April 30, 2012

10 SAT Study Solutions

College entrance exams are seen by some to be the great equalizer. In an attempt to counter grade inflation or resolve grade nonequivalence across schools, many universities turn to these exams to determine acceptance. The debate rages on the fairness of these exams, but they currently remain a part of our nation's high-stakes testing giving both students and parents alike a grand dose of angst.

With the next two test dates approaching (May 5th and June 2nd), so loom these tests for many seniors, maybe juniors, and perhaps even the intrepid sophomore. What are your study options? You could hire a personal tutor or take an online preparation course, but perhaps all the prepping you need could be found in one of these online tools, or how about an app making it easy to study on-the-go. Check out this list of 10 possible choices:

1. Collegeboard.org - this should be one of your first online stops to get prepared for the SAT. From getting registered to getting insight on specific test sections, the site can give you the information you need to develop your plan to attack your studying. The site provides free sample questions to full SAT tests for you to practice your skills. The clear and graphically -filled site provides you with the practice, practice, practice that can get you to that score you've been hoping for.

2. Quizlet (free) - online flashcard generator. No need to create your own bank of SAT vocabulary flashcards just choose from the hundreds of created flashcard banks to pump up your personal dictionary. One of the more difficult challenges that students face on the reading section of the SAT is the vocabulary. Quizlet provides a number of ways to learn ranging from the traditional flashcard look to games and tests.

3. SAT Connect (free, currently) - this app is available for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Provides a comprehensive review with diagnostic tests, practice, and review opportunities. The vocabulary builder has a flashcard-type mode or a list format. It is also full of little tidbits like test format, timing, order of difficulty, pacing, and so much more.
(Available at Apple App Store)

4. SuperKids - if you're old school, try this site. It provides a guide to some of the traditional software available for college board exam review. The site gives you a review of the software's capabilities, compatibilities, and cost.

5. Adapster ($9.99) - if your math needs brushing-up, here's an iPhone app that creates a personalized lesson review based on the results of a diagnostic test. Practice, review, and test according to your needs with this app, since it monitors input to create output that suits you.
(Available at Apple App Store)

6. SAT Vocab Challenge Vol. 2, by the Princeton Review ($4.99) - challenge yourself on the 250 most frequently encountered words on the SAT. There are games, reviews, and monitoring within this app. Wonder how you're doing, this app will track your progress so you can review the vocabulary you've learned.
(Available at Apple App Store)

7. Kaplan SAT Flashcubes (free) - gives you many ways to study your vocabulary, self study, multiple choice, or custom lists. Increasing your SAT score may rest on improving your vocabulary, and this app helps you do it by keeping track of your responses and generating reports to refocus your study.
(Available at Apple App Store)

8. SAT Sentence Prep TestBank (4.99) - Here's an Android app that helps with the sentence completion section of the exam. Although this app has many great features, such as multiple choice questions, tracking of your performance, and advice and tips, what makes it even better are the explanations why answers are correct!

9. SAT Math ($4.99) - this is your choice for Android users. This app provides quizzes, solution explanations, and monitors a users performance to continuously provide review of areas of weakness. If even the word "math" makes you break out in a cold sweat, then a mobile app may be your solution to everywhere, anytime studying.

10. Flash of Genius ($2.99) - This Android app has been written by SAT and GRE Harvard and MIT tutors. This app tracks your performance and also gives your audio for correct pronunciation of words.

March 16, 2012

Should Badges Replace Diplomas?

Find a subject of interest, receive some counseling, fulfill requirements, and receive your badge! This is an abbreviated version of the process needed to earn merit badges through the Boy Scouts, but it's a process being promoted in higher education as a revolutionary way to prove skills and knowledge. A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education addresses the rise in alternative higher education practices that include the bestowing of badges on individuals to show competency in a particular skill or even behavior. The growing interest in badges has been heightened by Mozilla's Open Badges project advertised as "making it easy for anyone to issue, earn and display badges across the web -- through a shared infrastructure that's free and open to all."

Promoters of the open badge system cite lower education costs and recognition of specific skills as benefits of this program. Badges can be given for learning a particular computer program, developing a website, or answering questions from users in an open learning environment, to name a few. Many supports of badges believe there are skills that employers are looking for that may not be evident on traditional diplomas. Badges aim to highlight with specificity the potential of new employees.

