Posted by Melissa Horwitz, Google for Education 

Editor's note: If you’re in the Austin area for SXSWedu, come visit the Google Fiber Space (201 Colorado Street) to attend a range of sessions on innovation in the classroom today, Monday, March 7 and tomorrow, Tuesday, March 8. See the full schedule of sessions at the Google Fiber Space.

The audience today at SXSWedu has a lofty task in front of them: inspiring and motivating the future generations to innovate, create and make a positive impact on the world. Today, we’re introducing three of the many educational technologists who are hosting sessions at the Google Fiber Space on how technology can help students excel in the classroom and in their future careers.

Jason Carroll, Global Products Manager at Texthelp, will discuss how literacy, accessibility and dyslexia tools help students learn to love reading. Erin Mindell Cannon, Research Education Program Manager at Google, and Abby Bouchon, K12 Education Outreach Specialist at Google, will share tools and resources computer science educators can use to inspire a passion for technology in the classroom. Here’s a brief snapshot of what these speakers will be sharing. If you won’t be at SXSWedu, all presentations will be linked to the schedule after the event.

Technology inspires struggling students to be confident
While children are naturally curious about the world, they often lose this love of learning when they feel frustrated. “The biggest barriers to students achieving academic success is lack of effective strategies to help students when they are struggling,” Carroll says. It can be tricky for teachers to create individual lesson plans when they have classrooms of 30 or more students, all with different learning styles. Tools like Texthelp make it easier for educators to provide personalized learning plans and help students gain confidence.

Reading proficiency is an important building block for academic success, but mastering the skill can be frustrating for students of all levels. Technology can help students improve their reading proficiency fast and practice reading aloud at their own pace. With Texthelp’s Fluency Tutor, for example, students can record themselves reading, practice until they feel confident about their effort and share the recording with their teacher. “My daughter loves using it. She’ll record herself reading a passage then listen to it. If she’s not satisfied with it, she’ll re-record it until she’s happy,” Carroll says.

Student dashboard in Fluency Tutor from Texthelp

Tools like these keep students engaged and allow teachers to measure progress over time, but ”it’s more than just handing over the device,” Carroll says. When you combine hands-on instruction with technology, each student gets personalized attention and encouragement.

Topic: Help Struggling Learners Succeed with Texthelp's Read&Write for Google Chrome Presenter: Jason Carroll, Global Products Manager, Texthelp
When: Monday, March 7th, 9:30 - 10:00 am

Topic: Discover the Future of Reading Supports with Texthelp's Fluency Tutor for Google Presenter: Jason Carroll, Global Products Manager, Texthelp
When: Monday, March 7th, 1:15 - 2:00 pm

Confidence in the classroom is everything
Erin Mindell Cannon and Abby Bouchon, who work with Google to inspire students of all backgrounds to learn computer science, believe educators play a critical role in boosting confidence. Google has published three studies on K-12 CS education and found that a key factor for guiding women to major in computer science (CS) in college is encouragement from parents, educators and peers. On the flip side, students can be discouraged from exploring CS because of the lack of diverse role models. “In another research study, we found that parents and students associate computer scientists with the stereotype of white males who wear glasses,” Bouchon says. Educators can promote a diverse range of role models and make sure the school subject is accessible and engaging for students and teachers from different backgrounds.

Google igniteCS students from Colorado School of Mines' Discover Technology group use binary cards to get middle school students excited about Computer Science

Students can be inspired if they feel that the work they are doing benefits society. “If a student believes she’s capable of creating a new technology that can make a positive impact on the world, that’s a motivator,” Cannon says. Students who understand the practical applications of the technology skills and the positive impact they can have in their community -- such as designing a mobile app that geotags local graffiti and organizes a volunteer event to clean it up -- are more likely to excel in the classroom.

Topic: Celebrating Computer Science Educators Presenters: Erin Mindell Cannon, Research Education Program Manager at Google, and Abby Bouchon, K-12 Education Outreach Specialist
When: Monday, March 7th, 3:45 - 4:30 pm

Interested in learning more about how technology motivates students to succeed? Stop by the Google Fiber Space at 201 Colorado Street to check out these sessions and more today, March 7th.

