TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING

& LEARNING 2: UTILIZATION

OF

INSTRUCTIONAL
TECHNOLOGY IN ECED

Educational Technology
Educational technology, sometimes shortened to EduTech or EdTech, is a
wide field. Therefore, one can find many definitions, some of which are
conflicting. Educational technology as an academic field can be considered
either as a design science or as a collection of different research interests
addressing fundamental issues of learning, teaching and social organization.
Educational technology as practice refers to any form of teaching and learning
that makes use of technology. Nevertheless, there are a few features on
which most researchers and practitioners might agree:

1. Use of technology is principled: Technology means the systematic

application of scientific knowledge to practical tasks. Therefore,
educational technology is based on theoretical knowledge drawn from
different disciplines (communication, education, psychology, sociology,
philosophy, artificial intelligence, computer science, etc.) plus
experiential knowledge drawn from educational practice.
2. Educational technology aims to improve education. Technology should
facilitate learning processes and increase performance of the
educational system(s) as it regards to effectiveness and/or efficiency.

Other definitions
Educational technology is a very wide field. Therefore one can find many
definitions, some of which are conflicting.

 Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other

organized knowledge to practical task. Therefore, educational
technology is based on theoretical knowledge from different disciplines
(communication, psychology, sociology, philosophy, artificial intelligence,
computer science, etc.) plus experiential knowledge from educational
practise (Natalie Descryver)

 “Educational technology refers to the use of tools, technologies,

processes, procedures, resources, and strategies to improve learning
experiences in a variety of settings, such as formal learning, informal
learning, non-formal learning, lifelong learning, learning on demand,
workplace learning, and just-in-time learning. Educational technology
approaches evolved from early uses of teaching tools and have rapidly
expanded in recent years to include such devices and approaches as
mobile technologies, virtual and augmented realities, simulations and
immersive environments, collaborative learning, social networking, cloud
computing, flipped classrooms, and more.” ([Introducing Educational
Technology)

 Educational technology is the use of technology to improve education.

It is a systematic, iterative process for designing instruction or training
used to improve performance. Educational technology is sometimes also
known as instructional technology or learning technology.
(Wikipedia:Educational_technology)
 The study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving
performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological
processes and resources. (Scott Adams)

 A definition centered on its process: "A complex, integrated process

involving people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organization, for
analyzing problems, and devising, implementing, evaluating and managing
solutions to those problems, involved in all aspects of human learning" ([1])

 "One definition of Educational Technology is that it is a systematic,

iterative process for designing instruction or training used to improve
performance" (Encyclopedia of Educational Technology)

 Lachance et al. (1980:183) also focus on the the process idea: la

technologie éducative en tant que processus systématique intégrant les
diverses fonctions du processus éducatif. Elle vise, d'une part, à analyser
des problèmes reliés à l'enseignement et/ou à l'apprentissage et, d'autre
part, à élaborer, implanter et évaluer des solutions à ces problèmes par le
développement et l'exploitation des ressources éducatives (cited by
Lapointe, 1991).

 Educational Technology (Information Technology) according

to International Technology Education Association

1. Teaches with technology (uses technology as a tool)

2. Primarily concerned with the narrow spectrum of information and
communication technologies
3. Primary goal: To enhance the teaching and learning process

Terminology issues

Educational technology is a field. A educational technology refers to a

technology that is particularly suited for education plus its usage/range of
applications maybe. See the educational technologies article and the
category educational technologies. Instructional
technology and elearning which sometimes are used as a synonyms
sometimes not. e-learning often refers to technology or designs used in
distance teaching, but it also is used to describe any sort of technology use in
education.
As of 2019, e-learning has been replaced by the word "digital learning" or
sometimes edTech. We prefer continue using "educational technology",
although the term "digital learning" is more open to the idea that technology
has become a general omnipresent tool, i.e. encompasses any sort of
technology use in education.
The following graphic shows the evolution according to google trends.
Globally speaking, interest in the field has much declined. This can be
explained by the fact that search terms like "educational technology" have
been replaced by trendy technology, such as "MOOC" or "e-learning", not
shown in the figure, as explained in the digital learning article.

Goals of Educational Technology

Educational technology research always had an ambitious agenda.
Sometimes it only aims at increased efficiency or effectiveness of current
practise, but frequently it aims at pedagogical change. While it can be
considered as a design science it also addresses fundamental issues of
learning, teaching and social organization and therefore makes use of the full
range of modern social science and life sciences methodology.

"Technology provides us with powerful tools to try out different designs, so

that instead of theories of education, we may begin to develop a science
of education. But it cannot be an analytic science like physics or
psychology; rather it must be a design science more like aeronautics or
artificial intelligence. For example, in aeronautics the goal is to elucidate
how different designs contribute to lift, drag maneuverability, etc. Similarly,
a design science of education must determine how different designs of
learning environments contribute to learning, cooperation, motivation,
etc." (Collins, 1992:24).

Technology is therefore both a tool and a catalyzer and it can become a

medium through which change can happen.

Educational technologists would not therefore consider the computer as

just another piece of equipment. If educational technology is concerned
with thinking carefully about teaching and learning, then a computer has a
contribution to make irrespective of its use as a means of implementation,
for the design of computer-based learning environments gives us a new
perspective on the nature of teaching and learning and indeed on general
educational objectives. (O'Shea and Self: 1983: 59).

Spector (2005) proposed an educratic oath for educational technologists: An

Educratic Oath inspired by the Hippocratic Oath was proposed by Spector
(2005) for educational technologists:

1. Do nothing to impair learning, performance, and instruction.

 2. Do what you can to improve learning, performance, and instruction.
3. Base your actions on evidence that you and others have gathered and
analyzed.
4. Share the principles of learning, performance, and instruction that you
have learned with others.
5. Respect the individual rights of all those with whom you interact.
Summarized, it summons us to improve education (and not hinder it), to use
evidence from research and practice, to share, and to respect others.

What is it about ?

Defining the field is both simple (e.g., see the definitions at the top) and
difficult. There are a several perspectives.

From an instructional design perspective

Besides being a field of research, Educational Technology is synonymous for
{ Pedagogy, Learning, Instructional design, etc.} with technology and
therefore also an engineering discipline, a design science or an craft
(whatever you prefer).
In order to define educational technology we may ask ourselves what
constitutes an instructional design and what disciplines look at these
constituents.

The instructional design space

Even from a pure "engineering perspective," it doesn't make much sense to

talk about Educational Technology just in terms of Instructional design
models or instructional design methods. An instructional designer also feels
concerned by more fundamental disciplines like general learning
theory or pedagogical theory. These theories provide interesting insights on
issues like the relation between learning type or learning level and
appropriate pedagogic strategy, how affect and motivation may influence the
learning process, what multimedia design can learn from theories on human
information processing or cognitive load, why metacognition and collaborative
learning is important etc.
3.2 From a design-research oriented perspective
More design-oriented educational technologists rather look a cross-section of
several phenomena, i.e., they adopt an interdisciplinary approach that will
ultimately lead to better pedagogical designs in a given area.

Crosssections
Owen (2008) identifies three key pedagogical facts that "organise" the ICT-
enhanced pedagogical landscape.
Owen (2008): Pedagogical Underpinnings for ICT Enhanced Learning &
Teaching Design
From a fundamental research perspective
Many researchers in the field rather adopt a more fundamental research
stance and they focus on small well defined problems such as "under which
conditions can multimedia animations be effective." As such, few researchers
working in the field identify themselves as primarily educational technology
researchers
From an research-institutional perspective
A field is implicitly defined by journals, conferences and study programs.
The Journal of Interactive Learning Research published by the association for
the Advancement of Computing in Education included on March 2006 the
following enumeration of interactive learning environments that gives an idea
on the technical scope of the field.

 authoring systems
 cognitive tools for learning
 computer-assisted language learning
 computer-based assessment systems
 computer-based training
 computer-mediated communications
 computer-supported collaborative learning
 distributed learning environments
 electronic performance support systems
 interactive learning environments
 interactive multimedia systems
 interactive simulations and games
 intelligent agents on the Internet
 intelligent tutoring systems
 microworlds
 virtual reality based learning systems
Note: Main-stream e-learning is a special case of computer-based
training and computer-mediated communication. It also may include other
elements like passive or interactive multimedia animations.
From a technology perspective
Each time a new technology appears soon after it may be hailed as a new
solution to education by both researchers and practitioners. Therefore, one
also could argue that fundamentally speaking, educational technology
research and practice is technology driven (although not many members of
the community would accept this stance). E.g., see Daniel
Chandler's Technological or Media Determinism discussion.
The Educational technologies article attempts to categorize some
technologies.
From a media selection perspective
According to Bates there is no adequate instructional design method or model
for selecting media. However, he does recommend a method that will
structure the selection process:

“A review of more recent publications on media selection suggests that

despite the rapid developments in media and technology over the last 20
years, my ACTIONS model (Bates, 1995) is one of the major models still
being applied, although with further amendments and additions (see for
instance, Baytak, undated; Lambert and Williams, 1999; Koumi, 2006).
Indeed, I myself modified the ACTIONS model, which was developed for
distance education, to the SECTIONS model to cover the use of media in
campus-based as well as distance education (Bates and Poole,
2003).” (Bates, 2015:chapter 8.1) SECTIONS stands for:

 Students
 Ease of use
 Cost
 Teaching functions, including pedagogical affordances of media
 Interaction
 Organizational issues
 Networking
 Security and privacy

SECTIONS model (Bates, 2015; Bates and Poole, 2003)

3.7 From a "where is it used perspective"

 Distance education
 Blended learning
 Technology-enhanced classrooms (at all school levels)
 Informal learning (of various sorts)

 A short history
Educational technology in way could be traced back to the emergence of very
early tools, e.g., paintings on cave walls. But usually its history is made to
start with educational film (1900's) or Sidney Pressey's mechanical teaching
machines in the 1920'.
First large scale usage of new technologies can be traced to US WWII training
of soldiers through training films and other mediated materials. Today,
presentation-based technology, based on the idea that people can learn
contents trough aural and visual reception, exists in many forms, e.g.,
streaming audio and video, PowerPoint presentations + voice-over. Another
interesting invention of the 1940's was hypertext, i.e., V. Bush's memex.
The 1950's led to two major still popular designs. Skinners work led to
"programmed instruction" focusing on the formulation of behavioral objectives,
breaking instructional content into small units and rewarding correct
responses early and often. Advocating a mastery approach to learning based
on his taxonomy of intellectual behaviors, Bloom endorsed instructional
techniques that varied both instruction and time according to learner
requirements. Models based on these designs were usually referred to
as computer-based training" (CBT), Computer-aided instruction or computer-
assisted instruction (CAI) in the 1970's through the 1990's. In a more
simplified form they correspond to today's "e-contents" that often form the
core of "e-learning" set-ups, sometimes also referred to as web-based
training (WBT) or e-instruction. The course designer divides learning contents
into smaller chunks of text augmented with graphics and multimedia
presentation. Frequent Multiple Choice questions with immediate feedback
are added for self-assessment and guidance. Such e-contents can rely on
standards defined by IMS, ADL/Scorm and IEEE.
The 1980's and 1990's produced a variety of schools that can be put under
the umbrella of the label Computer-based learning (CBL). Frequently based
on constructivist and cognitivist learning theories, these environments focused
on teaching both abstract and domain-specific problem solving. Preferred
technologies were micro-worlds (computer environments were learners could
explore and build), simulations (computer environments where learner can
play with parameters of dynamic systems) and hypertext.
Digitized communication and networking in education started in the mid 80s
and became popular by the mid-90's, in particular through the World-Wide
Web (WWW), eMail and Forums. There is a difference between two major
forms of online learning. The earlier type, based on either Computer Based
Training (CBT) or Computer-based learning (CBL), focused on the interaction
between the student and computer drills plus tutorials on one hand or micro-
worlds and simulations on the other. Both can be delivered today over the
WWW. Today, the prevailing paradigm in the regular school system
is Computer-mediated communication (CMC), where the primary form of
interaction is between students and instructors, mediated by the computer.
CBT/CBL usually means individualized (self-study) learning, while CMC
involves teacher/tutor facilitation and requires scenarization of flexible learning
activities. In addition, modern ICT provides education with tools for sustaining
learning communities and associated knowledge management tasks. It also
provides tools for student and curriculum management.
In addition to classroom enhancement, learning technologies also play a
major role in full-time distance teaching. While most quality offers still rely on
paper, videos and occasional CBT/CBL materials, there is increased use of e-
tutoring through forums, instant messaging, video-conferencing etc. Courses
addressed to smaller groups frequently use blended or hybrid designs that
mix presence courses (usually in the beginning and at the end of a module)
with distance activities and use various pedagogical styles (e.g., drill &
practise, exercises, projects, etc.).
The 2000's emergence of multiple mobile and ubiquitous technologies gave a
new impulse to situated learning theories favoring learning-in-
context scenarios. Some literature uses the concept of integrated learning to
describe blended learning scenarios that integrate both school and authentic
(e.g., workplace) settings. Web services, both educational and non-
educational gain popularity.
The 2010's include MOOCs, a consolidation of rapid elearning in business, a
return of a type of simulations through serious gaming and a technical trend
towards delivery with HTML5 (as opposed to proprietary solutions). Non-
educational on-line applications are main-stream now, e.g. shared office
applications, note pads, ang various instant messaging applications. In
addition, there is a lot of noise about learning analytics and statistical AI to
analyze the data. Other topics like PLE or educational badges don't have
much success. Simple content delivery and simple student management and
assessment tools are still king as demonstrated by the (UK-
based) Association for Learning Technology Annual Surveys.
See also the very complete (until the early 2000s) History of virtual learning
environments on Wikipedia or the more recent the 25 Years of Ed Tech blog
posts by Martin Weller.
Many topics fade in and out over longer cycle (typically about 15 years), e.g.
technology can lower costs, intelligent tutoring, adaptive systems, individual
learning, student data to improve education. Some authors talks about
"Zombie" ideas “The zombie idea that is rapidly being converted into policies
that in the past have been “refuted with evidence but refuse to die” is: new
technologies can cure K-12 and higher education problems of teaching and
learning.” (Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice (2012,
retrieved April 2019).

