Tag Archives: Labyrinth Learning

Video Will Continue to Play a Bigger Role in the Classroom

April 1, 2014Teaching Tips & StrategiesEducational Uses of Video in the Classroom, Labyrinth Learning, tips for teaching computer skills, Using Video in the Classroomlablearning

Video learning in the classroom has come a long way from simply playing a movie to students. With multimedia opportunities constantly expanding, developing, and improving, instructors now are able to incorporate video technology into lectures in many new and interesting ways that better inspire learning.

These are some reasons why video use is increasing in the classroom:

People prefer video. In 2012, video accounted for 40 percent of all Internet traffic, but this number is expected to rise to 62 percent by 2016. Video allows students to collaborate in the learning process, it meets the needs of different learning styles, and it makes greatest use of school resources.
Video helps students learn a wider variety of skills. Rather just improving test scores, educators want students to learn problem solving, communication, and collaboration — all skills in which video learning can assist.
Students who learn with video perform better. Various studies have found that students with access to on-demand video have better grades and exam results. The vast majority of university students surveyed said videos helped them learn course material.
Video provides a bridge between school and the real world. Through video training, students learn skills useful for the workplace, including sociability, civic responsibility, and media literacy.

For more ideas about how to use video learning in the classroom at your community college, contact us at Labyrinth Learning for educational resources.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Bright Future of Technology in the Classroom

March 31, 2014News & Eventse-learning resources, Labyrinth Learning, technology in the classroom, Using Technology in the Classroomlablearning

You know it better than anybody: college students can be very persuasive when they choose. And if you feel as though they’re pulling you along on the rising tide of technology in education, at least you can be assured that they have a good point, because technology usage in the classroom will become even more important in the future.

For now, you may be persuaded to allow your students to bring their smartphones to class to look up vocabulary words and translations, or in some cases, to take pictures of classroom notes and presentations. You might call this simple acquiescence; other colleges put a formal name to it: Bring Your Own Technology to School Day. Students also might be taking notes on their laptops, designing projects in Prezi and using the Smartboard to demonstrate just how adept they are at using technology in education.

In the future, when technology is further brought into the class, students might:

Collaborate regularly in real time with students across the globe, using Skype or a similar service.
Take a visual tour of a foreign country via a webcam, microphone and, of course, a reliable Internet connection.
Trade their laptops and tablets for wrist-mounted computers.
Take the extra step of having a computer chip implanted on their person so that they are literally wired for global connectivity.

Labyrinth Learning can assist you in helping students embrace technology in education, and become confident learners along the way. Contact us for more information, today!

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Engaging Students to Enhance Learning

March 26, 2014Featured, Teaching Tips & StrategiesLabyrinth Learning, tips for teaching computer skills, tips on teaching adults, Tips on Teaching an Online Courselablearning

Teaching is a complex process that entails much more than being an expert in a particular field. Teachers must engage students enough so the desired information can be transferred from the teacher to the student. This may require you to step back and evaluate your classrooms and teaching styles to determine whether or not you’re truly connecting with students.

Engaging Students to Enhance Learning — Engage your students with a few of these handy teaching techniques.

To engage a tough student or silent classroom, utilize multiple learning styles. Most instructors teach the way they were taught, which often results in the traditional lecture hall format: teacher speaks and students listen. Unfortunately, this style only reaches the auditory learners in the room. Remember that there are seven learning styles:

Visual (they need to see)
Auditory (they need to hear)
Kinesthetic (they need to move)
Verbal (they need to speak)
Logical (need linear approaches)
Interpersonal (learns better in groups)
Intrapersonal (learns better alone)

Make sure your teaching approach alternates between different modalities to give everyone a fair chance.

Liven up your lesson plan by utilizing technology. Your students have been raised in a technologically rich environment. It is what they know and it is also their source of connection and entertainment. Take advantage of technology in the classroom to engage students and increase the relevancy of your lessons.

Reinforce old lessons on a regular basis. Students need to practice over and over. Create a curriculum in which each lesson connects to and repeats the concepts from previous lessons. It’s even better if you can create continuity between disciplines.

