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How Edtech Tools Evolve Introduction: We've Heard This Before
IntroductionChapter 1: Technology Trends Shaping Edtech Chapter 2: How Money Shapes Tools and Schools Chapter 3: How Edtech Tools are Evolving Chapter 4: How Teaching and Learning are ChangingAbout the Project
How Edtech Tools Evolve
Introduction: We've Heard This Before
Great inventors have proclaimed technology's potential to transform education before. In 1913, Thomas Edison asserted that "books will soon be obsolete in the public schools," replaced by motion pictures. Nearly a century later, Steve Jobs, according to his biographer Walter Isaacson, believed print textbooks were "ripe for digital destruction."
Not so fast. Over the decades, a parade of technologies—television, "teaching machines," interactive whiteboards and desktop computers—seemed to have a far more muted impact on learning than futurists and entrepreneurs predicted. Even the trusty wood-pulp book still soldiers on: Roughly half of district IT leaders surveyed by the Consortium for School Networking believe that print materials will still be used regularlyby 2018.
"The pattern of hype leading to disappointment, leading to another cycle of overpromising with the next technology, has a long history to it," notes Larry Cuban, an education professor at Stanford University who began his career as a high school history teacher in the 1950s.
And yet, puncturing this bleak scenario are shining examples of times when technology has made a difference. In North Carolina, educators at Mooresville Graded School District (hailed by The New York Times as the "de facto model of the digital school" in 2012) attribute a boost in test scores, attendance and graduation rates to the smart use of laptops and online software (earning itself the title). In rural Central California, Lindsay Unified School District's ongoing efforts to refine its competency-based learning model has led to small bumps in test scores—but a dramatic drop in truancy, suspension and gang membership rates.
So what's the difference? When can technology have a galvanizing effect, rather than amplify existing educational practices?
Kentaro Toyama, a professor at University of Michigan's School of Information, has often observed the latter. How can new practices extend beyond just a single class or a hero teacher, but for a community, and on a sustained basis? What portion of the answer lies with technology—and what portion with how it's used?
The pattern of hype leading to disappointment, leading to another cycle of overpromising with the next technology, has a long history to it.
—Larry Cuban, emeritus professor at Stanford University
This chapter of our year-long survey of the role of technology in education dives into technology's contribution to that fragile equation. And arguably one of the most thoughtful perspectives on technology's role in education comes from Ruben Puentedura, a former teacher and university media center director. His investigation into the role of technology in education in the late 1980s led to an observation that was simultaneously clear-eyed yet profound: Not every device or app can or should transform how teachers teach.
To wield technology well, Puentedura asserts, teachers must ask and answer: "What opportunities does new technology bring to the table that weren't available before?" Puentedura codified his observations in a framework nicknamed "SAMR," which offers an invaluable window into understanding the different ways that technology can support changes in instructional practices and learning outcomes.
Yet there is a non-negotiable requirement for technology to make a difference. It has to work without requiring herculean workarounds.
Sometimes the lynchpin requirements are technical. Electric cars were infeasible without lithium batteries and lightweight composites. Sometimes the requirements also involve structural issues. Digital readers and e-books first came to market in 1998, but it took nearly a decade to resolve problems around limited memory and storage, title selections, copyright, conflicting file formats and other technical issues before e-books captured significant consumer market share.
Rocket e-book, launched in 1998. Credit: Mark Richards Computer History Museum
For educators to be able to count on technology, it has to work with the reliably of a lightswitch. And for decades, it has not. Justeight percent of all computers in U.S. public schools had internet access in 1995. A decade later, that figure jumped to 97 percent—yet only 15 percent of all public schools enjoyed wireless connection. Software incompatibility and technical problems, such as creating and managing accounts, proved problematic for educators. Nearly half of the educators surveyed in 2008 by the National Education Association reported feeling adequately prepared to integrate technology into instruction. Fewer than one-third used computers to plan lessons or teach.
In economics, things take longer to happen than you think they will.
—Rudiger Dornbusch, MIT economics professor
Today, more than 77 percent of U.S. school districts offer bandwidth speeds of 100 kbps per student for accessing online resources. This, coupled with cloud computing services that allow apps, services and data to be accessed and shared on the web, have made technology much more feasible for use. The marketplace for online educational tools has also grown; Apple's store now boasts more than 80,000 such apps. Interoperability standards are beginning to ease how data from different schools systems and instructional tools are stored and shared. From 2013 to 2015, U.S. K-12 schools purchased more than 23 million devices, according to Futuresource Consulting.
"In economics, things take longer to happen than you think they will," Rudiger Dornbusch, the late MIT economics professor, once said, "and then they happen faster than you thought they could."
Today's education technology has matured after decades of fits and starts. Improved bandwidth, cloud computing power and distribution channels such as app stores, among other infrastructural improvements, have helped developers make technologies more accessible, affordable and, most importantly, reliable for students and teachers to use.
Yet the question remains: What will technology do once it is in the hands of teachers and students? To better understand the interplay of new technologies and instructional practices, we'll explore how edtech tools in three popular categories—math, English Language Arts and assessment—have evolved over time, how they reflect the pedagogical trends and then what this means in the context of Puentedura's framework.
How are these products changing?
To better understand how instructional practices have transformed, we'll explore how the capabilities of tools
Product Profiles: What Today's Tools Offer
SAMR: Is Technology Making the Difference?
Case Studies: From Technology to Practice
Transforming Education through Technology
by AT&T
Mobile technology, applications, and services are empowering students to achieve, removing barriers to graduation, enabling teachers, and preparing today's learners for the jobs of tomorrow. Through the AT&T Aspire Accelerator, AT&T invests in startups that share the company's goal of transforming education through technology. The six month program is designed to accelerate the startup organizations–both for- and non-profit–that have the potential to improve student success and career readiness. Participants receive a financial investment, access to expertise, services and relationships tailored to their organization and expert mentors from the education and technology ecosystems.
How have today's technologies evolved to help children develop math and reading abilities—the two core competencies that typically reflect how well they're learning in school? And how do new tools allow them to demonstrate what they know, aside from traditional paper-and-pencil tests?
In Search of the Middle Ground
"Who gets to learn mathematics, and the nature of the mathematics that is learned, are matters of consequence."
Alan Schoenfeld, UC Berkeley Math Professor
Is it more important for kids to memorize math formulas and compute—or understand concepts and create their own approaches to solving problems? Whether students use pencils or iPads, the question has long stirred impassioned discussion among parents, teachers, mathematicians and policymakers. In 2004 University of California, Berkeley math professor, Alan Schoenfeld, described this debate as "Math Wars" that have persisted throughout the 20th century.
Disagreements persist today between "traditionalists" who believe math instruction should focus on calculations and processes, versus "reformers" who want students to develop the logical and conceptual understanding behind math. The "New Math" movement of the 1950s, championed by professional mathematicians, attempted to introduce conceptual thinking, such as the ability to calculate in bases other than 10. (Below is a satirical song by pianist and mathematician Tom Lehrer.) The effort floundered, derided by parents, teachers and mathematicians who lampooned the instruction as overly abstract and conceptual.
A 2007 report from the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, assembled by the U.S. Department of Education, summed up these battles as a struggle over:
