Harnessing Technology For Deeper Learning

"By embracing technology in the classroom instead of ignorning or banning it, every educator can promote deeper learning across all subjects and grade levels. Using the 4 Shifts Protocol, 'Harnessing Technology for Deeper Learning' imparts valuable strategies for avoiding missteps, overcoming implemention challenges, and (re)designing instruction that is both meaningful and engaging".

Based on a major research project (the InterActive Project), this book explores and illustrates how digital technologies can transform learning across the curriculum. Using a wide range of educational settings primary, secondary, school and home it will help practitioners think about, plan and execute effective learning in their classrooms and

Reimagining Digital Learning for Sustainable Development is a comprehensive playbook for education leaders, policy makers, and other key stakeholders leading the modernization of learning and development in their institutions as they build a high value knowledge economy and prepare learners for jobs that don't yet exist. Currently, nearly every aspect of human activity, including the ways we absorb and apply learning, is influenced by disruptive digital technologies. The jobs available today are no longer predicators of future employment, and current and future workforce members will need to augment their competencies through a lifetime of continuous upskilling and reskilling to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This book features curated insights and real-world cases from thought leaders throughout the world and identifies major shifts in content formats, pedagogic approaches, technology frameworks, user and design experiences, and learner roles and expectations that will reshape our institutions, including those in emerging economies. The agile, lean, and cost-effective strategies proposed here will function in scalable and flexible bandwidth environments, enabling education leaders and practitioners to transform brick-and-mortar learning organizations into digital and blended ecosystems and to achieve the United Nation’s ambitious Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Chapter 18 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Creating a Culture of Feedback emphasizes the need for a healthy balance between grading to report individual progress and using feedback to motivate students to move forward. Authors William M. Ferriter and Paul J. Cancellieri stress that classrooms must shift their focus to prioritize effective feedback over grades. Using this concise guide, grades 3-12 teachers can help students visualize their own learning progress and take the route to success using three important questions: (1) Where am I going?, (2) How am I doing?, and (3) What are my next steps?

Teaching in Blended Leaning Environments provides a coherent framework in which to explore the transformative concept of blended learning. Blended learning can be defined as the organic integration of thoughtfully selected and complementary face-to-face and online approaches and technologies. A direct result of the transformative innovation of virtual communication and online learning communities, blended learning environments have created new ways for teachers and students to engage, interact, and collaborate. The authors argue that this new learning environment necessitates significant role adjustments for instructors and generates a need to understand the aspects of teaching presence required of deep and meaningful learning outcomes. Built upon the theoretical framework of the Community of Inquiry – the premise that higher education is both a collaborative and individually constructivist learning experience – the authors present seven principles that provide a valuable set of tools for harnessing the opportunities for teaching and learning available through technology. Focusing on teaching practices related to the design, facilitation, direction and assessment of blended learning experiences, Teaching in Blended Learning Environments addresses the growing demand for improved teaching in higher education.

Harness natural curiosity for conceptual understanding Nurture young learners' innate curiosity about the world and bring intellectual rigor throughout the developmental stages of childhood. Concept-based teaching helps students uncover conceptual relationships and transfer them to new problems. Readers of this must-have road map for implementing concept-based teaching in elementary classrooms will learn - Why conceptual learning is a natural fit for children - Strategies for introducing conceptual learning - Instructional strategies to help students uncover and transfer concepts - How to write lessons, assess understanding, and differentiate in a concept-based classroom - How concept-based teaching aligns with best practices and initiatives