Families of Educational Technologies from a conceptual perspective

Today we are facing a wide range of pedagogical strategies and available
technologies. Classification schemes taking into account both dimensions can
become very complex, e.g. Joyce (2000) or Reeves & Reeves (1998). We will
present both simple and more complex attempts but also take into account
that pedagogical designs and technologies can be combined in certain ways,
e.g., one can integrate activity-oriented courseware like a simulation within an
content-oriented LMS.
See also: the educational technologies article for a technology-centered
overview.
5.1 Content vs. communication
We distinguish between two big families: (1) content or courseware oriented
and (2) communication/activity oriented. This typology reflects 2
fundamentally different stances that can be found as well in research and
practice.

1. Courseware oriented

1. Contents with low interactivity: computer-based

training (CBT), web-based training (WBT), Multimedia, main-
stream E-learning including Learning technology
systems like LMSs.
2. Activity oriented: Computer-based
learning, Microworlds, Simulations, Hypertext,
(some) CSCL, Intelligent tutoring systems

2. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) oriented

1. Activity-based and community oriented: C3MS (Community

portals), Wikis where students write, social networking platforms,
etc.
2. Activity-based: LMSs like Moodle, Groupware,
3. Cognitive tools: (some) CSCL, e.g., Writing-to-learn tools
like Knowledge forum
4. Communication tools (often combined with others): Instant
messaging, Forums, Videoconferencing
This distinction is similar to Schulmeister's e-learning types A and B.
According to learning types
Baumgartner & Kalz (2004) distinguished three major teaching forms. This
framework was then used to evaluate functionality of technology. It also can
be be used to categorize current on-line teaching practice.
Table 1: Three major forms of pedagogies and associated technologies
(adapted from Baumgartner & Kalz, 2004).
Dominant Tutoring Coaching
Transfer (teaching I)
Strategy (teaching II) (teaching III)
Procedural
Knowledge Factual knowledge, knowledge, "know- Social practice,
type "know-that" how", problem "knowing in action"
solving, concepts
Transfer of Presentation of Action in (complex
Aims of
propositional predetermined and social)
Teaching
knowledge problems situations
 to do, to practice,
Learning goal to know, to remember to cope, to master
to argue
Selection of correct Realization of
Production of correct
Assessment methods and its adequate action
answers
use strategies
Learning Verbal knowledge, Social
Skill, Ability
content type Memorization Responsibility
Teaching and
learning to observe, to help, to cooperate, to
to teach, to explain
strategies and to demonstrate support
activities
Computer-based
learning: simulatio
ns, microworlds, int
e-instruction using lea
elligent tutoring E-Coaching using
rning management
systems Collaborative Cont
systems (LMS)
or learning content e-tutoring combine ent management
management d with e- systems (Portals, 
systems (LCMS). Also instruction using L Wikis, etc.),
Preferred referred to as web- MSs collaborative
technologies based training (WBT). computer- mobile
supported technology, Cogniti
collaborative ve tools such as
Multimedia presentati
learning (CSCL) Knowledge
ons
Computer-based e-moderation: foru Forums, social
training ms, weblogs, grou software, etc.
pware including
conferencing and
application sharing
On can argue that the Baumgartner and Kalz typology does a good job in
relating learning to teaching to technology. However, for a more differentiated
view of learning, see the learning types and learning levels discussion. See
some further discussion in the learning theory and pedagogic strategy article.
According to interaction types
Moore (1989) distinguishes three types of interaction in distance education
and that also can be useful to categorize educational technologies:

1. Student-content interaction refers to Courseware oriented activities,

e.g., reading texts, working with interactive multimedia, produce
assignments.
2. Student-instructor interaction refers to all things related to tutoring
3. Student-student interaction refers to all kinds of collaborative learning
According to Lou et al. (2006:141) other more recently introduced categories
(first three by Anderson, 2003) are:

1. instructor-instructor interaction
2. instructor-content interaction (e.g., authoring systems)
 3. content-content interaction (e.g., automatic retrieval)
4. learner-interface interaction

Design methodologies and research approaches

Researchers in educational technology adopt different stances of what it

means to practice academic research. One may initially distinguish a series of
levels going from the conceptual to the technical:

1. Fundamental research: Many researchers in the field choose to adopt

a more fundamental research stance focusing on small well-defined
problems such as “under which conditions can multimedia animations
be effective”.
2. Technology-supported instructional design applied to various domains
of education; major categories are distance teaching, blended teaching,
computer-enhanced classroom teaching, industrial training. Other
specializations may concern subject matters (e.g. science or language
teaching) or approaches (direct instruction vs. project-oriented learning
for example).
3. Research on the design and application of technologies. Researcher
may specialize on subjects like the use of computer simulations in
education or more technically, how to build authoring and learning
environments for simulations.
Some researchers may combine a fundamental research perspective with a
particular kind of instructional design and a particular kind of technology.
Depending upon these options, research interests and research methodology
will not be the same. From the possible combinations there are probably two
major strands of thought that can be identified:

 Educational technology as part of the learning sciences. Research is

inspired by and contributes to modern learning theory. This strand includes
research communities like computer-supported collaborative learning,
intelligent tutoring systems, ubiquitous computing.
 Educational technology as instructional technology. It is inspired by and
contributes to instructional design theory and methodology. This strand
includes research communities on e-learning, distance teaching,
multimedia design.
Educational technology can be considered as a design science and as such, it
has developed some specific research methodology like “Design-based
research”. However, since it addresses also all fundamental issues of
learning, teaching and social organization, educational technology makes use
of the full range of modern social science and life sciences methodology.
Globally speaking, research methodology for educational technology relies on
general research methodology, in particular on approaches of the social
sciences.

Design-related issues
 Instructional design method
 Design methodology
 The category design methodologies

Research-related issues

 Educational technology research approaches

 The category research methodologies

Effectiveness

Using technology per se is rarely effective. It should be used to support good

pedagogical practice, e.g. feedback and collaborative work. The The
Teachning and learning toolkit, a meta-meta study only attributes a "moderate
effect for moderate cost" to digital technology (taken as such).
Studies summarized in the No signitificant difference website (search for
example for "technology" conveys a similar message. Technology can or
cannot have an impact.

Actors and roles

Spector (2016:50-51) identifies a list of 10 actors that may intervene as

supports of learning, performance and associated activities. Depending on the
context, some of these roles may not exist and some may be held by a same
person. E.g. a school teacher is teacher, coach, instructional designer and
assessment specialist and can be media and technology specialist. For each
of these roles, digital tools play an increasing role, e.g. material, digital and
human resources are managed through Internet portals.

Spector (2016: 50-51) Supporters of learning and performance and

associated example activities (slightly modified by DKS - May 2019)
Individual role Representative activities
Implement lessons and activities, present information, give
Teacher,
formative and summative feedback, (i.e., tells, asks, shows,
trainer, coach
and helps do)
Instructional Determine needs, design lessons and activities, identify
designer and create relevant materials and technologies
Training Select and support programs, instructional designers,
manager training developers, trainees
Media Advise on media tools and formats, and develop particular
specialist media items
Technology Advise on relevant technologies, assist in using particular
specialist technologies and educational models, provide training, and
 implement the technology in the context of use
Instructional Develop specific instructional materials, lessons, learning
developer activities and courses
Assessment Advise on relevant assessments and assist in implementing
specialist and analyzing assessments
Develop and implement formative and summative
Evaluator
evaluation plans for courses, curricula, and programs
Equipment Ensure that relevant equipment is in good condition,
specialist maintain the various technical systems involved
Oversee the implementation of program, including definition
Program
of learning objectives, breakdown in courses, planning and
manager
management of participants
Facility
Ensure that facilities are maintained in good condition
manager

Educational technologist - depending on their training and experience - are

suited to fill the roles of teacher, trainer, coach (if they master the domain
knowledge), instructional designer, media specialist, technology specialist,
instructional developer, and assessment specialist. Training and program
management requires some experience.

Theory and Practice: Foundations for Effective Technology Integration

Learning Theories
Ever since there have been educators trying to teach students, there have
been theories that guide how those educators view the learning process.
These learning theories encompass our beliefs about the nature of knowledge
and how a person learns.

Debates surrounding learning theories have existed for millennia, and even in
the modern world, there is great diversity in how scientists, psychologists, and
educators view learning. Some of the major learning theories that shape
modern conversations surrounding technology integration include
behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, constructionism, and connectivism.
Each of these theories has been studied and written about at length, and it is
impossible to devote sufficient time and attention to each theory in the limited
space provided in this chapter. Rather, all educators should study competing
learning theories and develop their own understanding of how people learn. In
this chapter, we will merely provide an extremely high level overview of each
of these theories, briefly explaining what each entails and what each might
mean for teaching and learning with technology.

Behaviorism
Behaviorism was popularized in the mid-20th century as psychologists studied
behavior patterns and response systems in humans and other animals.
Behaviorism treats learning as a response to stimulus. That is, humans and
other animals are trained to respond in certain ways to certain stimuli, such as
salivating when a dinner bell rings or repeating a memorized fact to receive
some external reward. Teaching and learning, then, is a process of
conditioning students to properly react to stimuli, and technology can help
facilitate this training by providing incentives to learning, such as games or
other rewards, or by providing systems to efficiently develop stimulus-
response conditioning, such as drill-and-kill practices.

Cognitivism
Cognitivism arose as an alternative to behaviorism in part because
behaviorism treated the processes of the brain as an imperceptible black box,
wherein understanding how the brain worked was not considered important
for helping people learn. Cognitivism, therefore, dealt with brain functions and
how information is processed, stored, retrieved, and applied. By treating
humans as thinking machines, rather than as animals to be trained, research
in cognitivism for teaching and learning focused on helping people develop
efficient teaching and studying strategies that would allow their brains to make
meaningful use of presented information. Through this lens, technology can
help in providing information and study resources that assist the brain in
efficiently storing and retrieving information, such as through the use of
mnemonic devices or multiple modalities (e.g., video, audio).

Constructivism
However, both behaviorism and cognitivism tended to treat learning the same
for all humans, despite their age, culture, or personal experiences.
Recognizing that these factors might influence how learning
occurs, constructivism arose as a means for understanding how individual
and social factors might influence the process of learning for different groups
of people and individuals. Constructivism holds that learning is constructed by
learners on top of previous experience, attitudes, and beliefs. This means that
for learning to occur, new learning experiences must take into consideration
these human factors and assist the individual in assimilating new knowledge
to their existing knowledge constructs. Thus, if you are teaching students
about fractions, you must teach them using language that they will understand
and connect their learning to experiences in their own lives that will have
meaning for them. Technology can help the constructivist learning process by
making abstract concepts and facts more grounded in personal experiences
and the values of learners and also by allowing the learning experience to be
differentiated for individual learners (e.g., through personalized
developmentally-appropriate software).

Constructionism
Believing that knowledge is constructed in the mind, some then took
constructivism to the stage of a pedagogical process and called
it constructionism. From the constructionist viewpoint, the most effective way
to teach in a constructivist manner is to have students construct artifacts in
the outside world that support and reflect their internal construction of
knowledge. For instance, if a student needs to learn about basic engineering
concepts, in order to build the internal mind models necessary to understand
engineering, students must construct external models, which might take the
form of a bridge or catapult. Technology can support constructionist
approaches to teaching and learning by empowering students and teachers to
create and construct external models reflecting internal mind models with
resources and possibilities not available in the real world. By using a
simulation, for instance, students can construct any structure or machine
without the need of expensive materials, or they might seek to understand
economic principles of supply and demand by creating a simulated community
that allows them to influence supply chains in ways that would not be possible
in the real world.

Connectivism
Even with these competing theories, some still believed that learning
experiences and processes as they actually exist in the real world were not
fully represented, and this has become especially obvious now that we live in
a society that is heavily networked and connected via electronic and social
media. All traditional views about learning had placed knowledge and learning
squarely in the mind or body of the student, but modern technologies in
particular lead us to consider whether all memory, information processing,
and other aspects of learning traditionally ascribed to the mind might not also
be distributed with external devices. Connectivism holds that the process and
goals of learning in a highly networked and connected world is different than
learning in the predigital world, because learners are now persistently
connected to information sources and other resources through their electronic
devices, such as smartphones or laptops. From the connectivist perspective,
learning need not be isolated to the mind, but becoming a learned and
capable citizen in a digital society requires learners to become connected with
one another in such a way that they can make use of the network as an
extension of their own mind and body. Thus from a connectivist perspective,
the goal of education is to more fully and efficiently connect learners with one
another and with information resources in a manner that is persistent and in
which learners can make ongoing use of the network to solve problems. From
this perspective, technology can be used to improve learning experiences by
more fully connecting students with one another and information resources in
a persistent manner.

Differing Assumptions
Each of these learning theories views the learner, the learner's relationship
with society, and the learner's relationship to technology quite differently. For
that reason, when we begin to consider what constitutes effective technology
integration, we must acknowledge that different people and groups who have
differing assumptions about how students learn will view technology
integration very differently. A connectivist would believe that guiding students
to use modern technologies to develop networked relationships with peers
and experts in the field is an essential element of learning. However, this may
require very little information processing and recall to be occurring in the mind
of the learner, which would seem dubious to a cognitivist. Similarly, a
constructionist would look to an architecturally sound structure created in a
physics engine as evidence of understanding of mathematical engineering
concepts, while a behaviorist might consider such an artifact useless in
determining the student's ability to recite foundational mathematical equations
that every engineer should know. In short, the effectiveness of technology
integration requires evidence that the integration is effective, but what is
believed to be effective for learning will depend upon our view of learning.

