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Monday 26 November 2018

00:48

Classroom Technology: 8 Major Areas of Worry!


The potential ills of deploying technology in the classroom

In recent years, a lot has been said about the necessity of integrating technology in the classroom. Of course, today's school children have so much to gain from such initiatives. 


Meanwhile, this great initiative has not only won the heart of many proponents of a technology-driven classroom, it has also conversely attracted many critics, who hold that deploying technology in today's classroom poses a danger that if left unchecked can do more harm to the entire teaching and learning processes.

And if we may ask, what are these fears? My personal interview with teachers who are critics of a technology-driven classroom buttresses the following areas of concern:

Distraction during lesson

In a typical technology-driven classroom, every child has a computer or tablet. a lot of teachers have complained that while lesson is going on, you're likely to observe half of the class fiddling with their tech device and not paying attention. There is no doubt about this; as I have also experienced it as a classroom teacher. Controlling such children is a very big problem.

Huge cost of deployment

Investing on technology requires huge capital. In fact, this is one reason many school owners are not showing interest. Beside the cost of initial deployment, the cost of maintaining it is another area of concern.Upon that after five years equipment becomes obsolete.

Fear of technology replacing teachers

With the continual upsurge in the deployment of technology in our teaching and learning processes, it has been observed that students are no more looking up teachers for answers to questions, since they can now get instant and more updated answers by a flip of a button. This is just like technology replacing teachers; no wonder many teachers are worried.

Cheating made easier

This is one of the reasons why some External examination bodies insist that candidates do not come to exam hall with their tech gadgets. Where there is no such regulation, cheating becomes very easy for school children. They are able to simply search an answer to a question and instantly find the answer.

Obsolescence of tech equipment

Technology is brought into our teaching and learning process to help eliminate the problem of having papers filling up the classroom. But with the emerging trend of technological advancement, there is this other fear that each day, technology is evolving, thereby rendering the previous ones obsolete. What this means is that we'll still end up looking for a special parking store for our obsolete devices. So, in what way then have we fared well eliminating papers?

Hinders Basic Skills

Technology possesses the danger of eroding students' ability to think for themselves. Instead of learning and understanding basic math, students can simply use their calculator on their phones. Spelling is another example of this; we need to make sure that students retain the ability to problem solve and think for themselves.

Problem of plagiarism

A lot of students today in their inquisitiveness to get any available material online, do not care about privacy policy. So, it's very possible they are already breaking the rule of engagement by plagiarizing others' works. This is very dangerous. 

Addiction leading to health challenges

The uncontrolled use of tech gadgets possesses a grave danger for many school children such as eyesight damage and skin diseases due to excessive radiation from the system. On the other hand, many students have been so addicted to tech gadgets that they start losing focus in getting any other thing done rightly.

However, whatever be the case, technology-driven classroom has come to stay. We can only think of working out solutions to ameliorate its potentials ills to both teachers and students.

Feel free to add a voice to this, using the comment box.

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Wednesday 21 November 2018

23:26

15 Ways to create an Interactive Classroom with Wooclap: FREE!

How to use Wooclap app as an assessment tool in the class


Wooclap is the latest brand of interactive classroom tool for today's classroom. Teachers can use it for classroom assessment in any subject area and for every assessment type.

In this post, I share with you 15 ways you can use the Wooclap free tool to administer classroom assessment with your students.

Sign up here FREE!


1. Multiple choice questions: Here you tick the correct answer before posting, and children choose their answers.

2. Polls: You can ask the students a Yes/No question on pressing issue like, choosing Frank as the class prefect or opposing or proposing a debate notion.

3. Find image: Locating an object in an image. For example, you upload an image of African continent map and ask the children to locate where Nigeria is. You can also upload an image of the brain and ask the children to locate where a particular part of the brain is located.

4. Rating: You can have something like this: 'Rate the followiing subject according to your most favourite: Select score from 1 - 5, 5 being the most favourite'. Invariably, Rating option in Wooclap can be used to teach scale of preference in an Economics class.

 5. Open question? Questions that can have multiple answers. Use it for brain teaser. Eg,
What part of speech is the word, crying? This type of question would be good for older children who can easily point out that 'crying' as a word can stand for, not only verb, but for noun and adjective, depending on its usage in a grammatical structure.

 6. Word cloud: Use it to ask questions that have word limit. Eg, In one sentence, describe your mother (with a minimum of say, 50 characters.)

7. Guess a number: Mathematics brain teaser. Eg, 
How many rooms can be found in two flats of 6 rooms each? You can also use in word problems

 8. Matching: Eg,
Match the Capital cities with their country; Match given CEOs with their businesses. The list is quite endless.

