Digital Learning Now! today released the “Blended Learning & The Teaching Profession.” The infographic shows how blended learning is not about replacing teachers with technology, but rather empowering them with new opportunities. The infographic previews the next DLN Smart Series paper “Improving Conditions & Careers: How Blended Learning Will Improve the Teaching Profession” that will be released later this month. [read more]
Category archive: Education
Why tablets are not going to make education any better (unless we innovate on content)
29 April 2013
Although tablets have been thoroughly embraced for personal and business uses, touch screen technology still has an element of magic to it. Recently, there has been an explosion in educational and kid-centric application development, leaving us questioning the tablet’s role in schools and in the hands of children. A video of a baby treating print magazines like touch screens went viral on Youtube. Children, even toddlers, can use iPads even before learning to talk, and schools are applying for grants to provide their students one tablet each.
[read more]
Gay filmmakers help Boy Scouts change their policy about homosexuality
25 April 2013
There are about 2.7 million Boy Scouts in the United States, people between 7 and 21 years old. Since 1991, the Boy Scouts of America has barred openly gay individuals from participating in its program at any level.
Recently, though, the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America recommended to its governing board to cease banning gay young people from participating in Scouting. It may look like a turning point, but there comes the second part of the story. Boy Scouts’ ban on gay people should be dropped ONLY for young members, but NOT for adults. It means that a young person can be accepted in the organization if he/she’s openly gay, but they cannot become scout leaders when they grow up.
Is this the best children magazine you’ve ever seen?
18 April 2013
Magazines for kids have a glorious history. There are a few periodical publications that can help children shape their idea of the world as well as practice their imagination: Highlights, Odyssey Magazine, Muse, NatGeo for kids, Il Corriere dei Piccoli, Topolino… We’re huge fans of these magazines for children. We love their periodicity, we love the fact that they become a constant presence in children’s life. We loved growing up with some of their characters, and when we started working on an iPad magazine for children, back in 2010, we basically began to study. What could a magazine for children look like ON AN IPAD?
Can kids improve STEM skills by designing video games?
27 March 2013
Apparently they can. This is the story of Rhy, a 10 years old boy from a small city near Austin, Texas.
Rhy uses a platform called Gamestar Mechanic to design his own videogames. Named one of the 2012 Best Educational Websites by the American Association of School Librarians, Gamestar Mechanic is one of the most popular solutions for the teachers who believe that game design can have a dramatic impact on their students engagement at school, and at home.
[read more]
Common Core Standards: ideas, resources, tips, sample lessons.
20 March 2013
Like it or not, Common Core Standards are going to have a big impact on American schools. There are many pros and cons about the adoption of National standards for education, but we believe that with the right attitude, and the right tools, students and teachers could truly benefit from this change. How? Unifying the goals of public schools can do a lot to make students feel like they’re part of the same country, and that they can have the same opportunities, regardless of their social background.
We can’t stress enough how important this could be for America. Common Standards alone, of course, are not going to do the job. It’s still the teachers, the principles, the policy makers, the developers, the students that have to make the tough job, but now they are united in the goals they have to achieve.
Are Common Standards perfect? Of course they’re not.
[read more]
5 Things app developers for kids can do to empower girls
8 March 2013
Happy International Women’s Day to all of you!
Join us in a morning orange juice toast to a future where women and girls will have the same opportunities that men and boys have; to the men and women that are contributing every day to build those times; to the parents that are helping their kids get over stereotypes that hurt and limit children’s imagination; to the teachers that spend all their energies to build a better society where everyone is free to express themselves and encouraged to look for fulfillment and love.
We are app developers for children, and we try to contribute every day to this change. This is why we thought it could be a good idea to share with you 5 rules to keep empowering girls, one app at a time.
Is mobile learning the solution for global literacy?
28 February 2013
In 2010, British newspaper The Telegraph posted a startling statistic: British children were more likely to own a mobile phone than a book. A study conducted by the National Literacy Trust reported that more than 85% of students aged 7 to 16-years-old had a cell phone, while only 72% had access to their own literature at home. And this is not just a British phenomenon; mobile phones are steadily replacing books as staples of the typical American home.
In an increasingly technological world where 75% of the population owns a cell phone, it makes sense to utilize this common technology in order to help push back against the rising rate of illiteracy. The strategy of mobile learning therefore holds great potential. Also known as “m-learning,” mobile learning makes education readily accessible to students all over the globe, regardless of time and location. Within seconds, students can be connected to an international web of nearly infinite resources and tools geared towards making education more engaging and entertaining.
It is this combination of accessibility and affordability that makes m-learning such an attractive solution for both domestic and global literacy. Whether used as a classroom aid or an independent program, m-learning utilizes the best parts of technology in order to reach a widespread audience of students from all levels of experience. Institutions like MIT are even offering to help innovative educators who want to produce academic apps by providing them with a platform off of which they can design their own programs.
News for kids: combining information and imagination
31 January 2013
Children love to be involved in what is happening around them. They love to do “grown-ups stuff”, and they happen to suffer from the fact that grown-ups don’t take them seriously enough. They look so cute when they discuss grown-ups issues, that we laugh at their ideas (even if with good intentions) and just don’t consider them credible enough to have a proper conversation about certain topics.
