Enhancing Education Through Technology Integration
Educational Technology in the Age of YouTube
Whether teaching in an online environment or supplementing face-to-face classes, educational videos offer flexibility and engagement that students thrive on. They can watch at their own pace and pause or rewind to understand complex concepts.
To make your educational video content engaging, inject some personality. Your enthusiasm for the topic will help engage students and keep them focused on learning.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is an online learning platform that provides free world-class education to students anywhere. It features short video lessons, practice exercises, and resources for educators. These tools are designed to promote student engagement and develop a growth mindset.
The site uses a simple, intuitive design that is easy to navigate. Its homepage includes clickable buttons for Learners, Teachers, and Districts*. These buttons provide different features for each group.
Khan Academy offers a variety of interactive videos, including one featuring a high school superintendent who discusses her process for increasing rigor at her school. Its learning model also includes a “mastery” approach that encourages students to learn at their own pace. Various engagement tools, such as badges and avatars, encourage learners to practice consistently.
Y Combinator
Y Combinator is a Silicon Valley startup accelerator that invests money in startups twice a year and takes a stake in their companies. The program has helped launch tech giants like Airbnb, Reddit, and Stripe. YC also provides mentoring to founders and hosts weekly dinner seminars with guest speakers.
To apply for YC, you must submit an online application and attend an interview. During the interview, you will be asked questions about your startup, founders, and market. You can also include a video pitch in your application.
YC has a strong alumni network and is a great way to make connections with investors. Moreover, YC alumni can help you improve your product and boost sales. AirHelp, for example, used its YC connection to secure millions in business credit.
The Lettered Classroom
In an age of educational technology, letter writing may seem antiquated, but it is still a valuable method for teaching students academic content and classroom routines. It can also help develop social skills and alleviate stress in the classroom.
Educator and speaker Trevor Muir offers invaluable insights into innovative teaching practices on his blog. His platform covers topics ranging from classroom management strategies to teacher trainings. It is a must-read for educators seeking to make their classrooms more engaging and student-centered.
Use a variety of fonts to familiarize children with the different shapes and presentations of letters. For emergent learners, start with a simple alphabet font and progress to more complex ones as students become more comfortable with the process. Incorporate handwriting into other curriculum activities by asking students to interview classmates and collect information about their experiences with writing and sending letters.
Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk is a rock star in the world of business. His story is one of underdog success that has resonated with millions of people around the globe. His YouTube docu-series, #DailyVee gives viewers an up-close and personal look at his life as an entrepreneur.
He rose to fame by leveraging his social media presence to disrupt the wine industry with his Wine Library TV YouTube channel. He then established VaynerMedia, an advertising agency that specialized in social media and quickly became the fastest-growing independent firm in history.
He is also a prolific angel investor and has stakes in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Snap, Uber, and Venmo. He is the author of several books and is the CEO of Empathy Wines, Resy, and a NFT project called VeeFriends.
Alice Keeler
Alice Keeler is an educator, keynote speaker, author and Google Educator expert. She specializes in helping teachers streamline their workflows and increase productivity. She also teaches teachers how to use tools that improve student-centered teaching and learning.
Gamification and choice boards are popular classroom technology trends that can help students become more engaged in their learning. This is especially helpful for students with disabilities, as they can access the information in their own way.
In this episode, Alice discusses how she uses a variety of tech tools in her classroom to save time and be more efficient. She also explains why she believes it is important for educators to focus on pedagogy and not just use technology to get work done. This is an excellent episode for anyone who is interested in learning more about educational technology.