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MAKING BLENDED LEARNING WORK IN YOUR CLASSROOM

Blended classrooms are on the rise. You’ll know you are witnessing one of the most promising instructional initiatives if you see a scenario like this: Upon walking into the classroom, you look around for the teacher. She’s not at the traditional location at the front of the room. The students are collaborating in groups — at tables and in more informal seating areas. They’re already reviewed the material the night before at home, using their own technology. Now they’re using technology to confirm facts and take notes while discussing their projects. Everyone seems to know what to do, and they’re on task. Last night at home, they watched a video about today’s topic in preparation for working together.

Spotlight

Unacademy

Unacademy aims to be the world's largest online knowledge repository for multi-lingual education. We use technology to empower great educators and create a community of self-learners. Our vision is to partner with the brightest minds and create lessons on every possible topic in multiple languages so the whole world can benefit from them.

OTHER ARTICLES
Online Education

Mobile Applications: A Growing Trend In The Education Industry

Article | July 12, 2022

Mobile application development is the core of major business strategies; the traditional education infrastructure has also waved at the massive overhaul of the eLearning process. The key driving force behind the growth of online education is the increasing demand of learners wanting to enhance their learning expertise.Mobile applications, the growing technological advancements, and the ease of internet access help in providing a personalized learning experience for learners of all types.

Read More
Education Technology

The Art and Science of Balancing Screen Time for Online Learners

Article | July 15, 2022

In 2021, Class, a virtual classroom app that combines with Zoom, neared unicorn status after receiving funding from SoftBank Vision Fund II. But, with just 10 months and a string of top edtech U.S. investors to back it up, the app’s spectacular rise only speaks to the boom in online education in the past two years. Online learning has changed. It went from centering around accessibility to becoming the primary delivery method almost overnight. So when it comes to screen time, this newest addition to our already screen-filled lives is uninvited. Especially for children, it only meant that screen time was highly monitored during lockdown. And that change came with struggles. Between configuring the technicalities of accessing online classrooms and figuring out how to engage students, teachers have faced an uphill battle all along. There is plenty of research to suggest that too much screen time has negative health implications, but education has to continue at all costs. 2021 was full of stories of students finding creative ways of avoiding classes or not attending them. One 8-year-old found a loophole in Zoom’s app last year that locked her out of her Zoom class. Even Zoom’s technical team failed to find the issue. It led to a goose chase into discovering that the child was locking herself out by inputting the wrong password over 20 times. Screen Time Vs Screen-Tied Screen time has five types: television, video games, social media, music, and reading. The key is not just to regulate screen time but also the content that is being consumed. Technology may have evolved, but our ability to use it for long durations and to conduct sensory tasks like learning over the internet hasn’t. Between education, video-games, social media and TV, distribution meant calibrating what type of content should be consumed in order to reduce the negative impact. Approximately 75% of all teenagers own a smartphone today. In addition, a majority of young adults report video games as their go-to activity in their free time. While research on the use of video games may be inconclusive, prolonged exposure is nevertheless known to rewire developing brains. There’s also a high risk to susceptible minds with regards to unfiltered and harmful messages from social media, which is a massive source of increased screen time for children and teenagers. All these issues call for a meaningful control of screen time. But in a sea of endless information and uninterrupted content, how do you identify the right balance? Culling Unnecessary Content For educators, the aim is clear: to balance screen time so precariously that children do not lose their will to learn or play. Parents and educational institutions must identify the following objectives through the content they are letting their families consume: Developing digital skills to prepare children for higher education and digital careers Raising digital citizens that use online mediums to contribute to their communities Exposing learners to new ideas and concepts in a safe context Acquiring creative skills, interpersonal expression, and etiquette for engagement online There is no dearth of educational content online, but it is important to achieve a balance between the educational and the entertainment consumption of learners. On occasion, both can be combined through interactive shows and programs that do not expose learners to addictive behaviors. Designating screen-free times, activities, and even locations like meals, traveling, or bedrooms can help learners build a habit of controlling their screen time. To Wrap It Up There is no doubt that the pandemic provided online learning with a much-needed shot in the arm. This also means that screen time has exponentially increased. Thanks to both virtual schools and a complete lockdown on going outside, young learners were left with no option but to turn to their screens. Whether to connect to their peers, attend classes, or spend their free time, learners are faced with a barrage of screen time that can affect their ability to navigate a post-pandemic world. Parents and educators must take it upon themselves to lay down the guidelines that drive the harmonious use of electronics without encouraging total dependence on them.

