Learning on the Go

Title: Learning on the Go: How to Personalize Education with the iPad

Author: Luis Perez

English | 1 July 2018 | ISBN: 1930583249 | 96 Pages

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SUPERANNO The iPad is a powerful educational device—versatile, mobile, flexible, and accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities. A huge number of up-to-date applications exponentially lift its value as a teaching and learning tool. In Learning on the Go: How to Personalize Education with the iPad, Luis Pérez provides savvy tips and strategies to turn the iPad’s transformative potential into effective classroom practice. Original.

Smart Learning Objects

Title: Smart Learning Objects for Smart Education in Computer Science

Theory, Methodology and Robot-Based Implementation“

Author: Vytautas Stuikys

2015 | ISBN-10: 3319169122 | 336 pages

This monograph presents the challenges, vision and context to design smart learning objects (SLOs) through Computer Science (CS) education modelling and feature model transformations. It presents the latest research on the meta-programming-based generative learning objects (the latter with advanced features are treated as SLOs) and the use of educational robots in teaching CS topics. The introduced methodology includes the overall processes to develop SLO and smart educational environment (SEE) and integrates both into the real education setting to provide teaching in CS using constructivist and project-based approaches along with evaluation of pedagogic outcomes.

Smart Learning Objects for Smart Education in Computer Science will appeal to researchers in CS education particularly those interested in using robots in teaching, course designers and educational software and tools developers. With research and exercise questions at the end of each chapter students studying CS related courses will find this work informative and valuable too.

Title: Smart Learning Environments

Authors: Maiga Chang, Yanyan Li

Publisher: Springer | English | 2015 | ISBN:3662444461 | 219 pages

This book addresses main issues concerned with the future learning, learning and academic analytics, virtual world and smart user interface, and mobile learning. This book gathers the newest research results of smart learning environments from the aspects of learning, pedagogies, and technologies in learning.

It examines the advances in technology development and changes in the field of education that has been affecting and reshaping the learning environment. Then, it proposes that under the changed technological situations, smart learning systems, no matter what platforms (i.e., personal computers, smart phones, and tablets) they are running at, should be aware of the preferences and needs that their users (i.e., the learners and teachers) have, be capable of providing their users with the most appropriate services, helps to enhance the users’ learning experiences, and to make the learning efficient.

See also this post: Smart Education

It’s Not About the Computers

Title: Do IT Right: It’s Not About the Computers

Author: Marty Kaufman
English | 8 July 2016 | ISBN: 1619614618 | 130 Pages

Your business has an information technology problem—and you don’t even know it.

Whether your company has 15 employees or 500, you’re almost certainly behind the IT curve. Information technology changes so fast that business leaderslive with problems and fail to seize the IT advantage.

That’s costing you money, time and opportunities.

For over thirty years, Marty Kaufman has shown companies big and small how to achieve the winning IT-driven results previously available only to the Fortune 1000.

In Do IT Right he shows you how to effectively utilize information technology, grow your business and beat the competition.

Do IT Right is the handbook to help you see—and target—the problems and opportunities hidden in your IT systems. Do IT Right shows you how to:

Develop an IT strategy.

Optimize the information technology portion of your business.

Get the same results as large companies at a fraction of the cost.

Understand proper—and cost-effective—IT staffing.

Get smart about hardware and software implementation.

Learn from the mistakes others have made.

You don’t have to become a computer geek to get the most out of information technology. All you need is to learn how to Do IT Right.

3D Printed Science Projects

Title: 3D Printed Science Projects: Ideas for your classroom, science fair or home (Technology in Action)

Author: Joan Horvath
2016 | 224 Pages | ISBN: 1484213246 | PDF | 4 MB

This book describes how to create 3D printable models that can help students from kindergarten through grad school learn math, physics, botany, chemistry, engineering and more. Each of the eight topics is designed to be customized by the reader to create a wide range of projects suitable for science fairs, extra credit, or classroom demonstrations. Science fair project suggestions and extensive “where to learn more” resources are included, too. You will add another dimension to your textbook understanding of science. In this book, you will learn: To create (and present the science behind) 3D printed models. To use a 3D printer to create those models as simply as possible. New science insights from designing 3D models. Who this book is for: This book shows parents and teachers how to use the models inside as starting points for 3D printable explorations. Students can start with these models and vary them for their own explorations. Unlike other sets of models that can just be scaled, these models have the science built-in to allow for more insight into the fundamental concepts.