9. Prioritization: Eg, 
Which number should come first in a descending order? or Which word comes first in alphabetical order?

 10. Sorting: Eg,
Sort the following historical timeline in Nigeria in a chronological order. Here, you outline four to five historical timeline, and the students are to select them one after the other in a chronological manner. This can be very helpful in a History or Social Studies class.

 11. Filling in the blanks: Eg,
What should be the missing letter in the word below? 
A word like: pi[?]ea[?]p[?]e: (clue: a fruit). That word is pineapple. The children are expected to fill the blank spaces, marked, ?

 12. Slide: Short answer. Eg,
Facebook CEO is ...

 13. Brainstorm: As the name goes, the brainstorm option seeks to have individual student's opinion on a given multi-faced issue. You assist them by creating categories. Eg, "In the next five years, can you predict what every member of this class should be doing or engaged in?"

 14. Upload videos

 15. Interaction with the entire class.
 With Wooclap app, you can activate interaction, where every member of the class can easily see others' work and comment on them too.

 Technology is really evolving- making the learning process more interactive and impacting. Today's teachers must leverage these powerful tools to drive an engaging classroom that inspires students to work.

 Wooclap has offered us such benefit.

 Sign up here. It FREE.
                                                            Watch this short video...




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00:24

7 Top Ways Students are Benefiting from Digital Literacy Integration

Benefits of digital literacy to students




Video by Rentown.net

The term digital literacy, in its simplest form, has to do with educating the school children on the use and mastering of basic digital tools, needed to effect a technology-driven education across the teaching and learning processes. 

 In this context, digital literacy integration can be said to be same with a technology-driven classroom. In this post, we'll use the two terms as same.

 Now the question is: In what ways can digital literacy integration in schools benefit the cause of students? There is need for us to address this, at least to win the war over the critics of modern technology implementation in the classroom.

 Technology has its own ills, but here we try to look at how it has nonetheless serve the good of our students.

 1. Self-paced lesson
Never at any time has lesson delivery been so all-encompassing than this period of technology-driven education. Today, when technology is employed in the classroom, say as a flipped classroom model, students of all learning abilities and group can easily learn at their own pace.

 A child who can't grab everything during the class hour can still go back home and watch that video, visit that blog site, just name it. In fact, such children are even encouraged to study ahead of the class.

 2. Participatory learning
Gone are the days when teachers take centre stage in every classroom delivery- dishing out personalized intellectual contents while the children look on in bewilderment. The table are rather turning today. Students are now reading ahead, as a result of having instant access to latest information. It also benefits teachers more as their job is made easier dealing with more-informed students.

 Today's children are active participants in classroom engagement; no small thanks to the integration of digital literacy.

 3. Immediate teacher and student feedback
Technology offers a platform for immediate teacher-student feedback. Learning as well as assessment can be processed from a clear-cut distance between the teacher and the students, with yet an instant feedback.

 I remember using Microsoft Onenote in administering examination for my students those days. While the children are writing the exam, I can easily see at an instance, the progress made by each child so far. I could as well decide to start grading them; and each child would instantly see the grade while still working. How wonderful!

 This is the same reason why today, some Exam bodies are releasing students' results just few hours after they dropped their pens- something that took months to get ready in the last few years. 

 4. Skill development
Students who are making use of technology develop lifetime skill doing that. Everything about digital literacy is a lifetime skill development. Students develop critical thinking abilities needed to survive in their world, where skill is the key to survival.

 5. Distant Learning
Digital literacy integration now offers students the opportunity to learn from anywhere, not only from their classroom teachers, but also from other teachers from around the globe.


There is no more constraint of time and distance. If a child misses a class for a genuine reason, lesson can still be sent across to him in real time or to be accessed at a more convenient time. Think of how this makes life easier for both teachers and students.
6. Team work and mutual collaboration
One thing technology has done for today's children is making them less reliant on the teacher's lecture-like deliveries. Today's students working with their gadgets tend to seek for solution more form their peers when they encounter problems, than they do with their teachers. This promotes shared ideas, thereby encouraging team work and collaboration needed for life survival in this century.
7. Global Connection
Technology gives students an opportunity to explore the world beyond their immediate environment. The cross-cultural interactions technology offers to students empowers them to dream of ways they can facilitate a global change. They learn from peers from other part of the world as well as share what they know with others. Nothing promotes real learning like this.

 The list is quite endless; digital literacy integration has really helped in no little way to improve learning among students in this century; and will hopefully keep doing that in the centuries ahead. 

 However, this does not take away from the fact that technology has its own challenges. We hope to address that in our next post.

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Monday 12 November 2018

12:55

20 Free Videos on Google Classroom: Learn how to Run with Google Classroom





Google Classroom offers leverage for schools and individuals to create a virtual classroom on a low budget.

