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Problems Schools Face When Switching to Electronic Textbooks

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Many high schools across the United States are considering making the switch from textbooks to e-readers. However, the switch isn’t as easy as people might imagine. There are several major obstacles standing in the way of school districts all over the United States.

Here’s a look at some of the problems school districts are facing when trying to make the switch to e-reader textbooks.

Providing Students With E-Readers

The major problem facing school districts is the ability to equip all students with an e-reader. It is unrealistic to expect all students to have to go out and purchase an e-reader. However, many school districts do not have the financial ability to purchase thousands of e-readers for their students. This makes it difficult to decide if the cost of switching to an e-reader offers more benefits than purchasing multiple textbooks.

Unlimited Internet Access

Many e-readers have the ability to access the Internet via a 3G network. This means students could access a number of websites and their email throughout the school day. This type of distraction could prove destructive to a high school students learning environment.

School districts are faced with the tough challenge of having to protect students from the many inappropriate websites and emails they can receive throughout the day, and helping them use their e-readers for textbooks.

Providing the e-readers to students and limiting internet access is just two of the dozen or so problems school districts all over the United States are facing when trying to decide if they should make the switch to electronic textbooks.

Filed Under: E-Readers, Modern Education Tagged With: , ,

Modern Ways to Learn

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Learning strategies have dramatically changed over the past 20 years. The Internet and new technologies have allowed students new ways to learn old material (and new material as well). Here are some modern ways that students learn.

Internet

The number one modern way to learn is online learning. Instead of just referencing books in research papers, many students are now referencing websites and online journals. Students also have the ability to search for articles in distinguished academic journals just by searching online databases through their school’s library. Many of these articles are available online so the student doesn’t even need to leave home to find research materials.

E-Readers

More and more textbooks are being made available electronically. Some publishers are including an electronic copy when a student purchases the hardcopy of the book while others are selling the book electronically, reducing the cost of the book because it doesn’t need to be printed or shipped. It also allows the publisher to correct mistakes in the book easily without having to print a new edition.

Online Colleges

Another way modern students are learning is through online colleges and universities. Lectures and class materials are made available online and students are able to complete the course without having to relocate to an area with a college and are able to work around their job schedule, allowing students to earn a bachelor degree at EarnMyDegree.com or other education sites.

With all the new, convenient ways for students to learn, it’s no wonder that more and more are going back to school.

 

Filed Under: Internet, Modern Education, Online Learning Tagged With: , ,

Creating a Class Blog

March 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Creating a class blog is an innovative way to spread learning outside the classroom.  Not only will it allow students and instructors to read and comment on each other’s posts, but it will also be a way for the class to connect with resources on the internet.  Here are some situations where a class blog would be beneficial.

  • Seminars and humanities classes
    Many seminars and humanities classes can benefit from creating a class blog, as it allows students to discuss concepts and contribute their thoughts outside of the classroom.  Writing short blog entries and commenting on other students’ entries can teach students to improve their debating skills.  Additionally, it will allow less outspoken class members to be on equal footing with the rest of the class when it comes to participation.
  • Ongoing class projects
    For ongoing class projects, a class blog can serve as a platform to enable students to remain in communication with each other.  Similarly, for younger classes, parents, friends, and family members can follow the class’s progress as they work their way through the project.
  • Research papers and projects
    Lastly, for classes conducting research projects, a class blog can be a great way for students and instructors to link to interesting sources that they have found.  This will help students come up with new research topic ideas, find helpful online sources, and contribute their findings as well.

Creating a class blog is both simple to do and free of cost, and it will give students the benefit of broadening their learning experience.

Filed Under: E-Readers, Modern Education Tagged With: , ,

Reducing Internet Distractions in Class

February 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The spread of Wi-Fi technology to the classroom has both benefited and limited learning.  While there are numerous advantages to internet and laptop use during class, internet distractions can be an unfortunately common occurrence in some classes.  Here are several tips for reducing internet distractions among students.

  • Don’t allow headphones
    Headphones during class will be used to listen to music or watch videos online.  Allowing them will almost definitely encourage students to cave into internet distractions.  Videos are some of the worst distractions, as they can distract other students sitting within view of the laptop screen.  By forbidding headphone use, instructors can help limit the likelihood of video distractions during class.
  • Require Wi-Fi to be turned off at times
    Another rule to reduce internet distractions is to require Wi-Fi technology to be turned off during class.  This will still allow students to use their laptops for note taking, but it will prevent them from logging into Facebook or surfing the net during class.
  • Engage student participation
    Walking around the classroom, soliciting student input during lectures, and posing questions to the class are all ways to encourage students to participate and pay attention in class.  If students are actively engaged, then they are much less likely to turn towards internet distractions to alleviate boredom.
  • Be clear about the rules
    On the first day of any class, instructors should be prepared to provide an overview of the course as well as clear expectations for student behavior during class.  Internet use should be covered during this time, and instructors should clearly communicate the rules for when the internet can and cannot be used.  This will reduce the temptation for students to use the internet for personal purposes during class.