Read More
Continuing Education

Why the surge in EdTech adoption doesn’t signal a lasting revolution for the classroom

Article | November 15, 2022

EdTech has been at the forefront of a lot of education news recently with so many brilliant resources being made available to schools free-of-charge. But, make sure you look out for the evidence showing the resource’s value. Learn why in dansandhu’s blog. In the wake of coronavirus, the team here at Sparx worked tirelessly to create a maths learning solution that would help schools cope with the enormous challenge of remote teaching. In just six weeks, over 500 schools from 75 countries signed up to our Virtual Classroom. It’s just one example of how quickly schools have implemented technologies to support learning at home. And, importantly, this crisis has proven that it is personal, teacher-led learning that drives student engagement and success.

Read More
Online Education

Upskill from the Sofa Through Online Learning

Article | May 18, 2021

We spend between 24 and 25 years of our lives working, so it would be remiss to think that the learning stops when you step out of education. On the contrary, at the rate of technology and change it’s clear that upskilling yourself is vital to adopt new skills. Growth, after all, is essential for your career progression, as well as personal growth. But what is upskilling, how can it benefit you, and what’s the deal with digital learning? In this feature we’ll examine this and more. Upskill meaning Upskilling is an investment in yourself (or an employee) to advance their skills, education and learning. It can be undertaken by an individual, or a company, to better further their growth. It can also be important to ‘reskill’ or level-up your learning after a period of time off, as many parents do re-entering the workforce after paternity leave for instance.

Read More
Online Education

5 Strategies for Schools to Win an Education Grant

Article | July 12, 2022

Mobile application development is the core of major business strategies; the traditional education infrastructure has also waved at the massive overhaul of the eLearning process. The key driving force behind the growth of online education is the increasing demand of learners wanting to enhance their learning expertise.Mobile applications, the growing technological advancements, and the ease of internet access help in providing a personalized learning experience for learners of all types.

Read More
Education Technology

3 Pillars of SEL that Every Educator Must Embody

Article | July 15, 2022

In 2021, Class, a virtual classroom app that combines with Zoom, neared unicorn status after receiving funding from SoftBank Vision Fund II. But, with just 10 months and a string of top edtech U.S. investors to back it up, the app’s spectacular rise only speaks to the boom in online education in the past two years. Online learning has changed. It went from centering around accessibility to becoming the primary delivery method almost overnight. So when it comes to screen time, this newest addition to our already screen-filled lives is uninvited. Especially for children, it only meant that screen time was highly monitored during lockdown. And that change came with struggles. Between configuring the technicalities of accessing online classrooms and figuring out how to engage students, teachers have faced an uphill battle all along. There is plenty of research to suggest that too much screen time has negative health implications, but education has to continue at all costs. 2021 was full of stories of students finding creative ways of avoiding classes or not attending them. One 8-year-old found a loophole in Zoom’s app last year that locked her out of her Zoom class. Even Zoom’s technical team failed to find the issue. It led to a goose chase into discovering that the child was locking herself out by inputting the wrong password over 20 times. Screen Time Vs Screen-Tied Screen time has five types: television, video games, social media, music, and reading. The key is not just to regulate screen time but also the content that is being consumed. Technology may have evolved, but our ability to use it for long durations and to conduct sensory tasks like learning over the internet hasn’t. Between education, video-games, social media and TV, distribution meant calibrating what type of content should be consumed in order to reduce the negative impact. Approximately 75% of all teenagers own a smartphone today. In addition, a majority of young adults report video games as their go-to activity in their free time. While research on the use of video games may be inconclusive, prolonged exposure is nevertheless known to rewire developing brains. There’s also a high risk to susceptible minds with regards to unfiltered and harmful messages from social media, which is a massive source of increased screen time for children and teenagers. All these issues call for a meaningful control of screen time. But in a sea of endless information and uninterrupted content, how do you identify the right balance? Culling Unnecessary Content For educators, the aim is clear: to balance screen time so precariously that children do not lose their will to learn or play. Parents and educational institutions must identify the following objectives through the content they are letting their families consume: Developing digital skills to prepare children for higher education and digital careers Raising digital citizens that use online mediums to contribute to their communities Exposing learners to new ideas and concepts in a safe context Acquiring creative skills, interpersonal expression, and etiquette for engagement online There is no dearth of educational content online, but it is important to achieve a balance between the educational and the entertainment consumption of learners. On occasion, both can be combined through interactive shows and programs that do not expose learners to addictive behaviors. Designating screen-free times, activities, and even locations like meals, traveling, or bedrooms can help learners build a habit of controlling their screen time. To Wrap It Up There is no doubt that the pandemic provided online learning with a much-needed shot in the arm. This also means that screen time has exponentially increased. Thanks to both virtual schools and a complete lockdown on going outside, young learners were left with no option but to turn to their screens. Whether to connect to their peers, attend classes, or spend their free time, learners are faced with a barrage of screen time that can affect their ability to navigate a post-pandemic world. Parents and educators must take it upon themselves to lay down the guidelines that drive the harmonious use of electronics without encouraging total dependence on them.