Thus, the first step toward defining effective technology integration for yourself
is to consider how you define learning and what constitutes evidence of
learning. Similarly as teachers work within educational institutions, the criteria
by which they and their students are evaluated will rely upon one or more of
the learning theories mentioned above. If there is misalignment between how
the teacher views learning and how the institution views learning, then
misunderstandings will arise, because what the teacher views to be effective
technology integration may not be recognized or valued by the institution and
vice versa.

As such, teachers need to decide for themselves what learning is to them and
also understand what learning means in the institutions in which they operate.
So, before you can ask yourself what is effective technology integration, you
must first ask yourself the following two questions:

 What are my beliefs about learning and how learning occurs?

 What are my institution's beliefs about learning and how learning
occurs?

Once you understand how both you and your institution view the learning
process, then you can move to the next step and consider your beliefs and
values with regard to technology. Some people might value the acquisition of
technical skills for the sake of technical skills to be a good thing, while others
might believe that technology should only be used if it is helping students to
learn content better or to learn more. Though all students should learn some
level of technical skill competency in order to make them suitable for the
modern workplace (e.g., productivity software, keyboarding, basic
programming), most technologies in education are not focused on this type of
learning.

Rather, when we talk about technology integration, we are generally talking

about using technology to improve the learning of content knowledge, such as
science, math, history, or language arts. When viewed in this way, teachers
and institutions need to consider how well new technologies will help them to
teach age-old content in better or more efficient ways and what are the
opportunity costs associated with a shift to new technologies.
There is a common myth in education related to technology adoption that
older or more experienced teachers are less likely to adopt new technologies
and to innovate upon their practice than younger teachers. Though this may
sometimes be the case, many people do not stop to consider why this might
be happening. Evidence suggests that age ultimately has nothing to do with a
person's willingness to innovate, but rather, experience may help people to
more quickly identify the transient nature of some changes or that some so-
called innovations are actually harmful or ineffective for students.

In the case of technology in education, experienced teachers may have a

wealth of understanding of how their students learn and how they can teach in
effective ways, whereas new teachers may be eager to try new things and to
adopt technologies that they think will help them be effective in the classroom.
The problem is that sometimes the most eager teachers are also the least
capable of making informed decisions, because they may lack the experiential
knowledge necessary to make informed choices about these technologies,
how much time to invest in learning them, and what to expect in terms of
student outcomes. In every case, a teacher's beliefs and values will drive how
they view technology integration, whether old or young, and their willingness
to use technologies in their classrooms.

Similarly, schools and districts have their own beliefs and values about
technology, how it should be used, and how it will impact students. For this
reason it is important for us to understand each of these groups' beliefs and
values, how they may be different, and how this influences the process of
technology integration. Though personal beliefs and values are complicated
and will vary between different people, we will consider four areas of belief
and value that guide teachers and institutions in their technology integration
practices. These include: Proof, Facility, Compliance, and Institutionalization.

Proof
First, proof deals with the efficiency or efficacy of a technology to help
improve student learning. Proof requires some form of discernible or
measurable outcome and will be most important to teachers in the classroom
or to principals and other administrators who invest time and money into
technology and must prove that it is improving student achievement. From a
teacher's or principal's perspective, if a technology does not directly improve
students' ability to learn in a discernible or measurable way, then the value of
that technology will be dubious. Teachers are stressed for time and they do
not want to invest the effort necessary to learn and implement new
technologies if they are not going to see actual results in how their students
are learning. Likewise, principals face financial and other stressors which
require them to provide evidence of student learning and that they are being
wise stewards of institutional resources.

Proof might be slightly different for teachers and principals, however, due to
their level of vision and operation. A teacher will want evidence that a
technology works in her classroom through the creation of student artifacts or
saved time, while a principal might want evidence that a technology works in
all classes, preferring more generalizable research evidence over anecdotal
evidence from one or two teachers. This means that teachers and principals
might not always see eye-to-eye when it comes to identifying meaningful
evidence for technology integration, because a classroom teacher will not
care about what the research says if she is not seeing success in her
classroom, and a principal might not care what an individual teacher says as
long as the evidence from other teachers is strong.

Facility
Second, facility (as in facile or easy) deals with the ease at which a new
technology can be learned, implemented, or managed at the teacher- or
student-level. Teachers want to use tools that are easy to learn, and the
greater the learning curve associated with a new technology the less likely a
teacher will be willing to invest the time and energy necessary to learn it.
Similarly, if the technology requires teachers to invest a large amount of time
troubleshooting or providing tutorials to students, then they are much less
likely to use it. Teachers value technologies that they can pick up, easily use,
and put away. Technology support personnel value these technologies as
well, because it means that they can provide less support to teachers in
learning and troubleshooting them, but principals and other administrators
may not believe that facility is very important in comparison to other values,
because in their eyes the value of the technology for learning would outweigh
the difficulties in terms of time or effort. Thus, a principal might require all
teachers to learn a new technology, because she believes that it will
drastically improve student learning, even though that technology is very
difficult to use and requires high levels of support.

Compliance
Third, compliance deals with the legal and ethical requirements of technology
use in contrast to their pragmatic use. Those who value compliance will
ensure that new technologies meet security requirements or legal
requirements regarding student security. Teachers and administrators rarely
think about compliance when integrating new technologies, or if they do, they
only do so as an afterthought. Rather, strategic technology support personnel
deal most heavily with this issue and seek to ensure that technologies that are
used in the classroom and across institutions will not pose legal risk to the
institution. Thus, the teacher may have students use an online blogging
platform without letting school or district personnel know, because those same
personnel might tell her to stop, because the platform does not meet
mandated security, accessibility, or privacy requirements. Similarly, filtering of
web searches is typically managed at the school or district level to ensure
compliance with state and federal regulations, while classroom teachers might
complain about how strict filtering systems are or may have little say in
determining what is allowed and what is banned. In short, compliance is an
essential consideration for schools to ensure safe, legal, and ethical
technology use, but it is typically only considered by those in specialized
positions, such as technology administrators or those in a disabilities office.

Institutionalization
And fourth, institutionalization deals with infrastructural compatibility, cost,
lifespan, and management scale of new technologies. When a teacher
purchases a new device or set of devices for her classroom she may not think
ahead about the long-term costs associated with those devices (e.g., the price
of apps or software updates, breakage, replacement), whether or not the
devices are compatible with the school's technology infrastructure (e.g., can
they access the network?), or the work involved in keeping those devices up-
to-date and working. Rather, technology support personnel often understand
these issues very well, and this will guide them to prefer certain technologies
over others. For instance, technology personnel might want to provide
Chromebooks to students (which are easy to manage at scale) instead of
iPads (which are not), even though teachers might want iPads. This can
create a tension between technology personnel and teachers, where teachers
want to use technologies that may be too difficult to support or technology
personnel might want to use technologies that have limited classroom value.

Differing Beliefs and Values

Based on these four values, it is easy to see why technology integration in
school settings can be so complicated. On the one hand, a principal might
value proof by wanting to use technologies that are shown through research
to improve student learning, while the teacher may want to use a technology
that is easy to learn, and a technology support professional might want to use
a technology that is compliant and that can easily be implemented at an
institutional level. The problem is that a single technology rarely does all
things well, and for that reason, certain groups will gravitate toward certain
technologies while others will take a very different view.

Thus, though a classroom teacher might want to purchase iPads, a

technology administrator might want to purchase Chromebooks, and a
principal might want to purchase PC or Mac laptops. Each person in this
scenario has certain values driving why they are picking one technology over
another, and if the teacher does not understand the reason why a principal or
tech support professional might have a differing view about what technologies
to adopt, this can cause problems for integrating technology, because the
teacher may not be able to get the technologies that she wants, she may not
have the support necessary to manage and support them, or she might be
required to use a technology that she does not want to use.

In all cases, the best approach to technology integration involves considering

the beliefs and values of everyone involved in the institution and making
selections and necessary compromises to best meet their needs. As a
teacher, you must understand at least at a basic level the beliefs and values
that principals and technology support personnel are working under so that
you can understand their perspectives and help to inform technology decision-
making with your own. So, you must consider the following:

 What are the most important factors that will guide my own technology
integration decision-making?
 1. How do I communicate and collaborate with others who may have
different values?

Technology Integration Models

Once you have a basic grasp of your own approach to learning and the beliefs
and values that will guide your technology integration, you are ready to begin
exploring how to make this happen effectively. Technology integration models
are theoretical models that are designed to help teachers, researchers, and
others in the education field to think about technology integration in
meaningful ways. There are many, many technology integration models that
are used by different groups. Some models are very popular while some are
only used by very small groups of people, and some are very similar to one
another, while others are very unique. Rather than provide an exhausting
description of each technology integration model, we will now proceed by
providing a brief overview of a few that we believe to be most widely used or
valuable to help you begin thinking about technology integration in your
classroom. The models we will explore will include the following: TPACK,
RAT, SAMR, and PICRAT.

TPACK
TPACK is the most commonly used technology integration model amongst
educational researchers. The goal of TPACK is to provide educators with a
framework that is useful for understanding technology's role in the educational
process. At its heart, TPACK holds that educators deal with three types of
core knowledge on a daily basis: technological knowledge, pedagogical
knowledge, and content knowledge. Content knowledge is knowledge of one's
content area such as science, math, or social studies. Pedagogical knowledge
is knowledge of how to teach. And technological knowledge is knowledge of
how to use technology tools.

These core knowledge domains, however, interact with and build on each
other in important and complicated ways. For instance, if you are going to
teach kindergarten mathematics, you must both understand mathematics (i.e.
content knowledge) and how to teach (i.e. pedagogical knowledge), but you
must also understand the relationship between pedagogy and the content
area. That is you must understand how to teach mathematics, which is very
different from teaching other subject areas, because the pedagogical
strategies you use to teach mathematics will be specific to that content
domain. When we merge content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge
together, a hybrid domain emerges called pedagogical content knowledge.
Pedagogical content knowledge includes knowledge about content and
pedagogy, but it also includes the specific knowledge necessary to teach the
specified content in a meaningful way.

TPACK goes on to explain that when we try to integrate technology into a

classroom setting, we are not merely using technological knowledge, but
rather, we are merging technological knowledge with pedagogical content
knowledge to produce something new. TPACK or technological pedagogical
content knowledge is the domain of knowledge wherein technology,
pedagogy, and content meet to create a meaningful learning experience.
From this, educators need to recognize that merely using technology in a
classroom is not sufficient to produce truly meaningful technology integration.
Rather, teachers must understand how technology, pedagogy, and content
knowledge interact with one another to produce a learning experience that is
meaningful for students in specific situations.

RAT and SAMR

RAT and SAMR are very similar technology integration models, though RAT
has been used more often by researchers and SAMR has been used more
often by teachers. Both of these models assume that the introduction of
technology into a learning experience will have some effect on what is
happening, and they try to help us understand what this effect is and how we
should be using technology in meaningful ways.

RAT is an acronym for replace, amplify, and transform, and the model holds
that when technology is used in a teaching setting, technology is either used
to replace a traditional approach to teaching (without any discernible
difference on student outcomes), to amplify the learning that was occurring, or
to transform learning in ways that were not possible without the technology
(Hughes, Thomas, & Scharber, 2006). Similarly, SAMR is an acronym for
substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition (Puentedura, 2003).
To compare it to RAT, substitution and replacement both deal with technology
use that merely substitutes or replaces previous use with no functional
improvement on efficiency. Redefinition and transformation both deal with
technology use that empowers teachers and students to learn in new,
previously impossible ways.

A comparison of the levels of SAMR and RATComparing RAT and SAMR

The difference between these two models rests in the center letters, wherein
RAT's amplification is separated into two stages as SAMR's augmentation
and modification. All of these stages deal with technology use that functionally
improves what is happening in the classroom, but in the SAMR model,
augmentation represents a small improvement, and modification represents a
large improvement.

Both of these models are helpful for leading educators to consider the
question: what effect is using the technology having on my practice? If the
technology is merely replacing or substituting previous practice, then it is a
less meaningful use of technology. Whereas technology use that transforms
or redefines classroom practice is considered to be more valuable.

PICRAT
The PICRAT Model

Building off of the ideas presented in the models above, we will now provide
one final model that may serve as a helpful starting point for teachers to begin
thinking about technology integration. PICRAT assumes that there are two
foundational questions that a teacher must ask about any technology use in
their classrooms. These include:

1. What is the students' relationship to the technology? (PIC: Passive,

Interactive, Creative)
2. How is the teacher's use of technology influencing traditional practice?
(RAT: Replace, Amplify, Transform; cf. Hughes, Thomas, & Scharber,
2006)

The provided illustration maps these two questions on a two-dimensional grid,

and by answering these two questions, teachers can get a sense for where
any particular practice falls.

Teachers should seek to move their practice toward the top-right of PICRAT
For instance, if a history teacher shifts from writing class notes on a
chalkboard to providing these notes in a PowerPoint presentation, this would
likely be categorized in the bottom-left (PR) section of the grid, because the
teacher is using the technology to merely replace a traditional practice, and
the students are passively taking notes on what they see. In contrast, if an
English teacher guides students in developing a creative writing blog, which
they use to elicit feedback from peers, parents, and the online community on
their short stories, this would likely be categorized in the top-right (CT)
section, because the teacher is using the technology to transform her practice
to do something that would have been impossible without the technology, and
the students are using the technology as a tool for creation.

Experience has shown that as teachers begin using technologies in their

classrooms, they will typically begin doing so in a manner that falls closer to
the bottom-left of the grid. However, many of the most exciting and valuable
uses of technology for teaching rest firmly in the top-most and right-most
sections of this grid. For this reason, teachers need to be encouraged to
evolve their practice to continually move from the bottom-left (PR) to the top-
right (CT) of the grid.

1. A teacher uses PowerPoint as part of her lecture.

2. Students are asked to keep an online journal in a blog.

3. Students pass a touch-enabled tablet around the room and write a

collaborative poem.

4. Students play an online role-playing game about John Smith and

Pocahontas.

