Padlet is a great tool to deploy in your classroom. If Padlet is new to you, it is an online post-it wall, that you create, and that you and your students can post to using a browser. It’s compatible with (almost) any device with a browser…Smartphones, iPads, Android tablets, and laptops will all work with … [Read more…]
Socrative is a great AfL tool. If you haven’t used it before it allows you to collect quick responses from students, it works on any device, and it allows you to plan, or spontaneously deploy, multiple choice questions in a lesson. You can also collect quick written answers from students to judge their comprehension. The … [Read more…]
With nearly 7,000 shares on Facebook and 1,700 tweets about it, TheAtlantic had one of the most well read edtech posts this week ‘Why Some Schools Are Selling All Their iPads‘. It’s a really good read, it follows a few case studies of districts retreating from 1:1 iPad deployment and some migrating towards Google Chromebooks. But there’s … [Read more…]
SAMR provides a really useful taxonomy to reflect on how a form of educational technology enhances learning. If you haven’t come across it before Candance M has an excellent explanation of Puentedura’s SAMR taxonomy on YouTube. When I’ve discussed QR codes with colleagues, I’ve often seen them as nothing more than a substitute for providing … [Read more…]
YouTube is a mixed bag. It can be a powerful educational resource ripe with tutorials and videos that will educate you in any area that interests you. It can also be a land filled with time wasting videos, content that some may find distasteful and music videos that you watch for hours. YouTube’s diversity is … [Read more…]
When I saw one of my colleagues typing about one word every 10 seconds a thought entered my head. “How am I ever going to persuade this person that technology will offer an easy and effective way to enhance the learning of their students?”. After working closely with this fantastic teacher for a whole year I … [Read more…]
“Eggy farts!” “Sir’s had a haircut!” “I’m on the board. lol” These are all responses I’ve had on my screen when using Padlet and Socrative with students. If you’re not familiar with either tool, they allow students to contribute a post that can instantly be collated and displayed on an interactive whiteboard. Moreover, these were … [Read more…]
Reading around the EdTech blogosphere this week and I’ve come across two golden oldies that you may have missed, and one excellent new post. Here’s a few of the best: Making EdTech Work with K-12 – A great post that explores some of the common misconceptions of using educational technology with primary school children and presents … [Read more…]
Describing schools at data obsessed doesn’t quite convey the almost religious reverence that data is given in schools today. For some teachers pupil premium, ethnicity, and SEN are not just indicators of educational vulnerability but a category that requires immediate interventions to be planned and delivered to students. We now habitually label students with grade, … [Read more…]
There’s been a lot of great posts on the EdTech blogosphere this week! Here’s a few of the best: The Struggles and Realities of Student-Driven Learning and BYOD by Katrina Schwartz (MindShift) – A great article that summarises the problems that a bring your own device (BYOD) policy can have in more deprived socio-economic communities. Moreover, it … [Read more…]