by Annie Lewis
You’ve already embraced the idea of using technology in the classroom. And hopefully your school uses an online learning solution like Blackboard Learn or Blackboard Collaborate to connect with students anytime, anywhere. After all, the data suggests today’s students are adopting technology at dizzying speeds. Here are three things to help you make the most of tech in the classroom inspired by some top education technology bloggers.
#1: According to the 21st Century Principal, educators need to be savvy about going beyond test scores as a measurement of successful tech implementation. “Test scores provide valuable information but they are not the only measure of effectiveness. School leaders who always want to know, ‘Will it increase test scores?’ aren’t really interested in successful technology infusion and tech implementation anyway.” Using technology builds life-skills that set students up for long-term success.
by Andrea Meier
Take a chance; don’t worry about what could go wrong.
So often, we worry about what could go wrong when trying new methods at reaching our students. Problem is, our students have changed. No longer can we stand in front of the classroom and lecture for 50 minutes. No longer can we simply upload a slide deck and expect our students to simply ingest the information. They want to be engaged and part of the learning process.
by Stephanie Burton
The Scenario
Your college or university needs a mobile application to better connect with students, faculty, and alumni, on the go, and often in their preferred medium.
The Opportunity
According to Pew Internet research, 85% of American adults own a cell phone and now use the devices to do much more than make phone calls. Furthermore, a new eMarketer report found that nearly 90% of students in the class of 2016 will own a smartphone by the time they graduate.
As a result of this increase in mobile usage, along with increased demand for university-student interaction, more and more schools are turning to mobile apps to better engage their community.
by Sarah Tomczyk
In the past ten years, technology has changed so much in our everyday lives, and education is no exception. Yet for centuries, a core concept of education has remained the same: group learning stimulates greater learning.
In other words, we boost our knowledge by connecting with others.
Recently, four common myths associated with social learning were debunked. A fifth myth could be that social learning is just for students. Yes, social learning is revolutionizing the student experience, but it’s a powerful tool for educators as well.
by Annie Lewis
We all make decisions based on factual information. We get factual information from research and data. And when it comes to data on education technology, the numbers say a lot about the growing demand for technology in the classroom.
Recently, Blackboard partnered with Project Tomorrow to delve deeper into demands for online education. The findings? More than two thirds of administrators and almost half of students in grades 6-12 (45 percent) and their parents (46 percent) voiced support for requiring high school students to take an online class in order to graduate. And there’s more:
- 84 percent of principals who endorse devices in the classroom believe they increase student engagement in learning
- 87 percent of parents say that the effective implementation of technology within instruction is important to their child’s success (50 percent label it as “extremely important”).
