Shawn Roner's Blog (39)

What is Blended Learning?

With reduced funding, funding deferrals, and increased pressure to meet various accountability measures, school administrators face seemingly interminable challenges. It’s in the face of these challenges that school administrators are turning to technology-driven innovations like blended learning to improve organizational efficiency and student achievement...…

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Added by Shawn Roner on September 6, 2012 at 12:54am — No Comments

Inverting Learning

I came across an interesting article recently on a unique approach to teaching called “inverted learning.” According to the author, Meris Stansbury, this instructional model involves “mak[ing] the students the focus of the class, not the teacher, by having students watch a lecture at home and then apply the lesson with the teacher in the classroom.”… Continue

Added by Shawn Roner on January 5, 2011 at 10:18pm — No Comments

Managing Complex Change

If educators plan to transform their schools into institutions that
promote 21st century learning skills, systemic change must occur. This
sort of change will require not only significant resources, but the
type of transformation we are looking for will require highly effective
leadership– leadership that fosters meaningful change. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on April 12, 2010 at 9:30pm — No Comments

The Future of the Internet

Pew recently conducted a survey of 895 technology “stakeholders,” comprised of both technology experts and individuals who represent the Internet savvy public. The survey presented “potential-future scenarios to which respondents [reacted] with their expectations based on current knowledge and attitudes.” MORE...… Continue

Added by Shawn Roner on April 2, 2010 at 10:30am — No Comments

Thoughts on Student Motivation

Dan Pink delivered an interesting talk on motivation and the problems associated with extrinsic motivation. According to Pink, research has shown that certain sorts of extrinsic incentives or what Pink refers to as “contingent motivators” actually dull thinking and stifle creativity.MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on March 15, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments

New Social Networking Site Helps Teachers Create and Share Lessons

This past week I finally had a chance to mess around with the curriculum sharing platform BetterLesson, and I thought I’d share my thoughts. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on February 15, 2010 at 7:29pm — No Comments

ISTE’S Top Ten Edtech Priorities for 2010

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) recently released the organization’s top ten Edtech priorities for 2010.

The overarching priority, so to speak, is a definite commitment to

improving student achievement through the effective use of technology.… Continue

Added by Shawn Roner on February 9, 2010 at 8:31am — No Comments

Should Schools Block Social Networking Sites?

Over the past five years, the response of most school administrators to social networking sites– YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, etc.– is simply to restrict access on campus. In a recent piece in Slate, Nicholas Bramble argues it’s time to open access to these sites. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on February 4, 2010 at 10:22am — No Comments

Protecting Your Privacy on Facebook

In an attempt to compete with more open social networking platforms like Twitter, Facebook’s management made an important and very controversial decision in December to change the privacy settings for the popular social networking site. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on January 30, 2010 at 9:39am — No Comments

Using Cloud Computing to Improve School Communication

If schools are going to use technology to improve organizational processes, it’s important their leaders consider moving many of the school’s daily operations onto a cloud-based network. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on January 28, 2010 at 6:17pm — No Comments

Five Apps for Busy Educators

Staying organized during a hectic school year is certainly a difficult task. With hundreds of e-mails, phone messages, parent conferences, and meetings, staying organized can seem impossible. To help, I’ve put together a short list of helpful apps I use to stay on top of things. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on January 21, 2010 at 10:03pm — 2 Comments

Open Curriculum for K-12 Educators

Over the past few years, open curriculum has gained momentum in K-12 education. In the face of difficult economic circumstances, site administrators are finding their budgets squeezed by severe funding limitations. In response to thee challenges, public school throughout the country are building comprehensive online learning environments that present new and exciting learning opportunities for students.… Continue

Added by Shawn Roner on January 12, 2010 at 10:58pm — No Comments

The Weekly Update: January 4-10

Check out last weeks latest news, best blogs, and interesting edtech news. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on January 10, 2010 at 9:02pm — No Comments

Social Learning Tools

Jane Hart (Center for Learning and Performance Technologies) put together a very useful chart comparing the three different ways to build a social learning environment. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on January 8, 2010 at 10:45am — No Comments

Ten Ways Social Media Technology Will Change in 2010

Considering the growing role social media technology is playing in K-12 education, I found Ravit Lichtenberg’s blog 10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2010 to be insightful. Most edtechies realize that 2009 was a pivotal year for social media technology and see its expanded use by everyday educators as a transformative development in K-12 education. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on January 4, 2010 at 10:49pm — No Comments

The Weekly Update: December 28 - January 3

Check out last week's hot edtech blogs. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on January 2, 2010 at 9:00pm — No Comments

R2D2, Where Are You?

A difficult challenge facing educators today is how to effectively utilize technology to improve student achievement. Although the interactive, user-centered, and social-oriented structure of Web 2.0 technology presents wonderful opportunities to improve the way educators teach and students learn, many teachers feel mired in technology overload. Presented with hundreds of different technologies and thousands of approaches to teaching and learning with technology, educators are wondering how… Continue

Added by Shawn Roner on December 28, 2009 at 12:32pm — No Comments

5 K-12 Technology Trends for 2010

In a recent piece in THE Journal, Bridget McCrea spoke with a group of technology experts in order to compile a short list of technology trends educators should look for in 2010. Here’s McCrea’s list... MORE

Added by Shawn Roner on December 15, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

10.5 Million preK-12 Students Will Attend Classes Online by 2014

According to a new study by the research firm Ambient Insight, the number preK-12 students who will take some or all of their courses online will increase from 2 million to 10 million by 2014. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on December 3, 2009 at 2:32pm — No Comments

Using Facebook to Improve School Communication

Facebook has become an essential tool for young adults to stay in contact with friends and family and to create a sense of community with their peers. For school administrators, then, utilizing Facebook to improve communication and to create an interactive experience for their school community only makes sense. MORE...

Added by Shawn Roner on November 24, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments