What comes first, the chicken or the egg? What comes first, curriculum or technology? This is the question proposed by Elise Ecoff on Edudemic. Technology integration is more than buying devices, “every school must first have a great, robust and adaptable academic curriculum,” Ecoff says. “Only then can you begin to find ways in which technology can help to elevate it. It’s important to never force fit technology.”
Think Curriculum Enhancements, Not Technology Implementations
Here are five ways to ensure you’re putting the curriculum before the technology:
1) Learn How Students Are Using Technology at Home
2) Don’t Use Technology for the Sake of Using Technology
3) Focus on Just One Tech Implementation
4) Utilize the SAMR Model
5) Actively Seek Out Professional Development Opportunities
If you were lucky enough to attend the ISTE 2014 event in Atlanta this year you probably already know what a ground breaking year it was. If you weren’t one of the lucky ones, SmartBrief put together a list of the top seven takeaways. From discussions about BYOD to “all-in-one” solutions ISTE 2014 covered it all.
ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education and works to engage educators and education leaders in learning and teaching through the innovative and effective uses of technology in PK-12 and teacher education.
Have you been thinking that 3D printing is too “far out” to consider? Think again…..in order to offer kid friendly 3D printing, Hasbro will soon offer the DohVinci! It uses a kind of Play-Doh that comes in fine-tipped cartridges that hardens overnight! There is some disagreement about whether this is truly a printer or simply a new Hasbro extruder tool (which is not a new concept). The thing that is different is the new formula for the doh. Sounds like fun to me no matter what you call it, and a good possibility for a makerspace or fab lab. Or on my kitchen table with the grandkids!
Evaluation Scale by billsoPHOTO http://www.flickr.com/photos/billsophoto/4175299981/
Joel Lee writes: “CTRL + SHIFT + 4. Those are the only three keys you’ll ever need to press when you want to take a screenshot—and I’m not talking about a primitive screenshot either. You can select which region of the screen to capture, or you can capture entire windows with a single keystroke. Taking screenshots doesn’t have to be a hassle if you use one of these tools. Easy-access screenshots are one of those things that seem like it wouldn’t be useful, yet once you’ve used one you won’t ever look back.”…
Be sure to scroll down when you get to the page to get to the tool comparisons. As is typical, comments include additional tools if you have not found the tool of your dreams!
Image by Mosi. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
It is easy to see how ed tech trends cut across all types of libraries. As K-12 students experience more tech integration in their classrooms, it affects how they approach learning, and flavors the experience they expect at the public library and upon entering college too. Some of our medical librarians feel the increased expectations too for digital learning objects and more integrated information sources. The short list of seven ed tech trends shared by iLibrarian recently are listed below, but don’t stop there, see her blog post which includes infographics and more information on all of these trends.
3 D Printing
MOOCs
Big Data
Digital Textbooks
Gamification
The Flipped Classroom
Mobile Learning
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
What comes first, the chicken or the egg? What comes first, curriculum or technology? This is the question proposed by Elise Ecoff on Edudemic. Technology integration is more than buying devices, “every school must first have a great, robust and adaptable academic curriculum,” Ecoff says. “Only then can you begin to find ways in which technology can help to elevate it. It’s important to never force fit technology.”
