a view of interactive text or other multimedia elements.

"There are times when you certainly want to use text, and there are times when you want students putting a seed inside of a Dixie Cup and growing a tomato plant,"said Scott Kinney, a senior vice president for the company. "It's not necessarily that video is good for one thing or another, but it's how to make sure you utilize the breadth of resources that are available to you in the most appropriate way for the situation."

'Tip of the Iceberg'

Even the Khan Academy -which offers about 4,000 free educational videos on K-12 math and science topics, humanities subjects, test preparation, and other subjects-has in more recent years focused on understanding how its videos, which are credited with helping the flipped-classroom movement gain steam, are best used alongside other resources within the context of a classroom.

The nonprofit organization, based in Mountain View, Calif., has written five case studies resulting from the use of its video content in K-12 schools, as well as a library of text resources for teachers and other educators to give guidance on how to use that content effectively.

It has also analyzed the habits of its users to see what factors may lead to the most consistent progression through Khan Academy lessons.

"We probaby didn't realize initially how powerful the peer-learning element of the classroom would be," said Shantanu Sinha, the organization's president and chief operating officer. He added that Khan Academy users appear to be more successful when working under a coach, and especially when doing so in small groups that may represent a family structure rather than an educational study group.

The future possibilities for educational video may lie far beyond how the medium can more effectively deliver content to students. The cameras and apps available on smartphones and tablets are already making possible the ability for students to conduct video analysis out in the field, especially in science subjects such as physics and biology.

Further, a growing number of educators are assigning students to create their own video-either as a stand-alone element or as part of a multimedia project-to demonstrate content knowledge.

But with the flipped-education movement growing, and an increasing emphasis on producing content that is relevant to a generation of learners that has grown up not knowing life without mobile devices, the video-content movement may just be beginning.

At least, that's the opinion of Ms. Arfstrom of the Flipped Learning Network, whose Ning social-networking page increased its followers by 500 percent, to roughly 12,000, during a 16-month stretch that ended in April.

"I think right now we're still in the awareness stage," Ms. Arfstrom said. "We're talking with the teachers who want to know about this, we've just hit the tip of the iceberg."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Digital Video Transforms Teaching Practices

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The growing availability of digital video sparked the "flipped classroom" movement, but identifying quality video content is still a challenge.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Complete Guide to Evaluating Online Resources

# data[].attributes.subject
The Complete Guide to Evaluating Online Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Table of Contents

Part 1: The Need to Evaluate Internet Resources
Part 2: Evaluating Online Resources
Part 3: Checklist on Evaluating Online Resources
Part 4: Improve Your Evaluation Skills
Part 5: Content Issues: Plagiarism, Copyright, and Accessibility

Why Do We Need to Evaluate Online Resources?

Everyone and anyone can create content online. Today, it's hard to determine whether an internet resource you find is authentic or not.
Evaluating online resources is an important step in any research process. Identifying trustworthy content should be part of your research journey.
If you're looking for factual resources, search through newspaper publications, TV news, journals, official pamphlets, books, and magazines. But, nowadays people opt to search for information on the Internet. They tend to believe anything posted on the Internet without even checking for credibility.

Satire and fake news sites publish erroneous data; people believe these sites because of their persuasive, believable nature. If you're looking for a credible resource, you should avoid hoax sites as this may affect the veracity of your study.

Meanwhile, many content publishers rely heavily on copying content and owning those as theirs to get decent followership. Duplicating content and passing it as if it is their own content is copyright infringement or plagiarism.

In this guide, we will help you improve your knowledge and skill in evaluating online resources. We will guide you on how to check a resource for authenticity and credibility.

Moreover, we will discuss skills that you will need to assess a resource such as speed reading and skimming. As an evaluator, you should be familiar with the different citation and referencing styles. Also, we will review several content issues like plagiarized content, DMCA, and copyrights, and web content accessibility.