"How explicitly children must be taught skills based on formulas or algorithms (fixed, 2 step-by-step procedures for solving math problems) versus a more inquiry-based approach in which students are exposed to real-world problems that help them develop fluency in number sense, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. In this latter approach, computational skills and correct answers are not the primary goals of instruction."
This polarization is "nonsensical," Schoenfeld noted. The two approaches are not mutually exclusive. Why can't math instruction embrace both procedural and conceptual knowledge?
The Common Core math standards, released in June 2010, is the latest attempt to find a middle ground. Originally adopted by 46 states, the standards aim to pursue "conceptual understanding, procedural skills and fluency, and application with equal intensity." Yet some students, parents and teachers have heckled the standards for befuddling homework problems and tests. It seemed not even curriculum developers knew how to translate Common Core math principles into instructional materials. See one example of a math problem gone "viral." Concerns about "fuzzy math" resurfaced, amplified through social media channels and YouTube.
Yet one fundamental difference between the math wars today and those of a half century ago is that today's technology—in the form of Google or software such as Wolfram Alpha—can solve nearly any math problem with clicks and swipes. This ability will influence what teachers teach and how those subjects are taught.
"Math has been liberated from calculating," proclaimes Conrad Wolfram, strategic director of Wolfram Research. Computers, he states, can allow students to "experience harder problems [and be] able to play with the math, interact with it, feel it. We want people who can feel the math instinctively."
How Math Tools Evolved
From Drilling to Adapting
The earliest instructional math software didn't offer much in the form of instruction. In 1965, Stanford University professor Patrick Suppes led one of the first studies on how a text-based computer program could help fourth-grade students achieve basic arithmetic fluency. The program displayed a problem and asked students to input an answer. Correct responses would lead to the next problem, while incorrect ones would prompt a "wrong" message and give students another chance to get the correct answer. If this second attempt was still incorrect, the program would show the correct answer, and repeat the problem to help reinforce the facts.
Credit: Number Munchers (left) and Math Blaster (right)
Decades later, many instructional math software would retain the same "drill-and-kill" approach. This trend was best reflected in the popularity of games such as Number Munchers and Math Blaster in late '80s and throughout the '90s, which also incorporated gaming elements such as points and rewards into their drill exercises.
Even so, during the 1960s, when enthusiasm for artificial intelligence was on the rise, university researchers began work on "intelligent tutoring systems" aimed at identifying a student's knowledge gaps and surfacing relevant hints and practice problems. There were limitations, to be sure; researchers lacked enough fine-grain data for their algorithms to make useful inferences. Yet after decades of research, Carnegie Mellon University researchers released one of the first commercially available K-12 educational software programs, Cognitive Tutor. That was followed a year later with ALEKS, based on the work at researchers at University of California, Irvine. The products use different cognitive architecture models to attempt to deduce what a student knows and doesn't. (To learn more about what happens inside these engines, check out our EdSurge report on adaptive learning edtech products.)
More recently other "adaptive" math tools use frequent assessments to try to pair appropriate content with learners. When a student answers a question incorrectly, such programs attempt to identify knowledge gaps and surface relevant instructional materials. Some tools, like KnowRe, will provide instructions on how to solve a problem. Others tools reinforce procedural concepts in videos that offer instruction ranging from step-by-step explanations (Khan Academy), to animations (BrainPOP), to real-world scenarios (Mathalicious).
Despite the ability of technology to deduce what students need and provide instruction, developers also recognize that educators must still retain their instructional role. DreamBox, which sells adaptive math software, recently added features to allow teachers more control over content assignment. "While we are still really focused on building student agency, we also want to ensure that we build teacher agency," says Dreambox Chief Executive Officer and President Jessie Woolley-Wilson.
'Seeing' Math Beyond Symbols
Everyone uses visual pathways when we work on mathematics and we all need to develop the visual areas of our brains.
—Jo Boaler, education professor at Stanford University
Math is often represented by symbols (+ − x ÷), but technology today allows developers to eschew traditional notations to allow students to explore math in more visual and creative ways. There is supporting evidence: Researchers have observed Brazilian children street vendors performing complex arithmetic calculations through transactions ("street mathematics") but struggling when presented with the same problems on a formal written test.
"We can make every mathematical idea as visual as it is numeric," says Stanford education professor and YouCubed co-founder Jo Boaler. Boaler has studied neurobiological research on how solving math problems stimulates areas of the brain associated with visual processing.
"Everyone uses visual pathways when we work on mathematics and we all need to develop the visual areas of our brains," she wrote in a recent report.
In the 1980s, tools including Geometer's Sketchpad offered learners ways to explore math visually through interactive graphs. Today's tools allow teachers to create their own activities and for students to share their work. Desmos, a browser-based HTML5 graphing calculator, invites them to explore and share art made with math equations. "There's enormous value in allowing students to create, estimate, visualize and generalize," says Dan Meyer, chief academic officer at Desmos, "but a lot of math software today just allows them to calculate."
Educational game developers have also found ways to introduce mathematical concepts without using symbols. ST Math (the two letters stand for spatial-temporal), uses puzzles to introduce Pre-K-12 math concepts without explicit language instruction or symbolic notations. Another popular game, DragonBox, lets students practice algebra without any notations. BrainQuake aims to teach number sense through puzzles involving spinning wheels.
Although games can make math more engaging, students may need support from teachers to apply skills learned from the game to schoolwork and tests. "One of the ways video games can be extremely powerful," says Keith Devlin, a Stanford professor, co-founder and chief scientist of Brainquake and NPR's "Math Guy," "is that when a kid has beat a game, he or she may have greater confidence to master symbolic math. I think a two—step approach—video game and teacher—can be key in helping students who hate math get up to speed."
Source: EdSurge
Teaching Reading in America
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."
Like math, literacy has had its own "Reading Wars" (or "Great Debate") throughout the 20th century. Proponents of a phonics-based approach believed students should learn to decode the meaning of a word by sounding out letters. But in English, not all words sound the way they are spelled, and different words may sound alike. Alternatively, other researchers and educators advocate a "whole language" approach that incorporates reading and writing, along with speaking and listening.
The back-and-forth debate eventually reached policymakers, who were alarmed by the 1983 report, "A Nation at Risk," that charged that American students were woefully underprepared compared to their international peers. In California, poor results on the 1992 and 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test—more than half of fourth-grade students were reading below grade level—fueled critiques of the state's whole-language approach.
In 1997, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development convened a national panel of literacy researchers and educators to evaluate and recommend guidelines. Published in 2000, the report recommended a mix of two approaches, stating that "systematic phonics instruction should be integrated with other reading instruction to create a balanced reading program." The authors added:
… literacy acquisition is a complex process for which there is no single key to success. Teaching phonemic awareness does not ensure that children will learn to read and write. Many competencies must be acquired for this to happen.