There are so much one can benefit from running with Google Classroom. Check out this post on 55 ways to profitfrom Google Classroom

As part of our commitment to promote digital literacy among teachers, especially here in Africa, our training platform, the TeacherTeachTech offers to train teachers and other interested individuals on how to run with Google Classroom, with these 20 short video tutorials on Google Classroom.

1.   How to create your first class in Google Classroom
This video covers the initial steps to take in launching your class and setting it up. This includes explaining some terms.

2.   How to attach videos to your class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to upload videos to your class either as a welcome message or as a file for assessment.

3.   How to make class announcement in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to make a class announcement, choosing to either send to all the members of the class at one or send to selected few.

4.   How to invite students to join your class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to get the invitation code sent directly to your students or invite them through email.

5.   How to add file from Google Drive in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to add any file format to your class directly from Google Drive.

6.   How to add files from your computer to your class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to add any file format to your class directly from your system storage.

7.   How to add a website link to your class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to add a web link or any other form of hyperlink to your class. This can serve as a tool for flipped classroom.

8.   How to control students’ participation in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to set a control measure to monitor students’ level of participation in the class.

9.   How to Create a Scheme of Work for your class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to arrange your class works under different topics as a scheme of work.

10.               How to Send messages to selected students in your class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to send private messages to selected students.

11.               How to prepare a brief assessment for your class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to prepare a one-off assessment for your students.

12.               How to set a class test or examination for your students in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to set unlimited questions with Google forms and attach it to your class in Google Classroom. It could be for continuous assessment or main examination.

13.               How to create a classroom collaboration in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to create a work that brings the entire class in an interactive mode where every member can chat together. You can assign group works here too.

14.               How to restrict late submission of work in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to set a time lapse for assessment to restrict late submission of class work.

15.               How to attach multiple file in an assignment in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to attach multiple files in a single assessment in Google Classroom.

16.               How to invite other teachers to co-teach a class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to invite other teachers as collaborators to teach a class with you. With this, each of them has the permission to do everything you can do, except deleting the class.

17.               How to create a permanent folder for teachers’ work submission in Google Drive
This video shows you how to create a permanent folder for teachers’ work submission (lesson plan, exam questions and other important records) in Google Drive right from your Google Classroom.

18.               How to delete a student’s name from your class in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to delete any student from your class.

19.               How to access your class drive folder in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to access the permanent folder for your class in Google Drive.

20.               How to grade and return students’ works in Google Classroom
This video shows you how to grade each student’s submitted work and then return it for the perusal of the individual student involved.

This class on Google Classroom videos is a one-month class, involving weekly assessment as well as the final assessment to assess your level of mastery. Those with outstanding result in the final assessment will qualify for another higher perk.


Join the class here…

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Saturday 10 November 2018

14:58

5 Digital Content Creations Teachers can Master for Education and Money


How to improve learning and make money creating contents as a teacher


Digital content creation is one of the key components of digital literacy, which has become the new face of 21st century education.


However, it would be a hard nut to crack if teachers who are supposed to be in the forefront of driving this change in paradigm remain reluctant and resistant to its implementation. It has been observed that teachers who are resistant to this necessary change do so because of their sheer ignorance on the relevance of digital literacy to today’s teaching and learning process, as well as what they stand to gain being digital literates.

With a commitment of time and little financial investment, every 21st century teacher can produce digital contents that will not only accelerate learning among school children, but also create additional income source for the teacher.

In this post, we are going to look at 5 of those digital content creations that have the potentials to improve teachers’ classroom engagement as well as create wealth for them.

#1. Video contents

Video contents can come in different forms. Meanwhile, teachers are encouraged to master video creations for classroom engagement first, and then move on from there. Such videos can come in form  

There are lots of free tools you can start with in creating a classroom video. Check out this post on 10 powerful tools for classroomvideos.

Recommended Post: 6 guided steps to creating a classroomvideo that makes you money

Now the next question is: How does the video content profit you as an educational tool as well as offering a financial benefit to you?

Educational Uses

ü  With videos, you can easily run a flipped classroom. Here, you produce video on an upcoming lesson and then send across to your students to go through in preparation for the main class.

ü  Videos help you to assess the effectiveness of your teaching. Just like football players review the videos of their last game to see how they fared, same way a teacher can assess how effective and impactful is his teaching by going through his video lesson over time.

ü  Videos reinforce learning in children. When as a teacher, you produce video lessons and send across to your students for offline download, they have the freedom to replay the video over time until learning is perfected.

ü  Videos are more engaging and fun, hence creating interest in learners.

