There’s been a lot of talk about how technology in the classroom can enrich the learning experience, giving students multi-sensory, hands-on learning time. New tools such as iPads and even tools with fewer bells and whistles (such as cellphones) are becoming part of many schools’ classroom teaching and learning experience.

The argument is that it just makes sense to teach using the tools and methods that students are already using to communicate and learn.

The supporters say that it engages the students and can break down learning barriers crating greater student interaction.

In fact, some schools are experimenting with a  new instruction model–the flipped classroom–which has kids listening to lectures via You Tube for homework, and using class time to complete assignments and interact with fellow students.  They say that the traditional model is passive, and doesn’t challenge the students using the tools that the student is already using.

However, not all schools think that technology in the classroom benefits learning. Some research actually suggests that the traditional instruction model–teacher lecturing at the front of a classroom while students take note–actually promotes better learning.  Some schools firmly believe that traditional is best–going as far as banning computers from the classroom.

However, for public schools facing budget cuts and staffing problems, the blended learning  model–incorporating both lecture and self-teaching into lessons–seems to make the most sense.  It encourages independence and provides guidance while still giving the structure that students are familiar with.

1. Consider reviewing last year’s final report card. This will give your family an academic refresher and a little remind of the highs and lows of last year.
2. Consider setting some academic goals. Now that you’ve reviewed the outcomes of last year, start considering what academic achievements could be reached THIS year. Both parents and children can identify changes that they’d like to make this school year.
3. Consider a routine overhaul. A new school year is an opportunity to deal with any and all bad habits that can get in the way of learning. These include morning and evening routines, eating habits, after-school routines, and homework and study habits. Fine-tune your family’s routine from the first day of class and settle into a school year with better habits.
4. Consider using an agenda for more than just school. Agendas are more than just a place to write down homework, they are great for keeping track of to-do lists, questions to ask teachers, chores. Students can also use agendas to prioritize workflow, keep track of work hours, extracurricular activities, and countdown until tests and exams.
5. Consider getting extra support right off the bat. School may not even be in session yet, (or it may have just begun) but it’s not too soon to enlist in some extra support. Why wait to find out what will happen with grades this year? Get on top of any potential issues BEFORE they become a problem. Take the bull by the horns. Show this grade who’s boss!

When you think of your child being in class and learning, do you picture a teacher at the front of the room, lecturing to the class, or do you picture students at computer stations doing exercises and working through coursework on their own?

More and more, classrooms are beginning to look like a combination of the two.

Technology has become ubiquitous to learning, but does having more technology in the classroom mean better learning?  As teaching tools, computers are being used to help struggling school boards deal with budget constraints and staff limitations.  But, it’s not just computers that are changing how class time is organized; iPads, smartphones, cellphones, and tablets—as well as social media such as Facebook and Twitter—are all being used to change how students are learning in the classroom.

Supporters of technology in the classroom say that students have never been more engaged; that technology helps shy students participate, and students who don’t know each other collaborate; that social media is increasing motivation and grades.

However, other studies show that the more traditional, less technology-based lecture-style classroom, allows teachers to cover more of the curriculum, and actually helps children perform better academically.

Without a doubt, technology in the classroom breaks through some of the common downsides of the lecture model of instruction:

• Not all students learn at the same pace
• Attention can wander during long lectures
• Sitting and is passive
• Relies on listening skills, which not all students are adept at

The blended learning model is becoming more and more popular as it bridges the gap between the traditional and the virtual classroom. It allows students to move at their own pace and gives them a sense of ownership in their education. Some schools are offering full high school courses online to help with scheduling conflicts and lack of teacher resources.

How much technology do your kids use in the classroom?  We’d love to hear from you!

According to an article on CNN, recent study is showing that too much online time can actually change brain structure.

The study looked at college students who spent about 10 hours a day online in comparison to those who spent less than two hours a day.  The study showed that the heavy Internet users actually had different brain structures in the “thinking” part of the brain.