5. Students write answers to math problems on an interactive whiteboard.

 6. Students organize geometric shapes in patterns on an iPad.

7. A teacher creates a video to introduce herself to her students on the

first day.

8. Students make an animated video to tell a story.

9. A teacher designs a WebQuest (inquiry-driven online lesson) for

students to complete on their own time.

10. A teacher uses Facebook to remind her students about homework

Developmentally Appropriate Technology

During the preschool years, young children are developing a sense of

initiative and creativity. They are curious about the world around them and
about learning. They are exploring their ability to create and communicate
using a variety of media (crayons, felt-tip markers, paints and other art
materials, blocks, dramatic play materials, miniature life figures) and through
creative movement, singing, dancing, and using their bodies to represent
ideas and experiences. Digital technologies provide one more outlet for them
to demonstrate their creativity and learning

Technology Tools and Interactive Media

 Allow children to freely explore touch screens loaded with a wide

variety of developmentally appropriate interactive media experiences that
are well designed and enhance feelings of success.
 Provide opportunities for children to begin to explore and feel
comfortable using “traditional” mouse and keyboard computers to use
Websites or look up answers with a search engine.
 Capture photos of block buildings or artwork that children have created;
videotape dramatic play to replay for children.
 Celebrate children’s accomplishments with digital media displayed on a
digital projector or on a classroom Website.
 Incorporate assistive technologies as appropriate for children with
special needs and/or developmental delays.
 Record children’s stories about their drawings or their play; make
digital audio or video files to document their progress.
 Explore digital storytelling with children. Co-create digital books with
photos of the children’s play or work; attach digital audio files with the child
as the narrator.

Trending Tools (TT) for Teachers

27 Tech Tools Teachers Can Use to Inspire Classroom Creativity
Virtual Learning Tools
The shift to remote learning had many teachers scrambling to find effective
ways to share lessons, deliver instruction, and allow students to collaborate.
Here are some of our favorite tools to get online/hybrid classes running
effectively:

Ozobot 1:1 Program | Evo Student Packs

With the shift to remote learning, we knew we needed to work with districts,
teachers, and our extended community to understand education’s new
challenges. The result is our 1:1 Robotics Program, designed for teaching
core subjects anywhere without sacrificing STEAM. Each student receives
a Student Pack—a care package from you to them—to make core subjects
more hands-on and collaborative with their robot study buddy using our 2
Ways to Code. Plus, we made Ozobot Classroom remote-friendly, including a
seamless Google Classroom integration and Learn Anywhere Lessons that
can be used virtually or back in the classroom.
More good news: Ozobot qualifies for federal and state initiatives (CARES
Act, 21st Century Schools etc), making 1:1 possible for educators
nationwide. Sign up for a personal demo to learn more and see how we can
be part of your K-12 solution to keep students engaged in class or at home.
Buncee
Buncee understands how much
more kids learn if they’re
engaged, so their platform makes
it easy to engage students from
anywhere. Teachers have the
flexibility to create activities that
their class will enjoy with over
1000 templates, and students
earn badges as they complete
their work. Buncee also makes it
easy for students to collaborate
with sharing and discussion
functionality.

Bakpax
Bakpax is an AI tool that autogrades student work, giving them (and the
teacher) instant feedback on assignments! As teachers know, hand grading
student work can take hours, so Bakpax allows teachers to save time with the
more administrative aspects of teaching, so they can focus more on creative
lessons/activities and individualizing student instruction.
Bakpax wants to support educators during the transition to remote learning,
so teachers can currently access Bakpax for free!

Pear Deck
Pear Deck allows teachers to make lessons interactive so every student can
actively participate, whether instruction is synchronous or asynchronous. It
utilizes formative assessment, active learning, retrieval practice, and more to
close the achievement gap, even for students who are learning from afar. 
Bonus: PearDeck has the stamp of approval from many Ozobot Certified
Educators.

SeeSaw
Rather than limit students to one method for demonstrating their
knowledge, SeeSaw allows students to show what they know with tools like
draw+record, collage, video, and more. Educators report that SeeSaw is
intuitive for students to use, so minimal support is required to use this tool!
For more tips on creating successful virtual learning environment, check out
our Ozobot Certified Educator-hosted webinar!
Students who grow up with a love of learning are more likely to stay engaged
in STEAM subjects and other lessons as they grow older. They won’t take
what they learn at face value, and will instead seek out ways to expand their
knowledge and ask questions about what they learn.
Teachers are always looking for ways to pique student interest, from engaging
experiments to unique learning methods. If you want to add fresh elements to
your classroom and encourage your students to be creative, check out these
tools. They might offer the tech solutions you need to wow your students
during the learning process.

Evo Classroom Kit

We may be a little biased, but our personal favorite tool is the Evo Classroom
Kit. This kit is made for students grades 4 through 8 and includes 12 Evos,
accessories, and a driver’s ed activity that allows students to program Evo’s
proximity sensors and other features. Plus, students and educators can
explore over 100 STEAM lessons in the Lesson Library. Lessons cover a wide
range of subjects along with Ozobot’s two ways to code—online with

OzoBlockly and screen-free with Color Codes. Teachers across the

country have shared how they use their Classroom Kits to encourage
creativity while teaching coding concepts. We pride ourselves on fostering a
creative experience that motivates students to keep learning.

Nearpod
Nearpod specializes in multimedia displays to make discussions more
engaging. One of their top tools for teachers is Nearpod VR, an affordable
virtual reality headset that lets teachers explore different concepts in 3D.
There are more than 450 VR tutorials, broken down by subject and grade
level. Take your students to explore volcanoes or for a historic look at the Taj
Mahal. This technology inspires curiosity about the world and student
engagement in lessons.

Learn Around The World

The goal of Learn Around the World is to use technology to connect students
and educators globally. They have events and collaborative projects where
students can work with people in different countries, and virtual field trips for
exploring foreign lands. LATW also has guest speakers and private events
that teachers can take advantage of. Imagine speaking with someone who
lives in Buenos Aires while learning about Argentina. Your students can ask
questions and use their curiosity to spur discussion.
Buncee
Never sit through
boring Powerpoint
presentations again
with Buncee, a
multimedia display tool
that allows students to
easily create displays
and narrate them
through microphone
recordings. There are
more than 8,000
graphics to choose from and students can upload their own media as well.
They can either create a presentation based on their own findings or use
Buncee’s tools to add graphics to their ideas. This is also a useful tool for
students who might be too young for Powerpoint tutorials.

Glogster
Glogster is one of the fastest-growing multimedia management tools for
teachers and students. Your students can easily create posts and other
graphic designs to enhance their learning experience. This site also allows
teachers to find awesome content. There are more than 40,000 Glogs shared
online across 80 topics and nine disciplines. With over 1.9 million teacher
accounts and 17 million student accounts, Glogster is a favorite worldwide.

FlipGrid
Do you wish classroom discussion could continue after the bell rings? Do you
wish you could encourage quiet students to speak their minds without feeling
intimidated? With FlipGrid, teachers create discussion topics and students
can respond with video recordings. Their peers can respond to keep the
discussion going. This tool helps students formulate their ideas in a pre-
recorded setting, which means no one gets talked over or ignored by louder
voices.

TodaysMeet
TodaysMeet provides a backchannel of discussion for your classroom.
Teachers monitor chat discussions during the lessons and can respond to or
highlight questions asked by students as they go. Instead of stopping the
class or losing your train of thought to answer questions, teachers can set
aside time for questions and discussion at various points throughout. Plus,
quiet students can ask questions and voice their opinions without having to
worry about speaking up or waiting until the end.

Microduino
Microduino offers small electronic building blocks that kids can creatively
assemble to find solutions to problems or explore ideas. These blocks can be
stacked on LEGO bricks, expanding your resources as far as your imagination
will go. This product also has open-source code compatible with Scratch and
other programs you might already use.
TinyTap
TinyTap is home to more than 100,000 learning activities for students and
teachers to use. You can search for games for your kids to play to better help
them understand concepts, or ask them to create games of their own.
TinyTap Market encourages students to learn by teaching, and provides the
tools to help people develop their own games. Creators can even sell their
games to gain recognition for their work.

Because Learning
This tool is ideal for teachers who want to bring STEAM learning to the
classroom but worry about their lack of programming background. You don’t
have to be a professional web developer to engage your students. Because
Learning is designed for educators and offers STEAM kits based on national
learning standards. You and your students can start creating in just a few
steps.

SiLAS Solutions
More instructors are increasingly concerned with social skills and encouraging
their students to work together. SiLAS Solutions is a tool that can help.
Through video game technology and 3D development, students use
characters and create conversations with their own voice recordings. They
can make videos talking through problems and expressing their emotions.
Grading is easy, with teachers able to assess students and provide feedback
through the system.

Labster
Do you wish you had
access to a University-
calibre laboratory?
Consider testing
simulations
with Labster. Students
can run a variety of
simulations on topics
ranging from diabetes
to herpetology. The
software runs
mathematical algorithms based on the criteria so students get a full lab
experience. Teachers can grade participation in different parts of the
simulation as they would with a full-fledged science lab.

PhET Sims
Another simulation software that younger students can use
is PhET simulations. Teachers can filter simulations by grade level and topic
and use them to explore different ideas in the classroom. The goal of this
organization is to increase STEAM literacy worldwide and create engaging
interactive content that encourages students to ask questions and explore
topics beyond what the common core demands.
ZeeMaps
ZeeMaps is a tool that students and teachers can use to create their own
graphics. You can create maps on a local, state, national, and even global
level. Students can choose different map types and assign colors and labels
as needed. This is perfect for creating visual aids for projects, mapping out
complex concepts (like battles in a war or evolving country borders), and
letting students learn in an interactive manner.

Tiki-Toki
Just as ZeeMaps is useful for mapping out various concepts and ideas, Tiki-
Toki is great for developing timelines. Students can customize events and
choose different formats to explore their ideas. They can provide as much
information as they need to fully explain a topic. This tool is ideal for both
classroom-led activities and solo work.

Popplet
Popplet is a mind-mapping and brainstorming tool for students. You can use
this tool to guide assignments, encouraging students to create mind maps for
their projects, or create a classroom-guided brainstorm to explore new ideas.
This tool is also used in group projects to help students creatively come up
with solutions to problems. It teaches the concept of brainstorming and has a
useful option to save your ideas for later.

Venngage
You don’t need to be an expert graphic designer to create engaging
infographics for your classroom. Even better, your students can create
graphics for you! Venngage offers free infographic tools to help students
visualize their data and clearly present ideas. The infographics can be shared
and saved online, so they can be used by students in real time and future
students can also benefit.

Sutori
Sutori lets anyone build a multimedia-rich story that looks like a timeline,
though the focus is on arranging information into an engaging, interactive
format for storytelling. It’s a useful format, too, because it’s a more intuitive
way to illustrate the relationships between concepts than, say, a slidedeck.
The applications are many, as well: Teachers can use pre-made stories in
their lesson plans (there are nearly 800,000 users, so stories are plenty), or
they can create their own stories in a snap to use as teaching tools or study
aids. What’s more, stories can even be assigned as projects or homework,
which could be a welcome alternative to an essay assignment.

Lifeliqe
With more than 1,100
3D models and 700
lesson
plans, Lifeliqe provides
an interactive way to
meet Common Core
and Next Generation
Science Standards. This tool has data behind its name: 86 percent of
students who used their 3D models to learn improved their science scores.
The company attributes their success to the idea that 65 percent of the
population is made of visual learners. By connecting with kids in the way they
learn best, they’re more likely to enjoy the material.

Storybird
STEAM educators who are looking to add reading and writing elements to
their curriculum can try Storybird. This company curates millions of images
from illustrators across the world and encourages students and teachers to
use them to tell stories. Consider assigning an image to each student and
asking them to write about it, or ask them to create a book using the lessons
they learned in science or math class. It’s a great way to get creative with
online tools.

KidBlog
If you’re trying to get your students to blog more and reflect on what they
learned, consider using Kidblog. Nothing goes live until the teacher approves
it, so you have final say in what is published. KidBlog creates a safe space for
students to publish content without exposing them to the trolls of the Internet.
It’s available for K-12 students and you can tailor your lessons based on the
age group. You can also track engagement statistics each year to see if your
students are reading each other’s work.

LiveBinders
The goal of LiveBinders is to help educators and their students go paperless
with digital binders. Users can save articles and videos, take notes, and post
other forms of content in one place. They can also share binders with each
other and collaborate to create something useful. With this tool, you never
have to limit yourself to just one textbook or resource. You can keep all of
your resources in one place for years to come, always adding when you find
something new.

Padlet
Padlet is another collaboration tool that teachers can use. Students can
submit a variety of supplemental material to make the learning process easier
and can comment and interact with it as needed. Teachers can monitor all
interactions that students have with the content and track engagement
analytics. This tool can be used for any subject or grade level.

Celestia
This tool is definitely more space-focused instead of the other one-size-fits-all
solutions on this list. However, it’s rare to find such a dynamic resource for
exploring outer space. Not only is there a wide variety of content on  Celestia,
but students and educators can customize the content or add their own based
on their needs. If there’s something you can’t find, create it.
Project Noah
Launched in 2010, Project Noah was created to encourage citizen scientists
to document the world around them. People can photograph organisms and
share them online, helping scientists document the location and rarity of
various species. Teachers can make this part of the classroom experience by
turning students into citizen scientists sharing their discoveries.

Science360 Video Library

One of the biggest challenges that teachers face is modernizing the
classroom and making students care about what they’re learning. Part of the
National Science Foundation, the Science360 Video Library shares the latest
videos related to science, technology, and engineering. Whether you’re
introducing students to outer space discoveries or explaining undersea
exploration, you can update those lessons with this video collection.

Teachers TryScience
If you’re uncertain where to start with science and STEAM lessons, check
out Teachers TryScience. Teachers can find lesson plans and follow different
strategies and tutorials to make their content more engaging. It can be
intimidating giving students the keys to explore a particular topic, but this site
makes it easier.