Evaluating Online Resources

There are several aspects that you should look for in evaluating online resources. You should check:

who published the content (Authorship),

where was it published (Publication),

when was it published (Currency and Relevance),

the truthfulness and integrity of the facts (Accuracy),

how it is written and presented (Purpose and Objectivity),

and what references are cited within the article (Links)

Authorship

The author of the content is a concern when considering the eligibility of the content. First of all, the author should be an expert on the subject discussed in the article. He should have the credentials to back up his knowledge of the subject matter.

Usually, the information about the author can be found on the website along with the content. The name of the author can be found below the title, on the side of the article, or at the bottom. Sometimes, more information on the author is found below the article, also known as an author's bio. An author may be credited if he is oftentimes mentioned in other authoritative websites.

But, it is not easy to verify an author's background through the Internet. Website articles and resources rarely have fact-checkers or editors for copyediting an article. Another thing to consider is that authors vary in tone and purpose. Some do it for their personal blog. Other authors are advocates of a cause, while others do it for marketing their product or service.

Publication

If the information about the author is not present, the publisher of the resource article can be checked for authority.

Take a quick look at the website. Are you familiar with the publication name? Is the publisher reputable and credible on the subject matter? Look at the website name, its logo, the URL of the website, and other indicators that can prove its reliability on the topic. One quick look at the URL can help you determine if it's a reliable source or not. Trustworthy websites end in .org, .edu, .gov, or any recognizable web address.

Another way to check the publisher's site is via it's About Us and Contact Us page. These pages will contain information about the publisher. You can countercheck their details by conducting another search.

Reliable websites publish content that is relevant or under the same scope as the resource page that you found. Check how often do they publish content and if they published related content as well. News and publication websites (NYTimes, BBC, The Washington Post, TIME, etc.), are authority sites for facts. Consider the resource's credibility if the publisher has mentioned or been mentioned by authority sites.

Currency and Relevance

In conducting research, the currency and timeliness of data are important in making inferences for data gathering and analyses.

David Loshin, President of Knowledge Integrity, is a well-known thought leader in data quality and management. He has defined the difference between currency and timeliness when it comes to data:

"Currency," Loshin explained, "refers to the degree to which data is current with the world that it models. Currency can measure how up-to-date data is, and whether it is correct despite the possibility of modifications or changes that impact time and date values. Currency rules may be defined to assert limits to the lifetime of a data value, indicating that it needs to be checked and possibly refreshed."

On the other hand, timeliness refers to the time expectation for the accessibility of data. Timeliness can be measured as the time between when data is expected and when it is readily available for use."

Information changes throughout the years. On the Internet, it's easy to get lost among the billions of data available at your fingertips. Even academic articles such as theses and investigative reports can have obsolete data. Out-of-date content has information that is not relevant or applicable in today's time. How can you determine if the content that you're looking at isn't outdated? How do you check if the data you have is current and timely?

Look for the date of publication. Oftentimes, it is located near the title of the resource. You can look for the date at the side information of the article, and even at the end of the article.

Currency is a modern issue; some websites update their articles to adapt to the modern world. Data does not become obsolete, but you need to check its relevance to the current times. For updated content, look for the date of publication and the date when it was recently changed and updated.
Here's an example from Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL):
The American Psychological Association (APA) is used as a citation style in academic and scholarly articles for social sciences. Since it started in 1929, the APA style has changed over the years and it is in its 6th edition.

With that said, updated resources oftentimes tag relevant statistical data with proper citations and referencing. Aside from that, these resources mention other resources and link back to them, regularly updating any link references should they find that those links are obsolete.

Accuracy

In writing, accuracy refers to a writer's correctness in using the language system. This means that the writer's use of grammar and vocabulary should be correct and as good as it could be.

Minimal errors are virtually present in all kinds of publications, but poor spelling and grammar can easily reflect how careless an author is, and this may result in distrust. Again, web resources are prone to technical errors since not all web publications go under the scrutinizing eye of a copy editor.

Online resources can be verified easily through a quick search on the Internet. Other resources provide a reference list that can help in double-checking facts cited in the article.

