For decades, literacy referred only to print text. In school, students were taught to read books and write essays. Students were considered literate when they could do both. Today, literacy is more complex.

Most of the text students come across today is digital. Instead of books and magazines, students are reading blogs and text messages. This requires a different skill set than traditional literacy. It’s time to rethink literacy and start teaching students digital literacy.

Digital literacy is not just the ability to read and write. It’s also the ability to effectively use digital technology to find and analyze information. Students who are digitally literate know how to do research, find reliable sources, and make judgements about what they read online and in print.

Why is it important to teach digital literacy? Students who don’t learn digital literacy skills will be left behind in our increasingly digital world. Access to higher education and the best career opportunities depends on students’ ability to navigate the digital world. Digital literacy is also something students will use in their daily lives.

Beyond high school, most students will never have to write a letter or essay by hand. Some may need to read print materials on a regular basis, but many more will need to read digital materials every day. Understanding how to use technology may be more important for students’ futures than knowing every rule of grammar or how to read Shakespeare.

Although many teachers fight back against the idea of abandoning traditional notions of literacy, this does a disservice to students. By focusing exclusively on text literacy and ignoring digital literacy, we are not setting students up for success.

The role of educators is not just to teach students academic skills, but also to prepare them to think critically about what they encounter in the real world. By arming students with digital literacy skills, educators can ensure their students are prepared for the world in the 21^st century.

Of course, knowing how to read and write remain important skills. Without this basic literacy, it’s impossible for students to become digitally literate. Embracing digital literacy doesn’t mean ignoring traditional print texts. Instead, it means teaching students the difference between the two and ensuring they are prepared to deal with both.

How do you approach literacy in the classroom? Do you think educators need to focus more on digital literacy, or should we stick to teaching the classics? Tell us your thoughts!

The post Rethinking Literacy in a Digital Age appeared first on The Edvocate.

Every year, there are new trends in EdTech. It can be hard to keep up with all the new and exciting things happening in the world of EdTech. As soon as you’ve caught on to one hot topic, it seems to become old news.

But for all the trends that die out quickly, there are some that stick. After all, EdTech is a quickly developing field. Brilliant new ideas come around all the time and make a lasting impact. These are four of the EdTech trends we think you should be paying attention to:

1. Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is taking the EdTech world by storm. This trend is thanks in part to Google. Google Cardboard has made virtual reality affordable and accessible. Teachers around the world are using Google Cardboard, and other VR technologies, to take students on virtual field trips and create experiences that would be impossible without virtual reality.

2. Digital Citizenship

Now that digital technology is a part of everyday life, it’s important for students to know how to use it in a way that benefits society. Just like Kindergarteners learn to share, say please and thank you, and generally be kind to one another, today’s youth must learn digital manners. More and more schools are implementing digital citizenship courses where students learn how to be on their best behavior online. These programs also cover online safety for kids and teens.

3. Gamification

Making learning fun has been the goal of educators for decades. With technology, it’s easier than ever to turn a boring lesson into something that feels more like play than learning. Gamification turns learning into a video game. Apps like the popular language-learning program Duolingo give students the opportunity to level up and earn badges or achievements as they complete lessons or skill practice. Today’s students have been playing video games for as long as they can remember, so this type of reward system is engaging and meaningful for them.

4. Artificial Intelligence and Personalized Learning

Artificial intelligence and personalized learning go hand-in-hand and make up one of the biggest EdTech trends right now. This can be seen in the form of programs that measure what students know and offer tutoring tailored to meet the needs of each student. These virtual tutors are far cheaper than actual human tutors and provide highly personalized instruction for every single student. One example is the company Cognii’s Virtual Learning Assistant, but you can expect to see more programs like this soon.

What EdTech trends are you most excited about? Did we miss one here? Let us know!

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Using a new app in the classroom is fun and exciting, but it can also be tricky. Finding the right app, making sure it works and setting it up can all take up time and frustrate teachers. Make implementing new apps in the classroom easier by following these five simple steps.

 Step 1: Finding the right app

Choosing the right app can make implementing a new app much easier. First, think about why you really need this app. Too many teachers use apps simply for the sake of using more technology in the classroom.

Instead, look for apps that add value to your teaching. Tons of apps can make everything from grading to classroom management easier. Consider what you need help with and find an app that will make your life easier, not harder.

Step 2: Talk to other teachers

Once you think you’ve found an app that will work for you, talk to other teachers about it. Have they used this app before? They might have helpful tips, or they may guide you towards a better app for your classroom.

Step 3: Test it out

If you’re going to be using this app with students, be sure to try it out yourself first. As a teacher, you know your students better than any app developer. Figure out if this app is going to work. Find any features that may be distracting or confusing for students.

Step 4: Develop a plan

Now that you’ve found the right app and tested it out, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to use this app. Determine where it fits in your lesson plan and what you want students to do with the app. Come up with rules or guidelines for students if they’ll be using the app.

If your school doesn’t provide devices for students and you want them to use the app, find out what types of devices your students have. If only a handful of students have iPhones and your new app only works on Android devices, you have a problem.

Step 5: Implement and troubleshoot

Even if you’ve gone through these steps, you’re still going to run into unexpected problems when using a new app. You may find that certain features don’t work as expected or that the app isn’t accomplishing what you’d hoped. Be ready to troubleshoot on the spot and come up with solutions to any problems you encounter.

What are your favorite apps for the classroom? How do you implement a new app? Tell us all about it!

The post The 5 Steps to Implementing an App in the Classroom appeared first on The Edvocate.

Whether you have a student or child whose language skills are developing well or slowly, studies have proven that apps support language development. Speech pathologists promote the use of apps for language development and are even creating their own.

We have compiled this list of must-have language development apps which includes apps for children of various ages and developmental levels.

1. Peekaboo Barn – $1.99

This simple app introduces children to animal names and sounds using the game peek-a-boo. Parents can begin playing games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake with their baby between the ages of six and nine months, as their child will start to play with and mimic sounds. Parents can use this app with their baby to begin his/her development and when the child reaches the toddler stage, he/she can use the app with supervision.

2. Learn to Talk – $1.99

Appropriate for young toddlers just learning to speak or children with language delays, this app is easy-to-use and not overly stimulating. It includes a vocabulary of commonly used words and phrases each accompanied by illustrations. It’s currently supported in both French and English, thus it can also be used to learn a second language.

3. ABC Alphabet Phonics – Free

Geared toward toddlers, preschoolers, and those just learning to talk, this app is quite basic, yet effective. Through sound, sight, and touch, children can learn the alphabet and a few other optional subjects. Users have praised the personalization options and the fact that the level of difficulty adjusts with the user.

4. Articulation Station – up to $59.99

This app was created by a certified Speech-Language Pathologist and has an A+ in educational value on CommonSenseMedia.org. It aims to help children and adults learn to talk and improve their pronunciation. The first letter, “p”, is free, but users must pay for each additional letter or to upgrade to the Pro version.

5. Baby Sign & Learn – up to $2.99

Research has shown that teaching babies sign language accelerates the development of verbal communication, while also improving emotional and cognitive development. Speech therapists recommend this app which teaches children five and under to sign in the signed language of your choice.

6. iTouchiLearn Words Speech & Language Skills – $2.99

This app “reinforces early speech and language skills,” and expands the user’s vocabulary through interactive word association games. It earned “Special Needs App of the Day” on SpecialNeeds.com, but is entertaining and educational for all kids. It’s recommended that kids use it alongside an educator or parent.

7. Proloquo2Go – up to $249.99

Geared toward children from kindergarten through grade 12, this app improves communication by letting users choose single words or combine words to form sentences to express their emotions, thoughts,       and needs. The award-winning app is a top app for developing language and speech and is available in English, French, and Spanish. It’s excellent for individuals with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and other diagnoses.

8. See.Touch.Learn – up to $29.99

This is a tool for educators and parents of children with Autism and other special needs. Sets of flashcards, accompanied by lessons, can be edited and altered by speech therapists, educators, and parents according to the child’s level. This app has been certified by TeachersWithApps, rated an A+ in educational value, and is the recipient of several awards and mentions as the top app for special needs.

9. Splingo’s Language Universe – $2.99

Designed by Speech and Language Therapists/Pathologists, this interactive game meets the Speaking and Listening area of the Common Core Standards. The app has a customizable option that allows users to improve their weaknesses in listening to directions and recognizing words and phrases. It’s great for kids of all ages and all language levels, and those with developmental delays or special needs.

Have you used any of these? Do you know of others not listed here that should be? Let us know!

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Dyslexic students can benefit greatly from using technology. There are apps and tools available that can help dyslexic students read, write, and more. Using these 11 apps and tools with dyslexic students will ensure they can keep up in your 21^st century classroom.

1. Learning Ally

Learning Ally is a great resource for audiobooks. This app has hundreds of books for kids and teens available with a monthly subscription. Users can follow along and adjust the size or type of text to make it easier for dyslexic students.

2. Natural Reader

Reading webpages, emails, and texts can be hard for dyslexic students. However, many text-to-speech apps sound mechanical and feel clunky. Natural Reader has a nice, natural-sounding voice that can read a variety of documents.

3. Dyslexia Quest

Dyslexia Quest is an app that looks and feels like a game, but is designed to help dyslexic kids and teens work on memory skills, phonics, and sequencing—all skills that dyslexic students typically struggle with.

4. Sound Literacy

For younger students with dyslexia, working with phonics is especially important. Sound Literacy is a fun app with game-like activities designed to help students learn to recognize letter sounds.

5. Ginger Page

Dyslexic students often have trouble with spelling. Software with autocorrect or spellcheck sometimes can’t figure out what a dyslexic student is trying to spell. Ginger Page is a more sophisticated word processor that can help dyslexic students write flawlessly.

6. vBooks PDF Voice Reader

Many text-to-speech apps are unable to convert PDF documents into speech. vBooks PDF Voice Reader can, and it can also change the font to one designed for dyslexic readers.

7. openWeb

OpenWeb is a web browser that converts text into a dyslexic-friendly font, allowing dyslexic students to read with less difficulty. It’s useful for times when text-to-speech is unnecessary or disruptive.

8. Reading Intro by Oz Phonics

Another great app for young students with dyslexia, Reading Intro by Oz Phonics helps kids learn to recognize letter sounds. The tasks are fun and simple enough for kids to play on their own.

9. What is Dyslexia?

This app isn’t necessarily just for students with dyslexia, but it’s a great tool. It has a quiz that may help determine if a child is dyslexic or needs further screening. It also has information for teachers, parents, and other students to help them understand dyslexia.

10. OCR Instantly Pro

Text-to-speech apps are great for online content, but what about books or worksheets? OCR Instantly Pro allows users to snap a photo of any page and convert it to text, which can then be read aloud by a number of apps.

11. MindMeister

For dyslexic students, traditional note-taking is difficult. This app allows users to create graphic organizers or mind maps to jot down their thoughts quickly and easily.

The post 11 Must-Have Apps and Tools for Dyslexic Students appeared first on The Edvocate.

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The middle school years have a tremendous influence on future academic success. This is why it is important to implement the best teaching strategies possible to reach these students at such a critical age. Studies have revealed “that middle-level age students learn best when they are actively engaged with the content. Multimedia approaches can assist learners’ understanding of concepts and relationships not explainable in print text.”

Therefore, parents and educators should make use of educational technology to supplement student learning inside and outside the classroom. To help keep your middle school students on the path to success, here are eight must-have middle school apps and tools:

1. BrainPOP

This animated educational website has a wealth of resources for teachers and students to make lessons more interactive, engaging, and fun. There are also BrainPOP apps students may download.

2. Duolingo

This language learning website and its supplemental apps are popular with educators because it is a gamified educational tool. Students can compete with one another and track their progress.

