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Kahoot! | Learning games | Make learning awesome!

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Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun to 1+ billion players every year at school, at work, and at home.

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free software for creativity - looking forward to use it

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Screen Capture Software | Snagit | TechSmith

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Get the ultimate screen capture software on Windows and Mac. Snagit combines powerful capture and image editing tools with a quick and easy screen recorder. Try free!

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ICT & Creativity

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6 Ways to Become a 21st Century Teacher Infographic

6 Ways to Become a 21st Century Teacher Infographic

If you have ever wondered what it takes to be a successful 21st century teacher, you might have come to realize that it is easier said than done. While many tips are out there, the multitude of information can be overwhelming for a busy teacher.

The 6 Ways to Become a 21st Century Teacher Infographic by NUITEQ®, illustrates 6 steps you should follow in order to succeed on your journey to become the best 21st-century teacher. Find out why change is essential, why developing a Professional Learning Network (PLN), will actually help you as a teacher or the benefits of integrating technology into your classroom. Read the infographic below and learn about what works in education.
View also:
Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog! Copy and Paste the following code!

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6 Ways to Become a 21st Century Teacher Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

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If you have ever wondered what it takes to be a successful 21st century teacher, you might have come to realize that it is easier said than done. While many tips are out there, the multitude of information can be overwhelming for a busy teacher.

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The adult educator via the correct pedagogy will make learners aware that the 21st century competences  of Creativity, Collaboration and Communication are achieved by ICT.  Thus, the adult learner will see the importance and will be motivated to learn and engage more during lessons.

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Critical development for further progress. ICT can be a catalyst.

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Critical development for further progress. ICT can be a catalyst.

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ICT enables learning differentiated teaching 

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ICT enables learning differentiated teaching 

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an investment in learner's education & educator's professional development

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An investment of €2.6 million spread over 5 years. Over 450 Interactive Whiteboards already installed.
Blata l-Bajda, Malta - [ 14/10/2011 ]: Hon. Dolores Cristina, Minister of Education, Employment and the Family (MEEF) and Mr. Claudio Grech, Chairman of Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) today announced the roll-out of interactive whiteboards in all state schools. The multi-million investment will see the introduction of over 1800 interactive whiteboards in state primary and secondary schools.

Following a tendering process, Hitachi Solutions and its local partners, Audio Visual Centre and Cutajar Ltd was chosen as the bidder with the most economically advantageous offer for the provision of Interactive Whiteboards. Both MITA and MEEF are working together on this project; MITA is ensuring that the right ICT infrastructure is available whilst MEEF are focusing on teacher training and content.

Interactive Whiteboards, enable teachers to deliver lessons in which students take a more participative role in the classroom, making learning more engaging and enriched with the ICT tools which the digitally aware generation interact with naturally. A combination of a large screen and a touch sensitive interface ensure that Interactive Whiteboards are easy to use and require no specialised skills. Training is being provided to all teachers to ensure they are fully aware of the potential to use videos, audio, animated characters, browse the Internet, create quizzes and more.

Mr. Grech who spoke on behalf of Hon. Austin Gatt, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Communication announced that to date Hitachi Solutions have installed 466 Interactive Whiteboards in state primary schools and that by next month, a further 579 in state primary schools and another 831 in state secondary schools would have been installed. Mr Grech added that, "when we consider today's investment of €2.6million in Interactive Whiteboards and the €8.6million investment in the eLearning Solution which we announced some weeks ago, we come to a total investment value of over €11 million, solely in education." The contract with Hitachi, including hardware and maintenance, covers a period of five years.

Mr Grech concluded by saying that, "this is not an investment in technology. This is indeed an investment in students' education and in the professional development of all teachers."

Hon Minister Cristina explained how this project is another example of Government's commitment to invest further in education which will ensure that our children get the very best. "Government's investment in education goes beyond the building of new schools. We're investing in each and every school because all students deserve the best," added Minister Cristina.

"The interactive whiteboards project goes very well with the eLearning Solution which we launched some days ago and through which students will have access to high quality interactive learning content from school, at home and other places. In order to reap the most benefit from these initiatives, we are delivering an intensive training programme for all teachers," added Minister Cristina. The training, split into over 400 sessions for all primary and secondary teachers is an additional investment of half a million euro.