Purpose and Objectivity

An online resource clearly serves its purpose  it should teach, inform, explain, or persuade. By reading the article, it should become evident what the article aims to impart to its readers. The author should not be biased with his views reflected in the article unless stated otherwise. You should comprehend whether the content is backed up with facts or based on opinion and propaganda. The content should show its intended audience.

Links

Links are used to citing and credit references found on other websites. During the evaluation, links on the content are useful and relevant to the topic of the content. On the other hand, links on the content should proceed to an existing web page. In any case that the links within the content proceed to a 404 page or "Not Found", the content may be outdated, thus may be unreliable for new information.

Checklist on Evaluating Websites

We'll help you assess online resources easier with this concise infographic checklist brought to you by Hosting Facts:

Improve Your Evaluation Skills

Effective evaluation of online materials requires a set of skills. To effectively evaluate online materials, you must be able to do proper speed reading and skimming of content, as well as citing of references. Possessing these skills will give you the ability to objectively and successfully critique online materials. Let's discuss in detail how these skills can help you in evaluating content.

Speed Reading and Skimming

Before you will be able to evaluate any material, you will have to read it first. Going through the whole thing, even up to every punctuation mark, can eat up your time. Reading entire materials will not be practical especially if you have a lot of materials piled up. Therefore, it is vital that you possess speed-reading and skimming skills.

The average reader can run through approximately 200 words per minute. A good reader can reach 400 to 500 without sacrificing comprehension of what he had just read. Any more than 500 words risk losing comprehension so going beyond that is not advisable. We shall then consider those who can read at least 400 words a minute as a speed reader. It is, however, crucial that comprehension is maintained as there is no point in being able to finish a material quickly if you were not able to pick up anything from it. Speed reading is, therefore, a fast-paced manner of reading that retains understating of the material.

There are two, speed reading, techniques: scanning and skimming. Scanning is a very quick running through of the material in an attempt to find a specific piece of information. If you pass through an article very quickly in search of a name, a date, an amount, or the likes, what you are doing is scanning. Skimming, on the other hand, is rapid reading that goals to get the main ideas contained in the material in an effort to get the general overview of the content. Skimming is then considerably slower the scanning.

In trying to evaluate online materials, what you would most likely do is to skim through them. Unless, of course, if you're trying to look for specific information that you are trying to verify. Skimming through an article allows you to quickly complete a material without losing its essence.

Skim effectively and finish a lot of materials with less time. Always remember than comprehension must never be sacrificed for speed. Speed reading is a total waste of time if you did not understand what you have just read.

Citation and Referencing Styles

In order to check the validity of the facts stated in online material, references must be presented so that you can verify them. It is the responsibility of the author of the material to include citations and references in a way that follows standard referencing styles, but as the evaluator, you must also be aware of how to do this so that you can use it as criteria in critiquing the said material.

First of all, have a check on the references for the material. Make sure that these are credible resources. A lot of satirical sites and content are available on the web and one may easily come across them and eventually use them as part of the material. The writer must be careful enough to distinguish the validity and credibility of the site or content that he is basing his material from.

There are a couple of ways to include ideas from other materials into your own. It can be done by quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing. Quoting is done by directly placing portions or parts of what was included in your resource material. It is a word-for-word placement of the resource material. Summarizing is providing a shorter version of the resource material while acknowledging that your material is based on the information you got from the source. Paraphrasing is trying to reword your source material but with the necessary attribution of where you got the idea from.

These three methods of including ideas from other materials should have a list of references. This list of references must obey one of the referencing standards and styles. There are two prevailing referencing styles that are being followed: the APA format, and the MLA format.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) format is distinguished by the following characteristics:

1. Authors' and editors' names are spelled out completely. If there are more than three authors, list the first one only and then write "et. al" as a substitute for all other authors.