Contact Labyrinth Learning to learn more about teaching materials and software designed to engage students using technology and relevant, real-world curricula.

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A Look Back at the “Future” of Technology in Education

March 19, 2014Teaching Tips & StrategiesLabyrinth Learning, Teaching on a College Campus, Tips for Teachers, Trends in Higher Educationlablearning

Remember The Jetsons? As kids, we watched The Jetsons in delight, looking forward to the days when flying cars and meals-in-an-instant would be the norm. Well, some of the Jetsonian technologies have become reality – like microwave dinners – but others have yet to come to fruition. The same is true for predictions made regarding technology in education.

A recent article on Gizmodo took a look at 15 Technologies That Were Supposed to Change Education Forever…but haven’t. We’re highlighting a few of our favorites.

Instant travel. Back in 1912, an Iowa newspaper predicted that the distance required to transport students to school would be eliminated via pneumatic tube shuttles, monorails, and gyroscope cars. Alas, the mileage from students’ houses to school has remained the same. The only improvement is the speed and fuel efficiency of school buses.

Radio Books. During the 1920s radios became a mainstay of American entertainment. Thus, it didn’t require a stretch of the imagination to think students would all be connected to radio books in the future. Granted, these predictions were somewhat accurate in the sense that audio books are the preferred method of reading for students with vision impairment, as well as those who are predominantly auditory learners.

T.V. Teachers. By the late-30s, forward thinking educators imagined a world where teachers were no longer necessary in the classroom. Instead, students would watch and listen to lectures via the television. Instead, computers have dominated the scene and online learning is more popular than every before.

Contact Labyrinth Learning to stay in touch with real-life advancements of technology in education.

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2014 Trends in Higher Education

March 12, 2014Featured, News & EventsLabyrinth Learning, teaching in a computer lab, Trends in Higher Education, Working in Higher Learninglablearning

It’s important for colleges and universities to stay abreast of current trends in higher education to ensure graduates emerge prepared to fill positions in the modern workplace. In the global marketplace, that means being in touch with trends both in America and abroad.

Here, detailed in length below, are some trends in higher education you can expect to see throughout 2014:

Focus on the community. Corporations are beginning to place more attention on how business models impact the earth as well as the community at large. As such, many corporations, non-profits and other organizations have coined the term corporate social responsibility (CSR). We expect to see institutions of higher education paying attention to their CSR as well.

A de-emphasis of ranking. Many academics have grown weary and distrustful of the myriad of “ranking” that takes place across the university spectrum. Rushed research and hyper-pressure to publish is detrimental to the academic process, resulting in shoddy and potentially corrupt work.

Fine tuning technology in the classroom. With MOOCs at one end of the spectrum and PowerPoint presentations at the other, higher education will continue to fine-tune the implementation of technology to enhance learning. 2012 saw a major emphasis placed on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), but high-dropout rates indicate that higher learning is most successful when learning incorporates a blend of technology, online/distance learning opportunities and engaged classroom learning, depending on the subject matter.

Keep up with technological trends in higher education. Contact Labyrinth Learning to learn more about eTextbooks, course management systems, and more.

Improving the Graduation Rate of Students

March 11, 2014Featured, News & EventsAiding Struggling Students in the Class, assessing student performance, E-Learning Strategies for Teachers, Labyrinth Learningkwalker

The good news is that American high school graduates are enrolling in colleges at record numbers. The bad news – they’re also dropping out of college at faster rates than ever before. That’s the word from a recent article in the New York Times titled, “How to Help College Students Graduate”.

Author David L. Kirp cites that just over half the students who enroll in four-year colleges leave with a diploma in hand, and only a dismal one-third of students who enroll in community colleges complete their studies. The solution to this problem is an obvious one: colleges and university must be able to provide the level of support and assistance necessary to improve the graduation rate.