A Technology Integration Planning (TIP) Model for Teachers

Phase 1: Technological Pedagogical

Content Knowledge (PCK)

Phase 2: Why should I use a technology-

based method?

Phase 3: How will I know students

have learned?

Phase 4: What teaching strategies and

activities will work best?

Phase 5: Are essential conditions in place to support technology integration?

Phase 6: What worked well? What could be improved?

As a teacher you need to be able to identify where you are in regards to the
framework of the TPACK. In other words, you need to know your knowledge
bases pertaining to technology (TK , TCK , TPK , and TPACK ). Metacognitvie
awareness of the TPACK will allow you to be a thoughtful/critical consumer of
technology, and be able to reflect and refract on the best times when  to
integrate technology in the classroom.
Having a technology based method may allow you to use technology as a
solution for your current teaching problems. According to Everett Rogers,
people resist new ways of doing things even if it might be better than their
current ways. However, if a person is aware of the substantial benefits of the
change they are more partial to adopt the new way or ways. He calls
this relative advantage  . Before you try to solve a problem, you need to
clearly state the problem you are trying to solve; it sounds simple but people
usually try to jump ahead without assessing.

As a teacher you will decide the skills you want your students to learn from
technology-integrated lessons and will design a way to assess how well
students retained the information and how effectively the activity was carried
out. Some examples of assessment include: higher achievement outcome
(assessed with a test), cooperative
work outcome (use an existing rubric
to grade skills), attitude outcome
(create an attitude survey to assess
satisfaction), and improved
motivation (create and use an
observation sheet).  Before creating
specific ways to assess you should
always ask yourself "What outcomes
do I expect from using the new
methods?"

Teachers are the ones that decide on instructional strategies and how to carry
them out. When teachers create an instructional design for technology
integration, they need to consider the characteristics of their topic and the
needs of their students and then decide on a course of action that will meet
both needs within the constraints of their classroom environment. When
deciding on teaching/learning methods the first distinction a teacher must
make is whether or not to use directed strategies or constructive strategies.
After determining whether integration strategies will be primarily directed or
constructive, also consider content approach. Should the approach be single
subject or interdisciplinary? A few other questions that a teacher will need to
answer while developing instruction is: Should students work individually, in
pairs, in small groups, or as a whole class? How can technology best support
these methods? How can I prepare students adequately to use these
techonologies?
Remember as a teacher you never stop learning. Ask yourself questions and
don't be afraid to do a little research.

Teachers are responsible to

organize the teaching environment
so that technology integration can
be successfully carried out.
Research has proved that teachers
can only adequately integrate
technology if the proper resources are available (hardware, software, and
technical support). The school and district must provide many of these
essential conditions, but for each technology integration strategy, the teacher
considers which conditions are in place and to what degree. This helps shape
the kind of integration possible for the situation.

In order to know what changes that need

to be made to technology-integrated
methods to make them better, Teachers
must review outcome data and
information on the methods implemented.
Teachers can also ask students or
observers what they think could be
improved. Some teachers write daily
notes or logs on implementation problems
and issues. Some questions teachers
should ask themselves to evaluate an
issue are: Were the objectives achieved? What do students say? Could
improving instructional strategies improve results? Have I integrated
technology well? Some of the best suggestions come from the students and
should be taken into consideration; they are the learners and focus.
Technologies do not create improvements, it's how the teacher utilizes
technology that is most crucial.

Kahoot: Educational Games for 21 st century

Since the start of the 21st century, educational technology has played a
major role in students’ academic progress, especially in the area of the
sciences in the United States high school education system (Chacko,
Appelbaum, Kim, Zhao, & Montclare, 2015; Tarbutton, 2018). The United
States government made it a priority that American students have access
to adequate resources and programs to motivate more high school
students to enter the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) fields as a career option (Gonzalez & Kuenzi, 2012; Kuenzi, 2008).
High schools are trying new ways of incorporating technology into the
classrooms to support the new environment: The Digital Era (Gros,
2007; Özer, Kanbul, & Ozdamli, 2018). Bennett et al. describe the Digital
Era as the time when “Digital Natives”, a generation of individuals, have
been exposed to technology since birth (Bennett, Maton, & Kervin,
2008; Dingli & Seychell, 2015). As a result, teachers are trying to find ways
to incorporate technology into their classrooms to make their lectures more
interesting and relatable to this new generation of learners, so that they are
more autonomous about their education (Domingo & Garganté,
2016; Lacina, 2008; Waghid, 2015). With more schools opting out of using
traditional teacher-centered methods and electing for student-centered
learning, technology has become a forefront in today’s education system in
 anticipation that it will increase student motivation and engagement
(Hoffmann & Ramirez, 2018; Özer et al., 2018). One such example is
gamification—the act of increasing student motivation and enthusiasm to
learn by using game-thinking and game mechanics to solve problems and
to engage an audience (Cunningham & Zichermann, 2011; Nicholson,
2015; Su, 2015; Whitton, 2007, 2010; Yapıcı & Karakoyun, 2017).

‘KAHOOT!’ is an online gamified pedagogical tool that centers on student

engagement and motivation. It is a fast paced assessment tool that
resonates like a “game-show”, which allows teachers to monitor the
progress of their students while they participate in a “game” (Licorish,
Owen, Daniel, & George, 2018). In the past, student response systems
(known as “clickers”), such as “iClicker” or “ResponseCard”, have
commonly been used at higher education institutions (Hall, Collier,
Thomas, & Hilgers, 2005; Mu & Paparas, 2015). The goal of these student
response systems is to incorporate and promote student engagement in
large lecture halls at the collegiate level, ultimately stimulating active
learning rather than passive learning in a teacher-centric environment (Hall
et al., 2005; Nielsen, Hansen, & Stav, 2013). However, clickers are a less
common assessment tool used at the K-12 level, which is partly the reason
why ‘KAHOOT!’ is a popular assessment tool among teachers in the United
States (Bicen & Kocakoyun, 2018; Plump & LaRosa, 2017). Due to its
accessibility, affordability, and its user-friendly capabilities, teachers can
feature a fun and unique student response system that is more enticing to
the students compared to conventional student response systems (Licorish
et al., 2018). Unlike traditional student response systems, ‘KAHOOT!’
gamified elements integrate vibrancy, lightsome music, and competition
that keeps the students on their toes throughout the game (Lin, Ganapathy,
& Kaur, 2017; Mu & Paparas, 2015). As a result, the students are
completely engrossed in the game while they best demonstrate their
knowledge on the subject matter their teacher is assessing them on.
Although ‘KAHOOT!’ promotes competition, the game is rarely vicious.
Instead, the competition develops “metacognitive abilities, promotes
empathy, and builds teamwork skills” (Licorish et al., 2018; Lin et al.,
2017). Due to its design, ‘KAHOOT!’ gamification accentuates student
motivation and engagement, actively helping students learn even the most
difficult subjects such as biology.

Online Tools, Uses & Web-based Development

Web Development Tools help the developers to work with a variety of
technologies. Web Development Tools should be able to provide faster mobile
development at lower costs.

They should help the developers in creating a responsive design. Responsive

web design will improve the online browsing experience, and facilitate
improved SEO, lower bounce rates, and lower maintenance needs.
1. Angular.JS

Best for small to large businesses.

Price: Free and open source.

AngularJS will help you to

extend HTML vocabulary.
HTML is good for static
documents, but it will not
work with dynamic views.
AngularJS will give you an
environment that will be
expressive, readable, and
quick to develop. It provides
the toolset that will let you
build the framework for your
application development.

This fully extensible toolset

can work with other libraries.
It gives you the freedom to
modify or replace the feature
according to your development workflow.

Features:

 AngularJS provides you the features of Data Binding, Controller, and

Plain JavaScript. Data Binding will eliminate DOM manipulation.
 Directives, Reusable Components, and Localization are the important
features that AngularJS provides for creating Components.
 It provides the features of Deep Linking, Form Validation, and Server
Communication for Navigation, Forms, and Back ends.
 It also provides built-in Testability.
Verdict: AngularJS will allow you to express the behavior in a clean readable
format. As AngularJS is the plain old JavaScript objects, your code will be
reusable and easy to test and maintain. Indeed, the code will be free from
boilerplate.

Website: Angular.JS

2. Chrome DevTools

Best for small to large businesses.

Price: It is available for free of cost.
Chrome provides a set of tools for web developers. These tools are built into
Google Chrome. It has the functionality to view and change the DOM and a
Page’s Style. With Chrome DevTools, you will be able to view messages, run
& debug JavaScript in the Console, edit the pages on-the-fly, diagnose the
problem quickly, and optimize the website speed.

Features:

 You can inspect Network Activity with Chrome DevTools.

 With performance panel functionalities you will be able to Optimize
speed, Analyze Runtime performance, and Diagnose forced
synchronous layouts, etc.
 It has various functionalities for Security panels like understanding
Security Issues and for Application panel, Memory panel, Network
panel, Sources panel, Console panel, Elements panel, and the Device
mode.
Verdict: These are the tools that can perform debugging of JavaScript,
Applying styles to HTML elements, and Optimizing website speed, etc. You
can get support from the active DevTools Community. Chrome DevTools can
be used with one browser
only.

Website: Chrome DevTools

3. Sass

Price: Free

Sass is the CSS extension

language that is most
mature and stable. It will
allow you to use variables,
nested rules, mixing, and functions. Sass will help you with sharing design
within and across projects.

Features:

 You will be able to organize large Stylesheets.

 Sass supports multiple inheritances.
 It has features of Nesting, Variables, Loops, Arguments, etc.
 It is compatible with CSS.
 Sass has a large community.
Verdict: Several frameworks such as Compass, Bourbon, Susy, etc, are built
using Sass. It will allow you to create your own functions and provide several
built-in functions as well.

Website: Sass

4. Grunt

Best for small to medium-sized businesses.

Price: Free

Grunt is a JavaScript Task Runner that is useful for automation. It will perform
most of the repetitive work such as minification, compilation, Unit testing, etc.
 Features:

 It provides various plugins.

 Grunt will let you automate almost anything using minimum efforts.
 You can also create your own Grunt plugin to Npm.
 It is easy to install.
Verdict: You will require the updated Npm as it installs the Grunt and Grunt
plugins. You can take the help of the“Getting Started” guide that is provided
by Grunt.

Website: Grunt

5. CodePen

Best for small to large businesses.

Price: CodePen offers four

plans for individuals i.e. Free,
Annual Starter ($8 per
month), Annual Developer
($12 per month), and Annual
Super ($26 per month). Team
plans start at $12 per month per
member.

CodePen is an online tool that

has the functionalities for
designing and sharing front end
development. You can use CodePen to build the entire project as it provides
all the features of IDE in the browser.

Features:

 It provides a customizable editor.

 CodePen will let you keep your pens private.
 It will allow you to drag-and-drop images, CSS, JSON files, SVGS,
Media files, etc.
 It has a collaboration mode that will allow multiple people to write and
edit code in a pen at the same time.
Verdict: CodePen offers a front-end environment that will help you with
testing and sharing.

Website: CodePen

Introduction to Distance Education: Online & Blended Environments

Long gone are the days when distance and online education was only starting
to become more visible and easier to access, spiking students’ curiosity.
Nowadays, online learning is probably as popular as on-campus learning,
numerous students opting for this more flexible and cost-effective option.

But as distance learning has become a more established pathway to a degree,

a variety of terms connected to it have also evolved, describing the different
ways in which you can pursue a degree remotely: distance learning, e-learning,
online learning, blended learning.

When you are considering applying for a study programme that’s off-campus,
deciding on a course will come easier if you understand what each type of
learning offers.

What is online learning?

In online learning, the key element is the use of internet. Online learning refers
to the idea of using online tools for learning. Basically, an online course implies
a distance between you and your teachers.

Lectures, assignments, tests are all enabled by virtual platforms. A fully online
university degree means you will not have to travel at all for your studies.

Blended and Distance Learning

Blended learning combines face-to-face “methods with computer-mediated

activities to form an integrated instructional approach” (Pennsylvania State
University, 2009). The term “blended learning,” also referred to as “hybrid
learning,” represents a combination of F2F and online learning activities where
computer-mediated activities replace “seat-time” in the classroom. It is the “blend”
that makes each course unique; thus, blended/hybrid courses can take on
different attributes. For example, a course might include online discussions,
tutorials and research activities, and student responses to a podcast or video. The
combination of online and F2F activities is almost limitless.

Produce a module chapter

Collab: Differences of an E-Book & a Physical Book

E-Books vs. Print Books: An Overview

In the last several years, e-books have become a mainstay of the publishing
industry. However, the demise of printed books as a result of the introduction
of e-books has not materialized as predicted.

According to the Association of American Publishers, e-book sales in the U.S.

declined slightly to $983 million in 2019 from a year earlier. The lower growth
rate followed several years of double-digit declines in e-book sales. Hardcover
and paperback books still rule the market, with approximately $3 billion and
2.5 billion in sales in 2019, respectively.

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic was a boon to print publishing. Sales rose
8.2% year over year to a total of 751 million copies, according to Printing
Impressions, a publishing industry journal. More leisure time and a need to
educate children at home were cited as reasons for the book-buying spree.
While e-books are helping the publishing industry, they can be a bit daunting
for readers. If you are used to going to a local bookstore, browsing the aisles,
and perhaps reading the first chapter before purchasing, you still can with e-
books, albeit with a little adjustment.

Print Books
Print books have the feel of a book that many readers love. You can hold it,
turn the pages, and feel the paper.

People who love to read spend a lifetime acquiring books. They may find it
wrenching to abandon their shelves of books for a single slab of plastic.

Readers may also compare the quality of illustrations between the two
formats and find the print versions superior. The New Annotated Sherlock
Holmes can be bought in either hardcover or Kindle versions but readers may
find the Kindle version lacking due to the shrunken size of the illustrations and
the relative clumsiness of toggling between story text and annotations.

