The 10 Most Important Emerging Instructional and Education Technologies and Concepts (2013 Update)

by K. Walsh on September 22, 2013

 

1. Flipped Classroom Tools & Techniques: My passion for this teaching technique has only grown since I first learned of it a number of years back. Time and time again I have seen teacher’s faces brighten as they learn what flipped instruction really means and realize it doesn’t have to be difficult to start using some of the associated tools and ideas. This recent multiyear study further bears out the undeniable effectiveness of this technique. Check out the new eBook, or the upcoming online workshops – great opportunities to get up to speed on flipped teaching!
2. Mobile Learning via Tablets and Smartphones: With the explosion of the tablet niche in the last few years launched by Apple’s iPad, and the ever increasing computing power in our pockets thanks to the Android vs. Apple smart phone wars, the potential for learning anywhere, anytime has never been greater. No matter what grade you teach, it is hard to ignore the way that these devices can make learning tools and self-directed learning incredibly accessible. What is your school doing to leverage the mobile device explosion?
3. 1 to 1 & BYOD initiatives: If students have the devices in their hands, or available at a moment’s notice, they are going to be more inclined to use them, and to better acquire the 21st century skills that we know they will need to succeed in today’s world. Of course, that doesn’t mean that just putting these devices in student’s hands is a solution in and of itself. Teachers have to be provided the professional development that will enable them to help students leverage the devices, and administrators have to work with faculty to develop carefully thought out plans regarding how they will use them. Poorly planned or inadequately supported 1 to 1 programs are a waste of tax and tuition dollars (do it right, or don’t do it at all).
4. Open Educational Resources: The possibilities for lowering text book costs have never been better. OER Commons and many other organizations are leading the march towards open, free resources that can beat back the burden of ridiculous text books costs. Better yet, combine OER with 1 to 1 or BYOD and you’ve got a formula for increased engagement, 21st century skills attainment, and lower costs!
5. The Wealth of Online Learning Resources: There is probably no better banner bearer for this idea than the Khan Academy, but their thousands of free tutorials are just the tip of the iceberg. Self-directed learning has never been easier. Options for learning about a subject from different angles and different experts have never been more numerous.
6. Collaborative & Social Learning: The ability for students to work together in and out of the classroom with tools that enable collaboration and social learning is being further embraced every day. Look at these 7 Reasons To Leverage Social Networking Tools in the Classroom to further understand the power of social learning. Collaborative tools like Google Drive go hand in hand with social learning, and the need to work in collaborative teams with tools like these is something students are highly likely to encounter in the workplace.
7. Web Pages for Every Class: How is it acceptable that many K-12 schools still don’t have and/or use web pages for every single class, so that student’s don’t have to second guess assignments or other important information? These tools are not expensive (there are even good free options like Wikis and Google Apps for Education), they are not hard to use, and it’s 2013 for crying out loud! Any student should be able to confirm what they need to be doing for homework, when the next test is, access a copy of the syllabus, and so on.
8. Adaptive Learning: While Adaptive Learning tools are still maturing, their potential remains tremendous and I believe we just can’t ignore it. Innovative companies like Knewton and AdaptCourseware are leading the way. I have only just begun to learn about this technology and share insights – here’s a few articles we’ve done this year on Adaptive Learning. I have no doubt we’ll all be seeing more of these concepts implemented in digital learning tools coming to our schools sooner than we might think.
9. Professional Development (in Technology Integration): While this is obviously not a technology in and of itself, PD can certainly be enabled via technologies (like those from Atomic Learning, Lynda, and many others). Moreover, all of the above technologies are rendered meaningless if the teachers that are working with these tools aren’t given adequate training in how to use them in the instructional setting.
10. MOOCs: While the media went nuts for MOOCs last year and early in 2013, the excitement seems to have come to a slow simmer while we wait to see how this is going to play out. One key question has been whether or not this free model can sustain itself, and it looks like some of the big players are beginning to sort that out. It will be very interesting to see how MOOCs evolve over the coming year, and if the trend to accredit them continues to expand.

