Yet another study confirms that teacher feedback, assessment and using data from the classroom, improves learning outcomes. 

From the Sydney Morning Herald article by  Alexandra Smith, a NSW study found that focusing on the basics is the best way to increase academic performance.

The report concluded that there are 7 teaching practices to lift academic performance.

Is it a good time to get back to basics?

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/what-really-works-in-lifting-kids-academic-performance-20150313-141s1j.html

When implemented effectively, technology can have a profound impact on education in three key ways: creativity, personalisation, and global connection.

In the context of education, using technology does not simply mean disseminating information online – i.e. posting notes and links in HTML format. Technologies that facilitate interactive online activities allow students to ‘learn by doing’, a principle that’s long been advocated for by teachers who believe in practical learning. In many classrooms today, students are passively consuming information that is fed to them by teachers. The problem with this approach to teaching is that it doesn’t foster creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills among students. In the 21st century, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking has high cultural value and opens up valuable career pathways, but some teachers are still tied down by tradition and are employing a ‘top-down’ approach to teaching which engages students as consumers of pre-determined and standardised content.

We built Literatu as a platform for teachers to quickly build and manage a formative assessment driven, data-centric, learning growth model for every student and class. The most important learning data is generated from every teacher – student engagement. Data analytics must be instant, students and teachers need immediate visibility across learning gaps. Literatu delivers this instant visibility.

This popped up today on the Edtech Digest Blog, a great source of new educational thinking.

“Analytics are helping educators personalize learning experiences for individual learners in a way that we have never seen before, giving instructors an objective, data-driven view of student success.”

Read the full article here. We agree with everything it says. Well said John Baker.

https://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/the-future-of-learning-is-in-reach/