It’s terribly confusing, but perhaps no coincidence, that three of the world’s most prominent consumer technology companies—Apple, Google, Microsoft—each boast a “Classroom” tool aimed at K-12 educators and students. After all, what better way to secure a foothold in the market than impressing one’s brand to future consumers at a young age?
The article focuses on Apple Classroom, Google Classroom, and Microsoft Classroom, but the ancillary systems put Google over the top. Apple and Microsoft have a lot of catching up to do to catch up with G Suite for Education.
A subtler factor arose as an unexpected side effect of the introduction of “productivity-enhancing” networked personal computers to professional life. As the economist Peter G. Sassone observed in the early 1990s, personal computers made administrative tasks just easy enough to eliminate the need for dedicated support staff — you could now type your own memos using…
One of the most exciting trends in education today is the integration of technology to enhance instruction and learning. Schools have only scratched the surface when it comes to learning technology, and this knowledge-action-resource gap further exacerbates the overwhelming “kid in a candy store” mentality. Source: End Your Fixation on Tech Tools | EdTech Magazine…
We live in a world where we are constantly connected to information. This vast ocean of information, the best knowledge of mankind — almost all of it — can be accessed at any time in just seconds. But simply being able to access information is not all that impressive. It in no way means that…
Source: What is the cost of interrupting a radiologist? Interruptions change focus and time spent on case reviews, but don’t increase error rate — ScienceDaily [dropcap]R[/dropcap]ESEARCH says it takes 20-25 minutes to get back into the groove after an interruption. For a 45 minute class that means just one interruption can ruin a day. I’ve talked…
In an open letter to Apple, two of its major shareholders, Jana Partners and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, have raised concerns about research that suggests young people are becoming “addicted” to high-tech devices like the iPhone and iPad, and the software that runs on them. It asks the company to take a number of…
When I think of my role as a teacher, I consider my dual roles: a high-school science teacher and an instructor who prepares new teachers to teach science. These roles are very different, and each offers its own set of rewards and challenges. At the same time, I approach each with the same two mindsets:…
