According to a new survey from the Education Technology Industry Network (ETIN), in 2014 alone the edtech industry saw a significant jump in market share from $7.9 to $8.38 billion for k-12 students. CS4Ed president John Richards, Ph.D., the principal author of the report, stated that the increase comes as a result of a growing emphasis on personalized learning and assessment across the board. This is all great news for edtech companies, but how are specific communities taking advantage of educational technologies?
Many Boston Area schools continue to offer new and interesting programs using edtech. EdSurge has compiled a list of Boston area schools that have implemented technology into the daily routine for students and teachers in awesome, innovative ways.
Revere Public Schools
Beginning last year, Revere Public Schools (RPS) implemented a blended learning program which aims to encourage collaborative learning and problem solving using technology. The change has shown so much promise, the district plans to expand the programs in 2015.
RPS has also tried to maintain a 1:1 ratio of technology and students. Each student is given an iPad with the intention being that the student becomes the center of their own learning experience. If there are not enough devices for every student, teachers are given a cluster of 6 in order to create learning stations. Teachers are even encouraged to bring in real-world events and scenarios which has included live chats with astronauts at Cape Canaveral and Skype calls from guest lecturers.
Burlington Public Schools
Revere Public Schools are not the only schools in the Boston Area using educational technologies in great new ways. For example, Burlington Public Schools (BPS) is encouraging professional development in its teachers by giving them the opportunities to teach each other and share strategies on app use in class and software recommendations. BPS students are given the opportunity to gain real world experience by helping run IT support school-wide through a series of elective classes.
Cambridge Public Schools
Cambridge Public Schools is working to create uniformity across classrooms. The ultimate goal being, teachers can walk into any room and have the same experience, regardless of location. Currently, the high school boasts 20 different computer labs, but it plans on upping the ante by following Revere Public Schools’ lead and going 1:1 student to device ratio. Instead of iPads, though, Cambridge will be supplying Chromebooks to its high schoolers.
There are hundreds of different ways to use technology in classrooms today. Revere Public Schools, Burlington Public Schools, and Cambridge are just a few examples of how schools are leveraging technology to create additional value for their teachers and students.