Amazon versus Hachette: Each week, Educating Modern Learners will pick one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and help put it in context for school leaders, explaining why the news matters and how it might affect teaching and learning (in the short or in the […]
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
Much of the discussion about massive open online courses or MOOCs has focused on higher education and lifelong learning. But what lessons can K-12 learn from them? Calgary-based online educator Verena Roberts explores some of her experiences as a learner in MOOCs and talks about the ways in which she used these to design MOOCs
What Can K-12 Learn from MOOCs? Read More »
In this article, EML editor Audrey Watters offers a brief introduction to MOOCs, massive open online courses, one of the most hyped ed-tech developments in recent years. What are MOOCs? Where did they come from? How do they work pedagogically? And how do they work technically? Although they’ve been positioned as tool to address the
MOOCs: An Introduction Read More »
Late last year, the education giant Pearson announced that it would begin to focus on “efficacy,” measuring and enhancing the learning outcomes associated with its products and services. EML editor Audrey Watters looks at Pearson’s new framework and asks if “efficacy” is a good way for us to rethink teaching and learning in a digital
Rethinking Assessment: Pearson and “Efficacy” Read More »
Despite all the promises of the World Wide Web as a platform for online learning, there are still many questions about whether or not we are building learning tools and learning communities that welcome and support a diversity of ideas and people. How do stereotypes affect the ways in which technologies are developed and implemented?
Rethinking Assessment, Supporting Diversity Read More »
EU Court Backs “The Right to Be Forgotten” Online: Each week, Educating Modern Learners will pick one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and help put it in context for school leaders, explaining why the news matters and how it might affect teaching and learning
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
Singapore-based educator Jabiz Raisdana looks at DS106, a digital storytelling class first offered by the University of Mary Washington that’s become quite the Internet phenomenon, with participation from learners all over the world. Raisdana writes about the ways in which DS106, an open online course that encourages creativity and sharing on the open Web, challenges
Digital Storytelling and Online Learning Networks Read More »
Net neutrality is a key feature in the operation of the Internet as we know it. But the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking to revise the policies governing the Internet. As it stands, net neutrality means that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet the same, not discriminating
What Is Net Neutrality and Why Should Educators Care That It’s In Danger? Read More »
White House Report on Big Data: Each week, Educating Modern Learners will pick one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and help put it in context for school leaders, explaining why the news matters and how it might affect teaching and learning (in the short
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
What does it look like when a Silicon Valley engineer decides to reinvent primary school education? Former Google exec Max Ventilla has just raised $33 million to build AltSchool, which he says will be an updated version of Montessori, but a version that relies more heavily on technology R&D. The funding — and the philosophy — prompted
What sort of vision do education policies and plans offer for the future of teaching and learning? Do they focus on test scores? Do they focus on rankings? Do they see technology as simply the digitization of old processes? Or do these plans articulate something new, something forward-thinking, something that addresses the challenges and opportunities
Modern Learning at the Provincial Level: British Columbia is Hoping to Get it Right Read More »
As the “Maker Movement” grows in popularity and reach, we’re seeing more and more schools integrating “making” and “building” — a powerful return of project-based learning. But as Chad Sansing argues here, it isn’t simply a matter of adding “programming” or “engineering” to the curriculum. Makerspaces demand a different mindset, one where self-direction, spontaneity, creativity,
Makerspace as Mindset Read More »
The media hype about the transformative potential of new digital technologies gets louder and louder. But how might this narrative around education technology — particularly social media tools — run counter to the ways in which these tools are used in the classroom? Is “social” welcome in the classroom? How do students (and in the
Cognitive Dissonance: How Teaching with Twitter Opens Up the Classroom Read More »
The US Supreme Court: Each week, Educating Modern Learners will pick one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and help put it in context for school leaders, explaining why the news matters and how it might affect teaching and learning (in the short or in
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
Thanks to our increasing use of technology, we are creating mind-bogglingly vast amounts of data in increasing volume, speed, and complexity — IBM estimates about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created every day. The great challenge for education technology (and, as such, for schools) will be striking a balance between the collection and analysis of
Student Data vs Student Privacy Read More »