The findings allayed some of the debate over how to teach reading. But the Common Core reading standards raised new questions around what reading materials should be taught, including nonfiction and informational texts that "highlight the growing complexity of the texts students must read to be ready for the demands of college, career, and life." The standards also aimed to set a higher bar for literacy beyond reading. Students were expected to be able to cite text-specific evidence in argumentative and informational writing.
Yet for all the focus on facts and evidence, the standard writers did not specify what should be read at each grade level. While they offer examples of books appropriate for each grade, states and districts are expected to determine the most appropriate content. In setting high expectations for what students should be able to read, but refraining from offering specific steps to get there, educators wound up left to look for their own resources. This ambiguity has given license to publishers, researchers and entrepreneurs to shape that path.
How ELA Tools Evolved
Tracking Readers
Digital book collections have long promised to expand the availability of fiction and nonfiction books. But now such tools also offer teachers a more convenient way to track reading than reviewing students' self-recorded logs. Today's products offer data dashboards that chronicle how many books were read, how long students spent reading and which vocabulary words students looked up. Often digital texts come embedded with questions written by content experts or, in some cases, created by teachers themselves.
Given the capability of tools to capture information about students' reading habits, it's "important for teachers to have frameworks and dashboards to make that data actionable," says Jim O'Neill, chief product officer at Achieve3000. "By having a sense of whether students are comprehending the text, or how much they've read, teachers can provide the appropriate follow-up [support]."
Let's Lexile
The broad scope of available online reading materials makes a traditional challenge even more front and center: How can teachers identify what texts are most appropriate for students? Figuring out the right level of complexity for every student—including subject matter, text complexity, or other factors—is subjective and, at best, an inexact science. Both educators and developers have turned to reading frameworks that attempt to quantify text difficulty by measures such as word length, word count and average sentence length.
"Almost every major edtech literacy company will report on text complexity in some form," adds O'Neill. A popular framework used by his company and other adaptive literacy products is the Lexile, which measures readers' comprehension ability and text difficulty on a scale from below 0L (for beginning readers) to over 2000L (advanced) based on two factors: sentence length and the frequency of "rare" words. Many products today will assign students a Lexile score (based on how they perform on assessments after reading a text) and recommend reading content at the appropriate level. Some companies, such asNewsela and LightSail, present the same content rewritten at different Lexile levels so that students can read and discuss the same story.
Despite the popularity of Lexile levels, some researchers such as Elfrieda Hiebert, a literacy educator and chief executive officer ofText Project, preach caution against relying exclusively on Lexile numbers to find grade-appropriate texts. She has pointed out, for instance, that The Grapes of Wrath, a dense book for most high schoolers, has a lower Lexile score (680L) than the early reader book, Where Do Polar Bears Live? (690L). The former has shorter sentences (with plenty of dialogue) while the latter has longer ones.
The Lexile is just one of seven different computer formulas that Common Core standards writers have found to be "reliably and often highly correlated with grade level and student performance-based measures of text difficulty across a variety of text sets and reference measures." Established companies, including Pearson and Renaissance Learning, have developed alternatives to Lexile. Another effort, the Text Genome Project, which Hiebert is advising, uses machine learning technology to identify and help students learn the 2,500 related word families (such as, help, helpful, helper) that make up the majority of texts they will encounter through high school.
Nod to Nonfiction
The Common Core is not the first effort to emphasize nonfiction and informational texts. In 2009, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) called for a 50-50 split between fiction and nonfiction reading materials for fourth-grade students, and a 30-70 ratio by twelfth grade. Common Core reinforced that message: A 2015 NAEP survey found that the percentage of fourth-grade teachers who used fiction texts "to a great extent" declined from 63 percent to 53 percent between 2011 and 2015, while the nonfiction rose from 36 to 45 percent over the same period.
Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress
Companies have noted this shift and many offer nonfiction content as a selling point. Achieve3000, LightSail Education andNewsela employ both writers who will produce their own nonfiction articles and syndicated stories from news publishers that they rewrite at different Lexile levels. Such content also comes embedded with formative assessments to gauge students' reading comprehension. Other startups, such as Listenwise, offer audio clips from public radio stations, along with comprehension and discussion questions, to help students build literacy through online listening activities.
Writing to Read
"Writing about a text should enhance comprehension because it provides students with a tool for visibly and permanently recording, connecting, analyzing, personalizing, and manipulating key ideas in text."
So state the authors of "Writing to Read," a meta-analysis published in 2010 of 50 years' worth of studies on the effectiveness of writing practices on students' reading grades. The need for this skill only grows in the internet era, as students need to be able to comprehend, assess, organize and communicate information from a variety of sources.
According to the Common Core writing standards, students are expected to start writing online by fourth grade, and by seventh grade should be able to "link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others."
Online writing tools—most notably Google Docs, which the company boasts has more than 50 million education users—allow teachers and students to comment and collaborate in the cloud. The industry standard remains MYAccess with patented technology to automatically score papers and provide customized feedback. NoRedInk and Quill offer interactive writing exercises that let students sharpen their technical writing skills and grammar. Other startups, such as Citelighter and scrible scaffold the research and writing process to help students organize their notes and thoughts. Their progress—words written, sources cited, annotations—are captured on a dashboard that teachers can monitor.
Other tools are more ambitious. CiteSmart, Turnitin and WriteLab use natural language processing to provide automatic feedback beyond the typical spelling and grammar checks and attempts to point out errors in logic and clarity. (Our test run with these tools, however, found questionable feedback, suggesting they still need fine-tuning. There are still some core instructional tasks, it turns out, that technology has yet to perfect.)
Through embedded assessments, educators can see evidence of students' thinking during the learning process and provide near real-time feedback through learning dashboards so they can take action in the moment.
2016 National Education Technology Plan
Students find tests stressful for good reason. Results not only evaluate what they have learned, but can be used to determine whether they graduate or get into college. Such assessments are "summative" in that they aim to evaluate what a student has learned at the conclusion of a class. In 2002 when the U.S. government tied school funding to student outcomes through the No Child Left Behind law, tests became stressful for educators as well.
With so much at stake, testing became a top priority in many classrooms. A 2015 survey of 66 districts by the Council of Great City Schools found that U.S. students on average took eight standardized tests every year—which means by the time they graduated high school, they would have taken roughly 112 such tests. Testing fever was followed by fatigue; nearly two-thirds of parents in a Gallup poll released that year said there was too much emphasis on testing.
But tests need not be so punitive. For decades, education researchers have argued that tests can be used during—not after—the learning process. In 1968, educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom argued that "formative" assessments could diagnose what a student knew, enabling teachers to adjust their instruction or provide remediation. Students could also use these results to better understand and reflect on what they know.
There's no emotional stress associated with formative assessments. They help teachers engage with students during the learning process.
—Cory Reid, chief executive officer of MasteryConnect
To check for understanding, teachers can use formative assessments in the form of short quizzes delivered at the beginning or end of class, journal writing and group presentations. (Here are 56 examples.)
