Mr. B EdTech Blog

http://www.techlearning.com/features/0039/lifelong-learners-how-teachers-develop-new-skills-and-improve-their-practice/55247 This is a written response to an article for my Master's Class.  Professional development is a major focus for administrators and teachers. Now, more than ever, there is a huge push for teachers to continue learning and improving their craft, especially since it is now tied to evaluation of teachers. This article looks at different ways that teachers can find professional development online for teaching and technology integration.  One such example was selecting professional development to support a digital transition. The case study comes from Des Plains, IL last year. The school district partnered with Discovery Education to allow teachers to design, implement, and share innovative teaching strategies while utilizing the technology tools in their classrooms. The professional development process spans across multiple years. Other than prof...

This is a response to an article for my Master's Class. http://www.schoolcio.com/Default.aspx?tabid=136&entryid=8004  “An ecosystem is a system formed by the interaction of a community of living organisms with each other and their environment.” Tim Clark, an advisor to School CIO brings up a valid point about what all is involved in a successful digital learning environment. He came up with the categories listed in the picture below. Tim’s comparison of a digital classroom with an ecosystem is spot on. The purpose of identifying the needs of a digital classroom ecosystem is to identify what facilitates a sustainable learning environment that endures over time and through adversity. In order to do so, teachers must encourage digital citizenship. Teachers usually model and encourage appropriate etiquette and responsible use of technology tools and resources. Teachers should design lessons and units that encourage deeper levels of thinking using open ended q...

This is a written response to an article for my Master's Class. http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/11/the-mooc-revolution-that-wasnt/ MOOCs have been around for three years, marked by the release of a Stanford University class on Artificial Intelligence. Over 180,000 students signed up for the class, but did this really start a revolution in education? If you look at the 8 million students who signed up for MOOCs, there is evidence to the contrary. Research shows that only ½ of the students who signed up for the class, accessed or watched even one lecture video. The completion rate was only 4%, albeit that is 320,000 people who completed courses. However, most of the people who signed up, already had college degrees. This shows that the learning community has yet to accept MOOCs as an option. Online learning in general, the author notes, has solved a problem of access to education. However, the problem with online courses, in general, is engagement. Research still has no...