“Student-centered education” has been a trending topic for some time now. With an emphasis on promoting and enhancing student voice, choice and control, technology is helping to create student-centered learning environments focused on preparing students for modern day life and careers. Growing movements like BYOD, flipped and blended learning are highlighting the importance of student-centered learning, accentuating the need for student-driven methods, and self-paced environments. So why should our education system take any notice? The Nellie Mae Education Foundation defines student-centered learning as revolving around four main components where: Learning is Personalized Learning is Competency-Based Learning Happens Anytime, Anywhere Learning…
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Why We Need a Student-Centered Education System
You’re Missing the Point! How to Respond to Struggling Students
We all struggle from time to time, but the danger that presents itself when a student continues to fall behind without the right support is a widespread concern, with good reason. According to a study by the national testing group, ACT, even within high-performing, wealthy schools, students who fall far behind academically in 4th and 8th grade have less than a ‘one in three’ chance of being ready for college or a career by the end of high school. A similar study carried out by the American Educational Research Association on how low reading skills affect graduation rates reveals that…
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Why Don’t We Listen? Harming Education by Ignoring Student Voice
In a recent TED Talk entitled “I’m Seventeen”, Kate Simonds challenges adults to try something new: To listen to teens. Instantly quashing our assumptions that she has achieved something incredible, done something “worthy of our attention”, to claim the stage at the tender age of seventeen, Kate goes on to question, “What makes me worth listening to?” Describing her efforts to ‘gain’ the respect of her audience, she explains how, unlike the other speakers on that stage, their respect was not something she initially had. Why? Why is Student Voice Ignored? Student voice has long been ignored and belittled by…
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Why is the Student-Teacher Relationship So Important?
For a long time now, we’ve been looking at how to adjust education to better reflect the changing world around us. But as the technology piles up and the innovation spreads, are we losing sight of what makes a learning environment truly effective, and what really drives better teaching and learning? While technology allows for more voice, choice and control, teacher-student relationships lie at the heart of how this technology is used, and how it impacts the teaching and learning experience for all involved. Built on support, trust, and mutual respect, the groundwork for good relationships generally begins in the…
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How is Blended Learning Revolutionizing K-12 Education?
Blended learning is widely considered one of the most significant instructional reforms ever to hit K-12 education. Learning in part through the use of digital and online media, students undertaking blended learning programs pursue a more diverse course of study, gaining an element of control over time, place, path, or pace. According to Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker in The Rise of K–12 Blended Learning, “In the year 2000, roughly 45,000 K–12 students took an online course. In 2009, more than 3 million K–12 students did.” The speed with which online learning is accelerating has made it virtually impossible…
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Pedagogy and Technology: How to Build a Personalized Learning Environment
Building a personalized learning environment depends on far more than simply finding the technology. First, it requires a change of mindset. From “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side”, from instructor-led to student-led, and from synchronous to self-paced, a personalized learning environment moves the focus from educator to learner, tailoring the learning experience to meet the different needs and aspirations of every single student. Technology comes into the mix as a tool to help educators achieve this. According to the Educause Learning Initiative, a PLE requires easy access to both people and resources, combining tools, communities and services…
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How Personalization is Transforming the Higher Education Landscape
How Personalization is Transforming the Higher Education Landscape Just as 21st century education is facing a complete reformation in the face of continuing technological advancements, higher education is undergoing its own transformation. With adaptive learning platforms moving with increasing speed into the instructional field, personalization is beginning to reveal its innovative abilities to drive dynamic and adaptive instruction. With a personalized learning environment for every student, adaptive systems place the focus on meeting the skill requirements of an overcrowded graduate pool. Tailoring the learning experience to each student’s specific learning criteria, personalization engines support every single student towards mastery of…
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Mobile World Congress 2015: Combining Innovation for Better Education Solutions
On March 2nd, the annual Mobile World Congress is being held in Barcelona. The thrilling four-day event is set to welcome tech-thusiasts from all walks of life, showcasing and exploring “the edge of innovation.” “Connecting billions of people to the transformative power of the Internet and mobilising every device we use in our daily lives”, last year’s MWC opened its doors to over 85,000 attendees, 4,500 CEO’s, 1,800 exhibitors, and 3,900 press members representing 1,700 media outlets from 84 countries. Next generation learning platform, Fishtree, is set to make an appearance at the event, exhibiting its incredibly innovative software that…
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Why Real-Time Learning is the Future of Education
The real-time web has completely transformed the way we interact. With the ability to receive information as it’s published, virtual environments are making us more productive, and more connected, than ever before. Many of us already take real-time media for granted, using it instinctively to communicate without considering the impact it has on our relationships. Facilitating a more personal and one-to-one experience, real-time technology (RTT) is revolutionizing how businesses interact with their customers, how consumers interact with their content, and how we interact with those around us. Building new and improved relationships, the real-time web is making the world a…
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How to Help Your Students to Fail
You either succeed, or you fail. Many take this viewpoint when it comes to effort, forming the conclusion that you can only do one or the other. What’s often omitted from the discussion on success is the promise that failure makes, the many lessons it teaches, and the motivation it produces. An essential component of the learning process, failure is too often overlooked as an unfortunate setback, instead of embraced as an opportunity to progress. Within education, we’ve done it all wrong. Greeting students with “F” grades and low marks, failure is portrayed as a disappointment, and a major downfall…
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