If we truly want America’s children to have access to the internet in school, then it's time that the FCC steps in and requires the telcos and the cable companies to provide educational pricing for Internet connectivity!
- By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway
- 03/18/13
It is inevitable that eventually a school will be able to purchase a total, mobile learning package. But today, putting a pedagogically effective mobile learning initiative into a K-12 classroom means putting pieces to a puzzle together. Based on personal experiences in mobile learning classrooms we are here to bear witness: it IS worth the struggle!
- By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway
- 03/11/13
As social media becomes ubiquitous, schools and districts should shift from trying to control its use and toward teaching faculty and students how to build successful learning communities.
In "Crossing the Chasm," the high-tech marketing bible, G. Moore advises that If we want to convince mainstream educators to adopt mobile technologies, we need to (1) stop focusing on the technology per se (screen size, chip version, etc.), and (2) paint pictures of what goes on in the classroom when mobile technologies are used and what the kids will be like after using the mobile technologies. Here’s a crack at painting those pictures.
- By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway
- 03/04/13
Mobile learning is really taking off! In developing nations, at least! We present a few highlights from UNESCO's 2nd Annual Mobile Learning Week, held at UNESCO’s Paris HQ, that we participated in recently.
- By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway
- 02/25/13
So teachers are told to use computers (laptops, iPad--it doesn’t matter) in a curriculum that was made for pencil-and-paper learning activities. So teachers are given a Learning Management System that makes it harder for them, rather than easier, to deal with student artifacts. What’s wrong with this picture?!?!
- By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway
- 02/11/13
Educators need to do a better job of explaining to the public what effective education really looks like.
- By Therese Mageau
- 02/06/13
The acceleration of technological change in schools is apparent to virtually all educators. What are these new technologies that are the cause of the collision of educational philosophies? They are evident in hardware and in software, in systems and in pedagogy.
- By Michael Chimes
- 01/30/13
Being "ready-to-hand," a mouse (the computer kind) is a means to end: While using a mouse you don’t think about it, per se, but rather you think about menus dropping down when mouse-clicked, the cursor being positioned, etc. The "kids these days" use smartphones, as they are "ready-to-hand," as a means to an end--with the end being 24/7, all the time, everywhere learning.
- By Cathie Norris, Elliot Soloway
- 01/28/13
Educator and ed tech enthusiast Jenna Linskens went from onetime FETC attendee to featured speaker. She shares how the conference has helped shape her career.
- By Jenna Linskens
- 01/28/13