Digital Ink

Title: Revolutionizing Education with Digital Ink: The Impact of Pen and Touch Technology on Education

Authors:  Tracy Hammond, Stephanie Valentine
2016 | ISBN-10: 3319311913 | 385 pages

Derived from contributions to the Workshop on Pen and Touch Technology on Education (WIPTTE) in 2015

, t

his edited volume highlights recent developments for pen and tablet research with

in the education system with a particular focus on hardware and software developments, comprising the perspectives of teachers, school and university administrators, and researchers for educators at every level.

Split into six distinct parts, the book explores topics like how classrooms are increasingly using sketch-based videos, created by teachers and students alike, and how the teaching of key skills such as literacy, languages, math, and art

via pen and touch technologies within the classroom are leading to improvements in engagement, learning, and retention levels amongst students. Future perspectives of digital learning, as envisioned by current high school students, are also explored.

Revolutionizing Education with Digital Ink is a must-read for those seeking to understand the direction of current and future pen and touch research, its current use in classrooms, and future research directions.

National Science League

Title: Let Them Eat …. Smartboards

Author: Emily Schoerning   04.19.2016

There are a lot of reasons why I love funding teacher requests. The purpose of NCSE’s Science Booster Club Project is fundraising as much as it is outreach, and the purpose of the fundraising is to support teachers. Although we’ve recently received requests for professional development scholarships, what we do right now to support teachers (and avoid brawls with school administrators) is fund durable equipment requests. Last month we managed to raise enough microgrant money to get durable equipment valued under $300 into four local science classrooms. Crowded science classrooms. Two of our teachers work with over 400 students a year. This funding cycle will benefit more than 1,350 students a year. That brings our total number of students impacted by material donations to around 1,800 in our first year of operation. The Science Booster Club Project started on April 13^th of 2015.

It’s great to have that kind of impact, but I’ll admit that as much as I love funding teacher requests, I really, really like the opportunities for connections these grants provide. The grants help me meet a lot of teachers. And I learn what kind of things—fairly small, modest things—teachers want and can’t get from their administrations.

This microgrant cycle attracted a lot of applicants. Many of the things teachers asked for really steamed my clams. It was all very basic equipment. Balances, thermometers; in the most egregious case, safety goggles. The teacher in question told me that in her AP biology class students had to share one pair of safety goggles for every three students.

The teachers were not able to get this basic, essential equipment through their school budgets. All the teachers I talked to said they would probably have ended up buying this basic equipment themselves, out of pocket, if NCSE had not been there to fund the request.

I wondered what was going on at these schools. How can a school not have money for safety goggles? The situation was as mystifying as it was blood-boiling. I was very glad for the opportunity to deliver the equipment and see for myself what was going on.

And that’s when things got even more interesting. One of the teachers, who had absolutely no money in the budget for equipment, supplies, or reagents, taught in a newly renovated classroom with a full complement of instructional technology. The lab had chemical-resistant benches and smartboards, but the forty kids in her biology class had to take turns using two thermometers, which were also shared with the physics and chemistry classes. Check out this lovely modern classroom below, which looks really great and has no money at all for basic equipment.

 

 

Another teacher had a smartboard and tablets for each student, yet taught in a classroom that hadn’t been renovated since the 1920s. She works with hundreds of students every day, but needed our help to get basic safety equipment,

“It doesn’t work,” she said, cheerfully, of the smartboard. “We mostly just waste time trying to convince it to work. And they took out the blackboard.”

Despite the fancy technology, all three classrooms I visited last week were overcrowded, with science teachers working with as many as 40 middle school students in the classroom at a time. All three of the teachers proudly showed me the low-tech supplies they had scored through relationships with friends at universities: microscopes and glassware that would have been thrown out, incubators on loan, last year’s books.

What is going on here? A year ago, I sure thought I knew. I thought the problem was that school districts were not investing enough in science classrooms. Now it seems that while lack of resources is indeed a problem, it turns out that when there are resources, they’re not necessarily the right ones! There is a complete disconnect between district funding and what teachers need. A lot of people are pushing technology in every classroom, and that’s very nice. All kids should be learning how to harness modern information technology. But it’s weird to go into a classroom and find that modern information technology is all they have—and that anything needed for an authentic, hands-on science experience, any equipment or materials whatsoever, has been begged, bought, or possibly stolen by the teacher.

What can I say? My experience in these classrooms suggests that there are many stories like these that need to be told. If, as a society, we care about improving STEM education, we need to know what’s going on. It may seem disruptive, or sexy, or forward-thinking to leap-frog over traditional laboratory supplies into the high tech future. But what is the evidence that such investments will have a greater impact than providing teachers with what they say they need, instead of what we think they need? The NCSE Booster Club funding model can provide first aid in this situation, and that is really important. But we need a bigger conversation. What’s going on in your school? If you’re a teacher, tell us your story. If you’re not, ask a local science teacher. Let us know what you find out.