"There's no emotional stress associated with formative assessments," said Cory Reid, chief executive officer ofMasteryConnect. "They help teachers engage with students during the learning process."
"In moderation, smart strategic tests can help us measure our kids' progress in schools [and] can help them learn," President Obama said in a video address.
"Tests should enhance teaching and learning," Obama continued. In December 2015, he signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, allowing states more flexibility in determining how and what they could use to assess students. By doing so, the government opened the door to let states decide what works best for their schools.
Summative tests still remain, but the industry has shifted its focus to embedding tests to make them an integral part of the teaching and learning process. In addition academic achievement is no longer the primary focus; technologists are attempting to quantify non-cognitive factors, including student behavior and school culture, all of which impacts how students learn.
How Assessment Tools Evolved
Credit: Vixit/Shutterstock
The Many Forms of Formative Tests
In the 1970s, Scantron Corporation offered one of the most popular and commercially successful technologies for doing formative and summative tests: bubble sheets that students would fill out with #2 pencils that could be automatically graded. A couple decades later, "clickers"—devices with buttons that transmit responses to a computer—offered an even quicker way for teachers and students to get feedback on multiple-choice questions.
Today, web-based and mobile apps can deliver formative assessments and results cheaper and more efficiently. Smartphones and web browsers have become the new clicker to deliver instantaneous feedback. In classrooms where not every student has a computer or a phone, some teachers use apps to snap photos of a printed answer sheet and immediately record grades. And as teachers use more online materials, there are also tools that allow them to overlay questions on text, audio or video resources available on the internet.
Student responses from formative assessment tools can be tied to a teacher's lesson plans or a school's academic standards. This information can help teachers pinpoint specific areas where students are struggling and provide targeted support.
Faster feedback also means that assessments can be given even as lessons are going on. "If you know what a student knows when they know it, that informs your instruction as a teacher," says Reid. That data can "enrich your teaching and help change a student's path or trajectory."
Beyond Multiple Choice
The Common Core tests, which many students take on computers, introduced "technology-enhanced items" (TEIs). These allow students to drag-and-drop content, reorder their answers and highlight or select a hotspot to answer questions. Such interactive questions, according to the U.S. Department of Education's 2016 National Education Technology Plan, "allow students to demonstrate more complex thinking and share their understanding of material in a way that was previously difficult to assess using traditional means," namely through multiple choice exams.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, Future Ready Learning: Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education, Washington, D.C., 2016.
A well-designed TEI should let educators "get as much information from how students answer the question in order to learn whether they have grasped the concept or have certain misconceptions," according to Madhu Narasa, CEO of Edulastic. His company offers a platform that allows educators to create TEIs for formative assessments and helps students prepare for Common Core testing. Another startup, Learnosity, licenses authoring tools to publishers and testing organizations to create question items. (Here are more than 60 different types of TEIs.)
Yet teachers and students need training to use TEIs. And the latest TEIs may not always work on older web browsers and devices. One early version of the Common Core math test developed by Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium featured TEIs that even adults found difficult to use. And, while TEIs offer more interactivity, their effectiveness in measuring student learning remains unproven. A 2015 report from Measured Progress, another developer of Common Core tests, suggested "there is not broad evidence of the validity of inference made by TEIs and the ability of TEIs to provide improved measurement. Without such research, there is no way to ensure that TEIs can effectively inform, guide, and improve the educational process."
Show Me Your Work
Tests are not the only way for students to demonstrate understanding. Through hands-on projects, students can demonstrate both cognitive and noncognitive skills along with interdisciplinary knowledge. A science fair project, for example, can offer insights into students' command of science and writing, along with their communication, creativity and collaboration skills.
The internet brought powerful media creation tools—along with cloud-based storage—into classrooms, allowing students to create online. Companies such as FreshGrade offer digital portfolio tools that aim to help students document and showcase their skills and knowledge through projects and multimedia creations in addition to homework and quizzes. Through digital collections of essays, photos, audio clips and videos, students can demonstrate their learning through different mediums.
Games as Test
Credit: SimCity
What can games like SimCity, Plants vs. Zombies and World of Warcraft tell us about problem-solving skills? A growing community of researchers, including Arizona State University professor James Paul Gee, argue that well-designed games can integrate assessment, learning and feedback in a way that engages learners to complete challenges. "Finishing a well-designed and challenging game is the test itself," he wrote in 2013.
GlassLab, a nonprofit that studies and designs educational games, has developed tools to infer mastery of learning objectives from gameplay data. These tests are sometimes called "stealth assessments," as the questions are directly embedded into the game. The group has described at length how psychometrics, the science of measuring mental processes, can help game designers "create probability models that connect students' performance in particular game situations to their skills, knowledge, identities, and values, both at a moment in time and as they change over time."
A 2014 review of 69 research studies on the effectiveness of games by research group, SRI International, offers supporting evidence that digital game interventions are more effective than non-game interventions in improving student performance. But other studies offer a mixed picture. A study led by Carnegie Mellon University researchers on a popular algebra game, Dragonbox, found that "the learning that happens in the game does not transfer out of the game, at least not to the standard equation solving format." Similar to the Brazilian "street math" kids (see math profile), these students are capable of solving math problems—just not on a traditional paper exam.
Noncognitive Skills
Educators and researchers also believe that non-cognitive skills—including self-control, perseverance and growth mindset—can deeply influence students' academic outcomes. In 2016, eight states announced plans to work with the nonprofit CASEL(Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) to create and implement standards around how social and emotional skills can be introduced into classroom instruction.
Today, developers are seeking ways to quantify factors such as student behavior and school climate. Tools such as Kickboard andLiveSchool record, track and measure student behavior. Panorama Education lets educators run surveys to learn how students, families and staff feel about topics such as school safety, family engagement and staff leadership. Tools like these expand the use of assessments beyond simply measuring student performance on specific subjects and cognitive tasks.
SAMR: How Will We Know If Technology Will Make a Difference?
Will shiny gadgets help educators do the same thing—or enable new modes of teaching and learning? Here's a popular framework to help us understand how technology can change practice.
No matter what features are built into an edtech product, the technology is unlikely to impact learning if it's misapplied. "Putting technology on top of traditional teaching will not improve traditional teaching," said Andreas Schleicher, director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in aninterview with EdSurge earlier this year.
A 2015 report by the OECD found "no appreciable improvements in student achievement in reading, mathematics, or science in the countries that had invested heavily in ICT for education." Noted Schleicher:
"The reality is that technology is very poorly used. Students sit in a class, copy and paste material from Google. This is not going to help them to learn better."
But there are several corollaries. First, not every traditional teaching practice needs to be reinvented—some are working well. Second, not every technology can "revolutionize" learning. And third, to get powerful results, the kind that drive student learning, technology must be aligned with practice in purposeful ways.
