Ed Tech Blog
![edpuzzle - iKeepSafe](https://ikeepsafe.org/content/uploads/2018/06/edpuzzle-vertical-logo-trimmed.png)
Introduction
The growth of digital technology has fueled massive opportunities in the education sector, especially with the use of interactive online tools for learning and teaching.
You can agree that it’s easier to remember the things you have watched better than the things you have read. Visuals will always win. Learning is much better when you combine information from multiple platforms incorporating print with digital resources.
The covid-19 pandemic reiterated the need for online learning and the need to have tools that contribute positively to the learning environment.
One such tool is Edpuzzle, an online video software that allows for an interactive learning environment in classrooms. Teachers can use Edpuzzle to create videos and upload them or use the discover feature to search from the vast content on the platform or from other online sources including YouTube videos and TED talks, relevant to their lessons.
Using Edpuzzle in the classroom
With the understanding that video in general is a powerful tool for teaching and disseminating information, here is how you can use Edpuzzle in the classroom to reap the maximum benefits from incorporating video into learning. Younger students like in elementary school who tend to have short attention spans could hugely benefit from having Edpuzzle in the classroom to stimulate engagement and keep them focused.
- Virtual Field Trips
Would you rather be told how the Himalayas mountain range looks or shown what it looks like? Better yet, as a teacher imagine describing how the Grand Canyon looks compared to showing a video of the real thing explaining the different concepts to students.
Virtual field trips have changed the game in the classroom by allowing teachers and students to have a glimpse of what they are teaching or being taught, helping them to experience things firsthand.
Students and teachers can complement...
![How I use Evernote](https://rtalbert.org/content/images/2018/12/evernote-og.png)
Introduction
Does the idea of a well-organized pantry just excite you when you know you can locate your favorite cookies without any hustle? Well, this post is not about cookies. But it’s about finding something when you need it without wasting time.
In this digital era, it is so frustrating having to sort through piles of unstructured data to look for something. Imagine what it is like for teachers and students who have to deal with mounts of class notes, meeting agendas, assignments, and other administrative documents.
There are many apps out there that promise to help you sort out and organize your data, but have you met Evernote? This is an amazing app designed for note-taking, organizing task lists, and archiving among other many uses.
Let’s see just how powerful this award-winning app is by looking at the different ways teachers and students can use Evernote in the classroom.
Why do teachers and students need Evernote in the classroom?
Being in the teaching profession comes with a load of documentation. Teachers have to deal with class notes for different classes, department meeting notes, assignments, continuous assessments tests, exams, and schemes of work.
Being a student on the other hand...
Read more: Six Ingenious Ways Teachers and Students can use Evernote in the Classroom
![The Benefits of Interactive Learning with Touch Screens - ViewSonic Library](https://www.viewsonic.com/library/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/The-Benefits-of-Interactive-Learning.jpg)
Understanding how seating arrangements affect student learning has the potential to be highly beneficial to classroom teachers. Of the many aspects of the physical environment discussed here, classroom seating arrangement is the simplest to understand, the most within a teacher’s control, and one of the most effective behavior interventions; furthermore, it rarely conflicts with any of the other aspects (Bicard et al., 2012; Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). (An example of conflict between aspects would be adding carpeting to assist with acoustics, thus causing lower air quality because of increased dust particles).
The available research on types of seating arrangements explains that row seating is ideal for individual work, keeping all students (including students with track records of poor behavior) on task (Fernandes, 2009; Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008; Betoret & Argia, 2004; Budge, 2000; Edwards, 2000). Student-centered group arrangements on the other hand (e.g., 4 desks together, circles) are the preferred seating arrangement (Fernandes, 2009; Sztejnberg & Finch, 2006) in groups that are smaller and/or have a history of being highly on task and capable of handling advanced group work. importance
Conclusions
The aspects of the physical environment and their effects on learning have now been clearly identified and associated...
Read more: Impacts of the Physical Environment on Classroom Learning - Part 4
![Inclusive Learning in the Classroom](https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/inclusive-learning.jpeg)
The height of a classroom’s ceiling can have an effect on both noise and lighting in the classroom. Earthman (2004) explains that higher ceilings can lessen the quality of both classroom lighting and acoustics. Research on the effects of ceiling height on classroom acoustics would be beneficial to school building designers. These designers would no doubt be able to take information regarding ceiling height into account when ensuring rooms have proper acoustics. They might also be able to provide suggestions to districts whose older school buildings have higher ceiling, and who require recommendations on how to improve acoustics despite that.
The display of student works both in the classroom and in common areas of the school has been shown to bring about a positive effect on learning. In a study by Killeen et al. (2003) it is explained that students whose work was displayed in the classroom following the completion of that work showed a revitalized sense of invested interest in the learning process of their classroom. According to Killeen the educational pride students took in contributing to the overall class led to increasingly motivated students. Maxwell’s (2000) study found that schools that displayed student artwork in common areas such...
Read more: Impacts of the Physical Environment on Classroom Learning - Part 3
![20 Student Engagement Strategies for a Captivating Classroom](https://assets-homepages-learning.3plearning.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/blog-20-student-engagement-strategies-captivating-classroom.png)
Tanner (2008) explains that exposure to natural sunlight is required to ensure that a student’s basic physiological needs are being met, which allows effective learning to take place. Although it may not commonly be realized, the need for natural sunlight is second only to the need for food and water (Tanner, 2008). Evidence of the benefits of providing for this need in an educational setting can be identified in a 1999 study that compared classrooms that were exposed to appropriate levels of sunlight to classrooms in which sunlight was lacking. Classrooms whose access to windows was limited, and in turn lacked sunlight, were stunted in their progress on both reading and math (by 26% and 20% respectively) (Heschong Mahone Group, 1999). Edwards and Torcellini’s 2002 comprehensive literature review relayed similar findings and Burke & Burke-Samide’s (2004) research does so as well. Research conducted in 1992 succeeded in dispelling the idea that plentiful window access in a classroom will distract students from activities outside. The study revealed that of all the distractions from learning, views from windows are typically the least drastic (Kuller & Lindsten, 1992). In addition to providing specific guidelines for optimal sunlight access via classroom windows, Tanner’s research...
Read more: Impacts of the Physical Environment on Classroom Learning - Part 2
Flex time is proving to be useful in the ongoing effort (by teachers, administrators, and parents) to increase student progress and achievement. Using a regularly scheduled flex period, such as a study hall or other period in which students have both free time and access to a helpful teacher, students can accomplish a number of critical tasks. Students who have fallen behind on completing required work, due to illness or another understandable situation, have the opportunity to make good on their promise to complete that work. Students who are current on the completion of their class assignments can use flex time to make progress on the goals established by their advisory committees (which often include the student, subject teachers, and the flex period teacher). There is, in fact, a seemingly limitless number of ways in which flex time can be used effectively. One area that is ripe for exploration is the integration of flex time directly into courses. And so, the question becomes, how can we do this effectively?
Generally, we have a certain vision of what teaching looks like. Students come into classrooms, take their seats, and teachers stand at the front of the classroom and provide direct...
Read more: Supporting Students by Combining Asynchronous Instruction and Flex Time