Read More
Continuing Education

3 Ways to Monitor Student Progress in Class with Classroom Management

Article | November 15, 2022

EdTech has been at the forefront of a lot of education news recently with so many brilliant resources being made available to schools free-of-charge. But, make sure you look out for the evidence showing the resource’s value. Learn why in dansandhu’s blog. In the wake of coronavirus, the team here at Sparx worked tirelessly to create a maths learning solution that would help schools cope with the enormous challenge of remote teaching. In just six weeks, over 500 schools from 75 countries signed up to our Virtual Classroom. It’s just one example of how quickly schools have implemented technologies to support learning at home. And, importantly, this crisis has proven that it is personal, teacher-led learning that drives student engagement and success.

Read More
Online Education

Upskill from the Sofa Through Online Learning

Article | May 18, 2021

We spend between 24 and 25 years of our lives working, so it would be remiss to think that the learning stops when you step out of education. On the contrary, at the rate of technology and change it’s clear that upskilling yourself is vital to adopt new skills. Growth, after all, is essential for your career progression, as well as personal growth. But what is upskilling, how can it benefit you, and what’s the deal with digital learning? In this feature we’ll examine this and more. Upskill meaning Upskilling is an investment in yourself (or an employee) to advance their skills, education and learning. It can be undertaken by an individual, or a company, to better further their growth. It can also be important to ‘reskill’ or level-up your learning after a period of time off, as many parents do re-entering the workforce after paternity leave for instance.

Read More
MORE ARTICLES

Spotlight

Unacademy

Unacademy aims to be the world's largest online knowledge repository for multi-lingual education. We use technology to empower great educators and create a community of self-learners. Our vision is to partner with the brightest minds and create lessons on every possible topic in multiple languages so the whole world can benefit from them.

Related News

Online Education

Parkway School District Optimizes Blended Learning Environments with PowerSchool Solutions

PowerSchool | January 15, 2022

PowerSchool, the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education, today announced that Parkway School District in Chesterfield, Missouri, utilizes PowerSchool solutions to create optimal learning environments for students. Through their partnership, Parkway Schools sees benefits from PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool solutions to support district-wide teacher collaboration and student career preparation efforts, respectively. “As a long-time Unified Classroom Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool user, both solutions have played an instrumental role in improving our in-person, distanced and hybrid learning environments,” said Bill Bass, Innovation Coordinator - Instructional Technology, Information, Library Media, and Federal Programs, Parkway School District. “Thanks to PowerSchool's dedication to interoperability and teaching and learning, we have been able to transform our work and foster more meaningful learning experiences for our students and staff. PowerSchool continues to serve as a trusted partner and resource for our district, and I look forward to working with them for years to come.” Parkway Schools cited PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning as an instrumental solution that has helped the district foster improved learning environments over the years, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With the district’s ongoing usage of Schoology prior to school shutdowns, the district was prepared to shift from in-person to virtual classrooms in a timely and efficient manner, creating a seamless virtual (and now blended) learning environment for students and staff. Additionally, the district said Schoology’s Assessment Management Platform (AMP) enables educators to collaborate with one another to create improved question-based assessments for students. Prior to partnering with PowerSchool, the district used various learning management systems and realized the need for a comprehensive platform to manage student assessments, district curriculum, e-learning efforts and digital content. Since integrating Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning, Parkway School District has seen improvements related to personalized student instruction, teacher collaboration and student performance. The district has also used Naviance by PowerSchool, providing students self-discovery tools that help them uncover their strengths and interests to make informed decisions about their futures. “Parkway School District’s use of our Unified Classroom Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool solutions truly shows the expanded capabilities educators can have by partnering with PowerSchool. We’re proud to see the continued impact our solutions make for Parkway Schools’ educators and look forward to empowering these changemakers for years to come.” Craig Greenseid, PowerSchool Chief Revenue Officer Parkway School District is a diverse, suburban school district located in Chesterfield, Missouri. The district serves over 17,000 students across 29 campuses within the St. Louis County community. Since its founding, Parkway Schools has received several accolades within the broader St. Louis community, including a designation as a Top Workplace by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Business Health Culture Award from the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, among others. About PowerSchool PowerSchool is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 45 million students globally and more than 13,000 customers, including over 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in over 90 countries.