2. Important words in a title are capitalized.

3. The shortened name of the published is placed.

4. Only the city is placed on the place of publication.

5. Dates are placed at the end of the citations.

6. The second and subsequent lines are indented while the first line is made to align with the left margin.

7. The in-text citation uses the author's name and page.

On the other hand, the American Psychological Association (APA) format is as follows:

1. All authors are listed and use the last name, and then the first initial.

2. Only the first word in a title is capitalized.

3. Full names are used for publishers.

4. Includes state abbreviations for the place of publication.

5. Dates are placed after the author's name.

6. The first line of the citation is indented while subsequent aligned to the left margin

7. In-text citations use the author's name, date of publication, and page number.

Always remember that citation is done because you have the responsibility to give credit to the author of your source material. You would not want to steal other people's work. Also, you would not want other people from passing off your work as their own so you must also do the same for the work of others.

The MLA Style Center is the best and most interactive guide you can check out for your research. Aside from a citation guide, they also have a research format guide for your paper and an FAQ section.

Meanwhile, to see how APA citations are usually written in reference lists, visit this guide made by The University of Western Australia. It's already updated to the 6th edition. Here you can check how different resources are cited, such as Books and eBooks, Journal articles, Newspapers & Magazines and Web sources (pages, blogs, social media, etc).

Content Issues: Plagiarism, Copyright, and Accessibility

Plagiarism, copyright infringement, and problems with accessibility are some of the issues that you may stumble upon when dealing with online content. Let's discuss in detail the implications of each of these content issues.

Plagiarism: Problems of Duplicity

One of the biggest sins you can commit while writing online materials is plagiarizing, which is the omission of reference to the original source of information, which gives the impression that it is the writer of the material at hand who originally said a statement even if that is not the case. This can be done on purpose or as a result of neglect. Even if it is by mere neglect that the citation was not made, plagiarism is still inexcusable. Plagiarism can be committed against written or spoken texts, and even against graphical content such as photos, drawings, sketches, paintings, and the like.

As an evaluator of online materials, your goal is to identify whether the author of the material you are assessing committed plagiarism, may it be partial or total in nature. Plagiarism should never be tolerated, and it is the responsibility of the evaluator to ensure whether or not plagiarism was committed in any piece of material that he handles, especially those that the general public can see.

Plagiarism is really unfair to the original owner of the unduly cited content. It takes credit away from him and awards it to the plagiarizer. All the hard work, creativity, and that the original owner of the content is put into waste, while the plagiarizer is praised for creating outstanding content - of course, why would anyone copy something that he does not consider as at least a good write-up, statement, or photo?

DMCA and Copyright Issues

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines copyright as the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (as a literary, musical, or artistic work). With a copyright, you can sue others who try to reproduce your work without your permission or consent. It is a protection given to the original creator, or to whom he grants the said protection, to benefit from his work.

In essence, violation of copyright (or more commonly referred to as copyright infringement) and plagiarism are similar. However, copyright infringement backed up by a legal construct while plagiarism is more of an ethical issue for academic, journalistic, or corporate institutions. Both of these promote originality and creativity as they protect the original creator of the work.

Copyright infringement and plagiarism do not go hand-in-hand. Not all cases of copyright infringement are cases of plagiarism as well, and vice versa. You can plagiarize content that does not qualify for copyright, and you can also commit infringement even if you have provided the necessary citation.

When talking about copyright, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) almost always follows. The DMCA is a copyright law of the United States which was made to implement two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as well as to heighten the penalties given to those who commit copyright infringement. The provisions of the DMCA will be discussed in detail on future write-ups focused on the topic. For now, it must just be fully understood that copyright infringement is a serious matter and there are strong laws against it.

As an evaluator, you must deal with copyright infringement issues before matters get worse. It is your duty to uphold the observance of applicable laws and ethical standards.

Content Accessibility

One billion people, or 15 % of the world's population, experience some form of disability, and disability prevalence is higher for developing countries. One-fifth of the estimated global total, or between 110 million and 190 million people, experience significant disabilities. - WorldBank.org

One billion people. A significant amount of this population has access to the Internet, but sadly, not all can access content found on the Internet. With the increasing demands for website accessibility, several countries have already pushed for accessibility legislation to support the disabled users' rights to information.