3. Grammaropolis

This website makes mastering grammar (such as the parts of speech) fun. The website includes books, videos, quizzes, and games. It also has apps students may download.

4. iSolveit

This unique math platform utilizes grid-based puzzles as supplemental math instruction to help students master math operations. Students can work alone, in groups, or as a class to find various ways to solve the puzzles.

5. iTooch Middle School

For those looking for an app that covers the basics of the middle school Common Core curriculum, this is an excellent choice. It offers lessons, examples, game-based activities, and worksheets.

6. Mathalicious

This educational tool is a must have because it includes an extensive collection of real-world lessons for the math lessons students are learning in school (i.e., lessons on movies and video games). Teachers will find complete lessons aligned with Common Core standards, handouts, and more.

7. My Study Life

Middle school is when students must begin managing their time effectively. This app is a great tool for parents, teachers, and students to use in their daily lives to set up test and homework reminders.

8. Tween Tribune

If you are looking for a resource to teach middle schoolers to think critically about the news, this is a smart choice. It is a compilation of reputable news sources with added features including lesson plans, quizzes, comment boards, and videos.

Did we miss any?

The post 8 Must-Have Middle School Apps and Tools appeared first on The Edvocate.

The inclusion of technology in the classroom has been shown to improve student participation, information retention, and overall test performance. One reason for the success of educational tech is that it boosts student confidence. Students who are secure in their abilities, work harder and take their educations seriously.

You may wonder how technology boosts student confidence in the classroom. Well, here are nine ways.

1. Application of Previous Knowledge

Most students, even young ones, have a base understanding of technology and how to use it. Applying that information in class can help students feel like they are already getting it, early on.

2. Flipped Learning Perspective

The traditional classroom requires students to accept and retain information passively. An interactive approach allows students to take an active role in their education. Active engagement through games, online assignments, discussions, and research help build student confidence through participation.

3. Enjoyment of Tasks

Making learning fun can reduce student frustration and confusion. The addition of classroom games, informal group projects, and student guided research can help students feel less pressured to perform. Learning should be a more organic process, not forced down students’ throats.

4. Peer Collaboration

Online communication and shared technology platforms encourage peer cooperation in class and on home-based assignments. Often students feel more able to ask for help in an email than in person. The connection of students for course-related work allows this collaboration to transform student performance.

5. Ability to Accomplish More

Often, the incorporation of online resources or peer collaboration can help students perform higher level tasks. Capacity to master more complex assignments will give students confidence in their intelligence and ingenuity. 

6. Ability to Use Outside Resources

Giving students a broad information base, with the addition of online resources, enables them to find their solutions to your questions.  Those pupils who find answers themselves will feel a greater sense of accomplishment than those who rely on a textbook or teacher-led learning.

7. Increases Interaction of Shy Students

Having online discussions or assignments boosts the involvement of those students who lack the confidence to raise their hands in class. The ability to verify their answer before giving it or privately answer a question helps shy students engage with your course. Most students will gain confidence from repeated interactions online and will eventually start participating in class.

8. Edtech Tools Allow Students to Work at Own Pace

Many Edtech tools, like Learning Management Systems, allow children to work at their own pace. Guided remediation, availability of additional course practice and the option to learn from games and puzzles can enable students to work towards class goals at an individual pace. Additionally, programs which allow kids to track their progress encourage student-led learning.

9. Answer Review, Before Submission

The ability to review your answers on an online test or assignment can help students slow down and consider their work. Those kids who lack confidence in themselves will feel more able to trust their work with a review. Particularly for children who are nervous to answer in class, the ability to type out their thoughts or ideas before presenting them is appealing. 

Since self-confidence will help your students learn and grow in the classroom, the boost technology can give them is essential. What are some ways your students show confidence with technology? What are other teaching strategies for confidence building? We want to hear your experiences!

The post 9 Ways That Technology Boosts Student Confidence in the Classroom appeared first on The Edvocate.

A strong vocabulary is essential for student success. Therefore, teachers must make every effort to help students’ master vocabulary inside and outside of the classroom. According to Dr. Kimberly Tyson’s infographic 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Effective Vocabulary Instruction, “Effective vocabulary instruction across grade levels and content areas is key in increasing student learning and achievement.”

Luckily for teachers and students, educational technology is making it even easier to build vocabulary. Here are eight must-have vocabulary apps and tools to help your students learn and have fun at the same time:

1. Power Vocab Word Game

Those looking for a fun way to improve vocabulary will love this app! It is simply fun to play and even offers a multi-player mode where you can test your vocabulary skills against someone else. Teachers and parents will love it because of its test preparation tools.

2. SAT Vocab – Mindsnacks

This vocabulary app includes nine games to help students dominate the SAT with lessons, quests, and additional SAT preparation features (i.e., antonyms). The games are fun, but the app is also a great vocabulary building tool because it includes definitions, pronunciations, and contextual examples.

3. SAT Word Slam

Teenagers will love the SAT Word Slam app because it uses teenage humor and pop culture references to teach vocabulary. Utilizing “teach me” and “test me,” this app allows students to learn definitions, test their knowledge, and track their progress.

4. Shahi – A Visual Dictionary

This unique vocabulary tool is an online visual dictionary. This online tool provides students with both the definition of the word and a corresponding image from Flickr.

5. uVocab Vocabulary Trainer

For those preparing for the SAT or other standardized tests, this vocabulary app is a smart choice because it includes over 4500 test words and realistic test questions. Students can also keep track of their progress.

6. Vocab Ahead

This tool is a hit with teachers and students because it is a multi-sensory approach to teaching vocabulary. With videos, definitions, games, quizzes, and more, this interactive website is an enjoyable teaching tool. Plus, teachers can create word lists for their students.

7. Vocabulary.com

If you are looking for a game-like approach to building your students’ vocabulary, then you should consider this app. It is a game where the student must earn points by answering vocabulary questions to move up levels. It also makes creating relevant vocabulary lessons easy for teachers with its learning activity feature.

8. Word Hippo

This online educational tool is helpful in the classroom because it does a little bit of everything – definitions, pronunciations, synonyms, antonyms, rhyming words, and more. It also gives examples of the word in different contexts.

Did we miss any?

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Mornings tend to be a struggle for most parents. They have to remind their children what to do and when to do it, and it throws the entire morning into a frenzy. Therefore, it is helpful to have a solid morning routine. It will alleviate the stress of rushing around and pass off some of the tasks to children, which teaches them responsibility.

According to the Raising Children Network, “How things go at home in the morning can set the tone for the day ahead. A predictable and positive morning routine for school can help children arrive at school feeling calm, fed and ready to make the most of the first few hours of the day.” Here are some terrific apps to help you in your quest for an effective morning routine.

1. Choiceworks Calendar

This brilliant app is a pictographic calendar that allows you to schedule your days and all the tasks in between. Parents can organize the daily calendar with tasks, as well as events such as appointments, school, and extracurricular activities.

2. Happy Kids Timer

If you are a fan of sticker reward charts, then you will love this app. It works as a time management tool and teaches children responsibility by taking children step-by-step through their morning routines. It celebrates achievements with a digital sticker chart.

3. iTouchiLearn Life Skills: Morning Routines for Preschool

Preschool children find this app engaging and helpful because it includes illustrations, songs, and clear instructions for their morning tasks. For example, it teaches children how to brush their teeth correctly.

4. Kazu Time

For parents struggling to get children out the door and to school on time, this is a great timer app. The interactive app features a dog sled racing rather than a traditional timer. Parents can add their morning routines to personalize the app.

5. Kid-Do Timeline

This app works to help children visualize the time necessary to complete certain tasks with illustrations and a timer represented by linear blocks of color. It is also fully customizable, so parents can use it for both morning and bedtime routines.

6. Morning Kids

Parents searching for an app to teach responsibility and goal-setting will find this one helpful. It leads children through a series of illustrated morning apps, and it also encourages children to set long-term goals by offering incentives or prizes.

7. Time Timer

This app is a basic colored timer that works well for children and adults. It is customizable allowing you to use it for multiple family members and various routines.

Did we miss any?

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Did you know that the amount of exposure to reading material in one’s home directly correlates to a child’s academic success? Therefore, it is imperative for parents to give their children access to books and other reading materials. With today’s educational technology, it is easier than ever. There are several educational apps that put thousands of books and short stories right in the hands of children, and they also work to teach the fundamentals of early childhood literacy.

1. Bob Books

Teachers and parents have used the Bob Books series for decades to teach children to read. Now, these books have been converted to interactive apps with different difficulty levels. Bob Books aim to teach reading skills using phonemic awareness.

2. Brush of Truth

The award-winning Brush of Truth app is a hit with children 8 to 12 years of age. In this app, readers must make choices that influence the story’s outcome. This interactive choose-your-own-story will excite reluctant readers.

3. Endless Alphabet

This beginning reader app introduces children to the alphabet and a variety of vocabulary words using playful monster games. Also, the app features animated monster videos that explain the meaning of each word.

4. Kids Vocab – MindSnacks

Instead of boring flashcards for memorizing vocabulary, the MindSnacks Kids Vocab app uses nine interactive games to build vocabulary skills and improve reading comprehension. The app is geared for children 7 to 12 years old.

5. Learn with Homer

Learn with Homer is one of the most popular and highly rated reading apps for children 3 to 8 years old. The interactive app includes reading lessons, stories, songs, and virtual field trips with entertaining animated characters.

6. Learn to Read – Starfall

This app is based on the respected Starfall learn to read website and includes the same type of reading activities based on vowel sounds and phonics. The child can listen or read the short sentences, and then enjoy the interactive animations that depict the sentence’s action.

7. NoodleWords

NoodleWords is a creative app that uses visuals to help students learn words. For example, the word “grow” shows the word “grow” sprout and rise like a tree. It is an engaging tool for children struggling with word comprehension.

8. Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe

Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe is an excellent choice for beginning readers. Using phonetic concepts, children play a game of tic-tac-toe by answering questions relating to letter sounds and syllables. Children enjoy the game because it can be played with someone else.

9. Skybrary

The host of Reading Rainbow, Levar Burton, is behind this digital library just for kids. The subscription app includes a huge collection of children’s books, story time features, animations, and video field trips.

10. Reading Raven

Reading Raven is a customizable app with multi-sensory games that is perfect for teaching your child to read as he/she progresses. It begins with teaching basic letter recognition and finishes with your child reading sentences.

While no app takes the place of individual reading instruction, these apps will help children learn the basics in an engaging way. As you can see, learning to read can be a fun and interactive experience for your child.

The post 10 Apps That Teach Your Child to Read appeared first on The Edvocate.

Technology addiction is an emerging problem that we don’t know much about yet. But every day, more kids are getting hooked on technology. While there are many benefits to technology—it can be used for educational purposes and can teach new skills—there are also drawbacks, especially when kids overuse technology.

First, it’s important to recognize the signs of tech addiction. It’s perfectly normal for kids to want to play video games, watch YouTube videos, or chat online with their friends. Kids and teens use technology to socialize, and taking it away completely can leave them feeling cut off. But some kids go overboard and become addicted to their technology.

If your child is using technology for hours at a time without pausing for a break, you may need to monitor them more closely. If they complain, whine, or throw a fit when they can’t use technology for a period of time, that’s cause for concern.

Other symptoms of technology addiction in kids include:

• Spending more than 5 hours a day using smartphones, tablets, computers, or playing video games
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when they can’t use technology
• Ignoring real-world activities in favor of using technology
• Withdrawing socially from friends and family
• Staying up late or missing sleep to use technology
• Constantly checking their phone, even when it’s not ringing or vibrating
• Using technology to escape from feelings of loneliness or sadness

While many of these symptoms are normal to some degree, they can become problematic quickly. Luckily, through early interventions and monitoring, parents can help their kids before technology addiction takes its toll on them.

