Expert Perspectives


Is It Really Hip to Flip?

"Try it! You might like it!" is not a sufficient reason for initiating flipped instruction. What are the questions educators should be asking in order to ensure the best outcomes for students?

Are We Ready for Testing Under Common Core State Standards?

There's a bumpy road ahead on the way to a successful Common Core State Standards movement. Already states and districts are examining the match between current standards, what they currently teach at various grade levels, and the CCSS. Of particular significance is that online tests will become the norm in the years ahead for many states. But are schools and teachers ready for this? Should you be concerned?

In the Company of Sages

We all pay lip service to the need for educators to be learners as well as teachers, but how often do we really act on it?

12 Best Practices For Moving Young Learners Forward With Technology

News flash! Young children like technology! Early childhood programs can reinforce safe and appropriate usage by being intentional with their policies and instructional practices.

Forget About Blended Learning Best Practices

In the first installment in our new monthly column, blended learning experts Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker advise schools to skip the "best practices" and instead seek innovations that work in their unique circumstances.

Marty Heidigger Might Well Have Used a Smartphone for Learning

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.

Dreaming Up an Easy, Disney-inspired STEM Lesson

One FETC presenter details his very popular "Design a Disney World Theme Park" workshop, which teaches collaboration, creativity, and STEM concepts.

The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Blended Learning Policies

In the fifth installment of their monthly column, blended learning experts Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker discuss the policies prohibiting and fostering the growth of blended learning.

Data Protection: Make a Wise Decision

It's not unusual for school district staff members to emulate Lewis Carroll's Mad Hatter, wearing six or eight hats simultaneously in their everyday efforts. Sometimes, the hat hardest to wear is IT management, which is important and challenging at the same time.

HTML5: The Web Beyond Web 2.0

The implications for HTML5 technologies on learning are profound. As technologies become more "intelligent" and requirements shift away from the manual skills needed to use them, teaching and learning can focus more clearly on the processes of thinking and application.

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