TED Talk: The 100 000 Student Classroom

April 22, 2013  8 Comments

I was flicking through some TED talks today and the title ‘The 100 000 Student Classroom’ caught my attention!

It is a short TED Talk video from 2012 by Peter Norvig about his journey of designing and delivering an online course.  The aim was to create a learning environment that felt like one on one tuition despite the fact they had over 160 000 enrolments.

This caught my attention because I had just been in a meeting with a school where they were debating some research that found that class size is not a determinate on student performance.

class size 2 TED Talk: The 100 000 Student Classroom

As you can imagine, the teachers were adamant that class sizes affected their ability to teach, and as a result the quality of the learning experience was diminished   The school board where arguing that they could cut costs and increase revenue through increasing class sizes and used the research to validate the claim that student results wouldn’t fall due to the increase numbers in the classroom

To be honest, it wasn’t my favourite staff meeting I had been invited to present at!

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In How We Learn , ,
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Augmented Reality In The Classroom

March 4, 2013  9 Comments

A few years ago Virtual Reality was making its way into our world.  Now Augmented Reality has taken virtual reality to a whole new level.

The best way to explain Augmented Reality or AR is imagine going through life with a layer of technology superimposed allowing a unique blended experience where reality and technology seamlessly interact.

Augmented Reality first became popular in classrooms with teachers printing QR codes for their students to read with their smart phones.  The QR code would lead the student directly to a webpage or list of resources.  Teachers would use the QR codes to set up scavenger hunts and virtual field trips.

Scan this QR code to see where it takes you…?l=1&s=8&d=http%3A%2F%2Fgoogleappsforedu Augmented Reality In The Classroom

But Augmented Reality has radically developed  since the invention of the QR code.

Check out this amazing video to see how Augmented Reality is being used in the classroom.

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In Technology in the Classroom , ,
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Are You Trying To Engage Your Students Or Entertain Them?

February 20, 2013  7 Comments

Lately, I have had a number of conversations with teachers about whether entertainment can help you engage your students.

It is not uncommon for a teacher to lament the fact that they feel like they are spending more time trying to capture and hold the attention of their students than they are in meaningful learning.

class clown Are You Trying To Engage Your Students Or Entertain Them?

Some blame the rise in popularity of gaming, others the amount of time students spend online, still others fast changing TV shows and movies for the apparent decrease in the attention spans of their students.

Either way, I think that is helpful to understand the following:

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In Student Behaviour, Student Engagement, Student Motivation , ,
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Student Engagement Plummets Between Primary & High School (So What?)

February 15, 2013  1 Comment

According to this US News Article, the latest Gallup Student Poll found that student engagement dropped from 75% in year 5 & 6 students to 44% for students in grades 9-12.

dis engaged students Student Engagement Plummets Between Primary & High School (So What?)

These sort of statistics are nothing new; but what concerns me is when these statistics hit the web and news papers and then decisions are made by politicians based on them.

According to the article, Gallop asked 500,000 public school students in grades 5-12, questions to indicate their level of agreement with statements such as, “My teachers make me feel my schoolwork is important,” and “At this school, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.”

NOW LETS JUST STOP FOR A MINUTE AND THINK…

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In In The News, Student Engagement, Student Motivation , , , ,
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Australia Day Happy Australia Day

What do you love about Australia?

 

I have had the opportunity to travel internationally quite a bit this year. I am actually writing this from Queenstown in New Zealand (which is just another state of Australia – come on Kiwi’s – you know its true lol).

The more I travel the more I have grown to appreciate just how great Australia is.

Despite the news reports our education system is in good shape.

Teachers everywhere share the same disappointments and frustrations.  We all face the same pressures of shrinking budgets, clueless decision makers, and dis-engaged students.

The great thing is, we get to do it in a country where:

  • Mateship and comradery amongst staff is valued.
  • We have freedom of religion, and speech.
  • We aren’t being abused by a dictatorship.
  • We don’t go to work wondering if we will be shot, bombed or invaded

So many teachers would give up everything to have what we have.

My challenge to all Australian teachers (and all teachers everywhere) this year is this.  Be intentional about being thankful.  Whinge and whine a bit less and take a moment to be thankful for all the amazing things in your life.  Teaching is hard, but there is so much to celebrate.

What are you thankful for? Drop it into the comment section below

Posted on January 27, 2013 In Teacher motivation , ,
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