The most important thing parents can do is set limits on screen time. These limits should begin at a young age, when kids are most vulnerable to getting hooked on technology. For elementary school children, 2 hours a day is plenty of time for technology. Older children may be able to use technology for 3-4 hours.

It’s crucial to set limits not only on time, but content. Monitor what your kids are doing online. Teens and adolescents can not only become addicted to technology, they may also develop an addiction to internet porn. Keeping the computer in an area like the living room or family room can easily stop this. Installing monitoring software on devices helps, too.

Finally, fill your kids’ day with offline activities. Signing kids up for sports, having a family game night, or going on family outings are all great ways to get kids away from technology without making them feel like they’re being punished.

Parents, how do you set limits on technology use? Have you dealt with technology addiction before? We love to hear about your experiences!

The post What to Do if Your Kid Becomes Addicted to Tech appeared first on The Edvocate.

With the birth of advanced technology has come advancement in the classroom. Along with the invention of the television came classroom films and typewriters were replaced with computers. This natural progression has allowed for unique opportunities of learning that were not available before advanced technology. As each student is different, their way of learning is distinct and with technology, teachers are now better able to provide multiple layers of education. While teaching about the ocean, a teacher may have a slideshow, a film, and a computer research or graphic design assignment. Unique ways of teaching allow the teacher to target the student’s strengths and engage them on a personal level.

Some students learn better if they work with their hands while other students learn better by reading. The invention of the computer has now allowed students to learn through technology and students are engaged like never before. This different way of learning may be incredibly beneficial to some people who thrive on technology. This relatively new invention has given millions of students the opportunity to have access to seemingly endless information. This incredible opportunity has opened up doors that were previously closed or otherwise inaccessible.

One of these doors that were opened by advanced technology is the virtual classroom. While most teachers incorporate technology in the lessons, a virtual classroom takes place of the actual classroom. Virtual schools are used instead of a traditional school, and it is through those schools that students are taught. With a computer, a student can access lessons, homework, tests, and information. These virtual schools give access to an education when students may not otherwise have access.

When considering a virtual school, a parent will wonder if virtual schools are in fact, good for kids. It seems a bit contradictory to monitor screen time but also place your child in front of a computer screen for their education. Also, how will a child get their work done without a teacher present? Is it really possible to get an education with a computer? Are virtual schools good for kids? These questions and observations may come up when considering a virtual school and some research has been done.

Connections Academy, a national online public school, states that there were 315,000 students in full-time online school in the 2013-2014 school year. Various studies have been done on online schools to test their performance level. One study done in Arkansas measured the proficiency levels of students grade 5 through 8. The online students of the study increased their math skills by ten percentile points and literacy skills by four percentile points as compared to the traditional students who gained 1.6 percentile points in math and lost 1.2 percentile points in literacy.

There was also a study done that came to the conclusion that virtual schools are pointless as the subjects scored as if they had missed school for a whole year. However, the company behind this research is known to receive money from organizations that support charter schools which may impact the study, so this information could be inaccurate. Another study done in February of 2017 found that lower performing students, the students most attracted to a virtual school, lagged further behind their peers and would have fared better had they been enrolled in a traditional school. The study also found that high performing students suffered a loss in their education after enrolling in an online school.

The option of having a virtual school meets the need for a different educational environment whether for flexibility or security. An online education offers different opportunities that students have not had before however, the lingering question is if this new style of education is actually good for kids. With so much research pointing in both directions, it ‘s hard to tell if these schools are productive or not. This inconclusive evidence does nothing but make the answer confusing. Virtual schools appear to give a good education to those that wouldn’t otherwise have it however some studies prove the education quality is poor while there are also studies that show the quality is good. This unclear performance level may make parents reconsider enrolling their child in a virtual school and instead choose a traditional education.

In time, more studies will be done however considering that it is a hot button political topic, it is hard to tell which study is honest and which one is propaganda. Virtual schools have many advantages that traditional schools do not offer and they seem to provide an education level of equal or better value than a traditional school. The mediocre evidence makes it difficult to decipher their performance levels, and it is likely that this information will cause parents to shy away from virtual schools because they do not want to risk their child’s education.

The post Are Virtual Schools Good for Kids? appeared first on The Edvocate.

Who are the biggest edtech influencers in the world? The Edvocate editorial team has exhaustively researched the movers and shakers of edtech and selected 20 global influencers. To frame our methodology, we decided to define edtech influencer broadly. On this list, you will find administrators, bloggers, journalists, policymakers, researchers, innovators, businessmen, activists, etc. who are transforming the edtech space as we know it.

The influencers that we chose are all active in the area of edtech, doing something influential in 2018, well-known throughout the edtech landscape, and making an impact globally. We are excited to witness how these influencers continue to change the world this year, and we are anxious to see who will stand on the shoulders of these giants, and as a result, make our list next year. Without further ado, here is The Edvocate’s 2018 EdTech 20: A Ranking of 20 Global Edtech Influencers.

1. Nathaniel A. Davis

CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at K12

What His Current Focus Is: Mr. Davis is the CEO of K12, a technology-based education company and leading provider of online curriculum and school programs for students in pre-K through high school. As CEO and Chairman, he focuses on strengthening the K12 organization, its operations, and its academic programs. He is the person responsible for K12’s meteoric rise over the last decade.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Under his helm, K12 is driving innovation and advancing the quality of education by delivering state-of-the-art, digital learning platforms and technology to students and school districts across the globe. K12’s curriculum serves over 2,000 schools and school districts and has delivered millions of courses over the past decade. K12 is a company of educators providing online and blended education solutions to charter schools, public school districts, private schools, and directly to families. The K12 program is offered through more than 70 partner public schools and school districts and public and private schools serving students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries.

What His Background Is: Mr. Davis received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an MS in Engineering Computer Science at the Moore School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.

What May Surprise You About Him: With a personal passion for serving children and helping them achieve higher levels of success, Mr. Davis founded the JANDT Foundation to aid minority children in attending private and parochial schools in the Washington, DC area.

Twitter: @K12bloggED

Email: N/A

2. Sal Khan

Founder and Executive Director of Khan Academy

What His Current Focus Is: Sal Kahn is an American educator who has founded both an online education platform called the Khan Academy, as well as a physical school, the Khan Lab School.  The Khan Academy is a free service that offers over 6500 video lessons on a range of topics and subjects, through primarily focused on math and science. The Khan Academy’s YouTube page has more than 2.9 million subscribers.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Khan’s goal is to reach as many students as possible, regardless of resources, and so his mission is to make his lessons accessible and free.  Kahn’s videos, therefore, have become vital educational resources for rural African and Asian students.

What His Background Is:  Kahn graduated from MIT with a Bachelor’s of Science in math, electrical engineering, and computer sciences; he then earned an MBA from Harvard.  Kahn worked hedge fund analyst.  As his online tutoring and education videos gained popularity, he quit his hedge fund position in 2009 to shift his focus to crafting and developing his online education endeavors.

What May Surprise You About Him: The Khan Academy began as a way for Kahn to tutor his cousin long-distance.

Twitter: @khanacademy

Email: skhan@khanacademy.org

3. Mike Tholfsen

Principal Product Manager on the #MicrosoftEDU Team

What His Current Focus Is: Mike Tholfsen is the Principal Product Manager on the Microsoft Education team. He mainly focuses on OneNote Class and Staff Notebooks, Learning Tools and Microsoft Teams. He has spent over 20 years at Microsoft, helping to shape their education division. Mike works with educators and pupils from all over the world to create products that improve student outcomes. He works tirelessly to promote Microsoft Education and their products. This has resulted in an increased share of the edtech market for Microsoft.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Mike is transforming the edtech space by creating products that 1. Help teachers maximize their productivity; 2. Level the playing field for students from minority groups and those that have special needs; and lastly 3. Take advantage of the power and promise of personalized learning and artificial intelligence.

What His Background Is: Mike has a B.S. in Information Systems from the University of Washington. Although he does not have a background in education, he has worked hard to come up to speed. He has a firm grasp on the intersection of education and technology, as evidenced by the wonderful products that have been released under his watch.

What May Surprise You About Him: Mike’s favorite book is The Fourth Turning, by William Strauss and Neil Howe.

Twitter: @mtholfsen

Email: michtho@microsoft.com

4. Anant Agarwal

Founder and CEO of edX

What His Current Focus Is: Professor Anant Agarwal is currently a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He is also one of the founders and the CEO of edX, a MOOC (massive online open course forum) and non-profit organization.  He created and taught the first edX course – one on circuits and electronics – which boasts an enrollment of over 155,000 students from over 160 countries across the world.  In addition to his work at MIT and on edX, Anant hacks on an online circuit’s lab called WebSim in his free time.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Anant has long been an outspoken advocate of MOOCs, which strive to make education accessible to learners at low or no cost, worldwide.  edX draws courses from the nation’s – and the world’s – leading educational institutions.  They offer many free courses, and students can choose to pay a fee for a certificate.  These fees help continue to fund free classes.

What His Background Is: Anant was born in Mangalore, India in 1959.  He studied at St. Aloysius Mangalore, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.  In addition to edX, Anant has worked on various engineering and computer technology endeavors including Sparcle, Alewife, Virtual Wires, LOUD, Oxygen, and Fugu.

What May Surprise You About Him: According to an interview on Life Hacker, Anant admits to having dabbled in standup comedy in college.  He finds humor to be an essential quality of a strong leader.

Twitter: @agarwaledu

Email: agarwal@edx.org

5. Daniel Hamburger

CEO of Renaissance

What His Current Focus Is: Daniel is focused on building an organization that delivers powerful student growth data and insights. He believes actionable data is key to personalized learning, and this data is at the heart of Renaissance solutions. Educators can use assessments to understand what each student has mastered, and then place students into the right level of instructional curriculum. Renaissance is also increasing equity and access through its recent acquisition of myON, a provider of digital literacy solutions. By adding myON, Renaissance provides students with unlimited access to more than 13,000 digital books.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Daniel and team have launched Renaissance Flow 360, a solution that drives personalized learning by bridging assessment to instruction. It improves learning outcomes for every student, and provides centralized data on student mastery across multiple educational resources, including the top educational vendors.

What His Background Is: Daniel has nearly 20 years of experience in education. Prior to joining Renaissance in 2017, he was CEO of Adtalem Global Education (formerly DeVry Education), a global provider of educational services. He led Adtalem from 2006 through 2016 and drove its transformation from a domestic, single university to an industry-leading institution serving students around the world and across multiple disciplines.

What May Surprise You About Him: Daniel was brought up in a family that highly valued education, especially varied educational experiences. In fact, their rule was, “You can go to any college you want, as long as it’s Michigan.”

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmhamburger18/ 

Email: Daniel.Hamburger@renaissance.com

6. Bill Latham

CEO, MeTEOR Education

What His Current Focus Is: Bill Latham is CEO and senior program designer at MeTEOR Education, a company that inspires and supports communities and their students in creating transformational learning experiences. Focused on the strong interplay between pedagogy and support spaces, Latham is a leading global advocate for the constant, consistent support of best-practice instruction through living classroom environments. He and his team’s designs have led to measurable increases in basic literacy, collaborative learning, and complexity of student tasks at all grade levels. Latham is connected with leading global researchers and academics in the field, employing the latest best practice findings as he leads design work for classrooms, school buildings, and broader school systems.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Bill is a leader in the design and implementation of holistic, high-impact learning experiences and environments, he has consulted with schools, districts, and governmental agencies across the Western Hemisphere on the design, outfitting and implementation of classroom and school environments aligned to critical learning priorities for more than 15 years. He and his team have directly served more than 1,000 schools in the United States alone. Latham is an architect of the human engagement by design methodology. He focuses on the integration of foundational engagement frameworks, technology, furnishings, and space to drive specific-learning 21st Century college and career-ready outcomes. He is the co-author of the book Humanizing the Education Machine: How to Create Schools That Turn Disengaged Kids Into Inspired Learners (Wiley; November 7, 2016).