Teaching With Technology

The traditional definition of literacy is the ability to read and write. With the rapid development of new technologies, the nature of literacy is undergoing a rapid metamorphosis. Thus in addition to reading and writing, the current definition of literacy also includes the ability to learn, comprehend, and interact with technology in a meaningful way (Coiro, 2003).
Currently, there are at least twenty-five million illiterate people in this country and this number is increasing rapidly. By 2050 the African-American and Hispanic population will increase from 20 - 40%. Unfortunately, these are the cultures currently struggling in school. Students that come from poor homes grow up in families where adults can barely read well, where books are difficult to obtain and where an appreciation of education is lacking. In school, they fall behind at an early age and can never catch up and thus the cycle continues (Bennett, 2002).
Businesses and other organizations throughout the world have made gigantic strides as a result of better applications of technology. Schools, despite their acquisition of millions of computers, are still slow at using it. Today's technology could bring advances that would significantly improve literacy. It benefits the slow learner and reduces restraints on bright students.
On January 8th, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The new law encompasses major changes in the education reform plan for Elementary and Secondary Education. It details four basic education reform principles, including an emphasis on proven teaching methods (Introduction: NCLB, 2002). The NCLB act will target education dollars to research-based programs that use scientifically proven ways of teaching children to read.
One of the programs targeted by NCLB is Title II-D-1&2 - Enhancing Education Through Technology (Ed Tech). The goal is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology (The Facts About..., 2002). The plan is to teach children how to effectively integrate the technology available to them to improve student achievement and to become technologically literate by the 8th grade.
Technology should enhance learning. There is no value in just having access to it but more important how it is used. The ED Tech initiative plans to constantly develop new ways of applying technology into teaching and learning. In order to educate the public about the NCLB act, U.S. Secretary of State Rod Paige embarked on a 25-City No Child Left Behind Tour Across America. Paige (Denver, CO - Tour Stop 15, 2002) believes that "By harnessing technology, we can expand access to learning and close the achievement gap in America." One way is by e-learning which is a powerful option for parents and schools. With a click of a mouse button any student anywhere has the opportunity to learn. It increases flexibility for schools and promotes individual instruction to meet the needs of each student. Paige (New York, NY - Tour Stop 25, 2002) had a similar message in New York where he believed that "Technology is connecting parents to teachers, and, it is helping connect parents to assessments so we can measure the progress of every student".
The need for technology in the classrooms for improving literacy is also seen in the national and state standards. The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Project is an ongoing initiative of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and a consortium of distinguished partners and co-sponsors (ISTE - NETS Main, 2002). The main goal is to develop national standards for educational uses of technology to enhance educational and literacy improvements in schools. The NETS Project defines standards for students, integrating curriculum technology, technology support, and standards for student assessment and evaluation of technology use. The organization believes that in order to survive in today's competitive and information-rich culture, students must be able to use technology effectively. Technology in the classroom can help students become capable users, information seekers, problem solvers and decision-makers. Additionally, each subject has also incorporated technology into its standards. For example, Key Idea 1 for the commencement level of the NYS-ELA standard 1 (The University of the State of NY, 1996) indicates that "......and using knowledge from oral, written, and electronic sources". This aligns with Standard #3 of the technology standards for all students (NETS Technology Foundation Standards, 2002), which indicates that "Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity". The use of technology research tools (skill #5) suggests that "Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources" and "Students use technology tools to process data and report results". Similarly, there is a correlation between NYS-ELA-Std 4, National-ELA-Std 4 (NCTE/IRA Standards, 2002) and Technology-Std 4. The ELA standards expect students to read, write, listen and speak for social interaction while the Technology standard expects students to use telecommunications to interact and publish. If one looks carefully, one can similarly find associations between technology and the various subjects. For example, the New York State Math, Science and Technology Standard 2 deals with Information Systems which expects students to access, generate, process and transfer information using appropriate technologies. Standards 6 and 7 both involve the use of technology.
Thus in order to teach to the standards and enhance literacy in this multicultural environment, technology has to be integrated into the classroom in one way or another.

Free Platforms for Teaching Online Courses

More and more high schools are embracing online courses to reach more students and all times of the day. While you can spend a lot of money for online course software, you don't have to. Here are seven free platforms for teaching online courses.

This list cannot begin without mentioning Moodle first. Moodle is an free platform that is commonly referred to as a course management system or virtual learning environment. To use Moodle you have to either install it on your own server(s) or have someone host it for you. If you don't have a server of your own, a quick Google search for "Moodle hosting" will lead you to plenty of companies that will host Moodle for you. To learn more about Moodle watch the video introduction below.

Claroline is an open source program that gives users the freedom to create their own online classroom. Using Claroline teachers can produce assessment activities, post and collect assignments, build a wiki, monitor student activities, and create chat rooms or discussion forums. Claroline is available as a free download for Mac, Windows, and Linux systems. Claroline is not a hosted service so you do need to have someone host your installation of Claroline. You can, however, demo Claroline online here.