ü  With videos, you can create a distant learning structure with your students. Even during holidays, you can still engage your students from home. You can do this simply by using the free tool, Google Hangout to host a videoconference with your students.

Wish to learn how to host a videoconference with your students using Google Hangout? Join our Google ToolsMaster-class here.

Financial Benefits

ü  You can easily upload all your classroom videos to YouTube and monetize them.

ü  Video lessons can as well be used as vlogging contents and then be monetized.

ü  You can also convert them to CDs and sell them offline

ü  Your videos can as well be used for online class, where you make a lifetime income with a one-time content.

#2. Blogging

Blogging today is the most popular and easiest digital content creation.  There are millions of blog posts churned out daily, serving as news source and research materials for the global citizens.

One good thing about blogging is that you can blog about anything and still find audience who are interested in what you’ve just penned down.

Those who are not yet blogging have always blamed the inability to understand the best niche to dive into, as well as the inability to produce regular, quality content, as the reason why they are not yet blogging.

However, the truth is that every average teacher has all it takes to churn out quality and regular blog posts the moment he/she understands how best to go about it. This post is a complete guide on choosing aniche for your blog, especially as a teacher.

Recommended Post: Blog Contents, Promotion &Monetization for Schools and Teachers

How can blogging assist our classroom engagement as teachers as well as pay our bills?

Educational Uses

ü  As with videos, blogs can be used in flipped classroom structure where students are directed to read through a related blog post in preparation for an upcoming lesson.

ü  Blogs serve as permanent research platforms for students and teachers.

ü  Students can be directed to carry out short assessment exercises in blogs, which helps to drive organic traffic for the blog.

ü  Use blog site as a platform to promote products, school events and students’ achievements

ü  The list is endless

Financial Benefits

With a blog, every teacher can create a lifetime wealth in addition to his/her regular income. These are the following ways you can monetize your blog:

ü  Ads Network monetization: You register with these sites and wait for the approval of your site. The moment your site is approved, you’ll have third party adverts placed on your sites by placing codes. You make money through clicks and impressions on these ads. Google Adsense is the leading ads network to monetize your site.

ü  Advert Placement: This is a kind of creating an advert space on your blog site so that brands with related products can directly advertize their products on an agreed terms.

ü  Affiliate Marketing: Bloggers also make money through affiliate marketing- that’s selling other people’s product by driving traffic from their sites to the merchants’ sites.

ü  Personal Brand Promotion: With your blog, you can promote your services and products directly to your blog visitors and make money.

#3. Graphic Designs

Today, one does not need to have a degree in graphic design to be able to design graphics. There are many free and low-cost tools to create world class designs. Every teacher must endeavour to master the skill of graphic designs. You can start with Canva.com and Visme.com.

Educational Uses

ü  Schools can design personalized logo for their brands

ü  Teachers can design award certificates for their students

ü  Students can as well be taught on how to create ebook covers and social media banners

ü  Teachers can create nice infographic for a thrilling classroom engagement

ü  The list is endless.

Financial Benefits

ü  You can save money creating graphics for personalized brands

ü  You can as well make money creating stunning graphics for other brands

#4. Ebook

Ebooks are books in digital formats, usually sold online to be used as digital downloads. Teachers can produce ebooks on subject matters or on subjects and topics that would profit their students. There is so much to gain by teachers producing ebooks.

Youcan order this video pack on Ebook Creation: from Scripts to Sales.

Educational Uses

ü  Produce short ebooks on different areas of students’ lives to improve their academics and behaviour

ü  Ebook can also be used in a flipped classroom design

Financial Benefits

ü  One ebook written today can make you a lifetime income with no extra cost

ü  Ebook can be converted to blog post for additional income

ü  The same ebook can as well be converted to hard copies and sold to local customers

#5. Online Class

Withthe imminent collapse of the conventional school system as well as for the sake of building a global brand, every 21st century teacher is encouraged to embrace online class. As a teacher, you can create an online class with any of the notable online class platforms like Teachable, Thinkific etc. You can as well start with Google Classroom.

Getour 20 Free Videos on Google Classroom

Educational Uses

ü   Online class provides a distant learning solution for your students.

ü  It can as well be employed as a flipped classroom tool

Financial Benefits

ü  Online class is a lifetime income spinner, as one course created today can still enroll students in years to come.

ü  Your online course materials can also be converted to blog post, videos, Mobile Apps, podcasts etc, for more money.

ü  The list is endless.

Today’s teachers have so much to do to improve the educational processes. Technology has provided that leverage and we can’t afford to miss this golden opportunity. Besides, as a teacher, you’ve got a future to secure becoming a digital content creator.

If you’re still in doubt on how to do it, join our class here today!







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