Thinking of what education might look like in the next decade, one quickly realizes that the trends in technology are leaving a large number of our students behind. We no longer live in an age of visible movement when it comes to progress and innovation. Today is an age of exponential change. New and ever-improving technologies are popping up every day and in every corner of society.

Educating the best and the brightest in this brave new world will take a new and improved educational paradigm. Allowing our educational tools to age in the corner of the classroom will be the mistake that may cost us our future. Throwing away masses of children to inequitable access will ensure that we languish at the bottom of the global pool of employable workers for decades to come.

The New Toolbox

I was at an auction a few years ago and noticed a few old woodworking tools that I thought I could use. For a few bucks, I was able to snag an assortment of hand tools that may have been in someone’s toolbox for a generation or more. As the next decade passed, I used these tools in my shop for a wide variety of projects until my projects outgrew these old, dull tools. My woodworking creations continued to improve as did my skills and artistry. I quickly discovered that using improved tools would translate into improved craftsmanship. As any woodworker will tell you, new tools require new skills.

Woodworking is a great metaphor for shaping and molding students. There is simply no good substitute for a sharp tool. If you want to build the best projects possible, you need to use the best tools possible. Thinking in terms of the next decade for our country, we will be sorely disappointed in our projects if we fail to improve our tools.

Over the course of the next few days, I will attempt to paint a picture of how technology will shape the way we educate students in the next decade. I will attempt to show the amazing possibilities that lay before us if we will simply walk through the doorway of opportunity that is open to us.

My main focus in this series of articles will be this idea: Transforming the student from being a passenger to becoming a “user.” You may be wondering what I mean by this. Let me explain.

Ask yourself what it means to be a “user.” A user is not simply a person who uses. For the student, being a user should involve using the latest technology in a free and autonomous manner. This new-found freedom will allow the student to become an active participant in his/her education instead of a passive passenger. No other time in history have we been so able to make this a reality.

In our current technological society, being a user also means being tracked. Tracking has become a major part of our daily lives and is precisely the engine that should drive our educational process for the foreseeable future. Tracking a student means having the ability to target education toward weaknesses and strengths. The ability to accurately customize curriculum to the individual has been the holy grail of educational philosophy for many years. This golden age of technological development may soon enable this dream to become a reality.

Current educational curriculum and individual assessment is arbitrary at best. Being able to accurately asses a student can only be achieved by using modern tracking and database technologies. The means by which we can make this a reality is readily available and only needs to be taken off the shelf to be used. If Congress is looking for a shovel-ready project, this may be the one.

Imagine a world where every child has a tablet computer with ready access to the App of virtual photographic memory (internet). Further, imagine that every student can access all the knowledge of humankind freely at any moment in time. Continue to imagine a world where a misspelled word brings up a spelling challenge application instead of an auto correction. Try to contemplate what it would mean for a teacher to have a database of every misspelled word, every misunderstood concept or every missed equation for each of their students. Try to envision a teacher with the ability to customize the experience of the individual “user” with minimal effort. Imagine the curriculum being automatically targeted to the user through an intuitive educational platform that knows every strength and each unique weakness. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

The company that makes this standard available to the educational community will be the company that shapes the future of humankind. Will it be Google, Apple, Microsoft, or some other yet unknown pioneer?

Continuing from the thoughts in my last post, I would like to elaborate on the idea of the student as a user of a new standardized educational platform. It is obvious to me that the future of education will always mirror our everyday lives in one way or another. If you examine how technology has influenced your daily life already, you begin to put together a snapshot of what it will mean to be educated in the next decade.

In the last few hundred years, most individuals would consider an education as something you receive. You often hear the question asked, “Where did you receive your education?” As we proceed through the next decade, education will slowly move away from reception and toward being custom designed for the individual user. New technology will not only allow us to receive an education, but also develop an education. The question we might ask in 10 years is, “How did you develop your education?” The question of where will still be important, but the how of the matter will be the focus that defines the individual.

To make this a reality we will need a standardized platform from which to develop a student’s unique education. This standardized platform will allow us to tailor a custom curriculum that will be matched to talents, interests and life goals. For the educator, a standardized platform will create a way to assist the student in discovering a true purpose in life through a unique educational experience. The basics of reading, writing and arithmetic will not be taught as much as they will be discovered and used. Learning will become a reciprocal experience between the teacher, the student and the machine.