Udemy is a new free platform for teaching courses online. Anyone can sign-up for Udemy and start creating courses in minutes. Udemy offers a variety of tools for delivering content online. Course creators can publish slideshows, publish videos, and create mash-ups of slideshows and videos synched together. Course creators can also hold live online sessions through Udemy's virtual classroom platform. Watch the video below to learn more about Udemy.

RCampus is a free, web-based, platform for creating and conducting courses online. Using RCampus teachers can create a course, collect students' assignments, and maintain a gradebook. RCampus provides all of the tools you would expect to find in an online course management system. Through RCampus you can post assignments, host discussion forums, post videos, post images, post links, collect assignments, and manage a gradebook. Watch the video below to learn more about RCampus.

Learnopia is a free service that offers hosting for online courses. Learnopia is also a place to find and take online courses. If course creators make their courses free for others to take, then hosting is free. Currently, there are courses on Learnopia that are free and others that require a payment.

eDhii is a service that allows you to create or take self-study courses online. eDhii course creators can offer their content for free or charge a fee for their course content. Course creators only pay a fee if they choose to charge for their course's content. Course content can include text, images, and videos. People in search of a lesson or course can search eDhii's listing of courses and lessons by topic.

Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU) is an online community of people sharing their knowledge through university-level courses. Experts volunteer their time and resources to create and facilitate courses in their areas of expertise. The courses and their associated materials are free. However, enrollment in each course is limited in order to provide an environment in which the course facilitator and their students can interact in meaningful ways. Learn more about P2PU in the video below.

 

 

 

SimpleVLE is a virtual learning environment where the user can create classes, design tests, quizzes, and/or exams. You can also create content, design lessons, upload files, assign homework and/or other tasks. Create a profile at www.simplevle.com today and starte creating online content for your class.

Top Class Management Tools

1. SimpleVLE: Custom web-based testing services from SimpleVLE allow you to easily create secure online exams using multiple choice and true or false question types. Other test options include time limits, password protection, and many others. You can even insert video and/or images into your actual test questions as well. The site is 100% free - No test or class size limits Test results are automatically graded & instantly available to the instructor and/or the student based on viewing options chosen by the instructor.
2. ATutor: Administrators can install or update ATutor in minutes, develop custom templates to give ATutor a new look, and easily extend its functionality with feature modules. Educators can quickly assemble, package, and redistribute Web-based instructional content, easily retrieve and import prepackaged content, and conduct their courses online. This is an open source tool.
3. Bubbl.us: Teachers can use this tool for brainstorming and class discussions.
4. Dokeos: Dokeos is a learning management system used in more than 600 companies and public administrations to manage e-learning and blended learning programs. This is open source software.
5. dotsub: This tool will be helpful for teachers of foreign languages. For a fee, dotsub will translate videos using subtitles and students and teachers can upload their own videos and create subtitles.
6. Drupal: Drupal is an open source project that offers a flexible framework to set up a social learning environment or a more traditional learning environment.
7. EduTools: The EduTools site has been re-launched as a community-driven site, beginning with the Course Management System (CMS) site. They continue to offer feature-by-feature product comparisons and decision-making supports. In addition, the site now includes the ability for any user to submit reviews for new products that haven’t already been reviewed or to add their own feedback on specific products and feature implementation.
8. eFront: Easy to use, visually attractive, SCORM compatible, open source e-learning and human capital development platform.
9. LAMS: LAMS (Learning Activity Management System) provides teachers with a highly intuitive visual authoring environment for creating sequences of learning activities. These activities can include a range of individual tasks, small group work, and whole class activities based on both content and collaboration.
10. Merlot: A free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with the ability to connect with peers.
11. Prezi: Teachers can use this presentation tool to organize and share ideas with other educators.
12. RCampus: RCampus is a system that allows teachers, students and administrators to manage courses, build virtual portfolios, create websites, join virtual communities, and assess school work with rubrics.
13. Sakai: Sakai is a community of academic institutions, commercial organizations and individuals who work together to develop a common Collaboration and Learning Environment (CLE).
14. Schooltool: SchoolTool is a project to develop a common global school administration infrastructure that is freely available under an Open Source license. SchoolTool encompasses three sub-projects including a calendar and resource management tools, a student information system, and the ability to track which skills students are acquiring in their classes and at what level of competency.
15. Sloodle: Sloodle is an open source project that aims to develop and share useful, usable, desireable tools for supporting education in virtual worlds, making teaching easier. If you have enough technical support or nous, and your own server, you can download the Sloodle source code and install it on your own Moodle installation. Otherwise, you can try out a few elements on the Web site.
16. StudySync: With resources such as peer reviews, weekly writing practices, and an extensive digital library, StudySync is an essential tool for teachers preparing students for academic success.