K-12

This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been in a classroom recently – but a recent survey of college students found that 40% cannot go more than 10 minutes without using some sort of digital technology and 67% cannot go more than an hour.  In a world where the gear and gadgets you have matter so much that you can’t go without – we’ve got to make sure we are moving towards classroom policies and lessons that embrace and leverage the bring your own device (BYOT) culture. Of course, as with any cultural shift, we should consider all the pros and cons of this level of tech adoption. One example in particular is setting the groundwork for safe and productive use.  Last month the New York City Public School system laid out their digital rules for teachers.

As you may have seen here and here, we’ve been teasing you about June 7, 2012 being your lucky day. If you’re following our social channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slideshare, and Flickr) or reading this blog post you’re one click closer. Starting today – June 7 at 10am ET through June 8, 8:30pm ET – you get one more chance to register for BbWorld at a reduced rate. We’re calling it Lucky 7. We’ve lowered the registration rate to $777 (and $477 for K-12 folks) for 48 hours only. To get lucky with this rate, copy this promo code BW2012777 (or BW2012477) and click on over to the registration page to activate. You may be wondering why you should follow us on social media to get discount info. Well, social media and access to others through technology is growing. It is fast, convenient, and it allows for everyone to stay connected and become informed. Which brings me to my next point about social learning. The main idea of social learning is collaboration between parties. In order to learn more, you need to communicate more… and BbWorld is the best opportunity of the year to do that!

The German eLearning Journal put the Blackboard Learn platform to the test for their May edition. The magazine regularly tests various eLearning products in a number of categories, ranging from online solutions and video training to language training, online collaboration and learning management systems. Blackboard Learn 9.1 SP8 was thoroughly reviewed by a team of experts on 26 categories.  The experts awarded the platform great scores and the end verdict “Very Good”. In the report, the eLearning Journal states that: “One must attest that Blackboard Learn quite simply has, in all respects, what a modern LMS must have. The technical features such as scalability and adaptability achieved the same outstanding ratings as the administration did.” On flexibility and openness, the reviewers mention that “Blackboard doesn’t rely solely on its own standards; rather, it is so flexible, that, like a Lego brick, it can be integrated into a number of other systems and existing solutions.” Interested to learn more about this review? Click here to download the English version of the report and click here to download the German version of the report.

These days it’s almost impossible to have a conversation about education without hearing the rallying call for the adoption of new technology in the classroom – and with good reason! Technology and social media have changed traditional consumption patterns for today’s students, and consequently the priorities of educators may need to change accordingly. Here are some statistics that may surprise you:

• Forty-six percent of drivers aged 18 to 24 said they would choose Internet access over owning a car, according to the research firm Gartner. Getting the keys to your first car used to be the ultimate rite of passage (I know it was for me a more than a decade ago), but today’s learners are more interested in having easy access to the information highway than the interstate. Recognizing this shift drives home the need to create dynamic learning spaces that seamlessly integrate online and offline components.

Do you remember that one subject in school that you could never quite understand? For me, it was chemistry. What is stoichiometry anyway? The class was moving too fast and the textbook was dry and confusing. Now, thanks to Salman Khan, there is a remedy for all the misunderstanding.