Some of the most well-known content providers for education include Pearson, McGraw-Hill, and Cengage Learning. These companies have a strong presence in the K-12 market and offer a variety of content, including textbooks, e-learning materials, and digital platforms.

The benefits of using digital content providers for education are clear. These companies offer a wide range of content, including textbooks, e-learning materials, and digital platforms. This variety allows educators to find the materials they need to teach their students. Additionally, these providers offer customizable content delivery platforms that make it easy for educators to create and deliver digital content.

Digital content providers for education have made a significant impact on the field of education. These companies offer a wide range of content, including textbooks, e-learning materials, and digital platforms. This variety allows educators to find the materials they need to teach their students. Additionally, these providers offer customizable content delivery platforms that make it easy for educators to create and deliver digital content.

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While audio may appear to be a throwaway when choosing multimedia technology, according to Gene Osborn of Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia, high-quality sound is critical in the classroom.

These insights are supported by research on class audio. Three aspects, however, stick out:

1. Sound Enhancement Can Be Beneficial

As per the American Speech-Language Listening Association, class auditory distribution networks also called sound field augmentation systems, help all attendees in a classroom. To guarantee that sound covers every part of the classroom, some schools employ voice enhancement systems (which also feature microphones for professors) in addition to smart boards with enhanced audio.

2. Teachers are also affected by noise.

Teachers’ throats can become exhausted when they are obliged to talk clearly to be heard above background noise, as per David Lubman, an auditory expert and advisor.

3. 3. Some pupils have hearing problems.

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 15% of kids between the age ranges of 6 and 19 have low- or high-frequency hearing impairment in either one or perhaps both ears. COVID-19 can exacerbate the problem by causing social isolation and wearing masks in classes, resulting in muted noises from both students and teachers.

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Are K-12 Schools Doing Enough? 

Young children do not need well-composed messages from teachers and school principals about the dangers and evils of drugs to their health. They need to hear from former victims of drug abusers who lost it all or lost someone to drug abuse. The young kids have to find out how former drug addicts ran their lives out and how they spent all their money on drugs just because of their level of addiction to them. 

They need to know how drug addiction ruins their marriages and how their kids and families neglect them. They should know how addiction hits you down and rips everything good you have. 

If K-12 kids know this, then will K-12 drug programs be able to tackle the glorification of drugs that is becoming a norm in the entertainment industry and celebrity world. This is what K-12 schools are tackling. Rappers like Little Wayne and Future exalt using a certain drug called Lean, composed of prescription-strength cough syrup (an opiate), soft drinks, and hard, fruit-flavored candy. The side effects of this drug are sedation, sometimes seizures, and death. 

Drug addiction is not something you can engage in while in college or high school and then think you can quit after your youthful days are over. 

 How K-12 schools can improve their drug education, prevention, and enforcement program

Are Colleges Doing Enough? 

It is almost too easy to access drugs and alcohol on a college campus in the inner city. Students have been known to partner with liquor and hard drugs peddlers, many of them using the profits to fund their tuition fees and rent. College students are nasty drug users, with many seeing these things as a rite of passage. 

Even the students who seem “upright” and do not partake in the vices attached to drugs are becoming swept up in the drug world. Excelling or better still, the A-grade students don’t use drugs for pleasure; rather, they purchase these drugs to boost their energy levels or help them keep more information in their studying. They believe these drugs will place them on a good edge in their courses and graduate school exams such as Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). 

Colleges need a comprehensive approach to drug education, prevention, and enforcement. An approach that won’t be inert in purpose.

They must embrace a “zero tolerance” policy. During first-year orientation, these warnings about drugs must be sounded clear. Colleges must have an anonymous hotline to report violators if found. Offenders must be prosecuted and expelled from the school. If schools adopt a no-nonsense drug approach, there would be a massive turnaround. There must also be equal measures of punishment served for both whites and black Americans.

Are K-12 and colleges doing enough on drug education, prevention, and enforcement?

