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More states looking at VR for education
Bambi Majumdar EducationArkansas' public schools are all set to receive 500 virtual reality classroom kits from Facebook. The donation value is worth $1 million and is aimed at enhancing the overall STEM program of the state. For Facebook, this is the first step in bridging the gap between VR and education, and they are hoping for similar collaborations with other states soon.
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Should English as lingua franca influence language teaching?
Sheilamary Koch EducationToday, the vast majority of the English spoken around the world is not between native speakers — in actuality, only about 25 percent involves L1 speakers. Such use of English as a contact language between people who don't have the same mother tongue and often share no other language is referred to as English as lingua franca (ELF). It is currently the most prevalent way English is used globally and becoming more so each year.
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KWL for professional development
Pamela Hill EducationThe beginning of a new year is a natural time to reflect on the past year's experiences of teaching students with special education needs. When seeking ways to make educational changes based on past experiences, professional development opportunities may be considered.
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Changing the way we think about education security
Dean Wiech EducationWhen we think of education technology, we typically think of its use within a classroom environment. When we think of education security, the physical safety of the students and staff are first to mind. How do the two concepts merge into ensuring the identity and data security for students and staff within educational and technological environments?
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Using gestures to enhance language instruction
Erick Herrmann EducationActive engagement is an important tenet of instruction and learning — important in both learning and mastering content as well as language. There are many ways to keep students engaged in instruction, including using a variety of activities and discourse, and teaching relevant and interesting content to students.
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The real cost of being a teacher
Brian Stack EducationThis fall, the daughter of one of my co-workers was eager to start her first school year as a new teacher in a nearby urban school district. After she was hired over the summer and received her classroom keys, she was eager to get into the room to start decorating her space in anticipation of the first day of school.
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The challenge of ESL literacy
Douglas Magrath EducationPrebeginning or preliterate learners present a unique challenge to the ESL teacher accustomed to students who can write the Latin alphabet. Students may speak a language that uses a non-Latin alphabet such as Arabic, Chinese or Japanese, or they may be nonliterate in their own language. In some cases — Russian, for example — some of the reading skills may transfer even though the alphabet is different.
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States expect greater control during Trump presidency
Bambi Majumdar EducationAfter decades of too much federal interference in schools, the states are now hoping Donald Trump's administration will be more hands-off about accountability. The recent election raised many questions, and many topics were debated — except education. In fact, the glaring absence of education in any debate or discussion was quite alarming. We had no way of gauging where the candidates stood on this important agenda.
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My 4th grader hates reading — What’s wrong with him?
Howard Margolis Education"Joey, my 10-year-old son, struggles with reading. That's understandable. But why does he hate it? Why does he fight it? Why doesn't he try harder? He knows it's important. Why does he have such a bad attitude? What's wrong with him?" In most cases, nothing is "wrong" with him.
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Mathematical modeling: Coming soon to a school near you
Sheilamary Koch EducationIn a May Multibriefs Exclusive article, former math teacher Brian Stack wrote about the urgent need to revamp the approach to math instruction to meet both the needs of our future economy and the large number of students who find it a struggle. As a mother of two school-age girls who claim to hate math — as do their friends — I worry about their automatic shunning of a subject with such far-reaching implications. Can math education be improved? How? Is there a way to make it exciting and pertinent for younger students?
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