But first, educators need to know which is which.
As a teaching fellow at Harvard University in the late 1980s, Ruben Puentedura started paying attention to how educators used tools in the classroom. Later, as the director of Bennington College's New Media Center, he further explored how faculty and students integrated technology and instruction to reach the best learning outcomes. His efforts led him to start a consulting firm, Hippasus, that works with schools and districts to adopt technology.
In 2002, he published the SAMR framework to help educators think about how to integrate instructional practice and technology to reach the best outcomes for students. SAMR defines how technology impacts the teaching and learning process in four stages:
Tech acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change in instruction
Tech acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement
Tech allows for a significant task design
Redefinition
Tech allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable
The SAMR framework is centered around the premise that technology, when used strategically and appropriately, has the potential to transform learning and improve student outcomes. Puentedura has also applied this framework to existing education research to suggest that greater student outcomes can occur when edtech tools are used at the later stages of the framework (modification and redefinition).
Preparing to use SAMR
To start, Puentedura says teachers must be clear about what outcome they want for their students. "The purpose, the goals of teachers, schools and students, are the key drivers in how technology is used," he says.
"What is it that you see your students not doing that you'd like them to do? What type of knowledge would you like them to explore that they're not exploring? What type of opportunities for new visions, new ideas, new developments would you like to pick up on?"
Additionally, it is important for teachers to identify how technology is currently used in the classroom, as a reference point for moving through the stages of SAMR. This requires an understanding of available resources—not just the technology that students can access, but also time and support required to use the tools well.
Changes in the tools themselves matter less than how you're thinking about the learning objectives.
—Jim Beeler, Chief Learning Officer at Digital Promise*
New technologies are often first used at the substitution level, especially when teachers and students are unfamiliar with the tools. This level of usage has its merits, even if it may not radically change instructional practices. Reading digital textbooks may, in the long run, be cheaper for schools than ordering new print versions every time the content is updated. Having students compose essays using a cloud-based word processor makes it easier for teachers to track and grade assignments.
The SAMR framework is not just about technology in and of itself, but rather what educators and students can use the tech to accomplish. "Changes in the tools themselves matter less than how you're thinking about the learning objectives," explains Jim Beeler, Chief Learning Officer at Digital Promise, who has helped schools rollout programs where every student has a digital device (called 1:1 programs). After all, the same tool can be used in different stages. A digital textbook, for example, can used as a substitute for print if all students do is read, highlight and annotate. But if the textbook includes speech synthesis or audio features, the students' reading experience is augmented through the addition of the auditory mode of learning.
A Primer on SAMR
Here are some guiding questions and a familiar type of assignment as an example—sharing reflections on a reading assignment—to better illustrate the SAMR framework in practice.
Ruben Puentedura
Are you going to get more impact upon student outcomes from using technology at the R level than at the S level?
I'm using a technology but I don't know where I am within the SAMR Framework
Answer the following questions to figure out where you are within the framework
SAMR Misconceptions
Although Puentedura's studies suggest that greater student outcomes can be achieved at the redefinition level, he warns against the notion that every teacher should aspire to use technology to redefine their practice. "Are you going to get more impact upon student outcomes from using technology at the R level than at the S level? Sure," he says, "but that doesn't mean that there aren't many, in fact, probably a large majority of technology uses that work just fine at the S and A level."
SAMR is just about using technology
SAMR is designed to analyze the intersection of technology and instructional practices. The framework is designed to focus on the changes that technology enables—not the technology itself. Make no mistake—educators and students are the ones that make learning happen, not the technology.
It is better to be further "up" the framework
Not every instructional practice needs to be redefined; as Puentedura points out, often "substitution" can be the right form of change. It can be exhausting and inappropriate for teachers and students to constantly teach and learn at the modification and redefinition levels. Educators need to find the right mix of activities that are appropriate for their learning objectives and employ technology in the way that best fits those goals.
Change is always necessary
Don't change just for the sake of change. SAMR—or any other framework—may offer a way to describe changes in technology usage. But that does not mean that teachers should continually strive to change their practices. Teachers must have a clear vision of their instructional goals and desired student outcomes before devising ways to implement new tools in a classroom.
Can SAMR help schools make smarter purchasing decisions?
Technology can make a difference. Here are a dozen profiles of how educators from across the country have used tools to support instructional needs and transform teaching practices.
A Free Tool to Keep a Pulse on Student Learning
SUBSTITUTION + MATH
Addressing the Gaps of All Learners
AUGMENTATION + MATH
Learning Linear Equations in One Week, Not One Year
MODIFICATION + MATH
Playlists That Put Students in Control
REDEFINITION + MATH
Read All You Want
SUBSTITUTION + ELA
Ditch the Paper. Let's Make a Podcast!
AUGMENTATION + ELA
90 Second Videos That Inspire Discussion
MODIFICATION + ELA
Taking Reading Assignments To The Next Level
REDEFINITION + ELA
Forms for Formative Assessments
SUBSTITUTION + ASSESSMENT
Custom-Built Quizzes For Real-Time Intervention
AUGMENTATION + ASSESSMENT
Formative Assessments Enriched With Data
MODIFICATION + ASSESSMENT
From Paper and Pencil to Real World Assessment
REDEFINITION + ASSESSMENT
Technology is often conflated with innovation. Yet tools are just part of the equation. Innovation entails humans changing behavior.
In education, technological improvements—in the form of faster broadband, devices or smarter data analytics—must be commensurate with the desire to refine and transform existing practices. What these changes look like is unsettled, but technology allows teachers and students to explore different paths.
Well-designed tools can help educators realize the educational "best practices" put forth decades ago by researchers like Benjamin Bloom. Data from formative assessments can give teachers better insights into what each learner needs and change strategies. Games and online collaborative projects allow educators teach in ways that researchers believe can better engage students.
The most useful educational tools are also flexible. Teachers are also adapting media and productivity software for purposes beyond what they were designed for.
After all, what a math class needs may not be online adaptive curriculum, but rather creative tools that allow students to engage and express knowledge in new ways.
Changing ingrained habits and codified practices requires patience. Not all lectures, lesson plans, group projects or homework demand to be uprooted. As our case studies above show, some teachers use technology to do the same tasks more efficiently. Others are creating entirely new activities that transform learning from a solo to social experience.
Whether teachers reinforce or redefine instructional practices with technology partly depends on their environment. Do they have the training to implement new tools? How can schools support teachers in not just experimenting with new methods of teaching and learning—but scale these practices across the campus and district? How can these changes make education opportunities more equitable? These questions will help frame the focus of the next chapter. As classrooms change, so do schools.
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Feds Launch Inaugural Teacher and School Leader Grant Competition
The United States Department of Education yesterday announced a new grant competition to train teachers that serve low-income and minority children.
The Teacher and School Leader (TSL) program is designed to assist states, local educational agencies and nonprofit organizations in developing, implementing, improving and expanding "comprehensive performance-based competition systems or human capital management systems for teachers, principals and other school leaders," according to the program website.