These strategies can help ensure that the internet is used for educational purposes during class.  Students will be better able to focus with a decreased risk of distraction.

Filed Under: Internet, Online Learning Tagged With: , , ,

Class Twitter Accounts Promote Learning

February 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Twitter doesn’t have to be all about celebrity gossip!  Creating a class Twitter account can help students connect course concepts to the wider world through a simple format, and it can get them thinking about the class material as they’re logging into social networking sites at home or at the library.

  • Benefits of class Twitter accounts
    Twitter helps connect both students and instructors to the rest of the world.  Not only can they make connections with other classes, organizations, or academic institutions, but they can also discover new online resources that pertain to the class.  Often, classes using Twitter will discover new articles or websites that can be incorporated into the course syllabus the following year.  Instructors can also use Twitter to receive the most up-to-date information on their subject.
  • Twitter assignments
    Twitter makes it easy to create short, relevant assignments for students.  Requiring one to two Tweets per week from each student is a good place to start.  Many times, this will simply involve posting a link to another article, or posing a question to the rest of the class.  From there, students can look into other interesting users to follow, leading them to more information.  The convenience of these assignments will likely be a huge benefit to students, as they will be able to complete the assignment from virtually anywhere–including on their cell phones.  The short character limit forces students to be concise; this will limit the amount of stress experienced and increase the time that they spend researching when compared to the time they spend writing.

Twitter accounts can be a great way for one class to reach new information, or even connect with another class following a similar educational format.  Signing up is simple and can be done in class, allowing the students to help pick the name of the account.

Filed Under: Online Learning Tagged With: ,

The Changes in Learning

January 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As technology improves, many industries experience improvements as well. The fields of learning, education, and research are also changing due to improvements in technologies. The ways that students research their papers have changed now that the Internet provides a myriad of new resources for information, for example. Technology has changed and continues to change the face of education as we know it, and this is really only the beginning. As technology sees improvements, education as a whole is only going to see vast improvements as well.

The surge in online degree programs from sites like elearners.com is another example of how technology has greatly changed the education landscape. It’s a phenomenon how more and more people are relying on the internet for all aspects of their education, not only when researching topics for assignments but also for their actual education as well. There are many things to consider when it comes to how technology impacts education though. For example, the Internet has made plagiarism easier, and so instructors must keep up with the changing face of education technology in order to keep students honest.

For the most part, technology is definitely benefiting learning. Now that every student has such a vast array of resources at his or her disposal, students can find the things that they are interested in at any moment and can learn about any topic that they are interested in on their own time. Online references come in many different styles and types, and so there is no shortage of information available for students to peruse. The Internet has made it significantly easier for students of all ages to find the information that they need, whether they need it for a school assignment, a paper, or personal interests. The Internet has made learning easier and even more enjoyable in a wide variety of ways.

Filed Under: Online Learning, Online Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

PowerPoint Presentations in the Classroom – Enrichment or Hinderance?

December 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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The gradual increase in the use of PowerPoint presentations has led to the enrichment of classroom education tools. However, it is imperative for educators to ensure it does not turn into a hindrance to teaching.
PowerPoint and its Proper Usage
PowerPoint presentations can be one of the most effective tools of learning and instruction. Complementing visual charts, graphs, maps and other teaching aids, present mental signposts to students to recall learned material.
Presentations prepared by students should also be encouraged, since they facilitate creativity and use of technology by students themselves. They must also be persuaded to build on their technological proficiency, eventually helping them chart their career graphs.
PowerPoint and its Misuse
In several cases, PowerPoint presentations have proved to be a detriment to instruction, rather than an aid. They have depersonalized education and limited student interaction. Teachers have been frequently known to not revise goals of instruction, despite reforms in curriculum and changes in course objectives.
Teachers have also been found to use PowerPoint to put forward their notes and studies, rather than discuss them and make classes more interactive. Not using PowerPoint as an outline to the topic, they have been using it as a convenient substitute to impart instruction.
With such misuse of the tool, much teaching time is wasted, interactive and substantial deliberations obliterated. In such scenarios, the dimmed lights for an ongoing presentation only imply light-hearted exchanges among students, rather than serious education.
It is important that PowerPoint does not become an alternate to classroom teaching methods, but continues to support existing educational methods.
While PowerPoint presentations can make learning more enriching, teachers must be careful they do not allow it to turn into a mundane means of interaction. Alternating the use of the tool with LCD projectors, Smart Boards, video and DVD, as per availability, helps maintaining association of enjoyment with learning.

Filed Under: Online Learning, Online Resources Tagged With: , , ,