The children, parents and teachers were also addressed by Mr. Yutaka Usuda, General Manager of Hitachi Solutions Ltd. - one of the leading companies in the IT service and software industry. Its Interactive Media Solutions Division has gained a reputation as an innovator in hardware and software products for interactive communications, delivering innovative solutions founded on the most advanced technologies in the market.

"It is our great pleasure to be selected to provide Interactive Whiteboards to the public schools of Malta. In addition to the equipment we will be able to provide educational content together with Cambridge University Press. On behalf of Hitachi Solutions and Cambridge University Press we look forward to a long and successful relationship with Government and schools," said Mr. Usuda.

Hitachi Solutions' local partners are Audio Visual Centre (AVC) Ltd and Cutajar Ltd. AVC has been operating as an education importation and distribution company since 1971. The company represents a number of international publishers and multinational companies who specialise in the educational product supply chain. On the other hand, Cutajar Limited was founded in 1981. Cutajar Limited (formerly trading as Francis Cutajar since 1950) has become a leader in the distribution of consumer electronics, IT equipment and electrical domestic appliances in Malta.

The capital investment of this project is part-financed by the Operational Programme I - Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 of the European Union (EU) under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Training is part-financed by the Operational Programme II - Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 of the European Union (EU) under the European Social Fund (ESF). Co-financing rate: 85% EU funds and 15% national funds.

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Government announces the rollout of over 1800 Interactive Whiteboards in all state schools

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An investment of €2.6 million spread over 5 years. Over 450 Interactive Whiteboards already installed. Blata l-Bajda, Malta - [ 14/10/2011 ]: Hon. Dolores Cristina, Minister of Education, Employment and the Family (MEEF) and Mr. Claudio Grech, Chairman of Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) today announced the roll-out of interactive whiteboards in all state schools.

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pros & cons- a balanced use is the ideal

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Classroom Tech | Viewpoint

Interactive Whiteboards: Truths and Consequences

Can interactive whiteboards be used effectively in the classroom to help improve student academic achievement? Maybe, but not by themselves.

Do interactive whiteboards lead to achievement gains? Does any specific technology? Whiteboards impressed me as little more than glorified slates back when I'd first learned of them--nice tools for presenting lessons with computer resources using annotative capabilities--but over the years I haven't given them much more further thought.

However, upon reading a recent article in the Washington Post (McCrummen, 2010) on the millions of dollars schools are spending to purchase interactive whiteboards and other technologies in their education reform efforts, I became intrigued by vendor claims that such products promise to improve student performance. But just what kind of performance does this mean? Let's examine some truths and consequences on interactive whiteboards, principally in regard to key questions for integrating technology into instruction and expectations for a technology to be effective.

Truth 1: Another Slate
The truth is that the interactive whiteboard (IWB) is the newest advancement in a whole line of slates introduced over the last few centuries, all seen as tools for educational reform. Educators are told that their "schools must embrace the technologies that are the media of modern life," as Stephanie McCrummen (2010) pointed out. However, new tools in the evolution of educational technology have often been met by resistance to change. You might appreciate some interesting quotes noted in Carolyn Campbell's slideshare. Historically, children transitioned from writing on prepared bark to writing on hand-held slates. But critics cried, "What if the slates broke? We're losing the art of preparing bark!" Then blackboards for broad classroom displays were introduced and green boards, the latter of which was touted as better than blackboards for reducing eye-strain. Whiteboards requiring use of dry erase markers became the next best thing because they eliminated health problems due to chalk dusk and were cleaner to use. The newest advancement of the slate is also being met with mixed reviews (Thomas, 2009), but IWBs have become popular and not just in the United States. What's so great about them?