The TSL grants are especially geared to help educators in high-need schools where there is a need to "raise student academic achievement and close the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students." Approximately $250 million has been requested for the program for FY 2017, but funding is contingent future appointments to Congress.
The grants will:
Allow educators to identify opportunities to improve their schools;
Create professional development and support systems that are tailored to educators' individual needs; and
Help districts and schools attract "a diverse, effective workforce," according to the TSL program site.
Authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the TSL program replaces the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program that provided $2 billion to fund similar efforts to increase student achievement over the last 10 years, particularly for math and science.
Applications for the grant competition opened today. The deadline to submit applications is March 24, 2017. Apply are available on the ED site here
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Report: Digital Natives 'Easily Duped' by Information Online
Many students are having a hard time judging the credibility of online news, according to a new study from Stanford University. Researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Education assessed middle, high school and college students on the their civic online reasoning skills, or "the ability to judge the credibility of information that floods young people's smartphones, tablets and computers."
The Stanford History Education Group recently released a report that analyzes 7,804 responses collected from students across 12 states and varying economic lines, including well-resourced, under-resourced and inner-city schools. To test news literacy, the researchers administered 56 tasks that involved open web searches. They found that when it comes to evaluating information that flows on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, students "are easily duped" and have trouble discerning advertisements from news articles.
Native advertising, for example, "proved vexing for the majority of students," according to the report. For one task, 203 middle school students were asked to evaluate the homepage of Slate magazine's website. More than 80 percent of students believed that an advertisement with the words "sponsored content" was a news story. Several even responded that it was sponsored content, yet identified it as a credible news story.
Many people assume that today's students – growing up as "digital natives" – are intuitively perceptive online. The Stanford researchers found the opposite to be true and urge teachers to create curricula focused on developing students' civil reasoning skills. They plan to produce "a series of high-quality web videos to showcase the depth of the problem" that will "demonstrate the link between digital literacy and citizenship," according to the report.
The report, "Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning," can be found here.
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Facebook, Apple, Google Executives Push STEM at Trump's Tech Meeting
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, alongside a dozen other executives of major tech companies, met with Republican president-elect Donald Trump Wednesday to discuss jobs and the economy.
What ever happened after this meeting? Has any of these companies actually changed what they are/were doing?
Image Credit: Quartz.
Trump was relatively quiet about his plans for education while campaigning, but during the sit-down meeting at Trump Tower in New York City, a conversation about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education unfolded.
According to various reports, invitations were also extended to:
Jeff Bezoz, Amazon CEO;
Safra Katz, Oracle CEO;
Alex Karp, Palantir CEO;
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and product architect;
Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO;
Larry Page, Alphabet CEO and Google co-founder;
Eric Schmidt, Alphabet executive chairman and former Google CEO;
Chuck Robbins, Cisco CEO; and
Ginni Rometty, IBM CEO.
Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal and other companies and a member of Trump's transition team, was also in attendance and sat next to the president-elect. Notably, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was not at the meeting.
Recode reported that meeting attendees talked about developing fairer trade deals and creating jobs, emphasizing the importance of innovative technologies, like automation and advanced manufacturing. Cook brought up President Obama's work to advance STEM education in K–12, including national computer science initiatives, stressing STEM's impact on the U.S. economy. Additionally, Sandberg pushed the importance of STEM education for women and underrepresented minorities in the tech industry.
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President-Elect Advised to Scale Personalized Learning
KnowledgeWorks, a nonprofit that works with federal, state and district leaders to expand competency-based and personalized learning, has issued four recommendations on how Donald Trump and his secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, can "scale personalized learning."
The advice focuses on streamlining the path between K—12 and higher ed for increased college enrollment; removing barriers to innovation within states; adding flexibility to the federal financial aid system; and prioritizing personalized learning initiatives for discretionary grant programs.
The emphasis is placed especially on flexibility, a concept of great importance to DeVos, a strong advocate for the use of school vouchers, which would support parents using federal dollars to send their children to private schools, among other choices. In a speech at last year's South by Southwest Education Forum, the education reformer called for revolutionizing the "education delivery system" by opening it up and allowing "for choice, innovation and freedom."
In a five-page "memo," KnowledgeWorks suggested:
Finding ways to promote the "effective transitions" of students between their secondary education and college. One idea would be the creation of a "postsecondary transition innovation fund," that could be used, for example, to support the transition to competency-based pathways in education and re-engagement of students who have dropped out.
Helping states and districts scale their personalized learning systems. The components needed would address many of the stipulations covered in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) — assessment, accountability, school improvement and the education workforce — and also suggests expansion of learning opportunities outside of school and support for research and development tied to personalized learning.
Supporting individual pathways toward postsecondary credentials by making federal financial aid more flexible. This would require a move away from basing financial aid on the number of hours a student attends college or the number of credit hours he or she is pursuing — shifting the emphasis to other areas, such as competency education and dual enrollment.
Giving a priority score to grants that focus on personalized learning. The characteristics of that include alignment with standards students need to be successful in college, individualized learning experiences and varied pacing of instruction based on student need.
"We look forward to working with the new administration to create a policy platform that makes it easier for learners to access high-quality, customized pathways to college and career success," wrote Lillian Pace, senior director of national policy, in an article on the organization's website. "In a time of uncertainty, there is no better strategy than to build on our strengths. By empowering our local innovators, we can turn their energy and dedication into a system that works for all."
The full memo is available on the KnowledgeWorks website here.
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K12 and other Virtual Companies REJECT ACCOUNTABILITY/TRANSPARENCY Proposal
Virtual charter school company K12 Inc. rejected a transparency proposal Thursday that would have required the company's board of directors to create a new report detailing K12's lobbying efforts.
The proposal came from a group of shareholders, represented by Arjuna Capital, who said the company spends millions on state lobbying, even as its stock has been dropping and revenues have decreased.
K12 Inc. has spent at least $10.5 million to hire lobbyists in 21 states, according to more than a decade of state lobbying disclosure forms examined by Education Week as part of a recent investigation into the lobbying efforts of for-profit virtual charter school operators.