Disabled users commonly addressed by these efforts are those with visual, mobility, auditory, seizures, and cognitive disabilities. Those with visual disabilities include low vision and color blindness. Motor disabilities include those who lack muscle control due to tremors or neurological conditions. Hearing impairments such as deafness are included in auditory disabilities. Meanwhile, people with seizures are a special case; those triggered by visual strobes or flashing effects are mainly affected in this category. Last but not least, cognitive disabilities range from developmental to learning disabilities.

How Does Website Accessibility Help These Users?

Website accessibility helps users to understand and access a website's information with the help of certain tools that aim to assist them in browsing a website. But, if a website is not optimized for accessibility, disabled users will have a hard time browsing a website.

There are available tools for the auditory and visually challenged to interact and use the Internet. Text-to-speech software and/or text-to-Braille hardware help blind users to access a website. For poor-sighted users, having a function to make the texts enlargeable would be helpful especially those without prescription glasses. Highlighting linked texts through underlines or contrast highlights will aid visually impaired users, especially those who are color blind.

Those with disabled motor abilities will benefit from large clickable areas like buttons on a website since they will lack precision in clicking small buttons. Moreover, coding a website that will let users navigate the website easily via a keyboard or a single switch device can help them browse through the website even without using a mouse or a standard keyboard.

Today, playing videos has been less complicated as well. Those with hearing complications can now watch and understand the context of these videos through closed-captioning or via sign language. Meanwhile, flashing effects on websites are known to trigger seizure attacks. Minimizing or fully avoiding these effects will not be put those who are prone to seizure at risk.

Developmental or cognitive disabilities perhaps is the biggest challenge of them all. With various content available in different formats and in different contexts or degrees of reading difficulty, those who have a difficult time comprehending these content will shy away from a resource. Ideally, resource content should be easy to understand, written in plain language, and equipped with instructional diagrams and even audio-visual aids.

To know more about website accessibility, Hosting Facts has another resource guide for web designers and developers on how to make your website accessible to all. This includes a brief history of web accessibility, steps on how to make your website accessible, and tools you can use to assess your website for accessibility in accordance with the guidelines set by WCAG 2.0.

With online content made accessible to everyone, even people with disabilities can understand and learn more information from the website.

Further Readings and References

APA citation style: Introduction. (n.d.) Retrieved July 21, 2016, from https://guides.library.uwa.edu.au/friendly.php?s=apa

Disability Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic

Evaluating Information. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://guides.library.jhu.edu/c.php?g=202581

Evaluating Internet Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2016, from https://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content

How to Make Websites User-Friendly and Accessible for Everybody. (n.d.) Retrieved July 21, 2016, from https://hostingfacts.com/website-accessibility-guide/

Loshin, D. (2011). The Practitioner's Guide to Data Quality Improvement. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann.

The MLA Style Center. (n.d.) Retrieved July 21, 2016, from https://style.mla.org/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Complete Guide to Evaluating Online Resources - hostingfacts.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Table of Contents Part 1: The Need to Evaluate Internet Resources Part 2: Evaluating Online Resources Part 3: Checklist on Evaluating Online Resources Part 4: Improve Your Evaluation Skills Part 5: Content Issues: Plagiarism, Copyright, and Accessibility Why Do We Need to Evaluate Online Resources? Everyone and anyone can create content online.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Digital Learning | Educational Innovation Across Northwestern

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
BY WILLIAM GUTH ON NOVEMBER 11, 2016

As an Instructional Technologist, receiving a daily barrage of emails from education tech companies is the norm. Each email offers a set of digital tools promising to "improve" the way our faculty deliver their content and "boost" our students' learning outcomes to new heights. With each new day, there's an opportunity to discover new tools and figure out whether these companies are really trying, or totally lying.

One type of instructional technology that is specifically important to the School of Professional Studies is online presentation tools, and our biggest challenge comes when we try to introduce new tools into the workflow of course design and content delivery. As an instructor you may think to yourself, "You mean I have to learn a new tool? I just became familiar with Canvas. Now you say I have to learn _______?" Believe me, we hear you.

