The EdSurge Product Index

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Since 2012, the EdSurge Product Index has been the first stop for educators in search of learning technology solutions. The redesigned EdSurge Product Index(BETA) features enhanced product profiles and validations from trusted education and technology organizations. Now, educators will be able to find the most complete, reliable and up-to-date information available on learning technology products.

Also see:

 

How to Support Students and Families through Technology and Innovation — from thejournal.com by Jeremy Davis

Excerpt:

Here are just a few district-wide innovations that resulted from the pandemic:

  • Worked with our local public access television station to broadcast district updates and educational resources. We contracted with Discovery Education to post some of their content to local channel 3 for students without home Internet access, and we built a television studio where our Innovation team worked with district teachers to produce content for local cable from 8–3 every week day.

DC: Which reminds me of this idea/graphic:

  • Students were provided with Internet hotspots to ensure every student in the district could access the content and the video conferencing lessons with their teachers.
  • The Educational Services department created an amazing curriculum and summer school program where students could log in and complete curricular activities as enhancements to the curriculum and throughout the summer.
  • Created videos of “how” we could do both live and online teaching at the same time to help teachers feel more comfortable with the new way of teaching.
 
 

What is Stop Motion Studio and How Does It Work? Best Tips and Tricks — from techlearning.com by Luke Edwards
Stop Motion Studio is a movie maker that’s easy to use and ideal for students and teachers

Excerpt:

Stop Motion Studio is an app that makes turning images into video a fun and educational process for students.

Designed to be easy to use, and with the basics coming free, this is a useful tool to allow students to express ideas in video format. Since it is app-based it can be accessed on personal devices, both in class and elsewhere.

Also see the Stop Motion Studio website:

Stop Motion Studio

 
 
 

5 Ways to Make Edtech More Inclusive — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
Better communication with students and more representation within edtech are just some ways we can better serve all special education students with technology, says University of California, Irvine’s Gillian Hayes.

Excerpt:

Making edtech accessible to all students has always been important but as it is now an essential part of the classroom, it has never been more vital.

Gillian Hayes, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate Division at University of California, Irvine, has studied edtech accessibility extensively. Making technology more accessible in the classroom is one of her goals at The Connecting the EdTech Research EcoSystem (CERES), which she coleads with UCI colleague Candice Odgers.

She shares strategies for how educators, programmers, and researchers can help foster more accessibility in edtech.

 

From DSC:
I was reading about a Ph.D. who was currently doing some research into the science of learning. This person had been teaching in a School of Education for years, but just (relatively) recently embarked on a Ph.D. During this person’s research, they came across a lot more information regarding the science of learning.

If this was true with someone who had been in education for years (and I can relate to that as well), it made me wonder:

  • How can we better get the word out to our learners re: how they can maximize their Return On Investment (ROI) from their studying time and efforts…?

Then I thought, why couldn’t we put these tips directly into our banners on our CMS’s and LMS’s and/or link our banners to some other web pages/resources that provide such best practices and tips for our learners!?!  This could occur within the corporate training world as well.

Examples:

Let's put best practices on studying directly within our LMSs banners!

Or we could link to resources regarding best practices in studying!

Along these lines, we should have 11×17 (or larger) posters like this plastered in every hallway of every learning space out there:

 

We should plaster these types of posters throughout our learning spaces!!!

 
 

2022 Top 10 IT Issues -- from Educause

2022 Top 10 IT Issues

 

From DSC:
Time will tell which institutions have the prerequisite culture of innovation that will help reinvent themselves, stay relevant, and survive. 

And for people (who have worked in higher education for years) who don’t like to see learners as customers…well…when those learners are often paying $100,000-$250,000 or more for a four-year degree, those folks don’t have much say or credibility any longer. The price increases that they never stepped in to stop from occurring have forever changed the learning ecosystems within higher education. The idea of supporting  the perspective that says:

Well, we’re proud (and content) that our institution will have the lowest price increase in X (where X is a city, state,  or geographic region)
or
We’re proud that our institution will have the lowest price increase within our group of similar/comparative institutions.

…well, that type of perspective hasn’t cut it for years now. But the danger of that status quo perspective is only becoming apparent to many now that one’s very survival is at stake.


Addendum/also see:


 

 
 

Top 5 Language Learning Apps in 2021 — per Sinisa Sambolic DMM, 42matters, Zürich

  1. Duolingo: language lessons by Duolingo
    Downloads Over the Last 30 Days: 6,924,751
  2. Learn 33 Languages Free – Mondly by ATi Studios
    Downloads Over the Last 30 Days: 777,312
  3. ELSA Speak: Online English Speaking App for mobile by ELSA
    Downloads Over the Last 30 Days: 537,654
  4. Lingokids – kids playlearning™ by Lingokids – English Learning For Kids
    Downloads Over the Last 30 Days: 533,291
  5. Cake: Free expressions updated daily! by Cake Corp
    Downloads Over the Last 30 Days: 186,041

42matters is a leading provider of mobile app data and app store insights. 42matters facilitates a holistic overview of the mobile app market by leveraging its unique arsenal of machine learning algorithms to research every app and developer on the major app stores and connected TV channel stores. These include the Apple App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store, Tencent Appstore, AppleTV App Store, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku Channel Store.

 

50 Sites & Apps for K-12 Education Games — from techlearning.com by Diana Restifo and David Kapuler
Game-based learning is a great way to integrate technology into the classroom while engaging kids with real learning.

Excerpt:

Game-based learning turns potentially tedious study time into an adventurous knowledge quest, complete with catchy soundtracks and digital rewards. It helps keep kids engaged with the subject matter and motivated to pursue greater expertise. Best of all, web- or app-based gameplay integrates easily into both online and in-person classes.

With the demise of Flash at the end of 2020, many favorite educational game sites went under. That’s why we decided to update our popular list below to include the latest and best sites and apps for K-12 education games. Many are free (or offer free basic accounts) and some provide progress tracking and analysis tools for teachers. All will help kids enjoy learning.

Also relevant/see the following resource and excerpt from Goldie Blumenstyk’s The Edge (from the Chronicle of Higher Education)

Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways — by Sarah Stein Greenberg

Excerpt:

Greenberg also makes a compelling case for the “playful and joyous” approaches the d.school has been championing, like the secret handshake or building several prototypes of an ideal chair using tools like cardboard, pipe cleaners, and chewing gum and toothpicks. After so many months of loss and social deprivation, she told me last week, “those elements are more important than ever.”

 

From DSC:
Perhaps folks might want to experiment with the teaching strategy as mentioned below from Dr. Barbi Honeycutt’s Lecture Breakers Weekly e-newsletter.


From The Scholarly Teacher blog — who just added a new section on the blog which includes teaching tip infographics.

This week, they shared variations of Think, Pair, Share. In this teaching strategy, you give the students a problem or question. Then, you ask them to think about the question, pair up with a partner to discuss it, and then share it with the rest of the class (hence the name “think, pair, share”).

In this adaption, you do the same process, but instead of asking them to share with the class, you ask them to post a tweet using a class hashtag. Then you can read the tweets aloud, integrate them into your lecture, and/or facilitate a class discussion. This teaching strategy works well for blended, in-person, and online course formats, so it’s very adaptable to any topic or lesson.

 
 
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