What His Background Is: Bill holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry and an MBA from the University of Florida.

What May Surprise You About Him: He is active in martial arts and competes at a national level.

Twitter: @BillLatham3

Email: BLatham@meteoreducation.com

7. Arne Bergby

CEO of itslearning

His Current Focus: Arne joined itslearning in 2004. Passionate about education and helping students and teachers succeed, he has led itslearning to be Europe’s largest provider of educational learning platforms. As CEO, his focus is on making the student-centered teaching and learning platform the ideal one stop shop for creating and delivering courses and assessments, managing standards-aligned content, enabling communication and collaboration for teachers, parents and students, and more.

Put another way, itslearning strives to remain at the heart of education. Under Arne’s leadership  itslearning continues to gain market share in the United States as it partners with Houston (TX) Independent School District, Forsyth County (GA) Schools, Fort Worth (TX) Independent School District, Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township (IN) and San Bernardino (CA) City  Unified School District – to name just a few. Designed for teachers and how they want to teach, itslearning is a cloud-based learning platform used by millions of teachers, students, administrators and parents around the world. It can be found at all levels of education, from primary schools to universities, helping teachers make education more inspiring and valuable for today’s students.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Arne is working to transform the education space by overseeing the continuous improvement and rise of itslearning as one of the world’s most robust and popular learning management systems. itslearning has over seven million active users worldwide, mainly in the United States, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Made for today’s classroom, itslearning is one of the most innovative products in the global education sector.

His Background:  Previously, Arne served as managing director of Tieto, one of the largest ICT companies in Europe. Arne received a Master of Management degree from the Norwegian Business School in 1987. He is a member of the Educational Consultants Network, K-12 Assistive Technology Professionals, and is on the Board of Directors of G.C. Rieber.

What May Surprise You About Him:

He’s fiercely competitive. Whatever your game — skiing, running, even cooking — he’s always up for good-natured competition.

Twitter: @ArneBergby

Email: arne.bergby@itslearning.com

8. Todd Brekhus

President of myON at Renaissance Learning

What His Current Focus Is: Todd believes that literacy, student choice, and personalized learning are the three keys to transforming learning for all students. myON’s expansive digital content library and literacy tools, paired with Renaissance’s complementary reading practice and assessment offerings, enables the company to deliver a comprehensive, innovative suite of reading solutions to educators and students worldwide. Todd and his team work to inspire the love of reading and learning by leveling the playing field with unlimited access to books. He is a lifelong advocate of reading and literacy.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Through myON’s literacy ecosystem, Todd and his team offer more than 4 million students instant and unlimited access to more than 13,000 enhanced digital books and daily news articles, real-time assessments, and close reading tools.

What His Background Is: As the President of myON at Renaissance Learning, Todd is focused on product development and providing educators tools to create a personalized learning environment. Before joining the edtech business community, he spent eight years in education as a teacher, department chair, and technology director. He has led successful edtech companies including Capstone Digital, PLATO Learning, Learning Elements, and MCI WorldCom, where he helped develop and implement the Marco Polo program.

What May Surprise You About Him: In high school, Todd was a competitive slalom ski racer.

Twitter: @ToddBrekhus

Email: tbrekhus@myon.com

9. Jay King

COO of StudySync®

What His Current Focus Is: Jay is presently focused on serving as the COO of StudySync. Over the past year, Jay has traveled to several districts throughout California, Illinois, and Arizona to meet and learn from StudySync users, including districts in Geneva, Elgin, Huntley, St. Helena, Paradise Valley, and more. Recently, Jay has been instrumental in bringing StudySync’s new production studio to Petaluma, CA, his hometown. As a product of the Petaluma public school education, Jay believes that Petaluma encompasses a small-town culture, with strong community values, which are common throughout the U.S. and indicative of how K-12 education can have such a positive impact on society. The studio will be the site where several media productions are created, including StudySync® TV.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: In 2009, Jay co-founded StudySync with StudySync’s CEO, Robert Romano. Their vision was to leverage technology and social learning to engage students in the great works of literature. As one of the nation’s most highly regarded literacy curriculums, StudySync provides these digitally-connected students with media-rich learning experiences, real-world topics, and a direct read-write connection, while giving teachers flexible digital tools and engaging print resources supporting teaching, differentiation, and standards-based assessment. In 2013 StudySync partnered with McGraw-Hill Education to exclusively distribute StudySync in the k – 12 market. The product has also received numerous prestigious awards including the coveted Innovation Award from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP).

What His Background Is: Previously, Jay co-founded EdVantage Software, also with Robert Romano, and led the development of several award-winning products. After its acquisition of EdVantage, Jay led Riverdeep’s web development team, winning the prestigious CODiE award. With StudySync, Jay has led the development of StudySync’s ELA and SyncBlast products, which have gained wide acceptance and accolades. Jay has an M.S. in Accounting from Santa Clara University.

What May Surprise You About Him: Jay is a certified sports fanatic. He is probably watching ESPN right now.

Twitter: @johnjking

Email: jay@studysync.com

10. Chris Twyman

Co-Founder & CEO of BoomWriter Media

What His Current Focus Is: Chris’s passion is to make sure that edtech doesn’t widen the achievement gap. As an entrepreneur in the education industry, either you target your product at the schools that can afford to pay or you make sure everyone can use it and find a way to fund the business. The latter is a much bigger challenge than the former, but that is the mission of BoomWriter. If it is successful, it will narrow the achievement gap. Chris’s investors understand this mission, and everyone sleeps more soundly because of that.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Many kids don’t like writing, but they do like using their imaginations. BoomWriter allows students to inject imagination into their writing, making it super engaging. Engaged kids produce better work, and better writing impacts all other areas of education.

What His Background Is: Chris has always worked in the technology space. From his start in the UK through to living in Boston, he has worked at large software companies like Sybase, Computer Associates, and Tibco. Before founding BoomWriter, Chris was the founder and CEO of an HR technology start-up. Somewhere in there, he also squeezed in an MBA and is a partner in a small VC fund based in Miami.

What May Surprise You About Him: He has run the Boston Marathon twice and is a paid-up member of the Bigfoot Research Organization.

Twitter: @BoomWriter_

Email:  chris@boomwriter.media

11. Angela Maiers

Founder of Maiers Educational Services, Teacher, Writer

What Her Current Focus Is: With over 25 years of experience in education, Angela Maiers is a strong proponent of helping students feel passionate about learning and schools.  She is the creator of the You Matter Movement and an advocate for the Genius Hour in schools.  The You Matter Movement is centered on helping teachers help students feel seen, recognized, and valued which, in turn, helps them plug into their education.  The Genius Hour is an idea she borrowed from Google’s 20% Time policy for their engineers.  Under this theory, students are given (at least) one class period per week to pursue their passions under the tutelage of a teacher.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Maiers works to help teachers and students understand and employ the innovative power of technology.  Through Twitter, Instagram, and other social media, Maiers encourages teachers and other adults to send Mattergrams, messages tagged #YouMatter that encourage students and children to recognize their power to impact the world in a positive way.

What Her Background Is: Maiers is an alumna of the University of Iowa.  She received a Bachelor’s in Education.  She also holds a Master’s degree in Education and Curriculum from Drake University.  She has 28 years of teaching experience across a range of grade levels, and her work has impacted over 78,000 American classrooms.

What May Surprise You About Her: Maiers claims that the elementary school job of being the milk carrier is the most important, most coveted of responsibilities, and can be used as a microcosm of viewing your place in the world.

Twitter: @angelamaiers

Email: info@choose2matter.org

12. Nichole Pinkard

Associate Professor at DePaul University in the College of Computing and Digital Media

What Her Current Focus Is: Pinkard is an Associate Professor at DePaul University in the College of Computing and Digital Media. Her research is focused on the design and use of pedagogical-based social networks, new media literacy learning outcomes, ecological models of learning and developing pathways for urban youth. She is a strong  advocate for digital literacy and believes that it will lead a revolution in the world of education. This is why she founded the Digital Youth Network in 2006. This Network seeks to help educators learn to teach with technology and digital media. It further seeks to ensure that technology is available to everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Pinkard founded the Digital Youth Network (DYN) in 2006, and she has been creating initiatives that transform the edtech space every since. The DYN model begins with sixth to eighth-grade education and focuses on mandatory in-school media arts classes and optional after-school programs. She was also a co-founder of YOUmedia, a public learning space for teens that immerses students in a context of traditional media to produce new media artifacts like games, videos, and virtual worlds. In April 2010, Pinkard co-founded RemixWorld along with Robert Chang. RemixWorld is a cloud-based social learning network for primary and secondary education, which seeks to safely and securely connect children and adolescents with curriculum, extended learning, and mentorship opportunities.

What Her Background Is: Pinkard holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, an M.S. in Computer Science from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University.

What May Surprise You About Her: Nothing. We mean that in a good way.

Twitter: @npinkard

Email: Nichole can be contacted via her website: http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/#our-team

13. Steven Anderson

Co-founder of #EdChat on Twitter, Education Consultant

What His Current Focus Is: Steven Anderson is an educational expert who focuses on the fusion of technology and social media in pedagogy.  Anderson is a blogger and a former classroom teacher and district technology director.  He hosts the weekly #EdChat on Twitter, which boasts over 1500 participants each week.  Anderson’s #EdChats have earned him the Twitterer of the Year distinction twice.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Anderson works to help teachers meet students in the places where they live: the digital universe.  He travels the country, speaking at schools and conferences about how to safely and appropriately integrate social media in classrooms and how to leverage students’ knowledge of technology to help them learn and grow.

What His Background Is: Anderson is a native of North Carolina, where he still currently resides.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in Middle-Grade Math and Science Education from Western Carolina University and then obtained a Master’s degree in Instructional Technology from East Carolina University.  He was the director of technology at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in Winston-Salem, NC.

What May Surprise You About Him: Anderson is also the author of 3 books geared toward educators and administrators about efficacy in using technology.

Twitter: @web20classroom

Email: steven.anderson@web20classroom.org

 14. Rafranz Davis

Executive Director of Professional and Digital Learning for Lufkin ISD

What Her Current Focus Is: As Executive Director of Professional and Digital Learning, Rafranz helps educators to effectively implement digital learning into their classrooms. She is a speaker, blogger, and an edtech advocate who is never afraid to speak truth to any situation. She is a voice for diverse perspectives in edtech, which have been missing since edtech’s inception. She is the author of The Missing Voices in EdTech: Bringing Diversity into EdTech, a book that puts a spotlight on the fact that the education community has failed to consider the viewpoints of people of color in discussions about edtech.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: By advocating for diverse populations in edtech, she is giving a voice to a population that edtech influencers and policy makers have never acknowledged. Because of her, and people like her, discussions around the intersection of edtech and diversity have increased exponentially. Just visit your favorite edtech blog or read the keynote and presentation titles at your favorite conference. Not to mention, when it comes to the implementation of edtech in an educational environment, Rafranz is a trailblazer.

What Her Background Is: Rafranz obtained an associate’s degree from Navarro College and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University–Commerce. Since her undergraduate days, she has devoted her life to helping educators implement technology in educational environments. She was a middle school math teacher before becoming a curricular strategist and technologist.

What May Surprise You About Her: Rafranz is never afraid to call a spade a spade.

