It’s no longer enough—if it ever was—for teachers to lecture to a row of desks; today’s teacher must be more of a coach. The task now is to help students understand what they need to know, strategize about what they need to do next and engage in critical problem-solving—all while helping them understand how information…
And yet many of the technological tools seem to be designed by someone who doesn’t understand much about the brain and how it operates. Too much information gets thrown at us at once, too many visual elements clutter up the display, and the steps that must be taken to get us what we want aren’t…
Are you a senior graduating this spring? Or a teacher switching districts? Or do you sleep better at night knowing you have a backup copy of your data? Then Google has you covered. Google offers a way to download all of your information stored at Google through Google Takeout, which is available at https://google.com/takeout. Once you…
You may be wondering, why isn’t the massive influx of technology supporting those who need it the most? Research on edtech points to an explanation of why access is not enough Specifically, Professor Mark Warschaeur (the force to be reckoned with when it comes to researching digital learning) found that “overall, students who are black,…
He told me about an email he got from his district. Over the summer teachers were going to go to some professional development in their content area. The district had looked over where the majority of teachers were weak and were going to provide them some learning in those areas. When he looked at what…
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, than an animated gif must be worth at least 5,000! Google Slides supports animated gifs, and it’s an easy way to liven up a presentation. Sure, you could insert a Youtube video, but sometimes that is just plain overkill. Unfortunately, you have no control over the gifs, and…
When someone handed you a calculator for the first time, it meant that long division was never going to be required of you ever again. A huge savings in time, a decrease in the cognitive load of decision making. Now what? You can use that surplus to play video games and hang out. Or you…
I’ve talked about Gmail labs previously and today I want to share another Labs addition to Gmail I use all the time, Quick Links. After enabling Quick Links, a new box shows up on the left under your Gmail labels. To save a search, you need to complete the Gmail search first using the normal Gmail…
The number one paradox in higher education is that technology is both transforming and disrupting universities around the world. Institutions that adapt to the technology and become content producers will survive and flourish; those confined to being content consumers will struggle to stay in business. Many colleges and universities are in financial difficulty today: According…