Statistics have shown that college graduates continually out-earn workers with only a high school diploma. In an article by the Brookings Institution, this fact holds true even in our current economic recession. The question remains, what weight will employers give these virtual badges, and will they come to pose a significant challenge to traditional diplomas? In December, Brookings further reported on the importance of education and training in growing industries. Perhaps badges can play a role by filling this need by specifically targeting skills that employers are seeking. The value and legitimacy of learning achieved through a badge system will come under heavy scrutiny, but it stands as an additional threat to traditional universities as educational costs rise and alternatives to education grow.

March 5, 2012

Is Open Source an Option?

It isn't a secret that school budgets are shrinking, and often one of the first areas hit is the technology account. The question is how to create a 21st century learning environment while still balancing the costs that go with it. One alternative may be to turn to open source software (OSS) in place of commercial software. Although the open source choices that districts have before them are immense, many districts still prefer commercial software. Maybe it's the name brand appeal, a concern about the quality of free software, or just a lack of knowledge about what is available for use, but the choice does exist, but is it right for your district?

Maybe it's economy driven, but the popularity of open source software in schools continues to grow and may hold the answer for some cash-strapped districts. The Journal provides a great review of Learning Management Systems that many school districts have turned to. Through an analysis of Moodle vs Sakai, or even cloud-based solutions, this article makes the argument for open source remedies that can save districts money and provide freedom from licenses. Learning Management Systems can enhance content delivery but can also be costly, running into the thousands, making OSS an attractive substitute.

Open Source Schools is a site that focuses on the possibilities that open source software can provide to schools. Whether your district is looking at full or partial acceptance of open source, the "Software Directory" on this site is worth giving some time. It gives free alternatives to some expensive proprietary software including great introductory programming software such as Scratch, and vector drawing programs such as Inkscape.

This site for the Kim Komando Show has a list chock-full of freeware and web tools for both school and business. It covers stargazing, calculators, and plagiarism, to many, many more topics. Here's a no nonsense listing of useful tools that any district could find useful. It's also a user-friendly site with links and operating system compatibility.

Does it meet the needs of the district? The answer to this question is of course the most important element to consider. If an open source alternative can be substituted for costly commercial software, perhaps this is the time to give it some thought before students are left out of the technology loop. Although there are some districts that have been fortunate and able to purchase entire suites for their schools, the problem remains what happens when students leave school and those applications are not on their home computers? Open source can bridge the gap between home and school. Perhaps the idea of switching a district's entire operating system to an open source alternative is not appealing; however, the pressure on a school's budget can still be eased with individual open source solutions.

Our students must compete with a global population, a population that will not stop learning and innovating because U.S. districts have stagnated funding. Finding new ways to continue to keep our students competitive is vital and OSS has grown and matured to become a viable consideration.

January 31, 2012

What Threat Do For-profit Universities Pose?

With the growth of for-profit colleges and universities has come growing criticism regarding their recruitment practices, their quality of education, as well as their graduation rates, to name a few. Many traditional universities have come to see for-profits as a threat to their enrollments, and they have come under heavy scrutiny by higher education regulators and the federal government. Critics have gathered additional ammunition with the release of a 2011 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which casts for-profit universities in a negative light. Recent comments by Senator Tom Harkin have indicated that for-profits face a contentious battle and closer examination.
This topic has created a lot of heated discussions from those on both sides of the issue. Are for-profit colleges and universities truly a threat to traditional universities or do they, as they vehemently argue, provide opportunity to a portion of the population that is largely ignored by traditional universities?
There is no denying the growth that for-profit universities have enjoyed. According to the Almanac for Higher Education 2011, the numbers are remarkable as seen in this chart.

The University of Phoenix and Kaplan Higher Education Schools are two of the for-profit universities with the highest enrollment. Despite the criticism levied from traditional brick-and-mortar schools, for-profits argue that they serve a segment of the population that is largely ignored by non-profits. These groups include, older students, stay-at-home parents, veterans, and those employed full time that just are not looking for the college experience that campus life may offer younger enrollees. For-profit universities appeal to the student that would normally be denied admittance to a traditional university since for-profit admission's policy is less restrictive.
The debate rages, but the reality that for-profits face, includes greater inquiry from legislators that can't be denied. For-profit universities have a long history in our country, and have filled a training need for much of a population seeking higher education since the 1600's. Their future status, however, is under attack and their sustainability may require changes in their methods. The question remains: Are for-profit universities truly a threat to higher education?

