
Technology is changing education at an unprecedented rate. Children today are entering a world of digital opportunity like never before but at the same time there are risks and down sides. EdAlive eNews for Teachers keeps you up to date with developments from around the world and ail in one easy to access place.
Has your Mac Software stopped working?

We have some good news! After many months of painstaking re-engineering EdAlive’s award-winning educational titles are now fully compatible with Mac OS X Lion & Mountain Lion (10.7 and 10.8 +).

School database loses backers as parents balk over privacy

A $100 million database set up to store extensive records on millions of public school students has stumbled badly since its launch this spring, with officials in several states backing away from the project amid protests from irate parents.

Aligning Assessment with Curriculum and Pedagogy in Applied Information Technology

Students in seven classes studying the Applied Information Technology (AIT) course in Western Australia completed a digital portfolio and a computer-based exam for assessment. All student work was placed into an online repository to be accessed by external markers through a standard web browser. These were marked using a traditional analytical method and a paired comparisons method. Generally the portfolio was implemented without technical difficulty and for the exam only…

Education Technology Trends – Part I – Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

This is the first post of a three-part series covering recent trends and developments in education technology.

Technology poised to revolutionize education

The development and quickly emerging technology of interactive adaptive software holds the potential to dramatically change how we think about and deliver education.

ZooWhiz now features detailed correlations and reporting linked to with the Australian Curriculum

The 17,000+ educational activities within ZooWhiz are now directly correlated against the Content Descriptors contained in the Australian Curriculum. This advanced ability now sets ZooWhiz apart from all other online learning systems. No other online learning system delivers direct correlations between activities and the Content Descriptors of the Australian Curriculum. Multiple correlations The ZooWhiz activities were specifically created as multi-dimensional learning experiences. As such it is common for an activity…

Does text messaging negatively impact student academic success?

Across the education landscape, student text messaging is a bone of contention among teachers. It’s not an issue in the lower grades because most K-5 schools successfully ban cell phones during school hours. Where it’s a problem is grades 6-12, when teachers realize it’s a losing battle to separate students from their phones for eight hours.

Using Mobile Devices and Applications to increase Learning Acumen, Part 2

Tatum examines how mobile apps can enhance study habits as well as help students master independent tasks–and even achieve developmental milestones.

What’s a Digital Portfolio and Why Should You Use it?

The concept of digital portfolios is supported by national and international education pedagogy. A Digital Portfolio is an electronic collections of student work that provide evidence that the student is meeting a set of goals. If you’re new to digital portfolios, here are some Guidelines for Developing a Digital Portfolio Program from Todd Bergman, an educator who’s helped hundreds of students create portfolios

The challenges of putting computers in schools and BYOD

The Digital Education Revolution (DER) was supposed to make technology a ubiquitous part of the secondary learning. Well, it was fun while it lasted. But the program is unlikely to be renewed. The solution being given increasing attention is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). BYOD has been popular in the business world for several years as activities ranging from email and calendar management to word processing and graphic design has migrated to hardware owned…

Towards a 3D digital multimodal curriculum for the upper primary school

The world which students inhabit is increasingly digital, multimedia and online. A pedagogy is urgently needed to prepare students to be effective authors and participants in such a world. This paper reports on an on-going study which is seeking to develop a 3D multimodal authoring pedagogy in the middle years of schooling. A case study is used to illustrate developments in renovating pedagogy for the digital multimedia age.