In an effort to mitigate this challenge, I participated in an Online Learning Consortium Institute workshop called "Introduction to Online Presentation Tools." Naturally the workshop exposed me to a spectrum of online presentation tools I had never heard of before, which I will share with you in a future blog post. But more importantly the workshop exposed me to a method of evaluating online learning tools that the School of Professional Studies will implement.

So, whether we hear about learning tools through ed tech vendors or directly from our faculty, there are a few questions we will ponder to determine whether not we should even consider testing and evaluating new tools.

1. Will use of this tool support stated learning objectives?

Identifying course objectives is one of most important aspects of the design process. In talking with your learning designer about objectives, you may brainstorm ways to achieve the objectives, a discussion that often leads to identifying tools can come in handy for these objectives. For example, if you want students to be able to diagram relationships, then a tool like Popplet might be useful. [Popplet: Description | ]

2. How user-friendly is the tool?

If it is determined that a tool or technology does support stated learning objectives, that is when we start evaluating the user-friendliness of a tool against the "Web 2.0 Selection Criteria Checklist" developed by Bethany Bovard, Instructional Designer and eLearning Developer.

The checklist evaluates the tool across five areas of user friendliness including Access, Usability, Privacy & Intellectual Property, Workload & Time Management, and Fun Factor.

Access, for instance, asks us to consider whether the tool or technology:

Works across different operating systems (e.g. Windows, Mac, Android, iOS)

Works using different browsers (e.g. Firefox, Chrome, Explorer) and,

Whether the tools has features compliant features with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. (e.g. closed captioning, keyboard navigation)

Each area for evaluation consists of three major criterion to check for, and has a list of questions you can ask yourself to determine if the tool meets that criteria. For the full evaluation checklist visit Save Time Choosing an Appropriate Tool .

After rigorously testing and narrowing our list of new and user-friendly tools, we move to evaluating how these tools will support the quality online experience our students expect and deserve.

3. Will use of this tool support various quality online educational criteria?

There are several models to choose from for evaluating online experience and educational quality, but for the bulk of our evaluations we will rely on the Seven Principles of Good Practice . The Seven Principles include: Student-Faculty Contact, Cooperation, Active Learning, Prompt Feedback, Diverse Ways of Learning, High Expectations and Time on Task.

In general any combination of these make for high quality online experiences where students are collaborative and social, teaching and learning from each other, learning by doing, interacting productively with faculty, and learning in ways that students find most effective for broadening their repertoires.

Beyond these three steps the Distance Learning team will evaluate costs, the reach of the tool beyond courses and departments, the strength of the company that developed the tool, and their support structure.

*For more information about commonly used frameworks for evaluating quality education criteria visit the following links:

The post Web 2.0 Digital Tools Selection Criteria appeared first on SPS | Distance Learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Web 2.0 Digital Tools Selection Criteria

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
BY WILLIAM GUTH ON NOVEMBER 11, 2016 As an Instructional Technologist, receiving a daily barrage of emails from education tech companies is the norm. Each email offers a set of digital tools promising to "improve" the way our faculty deliver their content and "boost" our students' learning outcomes to new heights.

# data[].attributes.headline
Improving Learning Outcomes with the help of Technology

# data[].attributes.subject
Improving Learning Outcomes with the help of Technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As education continues to develop through the integration of technology in and outside the classroom, the mentality among many teachers has started to shift as well. There used to be a fear that technology would eventually replace the teacher, but the more prevalent view now is that it is a tool which can be applied to enhance conventional teaching rather than replace it. It is with this mindset that a lot of teachers have successfully integrated technology with their classes, without losing the human and emotional factors between teachers and students which are so vital to education. With that in mind, we would like to share a few tips on how to improve learning outcomes in the classroom with the help of technology.