The post What Grade Would You Give K-12 Schools and College on Drugs Prevention and Enforcement? appeared first on The Tech Edvocate.

In this article, I would want to respond to this topic by looking at the characteristics of a successful school and discussing whether or not these characteristics can be achieved without using technology.

1. Goals and visions that are shared. A successful school has objectives and principles that can be met without using technology. However, this means you won’t be able to write your goals and ambitions, as well as your progress toward achieving them, using Microsoft Office or other word processing software. It would have to be done on paper using a pencil.
2. Above Average Expectancies. High expectations can be expressed without using technology, but technology can undoubtedly aid in efficiently disseminating your message.
3. A proactive approach to problem-solving and constant development. If you are actively looking for answers to difficulties and challenges and consistently trying to enhance procedures and tactics, you will conclude that you need to use modern technology. It would assist you in resolving your issues and improving your policies and processes constantly.
4. Collaboration. Without edtech, collaboration or teamwork can be performed, but not at a high level. Many applications can help schools improve their communication and planning processes, allowing them to work more efficiently. This, in turn, aids students in achieving their goals, which is a school’s top objective.
5. High-quality curricula that adhere to industry norms. You do not need edtech to help you develop a curriculum or match it with relevant requirements, but it would speed up the process. It would also make personalizing your program for individual students easier, which is a time-taking effort without technology.
6. Ongoing evaluation. Without the use of edtech, assessment and grading may be carried out. Consider how Scantron devices revolutionized the field of education in 1972. Rather than spending a whole day evaluating multiple-choice tests, instructors might assess an entire class in under a minute. In 2019, we had several technological tools to grade essays in under a minute. Let’s talk about advancement.
7. Professional growth. Professional advancement in person is the most powerful, but it is not the most efficient. Educators have 24/7 access to professional development in today’s contemporary environment, and all they need is a computer device and a good internet connection.
8. A respectful, optimistic, trusting, and deliberate school culture. This can be accomplished without the use of technology. However, edtech devices may help you expedite the process, saving your time and ensuring the development of healthy school culture.
9. Involvement of parents and the community. Engaging with the community and parents without using technology is possible, but it is time-consuming. You may see how quickly you acquire Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by writing 100-130 handwritten messages to parents or community stakeholders. It would be unreasonable to do so when edtech tools can assist you in doing so with 95-99% less work.

Conclusion

Is it possible for a K-12 school to be effective without using technology? Absolutely. With diminishing school resources and instructors wearing several hats, they can’t afford to do things the old-fashioned way when high-tech can assist them in doing the same work with 95-99 percent less effort. Life is intended to be enjoyed, and the days of educators spending their weekends creating lesson plans and marking papers are long gone. Unfortunately, many of us need to work on the weekends to supplement our income because of our poor salaries.

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However, with the increase of online learning classes, various myths and misconceptions have cropped up from all angles giving a false impression about remote learning. Many are under the impression that online classes are not as good as regular or face-to-face classes; they do not offer decent degree programs; their classes have zero value on the job market and whatnot.

Whether you are a learner or parent, or someone looking for a remote learning class but are confused because of the several myths they have heard, this post will enlighten you and help dispel some of the commonly held misconceptions concerning remote learning. Take a look.

1. Remote learning platform does not end in a degree

Many people believe that online education providers do not offer full-time degree programs. However, this is not true. You can earn a legitimate degree ranging from an associate’s degree to a doctorate. Yes, online class platforms offer educational opportunities without a degree attached, but they focus on skilling or upskilling them. Many online learners are solely focused on learning a new skill or improving a skill they already have.

2. Low-quality teaching standards

Many people think online classes’ quality is lower, and are afraid that they will not get the same quality as traditional classes. It is easy to assume that online learning could never match the on-campus learning experience. Many people believe that online classes are designed poorly, content is delivered haphazardly and organized terribly, but the same can also be true for traditional classes.