Truth 2: Prized Features
Much has been written about features of IWBs that appeal for teacher-led instruction. The IWB is a touch-sensitive display that connects to a computer and a projector. It is both an output and input device. You can see all images as you would on a computer screen. You can write on it with electronic pens and use your finger as a mouse. As with content on a computer, you can save and print annotated output, recall it and revise annotations. Some models allow the sequence of events in a lesson to be saved in video format. This latter has the advantage for reuse and is helpful for learners who might have missed a lesson or wish to review. Content can be shared with other educators and parents. Accessories are available, such as wireless slates, that allow teachers to move about while having access to the IWB and student response systems (known as clickers) that enable teachers to get instant feedback for quick assessments. An added plus are IWB resources provided by vendors, such as those found at the Promethean Planet and Smart Exchange Web sites (Branzburg, 2008; Curwood, 2009).

Truth 3: A Medium with Potential
Sometimes schools jump on a technology bandwagon just to be considered "innovative," as McCrummen (2010) pointed out. However, a technology should be implemented because it will serve a role in learning. The truth is the IWB's role is that of a medium in instruction. In The Great Debate: Effectiveness of Technology in Education (Deubel, 2007), I reminded readers that it's not the medium, but instructional methods that cause learning. I also provided questions that Joel Smith and Susan Ambrose posed to help educators think in a systematic way about how and when to incorporate any new pedagogical strategy, including media, into instruction. For any implementation to have a chance of making a difference in learning, you need to be able to answer "yes" to one or more of the following questions:

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Interactive Whiteboards: Truths and Consequences -- THE Journal

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What do we know about interactive whiteboards? For some, they're indispensable teaching tools. For others, they're just IT waste. Either way, the research isn't really there yet to tell us whether they've resulted in any kind of academic gain for students in the years they've been in use in classrooms. Education consultant Patricia Deubel breaks down the issues and looks for some interim answers.

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a huge  learning potential compared to whiteboard or blackboard. It promotes multisensory and interactive learning

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Educator skill seen to determine the technology's impact

Sandra Simoneaux holds her right hand, with her thumb and ring finger together, up in the air as if she is about to lead an orchestra. She holds it there for a few moments until her class of 18 rambunctious 3rd and 4th graders at Parker Elementary School, a public school in Oakland, Calif., settles down. She then turns back to the interactive whiteboard at the front of class to continue the day's lesson, which includes math, language fluency, and comprehension, and which utilizes the whiteboard's touchscreen, writing pens, an interactive quiz, and its ancillary student-response system.

Her students at the 230-student school aren't normally so restless, she later explains, but they had some steam to blow off since they'd just spent the full morning taking the first part of their California Standards Tests, or CSTs. In fact, she spends this class session preparing for the next day of testing, by using the interactive whiteboard, or IWB, to work through CST-style multiple-choice questions with the class.

Despite the students' restlessness, all eyes are on the board and the children's excitement is palpable at key moments throughout the class, such as when Ms. Simoneaux announces it's time for a math quiz. As sets of two students walk to the IWB to vie against each other during timed math problems, their classmates cheer them on. And the moment Ms. Simoneaux has the slightest hiccup with the whiteboard software, a number of students yell out suggestions on how to fix it.

Clearly, the students like using the interactive whiteboards. But is the technology improving their education? One doesn't need to look far to find detractors, who consider interactive whiteboards to be nothing more than expensive overhead projectors.

While some multiyear studies have linked the technology to gains in academic achievement, many experts stress that IWBs are only as good as the teachers who use them.

"Some people think [the IWB] is a magic bullet that will solve everything," said Patrick Ledesma, a school-based technology specialist and special education department chair at the 746-student Holmes Middle School, which is part of the Fairfax County public schools in Virginia. He is also a current teacher-ambassador fellow for the U.S. Department of Education. But once interactive whiteboards have been installed, "teachers will do what they've always done, unless there is training or support to do things differently," he said.

"An IWB is just a tool, and if it's not used correctly, you can't blame the tool, you have to blame the user," he added. "If you're a teacher who used to lecture at a chalkboard, you'll do the same with the IWB."

Reinforcing Lessons

Ms. Simoneaux, for one, is a proponent of the technology.

Now in her third year with an interactive whiteboard, she says she uses it, and the student-response system, to get immediate insight into the pace at which her students are learning. When a question she poses using the response system gets a slow response (the tally of answers is shown in real time on the screen), she immediately knows that her students aren't "getting" the problem at hand. It needs reinforcement. With a paper-based quiz, that's something she wouldn't know until after the class was already over.