Under a standardized platform, each of these three participants will have a role to play. The teacher will be the facilitator, assisting the development of the curriculum and inspiring the direction the student takes. The student will be the user, gathering resources, skills and knowledge in an efficient and measured sequence. The machine will do the work of data gathering and analysis, which will assist the teacher and student in refining the curriculum. This data gathering work of the machine will also free the teacher from the burden of record-keeping and tedious tasks that currently distract from the real job of teaching and learning.

Under a standardized system, grade level will be far less important. Achievement and progression will be measured by accomplishment and intelligence as a benchmark for success. The question of failure or success will be irrelevant and replaced with a standard and consistent measurement of potential and overall intelligence. Information will no longer be missed but continually rehearsed and monitored for retention by the machine.

In our current educational paradigm, the teacher is in charge of arbitrarily constructing curriculum. This approach to curriculum development is based on inexperience in some cases, outdated materials, inadequate funding and a shortage of time. Measuring the success of a specific curriculum is currently impossible. With a standardized system, comparisons of curricular success can be made across the entire spectrum of education and then continually reformulated and enhanced by the machine.

Sadly, teachers today are bogged down with an assortment of mind-numbing tasks that would be better suited to an off-the-shelf automated system. Tasks such as data tracking, reporting and record keeping are currently accomplished manually. These tasks could easily be delegated to an intuitive database. Developing a standard to follow would eliminate these tasks and free the teacher to do their main job of teaching students.

Education 3.0

Throughout history, man has sought to pass on knowledge to the next generation. This process started with oral tradition, storytelling and writing. With the advent of the printing press, knowledge and information slowly became available to the masses. The amount of information that could be gained by one human in a lifetime was severely limited by his access to printed materials and wealth. The majority of learning was gained through observation and imitation. We can call this Education 1.0.

Education 2.0 starts around the late eighteen hundreds with universal literacy movements throughout newly industrialized regions of the world. Improvements in education slowly transitioned from apprenticeship to formal education and training. Despite our movements toward universal education, access to knowledge and opportunity continues to be inequitable throughout the world. Even with the arrival of the computer revolution, access to the tools of learning continues to define the learner.

The next decade may mark the moment in history when all men are granted equal access to the greatest treasure a soul can possess. I use the word may in the last sentence because there is the chance that we will miss this golden opportunity. Access to Education 3.0 will only be gained through investment and universal standardization. If we continue to divert wealth toward fruitless goals and corporate greed, this opportunity will be lost or hopelessly delayed.

Education 3.0, when it arrives, will be the age of universal enlightenment. Platforms for education and learning will slowly standardize and become globally accessible and affordable. The poorest to the wealthiest will have access to the machine that runs the platform.

The thought on your mind at this point is most likely wondering what machine I keep referring to. The machine in question is the one we have been so busy teaching and training since roughly 1969. You’ve probably guessed it by now that I am referring to the internet. The great cloud of knowledge that we call the internet is precisely the mechanism that we will use to build the platform of Education 3.0. When the platform is finally in place, the decade to follow will see the greatest amount of wealth, discoveries and use of human potential that we have witnessed during our time on this earth. The only question that remains to be answered is the point at which I will leave this series of articles.

When will we allow the user to use the machine to its potential?

Middle school students are still in the process of developing their study skills. Teachers can help their students to both develop their study skills and to improve test scores by creating a comprehensive study guide for their class. There are several different types of study guides that work well for middle school students.

The Outline Format

The first type of study guide that works well for middle school students is the outline format style study guide. This type of study guide basically creates a detailed outline of the materials that have been covered in the last module. It will take students through each topic and provide them with information about the main points for each topic. Page numbers can be added to the outline to help students find where in the textbook the topic is discussed.

Point-by-Point Study Guide

The next option is to develop a point-by-point study guide. This type of study guide will basically provide the students with the information that will be used to make up the actual exam. The information will be organized by topic. All the information that the student needs to do well on the exam will be covered in this guide. Students can also be referred to their textbook for additional information on the topics covered in the exam, however, this is not a necessity as the study guide alone is all the students need to study in order to pass the test.

Study Calendars

Time management is a skill that middle school students need to be taught, particularly in regards to test preparation. Teachers can help their middle school students manage their time more effectively by creating a study calendar. A study calendar will outline what the student needs to study each day and for how long the will need to study. The calendar can include study activities or just a list of topics to review.

