Top Technology Trends in 2018 - 2019

                        Teachers, please lend me your ears. I have read Top 6 Educational Technology Trends Right Now by Khushboo Jobanputra of eLearning Industry and it has confirmed what I had already suspected. Current technology trends will enable us to do our jobs easier and more effectively. They will make learning more interactive and take away some of the seemingly unconquerable difficulties that we often face. I will tell you about these six trends and what they can do for us.

1) Custom learning experiences - Technology has enabled us to truly deliver individualized instruction. We are now able to offer students methods to master objectives that are as diverse as their learning style. If a student needs help with fractions and has already mastered decimals, I am able to quickly assess the situation and deliver needs-based assistance. If a student needs to learn about distance and is interested in space travel, I am able to assign the student activities integrating the two. We can now offer students instruction that is based on their need and interest.

2) Access from any device - Long gone are the days where absences meant that students stop learning. Students can now access our materials from anywhere using platforms like google classroom and edmodo. They can brainstorm with other students on assignments and create online study tools that are accessed from any device. We, as teachers, are also able to benefit from this. I can now offer little Johnny suggestions on his research paper before he ever comes back to class. I can now appease my family that claims that they never see me by grading papers on my phone while they watch mindless television (I kid. I also highly suggest the series Those Who Can't as a great series for teachers to watch).

3) Speech-to-text - This technology can take away all of the wasted class time for writing notes or papers. We are no longer at the mercy of our students since we don't have to ask if everyone is done with this slide. Students can record ideas just as quickly as they can speak (and we all know how well they can do that). This may also help students realize how bad their enunciation is or how ridiculously strong their southern accent is as they adapt to the technology's interpretation of their words.

4) Visual and augmented reality - This is wonderful news! We no longer have to worry about students' car sickness on field trip bus rides  and the lackluster presentation skills of our local arboretum. Students can experience the world without leaving the classroom. It is a much more immersive experience and, in the case that it causes motion sickness, you are able to rely on your trusted school nurse and/or janitor to bail you out. Students can visually interact with information and make learning 'realer' than it has ever been.


5) 3D Printing - New technology has allowed us to tap into the imagination of our students (scary thought, sometimes). With 3D printing, students can turn their wild ideas into physical creations. With this, they'll also be learning planning and problem solving skills as they learn to master the technology that is the 3D printer. Many industries are now utilizing 3D printers and the students use of this technology makes them even more marketable when searching for a job.

6) Learning Analytics - Students and teachers are now able to view progress with very specific measurements. With online learning programs, it is easy to turn your usual assessments into stats more detailed than a box score at a sports game. Every sports coach spends countless hours analyzing the statistics computer for him or her by staff members. Now, we get that exact treatment. Instead of impressing sports' fans, we get to mold the future generation into capable doctors, lawyers, and engineers. The only difference is the very low pay and fact that most systems can't afford to put a jumbotron in most classrooms to display these stats during class.

Trends for 2018-2019

           In reading Technology Trends in the Classroom: What's on Tap for 2019 and Beyond by ITinspired, I learned a lot about the direction of technology in the classroom for the foreseeable future. I would like to talk about each of the 6 areas mentioned in the text that we as educators can expect to see continue to grow in front of our eyes:

1) Gamification - Gamification in education is able to engage students, foster collaboration, and utilize the brain reactions necessary to make learning more meaningful. By using things like long and short term aims, clear feedback, uncertainty, and collaboration, gamification makes education almost 'addictive'. This idea's effectiveness and correlation with developing technologies will lead to its growing use in classrooms. Students will yearn to gain knowledge through such a fun format.

2) Device Mesh - In the coming years, students will become more able to communicate, collaborate, and share from device to device. This will lead to students  able to create a portfolio of learning. It will also allow teachers to view students work instantaneously and provide quick feedback. Students are able to share and collaborate with each other through backchannels, shared documents, etc. Teachers will be able to digitally share assignments, organize student data, and 

other important tasks as devices and programs are 

able to work with each other. 

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3) Personalized Learning - As digital tools and information becomes more readily available over the internet, students are able to learn in a format that they prefer and choose to learn about what interests them. Teachers can identify the learning styles of students and provide opportunities for learning catering to that learning style or they can offer multiple modes of accessing information and displaying mastery. The expansion of online resources has given teachers quite a tool box and given more ownership to students in their learning. I would be hard pressed to find a teacher who doesn't believe that education will improve as students learn more individually in style. 

