BPS Technology Blog

Last year at this time, I was trying not to think about kindergarteners. I was still teaching ninth grade English and had just accepted a job teaching technology to K-5. I was excited about the challenge, and I knew that I'd bitten off more than I could chew.

Developing the tech curriculum challenged me to teach programming or at least computational thinking at each elementary grade level. Our school is mid-pivot in technology -- we're in our second year of a middle school 1:2 iPad program, our first year of having a cart of iPads available for elementary, and our last year of two PC labs for the students to use (next year we'll have only one lab). Knowing this, I wanted to design a program that mostly used tablet-based tools.

“Librarian and blogger Megan Egbert suggests a redirection of how we perceive the word ‘cyberbullying’ and how it can positively effect our fight against this horrible crime.”

There is no denying that cyberbullying is a real problem that we are facing in our our schools, our communities and our homes. Tragic accounts of teens who have been tormented through social media, emails, texts or instant messages are only a click away and will produce pages of results.

It is a difficult situation that we all must educate ourselves about.

“In this MindShift article, Katrina Schwartz looks ahead to what we can expect for classrooms as education continues to evolve in our ever-changing world. Also included is a link to the Horizon Report!”

The evolving role of the teacher as facilitator, and hands-on learning experiences that give students agency over their own education are two major trends already taking root in many schools and classrooms, according to the 2014 NMC Horizon K-12 Horizon report.

Within three to five years, the authors expect to see increasing focus on open education resources, as well as more experimentation with blended learning models that combine time on the computer with face-to-face instruction. In the longer term, the authors see intuitive technologies that interpret human gestures and motions as increasingly important. And, as educators rethink how to meet students’ needs the way school currently works might have to change — everything from the schedule to the space, as well as models of teaching and learning.

Source: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/07/video-tutorials-for-teachers-on-using.html

July 3, 2014
Talking about augmented reality technology in teaching and learning the first thing that comes to mind is this wonderful app called Aurasma. Since its release a few years ago, Aurasma gained so much in popularity and several teachers have already embraced it within their classrooms. For those of you who are not yet familiar with how Aurasma works and how to use in it in your class, the video tutorials below will help you out.

Parents rely too much on schools to teach online safety, say teachers

Nearly two thirds of teachers told online security company AVG that they have not been formally trained to teach their pupils internet safety, while 85 per cent of the 1,800 person sample said the topic should be a dedicated part of the education syllabus.