Some readers also experience some eye strain using an electronic device
instead of a printed book.

A Cost Comparison
Print books are still a little more expensive than e-books, but not all that much.
President Barack Obama's memoir, A Promised Land, is currently $17.99 for
the Kindle edition, and $23.96 for the hardcover. John Grisham's past
bestseller, The Guardians, is $9.99 for the Kindle edition, $9.64 for the
paperback version, and $14 for the hardcover.

Classics are the real bargain in any format. You can get Charles Dickens: The
Complete Works for Kindle for $2.99, while Bleak House alone is $5.95 in
paperback. Both prices are bargains, of course, because the publishers don't
have to pay anyone for the rights.

E-Books
Books on paper are difficult to carry around, especially hardcovers. If you're
an avid reader and you're going on a trip, or if you're just stepping out to a
coffee shop, an e-reader or iPad is a far lighter burden than a book or a stack
of them.

The price gap is closing. An e-book might be priced about the same as the
paperback edition but less than the hardcover.

There's also the satisfaction of having an entire library at your fingertips, not to
mention an infinite supply just a click away, ready to download instantly.

In addition, e-book buyers have the advantage that the internet gives
consumers of any products: No space constraints. Just about everything ever
published is available, all the time.
There are some drawbacks. You must recharge an e-reader or any other
electronic device. Some screens are not easily readable in sunlight. And, if
you are one of the millions who spend the entire workday in front of a
computer, reading your favorite author on a computer screen in the evening
may not appeal.

The Shrinking Price Difference

E-books aren't much less expensive than their paper counterparts, at least
when it comes to new books from major publishers. Amazon, the dominant
online bookseller, was forced by the major book publishers to increase their e-
book prices, raising prices by an average of $5 per e-book over time.

Publishers have to price in a significant amount of overhead, including office

space, utilities, benefits, and salaries for employees. Other costs include the
printing, editing, marketing, and distribution process. Only some of the costs,
particularly those related to printing and distribution, disappear with e-book
editions.

The trouble is, many readers assume that e-books should be free, or at least
much cheaper than their print counterparts. Some publishers respond that
printing a book accounts for only about 10% of its cost.

Beyond Amazon
Avid e-book readers can stray beyond Amazon or Barnes and Noble and read
for free.

The nonprofit Project Gutenberg offers 60,000 free downloadable books, most
of them classics well beyond their copyright protection expiration dates. The
site Free Classic Books offers just that, in an alphabetized list from Alcott,
Louisa M., to Wodehouse, P.G.

Google Books brags that it has more than 10 million books available to
download for free, including textbooks and government documents as well as
literary classics.

The Initial Cost of E-Books

You don't have to buy an e-reader to read e-books. You can just use your
laptop, an Apple iPad or other tablet device, or even a phone app.

That said, Amazon's e-readers are currently priced at around $89.99 to

$279.99, with the upper end containing the full features of a tablet. The
Barnes & Noble Nook comes in a couple of versions starting at $119.99.

Kobo readers, currently priced at about $133 to $168, are particularly

designed for readers who borrow e-books from libraries. The Onyx Boox
Note, at under $500, is a full tablet built for students who need to wade
through textbooks and documents.

Special Considerations: The Publishing Business

E-books may omit some of the traditional costs of publishing, but it imposes
other costs. Added technology costs involve formatting the e-book so that
various electronic devices and browsers can properly download and store the
book.

Whether it's printed or downloaded, a percentage of t.he e-book price must be

paid to online sellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This can be
anywhere from 30% to 50% of the sale price

The Independent Route

Smaller publishers and independent authors have more leeway with pricing,
but they still have many of the same costs. They must give a percentage of
their e-book sales to the online distributor, and unless they are graphic
designers, they must hire an illustrator to create their cover art.

Most independent authors have to hire someone to convert their books into e-
book format. Plus, they still have the marketing and promotional costs that are
required to get their books noticed. However, e-books are overall lower in cost
to produce, and that is typically reflected in their lower price than print
editions.

Interact on effects of tech to social Interaction

Technology is more than an abstract concept associated with

advanced tools and systems used by businesses and end-users for
convenience and automation of complex tasks. It also shapes the way
societies and people behave, grow, evolve, and develop, both within their own
lives and in their relationships with others. While technology has developed
over the millennia that humans have existed - from simple tools such as the
wheel, irrigation systems and chariots, to complex tools such as computers,
cell phones, the Internet and airplanes - the last century has seen an
explosion in technology that has influenced subtle but crucial changes in how
humans see the world and interact with others. Specifically, the Internet and
mobile devices (i.e. smartphones, tablet computers, mobile gaming systems,
etc.) have radically altered the way people interact with each other, since one
of the major impacts of technology is the optimization
of communication systems in the form of telecommunications and networking.
While the Personal Computer and other electronics affected human
interaction, they arguably did not have such critical impacts on human
sociology until mobile computers came about. Mobile devices brought
groundbreaking change to human interaction due to the innate nature of
always being connected to the digital world via an easy-to-carry  device that
one carries around.

The very nature of all technological systems has altered human

behaviors and interactions in some negative ways, but has also created
unprecedented opportunities for modifying human behaviors in  positive ways.

Computer systems and the Internet have altered human interactions

arguably in the most critical ways when compared to non-computer
technological systems that have been developed in the last few centuries. The
alterations in how humans communicate with each other in the modern day -
which is largely via smart apps, through the Internet/WiFi - has both good and
bad consequences. The wide availability of Internet-capable smart devices
means that it is now possible for loved-ones to be in close contact wherever
they are on earth (assuming that WiFi is available). The advent of VOIP also
allows near-instant communication via the Internet even when cellular service
is unavailable. It is easier now than ever for people to stay closer (digitally) to
their loved ones when they are physically far apart. Skype, FaceTime,
Facebook Messenger Calls, Viber Calls, and WhatsApp calls all give people
robust capabilities to utilize the Internet as a platform for global
communication. This also translates into the business world where it is not
uncommon for global companies to interview clients or prospective personnel
using VOIP and messaging apps. Additionally, social media, forums, and the
interactive Web 2.0 allow people from all over the world to connect, meet,
learn, and grow together over a digital medium. Technology has even
transformed certain common behaviors associated with learning about the
world and connecting with people around the world. Pen pals, for instance,
have largely been replaced with “key pals,” and instead of people going to
language centers to learn a language, people often turn to YouTube or
podcasts to learn about other cultures and languages.

The effects are not all positive, however. While technology has helped
to bridge a global gap by connecting people via the digital world, those who
are physically close together are often far apart due to their inability to
separate themselves from their mobile devices. This is called Virtual
Distance. Additionally, modern Technology is often linked to an over exposure
to EMFs, and is linked to excessive blue light exposure, while developing
children not only face possible cognitive changes due to constant exposure to
the above factors, but often grow up in a possibly more isolated manner due
to constantly being “wired” to their smart devices instead of physically
spending time with friends.

Millennial kids & Parents

Millennial Parents: 6 Surprising Ways They're Raising Kids Differently

Are Millennial Parents All That Different from Gen X and Baby Boomer
Parents?

Millennials (those currently aged 18 to 34) now number 75.4 million people—

more than any other generation, including the baby boomers. And right now,
those millennials are raising the yet-to-be-named future generation of
Americans. So are millennial parents raising kids any differently than previous
generations?
According to Dr. Kathleen Gerson, sociology professor at New York University
and author of The Unfinished Revolution: Coming of Age in a New Era of
Gender, Work, and Family, the answer is, well, yes. This is partly because
today’s millennial families are navigating some big societal shifts that previous
generations did not experience. “Many children now grow up in houses with
two working parents or with one parent,” Gerson says. “Mothers are more
likely to be working.”
So how do these (and other changing realities) shape millennials’ approach to
parenting? Gerson offered her take on six key differences in millennial
parenting styles.

1. MILLENNIAL PARENTS ARE BUSIER—BUT THEY SPEND MORE TIME

WITH THEIR CHILDREN.
According to Gerson, one of the biggest misconceptions about parenting
today is that parents are less devoted than parents were decades ago. “The
research shows this is not the case,” says Gerson. Even though many
families now have two working parents, “the fact is that parents today are
spending more time with their children than parents did in the 1950s.”
And it’s not just moms who are more involved in their kids’ lives. The role of
fathers is changing too, according to research from Boston College’s Center
for Work and Family. Overall, millennial fathers are more enthusiastic about
parenting duties than dads of previous generations. In fact, many millennial
families, especially those with two working parents, embrace a “co-parenting”
approach, in which responsibilities for all things kid-related are spilt more or
less equally between both parents.
That means the struggle to find the balance between work and caregiving is
shared by both parents, too. Boston College’s studies have found that 85
percent of millennial fathers report that they want to spend more time with
their kids.
2. Millennial Parents Value Positive Parenting over Authoritarian
Discipline.
“Around the mid-20th century, there was a strong shift from the notion that
strict discipline and physical force were acceptable and even good ways to set
limits on behavior,” says Gerson. Today’s parents are more likely to reinforce
positive behaviors than punish negative ones.
But is that a good thing? “We’re in the middle of a debate about whether
we’ve gone too far in the other direction,” says Gerson. “Are we rewarding
children too often when they haven’t achieved great things?” According to
Gerson, the jury’s still out.
3. Millennial Parents Value Togetherness (Though Not Always at
Mealtime).
Many families still value meals as a time for everyone to be together, but the
traditional 6:00 family dinner is becoming increasingly harder to pull off: Often
both parents are working, with little control over their schedules. “Wage
workers might receive their schedules just hours before they have to work,
and professionals might find out in the morning that they are expected to stay
late—all these uncertainties make it difficult to schedule shared evening
meals.”
And yet, today’s parents still value
spending quality time as a family—
they’ve just found a different time to
do so. “For many families, the
weekends have become the time for
being together,” Gerson says.
Photo by Brian McEntire / Stocksy
4. Millennial Parents Are (Super)
Safe.
“Today most families, regardless of their income or education level, want
to keep their children as safe as possible,” Gerson says. “No one complains,
for example, about buckling their children in car seats. For today’s families,
this is just what good parenting requires.”
And how do millennial parents get a majority of their safety information? The
Internet, of course! Referred to as “digital natives,” millennial moms and dads
are the first-ever generation to have safety tips constantly at their fingertips.
Which can work for them, or against them, as this 2017 New York Times 
article suggests. They may have lots of digital advice and apps to turn to, but
that can be overwhelming—and make parents question if they’re doing the
right thing.
Regardless, they care a lot about doing it right—hence the embrace of
previously optional parenting accoutrement like bike helmets, stroller safety
belts, and wide-brimmed sunhats to protect kids’ skin.
5. Many Millennial Parents Tend to Schedule Everything—Even Free
Time.
It’s not news that children’s lives have become more scheduled than they
were a generation ago—and this is a direct reflection of what’s happened in
parents’ work lives. “Work weeks have expanded…and this has trickled down
into the lives of children,” Gerson says. “Free time increasingly is something
you now have to carve out. For many middle class families, it involves
scheduling activities such as ‘play dates.’”
6. Millennial Parents Understand That These Early Years Are Critical—
and Fleeting.
“Today’s parents continue to make sacrifices for their children, despite the
belief that parental sacrifice is in decline,” says Gerson. “Even amid new
economic uncertainties, most parents are doing their best to give their
children whatever they need to grow up and find a stable future in an
increasingly unpredictable world.”
When it comes to saving money for their future, the statistics on this one are
somewhat staggering: According to Forbes Magazine, 66 percent of
millennials are saving for their children’s college years, while only 47 percent
of Gen-Xers and 35 percent of baby boomers did the same.
That’s a hefty generational difference, but the fact remains that, at the end of
the day, millennial parents aren’t so different from previous generations in
wanting to love and do right by their kids—in ways that their parents might not
have done for them. Which probably sounds pretty familiar to every parent
ever, too.

Digital Storytelling
“By telling thoughtful stories,
we clarify our own thinking
about what we have learned
to share with others in a
profound way that sticks with
us over time.”
—Annette Simmons, The
Story Factor

In an age of mathematical,
logical, and scientific thinking, storytelling is often considered appropriate only
for language arts projects for young learners. However, in today’s information-
loaded world, storytelling is being rediscovered as an effective tool for helping
us make sense of this data barrage. According to the brain research explored
by Roger Shanks, storytelling provides a memory structure and depth of
context that engages learners in a sense-making of facts.

The digital storytelling process helps us transform isolated facts into

illuminated, enduring understandings. By “living in the story,” we make
information come emotionally alive. By exploring “lessons learned,” we go
beyond telling about content to find its deeper meaning.

Storytelling Builds 21st-Century Skills

Creating digital stories provides us with important opportunities to practice
and master a number of specific 21st-century skills, content, and technology
standards (NETS). The process of crafting the digital story becomes rich in
technical, communication, collaborative, oral speaking, creativity, visual and
sound literacy, and project management skills. It also helps develop a range
of digital communication styles necessary to function in a knowledge society.
Since every good story requires great content that is worth sharing, digital
storytellers must first become “meaning makers.” The written script requires
deep understanding of the topic. From initial investigation to rough draft and
then through refinement as draft after draft is polished and improved, writing
should take about 40% of the project-building time.

Building 21st-Century Skills

1. Creativity and inventive thinking

2. Multiple intelligences
3. Higher-order thinking (lessons learned)
4. Information literacy
5. Visual literacy
6. Sound literacy
7. Technical literacy
8. Effective communication (oral, written, and digital)
9. Teamwork and collaboration
10. Project management
11. Enduring understandings

The final narrative script is next recorded as a voiceover for the story. The
author must work to ensure that the oral delivery has power and emotion.
When an author “feels” his or her words, the voice becomes a conduit for
others to experience the message.

Storytelling enables innovation and creativity. Authors become creative in

designing information and communicating understandings with the images,
graphics, movement, and music of digital media. Digital storytelling provides a
unique opportunity to mix and dance media together until they coalesce into
something that did not exist before.