4) Computational Thinking, Coding, Robotics - This movement is highly integrated with the STEAM maker movement which promotes student planning, creation, and problem solving. With this, students are able to make digital creations in various formats, while utilizing their problem solving skills and develop technological literacy. The coding programs that I have heard about in elementary schools are so engaging 

and have devices/programs that best suite

 all of the different age groups. This movement 

will teach students the skill of innovation as their 

imagination is truly the limit.

5) Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality - With A.R. and V.R., students are able to 'go places' that they would never be able to go. They can explore different parts of the world. They can practice skills in an almost digital game type setting. Students can manipulate and access information before their very eyes by using a smart device and AR program. Instead of a teacher lecturing about the parts of a cell, students can see and interact with the parts of a cell through digital representation with embedded audio, video, pictures, etc. 

6) Data mining - The internet and programs utilizing that internet has led to a wealth of information online. Teachers can now share assignments, multimedia, assessments, and more with each other. I use breakout edu which is a puzzle game geared towards education where students solve knowledge-based riddles to unlock locks and 'break out'. I have made a couple of break outs, but mostly use the ingenious creations of other teachers. In addition, teachers are now able to problem solve and share experiences over the internet. Teachers can work together to either never experience or quickly climb out of pitfalls of education. Through this, teachers are able to 

become better than ever for their students. This is especially helpful as, 

although students of today and students of the past have plenty of 

similarities, students are constantly changing and the produce unique 

challenges to teachers that will continue to evolve. 

SeeSaw

               Seesaw is a tool that allows students to utilize digital learning, display their learning for their teacher, share their learning with others, and more. Teachers can share activities with students and see the students responses to these activities by student. Teachers are also able to classify student performance by skill so that they can truly measure whether students have mastered a given objective. Seesaw utilizes various forms of multimedia such as videos, images, text, and drawing capabilities on the computer. Not only are teachers able to communicate information, assignments, etc. through these forms, but students are also able to display their learning through these different outlets as well. Students are able to manipulate these already created items to show brainstorming, ideas, revisions, etc. on a given item.

            Teachers are able to create classes and then share assignments with just that class. The first step of a teacher is to create an activity including its title and instructions (through voice, text, or multimedia). Then teachers can create a student template for responses as a link, video, drawing, or file. In addition to creating activities, teachers can communicate with students, measure individual skills, blog as a class, and create a journal.



              How can it be used in 21st century learning and assessments? First of all, Seesaw streamlines the communication of instructions, information, and feedback between students and teachers. If schools are able to go to a one-to-one model, Seesaw would save a ton of ink and paper. It would also allow students access to more information through the various videos, links, etc. that could be shared with students. Most of all, it enables students to display their learning in real-time. As opposed to the labor of paper and pencil formative assessment, students can brainstorm, revise, or display knowledge right then and it can be seen in an easily organized fashion. Through its skills portion, Seesaw also gives teachers the ability to truly break down student mastery of individual objectives easily throughout the year. Teachers are overburdened by the efforts to do this during the year and often they only really look at data broken down by standard after standardized test results come back. Seesaw provide possibilities for teachers to be more effective without exerting passion killing effort.

Augmented Reality in Education

In researching augmented reality apps for education, I came across many that would be beneficial to my classroom. My favorite this far as been CivilisationsAR by BBC as covered in my post on AR and VR exploration. Just to recap, it shows all kinds of historical artifacts by location on the earth and provides information through video and audio.

Since I blogged about it in a previous post, I decided to talk about another APP: SolAR. SolAR is an app that displays the individual planets in our solar system or the solar system as a whole. It is advertised at ages four and up. 


With this app, you are able to see a planet spinning right in front of you. By moving your fingers around on the planet, you are able to change the size and orientation on your phone. Using the pinch gesture with two fingers, you can change the size of the system. You can change the orientation and axis of the system by doing the pan gesture with one finger. You can change the distance from the system relative to your own position by doing the pan gesture with two fingers. Lastly, you can change the height of the system relative to your own position using the three finger pan gesture. With each planet, the app also has a set of information so users can learn more about that planet. The only downside to this app is cost. Although I was able to access a few planets, you need to pay $2.99 to see the whole solar system. Here is a video below of someone using SolAR.

I have some ideas about how I can use solAR in my classroom. In Geography, I cover standards on the solar system as the solar system creates our physical geography (climate, tides, erosion, etc.). I would use this app in a scavenger hunt. I would ask students to find different aspects out about planets using the app (i.e. Which planet has the most moons? Which planet is x miles from the sun? Which planet is the hottest? etc.). This information would be much more memorable when they attain in while literally viewing a 3D solar system. In addition, they should definitely learn to navigate augmented reality apps as I believe that this trend will continue in education (not that we really have to teach many of them as they already use it).