Many online classes go through a design process that ensures that the class is well organized, but that the content is delivered to conform to best practices for online learning and learning in general. Many online classes are offered with higher quality than many traditional ones.

3. The classes are self-paced

Well, this is not true. Just because you are not physically in front of your instructors does not mean they are not there or will not guide the learning process. While there are lots of self-paced online education options, many programs are structured like an on-site school. Assignments, grading, and whatever is being done in the physical classroom are also done in online learning.

Just as they would in a face-to-face class, online class instructors are responsible for engaging their learners and teaching them the subject matter. However, if you are looking for self-paced online classes, there are plenty of options available.

4. Very little interaction between students

Many assume that since online classes are not conducted face to face, they provide less or no interaction with their classmates or other learners. However, this is not true. Peer-to-peer learning is central to many online class providers. They allow learners ample opportunities to interact, work together, and learn from each other during the class. Many online classes require regular peer interactions multiple times for certain group projects. Learners can interact with other classmates/learners using online collaborative tools such as Pedagogue.

5. Remote learning instructors are not real educators

While certain tech companies are working to transform teaching jobs by replacing the human educator with machines, we have not yet reached that point. So far, all online lessons are taught by a human educator. Universities and edtech companies that offer online remote learning programs do not pick just anyone to teach their learners; renowned professors or educators teach many of the lectures and lessons in their field.

6. Remote learning classes are easier than face-to-face classes

It is widely assumed that remote learning programs and online classes are easier than face-to-face classes, and anyone can succeed without difficulty. People also believe that such classes are specifically designed to be impossibly difficult to make them appear to have the same competitive vigor as the traditional classes. However, this not true. Remote learning class classes are just as demanding and, in some ways, more demanding than many face-to-face classes.

Remote learning classes require the same amount of work and effort as traditional classes. Instructors carry out all tasks and assign the same amount of work as they would in regular classes. Learners do not lose out on any content and enjoy just as many opportunities to learn, sometimes in more interesting ways, as they would in face-to-face classes.

7. Remote learning classes do not help learners achieve their career goals

This is simply not true. Online or remote learning classes are perhaps the most convenient and effective way to learn new job skills and enhance career goals. Most online class providers offer their programs with so much flexibility, offering a perfect match for anyone with a busy schedule. Seeing that the traditional educational system no longer works for learners to fit in the 21^st-century job market, most remote learning class providers focus on job-oriented classes, helping them build the skill as per industry needs.

It does not matter which industry you work for or want to work in; you can always find an online class that would benefit or enhance your day-to-day work performance. If you are too busy, there are plenty of online learning platforms that offer completely self-paced experiences.

8. Have to be a tech expert to take Remote Learning Classes

While it is true that one needs some basic technical know-how, such as how to connect the Internet or navigate a browser, you do not have to be tech-savvy to take online classes. Most online learning platforms require very little computer knowledge, as many tools and programs you will be working with our simple and have familiar user interfaces. Many platforms offer various tutorials and links to help those who have any questions or run into any problems.

9. You cannot build a network

Many think that remote learning limits building relationships with friends and other people. While it is true that many people rely on college networks to land jobs and learn about opportunities, the belief that online learning cannot help build a network is not true. Although building a network might seem hard at first in an online space, it is not an impossible thing to do.

10. Remote learning classes cannot help you land a job

One of the misconceptions about remote learning is that employers do not value online degrees or online classes have zero value in the job market. This is simply not true. While it is true that non-accredited online degree programs are not positively regarded on the job market, these are the exceptions to the rule. Contrary to the myth, remote learning programs and associated skills are highly valued in the job market. They have given learners highly-skilled training in the career of their choice.

Concluding thoughts

For many, when they think about education, they still only see the traditional classroom setting – complete with a blackboard, benches, desks, chair, table, pen, textbooks, notebooks, and a host of learners. While that is how learning has been for decades, things have changed. Now, taking classes and learning online can be just as rewarding and educational as traditional and face-to-face classes, with the added benefit of taking them on your schedule.