Communication Across the Curriculum

Organizing story prompts around the type of communication expected of

authors helps focus students as they develop the content of their stories. Here
are four ideas for types of communication that connect storytelling with
curriculum.

1. Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales

Myths, legends, and tall tales provide a familiar place to start. Most families
and organizations use legends to represent values and pride. Myths help
explain our cultural origins, values, and beliefs. Tall tales are romanticized
exaggerations that highlight accomplishments or events. Justine, a classroom
teacher in Arizona, has invited her third-grade students to create a multimedia
tall tale about themselves, exaggerating their great qualities and
achievements in a way that will be passed down to family and friends for
generations to come.

 Create a myth about the origins of a modern-day invention to share

with future generations.
 Develop myths from “what would happen if.”
 Create myths of “how things came to be” in your life, family, school, or
business.
 Change a current event into a tall tale or myth.
 Develop a legend of a family member’s life or accomplishments.
 Create a legend of your own life for your great, great grandchildren to
pass on.
 Create a fractured fairy tale using something from your own life.
 Create legends or tall tales of a literary character, mathematical
concept, or social studies event.

2. Docudramas

Story prompts asking students to act as if they are living in the times or events
they are studying helps make facts come alive for both authors and the
audience. These docudramas require students to conduct in-depth research
and practice their creativity to role-play a storytelling narrative as George
Washington, a freed slave, a character in literature, the life of pi squared, a
circle’s happiest accomplishments, or the lessons a Granny Smith apple
learns from her life cycle.

Docudramas require learners to “step into the shoes” of a person or an object

as a creative personal approach for weaving together significant facts. The
event, person, or learning experience is expressed first-person, during which
students demonstrate understanding of key concepts and deliver a lesson
learned to reveal deeper thinking about their topics.

Jeanne Halderson’s Coulee Kids Podcasting students developed a

community project honoring the contributions of women to their town. After the
interviews were recorded and posted to iTunes, students created docudramas
and reenacted the events and stories shared by the interviewees,
synthesizing the entire interview and crafting a personal story showcasing the
lesson learned.

 Create the storytelling journey of a leaf eaten by an earthworm. Make

the facts come alive from beginning to end as if you were one of the digestive
parts along the way.
 Be the youngest child of a Japanese family living in California,
unfolding the facts and emotional experience of the Japanese internment
camps.
 Be a decimal point, sharing your journey of being misunderstood and
needing to clearly make a difference in the world.
 Be a literary, scientific, or historical character sharing a defining
moment when a choice you made touched the world forever.
 Dialogue with another person across other eras or time periods,
sharing your perspective and lessons learned on issues and events.
 Dialogue as parts of the brain on memorable experiences with the
body.
 Be the pen that signed the Declaration of Independence, a treaty, or
one of the Amendments, and explain how your life has impacted the lives of
countless others.

Thread the beads of your facts together with a plot, so they don’t roll
away.
—Annette Simmons, The Story Factor

3. Describe and Conclude

Describe and conclude tasks often require students to simply tell about a
topic. To deepen the learning, ask students to share the wisdom of what they
learned from the topic—the “so what?” developed from learning about people,
events, or situations. A personal point of view can be added by asking: how
does the event affect my life, thinking, or beliefs? How does knowing the facts
about a famous person or event influence my own thinking or beliefs? This
type of storytelling reflects the author’s full intellectual and personal
engagement with the subject, not just a reporting of facts and information.

 Describe an event and why it matters, connects, or makes a difference

to our humanity or communities today.
 Tell about a person and what his or her life or work has taught us—or
perhaps how his or her work or choices in life continue to touch our lives
today.
 Describe bees and what you now realize about their contribution or
importance to our world.

4. Advertising or Public Service Announcements

This type of digital storytelling uses the power of personal appeal along with
voice, music, and images to create influence and impact. Authors combine
their personal messages with the lessons learned to provide a compelling call
to action. A popular television version of this approach is the “Above the
Influence” series calling attention to the consequences of choices made or not
made.

 Help convince others to make better choices by sharing a defining

moment when a decision or experience (e.g., drugs, guns, Internet chat
rooms, dropping out of school, drinking, smoking, recycling our garbage,
helping a friend, or stopping the bullying of others) changed or touched lives
forever.
 Be a squirrel, eagle, bear, whale, or toucan convincing others to take
care of the environment through a personal story of what happens when you
do or what happens when you do not.

Telling stories together about things that really matter has an extraordinary
effect on people. This effect is further magnified when the story is distributed
and related meaningfully to the world community through the Web. May your
students discover the magical power of releasing their own storytelling into
your communities!

Screen Time: How Electronic Media- Videos to Educational Software

Affects Your Young Child

Technology today is such an amazing achievement for mankind. It provides

us with an infinite information highway at our fingertips. At the same time, it
also provides us with unlimited access to our friends, family, co-workers and
anyone else to whom we wish to connect.
 

The Bad
 So how can something like a TV,
computer, or cell phone be harmful to the
development of your children’s cognitive,
emotional, social, and overall health and
well-being?
 And if it so bad for them, why aren’t more
people talking about it?
 And what can we do as parents to help
our kids become media/technology literate in a world that is generally run
by and relies on these types of gadgets every day?
As a parent have you ever been concerned when your kids are inside playing
video games or watching TV when they could be outside enjoying the fresh air
on a sunny afternoon? Or maybe you’re a parent who doesn’t like when your
teenager is texting friends under the table at dinner time.
Well, parents, your gut reactions are right on! The over-use of screen devices
like TV, video games, cell phones, computers, and iPad’s are being found by
researchers to have significant effects on the developing brains of children.
 The Brain
The brain is a very complex structure. Not fully functional at birth, it is
designed to grow and mature over years in many different ways. This
development occurs mainly through a person’s direct interactions with the
world.
Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling are the primary ways we
experience our world, so if we are not using these five senses, then we are
not learning to the best of our brains’ abilities.

Picture this… you are in a classroom and the

teacher shows a picture of a rose and asks the
class to come up with as many descriptive words
as they can to describe a rose. If you have had
previous interactions with a rose, you know that its
smell is heavenly, but that there are also thorns on
its stem that can hurt you.
Looking at the picture, you may even recall the
first time someone gave you a rose, or you heard
the sound of bees buzzing around the flower. Whatever it may be that
you recall from the visual representation of a rose, it is your first-hand
experiences that have taught your brain everything you know about
roses; their smell, feel, look, and maybe even taste.
Without your multi-sensory experience with roses previous to seeing
the picture of the rose, your brain would not know anything more about
a rose except for what you are seeing projected in front of you. Our
brain counts on us to provide it with sensory interactions so that we can
create the fertile environment in which it can reach its potential. Our
brains are like a rose: if we provide it with what it needs, it will grow. 

Impact of Overuse of Screen Technology

 An updated policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP), “Media Education,” published in the November 2010 print issue of
Pediatrics, reflected the dramatic changes in the media scene over the
past 10 years.
 In the 1999 issue, statistics showed children and adolescents were
spending more than 3 hours a day on average viewing television.
 Today, with the pervasive nature of media in multiple formats, the
definition of media use has been expanded, and kids are now
 spending more than 7 hours per day on average using televisions,
computers, phones and other electronic devices for entertainment.
 The increasing availability of media, including access to inappropriate
content that is not easily supervised, creates an urgent need for parents to
understand the various ways that media use affects children and teens.
According to The American Academy of Pediatrics, the overuse of screen
technology is defined as “the use of screen devices two-plus hours a day
for children over the age of two.”
The AAP also strongly recommends no television viewing or screen exposure
for children younger than two years of age. When children at any age are fed
a diet mainly of virtual world interactions, they are found to:
 be at risk of developing learning disabilities,
 have a much harder time dealing with their emotions and feelings,
 exhibit problem behavior at home and in school.
Overuse also plays a big role in the quality of children’s health and well-being.
 

Impact on Thinking and Learning

Did you know that you use more brain power when you are asleep than when
you are watching TV or a movie?
Brains are “meaning-making machines” that learn through direct interactions
with the world. Therefore, it is up to us parents to feed our child’s brain with
the experiences that will help it to grow optimally. Just like when we eat too
much unhealthy food and our bodies end up feeling bad, our brain is the same
way and counts on us to provide it with healthy fuel.
If a child’s growing brain is being fed more than two hours of screen time a
day, his brain cannot develop properly.
This can result in:
 a decreased attention span,
 underdeveloped or delayed language abilities,
 critical thinking abilities or creativity skills,
 and decreased intrinsic motivation for learning.
 

Impact on Feelings and Behavior

Just like the brain needs to be fed appropriate, sensory experiences to learn
things, our social/interpersonal interactions help us learn how to communicate
with other people. The best way to do that is by having relationships with
other people so that we can practice and grow in our understanding of our
own feelings and others’ feelings.
When children and teens are on technology for more than 2 hours a day,
researchers have found that they may develop a stimulus addiction and have
increased:
 hyperactivity,
 aggression,
 fear,
 insensitivity,
 appetite for violence.
 

Impact on Health and Well-Being

Although a few major studies such as the Kaiser Foundation survey found no
correlation between screen time and lack of physical activity, there is a
growing concern among professionals.
They see a relationship between screen time and childhood
obesity because children are sitting for long periods of time while watching
television, playing video games, and using computers. Such seated activities
have been shown to be significant factors in increased blood pressure.
Thomas Robison, a professor at Stanford University, has conducted a series
of studies showing that too much TV, video, and computer time contributes
not only to obesity, but also to aggression.
Apart from the content viewed, the process of being sedentary does not
allow for the physical release necessary to dissipate anxieties and
frustrations, resulting in anger and aggressive behaviors.
 
 

Media Literacy and the Developing Brain

Media Literacy is the ability to use all forms of media well. A media-literate
person:

 uses television, movies, DVD’s, computer and video games for a

specific purpose, just as a print-literate person reads books or
magazines, a college textbook or a newspaper for various, but specific
reasons. Using visual screen technologies intentionally is the first and
most important element in helping your child to become media literate.
 self-monitors his screen time and regulates his use into doses, rather
than making a habit of using it for four to five hours at a time. Media-
literate children know that technology is only one small part of their world.
They are able to separate themselves from the screens in order to explore
new things and take part in other activities they are interested in doing.
 knows the differences between various presentation forms of media.
Just as print-literate people can tell a fairy tale from a biography, a media-
literate person knows how different techniques are used to convey
messages.
 For instance, media-literate people know the difference between sitcoms
and documentaries. Furthermore, they are fully aware that the purpose of
a commercial is to hook specific audiences to whatever the advertisement
conveys
Raising a Media-Literate Child in a Media-Generated World
As parents, we ultimately want our children to be in control of their screens
and not have their screens controlling them. So what can we do to help our
children become media-literate people?
Just like the print-literate person practices reading words to interpret the
message being articulated by an author, a media-literate person needs
practice reading images and interpreting the subtle messages and overt
claims visual formats convey.
Practicing with our kids the use of analysis, evaluation, and higher level
thinking skills while viewing are ways we can start teaching our children how
to critique visual messages and understand their intent and intellectual and
emotional impact.
We can communicate facts, ideas, and thoughtful opinions about media
images to help them better understand production techniques such as camera
angles, lighting, cuts, etc. In this way, your child can make conscious,
intentional, purposeful, and wise decisions when using any form of
screen technology.
 
Media Literacy Activities for the Whole Family
In a world that is fast paced and media/technology-generated, it seems like it
would be hard for parents to have the time to practice media literacy skills with
their children, but the truth is raising a media-literate person is easier and
simpler than we may think.
Listed below are some fun activities parents can adapt and use in their own
homes with their children or teens. Parents who incorporate media literacy
activities that fit best with their own family dynamic have seen their children
become more equipped to think critically about visual images at any age and
stage of their lives.
 

Activity #1: TV/ Movie Book discussions.

Parents can keep track of the dates when a TV or movie version of a book is
scheduled to air and encourage their kids to read the book first. Great
discussions can result from comparing the original book to the TV/movie
version.
 

Activity #2: Use the TV to expand your children’s interests.

Parents can link TV programs with their child’s interests, activities, and
hobbies. A child interested in crafts can watch craft programs for
encouragement and ideas; after viewing a wildlife show, take the kids to the
zoo and have them recall what they learned about the animals from the TV
program. How does the real life experience differ from the show they
watched?
 
Activity #3: Different Viewpoints.
This activity incorporates the whole family. The family watches one program
together. The TV is then turned off and each person writes a few sentences
explaining their opinions about the show. Discuss and compare everyone’s
thoughts, and point out to your child how different people will like or dislike the
same program. Why are all perspectives valid? Who had the most persuasive
view about the show and why?
 

Activity #4: The Guessing Game.

This activity starts by turning the volume off but leaving the TV picture on. See
if your child can guess what is happening. To expand this into a family game,
have everyone pick a TV character and add his/her version of that character’s
words.
 

Activity #5: Ask: “What will happen next?”

This is a simple yet effective activity. Mute the commercials while your family
watches a TV show together and ask each child and adult what he/she thinks
will happen next. There are no right or wrong answers! This gives everyone a
chance to engage in creative interplay and then to test his/her “hypothesis”
when the show resumes. Children may learn just how predictable and
mundane a lot of programs are and soon improve on the scripts by adding
their own creative ideas.
 

Activity #6: Talk about Real Life Consequences.

Start a discussion about what would happen if screen violence were actually
occurring in real life, what might the consequences to the perpetrator and the
victim of the violence be. Compare what’s on the screen to the consequences
of what happens when someone hurts another person in the real world.
 

Parents Matter the Most

With all the research and information that is being provided to parents, it is
stressful, confusing, and hard to figure out what the most effective ways are to
parent children in today’s crazy busy media/technology-generated world.
 

The best advice is to listen to your parental intuition. You are the experts on
your children and you know what values you want to instill in them.

 
Trust your intuition rather what the media says you should do and choose to
parent in a way that best supports your child’s growth to become a fully
developed, self-actualized, productive citizen of the world.