VR, AR, and MR with Intel

              I have discussed previously virtual reality and augmented reality. Virtual reality involves seeing a whole new view of your environment (which is not real, only digital). Augmented reality involves bringing in digital items to your actual reality. Intel is developing technology to create modified or mixed realities where virtual reality can interact with your environment so that virtual reality becomes closer to....well, reality.
           
             

          Using computer technologies, you are able to essentially fool your senses using the electrical signals that are interpreted by your brain. Our brain is constantly reading our currently reality through our five senses. Computer technologies have evolved over time to better recreate the visual sense that someone is experiencing. Virtual reality has continually gotten more and more 'real'. To further this process, developers have worked on allowing the user more freedom of movement so that users can truly feel not tied down. Intel has gotten closer and closer to taking away all constraints on its virtual reality users so that users feel fully immersed into this new reality.
     

        Modified or mixed reality involves the capability of this virtual reality and actual reality interacting. The big breakthrough for Intel in regards to mixed reality is Project Alloy. This project creates a virtual reality, but merges by allowing you to both see your hands in this reality and have your hands interact with items in the virtual reality. Seeing your hands interact with the environment truly takes mixed or modified reality to a new level. In Project Alloy, you can also place items in your hand and they interact with virtual items as well.





AR, VR, and MR should continue to develop with no sign of stopping. They definitely have a future in education as the opportunities to interact with educational items,  'go places', and access info will continue to expand.

The videos used for this quest can be accessed below: 

Augmented Reality Exploration

              For this quest, I was able to explore a couple of really awesome augmented reality apps that would have application in the classroom.

1) AirMeasure - AirMeasure is an app that has the capability of measuring things using the camera on your phone. I used AirMeasure on my iPhone 5 using iOS 11.4.1. By placing the item in the phone's view, the user is able to create lines that are automatically measured. This app would be great for a math class working on area, perimeter or volume. It would also be great for someone who is deciding if a piece of furniture would fit well within a room in their home. In addition to measuring, the app also allows you to check and see if things are level using a leveling laser. It can also create a grid system on a wall with equally sized squares for those who are OCD about where items should be on a wall or in a room. AirMeasure has a feature that allows you to put a picture on a wall to see how it would look. You can upload said picture from your phone or take one when using the device. The device also allows you to create floor plans using measurements within a room. Lastly, the coolest feature is the field templates. You can look through your phone and it look as it you are standing on a field, court, etc. using your current environment. To the right is a picture of my measurements of the podium in my classroom and a virtual picture of my dog that I have placed in the background.



2) CivilisationsAR by BBC - CivilisationsAR is an augmented reality app that allows users to learn about world history by placing artifacts on surfaces within the room. I accessed CivilisationsAR on my iPhone 5 using iOS 11.4.1. CivilisationsAR is an informational app that is perfect for world history classes.

1) Students choose an artifact to view. They are able to pick artifacts from history by region as they search over the globe [as seen to the left] or by themes (early civilization, human body, faith, encounters, progress and modernity).








2) Students then choose an artifact to be displayed virtually in front of them. The likeness and detail of the item is truly amazing. In the picture to the right,  I have placed a mummy on a desk in my classroom. To the left, I have placed the Rosetta Stone on a desk in my classroom.

3) Next, students are able to hear information about the artifact. Each artifact has 'hot spots' where audio or video is embedded and the user can learn about said artifact.


As a social studies teacher, this application is phenomenal and (best of all) free.

Digital Storytelling

                     After reading the University of Houston Education Department's website on Digital Storytelling, I learned a lot about this movement in education. Digital Storytelling involves using all kinds of multi-media to tell various types of story. It utilizes a broad range of technology such as videos, music, narration, text, and images to portray a story. It keeps alive the love of storytelling even when physical books are rarely, if ever, used. This tool also can create collaboration between students as students can make their own digital story and allow others to see. Students also must go out and find resources from information to videos to picture and employ technology to put this all together into a polished product. There are many different resources that teachers and students can use to make these products as seen in Christopher Pappas's 18 Digital StoryTelling Tools For Teachers and Students. This includes apps like the ACMI Generator and Storybird.