Research says that the constant online stimulation can activate pleasure centres in the brain, and that the brain is wired to crave the instantaneous pleasures that online multitasking can give. But, the brain also needs the downtime—the slower pace of being offline—to process and rest.

Not so surprisingly, a surplus of online time didn’t just have cognitive implications— social ramifications of spending too much time online were observed, such as not being able to properly identify the emotions of people in stories.

While it can be difficult to cut back online time, the article offers tip to help heavy online multitaskers reduce their reliance on technology, which is important for parents and children alike. These guidelines can go a long way to helping establish Online Guidelines in your home that everyone can follow.

1. Keep track of how many hours a day that you are online.  Some studies show that students are online up to 7 hours a day! What websites do you visit?  What takes up the most time?
2. Set some time limits—balance is key.  The article suggests no more than two hours online at a time. 
3. Train your brain to slow down. Stare out the window, and daydream.  Pay attention to what your brain is thinking about. Try to focus on a single subject for a period of time. If you get off track, pull yourself back to the subject that you are supposed to be thinking about. 
4. Have offline time. Set a rule in your house to have offline time where everyone puts away the gadgets and powers down.  Other studies show that being offline in the hours before bed can improve sleep.
5. Get some exercise. Find an activity to do that takes you away from all electronics and gets your blood pumping.

Time they are a changing…especially in classrooms

Today’s students don’t send notes, they text. And, they don’t need to cart heavy textbooks around. They can download their class notes off the Internet.

They use iPads and other hand-held technology in class. They don’t need to go to class to “hand-in” an assignment when it can be emailed, or uploaded to a class page. They use social media to confer about homework, and gadgets of all sorts to research.

New technology has ushered in not only new ways to communicate, but also new words to talk about this communication. Lingo formerly used in texting has gone mainstream–they have made their way into the lexicon and are widely accepted. In fact, the OED has added “initialisms” such as lol and imho to the acceptable lexicon.

Language and education are changing rapidly… but it’s where these two intersect that is slower to adapt: grammar.

Educators and grammarians (and purists) still cling to tried-and-true rules of grammar—they way things always have been. And students, who are masters of communication outside the classroom are struggling to conform to a rule set that doesn’t seem relevant.

The rules of grammar are based on rules that were created decades ago. When it comes to grammar, unlike when it comes to words, change does not come so easily or with as much acceptance

However, maybe it’s time to accept that some of the hard-and-fast rules are ready to be bent, or at least ready for a classroom update as well?

If the goal is teaching students how to express themselves clearly—even display some style—using today’s technology and lexicon, then it’s quite possible that the “old” rules might not be appropriate anymore.

Outside of the classroom, in much of the printed material that students encounter, the “rules” are being broken—even encouraged. Some of the most common “broken rules” that students will come across in books, blogs, magazines, and across the Internet in general include:

• Starting sentences with AND or BUT.
• Splitting the infinitive
• Sentence fragments
• Ending a sentence with a preposition
• Turning nouns into verbs.

However, students still need to know the rules in order to communicate clearly and effectively. Grammar sets the rules of our language and provides parameters to guide comprehension.

Don’t fail that English test! Understand the basics first, and then add in style and creativity. Start a sentence with a conjunction (but know what a conjunction is). Use sentence fragments—they add punch. Impress your teacher. Break the rules, but be smart about it.

Just don’t write lol in your essay.  The OED may have accepted it, but it’s doubtful that teachers will.

Need help developing grammar skills?  A program at Oxford Learning can help! Contact your local centre and learn those grammar rules inside and out! Begin today!

When spring is in the air, it’s natural to start thinking about what summer will bring. Our Spring Newsletter can help! It’s packed with tips to help make spring great, and get your family ready to have a great summer!

Click on image to download and print our Spring Newsletter!

High School is typically a four-year commitment. However, an increasing number of teens are choosing to return for a a so-called Victory Lap.