The shareholders called on the company's board to prepare an annual report detailing spending on "direct or indirect lobbying or … grassroots lobbying communications." They also wanted the company to report K12's membership in, and payments to, any tax-exempt organization that writes and endorses model legislation — such as the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The K12 shareholder effort to push for more transparency was headed by Bertis Downs, the legal counsel for the rock group R.E.M. as well as a traditional public school parent and advocate in Athens, GA.
Downs also sits on the board of the Network for Public Education, the group co-founded by education historian and traditional public schools advocate Diane Ravitch.
K12's board of directors opposed the proposal. In a proxy statement put out ahead of the annual shareholder's meeting, the board said the requirements outlined in the proposal are not necessary and could hurt the company.
"The expanded disclosure requested by this proposal could place the company at a competitive disadvantage by revealing strategies and priorities designed to protect the economic future of the company, its stockholders and employees," the statement said.
K12 has faced major challenges in recent years. Revenues are down by $75 million from last year, according to an Education Week report. Investors sued the company in 2014, claiming it had misled them before its stock prices fell in 2013. A federal judge dismissed the suit last year.
And California Attorney General Kamala Harris launched an investigation into the company for alleged false advertising and unfair business practices. In July, K12 Inc. agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle the state's claims and provide $160 million in balanced budget credits to the nonprofit schools it manages, including California Virtual Academies.
Despite those setbacks, the company continues to open new schools in states such as Alabama, Maine and North Carolina.
by Richard Chang
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Could a robot be grading your homework?
Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly big issue for education – not least because many tech companies and publishers are circling around the huge commercial opportunities. Especially with the possibility of the new chief at the USDOE coming on board soon.
One of those companies is Vantage Learning the industry leader in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing Technologies. They were the first company to reach human level accuracy in their scoring engine and have patents on the world's best artificial intelligent engine (Intellimetric) that automatically scores essays and provides prescriptive feedback to students globally.
To date the engine has scored more than 125,000,000 essays including many large-scale essays such as the GMAT, MCAT, SAT and ACT to name a few.
When thinking about the bigger picture in education though, could students really get their answers from a robot rather than a teacher? They are already receiving prescriptive feedback, and having their papers scored more efficiently than teachers can currently score. This leaves more time for intervention, content acquisition and remediation.
Donald Clark said it was a mistake to think jobs in education would not be automated, and I agree although, if technology can replace the teacher, then it should as that teacher is not doing their job, because teaching is more than technology and scores. It is about passion, choice and shaping our future as a country. You can decide for yourself and read this article. (http://www.edudemic.com/education-technology-pros-cons/)
Dr Tarek Besold, speaking at an educational technology conference in Berlin, said a joke-writing computer showed how robots could be creative as well as carrying out repetitive, factory-floor tasks.
And he highlighted experiments already taking place in using artificial intelligence in teaching.
Digital teacher
This summer, Georgia Tech, a university in Atlanta in the US, deployed a teaching assistant called Jill Watson for one of its postgraduate courses.
Except that Jill Watson was really a robot, which helped students and answered their questions in an online forum, without revealing her cyber-identity.
The only thing that students noticed was that Jill Watson answered questions and provided feedback much more quickly than other teaching assistants.
Dr Besold, from Bremen University, said such robotic teachers were becoming increasingly sophisticated and had advantages over human teachers. I am still wary of this as a model, being a teacher I know the reality of what it takes to be a teacher and a pseudo-parent at times.
They were always ready to respond, they were never bored, tired or distracted.
But such clever computers could also be stupid.
While they could be trained to operate for a particular task or set of questions, they couldn't easily adapt that knowledge to a different setting.
For example; Peter Murphy, the CEO of Vantage Labs said "a human who was good at chess would be likely to be able to play other games that required a complex thought process; while a chess computer would struggle, unless it had been specifically programmed. This also holds true for the computer that beat the Japanese strategy game "Go" as well".
Will robotics and automation take more professional jobs?
There are also more subtle questions about online help from a robot. Would you feel the same about positive feedback if it came from a machine rather than a person?
What about the pastoral side of teaching? Could a robot offer empathy as well as factual insights?
And academic instruction is often not about "right" or "wrong" answers, but teaching how to think and investigate. It is about teaching critical thinking and empathy. Can a robot or cognitive computing engine actually perform these tasks of teaching or leading students to critically think and problem solve?
Destroying jobs
Donald Clark, a professor at Derby University and an education technology entrepreneur, said it was a mistake for anyone to think that education would be exempt from the impact of automation.
"Are we really saying that accountants, lawyers and managers can all be replaced by artificial intelligence – but not teachers?"
Can a robot truly appreciate a creative student's answers?
Clark argued that artificial intelligence would change office jobs and professions in the way that automation had already transformed production lines.
"Artificial intelligence will destroy jobs – so why not use it for a social good such as learning?" he asked.
The acceleration of big data and more powerful computer systems meant that more and more sophisticated tasks could be automated, said Prof Clark.
It is already ebbing around the edges of education.
The name of Georgia Tech's robot teacher – Jill Watson – is a reference to the underlying Watson computer system, developed by IBM to answer questions in ordinary language.
The Watson system is also being used in an experimental project from education companies. There has been AI used in education by Vantage Learning for the past 15 years and they developed the first automated scoring engine to reach human level accuracy. (http://www.vantagelearning.com)
The use of artificial intelligence is growing in the workplace.
It's not going to replace a conventional teacher, but it's an indication of how online courses and revision tutorials could develop, with testing and feedback all wrapped up together.
But there are skeptics who see this as another wave of technology over-promising.
"We've been here before – with radio, television, computers, the internet," said Stavros Yiannouka, chief executive of the Wise project, run by the Qatar Foundation.
"Technology in itself doesn't revolutionize anything," he said. Change in education is driven by public policy decisions, he said, not computer software.
There are also questions about whether automation will create a social divide – with stripped down, low cost, semi-automated courses, for those who cannot afford a traditional taught course.
Entrepreneur Nell Watson said that despite describing herself as a "happy clappy evangelist" for artificial intelligence, the role of teacher would not be replicated by a robot.
Cultivating the whole person and helping them to "blossom" was not something that was going to be achieved by an algorithm, she said.
And she doubted whether a computer could appreciate the work of an innovative student who thought outside the conventional questions and answers.
But automation is advancing.
The Bank of England's governor, Mark Carney, said this month that 15 million jobs in the UK could be automated, including middle-class professions.
Changes in technology would "mercilessly" destroy jobs, he said.
So could it be "Goodbye Mr. Chips" and "Hello Mr. Silicon Chips"?
For more information on Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Computing or Natural Language Understanding reach out to me, I am always looking to discuss the future of the world we live, play and work in.
Don't miss more articles by Jeff Piontek
Where machine's could replace humans, and where they can't (yet).
Jeff Piontek on LinkedIn
The AI Revolution and the road to Super Intelligence
Why Professional Development doesn't work and why teachers despise it…..
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text:
Q: Disk Encryption failed and re-install won't work I take full blame for this, but I screwed over my system and don't know what to do next. Here's what happened, and I hope someone can give me advice on next steps.