Twitter: @rafranzdavis

Email: Rafranz can be contacted via her website: http://rafranzdavis.com/

15. Chaks Appalabattula

Founder & CEO of Bloomz, Inc.

What His Current Focus Is: Chaks is focused on continuing the fast growth of the Bloomz app, an easy-to-use parent-teacher communication tool for today’s parents, who are used to communicating through their smartphones. Bloomz has a familiar social media interface that encourages parents to participate in their child’s learning and connect with their teacher through a secure platform. With the launch of their school-wide offering, Chaks has also created a powerful premium subscription for school administrators that includes useful data analytics, premium access for all their members, and unlimited membership and storage.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Chaks has helped bring Bloomz to more than 39,000 schools around the world by combining a social networking experience with a comprehensive set of tools—messaging and media sharing, calendar, signups, and student behavior tracking—in one friendly, easy-to-use app.

What His Background Is: Before creating Bloomz, Chaks applied his computer science and engineering education at companies such as Microsoft, AskMe, and most recently as the vice president of product and partnerships at GlobalScholar, where he focused on building an end-to-end learning platform to connect teachers, students, and administrators. He founded Bloomz, Inc. in January 2014 and serves as the Founder and CEO.

What May Surprise You About Him: Chaks created Bloomz after he and his wife both fell ill and had communication difficulties with his children’s teachers.

Twitter: @achaks

Email: Chaks@bloomz.com

16. Marina Umaschi Bers

Co-founder and chief scientist at KinderLab Robotics, Inc., and a professor at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development and the Computer Science Department at Tufts University, where she directs the DevTech research group.

What Her Current Focus Is: Dr. Bers is focused on innovative learning technologies to promote positive youth development. Her research focuses on how technology, such as robotics and programming languages, promotes new ways of thinking and learning in early childhood. With Dr. Bers’ approach, introducing computational thinking in early childhood, students learn to be creators and collaborators with technology and with each other. Her most recent book explores coding as a “new language”, and how it can be presented in a playful context, merging STEM/STEAM and coding with social-emotional learning.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Dr. Bers developed the KIBO robot kit for children 4–7, which is programmed with wooden blocks without keyboards or screens, and is used in 52 countries. She also co-developed the free ScratchJr programming language with over 9.5M downloads.

What Her Background Is: Dr. Bers did her undergraduate at Buenos Aires University, and received a Master’s degree from Boston University and a Master of Science and PhD from the MIT Media Laboratory, where she studied under Dr. Seymour Papert, world-renowned pioneer in developing the first programming language for children, LOGO. She has received prestigious awards, has written four books, and in 2014 did a TEDx talk titled “Young programmers – think playgrounds, not playpens.”

What May Surprise You About Her: Dr. Bers is from Argentina, has three children, speaks four languages, dances tango, and has worked all over the world.

Twitter: @marinabers

Email: Marina.Bers@tufts.edu

17. Vicki Davis

Creator of the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, IT Administrator and Teacher at Westwood Schools

What Her Current Focus Is: Vicki Davis is a current school teacher and blogger. She is also a freelance writer who focuses on professional development for teachers, inspiring them to use technology and build meaningful relationships with their students.  Through her blog and her two books, she reaches hundreds of thousands of teachers, inspiring them to share their trials and triumphs and learn from one another, creating a holistic, wholesome environment to foster student achievement.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Davis’ blog, the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, has garnered much attention and numerous awards, including the Edublogger Award for Best Teacher Blog.  Her current project, the global collaborative app project MAD About Mattering, encourages students to create “apps that matter” in collaborative environments, applying the skills and knowledge they learn in the classroom to better the world around them.

What Her Background Is: Davis has been a full-time teacher and IT director at a school in Camilla, Georgia since 2002.  She was inspired to begin pursuing professional and teacher development when she began to feel stretched thin – ineffective in the classroom and not as present as she would have liked at home with her children.  Two of her children have learning differences, and she began her educational ministry in hopes to better understand students who learn differently like her own children.

What May Surprise You About Her: Davis and her students have traveled all over the world, including to Qatar, India, China, Hawaii, and UAE to present to teachers worldwide about the impact of technology.

Twitter: @coolcatteacher

Email: Vicki can be contacted via her website: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact/

18. Shelly Sanchez Terrell

Co-founder of #EdChat, Creator of 30 Goals Challenge for Education

What Her Current Focus Is: Shelly Sanchez Terrell is an international speaker and e-learning and digital learning specialist.  She has worked with teachers and taught English language learners in over 20 countries.  She has also been recognized as one of Microsoft’s Heroes for Education for her work promoting teacher-driven professional development and the integration of technology in the classroom.  Terrell offers webinars and online presentations each week to reach out to teachers across the United States and the world.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Terrell has inspired over 10,000 teachers to transform their classrooms through her 30 Goals Challenge, which guides the teacher to integrate new technology in his or her classroom, avoid the dreaded “teacher burnout,” and reconnect with students.  The Goals Challenge helps teachers set both short- and long-term goals to reinvigorate his or her passion for education.

What Her Background Is: Terrell received her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and her Master’s degree in curriculum instruction ESL from the University of Phoenix.  She worked as an ESOL teacher and social media community manager before shifting her focus to teacher training and outreach.

What May Surprise You About Her: Terrell has not only taught English to language learners in the United States but has taught abroad in Germany and to online learners in Spain as well.

Twitter: @shellterrell

Email: shellyterrell@gmail.com

19. Eric Sheninger

Award-Winning Former Principal and Author

What His Current Focus Is: Eric is an award-winning former principal who is changing the way that schools think about and also utilize technology. His primary focus is helping schools harness the power of edtech and use it not only to connect with students but also to help them achieve academically. He is an accomplished speaker and author who tweets about all things education.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Eric is an avid blogger, and his thought-provoking and practical posts shed light on the need for thoughtful technology implementation, more effective learning strategies, and stronger school branding, among other ideas. He is helping schools lead and learn in a digital age. He is responsible for Pillars of Digital Leadership, which is a framework that seeks to transform school cultures.

What His Background Is: Eric is a senior fellow and thought leader on digital leadership with the International Center for Leadership in Education. Before that, he was an award-winning Principal at New Milford High School. Under his helm, the school became a globally recognized model for innovative practices in edtech. Sheninger holds two bachelor’s degrees — a B.S. from Salisbury University and a B.S. from University of Maryland Eastern Shore — and a master’s in education from the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

What May Surprise You About Him: Even with his busy schedule, he has found time to write 5 books.

Twitter: @e_sheninger

Email: esheninger@gmail.com

20. Lucy Gray

Education Consultant, Co-founder of the Global Education Conference

What Her Current Focus Is: Lucy Gray is an educational consultant, Apple Distinguished Educator, and Google Certified Teacher.  Gray’s consulting is focused on presenting to teachers and staffs about best practices in technology integration, information literacy, global education initiatives, and harnessing the power of social media.  Currently, Gray is working as an innovation coach, mentoring elementary school teachers to explore and create mobile learning opportunities.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Gray creates hands-on experiences for teachers, coaching them through the process of creating cultures of creativity and innovation in their schools.  Instead of simply presenting or lecturing, she dives into schools, meeting regularly with their employees to promote positive change.  She also works as a liaison in transitioning schools toward 1:1 technology integration.

What Her Background Is: Gray received her degree in art history and elementary education from Beloit College in 1989, followed by a Master’s degree in technology in education from National-Louis University in 2002.  She has taught in the Chicago Public School system, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, and has worked in various capacities at the University of Chicago.

What May Surprise You About Her: Gray makes all of her consulting presentations available for free on her web page at http://www.lucygrayconsulting.com/presentations.php

Twitter: @elemenous

Email: lucy@lucygrayconsulting.com

Conclusion

As you can see, there is no shortage of global edtech influencers out there. Who did we forget? Do you have any edtech influencers who you know and follow? Let us know.

The post The Edvocate’s 2018 EdTech 20: A Ranking of 20 Global Edtech Influencers appeared first on The Edvocate.

There is no doubt you have wondered whether the unlimited access to technology this generation has is influencing them for better or for worse. When it comes to education, we see more and more technology infiltrate the classroom. Some see the rise in technology use as turning our kids into zombies who stare blankly into their computer screens and do not think independently.

However, a Stanford report explains, “technology – when implemented properly -can produce significant gains in student achievement and boost engagement, particularly among students most at risk.” The key here is “when implemented properly.” Yes – there are cases when too much technology does have a zombie-like effect on kids. But, more importantly, when we use technology to the right extent for the right purpose, it simply changes education.

What Turns Our Kids into Zombies

Unfortunately, kids who have too much screen time do seem like zombies. For example, The American Pediatric Association has studied and produced screen time viewing recommendations. We are even hearing about kids who are addicted to their smartphones or video games. Therefore, for some, the use of technology in the classroom raises a red flag.

However, on the flip side, others have argued for years that standardized testing and teaching to the test is also a way of producing students who are zombie-like. Students who learn to memorize facts without developing critical thinking skills seem like zombies.

Therefore, it is possible whether you use technology in the classroom or not, students can seem to have the same zombie-like responses. The key is a balance. The AAP explains, “For school-aged children and adolescents, the idea is to balance media use with other healthy behaviors.”

What Teachers Need to Do in the Classroom

Teachers should not use technology just because they can. Instead, the technology they choose to use in the classroom should support the curriculum and meet the needs of their students. For example, just because technology is new and exciting doesn’t mean it needs to be brought into the classroom. However, if there is technology that will help students understand the lesson in a relevant way, then it should be used regularly.

Additionally, teachers must reevaluate how they teach using technology. For example, students know how to find answers on Google with ease; therefore, teachers should help students navigate their way through online content, as well as focus on using critical thinking questions rather than fact-based questions.

What Parents Need to Do at Home

The issue of technology and zombie behavior does not fall on teachers alone. Parents are responsible for teaching kids to use technology in healthy ways. For example, parents should be setting limits on technology use and modeling appropriate technology behavior.

The post Is Tech Improving Education or Turning Our Kids into Zombies appeared first on The Edvocate.

In our modern age, more parents and teachers are turning to technology than ever before. Screen time is a normal household occurrence even with young children who might be too young for school or are just starting their elementary years. Researchers are now beginning to investigate what the implications might be for this excessive amount of screen time. Could it be causing developmental delays in young children?

Speech Delays

One of the biggest areas where developmental delays are seen in young children exposed to screens is in language. The impact of prolonged exposure to technology is staggering. According to one study, children who watched television before their first birthday typically watched more than two hours per day. However, this isn’t the most surprising part of the study. In comparison to the control group, the children who watched television were six times more likely to have delayed speech compared to the others.

Other studies performed by pediatrician Catherine Birken determined that even thirty minutes each day could be detrimental. They had parents self-report how much time children spent on phones or tablets daily. Most children spent around thirty minutes but they were all more likely to have speech delays. For each additional thirty-minute increment, the children were 49 percent more likely to have an expressive speech delay.

While this developmental delay is certainly significant, it is not the only thing that should concern parents who encourage screen time for their children. Psychology Today argues that we are fundamentally changing the way a child’s brain develops when we expose them to screens at early ages. Their ability to use language certainly decreases, but they also lose the ability to carry on a conversation or to read the body language and attitudes of other people.

Attention and Focus

As a child grows up, he or she will need to be attentive and focused in order to acquire new skills This is essential for classroom learning as well as everyday life with parents and peers. Unfortunately, screen time tends to diminish a child’s ability to focus long enough to acquire these new skills quickly. One of the biggest long-term effects of screen time at an early age is a decreased attention span.