Child Care Professionals: Low Tech/High Touch

The Advantages of Child Care Management Software

If you get control of your time, you will get control of your life. ~ Bob Harrison

A frequent complaint of center

directors is not having enough time.
Child care professionals are busy, and
it can be difficult for them to not only
keep up with their young charges, but
stay on top of administrative,
scheduling and financial duties as well.

Child care tends to be a low tech

profession with a strong preference for
high touch learning experiences.
Some child care programs are making
good use of computers and digital technology, but few are able to take full
advantage of technology as a tool.

The use of computers and other digital technologies continues to rise in early
childhood programs, and technology is being used as a means for improving
program quality in many interesting ways.

Technology has changed the way we manage finances, keep records, write
newsletters, market programs, give presentations, teach children, and train
teachers.

Child care centers are most likely to use computers for administrative tasks,
with financial management and accounting being the most common use.
Database software for managing information and records is also an important
use.  This software is being used in every type of size and program.

That’s where child care management software comes in: It helps child care
employees simplify and streamline the manual processes they do every day
such as recordkeeping, billing, attendance, student profiles and overall
documentation.  It also increases parent engagement and classroom
management via technology/mobile devices.

Child care businesses can realize many benefits as a result of adopting

child care management software, including:

 Less administrative paperwork. Most staff in a daycare handle both

administrative and physical child care duties.  This software automates
administrative tasks such as online registration, so employees can
focus their energy on the children themselves.
 Improved communication with parents. Working parents don’t need to
worry or inquire about their children.  With child care management
software, a child care facility can send parents notifications about their
child throughout the day via messages or the parent portal.
  Advanced meal and nutrition planning. The software may offer tools for
tracking the number of provided meals, as well as for planning
breakfast, lunch and snacks based on the nutritional requirements of
each child.  With this functionality, child care centers can give growing
kids the nourishment they need.
 Greater staff coordination. As opposed to paper-based records, digital
systems are accessible to multiple users in separate locations.  This
makes it easier for employees to update any necessary documentation.

The Use of Technology in Management

Companies and staff rely on technology more than ever to help create
efficient business practices. Today’s business managers need to be
comfortable learning new technologies and evolving with change such as
communicating by email or Skype if necessary. As technology continues to
advance, there are progressively fewer non-digital alternatives to the day-to-
day activities that allow businesses to operate competitively. Modern
technology offers many effective tools and applications that managers can
utilize when overseeing communication or managing and organizing staff
workloads. With many of these business solutions, a staff can train
themselves through online workshops and FAQs making implementation
easier than ever before with minimal downtime and ultimately leading to
increased staff productivity.

1. ProofHub – Project Management Software

Overview

The first name

on this list is
ProofHub – an
all-in-one
project management and team collaboration software that brings together all
the essential tools you need to plan, collaborate, organize, and deliver
projects successfully. It has got some incredibly powerful features to help
managers take care of several projects and teams simultaneously.

With ProofHub, you can have a bird’s eye view of all your projects and teams.
Its easy-to-use interface ensures that onboarding is easy so you can become
familiar with its functionalities in no time. One of the best things about
ProofHub is that teams of any size, any industry, any department can use it.
As a complete project management software, ProofHub brings you and your
team to a single place where everyone stays up-to-date regarding project
progress.

Looking for a software that can help you manage your

projects and teams effectively? Try ProofHub today!
Notable Features:

 Custom Roles
Every organization works in a hierarchy and when using a centralized project
management system, it’s important to control who can access what. ProofHub
allows you to create custom roles and define the access level for each role. It
also has three three default roles, namely Owner, Admin, and Normal, just in
case you don’t want to create custom roles

 Flexible Task Management 
Task management is a key responsibility of managers. With ProofHub,
creating and assigning tasks to team members is a breeze. The software
allows you to create tasks with deadlines, break them into smaller subtasks,
add comments, attach files, and mark progress percentages for each task.
Additionally, you can create custom workflows using the Kanban board and
streamline your task management endeavors.

 Gantt Charts and Project Timeline 

With the help of Gantt charts, you can visualize your projects in the timeline
view. On top of that, you can set dependencies between tasks, identify critical
paths, and change schedules by simple drag and drop tasks on the Gantt
chart. The project timeline view comes extremely handy when you need to
finish complex projects on time.

 Online Proofing Tool
Reviewing files and adding comments as feedback is essential for your team
to deliver quality work. The online proofing tool in ProofHub allows you to
proof files in real-time and share feedback in an effortless manner. You can
even use markup tools to ensure clear feedback and leave no room for
confusion. It is also possible to upload new versions of files, which makes it
easy to compare files and review the changes.
  Custom Project Reports 
From time to time, it is essential to keep the progress of a project in check,
and this is where project reports come into the picture. ProofHub helps
managers stay on top of their projects and resources with its detailed project
reports. You can even customize the parameters in reports according to your
preferences, and plan your projects and resources more efficiently.
Additionally, the burn-up charts will let you compare the work done against the
total amount of work, which can prove to be of great help.

 Timer and Timesheets 
Time tracking plays a vital role when you want to see how members of a team
are devoting their time to different tasks and projects. ProofHub comes
integrated with an automatic timer that allows you to record time for each task
within a project. You can also add work hours manually. Furthermore, the
timesheets store all the time data, which you can access easily at your
convenience. 

 Cloud-based File Management
Managing files associated with projects becomes challenging when your files
are scattered across different devices and platforms. ProofHub eliminates this
problem by offering a cloud-storage space to upload, organize, and share
files. You can easily access the files from different devices by logging into
your ProofHub account. Also, the advanced search option saves a lot of time
when you need to find certain files and documents among your uploads. In
fact, with its third party integration with apps like Google Drive, OneDrive, Box
and Dropbox, you can eventually bring all your data to one centralized
location. 

2. Google Drive – Cloud Storage Service

Cloud storage service is a must to manage and access all your project files
and documents from a single space. Google Drive has become the preferred
choice for managers to store and share files.

Being a cloud storage service, you can access files that you have uploaded
from literally anywhere using any device. Upload photos, documents, videos,
audio files, PDFs, etc. and open them to view on Google Drive itself.
Notable Features:

 Create folders to organize the uploaded files

 Quick access to recent files
 Share folders and files directly with your team
 Give access to view, edit or comment on the shared items 
How Much You Need to Pay for Using Google Drive?

G Suite Basic plan costs $6/user per month with 30 GB of Google Drive
storage  

Supported Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

3. Boomerang for Gmail – Email Management App

Managing all your emails on Gmail

becomes convenient and effective
with the Boomerang for Gmail app.
With this app, you can control and
decide when you send and receive
email messages.

Boomerang for Gmail allows you to

declutter your inbox by archiving all
the email messages that you do not
need for the time being. You can
restore the same email messages in your Gmail inbox with a single click
whenever you need them.

Notable Features:

 Get reminders for your emails that haven’t gotten a response within a
specific time frame
 Write perfect emails with the help of AI-powered assistant
 Communicate easily with people in different time zones
How Much You Need to Pay for Using Boomerang?

The Pro plan costs $14.99/user per month. 

Supported Platforms: Web

4. Zoom – Audio and Video Conferencing

Zoom is perhaps
the most popular
video
conferencing
platform in the world right now. When you want to connect with your team
seamlessly over voice and video conference calls all you have to do is switch
to Zoom. And, you can collaborate with your team easily and coordinate
effectively to achieve your team goals.

Besides video conferencing, Zoom also offers a chat interface that allows you
to send messages and even share files with your teammates. Also, you need
not be a tech-savvy to start video meetings with your colleagues using this
app.

Notable Features:

 Supports screen sharing allows your team to deliver presentations

 Make HD voice and HD video calls
 Admin dashboard provides important information such as live in-
meeting data
How Much You Need to Pay for Using Zoom?

The Business plan costs $19.99/user per month

Supported Platforms: Web, Android

Instead of using several apps for managing work, opt for an all-
in-one project management software like ProofHub. Sign up for
Free! 

 Notes and Notebooks 
Switching to ProofHub means that you no longer need a notebook and pen to
jot down important information. The notes available within the project
management software are practical and easy to use. Subscribe team
members to notes and collaborate with them without even leaving your table.
Set different colors to notes and organize them smartly in notebooks for better
organization.

 In-built Chat tool
When working in a group to achieve common objectives, staying in touch with
one another becomes vital. To help teams stay connected, ProofHub has a
built-in chat app that allows you and your team to instantly communicate with
one another. Chat one-on-one with a team member or start a group chat by
adding multiple participants. The chat interface also supports emojis and you
can even share files in it.  

 Request Forms 
Managing work requests, tickets, etc. is quite difficult using emails. The
request forms feature incorporated into ProofHub allows you to manage any
kind of requests with relative ease. Add request forms for different projects
and add labels to differentiate them easily. Also, you can customize a request
form by adding fields of your choice and get information that you need to
process a request.  

How Much You Need to Pay for Using ProofHub?

One of the best things about ProofHub is its simple, no per-user pricing. You
can get the Ultimate Control plan, with unlimited users and unlimited projects,
at just $89 per month (limited time offer).

Supported Platforms: Web, Android, iOS

ProofHub is a comprehensive project management solution that

will help you and your team to unlock new levels of
productivity. Start using it now!

Technology in Early Childhood Education

Over the past several years, integrating technology in early childhood learning
environments has become a topic of concern among the early childhood
professional community. Educators worry that children spend too much time
on electronic devices at home and it may not be developmentally appropriate
to utilize technology at a young age.

How Much Time Are Children Spending on Technology?

There is no denying that young children are growing up in the digital age and
technology is an integral part of their world. A study published in 2017
by Common Sense Media revealed statistics of technology use for children
from birth to age 8 by comparing usage from 2011 to 2017. The statistics
revealed:

 The percentage of families who used mobile devices rose from 52% in
2011 to 98% in 2017.
 A third of all screen time is mobile for this age group. This is an
increase of 31% from 2011.
 The average time spent on mobile media has tripled, increasing from 5
minutes to 48 minutes per day.
 Overall, from birth to age 8, children spend an average of just over 2
hours per day with screen media.

Does Technology Have a Place in the Early Childhood Curriculum?

A joint statement released by the National Association for the Education of

Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Institute in 2012 was the
beginning of a movement to start integrating technology into the early
childhood environment. Prior to this, many felt that young children should not
be exposed to technology in the early learning environment because they
already have enough exposure in the home environment. However, this
statement indicated that technology, when used appropriately and with
intention, can be an effective tool to support learning and development. The
phrase “with intention” is a key point in this statement and refers to technology
being considered only if it is an effective way to extend learning beyond what
traditional methods can offer.

According to Highscope’s Position Statement on Technology, there are

some important considerations when adding technology into the early learning
environment. Early learning educators should have a choice about whether or
not to offer technology in the classroom, but the educators should be mindful
that lack of exposure to technology may negatively impact children's school
readiness when compared to programs that do incorporate technology.
Developing digital literacy skills has increasingly become a part of the early
childhood curriculum.

What Are the Common Obstacles When Implementing Technology Into

the Curriculum?

To be used effectively, technology depends on the tools being used in the

right way by skilled users. Early childhood educators will want to provide
opportunities for children to gain new skills and have access to new content.
According to a study by Head Start, the primary obstacle for early childhood
programs when trying to successfully implement technology effectively is the
lack of staff technology literacy. Therefore, in order to provide extended
learning, many teachers may need professional development to familiarize
themselves with new strategies and techniques in the areas of digital literacy
and technology.

Highscope’s Position Statement indicates that early learning should still

primarily occur through interactions with a child’s peers, adults, hands-on
materials, and actual experiences. This consideration is shared by
the NAEYC. When identifying the key factors that create a high-quality early
learning environment, NAEYC includes interacting with caring adults, hands-
on learning, play-based activities, as well as providing opportunities to explore
and experience independently. Consequently, finding ways to appropriately
integrate technology into these types of activities can be challenging for many
early learning programs.

How Can Early Learning Programs Use Technology Effectively and

Appropriately?

The Office of Educational Technology within the Department of Education

believes guidance is needed when using technology with early learners. This
is based on the reality that families and early educators have access to a wide
range of technology including apps, games, video chat software, and digital
books. The Department has created four principles to help guide parents and
educators on the appropriate use of this technology for early learners. These
guiding principles are as follows:

 Technology—when used appropriately—can be a tool for learning.

 Technology should be used to increase access to learning
opportunities for all children.
 Technology may be used to strengthen relationships among parents,
families, early educators, and young children.
 Technology is more effective for learning when adults and peers
interact or co-view with young children
Although accessing some form of technology has become commonplace with
young children, these principles clearly guide early educators with the
appropriate use of technology in the learning environment. The principles
stress that technology should not be used for technology's sake alone.
Integrating technology should only be done if it is used for learning and can
help meet developmental objectives. Technology can be used along with art
activities, books, and play materials.

The Department of Education describes the use of technology as either active

or passive. When children are passively participating in technology, they can
be watching a television program without any participation. Active participation
is defined as content that should “enable deep, cognitive processing, and
allow intentional, purposeful learning at the child’s developmental level.” For
example, a child can be using a computer but engaging with imagination or
responses and include learning with intention.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Brief “Media and

Young Minds,” children under the age of 2 are not encouraged to engage in
technology because it is not developmentally appropriate. However, for young
children ages 2 through 5, technology can be beneficial if used appropriately.
An example provided by the AAP is that technology can aid in expanding
cultural diversity in the early learning environment by exposing children to
communities and cultures outside of their own. When used in this way, we can
expand children's understanding of the world around them in a way they
haven't experienced, with only a discussion or a book. By adding technology
to these other methodologies of learning, a child can experience learning at a
deeper level.

Learn More About Early Childhood Development and Education

If you are interested in early childhood development and education, you may
consider a bachelor of science in early childhood administration.
Students in Purdue University Global’s early childhood administration program
learn the skills to provide developmental and learning opportunities for
children from birth to age 8. For more details, request more information.