EdTech

edCircuit Opinion
The Scientific American article For Children With Autism, Multiple Languages May Be A Boon raises an important point about the impacts of language education on children with autism.  In the United States, bilingual families with children on the autism spectrum have traditionally been advised to raise those children speaking only English.  But according to new research, this advice “only intensifies the alienation experienced by these children” by isolating them from their families, who may not speak English at home.

edCircuit Opinion:
Walk into any public school today and what do you see? Most likely groups of desks for students to sit, shelves filled with books intended to strengthen their imagination and support their pursuit of learning, or hopefully a room filled with computers. We’ve entered the 21st century, and technology is more prevalent now more than ever before. It’s common to see a child sitting quietly, playing the latest popular game on their iPad. Or teens (and adults!), completely consumed by their smartphones.

Zack Gilbert is currently teaching 6th grade social studies and language arts at Parkside Junior High School in Normal, IL. Zack is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a B.A. in History with a secondary teacher certificate and has an M.S. in Instructional Technology and Design from Illinois State University. His master’s research looked at the impact of educational games and how the knowledge gained through these games is stored into long term memory.

 Adam Geller, Edthena co-founder and CEO, joined Dr. Berger to discuss the ongoing development and support for teachers needed for 21st century schools to succeed. 

As adults, we just don’t understand and appreciate the magnetic pull of social media. That ignores student reality and the power it has for learning.

This is the second installment of The Perfect School series originally published in SEEN Magazine.   We must start with the “perfect school.” Until we come to an agreement on …

Barbara (Bobbi) Kurshan, Ed.D., the Executive Director of Academic Innovation and Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education joined me for coffee (play interview below) to discuss entrepreneurship in education. Dr. Kurshan discusses the conundrum of when to seek investors and how the education ecosystem can access the most relevant resources. For additional perspective from Dr. Kurshan check out her blog on Forbes. 

George Dotterer, NetRef CEO and founder, discusses how placing control in a teacher’s hands provides safer and more diverse learning experiences for students. Dotterer touches on hot topics including data usage and privacy practices, how students sometimes prove to be the best beta testers and how parents play a role in the larger discussion of edtech and learning outcomes. He further discusses the digital divide and connected approaches to learning from NetRef’s recent white paper The Digital Divide in the Age of the Connected Classroom.

In the 2009 animated movie “UP” by Pixar, the dogs in the movie are easily distracted by the presence of squirrels. Right in the middle of the action, while the …