Plus, the response system "gives them a chance to think for themselves," by removing the physical prompts that students could rely on in the past, Ms. Simoneaux said. During preparation for the state test, she used to ask students to answer multiple-choice questions by holding up the number of fingers that corresponded with their answers (one finger for A, three for C). But rather than giving their own answers, many students would just copy the responses of the best-performing student.

Ms. Simoneaux also appreciates the way in which talking through practice test questions with her students provides an even pace. "My favorite is my ability to isolate the test questions and focus the children on the question I am addressing," she said. When she used paper tests, "several children would always rush ahead to finish rather than go at my instructional pace, and they'd miss the strategy I am teaching."

And because the entire class works through each problem interactively, she said, "the children also get to share their strategies with their classmates, so I am not the only voice of knowledge."

Of course, a teacher could isolate questions this way with a laptop and projector, but the IWB allows her to annotate the problem and then move on to the next one, without having to stop and erase the board. And the IWB software archives each slide, so nothing is ever lost, and she can quickly scan back to an earlier problem or lesson to reinforce a point.

Animating Learning

For some instructors at the 350-student Urban High School of San Francisco, IWBs have extended their teaching outside the classroom and allowed them to better connect with individual students' roadblocks and learning styles. The boards are used heavily within the foreign-language, math, and science departments.

After seeing an IWB demonstration at a tech-centric conference six years ago, some of the school's foreign-language teachers "came back to me and said we have to have these," said Howard Levin, the private school's director of technology. "That's a tech director's dream."

When IWBs first emerged, though, Mr. Levin had pooh-poohed the technology, pointing to glitches and fearing the whiteboards would promote teacher-centered learning. But after testing out the boards on a pilot basis at the school-teachers rotate through each classroom in the tight urban building, which meant all had a chance to experiment with the IWB-he saw ways the technology could enrich learning.

"The biggest thing [IWBs] helped me with was giving visuals," said Meghan Mahoney, who used to teach math at Urban High and is now serving as a consultant to other teachers there on how to use the boards. Because of their shared classrooms, Urban teachers can't preload static whiteboards with, say, graphs that illustrate a geometry problem. But the IWBs allow teachers to create slides in advance with problems, questions, graphics, audio, or video, and then use the time in class for teaching, rather than manually creating those elements.

Math and science teachers at Urban High use graph templates, provided in the IWB software, to teach, for instance, trigonometric ratios, because they provide the type of precise measurements one would find in a textbook, but also allow the teacher to annotate or animate the graphs.

Ms. Mahoney says that manipulating visuals-cutting, pasting, and flipping shapes, for instance-allows teachers to focus on their visual learners without appreciably slowing the pace for those who don't rely as heavily on visual indicators.

Interactive whiteboards that feature wireless tablets allow teachers to walk around the room and interact more with students, while also being able to toggle through the electronic material and add content to the board.

Accessing Archives

But Mr. Levin thinks the greatest value IWBs offer-no matter the subject area-is the ability to access archived classroom material. That allows students to experiment with how and whether they take notes in class vs. watching and listening to the teacher. When teachers heavily annotate their IWB slides, and then make each class session's slides accessible through the school's intranet, some students find that they can absorb more content by refraining from note-taking and then access the archive to reinforce the material.

And Ms. Mahoney notes that teachers can work one-on-one with students who are having trouble grasping certain concepts by scrolling through class archives. That way, they can point to specific sections and say, "I was with you until you got here, and then I got lost," she explained. With a textbook, that process could be less effective because the teacher's notation would be absent.

Of course, the use of interactive whiteboards requires professional development, but just as important is repetitive use, says Lori Caron, a 3rd grade teacher at the 565-student Silver Hill Horace Mann Charter School in Haverhill, Mass. She suggests using an interactive whiteboard as often as possible, so that it becomes second nature, and really exploring the possibilities.

"You can add pictures of documents [using a document scanner], integrate online content," Ms. Caron said. "It lends itself to so much more than just writing things on a board."