Example 1: Digital Stories can be about a variety of topics. Click the link below to view a digital story that is a personal reflection on how watching television shows on television inspired this author to pursue a career in that field: 

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/video/Medical%20Shows-Bethany%20Sacks.mp4

Example 2: Digital Stories can be about a variety of topics. Click the link below to view a digital story that explores what constitutes a historical hero: 

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/video/Historical-Hero1.mp4

Example 3: Digital Stories can be about a variety of topics. Click the link below to view a digital story that explores how the camera was developed.
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/video/camera%20obscura.mp4


Bonus Content: V.R. and A.R. in Digital Storytelling
One really cool trend with Digital Storytelling is the use of virtual and augmented reality. Not only can viewers hear and see the stories, but also either 'digitally transport' themselves there or view the story with their current environment. Students can now be fully immersed in digital stories and I think that this aspect of Digital Storytelling will engage modern-day students more than books could. 

Etherpad

              Etherpad is an awesome tool to have real-time, streaming online collaboration with very easy set-up. There is not a labor-intensive log-in or sign-up process. You simply need to download Etherpad to get started. With Etherpad, you are able to create documents that other people can view and collaborate with you on when you share it or send them the URL. You can start documents from scratch or upload pre-existing documents from your computer. Once others have received the etherpad, they can begin making changes and Etherpad color codes their changes so that you know exactly which individuals have contributed and what they have contributed to the online collaboration. Even more awesome, you can view the changes over time through the 'time slider' feature to see how your ideas have grown and changed. Once finished with the document, the user is able to download the document to one of several basic files (word document, html, etc.).
              Etherpad has many classroom applications. It can serve as a brainstorming venue for a class or group on a particular topic. It can serve as a backchannel during a socratic seminar or other activity that allows for outside student input. Etherpad could also be used as formative assessments as students can utilize multiple etherpads to show level of assessment of multiple topics. Etherpad would be a great tool for students to work on projects or research papers together and display that each member of the group played a vital role. Beyond students, Etherpad is a great tool to use at PD's for teachers to collaborate, brainstorm, or use as formative assessment.

(Picture retrieved from: https://etherpad.en.softonic.com/)


Here are some links that you may need:

Etherpad

Great Informational Video on Etherpad

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Intro

           After viewing the video 'What are Virtual and Augmented Realities?' by ColdStone, I learned a lot about them both. Virtual Reality is a computer simulation that takes the user to another reality by essentially blocking out their current reality. It plays on the senses to virtually take people somewhere else and allow them to interact with this new virtual environment. According to the video, virtual reality is now used by a variety of industries including education. I've had the pleasure of using some of the less intense VR programs using the smart phone and VR goggles. My favorite ride at Disney World is Soarin' Around the World which is a ride that uses virtual reality to essentially make you feel as if you traveled around the world by flight. Augmented reality is taking your current reality and adding to it. It is essentially adding virtual experiences to what you already see. Recent common examples being used in large number are the Pokemon Go game and Snapchat. Technology exists that is even more intensive than these programs, though.
            Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality have many uses within the classroom. As a Geography teacher, I would love to essentially take my students around the world to see the human and physical characteristics of areas that they likely will never have the opportunity to physically visit. In science, students could visit different biomes or see the habitat of various animals. In English, students could visit scenes of a novel that they are reading. As far as augmented reality goes, I was not so sure so I had to do some research. I accessed an article on the Multiple Uses of Augmented Reality in Education by Emerging Ed Tech. I learned that teachers could add puzzles, videos, etc. to scavenger hunts or additional virtual information when accessing certain points in the classroom. Come to think of it, I had experienced A.R. in the classroom before. During our book fair, students were allowed to get out their phone and use them. When Q.R. codes were accessed, video and other digital information popped up. This is a really cool way to get students up and moving. Also, there could be a 'hide and seek' aspect of A.R. so that it is sort of like a puzzle. My students love this type of thing and I use breakoutedu throughout the year to challenge their teamwork and puzzle solving skills.