Study Activities

To make studying more interesting and fun teachers can create study homework activities. These activities will help to focus the attention of the students on specific points, concepts and topics. They can also help students to practice skills that they will need in order to pass the upcoming test. For example, an algebra exam can be prepared for by having students complete worksheets that include practice problems or that have students work with formulas related to the algebra concepts that will be on the exam.

Practice Exams

Another way to help students to prepare for an exam is to create several practice exams. These exams can include questions that will actually be on the actual exam or they can just be similar to those that will be on the exam. The practice exams can be handed out for extra credit or they can be offered to those students that are interested in a study aid.

Conclusion

Study guides for middle school students need to be fairly detailed and focused. The goal of middle school study exams is to teach students how to select information to study, how to manage their time and how to adequately prepare for an examination.

By: M. Binder

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For new as well experienced teachers always in a plan how to manage class. Especially in new session when teacher take charge of new students. Here the point is how to manage class to their best. Classroom management has always been the number one goal as to how your class will go for the year. Sometimes new teachers are not quite sure about what to do to get their classroom under control. Experienced teachers just need some new tips or strategies to use. Know the name of each student. Being able to call on a student by name will cut down on discipline issues. This is very important from view point of classroom management. Always walk around the class to monitor student progress and keep a watchful eye on talkers.

Apart from these, make the students who are talkative leaders in the room. So that you can pass different tasks to these students that bring sense of responsibility in these students, such as collecting calculators or erasing the boards. Do not call parents in the beginning as it proves negative some times. Or any case if you need to call parents, be sure that do not speak all the negatives about student, encourage / stimulate student to study more or to work hard, in this case sometimes student starts working hard and put more efforts on his or her studies. Make environment more challenging it brings sense of new research and more learning when students are free and have no work. .

Always have something for the student to do when he/she finishes early. Students could go to the computer in the room. And always makes them to surf different studies websites to learn more and whats new in the world. Always try to resolve the little issues in class so they do not turn into bigger issues. Do not pass these types of issues to top management as it creates frustration in the mind of students. Students who show bad behavior in your class room may not show it in other classes or do not scold in front of other students. Make them meet after school timing and address their problems and try them to understand why discipline is necessary in the class room. Be fair to all students. If you tell one student no, then you must tell the rest no also. Students know when teachers are being unfair and will let you know.

By: kalpen

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Seniors in high school often have to make an important decision, which college major to choose. There are many majors to choose out of and students have to start choosing their major before even stepping foot on college campus. It is however, often a difficult decision because students have many interests and not enough expertise to make a decision. Many college students, in fact, change their majors during their college years; sometimes, students have to stay in college for 5 or 6 years because of the changes. Nowadays, many college including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University enter all of their students into a General Program during the first two years. However, some programs such as Engineering at North Carolina State University essentially force their students to start engineering when they take their first step on campus.

So, it is still very important for a high school senior to evaluate his or her potential majors before applying to colleges and universities.

The most important factor in choosing a major is interest. It is a horrible idea to spend the next four years of your life studying something you despise then having to work 40 or more hours a week in a field that you find repulsive.

However, most people generally do not prefer to study a field where there are extremely low salaries and high unemployment rate. Having a backup major is generally a good idea.

According to scholarships.com, the most profitable college majors are:

1. Chemical Engineering ($55,900 average starting salary)
2. Computer Engineering ($54,877 average starting salary)
3. Electrical/Electronics/Communications engineering, ($52,899 average starting salary)
4. Mechanical Engineering ($50,672 average starting salary)
5. Computer Science ($50,046 average starting salary)
6. Accounting ($45,723 average starting salary)
7. Economics/Finance/Banking ($45,191 average starting salary)
8. Civil Engineering ($44,999 average starting salary)
9. Business Administration/Management ($39,850 average starting salary)
10. Marketing/Marketing Management/Marketing Research ($36,260 average starting salary)

It appears that students that enjoy engineering have a lot of flexibility in choosing their major without much detriment. If they realize that you do not enjoy working with hardware, they can always work with software with a Computer Science major, or in analytics with a Mathematics or Statistics major. Students who enjoy working with finances also have flexibility choosing between Accounting, Economics, Finance, Banking, Business Administration, and Marketing. It may be difficult for a student to decide whether he wants to study Accounting or Economics while in high school. However, it may be a strategic decision to start leaning toward the finance field.