Published in Print: June 15, 2011, as Teachers Hold the Real Keys To Whiteboard Effectiveness

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Teachers Hold the Real Keys to Whiteboard Effectiveness

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Sandra Simoneaux holds her right hand, with her thumb and ring finger together, up in the air as if she is about to lead an orchestra. She holds it there for a few moments until her class of 18 rambunctious 3rd and 4th graders at Parker Elementary School, a public school in Oakland, Calif., settles down.

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elderly training in digital communication

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It is widely acknowledged that access to essential services and information, maintaining and enhancing social support networks and opportunities for meaningful social and civic engagement are increasingly compromised by a lack of digital literacy. This is more prevalent amongst older adults and people with a disability as they more prone to lagging behind other social groups in the adoption and effective use of ICTs.

The number of initiatives undertaken by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) in an attempt to address this has continued unabated. This new training programme - .com - leħen diġitali is yet another initiative in an ongoing stream of activity that is targeting senior citizens and individuals with a disability to encourage increased ICT take-up and enhance active living among this segment of the population.

Roderick Marmara from the MCA stated that "ICTs offer great potential to support lifelong learning for everyone. More importantly however, applying technology effectively can have a significantly positive impact on individuals suffering varying forms of disability from communication difficulties to mobility issues. ICTs offer increased opportunities for communication through assistive technologies and social networking, and opens new avenues for increased independence through online shopping or online banking facilities. ICT enables the engagement of socially isolated and vulnerable individuals before they are caught in a spiral of ill-health, depression and dependency"

In her intervention Parliamentary Secretary for Rights of Persons with Disability and Active Ageing Justyne Caruana mentioned that this is part of the initiatives the Government is taking in order to promote and enhanc independent living and active ageing. She mentioned that the Parliamentary Secretariat is providing various learning programs to enable older persons to engage in active citizenship. Recently government day centres were transformed into lifelong learning hubs with curricula covering various subjects including ICT which was also extended to residential home thus targeting the digital divide amongst older persons.

Commenting on this initiative, the Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth, Dr José Herrera said that 'with the launch of this programme we are trying to shed all existing barriers which limit and restrict senior citizens and individuals with disability to explore all opportunities possible through the proper use of ICT.' Dr Herrera emphasised that such initiatives are at the core of the Government's agenda as stated in the last budget.

More Information can be found on activeageing.gov.mt or by calling 25903175.

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1,000 elderly persons to benefit from training in digital communication - The Malta Independent

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It is widely acknowledged that access to essential services and information, maintaining and enhancing social support networks and opportunities for meaningful social and civic engagement are increasingly compromised by a lack of digital literacy. This is more prevalent amongst older adults and people with a disability as they more prone to lagging behind other social groups in the adoption and effective use of ICTs.

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ICT can help make assessment learner-centred

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ICT can help make assessment learner-centred

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theory; pedagogy that is created via ICT or adapted to ICT

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educator and learner decide where the learner is in his learning, where he needs to go and how best to get there

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5 assumptions of adult learners - knowles 

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5 assumptions of adult learners - knowles 

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http://elearninginfographics.com/adult-learning-theory-andragogy-infographic/

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http://elearninginfographics.com/adult-learning-theory-andragogy-infographic/

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the adult educator has to adapt teaching for each and every learner

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respect an adult's interest to learn ICT

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Day centres transformed into Adult lifelong learning. Course entitled Il-Proġett Roadshow on page 12 of the prospectus, make learners aware  of ICT tools they can use in their everyday live, and competent in using them

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technology enhances learning - "...significant improvements in student outcomes." (Puentedura, 2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN4J6AfbpbA

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NEW: SPARK Seattle 2014 - events.oetc.org/sparksea14 Nov 7th, Seattle, WA. Dr. Ruben Puentedura Founder and President of Hippasus consulting firm, Creator of the SAMR model spark.oetc.org Highlighted in the 2010 Apple Education Leadership Summit, Puentedura's SAMR model has become the standard for measuring successful technology integration in the classroom.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMazGEAiZ9c

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Technology In Education: A Brief Introduction

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Pros- reduce accessibility issues re time, venue, traffic; 24/7 availability
Cons- not every adult has accessibility internet or hardware; less human contact