Articles/videos referenced in this blog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9MwaH6oGEY&feature=youtu.be

https://www.emergingedtech.com/2018/08/multiple-uses-of-augmented-reality-in-education/

7 Ways to Reward the Brain

   

After watching Tom Chatfield's TED talk from TED Global 2010, I have experienced quite the reality wreck when it comes to video games. Though I don't consider myself an avid gamer, there have been games that have piqued my interest so much that I have spent several hours playing them (consecutively!). I had never truly realized how these games had me hooked, but this video definitely laid it out for me. I have now broken down those video games in my mind to find that they share all the elements that Mr. Chatfield outlines as ways to reward the brain. It would only make sense to utilize these methods in class, especially after hearing about the conversations from students about nightly binges of Fortnite prior to coming to school the next day. Addiction definitely has a negative connotation, but it is hard to ignore the positives of hearing of a person being addicted to learning. That is essentially the heights that the 7 Ways to Reward the Brain could reach in gamification of education. Below are the 7 Ways to Reward the Brain and ideas about using them in the classroom: 

1) Experience Bars Measure Progress – XP is probably the most interesting aspect of gamification to me. So often, students feel that they are only striving towards making good grades on assessments that are spaced so far apart. They rarely pay attention to the individual growth that they are experiencing when mastering objectives. By offering XP points for completing tasks, students can truly put a numerical value on how experienced that they truly are. They can quantify their growth, while striving towards rewards that are gained through amassing XP. Frankly, I would love to earn XP points as a teacher. I would be more aware of my personal growth for my students. I would be more motivated to attend professional development and seek outside resources in my professional learning.

2) Multiple Long and Short-term Aims – In most classrooms, the measurement of progress, though continual, is very repetitive and bland. With all the talk about informal assessments, students could complete tasks/master every individual objective while seeing the bigger picture of mastery of an entire subject. Students could complete small, constant tasks to earn XP (assessment format) to reach different levels for long-term progress (showing level of student mastery). Short-term completion of activities can lead to rewards such as bonus points, tools, character features, etc. Students can see their progress on a certain skill, while reaching towards higher goals. We sometimes leave students behind when they don’t master skills. It would be great if they could continue working on a skill to mastery and not be left behind.

3) Reward Effort - If a teacher's goal is for students to aim for mastery, rewarding effort is an awesome practice. A student is much more likely to try again if they receive a reward for attempting this new skill or task. A teacher can give a student points towards earning a bigger goal or status, unlock hints or even more options for completion of the task (different levels), or reward them with tools for completing tasks in general if they attempt a task. They would definitely be more motivated to try difficult tasks and persevere even when it is tough. 

4) Rapid, Frequent, and Clear Feedback – Students can be unclear in modern classrooms if they have mastered content or not. They make a ‘B’ on a quiz, but missed all three questions on a certain standard. With gamification offering feedback on each mission/assignment/etc., students can be much more aware of their abilities on a given standard. They also don’t lose interest when they are unclear of how well or poorly that they are doing. In video games, we are rewarded or punished every few seconds based on decisions that we make. By giving clear, rapid, and frequent feedback, students are more likely to stay engaged.

5) Element of Uncertainty - It is amazing what people do over and over again for the chance to receive something. I don’t know how I have never thought of this in education before. Students would be motivated to complete tasks knowing that they will be possibly rewarded or experience different levels of rewards. It could be XP for reaching levels/classifications, bonus points for class activities, or all kinds of rewards that don’t cost classroom teachers a cent. Students can complete tasks and receive rewards of varying degrees. The only thing that I was hung up on initially would be how to randomize the rewards. This work would seem to be too much for a teacher. I am still in the initial phases of research, but websites like https://www.randomizer.org/ have programs that will randomize in a set of numbers. Though this site was not formatted in the perfect way for the activities that I had in mind, I am sure that there is a program out there that has a format more conducive for the ideas that I have in mind.

6) Windows of Enhanced Attention – Every major milestone as a student that I can remember is tied to the experience that I had during the event. I don’t remember receiving test grades back in Physics class in high school. I do remember when I performed during ‘Coffee House’ in AP Literature for a major grade to the applause of my classmates. While students are more actively engaged and focused, their learning becomes more meaningful and memorable. Students will remember the slope-intercept formula a whole lot better if they used it to achieve a desired reward. Students can go through the motions on regular quizzes and tests, but must be in-tune with what they are doing when a meaningful reward is on the line.

7) Other People - Though students are social creatures, students can hate group work if the reward is not desired or the task not engaging. They also only like to work with students who are part of their social circle. They don't like to take risks of working with new people. By integrating class activities that have a desired reward and may require the skills (real or game created) of different students, teachers can remedy both of the problems mentioned earlier about collaboration. Task instructions can necessitate that multiple players be involved and outline the level/classification necessary for each group member. Project-based learning activity would benefit immensely by students being motivated to do their part to complete a task, even if they are motivated mostly by the reward. We can be selfish creatures, but it may be necessary for some students to truly enjoy being part of a team. Hopefully, the unity and fulfillment that they experience will lead them to realize the benefit of teamwork.