On the games and shows available right at their fingertips, children are exposed to excessive amounts of stimuli. This makes it difficult for them to concentrate on any one task. However, it also teaches them to crave that type of stimulation that doesn’t require any thought or effort on their part. Everything they could ever want is given to them through the games. They never learn to be imaginative or creative the same way children might have done a few generations ago.

While technology does offer some promising advances for education, it is still too early to tell what we may be sacrificing. Too much screen time can certainly cause developmental delays in young children, particularly in regards to their language development and attention spans. This should be something to highly consider prior to allowing technology to babysit our young children.

The post Can Too Much Screen Time Cause Developmental Delays in Young Children? appeared first on The Edvocate.

Learning apps have been steadily rising in popularity and availability. Many parents are excited at the prospect of taking a more active role in shaping their child’s education. Selecting the right educational program can help a child to significantly expand their current knowledge, even if their parent doesn’t have a background in teaching. After all, these learning apps are intended to engage a variety of learning styles so every child can benefit.

However, many parents become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of educational apps available. How do you decide which ones are right for your child? Asking yourself these five common questions may help to guide your decision-making process.

What is the app actually teaching?

As a parent, it’s important to know exactly what your child is supposed to learn from an app. If the description is vague and you can’t clearly see the connections, it may be intended more for recreation than education. Look at the skills it is intended to teach your child and decide if those fit into an age-appropriate academic system. You should clearly be able to identify the key concepts and ideas that your child will be learning when they play with any learning app.

Is this app age-appropriate?

It’s no secret that the majority of students who are using learning apps are in high school. This fact alone means that many manufacturers will gear their content and formatting to an older generation. Particularly when selecting a learning app for younger children, you need to ensure that the content and formatting is appropriate for their age group.

Could you purchase a similar app at a lower price?

While many of the learning apps will be free or inexpensive, some may cost more than you’re willing to spend. Always take the time to investigate whether you could get a similar learning app at a lower price. Be sure to take time to compare the reviews, content, and formatting to ensure that the cheaper version is indeed comparable.

Will this app help to bolster their creativity?

One of the most common issues with educational apps is their propensity to promote consumerism over creativity. Parents and teachers should both select apps that favor the latter. Look for versions that don’t prompt children to pay money for extra coins, hidden levels, and bonus tries. These apps should be actively encouraging your student to create and work hard on their ideas instead of receiving instant gratification by purchasing items. This instant gratification won’t serve them well academically or in life.

What are your child’s academic needs?

It doesn’t make sense to give your child a learning app that favors vocabulary when they are currently failing math. Selecting the right learning app based on their current academic needs is important. While they can certainly use educational programs to boost their strong areas as well, these apps are better designed to help strengthen a weak point. You should be looking for games and programs that have content geared toward your child’s academic weak points.

Be sure that you’re making a wise choice before you download any learning apps for your child. This framework of common questions can help guide your decisions and improve your child’s learning experience. Take advantage of everything technology has to offer in today’s modern age, but practice applying it wisely by asking questions and evaluating it beforehand.

The post 5 Common Questions People Have About Learning Apps appeared first on The Edvocate.

Did you know that the amount of exposure to reading material in one’s home directly correlates to a child’s academic success? Therefore, it is imperative for parents to give their children access to books and other reading materials. With today’s educational technology, it is easier than ever. There are several educational apps that put thousands of books and short stories right in the hands of children, and they also work to teach the fundamentals of early childhood literacy.

1. Bob Books

Teachers and parents have used the Bob Books series for decades to teach children to read. Now, these books have been converted to interactive apps with different difficulty levels. Bob Books aim to teach reading skills using phonemic awareness.

2. Brush of Truth

The award-winning Brush of Truth app is a hit with children 8 to 12 years of age. In this app, readers must make choices that influence the story’s outcome. This interactive choose-your-own-story will excite reluctant readers.

3. Endless Alphabet

This beginning reader app introduces children to the alphabet and a variety of vocabulary words using playful monster games. Also, the app features animated monster videos that explain the meaning of each word.

4. Kids Vocab – MindSnacks

Instead of boring flashcards for memorizing vocabulary, the MindSnacks Kids Vocab app uses nine interactive games to build vocabulary skills and improve reading comprehension. The app is geared for children 7 to 12 years old.

5. Learn with Homer

Learn with Homer is one of the most popular and highly rated reading apps for children 3 to 8 years old. The interactive app includes reading lessons, stories, songs, and virtual field trips with entertaining animated characters.

6. Learn to Read – Starfall

This app is based on the respected Starfall learn to read website and includes the same type of reading activities based on vowel sounds and phonics. The child can listen or read the short sentences, and then enjoy the interactive animations that depict the sentence’s action.

7. NoodleWords

NoodleWords is a creative app that uses visuals to help students learn words. For example, the word “grow” shows the word “grow” sprout and rise like a tree. It is an engaging tool for children struggling with word comprehension.

8. Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe

Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe is an excellent choice for beginning readers. Using phonetic concepts, children play a game of tic-tac-toe by answering questions relating to letter sounds and syllables. Children enjoy the game because it can be played with someone else.

9. Skybrary

The host of Reading Rainbow, Levar Burton, is behind this digital library just for kids. The subscription app includes a huge collection of children’s books, story time features, animations, and video field trips.

10. Reading Raven

Reading Raven is a customizable app with multi-sensory games that is perfect for teaching your child to read as he/she progresses. It begins with teaching basic letter recognition and finishes with your child reading sentences.

While no app takes the place of individual reading instruction, these apps will help children learn the basics in an engaging way. As you can see, learning to read can be a fun and interactive experience for your child.

The post 10 Apps That Teach Your Child to Read appeared first on The Edvocate.

Who are the biggest edtech influencers in the world? The Edvocate editorial team has exhaustively researched the movers and shakers of edtech and selected 20 global influencers. To frame our methodology, we decided to define edtech influencer broadly. On this list, you will find administrators, bloggers, journalists, policymakers, researchers, innovators, businessmen, activists, etc. who are transforming the edtech space as we know it.

The influencers that we chose are all active in the area of edtech, doing something influential in 2018, well-known throughout the edtech landscape, and making an impact globally. We are excited to witness how these influencers continue to change the world this year, and we are anxious to see who will stand on the shoulders of these giants, and as a result, make our list next year. Without further ado, here is The Edvocate’s 2018 EdTech 20: A Ranking of 20 Global Edtech Influencers.

1. Nathaniel A. Davis

CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at K12

What His Current Focus Is: Mr. Davis is the CEO of K12, a technology-based education company and leading provider of online curriculum and school programs for students in pre-K through high school. As CEO and Chairman, he focuses on strengthening the K12 organization, its operations, and its academic programs. He is the person responsible for K12’s meteoric rise over the last decade.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Under his helm, K12 is driving innovation and advancing the quality of education by delivering state-of-the-art, digital learning platforms and technology to students and school districts across the globe. K12’s curriculum serves over 2,000 schools and school districts and has delivered millions of courses over the past decade. K12 is a company of educators providing online and blended education solutions to charter schools, public school districts, private schools, and directly to families. The K12 program is offered through more than 70 partner public schools and school districts and public and private schools serving students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries.

What His Background Is: Mr. Davis received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an MS in Engineering Computer Science at the Moore School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.

What May Surprise You About Him: With a personal passion for serving children and helping them achieve higher levels of success, Mr. Davis founded the JANDT Foundation to aid minority children in attending private and parochial schools in the Washington, DC area.

Twitter: @K12bloggED

Email: N/A

2. Sal Khan

Founder and Executive Director of Khan Academy

What His Current Focus Is: Sal Kahn is an American educator who has founded both an online education platform called the Khan Academy, as well as a physical school, the Khan Lab School.  The Khan Academy is a free service that offers over 6500 video lessons on a range of topics and subjects, through primarily focused on math and science. The Khan Academy’s YouTube page has more than 2.9 million subscribers.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Khan’s goal is to reach as many students as possible, regardless of resources, and so his mission is to make his lessons accessible and free.  Kahn’s videos, therefore, have become vital educational resources for rural African and Asian students.

What His Background Is:  Kahn graduated from MIT with a Bachelor’s of Science in math, electrical engineering, and computer sciences; he then earned an MBA from Harvard.  Kahn worked hedge fund analyst.  As his online tutoring and education videos gained popularity, he quit his hedge fund position in 2009 to shift his focus to crafting and developing his online education endeavors.

What May Surprise You About Him: The Khan Academy began as a way for Kahn to tutor his cousin long-distance.

Twitter: @khanacademy

Email: skhan@khanacademy.org

3. Mike Tholfsen

Principal Product Manager on the #MicrosoftEDU Team

What His Current Focus Is: Mike Tholfsen is the Principal Product Manager on the Microsoft Education team. He mainly focuses on OneNote Class and Staff Notebooks, Learning Tools and Microsoft Teams. He has spent over 20 years at Microsoft, helping to shape their education division. Mike works with educators and pupils from all over the world to create products that improve student outcomes. He works tirelessly to promote Microsoft Education and their products. This has resulted in an increased share of the edtech market for Microsoft.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Mike is transforming the edtech space by creating products that 1. Help teachers maximize their productivity; 2. Level the playing field for students from minority groups and those that have special needs; and lastly 3. Take advantage of the power and promise of personalized learning and artificial intelligence.

What His Background Is: Mike has a B.S. in Information Systems from the University of Washington. Although he does not have a background in education, he has worked hard to come up to speed. He has a firm grasp on the intersection of education and technology, as evidenced by the wonderful products that have been released under his watch.

What May Surprise You About Him: Mike’s favorite book is The Fourth Turning, by William Strauss and Neil Howe.

Twitter: @mtholfsen

Email: michtho@microsoft.com

4. Anant Agarwal

Founder and CEO of edX

What His Current Focus Is: Professor Anant Agarwal is currently a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He is also one of the founders and the CEO of edX, a MOOC (massive online open course forum) and non-profit organization.  He created and taught the first edX course – one on circuits and electronics – which boasts an enrollment of over 155,000 students from over 160 countries across the world.  In addition to his work at MIT and on edX, Anant hacks on an online circuit’s lab called WebSim in his free time.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Anant has long been an outspoken advocate of MOOCs, which strive to make education accessible to learners at low or no cost, worldwide.  edX draws courses from the nation’s – and the world’s – leading educational institutions.  They offer many free courses, and students can choose to pay a fee for a certificate.  These fees help continue to fund free classes.

What His Background Is: Anant was born in Mangalore, India in 1959.  He studied at St. Aloysius Mangalore, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.  In addition to edX, Anant has worked on various engineering and computer technology endeavors including Sparcle, Alewife, Virtual Wires, LOUD, Oxygen, and Fugu.

What May Surprise You About Him: According to an interview on Life Hacker, Anant admits to having dabbled in standup comedy in college.  He finds humor to be an essential quality of a strong leader.

Twitter: @agarwaledu

Email: agarwal@edx.org

5. Daniel Hamburger

CEO of Renaissance

What His Current Focus Is: Daniel is focused on building an organization that delivers powerful student growth data and insights. He believes actionable data is key to personalized learning, and this data is at the heart of Renaissance solutions. Educators can use assessments to understand what each student has mastered, and then place students into the right level of instructional curriculum. Renaissance is also increasing equity and access through its recent acquisition of myON, a provider of digital literacy solutions. By adding myON, Renaissance provides students with unlimited access to more than 13,000 digital books.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Daniel and team have launched Renaissance Flow 360, a solution that drives personalized learning by bridging assessment to instruction. It improves learning outcomes for every student, and provides centralized data on student mastery across multiple educational resources, including the top educational vendors.

What His Background Is: Daniel has nearly 20 years of experience in education. Prior to joining Renaissance in 2017, he was CEO of Adtalem Global Education (formerly DeVry Education), a global provider of educational services. He led Adtalem from 2006 through 2016 and drove its transformation from a domestic, single university to an industry-leading institution serving students around the world and across multiple disciplines.

