Essential Question: How can we determine the value of technology in schools?
David and Mark are joined this week by Tom Pantazes, Instructional Technology Resource Teacher from the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools. Tom works between two elementary schools to support teachers in curriculum-based technology integration.
In this show, we discuss a recent New York Times article In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores. The article offers a potent critique of the lack of measurable impact on student test scores in schools and school divisions where technology has been a focus. In this discussion we discuss the challenge of measuring impact only by standardized test scores and discuss alternate approaches to assessing the value of technology in teaching and learning.
Tips of the Week:
Tom shared two sites with us. Code Academy is an interactive and social Web site that helps folks learn to program. He shared that he's been trying to learn java script and has found Code Academy to be a fun and helpful resource. Socrative is a smart response system that can be used to engage students in interactive discussions and games using a variety of devices including laptops, smartphones and tablets. It looks like a really interesting alternative to dedicated student response systems.
Mark shared Edmodo, an education-focused, private social network designed for schools. He's used it for three semesters in undergraduate, graduate and doctoral courses and really likes the flexibility and Facebook-esque feel to the service. In Edmodo, you can create student groups, communicate with the whole class, small groups or individuals, post resources in a shared library, and assess work with the builtin gradebook. It's actually a pleasure to use.