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School Implementation of Filters and Monitors

There are many different ways that schools have begun to filter and monitor student use of the web. For example, many schools know that spam emails are still a prevalent part of using the internet, so they have implemented spam filters onto student email accounts. Luckily, this is becoming easier based on the technology that schools are using, such as Google. Gmail has an automated spam folder to keep your child safer than when every email had to be manually monitored for viruses or inappropriate content. This spam folder filters out emails from suspicious accounts. This proves that schools are ensuring that it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to keeping your children safe!

Youtube has a feature that teachers can enable that allows students to only view videos that have been approved by the school. You can do this by clicking “Approved content only,” so students are unable to watch anything inappropriate or distracting. Teachers can also pause the watch algorithm from suggesting new videos to students. This prevents any inappropriate and unwanted videos from being suggested when a student is supposed to be learning. Many school networks also include filters so that inappropriate content cannot be accessed. You can also use specific third party content filters that automatically monitor and eliminate unwanted content in the classroom. 

Students need to be cognizant of the dangers of sharing personal information on the internet. Luckily, with many years of addressing this issue, there have been developments in software that easily monitor information sharing. For example, on Google, you can easily do a “Privacy Checkup” that shows you what information is private and what information is public. Another option when using Google is downloading the Google Family Link for Parents App, which allows you to set parental controls. 

Educating Students About Digital Safety

Teaching students about their digital footprint is important when developing responsible digital citizens. Students must know the dangers present on the internet so that they can learn to navigate responsibly and protect themselves. 

Fake news has become a popular name for misleading information that is being shared. This is a new term for a problem that has persisted over the years. Nowadays, there are fact-checkers and filters on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook. If you are a parent and your child spends time on social media, make sure to educate them about the importance of checking facts and resources. Because many students now do their schooling online from their homes, there may not be a specific way for the school to implement filters. So, educating students to critically think about the information they find on the internet can be essential in filtering out misleading and possibly even unsafe information. 

Conclusion 

When raising responsible digital citizens, it may seem difficult to ensure that students make the correct choices. However, many pre-made filters and monitors can help keep students safe. Students can end up making bad choices because they do not know any better; so this education is essential. To help students understand what is acceptable use of technology and what isn’t, it is important to create a common protocol throughout the school, so teachers are all on the same page. If teachers have varying expectations, students may become confused about what is and what isn’t an appropriate use of technology. If you have clear and precise expectations, students will rise to the occasion and learn to be responsible digital citizens.

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What Is Screencasting?

A screencast is a digital recording of a computer screen that includes a narration or audio recording. 

Educators use screencasting for several reasons. A few of those are: for giving students audio-visual feedback; recording procedures; recording easily accessible lessons; answering frequently asked questions; and making a video to help the substitute teacher if one is needed.

Which Screencasting Software Works Best for Teachers?

There are a few things that your screencasting software should have. It should be simple to figure out. It must be inexpensive—$20 per year or less. It should have the ability to blur the background. The screencasting software you choose should be annotatable. You should be able to mark up the screen as you go. It should be voiceover-ready. It must be customizable. It must be COPPA and FERPA compliant. These are the state and federal children’s privacy protection

1. Screencast-O-Matic with Google Classroom

Screencast-O-Matic allows you to record, edit, and share videos. You can host the videos on the cloud. You can also integrate with Google Classroom. Screencast-O-Matic also merges with free Zoom plans to make it convenient for tutoring sessions. Students can then add videos of their own to ask questions. Being COPPA/FERPA compliant and at $20 a year, this is a great tool!

2. Microsoft Teams

Free to educators, the free classroom version of Microsoft Teams allows you to screenshare, create and share files, recordings, and PowerPoint presentations, and blur your background. You can also annotate on the whiteboard app that’s integrated into the program. Microsoft Teams is FERPA compliant.