Read More

Skillsoft launches Skillsoft Aspire to address shortfall in data expertise

Skillsoft | January 24, 2019

Leading corporate learning company Skillsoft, with APAC operations headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, has unveiled a new range of learning journeys designed to upskill technologists and developers as the global shortage of data expertise continues The rapid growth of data-driven business operations has led to a shortfall in skilled staff for key technology roles at a host of companies around the world. Skillsoft Aspire, designed with this gap in availability and demand of skilled data workers, will enable firms to broaden the skillsets of their staff to meet demands in data analysis, security, programming and machine learning. In its press statement, Skillsoft said that Aspire will provide the tutelage, guidance, and credentials that could vastly increase the opportunities for data analysts to progress to data scientists, as one of many potential examples. “There are certain functions, tasks and activities that a person does in their current role and there are other tasks that are part of an aspirational role,” said Mike Hendrickson, Vice President of Technology and Developer Products at Skillsoft, said in the press release. “For instance, you can't promote a Data Analyst to Data Scientist just because they have been in an organisation for a long time.

Read More

Fosway Group Recognizes Skillsoft as a Core Leader for the Third Consecutive Year in the 2019 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning

Skillsoft | February 05, 2019

Skillsoft, a global leader in corporate learning, announced today that Fosway Group has recognized Skillsoft as a Core Leader for the third year in a row in the 2019 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning. Skillsoft’s solidified position as a Core Leader is attributed to its continued innovation across its broad and deep multi-modal learning content portfolio. Throughout 2018, Skillsoft launched new and/or enhanced Compliance, Leadership and Technology and Developer solutions available on Percipio, Skillsoft’s intelligent learning experience platform. Percipio Compliance: Percipio Compliance is a new solution that delivers Skillsoft’s comprehensive compliance training comprised of 500+ critical risk topics in 32 languages on Percipio. The solution provides one of the most extensive global libraries of legal coverage, ethics training and workplace safety training available with robust functionality and a modern UX that delivers an engaging user experience while addressing complex regulatory needs. Centralizing an organization’s entire learning program on one platform allows learners to use Percipio to take required compliance training and access Skillsoft’s proprietary content, the customer’s own content as well as third-party content to build critical skills and competencies. Skillsoft Leadership Development Program: The Skillsoft Leadership Development Program (SLDP) features an innovative, scalable and cost-effective course series aimed at accelerating leadership learning at all levels. Courses average 45-60 minutes of high-definition, video-based instruction, each comprised of 5-8-minute single-concept segments to support micro-learning across today’s critical leadership competencies for the digital economy. A unique learning design and scenario-based pedagogy based on brain science research set SLDP apart in the market. Skillsoft’s approach leverages a common set of characters throughout the curriculum, including a “leader mentor.” Through compelling drama and pragmatic storytelling, Skillsoft models the critical human-interaction elements of leadership and demonstrates effective implementation strategies within the team context, allowing learners to tie learning to on-the-job behaviors.

Read More

Online Education

Parkway School District Optimizes Blended Learning Environments with PowerSchool Solutions

