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If you were picking up your GCSE or A Level results over the past couple of weeks, we hope you got what you were hoping for!
Do you ever think about the way that you’ve been taught? And how things will change in the future? Are you planning on going into a career of education? How would you do things differently?
We’re talking about education all this week at Live UnLtd. You can keep up to date with everything on Twitter and Facebook.
Teaching Technology
The way we learn in the classroom is changing thanks, in part, to new technology, which can not only make lessons more fun and interactive but can also better prepare us for future careers. Today, we look at some ways in which this is happening.
Don’t put your hands up
Increasingly technology adds to the classroom experience. This multi-platform app allows pupils and students to anonymously tell their teacher/lecturer that they are confused without having to put up their hands and actually saying so. This avoids potential embarrassment.
Understoodit works by a teacher or lecturer setting up an account and then pupils simply log on to that teacher’s page during their lesson. When a pupil ‘gets it’ they press the Understood button. But if they’re confused, they click the Confused button. The teacher will then see a ratio between those who are confused and those who understand, and try and explain things differently so that everyone can catch up.
A very similar but more complex app called GoSoapBox works in much the same way but in this case the teacher is able to see which students don’t understand. Teachers are also able to create discussions and quizzes. The whole class can write answers and comment but only the teacher will be able to see who the authors of these are.
Are you nervous about putting your hand up in class? Take a look at our poll to see what others thought.
The writing’s on the screen
Photo credit: Superkimbo under Creative Commons
Teaching With Apps blog has collected a top ten of tried and tested writing apps for iPad here.
iTunes U
One of the largest distributors of educational material is Apple’s iTunes U, which allows all kinds of schools, colleges and universities from 20 countries including the UK to disseminate 350,000 items of course material, including PDFs and podcasts, to students.
iTunesU
Last month’s update to iTunes U is meant to make it easier for students to take notes while watching or listening to a lecture, as well as search for content.
TED Talks to the world
Using the Internet to spread great ideas is hardly new but TED is a global nonprofit organisation that has been devoted to educate through short talks at their conferences since 1984. There are now over 900 videos of these inspiring talks available on their site, such as the one below by Salman Khan.
“We prefer you on YouTube”
Khan is the creator of a series of more than 2,000 educational videos. Above, he calls for teachers to consider flipping the traditional classroom format by giving students video lectures to watch at home, and do ‘homework in the classroom’. What do you think?