 

*Hyperbole alert. I have no reason to believe any teachers are guilty of theft.

3D Printed Science Projects

Title: 3D Printed Science Projects: Ideas for your classroom, science fair or home

Authors: Joan Horvath, Rich Cameron

Apress | Computer Science | May 3 2016 | ISBN-10: 1484213246 | 203 pages

Book covers 8 separate, customizable projects, each applied to a different topicLearn to use a 3D printer to create these and other models as simply as possibleScience fair project suggestions and extensive “where to learn more” resources are included

Note: All the books presented in this blog. Include the original cover and review provided by the publisher. This information is used to accurately promote and show respect for these resources, the authors and the publishers.

Sonic-Pi: Music for Raspberry Pi

Sonic Pi: The Live Coding Synth for Everyone.

Simple enough for computing and music lessons.
Powerful enough for professional musicians.
Free to download with a friendly tutorial.

Learn to code creatively by composing or performing music in an incredible range of styles from classical to algorave.

Created at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory
with kind support from the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Sonic Pi is an Open Source Project released under the MIT Licence.

There is a great article in the newest MagPi Essentials: Check out this cool TedTalk about the Sonic-Pi

E-Beam Interactive Whiteboards

E-beam makes great quality interactive whiteboard at an economical price

Raspberry Pi used in Primary Classrooms

The Raspberry Pi is a series of credit card–sized single-board computers developed in England, United Kingdom by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the intent to promote the teaching of basic computer science in schools and developing countries^. The original Raspberry Pi and Raspberry Pi 2 are manufactured in several board configurations through licensed manufacturing agreements, The hardware is the same across all manufacturers. In February 2016, the Raspberry Pi Foundation announced that they had sold eight million devices, making it the best selling UK personal computer, ahead of the Amstrad PCW.

Kids can use these inexpensive computers ( often <$50/per machine) to learn about computers or coding. Here are a couple of books that present processes and project to do both.

Title: Raspberry Pi for Kids For Dummies

Author: Richard Wentk
2015 | 352 Pages | ISBN: 1119049512

Raspberry Pi For Kids For Dummies makes it easy for kids to set“up, operate, and troubleshoot like a Pi pro! Introducing you to Pi through a series of entertaining and inspiring projects, this handy, step“by“step guide shows you how to write computer games, build websites, make art and music, create electronic projects, and much more! From downloading the operating system and setting up your Raspberry Pi to creating art in Tux Paint and designing games with Scratch, everything you need to have fun with Pi is inside!Raspberry Pi For Kids For Dummies leaves the confusing tech talk behind and explains in plain English how to unleash all the cool possibilities of Pi, like playing Minecraft in Python, using HTML to make a website, managing and customizing your Raspberry Pi, playing music with Sonic Pi, and understanding and playing with the GPIO.If you²re aspiring computer programmer age 8“18 and want to start having fun with Pi, look no further than Raspberry Pi For Kids For Dummies.

Here is another, recent periodical that addresses the same phenomena.

Title: Raspberry Pi Projects for Kids 2nd Edition
Author: Daniel Bates
2015| ISBN: 1783982225 | 96 pages

Technology today is growing rapidly, with all sorts of cool gadgets, applications, and games made thanks to the rise of computer programming. The Raspberry Pi is a crafty device that has promoted the teaching of basic computer science in schools, catching the attention of both young and old. Although learning to program offers a unique set of skills that allows you to explore your creative side, it has its own challenges, which may mean you will need a helping hand.

This handy guide will launch you into the world of computer programming by showing you how to build your own amazing applications. Raspberry Pi Projects for Kids contains several awesome projects for you to get hands-on with, including creating your own games, crafting your own simple electronics, and making your own interactive map. By learning how to use Scratch and Python in your programming, you will be a computer scientist in no time!

After you have become comfortable with setting up and playing with your Raspberry Pi, you will be transported into this exciting world of technology, where you will get to grips with using Scratch, Raspberry Pi s official programming language, in order to develop your own version of Angry Birds! After connecting new circuitry, lights, and switches to your Raspberry Pi, you will then get to use Scratch to create your own reaction game. See for yourself who s the quickest off the mark!)You will finally get to step things up by developing an interactive map of your own hometown using the Python programming language. You will be working for Google before you know it!

This book will teach you everything you need to know about using your Raspberry Pi in order to develop your own games, applications, and electronic circuits. It s time to have your Pi and eat it, because you will be able to create virtually anything you like.

Note: All the books presented in this blog. Include the original cover and review provided by the publisher. This information is used to accurately promote and show respect for these resources, the authors and the publishers.