Last Updated on November 17, 2017
How effective is the education technology of today, and how far does it take us? What is the balance between investing in technology, programs, and teachers? In this week’s roundup, we dive into the many answers to these questions and more. Read on to explore how schools are bringing technology into their classrooms, what this means for teaching and learning effectiveness, and how far we still have to go to effectively integrating of teaching and technology.
1. Virtual education is creating new opportunities for K-12 students.
“According to recent reports, the majority of K-12 schools in the US are unable to offer the quality course programs required for students to acquire essential computing skills. The schools are lacking either the funds to provide the courses or good faculty to teach computational skills.” (The Next Web)
2. Teachers must disrupt the classroom in the automation age.
“Schools have not changed enough to prepare themselves for the disruptive reality where 47% of work roles will be made redundant by machines.” But the truth of the matter is, “Machines don’t care about making society flourish, teachers do.” (Huffington Post)
3. Do schools kill creativity?
A TED Talk from 2006 that is still relevant today. In the spirit of building teaching programs in today’s technological age, we look back at how Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case “for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.” (TED)
4. Emerging challenges in digital higher ed.
“…digital resources have become more integrated within higher education programs, [guiding] the institution’s path on education innovation. However, there is no blueprint for creating such an entity on campus or deciding what its main focus should be.” (Harvard)
5. For edtech that actually works, embrace the science of learning.
“As education technology gains an increasing presence in American schools, the big question being asked is, ‘Does it work?’ But as curricula and learning tools are prepared for rigorous evaluation, we should think about how existing research on teaching and learning have informed their design.” (The 74 Million)
6. Chicago edtech companies are rising to the top of the class.
As we kick off our summer with the Chicago education community, let’s take a closer look at the edtech companies here who are moving the needle. From technology that monitors students progress on tablets to educational data analytics, here are our fellow edtech changemakers in the Windy City. (Huffington Post)
7. How will edtech revolutionize learning in India?
A new report reveals that India’s online education market is set to grow to $1.96 billion by 2021 from $247 million in 2016. Why? The CEO of top edtech companies in the space explain how this is due to a combination of factors, such as smartphones and a shift towards more quality-driven education. (Entrepreneur)
8. How Google took over the classroom.
“Although business practices like encouraging educators to spread the word to their peers have become commonplace among education technology firms, Google has successfully deployed these techniques on a such a large scale that some critics say the company has co-opted public school employees to gain market dominance.” (New York Times)
9. How do you measure edtech effectiveness? And how does it improve education?
“As instructors consider technology tools for their courses, they are increasingly looking for evidence of effectiveness. However, researchers evaluating the impact of these technology tools on learner outcomes often ignore a critical component: the user’s local educational setting and how they choose to use the product.” (EdSurge)
10. Driving Success in Schools: Quality Teachers vs. Expensive Programs
Educators are faced with the challenge of creating a learning approach to educate this generation; and to do this, they need the right tools. But forget about wasting money on programs and technology if you do not have effective teachers.