January 20, 2012

SOPA PIPA and the Classroom Use of Digital Media

Wednesday's blackouts by companies like Wikipedia and Reddit have raised much needed awareness about the Stop Online Privacy Act and the Protect IP Act. If you would like to do your part to support freedom of speech and prevent internet censorship, please visit americancensorship.org. As the debate continues, let's take some time to review the current state of digital media in the classroom.

The Internet provides access to a vast source of information, some of which ends up in classrooms. Multimedia projects have become a popular addition to classroom assignments. Their use, however, raises questions about the legal and ethical use of images, video, and audio obtained from the Internet. What are the limitations and restrictions to the use of media in the classroom? What are teachers allowed to use for instruction and what are students allowed to use for classroom projects? These questions and their answers need to be considered by teachers to avoid messy copyright violations.

Teachers can visit the site of the United States Copyright Office to read about the law that should be followed in the use of digital media. Although the site is full of legalese, there are a number of other sites that provide a quick reference chart for classroom use. Teachers should make students aware that not everything on the web is free to copy, download, and use at their discretion. Although education has been given a somewhat greater leniency with regard to the use of copyrighted material through fair use, it is vital that teachers know what those limitations are.

Teachers should encourage students to search and utilize media that is within the public domain or with creative commons licenses that provide freedom of use explicitly stated by the author. The exploration, ideas, and creativity of students does not need to be stifled by copyright laws, instead they can be redirected and schooled in the ethical use of material originated by others.

January 10, 2012

Striking a Chord

Educational budget cutbacks have had a startling and detrimental effect on school districts around the country. The arts have been especially aware of these reductions bearing the brunt of them. The focus on music education, however, has grown as a means of enhancing critical thinking skills.

In the National Association for Music Education, January 2012 edition of "Teaching Music" the argument is made that critical thinking can be enhanced through the teaching of music. The premise is based on a study by Daniel C. Johnson, "The Effect of Critical Thinking On Verbal Descriptions of Music." His results conclude that lessons that are only activity-based are less effective than lessons that incorporate opportunities for creativity and collaboration.

Music teachers can look forward to Johnson's future publication of the lesson plans that his study found as effective methods, such as the use of open-ended questions and student interaction. Although Johnson's study focused on music education, it reminds teachers in all subject areas of the importance of collaboration and creativity. Collaboration and creativity are also two of the four C's need for 21st Century Learning, which also include communication and critical thinking.

Teachers can use a number of Internet tools to support their promotion of the 4 C's. Collaboration can be facilitated through the use of Wikispaces, blogs, or Google Docs. Whether the lesson being taught is in music or science, students learn to consider the ideas of others and work and communicate effectively to accomplish a common goal through collaboration. Flexibility and learning to value and respect the input of team members is a skill that future employers will be seeking from today's students. Glogster can be used to combine creativity and collaboration through the collection of media on an interactive format. Students must think critically in the completion of Glogs in order to respond to a lesson's objectives and communicate their own ideas.

The arts have a vital place in our schools and the precarious position they have been placed in because of budget cuts highlights the importance of Johnson's study. The arts not only provide an outlet for students to display their talents but also exercises and performances requiring math, reading, and analytical skills. The inclusion of the arts in education, however, goes beyond literacy skills, but also builds confidence and self-esteem in students that can be very powerful in helping them succeed.

December 29, 2011

Some Practical Applications from Educators

The end of the year gives us a chance to recap a year of innovation, as well as recharge for a strong, six-month push to the end of school year. Whether a teacher, parent, or student, check out some tech education issues, catch up on educators in the classroom, or add to your digital backpack with some tech tools!