What May Surprise You About Him: Daniel was brought up in a family that highly valued education, especially varied educational experiences. In fact, their rule was, “You can go to any college you want, as long as it’s Michigan.”

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmhamburger18/ 

Email: Daniel.Hamburger@renaissance.com

6. Bill Latham

CEO, MeTEOR Education

What His Current Focus Is: Bill Latham is CEO and senior program designer at MeTEOR Education, a company that inspires and supports communities and their students in creating transformational learning experiences. Focused on the strong interplay between pedagogy and support spaces, Latham is a leading global advocate for the constant, consistent support of best-practice instruction through living classroom environments. He and his team’s designs have led to measurable increases in basic literacy, collaborative learning, and complexity of student tasks at all grade levels. Latham is connected with leading global researchers and academics in the field, employing the latest best practice findings as he leads design work for classrooms, school buildings, and broader school systems.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Bill is a leader in the design and implementation of holistic, high-impact learning experiences and environments, he has consulted with schools, districts, and governmental agencies across the Western Hemisphere on the design, outfitting and implementation of classroom and school environments aligned to critical learning priorities for more than 15 years. He and his team have directly served more than 1,000 schools in the United States alone. Latham is an architect of the human engagement by design methodology. He focuses on the integration of foundational engagement frameworks, technology, furnishings, and space to drive specific-learning 21st Century college and career-ready outcomes. He is the co-author of the book Humanizing the Education Machine: How to Create Schools That Turn Disengaged Kids Into Inspired Learners (Wiley; November 7, 2016).

What His Background Is: Bill holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry and an MBA from the University of Florida.

What May Surprise You About Him: He is active in martial arts and competes at a national level.

Twitter: @BillLatham3

Email: BLatham@meteoreducation.com

7. Arne Bergby

CEO of itslearning

His Current Focus: Arne joined itslearning in 2004. Passionate about education and helping students and teachers succeed, he has led itslearning to be Europe’s largest provider of educational learning platforms. As CEO, his focus is on making the student-centered teaching and learning platform the ideal one stop shop for creating and delivering courses and assessments, managing standards-aligned content, enabling communication and collaboration for teachers, parents and students, and more.

Put another way, itslearning strives to remain at the heart of education. Under Arne’s leadership  itslearning continues to gain market share in the United States as it partners with Houston (TX) Independent School District, Forsyth County (GA) Schools, Fort Worth (TX) Independent School District, Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township (IN) and San Bernardino (CA) City  Unified School District – to name just a few. Designed for teachers and how they want to teach, itslearning is a cloud-based learning platform used by millions of teachers, students, administrators and parents around the world. It can be found at all levels of education, from primary schools to universities, helping teachers make education more inspiring and valuable for today’s students.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Arne is working to transform the education space by overseeing the continuous improvement and rise of itslearning as one of the world’s most robust and popular learning management systems. itslearning has over seven million active users worldwide, mainly in the United States, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Made for today’s classroom, itslearning is one of the most innovative products in the global education sector.

His Background:  Previously, Arne served as managing director of Tieto, one of the largest ICT companies in Europe. Arne received a Master of Management degree from the Norwegian Business School in 1987. He is a member of the Educational Consultants Network, K-12 Assistive Technology Professionals, and is on the Board of Directors of G.C. Rieber.

What May Surprise You About Him:

He’s fiercely competitive. Whatever your game — skiing, running, even cooking — he’s always up for good-natured competition.

Twitter: @ArneBergby

Email: arne.bergby@itslearning.com

8. Todd Brekhus

President of myON at Renaissance Learning

What His Current Focus Is: Todd believes that literacy, student choice, and personalized learning are the three keys to transforming learning for all students. myON’s expansive digital content library and literacy tools, paired with Renaissance’s complementary reading practice and assessment offerings, enables the company to deliver a comprehensive, innovative suite of reading solutions to educators and students worldwide. Todd and his team work to inspire the love of reading and learning by leveling the playing field with unlimited access to books. He is a lifelong advocate of reading and literacy.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Through myON’s literacy ecosystem, Todd and his team offer more than 4 million students instant and unlimited access to more than 13,000 enhanced digital books and daily news articles, real-time assessments, and close reading tools.

What His Background Is: As the President of myON at Renaissance Learning, Todd is focused on product development and providing educators tools to create a personalized learning environment. Before joining the edtech business community, he spent eight years in education as a teacher, department chair, and technology director. He has led successful edtech companies including Capstone Digital, PLATO Learning, Learning Elements, and MCI WorldCom, where he helped develop and implement the Marco Polo program.

What May Surprise You About Him: In high school, Todd was a competitive slalom ski racer.

Twitter: @ToddBrekhus

Email: tbrekhus@myon.com

9. Jay King

COO of StudySync®

What His Current Focus Is: Jay is presently focused on serving as the COO of StudySync. Over the past year, Jay has traveled to several districts throughout California, Illinois, and Arizona to meet and learn from StudySync users, including districts in Geneva, Elgin, Huntley, St. Helena, Paradise Valley, and more. Recently, Jay has been instrumental in bringing StudySync’s new production studio to Petaluma, CA, his hometown. As a product of the Petaluma public school education, Jay believes that Petaluma encompasses a small-town culture, with strong community values, which are common throughout the U.S. and indicative of how K-12 education can have such a positive impact on society. The studio will be the site where several media productions are created, including StudySync® TV.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: In 2009, Jay co-founded StudySync with StudySync’s CEO, Robert Romano. Their vision was to leverage technology and social learning to engage students in the great works of literature. As one of the nation’s most highly regarded literacy curriculums, StudySync provides these digitally-connected students with media-rich learning experiences, real-world topics, and a direct read-write connection, while giving teachers flexible digital tools and engaging print resources supporting teaching, differentiation, and standards-based assessment. In 2013 StudySync partnered with McGraw-Hill Education to exclusively distribute StudySync in the k – 12 market. The product has also received numerous prestigious awards including the coveted Innovation Award from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP).

What His Background Is: Previously, Jay co-founded EdVantage Software, also with Robert Romano, and led the development of several award-winning products. After its acquisition of EdVantage, Jay led Riverdeep’s web development team, winning the prestigious CODiE award. With StudySync, Jay has led the development of StudySync’s ELA and SyncBlast products, which have gained wide acceptance and accolades. Jay has an M.S. in Accounting from Santa Clara University.

What May Surprise You About Him: Jay is a certified sports fanatic. He is probably watching ESPN right now.

Twitter: @johnjking

Email: jay@studysync.com

10. Chris Twyman

Co-Founder & CEO of BoomWriter Media

What His Current Focus Is: Chris’s passion is to make sure that edtech doesn’t widen the achievement gap. As an entrepreneur in the education industry, either you target your product at the schools that can afford to pay or you make sure everyone can use it and find a way to fund the business. The latter is a much bigger challenge than the former, but that is the mission of BoomWriter. If it is successful, it will narrow the achievement gap. Chris’s investors understand this mission, and everyone sleeps more soundly because of that.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Many kids don’t like writing, but they do like using their imaginations. BoomWriter allows students to inject imagination into their writing, making it super engaging. Engaged kids produce better work, and better writing impacts all other areas of education.

What His Background Is: Chris has always worked in the technology space. From his start in the UK through to living in Boston, he has worked at large software companies like Sybase, Computer Associates, and Tibco. Before founding BoomWriter, Chris was the founder and CEO of an HR technology start-up. Somewhere in there, he also squeezed in an MBA and is a partner in a small VC fund based in Miami.

What May Surprise You About Him: He has run the Boston Marathon twice and is a paid-up member of the Bigfoot Research Organization.

Twitter: @BoomWriter_

Email:  chris@boomwriter.media

11. Angela Maiers

Founder of Maiers Educational Services, Teacher, Writer

What Her Current Focus Is: With over 25 years of experience in education, Angela Maiers is a strong proponent of helping students feel passionate about learning and schools.  She is the creator of the You Matter Movement and an advocate for the Genius Hour in schools.  The You Matter Movement is centered on helping teachers help students feel seen, recognized, and valued which, in turn, helps them plug into their education.  The Genius Hour is an idea she borrowed from Google’s 20% Time policy for their engineers.  Under this theory, students are given (at least) one class period per week to pursue their passions under the tutelage of a teacher.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Maiers works to help teachers and students understand and employ the innovative power of technology.  Through Twitter, Instagram, and other social media, Maiers encourages teachers and other adults to send Mattergrams, messages tagged #YouMatter that encourage students and children to recognize their power to impact the world in a positive way.

What Her Background Is: Maiers is an alumna of the University of Iowa.  She received a Bachelor’s in Education.  She also holds a Master’s degree in Education and Curriculum from Drake University.  She has 28 years of teaching experience across a range of grade levels, and her work has impacted over 78,000 American classrooms.

What May Surprise You About Her: Maiers claims that the elementary school job of being the milk carrier is the most important, most coveted of responsibilities, and can be used as a microcosm of viewing your place in the world.

Twitter: @angelamaiers

Email: info@choose2matter.org

12. Nichole Pinkard

Associate Professor at DePaul University in the College of Computing and Digital Media

What Her Current Focus Is: Pinkard is an Associate Professor at DePaul University in the College of Computing and Digital Media. Her research is focused on the design and use of pedagogical-based social networks, new media literacy learning outcomes, ecological models of learning and developing pathways for urban youth. She is a strong  advocate for digital literacy and believes that it will lead a revolution in the world of education. This is why she founded the Digital Youth Network in 2006. This Network seeks to help educators learn to teach with technology and digital media. It further seeks to ensure that technology is available to everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Pinkard founded the Digital Youth Network (DYN) in 2006, and she has been creating initiatives that transform the edtech space every since. The DYN model begins with sixth to eighth-grade education and focuses on mandatory in-school media arts classes and optional after-school programs. She was also a co-founder of YOUmedia, a public learning space for teens that immerses students in a context of traditional media to produce new media artifacts like games, videos, and virtual worlds. In April 2010, Pinkard co-founded RemixWorld along with Robert Chang. RemixWorld is a cloud-based social learning network for primary and secondary education, which seeks to safely and securely connect children and adolescents with curriculum, extended learning, and mentorship opportunities.

What Her Background Is: Pinkard holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, an M.S. in Computer Science from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University.

What May Surprise You About Her: Nothing. We mean that in a good way.

Twitter: @npinkard

Email: Nichole can be contacted via her website: http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/#our-team

13. Steven Anderson

Co-founder of #EdChat on Twitter, Education Consultant

What His Current Focus Is: Steven Anderson is an educational expert who focuses on the fusion of technology and social media in pedagogy.  Anderson is a blogger and a former classroom teacher and district technology director.  He hosts the weekly #EdChat on Twitter, which boasts over 1500 participants each week.  Anderson’s #EdChats have earned him the Twitterer of the Year distinction twice.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Anderson works to help teachers meet students in the places where they live: the digital universe.  He travels the country, speaking at schools and conferences about how to safely and appropriately integrate social media in classrooms and how to leverage students’ knowledge of technology to help them learn and grow.

What His Background Is: Anderson is a native of North Carolina, where he still currently resides.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in Middle-Grade Math and Science Education from Western Carolina University and then obtained a Master’s degree in Instructional Technology from East Carolina University.  He was the director of technology at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in Winston-Salem, NC.

What May Surprise You About Him: Anderson is also the author of 3 books geared toward educators and administrators about efficacy in using technology.

