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Monday, December 22, 2014

Do Students Keyboard Faster on iPads or Computers - Research says . . .

http://www.bradycline.com/2013/in/ipad-typing/
While the research that compares keyboarding speed between ipad virtual keyboards and regular real-world keyboards is sparse, here is an article about some research that Brady Erin Cline did with his students, Typing: iPad vs Computer.  They were grades 3 - 6 (8 to 11 years old)

He found that his elementary students DID NOT type faster on the traditional keyboards than on virtual flat screen keyboards.   He found that they were about even in their speeds between the two venues.

He cited another study where young adults typed considerably faster on traditional keyboards (Chaparro et al., 2010)  

The limitations with these studies are that they are small populations and they both have to contend with familiarity with the new medium.  Either way, they are interested studies that should be followed up with additional studies that would compare these types of keyboards. 

Do you know of any studies that compare keyboarding effectiveness and speed on virtual and traditional keyboards?

Z

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Friday, October 31, 2014

How Rube Goldberg Led Our 6th Graders to Pursue Their Passions in STEM (STEAM)

http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=3061
Last May, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks with 6th graders in Waverly-Shell Rock Middle School in Iowa.

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with 6th graders for a few weeks.  We explored the Crazy World of Rube Goldberg using Problem-Based Learning.

It was my pleasure to share this at the ITEC fair in Des Moines this month.  I was joined by the 6th grade teacher and 3 of the boys who participated in this session. The guys did a great job of presenting their thoughts and actions as they were engaged in this process. 


I also took this presentation and turned it into a video. I submitted it to the K-12 Online Conference and they accepted my proposal. My video was just posted on the K-12 Online Conference. It is an honor to be included in this group.
Join me in the journey our 6th graders took into the Crazy World of Rube Goldberg. You will experience the fun they had developing “complex chain reactions to accomplish simple tasks.” Using a Problem-Based Learning format, these students explored physics while they built contraptions to drop a marble in a bucket, dip a chip in salsa, pop a balloon and even create a banana smoothie. Dr. Z shares how the inventors expressed their experiences through KidBlog and how these activities aligned with Common Core Standards in Science, Technology and Writing. It’s 20 minutes of fun and exploration into exciting ways to learn.
I would love to hear your reactions and suggestions about this learning experience.

Z

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Teacher Spends 2 Days as a Student and is Shocked at What She Learns

washingtonpost.com
I just read this revealing post in the Washington Post blog.  It is about an educator with 15 years of teaching experience who spent 2 days being a high school student.  She sat through the lectures, took the tests, asked the questions, did the labs and sat through hours of teacher lecturing.

I found it quite interesting to read her TakeAways from the experience.  She identified realizations that 1) Students sit all day and sitting is exhausting; 2) High schools students are sitting passively and listening during approximately 90% of their classes; and 3) You feel a little bit like a nuisance all day long.

I must admit that these are not the realizations that I would expect from this experience.  What do you think?  Is this the experience that your students are probably having?  What are you doing to make it different?

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Bloom's Taxonomy According to Andy Griffith

There have been many mash-ups that use TV shows to explain the various levels of the original Bloom's Taxonomy but this is the first time I have seen them do one on the revised (1996) version of his work.



Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Do You Fit Any of These 7 Signs That You Are a Fast Learner?

So how many of these signs do you find in the way YOU learn?  

How about in the ways your students learn?  

How can you use this to support your students' learning?
























What do YOU think? Does this fit your ideas about learning?