The Victory Lap is a term that refers to returning after graduation for an extra semester or two.

Why would teens want to return to high school? There are many reasons:

• Not feeling emotionally or socially prepared for college or university
• To continue with sports
• To improve grades
• To complete credits
• To increase self-confidence
• To increase post-secondary qualifications
• To save money

Some estimates say that as many as 15-20% of Ontario students return for an extra year. If students don’t feel ready to go to university or college, or don’t have the grades, and high school will allow them to re-take courses, or to take additional courses, then is there anything wrong with staying in high school for an extra year?
But critics say that in terms of the cost of education, it’s an expensive habit that is a waste of taxpayers money.

The official government of Ontario position is that not all students learn at the same rate, and if certain students need an extra year to obtain the necessary grades to graduate, then—as long as the students is under 21—this is perfectly acceptable.

Other critics say that it gives students an unfair advantage over others who don’t have the option of taking a Victory Lap—that students who remain behind to take (or to re-take) courses to bring up their averages may be unfairly stacking university admission odds in their favour.

Those who support the extra year of high school say that it helps students better cope with transition anxiety, as the move from High School to Post-Secondary is recognized as one of the biggest life transitions, right up there with marriage and retirement.

Factor in the high cost of post-secondary tuition and the alarmingly high first-year drop out rate, staying in high school to improve grades, and increasing university readiness will help high schoolers be more successful in college and university.

Read more:
The Gap Year
Are students ready for College and University?

Does it take brains or brawn to solve a challenge such as traffic dodging?

That was the premise behind a recent study that pitted athletes against non-athletic university students in a virtual-reality test of students’ ability to cross busy city roads.

The result? Maybe not surprisingly, the student athletes completed the task more successfully; however, the study says that the real surprise is that the success is not because the athletes are in better physical shape.

The study showed that the athletes glanced down the street more frequently than the non-athletes, and were able to make quicker judgment calls—in other words, they could process data more quickly and more accurately.

Researchers linked this ability to the training that athletes receive when playing sports; athletes often have to make split-second decisions in the middle of play—who to pass to, where the ball is, to run or to stop.

This on-the-spot decision-making doesn’t just make athletes superior at sports, it develops mental processing abilities that pay off in the classroom as well.

The study also indicates that regular physical activity can increase mental skills such as concentration.

The Takeaway:

Get the blood pumping! Regular physical activity increases blood flow to the brain and builds new neural connections.

Join a sports team! The instantaneous analysis and decision-making required in organized sports, as well as the ongoing practicing, help strengthen mental processing abilities and important school skills such as focus.

Read more:
Child Not Making The Grade? Exercise is the Solution!

There was an article the other day about how video games are actually good for your brain. They make it work better, improve hand-eye coordination, and help you make decisions. Take that, Dad!

I know that this doesn’t mean that sitting in front of the TV or computer for six hours a day is good, but a little gaming every day is okay. I like playing video games because they are relaxing, and challenging. I can that tell my brain is working. I like solving the puzzles, and learning new stuff, and video games help with that. I also really, really enjoy killing zombies, and where else can I do that but on my PS3?

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

What do your fingers and hands have to do with how well you remember what you study?

Well, new research is showing that the physical act of handwriting stimulates critical activity in specific areas of the brain that develop a sort of visual memory of words and letters.

In the study, researchers asked two groups to learn an unknown alphabet. One group studied the alphabet by writing the letters out by hand. The other group read solely off computers.

It shouldn’t surprise you that the group who wrote the letters out had better recall and did better on tests of the alphabet.

The Take Away:

There are many ways to go about the process of studying. One of the tried-and-true study techniques is creating study notes using pen and paper.

It may seem an old-fashioned practice given the abundance of personal technology that students have at their fingertips, however, the act of physically writing creates a “motor memory” in the brain that helps both the brain, and the body, remember.

So if you want to maximize your study time, improve recall on tests, and get better grades, grab and pen and paper, open your textbook or notebook, and start making study notes!