The annual ISTE conference is happening this week. This is when most of the large corporations in the U.S. educational technologies marketplace unveil their new offerings and lesser organizations try out to make a mark for on their own.
Heading to the ISTE meeting can be an exciting time to see all of the new “shiny” points. However, I won’t be attending this year. I will be adhering to #ISTElive on Twitter to see what persons are excited about. It is times like this that it’s essential to recall to look at new edtech merchandise with a important eye and assume about how these merchandise can really increase students’ mastering ordeals.
The framework that I have utilized for a long time to consider new edtech goods is a basic a single of Discovery, Dialogue, and Demonstration. I defined this in depth in this video that I posted a pair of a long time in the past. The primary points are summarized under.
Discovery
Does the item or assistance enable learners explore new-to-them information and facts? If so, I’ll expend time investigating it to see if it deserves utilizing in a classroom. Some merchandise and companies that in shape this class are Google Textbooks look for, several augmented and digital reality apps like all those from Merge Dice, and electronic map platforms like ArcGIS Story Maps and Google Earth.
Discussion
Can the service or products help instructors aid discussions further than usual in-classroom discussions? These are instruments that can give shy pupils a voice and give chatty learners a spot to categorical them selves, far too. Flipgrid does this well, as does Synth.
Demonstration
Can the software or company enable college students showcase their information and capabilities in a new and exciting way? For some pupils this might be as very simple as a new Google Slides or PowerPoint attribute that aids them give a far better presentation. For other students this may be building eco-friendly display videos. And for other pupils it could be producing their have game titles or mobile applications to clearly show their expertise or programming ideas (the MIT Application Inventor is fantastic for that, here’s how to use it).
Could this be done just as effectively without tech?
A closing thought about evaluating new edtech goods that I shared in a non-public webinar past week. The framework is excellent, but an even more simple way to consider about new edtech merchandise is to question by yourself, “could this be done just as very well without having tech?” If the remedy is indeed, then that product may possibly not be worthy of shelling out a large amount of time on.
July and August Webinars!
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- How to Build and Offer Your Personal Digital Products and solutions
- Video clip Jobs for Nearly Each individual Classroom
- Classroom Podcasting 101
- Do it yourself App Creation for the Rest of Us
- Search Procedures Learners Want to Know
- To Geography & Outside of With Google Earth & Maps
- Get Structured With Google Classroom, Calendar, and Hold