Source: Google for Education

Posted by Melissa Horwitz, Google for Education team

Editor's note: If you’ll be in the Austin area for SXSWedu, come visit the Google Fiber Space (201 Colorado Street) to attend a range of sessions on innovation in the classroom on Monday, March 7 and Tuesday, March 8. See the full schedule of sessions at the Google Fiber Space and stay tuned for more posts over the next few days about other session topics and presenters.

If SXSW is about emerging talent in the film and music space, SXSWedu is the convergence of educational creativity and social change. At this year’s South by Southwest EDU (SXSWedu) conference, we’ll be there highlighting some unique ways schools are truly changing what it means to get an education by giving students the tools to think creatively and carve their own learning path.

We talked with three educators and technologists who will be giving sessions in the Google Fiber Space next week: Bill MacKenzie on how his students are creating a 360-degree virtual reality experience; Emily Henderson on expanding the classroom walls to take field trips across the world; and Vincent Giersch on creating music in a collaborative way.

Students pursue their passions with virtual reality videos
When students used virtual reality in the classroom for the first time, they leapt out of their seats and were transported to a different world. But Upper Grand District School Board took the experience one step further by having students create their own virtual reality experiences. Using a Theta 360-degree camera, students in grades 6 through 8 create videos that encourage them to think creatively and develop a new perspective on the video development process, such as storyboarding with 3D imagery.

Students from Upper Grand District in Ontario, Canada creating documentary-style videos together

The videos allow students to give parents and others an inside view of what it’s like to go to school at Upper Grand District. Students have created documentary-type videos showing students playing dodgeball in PE class, interacting with teachers in class and walking down the halls during break. They also have created videos that benefit the community as a whole. For example, Bill MacKenzie, IT and Program Liaison at Upper Grand District School Board, responsible for developing IT strategy and training teachers how to use technology in the classroom, wanted to convince the board of trustees to invest more in parking lot safety. Students created a 5-minute video using time lapse photography to show an hour of cars coming and going during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up, and in essence, transported the trustees to that moment in time.

“Google Cardboard gives an immersive experience for people who can’t physically be there,” MacKenzie says. “We ask kids, ‘What’s a problem you want to solve?’ and empower them to put their thinking caps on and find a solution using technology.”

A global classroom that encourages curiosity and positive change
As students use technology to give them a global perspective, it’s clear how important it is to increase students’ universal awareness and love for the environment. Maps and pictures from around the world encourage students to think about places from a different perspective, sparking curiosity and engagement.

With Google Expeditions, students are able to take immersive virtual reality field trips to the farthest corners of our planet. For example, students in the Samburu Expedition traveled to north-central Kenya to learn about the unique qualities of elephant families and how harmful poaching is to the elephants and ecosystem.

Teacher view on a tablet

“After the field trip, Google mapping tools enable students to go nearly everywhere, learn about anywhere, create rich experiences and share their stories right from their Chromebooks,” says Emily Henderson, Google Geo Education Program Manager.

Students are also using maps and data visualization to positively impact their communities. Using My Maps, a group of Roots & Shoots students in Syosset, New York plotted human, environmental and animal characteristics in their neighborhood to show their community places to celebrate nature in a dense urban environment and highlight local animal shelters. Students are telling stories important to them with the data collected and displayed on maps. Henderson says, “We want to inspire a new generation of global citizens who analyze the past, understand the present and protect its future.”

Creating new music scores and performing them together in real time
As the classroom becomes more collaborative, music students are turning individual projects into group projects using software called Flat for Education. When students compose together, they share their knowledge by combining their music creation ideas and learn from each other’s work. For example, a small group of students can write the parts for their own instrument using the collaborative music notation editor Flat and then perform the end result of individual efforts together.

“When we created Flat for Education, we finally provided the easiest tool to help students learn how to compose together and allow them to create their own music,” says Vincent Giersch, CTO and co-founder of Flat. “We want students to be able to make magic and learn in a way that is engaging for them.”

Music score in Flat

Interested in learning more about these topics? Join us at SXSWedu to hear MacKenzie share tips for introducing virtual reality in classes, Henderson talk about the cool places students are traveling with Google Maps, and Giersch discuss how technology can help music students collaborate creatively.

If you’ll be in the Austin area this week, come visit us at the Google Fiber Space to attend a range of sessions on innovation in the classroom. See the full schedule of sessions and stay tuned for more posts throughout the week.

Source: Google for Education