Consider what was done when the City University of New York (CUNY) began their ASAP initiative, addressing the high dropout rates at their community colleges. The program provided free-assistance for transportation and books. In order to help students who are working their way through school, CUNY worked with colleges to provide flexible block scheduling so students could attend their classes in the morning, afternoon, and evenings, making it easier to create a consistent work schedule with employers.

CUNY also implemented one-on-one advising and virtual mentoring assistance to provide additional human support. The results? Almost 60% of the students participating in their ASAP program have graduated with their associates degree.

Do you want to improve the graduation rate at your college? See how Labyrinth Learning can help you bring more graduates into the world.

Foster a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

February 21, 2014Teaching Tips & StrategiesLabyrinth Learning, teaching tips for adult students, Teaching Tips for New Teachers, tips on teaching adultslablearning

As with anything else in life, it is often the little things that count the most when dealing with another person. Nowhere is this fact more important than in the classroom, where an educator’s attitude can make or break a student’s morale.

Incorrect answers are inevitable in any class, but how an educator handles an incorrect answer can cripple a student’s morale. Instead of simply discounting a wrong answer and moving on to the next student, a superior educator encourages the original student to think through the process and come to the right answer on their own.

Encourage the student to actively learn by saying something like, “That’s good thinking. You are on the right track. Can you think of another answer?” This technique works in most scenarios. In short, it is one of the most proven ways to foster a positive attitude in the classroom. Not only will the original student benefit but the entire class will also respond positively to the process.

For more information on these and other excellent teaching tips, please contact us at Labyrinth Learning. You will find us online or you can reach us directly at 1-800-522-9746.

DOCC May Soon Replace MOOC as the Hottest Acronym in Education

February 17, 2014Featured, Teaching Tips & StrategiesLabyrinth Learning, Online Learning software, teaching tips for online course instructors, Tips on Enrolling in an Online Courselablearning

These days, much of the most recent news in higher education circles around the opening and credit transfer workings of MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). Though, under the radar, a new form of online course has been making a name for itself in higher education. DOCC, also known as a Distributed Open Collaborative Course, offers a new twist to online learning.

DOCC May Soon Replace MOOC as the Hottest Acronym in Education — Use a few of these pointers to find the right online course for your students and lesson plan.

Both styles use key features like open enrollment, video components and credit options. A wide range of students can enroll in these courses and receive an in-depth education on a variety of subjects that were previously limited to the number of students a classroom could hold.

You will find a few key differences between MOOCs and DOCCs. A DOCC does not bring a single centralized syllabus to the individuals that participate. It does, however, organize around a central subject.

The DOCC distinguishes itself by actively distributing the expertise and pedagogy throughout all those involved, instead of relying on two or three individuals. This also allows for a bit of leniency in each lesson and can vary immensely based on a number of factors.

It is still unclear which discipline will survive, or if they both have a place in the education landscape, but we eagerly follow the developments to see how these new platforms evolve.

To improve your online courses, please contact us today at Labyrinth Learning!

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How the Digital Age Has Impacted Education

February 5, 2014Featured, Teaching Tips & Strategiese-learning resources, Labyrinth Learning, technology in the classroom, Using Technology in the Classroomkwalker

Every generation sees a shift in its perceptions about education. The advent of the digital age just makes this observation all the more evident. Here, detailed below, are some of the changes that a computer-oriented society has manifested for our children:

A Distributed Network – It is no longer necessary to show up for class in the literal sense when a student can just log in and attend a MOOC (massive open online course). The internet is just bursting with opportunities along this line.

An Emphasis on Skills – An increasingly technological workplace requires an ever more tech savvy workforce. This means that the skills necessary to navigate the Internet and the computer world will be in greater demand as the technology expands.

The Face of Traditional Colleges is Changing – Online courses are growing at a shocking rate, and as we look to the future, we may find more students taking lessons from the comfort of their own homes instead of the lecture hall. The students of the future may even be able to choose courses from multiple institutions from across the globe.

For more information on this and other advances in technology in education, please visit us at Labyrinth Learning. You will always find us online or you can reach us anytime at 1-800-522-9746.