3. Loom—full version

The full version of Loom is free for teachers and students. Loom does a picture-in-picture, which allows your students to see you and your screen simultaneously. It works with both iOS and Windows quite easily. Loom is also COPPA/FERPA compliant.

4. Zoom

K—12 teachers can get the time limit lifted off of the free plan, which allows up to 100 students! You can add virtual backgrounds, create, annotate, and share a whiteboard (which your students can even scribble on), group message, and more! Students can also share their screens with the class when the feature is enabled. Zoom is also FERPA compliant.

5. Screencastify

Screencastify is a bit more expensive than the others, but it’s a notch above the rest for those who have a Chromebook. It’s a Google Classroom partner, takes seconds to learn, and it only takes one subscription per school. You can record offline and share instantly with a Google Drive link and instantly upload to YouTube. Also, besides being FERPA and COPPA certified, Screencastify is SOPIPA compliant.

Conclusion

Once you find the right screencasting software, it’s time to start using it to add engagement to your K—12 classroom.

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Scheduling and Blended Learning

Most of us have gotten used to remote learning since we had no choice but to do so. Since the pandemic has not quelled,  it’s more important than ever to have an adequate plan in place. Many schools offer a blended class schedule, where kids attend classes in person for two or three days and do remote learning the rest of the school week.

This means the use of technology and apps to help keep classes and schools streamlined. Gradebooks are important, and educators must stay on top of learners who may be falling behind academically. Everyone’s home environment is not the same, and everyone does not have a dedicated and distraction-free learning space.

Pedagogue

Of course, remote learning cannot take place without a virtual classroom to accommodate it. Pedagogue is a platform that allows teachers and students to get together in a virtual classroom, where discussions can take place either via a video conference or through message boards and public posts. It has video capabilities and allows multiple people to attend a single session. Plus, educators can restrict who can talk at any time, making it impossible for one or two learners to take over the classroom and be disruptive as they could in a physical setting. It is also easy to set up an account; they are free, so there is nothing to pay out-of-pocket.

Computer Devices and Internet Service

Many students don’t have a reliable computer device at home, and so schools have stocked up on computer devices to distribute to learners. If parents can’t pay for internet service, schools are providing it. It’s part of ensuring that no learner is left behind. Internet providers are also giving free or low-cost services to families. 

Concluding thoughts

There is no doubt that this year’s school landscape will look different. However, things are stabilizing. School administrators have had time to develop more in-depth plans, whereas back in March, they were thrown into the fray. Many schools will start virtually to protect children from the spread and will likely move to a hybrid distance-learning system as necessary. By taking the above steps, they ensure that families and children are prepared to enter these unchartered waters. 

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A New World

We’re looking at a brand-new world. It all started with the rise of Covid-19, and it doesn’t look like we’re going back any time soon. Technology has become a way of life, and it seems that it may be here to stay, at least in part. Now the Corona cases are on the rise again, and we’re destined for yet a longer time stuck behind computer screens using Google Classroom and education technology.

Due to this new rise in technology across every platform, every student needs to learn the right IT infrastructure skills. Schools must steep the curricula in IT, helping their students learn all they can learn about computing, coding, and robotics. This is the future. This is the new world.

Jobs and Skills Training

The World Economic Forum (WEF) put out “The Future of Jobs Report 2018” a few years back. They noted that the workers of the future will necessitate different skills than the workers of today. Rather than resource management, arithmetic, writing, reading, and memorization, WEF believes employers will more highly value the skills of innovation, analytical thinking, the ability to learn, and problem-solving. 

Employers value these attributes in their employees now, so the shift to them valuing them over educational skills isn’t that far. However, training our students to have these skills rather than the other and to focus primarily on these would require a shift in our pedagogical objectives and in the strategies we use to teach them. But then again, isn’t this our job? To shift our teaching to best suit our students’ needs?

How Can Schools Prepare Their Students for the Future?

1. The school administrator and teacher must be future-focused themselves. If the school staff is not focused on the future, the students won’t be either. Students learn by example. They do as you do. You lead by example.