For most of the degrees above, a Bachelor’s degree is sufficient to get a job. A master’s degree such as the MBA is optional and can be obtained at a later stage. However, in other fields such as English, a Masters of PhD degree may be necessary to obtain the best employment opportunities. That should be taken into account. People who do not want to stay in school for a long period of time should avoid these majors and take advantage of the alternatives. Also, some colleges’ engineering programs can be essentially 5-year programs. Student shouldn’t assume that all Bachelor’s degrees can be completed in 4 years.

There is also an opportunity in many colleges to double major. It may be give the student more job flexibility. However, if the majors do not well overlap, it will also be more time consuming. Minors can also be pursued and only consist of several extra classes. In my opinion, minors should only be pursued out of pure interest since most of the time, they are not listed on a diploma and do not give the student enough expertise to be employed in a field.

If a high school senior cannot think of a major, it is not the end of the world. However, it is highly advantageous to start researching career fields early on. Plus Plus Tutoring offers college planning services to help students choose their major.

By: Anton Lebedev

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Teaching is an art that conglomerates various skills together. Along with the profound knowledge of the concerned subject, you ought to have the skills to impart your knowledge effectively. The importance and utility of teaching aids in the process of teaching cannot be undermined. It is not just enough to be a good teacher, as you also need certain teaching aids at your disposal. Lesson plan is one such important educational tool that allows the teachers to plan their lessons beforehand. Before we delve deeper into the nuances of how to write a lesson plan, let us try to explore the purpose of lesson plan.

Purpose of a Lesson Plan

Lesson plan allows the teacher to plan and organize his lesson. Meticulously planned lessons are anytime better than spontaneous lectures, where the teacher himself is not aware of half the things. Planning the lesson beforehand allows the teacher to gather some insight on what the lesson is all about, what are the teaching aids at his disposal and what is the final outcome expected. This information can be of immense importance for a substitute teacher, if you have to avail a leave without prior notice. More on writing lesson plans.

How to Write a Lesson Plan

Set Your Goals
This is the first step while planning a lesson plan. You have to set certain objectives for your class to achieve. For instance, while planning a math lesson for basic arithmetic for elementary kids, set a goal that by the end of the lesson, your students should be able to perform simple additions. You should also set long term goals so that you can evaluate the progress of your students at the end of year. You should be able to tell if the goal can be accomplished or not.

Understand Your Class
While planning a lesson for your class, it is of utmost importance that you know your students well. Take into account various factors such as the subject, the age of the kids, their interest, their academic progress etc. This information will help you to plan your lesson wisely. Also, you’ll be able to distribute your time according to the strength and weaknesses of your students. Certain sections in the lesson may require more time than the rest. This is particularly true when you think about how to write a lesson plan for elementary school children with diverse interests.

Prerequisites
Prerequisites can be in terms of material things or they could be conceptual. Analyze what are the concepts or skills that your class needs to possess before you proceed for a certain lesson. This will avoid any possible rift between what you impart and what your students gather. Also, make arrangements for the relevant teaching aids in advance. When you think of how to write a lesson plan for preschool kids, you need more of teaching aids and less of actual teaching. Thus, it is necessary to plan your educational aids beforehand. This will avoid any 11th hour hassle and also make things easier for your substitute teacher.

Lesson Procedure
Once you gather an insight upon what your prerequisites are, you may proceed to planning the actual lesson. Plan your opening section, then go on explaining the main lesson. Elaborate the activities that you would like your students to undertake for better understanding of the lesson. Lastly, think about how you want to conclude your lesson. Do not forget to summarize the lesson and emphasize on important aspects of the lesson. Also, plan a follow up activity so that the information is retained in the minds of your students.

Evaluation of Goals
This needs to be done at the end of the lesson. You are required to gather evidence if you and your students have accomplished your corresponding goals and objectives. Evaluation will help you to plan your next lesson with more expertise.

Lesson plan is a great way of determining the course of your lesson, so that both the teacher as well as students are benefited. I hope, the tips on how to write a lesson plan given in this article help you in planning an effective lesson plan.

By Ashwini Kulkarni
Published: 1/13/2010
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