Create a tech friendly environment

In order for technology to be the effective tool it's meant to be, everybody needs to get on board. Make sure that teachers, students, parents and administrators are aware of the decision to integrate technology into education. They should be made to feel comfortable, and fully understand that upgrading traditional educational practices through the use of technology is an opportunity, not a threat. Only once everyone involved with the process of education agrees with and embraces technology integration can the benefits be realised. After you have reached this level of collaboration and support, everyone involved should be open to the idea of a modern approach to both teaching and learning. Once the right school environment is fostered, policies can be put in place and you can begin to focus on the best ways technology can be implemented.

Training! Training! Training!

Since everyone is not as savvy as you might think, it's important to make sure that everyone feels comfortable with the use of technology. Many teachers tend to shy away from applying technology in the classroom as they are unsure how to use it effectively; others are afraid that using it too much will devalue their status as an instructor. A healthy balance must be achieved. Professional development should be provided on how to integrate technology into the curriculum, in a way that allows teachers to have a clear-cut idea of when and how to use it. Students should also be trained and boundaries need to be set, so that their technology usage is regulated in a way that strictly aids their learning.

Technology: Part of the daily schedule

Once policies are put into place, technology can be embedded into everyday lessons. Look for ways to adapt teaching practices and lectures to benefit both student and teachers. Decide which materials and resources should be made use of. Ideas such as 'flipping the classroom' through the use of technology should be considered. Pedagogical models such as this can free up class time for more student and teacher engagement through group discussions, brainstorming, quizzes, additional exercises and supplemental material. Since lectures and instructional videos can be made available to students prior to lessons, you can completely revolutionize time spent in the classroom. Clearly, as this may significantly modify the school schedule, teachers will need to adapt accordingly. Remember: to successfully integrate technology into a course you must first identify the desired learning outcomes. Only then can you select appropriate technology.

Redesign your curriculum

Your curriculum should be tailored in such a way that it supports the use of technology. Decisions about which objectives are to be assessed through technology need to be laid out and supported. This will require some basic re-formatting of the curricula so that the technological practices are made a part of the standard curriculum of subjects. For example, in subjects such as Science, you could supplement the curricula to include advanced tools for experimentation and research, creating a more practical approach to learning which is hands-on and experiential.

Match technology to student abilities

Don't set your students up for failure. Make sure to adjust the use of technology so that it matches the abilities of students based on prior assessments. The use of technology needs to be eased in and students should not be expected to master new gadgets and methods all at once. A properly trained teacher can help support and guide them to gradually adopt technology, so that it eventually becomes a significant part of their everyday learning. Teachers should track the performance and progress of the students through regular feedback.

Make time for peer collaboration

Encouraging peer collaboration for problem- solving and knowledge-sharing not only builds communication skills, but leads to in-depth learning and comprehension. Working in groups leads to better understanding and is an effective way to improve learning outcomes. Together students can discover new ways of using the technology provided, within dedicated learning environments. Collaborative learning allows students to take advantage of the technology that is part of their curriculum, while shedding new light upon effective ways of using it.

Project based learning

PBL allows students to apply practical skills to the subject matter and realize its significance in real-life situations. Integrating technology into PBL is a great way to assess collaboration. There are many tools available to create products for PBL that build technology literacy skills.

As you can see from the list above implementing technology into the classroom is something which requires a lot of thought, and can be daunting at first. There's one tip we can share, and that is to start with one thing and one thing only, and make sure you master it. Often when you try and implement several changes at the same time, results suffer because of a failure to fully commit to any one of them. By focusing on mastering one at a time, you have more control over a gradual change and more chance of achieving your goals.

Author: Abigail Bryant

Abi is Head of Support at Kognity, where she works closely with teachers and students getting them set up and ensuring their experience with Kognity is a great one. Previously she worked as an English teacher working with International Schools in South East Asia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Improving Learning Outcomes with the help of Technology - Kognity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Improving Learning Outcomes with the help of Technology As education continues to develop through the integration of technology in and outside the classroom, the mentality among many teachers has started to shift as well. There used to be a fear ... Read More