educational technology | Tech In Pedagogy

Technology, PLN’s, and Digital Footprints Oh My!

My last post discussed the importance of creating and using a Personal Learning Network (PLN). To review, PLN’s are important because they help us engage in professional learning that we can guide. This learning also enables us to go beyond the usual restrictions imposed by geography and time schedules. All this being said, the technology…

Building Student Collaboration and Presentation Skills

The National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) created by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) state that students should be able to “use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively” (2008, para. 2). Several of the Google Apps found in Google Drive work great for building the skill set associated…

Flipped Classrooms and Online Discussions

The term “flipped classroom” is one of the biggest buzzwords in education today. A flipped classroom is defined as “a form of blended learning in which students learn content online by watching video lectures, usually at home, and homework is done in class” (Flipped classroom, n.d., para. 1). I like the concept of flipped classrooms,…

Assessment Apps and Tools

Assessment is an important part of teaching. Parents and students often think of assessment as a test that we need to do well on so we get a good grade. A good teacher knows that this is not all there is to this concept. Assessments, especially formative assessments, help us determine how well our students…

Communication and Collaboration

One thing that many educators familiar with 21st century skills agree on is that there is no set definition for what they are. Trilling and Fadel (2012) argued that there really isn’t anything new about 21st century skills. The skills laid out have always been important. The argument is that the skills have a…