The blog post, Musing Mathematically gives a great example of content-area-specific uses for Poll Everywhere : "What is the slope of a line passing through (-6,6) and (-4,0)?" When the focus of a professional development meeting switched to SMS text message polling, this math teacher explored the Poll Everywhere site and quickly found the ease with which polls are created. Best of all, this post outlines "Five Benefits" derived from using Poll Everywhere in the math class that can easily be translated to any subject area.

The ideas continue with Musings about Teaching Economic. An Economics teacher suggests Poll Everywhere as a backchannel using the sites open-ended format. An instructor prompts students to submit questions or comments during a lecture, which can be included in the lesson either in real time or when the instructor chooses. A backchannel also provides an opportunity for student-to-student discussions, all occurring before their eyes. It provides the ability to interact with all students texting in or provide a collective experience for distance learning. This is a great suggestion that can help a teacher get a sense of how well students are understanding a lesson.

Interested? Watch this demo on creating a poll and receiving results. This video goes beyond the free version that many teachers currently use; so if you've ever wondered what a paid plan would include, then check this out. From registering participants for assessment purposes to creating spreadsheets for data comparison over a period of time, this video can give you that info.

A teacher in Virginia made the news in the Fairfax Times! Frank Franz of Madison High School posed a question of the day to begin his class and had his students respond by texting responses via their cell phones. Using Poll Everywhere, Mr. Franz displayed his question and the entire class watched as responses were displayed on the screen in front of them. His motivation is about "Attracting students’ attention and getting them to focus early in the class," and students have responded positively through engagement and connection with his lessons.

Mr. Franz wasn't the only tech savvy teacher featured in the Fairfax Times, two Hayfield Secondary School teachers, Ken Halla and Deirdre Forgione, are using blogs to connect with students. Mr. Halla has increased his students' engagement by incorporating blogs on history and government in his lessons. Ms. Forgione uses blogs and Twitter to display and promote her students' artwork to others.

Technology is a tool that teachers can use to capture the interests of students. Once interested, technology can be used to transform passive students to active students that are taking responsibility for their learning through the analysis, manipulation, and presentation of their skills.

November 29, 2011

Sites to See

Quick and straightforward, this post suggests five sites that are a great way to introduce and use cell phones in the classroom. Familiarity with cell phones makes their integration seamless and students become excited at the prospect of their use. As school budgets tighten, cell phones can serve as an alternative to expensive technology.

November 23, 2011

Battling Bans

Two teachers, Lisa Nielsen and Willyn Webb, have united to coauthor a book, Teaching Generation Text: Using Cell Phones to Enhance Learning. Fighting the ongoing battle of cell phone classroom bans, Webb has integrated cell phone use to enhance her instruction. She silently pushed the restrictions by adding cell phone activities in her lessons, and quickly found them to be engaging tools for her students. Her successful implementation eventually won over her principal.

Nielsen's obstacles are greater in a citywide, school cell phone ban imposed by local government. Nielsen argues that schools are missing out on the resources available on the web, many of which can bridge the digital divide between the haves and the have-not schools. She identifies Poll Everywhere as one of those resources that schools can be substituting for expensive clicker response systems. She also has found administrative uses for cell phones.

This article reminds us that teachers are looking for innovative and creative ways to provide instruction daily. Cell phones are a practical means to achieve that goal. Allowing teachers to incorporate them in lessons provides another way to increase student achievement and empower teachers.

November 22, 2011

Parent Organization Goes Virtual

In a past post I wrote about how New Milford High School Principal, Eric Sheninger, had embraced technology and promoted its use through Web 2.0 tools and social media sites. Mr. Sheninger endorsed Poll Everywhere in his blog and this endorsement captured the eye of Joe Mazza, Principal of Knapp Elementary School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Looking into raising attendance rates amongst its parents, Mr. Mazza moved its school's parent meetings to the web to reach out to its home-based stakeholders. This provided a new line of communication for parents to participate and teachers, as well. Poll Everywhere was featured at a recent meeting to render feedback from parents, live and virtual, on a number of issues. Organizers and participants appreciated the ease and quickness with which polls were created and responses delivered. Reaching out to parents is an ongoing challenge for districts, and Mr. Mazza has found an excellent means to keep parents involved. Research has shown that engaged parents often leads to academically successful children, and with the help of technology, Knapp elementary school is paving that course.

Filed under: Christina Murakami