2. Complex thinking skills should be taught in the classroom. As I said, complex thinking skills are attributes that employers will be seeking in employees. These must be taught to students at a young age.

3. Encourage the students to work as teams. Your students will have to learn teamwork to succeed in the world of business. Now is a great time to learn it!

4. Round out the curriculum. Don’t stop with teaching the curriculum. It’s merely there as a guide. Add EdTech and visuals to bring the lessons to life and make them memorable so that they stick with the students. There are so many apps and resources online. There’s no reason not to take advantage of them when they help your students so much.

5. Help them to prepare for college and their career. Remember, a student’s life doesn’t stop at graduation. You are preparing them for the future. Your job is to get them through graduation and into a successful life, whether that be into a college or a trade school. Their success may depend on your preparation in the classroom!

Conclusion

It’s a new world out there. It’s time to embrace it. Embrace the fact that the job skills and training are different in this new future we live in. Use these five tips and embrace ingenuity and adaptation to prepare students for the future.

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Now, look at it from the other angle. Have you ever tried to learn something—learn with all your might and still come up short? Maybe you were trying to figure out genetics… or your mom’s favorite pancake recipe. Perhaps it was Algebra 2… or how your dad always hit the target just right and made it look so easy. Maybe you were battling one of the two main barriers against deep learning.

What Is Deep Learning?

“Deep learning” is actually a machine term. It’s an AI (artificial intelligence) function. Artificial Intelligence is programs that allow machines to do the things that it typically takes a human to do. 

Machine learning is a field of AI and is defined as when a machine can learn new things through experience without the involvement of a human. 

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning. Deep learning takes it a step further. Deep learning actually allows a machine to mock the human brain, allowing it to learn through repeating the same task multiple times, tweaking it each time, depending on the data it receives. Deep learning requires “thought.”

Examples of deep learning in technology include:

• Facial recognition
• Driverless vehicles
• Chatbots
• Virtual Assistants
• Medical Research
• Translation

How Does This Apply to Students in the Classroom?

Deep learning is the learning we receive through the higher levels of cognitive work found in Bloom’s Taxonomy. These are analyzing, creating, and evaluating. When learners travel these paths, they are repeatedly working with the material they have learned until it has become part of their thought patterns. In this way, these facts become part of their learning process, which can be drawn upon at later times.

What Are These Barriers?

Although we want our students to use deep learning with every piece of material we give them, it seems that there are barriers against them achieving that goal. Let’s look at the two main barriers and how we can overcome them.

Lack of Interaction

The first main barrier against deep learning is the lack of interaction. I believe that there are three reasons for this. One, sometimes, our students do not lend themselves to interaction. Sometimes they just don’t feel well, or they are having an “off” sort of day. Then, there are those students who just refuse to interact regardless of the day or hour.

Secondly, there may be a lack of interaction on the side of the educator. To up your game in the area of interaction, put yourself out there. Be animated. Really get into your learners’ shoes. Get to know them. Get one-on-one. Give them individual time. This is what our students need—now more than ever.

Lastly, there is a lack of interaction due to remote learning. When we are teaching our students from several miles apart, it can be challenging to have that teacher/student interaction that fuels learning. However, it is vital if you are going to drive deep learning.

Lack of Motivation

The second main barrier against deep learning is a lack of motivation. Unless a learner wants to learn about a specific subject, they do not seem to be motivated in any way.

It is the educator’s job to fix this, and there are so many fixes. You must get them excited about the topic. 

• Make it applicable to them or something they love. 
• Use something they like to teach it. 
• Show how fun the subject is.
• Use games to teach the principle.
• Let them learn through debate.

There are so many other great ideas.

Conclusion

When students learn through deep learning, they remember the material longer and can recall the material more easily. When you work to overcome these two main barriers against deep learning, your students will be able to access deep learning. They will better understand the material, and their grades will rise.

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