Five Apps for Busy Educators
Staying organized during a hectic school year is certainly a difficult task. With hundreds of e-mails, phone messages, parent conferences, and meetings, staying organized can seem impossible. To help, I’ve put together a short list of helpful apps I use to stay on top of things. 1. Google Apps for Education– “Google Apps Education Edition is a free suite of hosted communication & collaboration applications designed for schools and universities.” The suite includes apps to help teachers communicate (Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Talk) and collaborate (Google...
Read MoreTwitter Tips for Teachers
As Twitter’s popularity has increased, teachers are frequently asking how to use Twitter. There are several good web tutorials that detail teacher’s experiences and if you are looking for projects these could be just right for you. That is beyond the scope of this post, perhaps in another article. Today, I will keep it simple and share five general tips that I have found very effective. Take time to fill out your profile and add a picture. People like to see who they are communicating with and knowing some information about you will help them identify with you. Share the items...
Read MoreBlended Learning Boosts Achievement
A recent study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education found that students involved in blended learning programs generally performed better than students who participated in face-to-face instruction. According to the study, “The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face.” The study, entitled Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online...
Read MoreCorrupted-Files.com: Fake It Till You Make It
Fake it till you make it. That’s the idea behind corrupted-files.com. Deadlines have always been a part of the education experience. For many it has meant late night cram sessions fueled by plenty of Red Bull. As technology became more integrated into our daily lives, enterprising individuals brought SparkNotes and essay mills online. For procrastinating students this offered a hope for redemption. For teachers at best it represented superficial learning and at its worst, downright plagiarism. The battle has evolved yet again. Currently, for $4.95, Corrupted-Files offers students the...
Read MoreEasy Technology for Education: Edmodo 2.0
Twitter has brought the concept of micro-blogging to the attention of much of the world. The recent Iranian election drama that played out on a world stage, certainly would not have been possible without Twitter. Facebook and Friendfeed have also jumped into the instant update arena to keep up and provide interesting options themselves. In a previous article, I outlined the idea behind micro-blogging and some of the complaints associated with it. In today’s article, I want to take a look at a great way to develop a light-weight, easy to use, Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). While...
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