PowerSchool | January 15, 2022

PowerSchool, the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education, today announced that Parkway School District in Chesterfield, Missouri, utilizes PowerSchool solutions to create optimal learning environments for students. Through their partnership, Parkway Schools sees benefits from PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool solutions to support district-wide teacher collaboration and student career preparation efforts, respectively. “As a long-time Unified Classroom Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool user, both solutions have played an instrumental role in improving our in-person, distanced and hybrid learning environments,” said Bill Bass, Innovation Coordinator - Instructional Technology, Information, Library Media, and Federal Programs, Parkway School District. “Thanks to PowerSchool's dedication to interoperability and teaching and learning, we have been able to transform our work and foster more meaningful learning experiences for our students and staff. PowerSchool continues to serve as a trusted partner and resource for our district, and I look forward to working with them for years to come.” Parkway Schools cited PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning as an instrumental solution that has helped the district foster improved learning environments over the years, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With the district’s ongoing usage of Schoology prior to school shutdowns, the district was prepared to shift from in-person to virtual classrooms in a timely and efficient manner, creating a seamless virtual (and now blended) learning environment for students and staff. Additionally, the district said Schoology’s Assessment Management Platform (AMP) enables educators to collaborate with one another to create improved question-based assessments for students. Prior to partnering with PowerSchool, the district used various learning management systems and realized the need for a comprehensive platform to manage student assessments, district curriculum, e-learning efforts and digital content. Since integrating Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning, Parkway School District has seen improvements related to personalized student instruction, teacher collaboration and student performance. The district has also used Naviance by PowerSchool, providing students self-discovery tools that help them uncover their strengths and interests to make informed decisions about their futures. “Parkway School District’s use of our Unified Classroom Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool solutions truly shows the expanded capabilities educators can have by partnering with PowerSchool. We’re proud to see the continued impact our solutions make for Parkway Schools’ educators and look forward to empowering these changemakers for years to come.” Craig Greenseid, PowerSchool Chief Revenue Officer Parkway School District is a diverse, suburban school district located in Chesterfield, Missouri. The district serves over 17,000 students across 29 campuses within the St. Louis County community. Since its founding, Parkway Schools has received several accolades within the broader St. Louis community, including a designation as a Top Workplace by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Business Health Culture Award from the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, among others. About PowerSchool PowerSchool is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 45 million students globally and more than 13,000 customers, including over 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in over 90 countries.

Read More

Skillsoft launches Skillsoft Aspire to address shortfall in data expertise

Skillsoft | January 24, 2019

Leading corporate learning company Skillsoft, with APAC operations headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, has unveiled a new range of learning journeys designed to upskill technologists and developers as the global shortage of data expertise continues The rapid growth of data-driven business operations has led to a shortfall in skilled staff for key technology roles at a host of companies around the world. Skillsoft Aspire, designed with this gap in availability and demand of skilled data workers, will enable firms to broaden the skillsets of their staff to meet demands in data analysis, security, programming and machine learning. In its press statement, Skillsoft said that Aspire will provide the tutelage, guidance, and credentials that could vastly increase the opportunities for data analysts to progress to data scientists, as one of many potential examples. “There are certain functions, tasks and activities that a person does in their current role and there are other tasks that are part of an aspirational role,” said Mike Hendrickson, Vice President of Technology and Developer Products at Skillsoft, said in the press release. “For instance, you can't promote a Data Analyst to Data Scientist just because they have been in an organisation for a long time.

Read More

Fosway Group Recognizes Skillsoft as a Core Leader for the Third Consecutive Year in the 2019 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning

Skillsoft | February 05, 2019

Skillsoft, a global leader in corporate learning, announced today that Fosway Group has recognized Skillsoft as a Core Leader for the third year in a row in the 2019 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning. Skillsoft’s solidified position as a Core Leader is attributed to its continued innovation across its broad and deep multi-modal learning content portfolio. Throughout 2018, Skillsoft launched new and/or enhanced Compliance, Leadership and Technology and Developer solutions available on Percipio, Skillsoft’s intelligent learning experience platform. Percipio Compliance: Percipio Compliance is a new solution that delivers Skillsoft’s comprehensive compliance training comprised of 500+ critical risk topics in 32 languages on Percipio. The solution provides one of the most extensive global libraries of legal coverage, ethics training and workplace safety training available with robust functionality and a modern UX that delivers an engaging user experience while addressing complex regulatory needs. Centralizing an organization’s entire learning program on one platform allows learners to use Percipio to take required compliance training and access Skillsoft’s proprietary content, the customer’s own content as well as third-party content to build critical skills and competencies. Skillsoft Leadership Development Program: The Skillsoft Leadership Development Program (SLDP) features an innovative, scalable and cost-effective course series aimed at accelerating leadership learning at all levels. Courses average 45-60 minutes of high-definition, video-based instruction, each comprised of 5-8-minute single-concept segments to support micro-learning across today’s critical leadership competencies for the digital economy. A unique learning design and scenario-based pedagogy based on brain science research set SLDP apart in the market. Skillsoft’s approach leverages a common set of characters throughout the curriculum, including a “leader mentor.” Through compelling drama and pragmatic storytelling, Skillsoft models the critical human-interaction elements of leadership and demonstrates effective implementation strategies within the team context, allowing learners to tie learning to on-the-job behaviors.

Read More

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