Twitter: @web20classroom

Email: steven.anderson@web20classroom.org

 14. Rafranz Davis

Executive Director of Professional and Digital Learning for Lufkin ISD

What Her Current Focus Is: As Executive Director of Professional and Digital Learning, Rafranz helps educators to effectively implement digital learning into their classrooms. She is a speaker, blogger, and an edtech advocate who is never afraid to speak truth to any situation. She is a voice for diverse perspectives in edtech, which have been missing since edtech’s inception. She is the author of The Missing Voices in EdTech: Bringing Diversity into EdTech, a book that puts a spotlight on the fact that the education community has failed to consider the viewpoints of people of color in discussions about edtech.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: By advocating for diverse populations in edtech, she is giving a voice to a population that edtech influencers and policy makers have never acknowledged. Because of her, and people like her, discussions around the intersection of edtech and diversity have increased exponentially. Just visit your favorite edtech blog or read the keynote and presentation titles at your favorite conference. Not to mention, when it comes to the implementation of edtech in an educational environment, Rafranz is a trailblazer.

What Her Background Is: Rafranz obtained an associate’s degree from Navarro College and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University–Commerce. Since her undergraduate days, she has devoted her life to helping educators implement technology in educational environments. She was a middle school math teacher before becoming a curricular strategist and technologist.

What May Surprise You About Her: Rafranz is never afraid to call a spade a spade.

Twitter: @rafranzdavis

Email: Rafranz can be contacted via her website: http://rafranzdavis.com/

15. Chaks Appalabattula

Founder & CEO of Bloomz, Inc.

What His Current Focus Is: Chaks is focused on continuing the fast growth of the Bloomz app, an easy-to-use parent-teacher communication tool for today’s parents, who are used to communicating through their smartphones. Bloomz has a familiar social media interface that encourages parents to participate in their child’s learning and connect with their teacher through a secure platform. With the launch of their school-wide offering, Chaks has also created a powerful premium subscription for school administrators that includes useful data analytics, premium access for all their members, and unlimited membership and storage.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Chaks has helped bring Bloomz to more than 39,000 schools around the world by combining a social networking experience with a comprehensive set of tools—messaging and media sharing, calendar, signups, and student behavior tracking—in one friendly, easy-to-use app.

What His Background Is: Before creating Bloomz, Chaks applied his computer science and engineering education at companies such as Microsoft, AskMe, and most recently as the vice president of product and partnerships at GlobalScholar, where he focused on building an end-to-end learning platform to connect teachers, students, and administrators. He founded Bloomz, Inc. in January 2014 and serves as the Founder and CEO.

What May Surprise You About Him: Chaks created Bloomz after he and his wife both fell ill and had communication difficulties with his children’s teachers.

Twitter: @achaks

Email: Chaks@bloomz.com

16. Marina Umaschi Bers

Co-founder and chief scientist at KinderLab Robotics, Inc., and a professor at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development and the Computer Science Department at Tufts University, where she directs the DevTech research group.

What Her Current Focus Is: Dr. Bers is focused on innovative learning technologies to promote positive youth development. Her research focuses on how technology, such as robotics and programming languages, promotes new ways of thinking and learning in early childhood. With Dr. Bers’ approach, introducing computational thinking in early childhood, students learn to be creators and collaborators with technology and with each other. Her most recent book explores coding as a “new language”, and how it can be presented in a playful context, merging STEM/STEAM and coding with social-emotional learning.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Dr. Bers developed the KIBO robot kit for children 4–7, which is programmed with wooden blocks without keyboards or screens, and is used in 52 countries. She also co-developed the free ScratchJr programming language with over 9.5M downloads.

What Her Background Is: Dr. Bers did her undergraduate at Buenos Aires University, and received a Master’s degree from Boston University and a Master of Science and PhD from the MIT Media Laboratory, where she studied under Dr. Seymour Papert, world-renowned pioneer in developing the first programming language for children, LOGO. She has received prestigious awards, has written four books, and in 2014 did a TEDx talk titled “Young programmers – think playgrounds, not playpens.”

What May Surprise You About Her: Dr. Bers is from Argentina, has three children, speaks four languages, dances tango, and has worked all over the world.

Twitter: @marinabers

Email: Marina.Bers@tufts.edu

17. Vicki Davis

Creator of the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, IT Administrator and Teacher at Westwood Schools

What Her Current Focus Is: Vicki Davis is a current school teacher and blogger. She is also a freelance writer who focuses on professional development for teachers, inspiring them to use technology and build meaningful relationships with their students.  Through her blog and her two books, she reaches hundreds of thousands of teachers, inspiring them to share their trials and triumphs and learn from one another, creating a holistic, wholesome environment to foster student achievement.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Davis’ blog, the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, has garnered much attention and numerous awards, including the Edublogger Award for Best Teacher Blog.  Her current project, the global collaborative app project MAD About Mattering, encourages students to create “apps that matter” in collaborative environments, applying the skills and knowledge they learn in the classroom to better the world around them.

What Her Background Is: Davis has been a full-time teacher and IT director at a school in Camilla, Georgia since 2002.  She was inspired to begin pursuing professional and teacher development when she began to feel stretched thin – ineffective in the classroom and not as present as she would have liked at home with her children.  Two of her children have learning differences, and she began her educational ministry in hopes to better understand students who learn differently like her own children.

What May Surprise You About Her: Davis and her students have traveled all over the world, including to Qatar, India, China, Hawaii, and UAE to present to teachers worldwide about the impact of technology.

Twitter: @coolcatteacher

Email: Vicki can be contacted via her website: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact/

18. Shelly Sanchez Terrell

Co-founder of #EdChat, Creator of 30 Goals Challenge for Education

What Her Current Focus Is: Shelly Sanchez Terrell is an international speaker and e-learning and digital learning specialist.  She has worked with teachers and taught English language learners in over 20 countries.  She has also been recognized as one of Microsoft’s Heroes for Education for her work promoting teacher-driven professional development and the integration of technology in the classroom.  Terrell offers webinars and online presentations each week to reach out to teachers across the United States and the world.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Terrell has inspired over 10,000 teachers to transform their classrooms through her 30 Goals Challenge, which guides the teacher to integrate new technology in his or her classroom, avoid the dreaded “teacher burnout,” and reconnect with students.  The Goals Challenge helps teachers set both short- and long-term goals to reinvigorate his or her passion for education.

What Her Background Is: Terrell received her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and her Master’s degree in curriculum instruction ESL from the University of Phoenix.  She worked as an ESOL teacher and social media community manager before shifting her focus to teacher training and outreach.

What May Surprise You About Her: Terrell has not only taught English to language learners in the United States but has taught abroad in Germany and to online learners in Spain as well.

Twitter: @shellterrell

Email: shellyterrell@gmail.com

19. Eric Sheninger

Award-Winning Former Principal and Author

What His Current Focus Is: Eric is an award-winning former principal who is changing the way that schools think about and also utilize technology. His primary focus is helping schools harness the power of edtech and use it not only to connect with students but also to help them achieve academically. He is an accomplished speaker and author who tweets about all things education.

How He’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Eric is an avid blogger, and his thought-provoking and practical posts shed light on the need for thoughtful technology implementation, more effective learning strategies, and stronger school branding, among other ideas. He is helping schools lead and learn in a digital age. He is responsible for Pillars of Digital Leadership, which is a framework that seeks to transform school cultures.

What His Background Is: Eric is a senior fellow and thought leader on digital leadership with the International Center for Leadership in Education. Before that, he was an award-winning Principal at New Milford High School. Under his helm, the school became a globally recognized model for innovative practices in edtech. Sheninger holds two bachelor’s degrees — a B.S. from Salisbury University and a B.S. from University of Maryland Eastern Shore — and a master’s in education from the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

What May Surprise You About Him: Even with his busy schedule, he has found time to write 5 books.

Twitter: @e_sheninger

Email: esheninger@gmail.com

20. Lucy Gray

Education Consultant, Co-founder of the Global Education Conference

What Her Current Focus Is: Lucy Gray is an educational consultant, Apple Distinguished Educator, and Google Certified Teacher.  Gray’s consulting is focused on presenting to teachers and staffs about best practices in technology integration, information literacy, global education initiatives, and harnessing the power of social media.  Currently, Gray is working as an innovation coach, mentoring elementary school teachers to explore and create mobile learning opportunities.

How She’s Transforming the EdTech Space: Gray creates hands-on experiences for teachers, coaching them through the process of creating cultures of creativity and innovation in their schools.  Instead of simply presenting or lecturing, she dives into schools, meeting regularly with their employees to promote positive change.  She also works as a liaison in transitioning schools toward 1:1 technology integration.

What Her Background Is: Gray received her degree in art history and elementary education from Beloit College in 1989, followed by a Master’s degree in technology in education from National-Louis University in 2002.  She has taught in the Chicago Public School system, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, and has worked in various capacities at the University of Chicago.

What May Surprise You About Her: Gray makes all of her consulting presentations available for free on her web page at http://www.lucygrayconsulting.com/presentations.php

Twitter: @elemenous

Email: lucy@lucygrayconsulting.com

Conclusion

As you can see, there is no shortage of global edtech influencers out there. Who did we forget? Do you have any edtech influencers who you know and follow? Let us know.

The post The Edvocate’s 2018 EdTech 20: A Ranking of 20 Global Edtech Influencers appeared first on The Edvocate.

Did you know that the amount of exposure to reading material in one’s home directly correlates to a child’s academic success? Therefore, it is imperative for parents to give their children access to books and other reading materials. With today’s educational technology, it is easier than ever. There are several educational apps that put thousands of books and short stories right in the hands of children, and they also work to teach the fundamentals of early childhood literacy.

1. Bob Books

Teachers and parents have used the Bob Books series for decades to teach children to read. Now, these books have been converted to interactive apps with different difficulty levels. Bob Books aim to teach reading skills using phonemic awareness.

2. Brush of Truth

The award-winning Brush of Truth app is a hit with children 8 to 12 years of age. In this app, readers must make choices that influence the story’s outcome. This interactive choose-your-own-story will excite reluctant readers.

3. Endless Alphabet

This beginning reader app introduces children to the alphabet and a variety of vocabulary words using playful monster games. Also, the app features animated monster videos that explain the meaning of each word.

4. Kids Vocab – MindSnacks

Instead of boring flashcards for memorizing vocabulary, the MindSnacks Kids Vocab app uses nine interactive games to build vocabulary skills and improve reading comprehension. The app is geared for children 7 to 12 years old.

5. Learn with Homer

Learn with Homer is one of the most popular and highly rated reading apps for children 3 to 8 years old. The interactive app includes reading lessons, stories, songs, and virtual field trips with entertaining animated characters.

6. Learn to Read – Starfall

This app is based on the respected Starfall learn to read website and includes the same type of reading activities based on vowel sounds and phonics. The child can listen or read the short sentences, and then enjoy the interactive animations that depict the sentence’s action.

7. NoodleWords

NoodleWords is a creative app that uses visuals to help students learn words. For example, the word “grow” shows the word “grow” sprout and rise like a tree. It is an engaging tool for children struggling with word comprehension.

8. Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe

Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe is an excellent choice for beginning readers. Using phonetic concepts, children play a game of tic-tac-toe by answering questions relating to letter sounds and syllables. Children enjoy the game because it can be played with someone else.

9. Skybrary

The host of Reading Rainbow, Levar Burton, is behind this digital library just for kids. The subscription app includes a huge collection of children’s books, story time features, animations, and video field trips.

10. Reading Raven

Reading Raven is a customizable app with multi-sensory games that is perfect for teaching your child to read as he/she progresses. It begins with teaching basic letter recognition and finishes with your child reading sentences.

While no app takes the place of individual reading instruction, these apps will help children learn the basics in an engaging way. As you can see, learning to read can be a fun and interactive experience for your child.

The post 10 Apps That Teach Your Child to Read appeared first on The Edvocate.