*

*I have an Acer Aspire one, originally with windows 8.

*I put 13.04 on a usb drive and successfully installed it. during the install, I removed all existing partitions etc, completely nuked windows 8 (yay!)

*I used full disk encryption (I still have this password)

*Everything worked fine, and THIS is where I made a mistake

*I decided I wanted to try another distro, and while I was downloading it, I decided to use the same Ubuntu USB stick to boot up, then opened gparted, and 'deleted' the partitions on the hard drive. The download of the other distro I wanted to try (OpenSUSE) was taking too long so I went to bed.

*Woke up, decided "you know what, I'll stick with Ubuntu" and so decided to reinstall from the same USB drive. This time i did NOT choose disk encryption, other than that, install was exactly the same.

*Install seemed to go fine. At the end, I removed the USB drive, restarted.

*System message came up saying "no bootable device"

*Re did installation, same problem

*Freaked out, decided to try to use my OpenSUSE thumbdrive to install THAT distro, during installation, OpenSUSE recommended deleting all the existing partitions of ubuntu etc, which I allowed it to do. Install went fine but after removing thumbdrive and restarting am still getting: "no bootable device"

*Tried to do some research, some places indicating that I should be in legacy bios mode etc, but on my original install I was on UETF and it was fine. Tried switching that in the BIOS and restarting. Got a little further (OpenSUSE command line items started appearing, so I think it was starting to load up) but eventually got bootable device message again.

So I think I screwed up here. I am assuming this has something to do with the initial choice to encrypt the hard drive. Or I messed up the partition tables, or similar.
I don't care about any lost data, all I want to do now is put in my Ubuntu USB thumbdrive, wipe out all previous data, and install Ubuntu again from scratch.
I would really appreciate a step by step. I feel very lost on this.

A: No bootable device means you do not have grub installed, not the distro. Just remember on clicking on of the /dev/sda partitions and the one in /dev/sdb as the partition for grub and all will be ok.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


And the dream that you dare to, why, oh why can't I? I hiii?
I sang this song to my baby before she was born, during her short life and as I held her after life left her body. I played it at her funeral as well. This song's meaning for me and my family is simply stated as, my baby is now up there. Where there's no pain, no troubles, just beautiful open sky where's she's free to be anything she wants to be. No one, no doctors are telling her what she will and will not be able to do, because up there. She's healthy and completely able to live life any way her soul so chooses.
This song has so much sentimental feelings for me. 4 years ago when I met my boyfriend/soulmate Tim he would sing along with this version to me with reference to our future. Our dreams would come true. Together. Now today it has so much meaning in the opposite direction. I lost Tim unexpectedly 2 days ago. I listen to this song now and think that he is were there is no pain, no troubles and he is living free. Someday we will be together again. Over the rainbow! I love you Timothy Walter!
I have to say that I also like Israel "IZ" of over the Rainbow, he has a way of putting the feeling into my heart. When I was little I always wanted to see what was at the end of the Rainbow, yes I did dream of those rainbows. Now I'm grown-up, I first saw Israel video sitting on the beach singing over the Rainbow, Then I saw his beautiful departure, really hit me, I cried. I would love that song by him for mine too! Funny, I didn't even know him.
Judy Garland put this into words when I was small and I let it carry me away. And now again someone else has improved it by adding a bit and improving something that was almost perfect. I'll keep looking and keep trying to find my rainbow and my loved ones who have flown on.
I love this song, has a lot of meaning to it, I actually perfer Israels's version (its sad how he died already) but its more like a postive song, dreams do come true if you fight for them, because this is a wonderful world, and life is beautiful. It just depends how you look at it. But I can personally say this is one of my fav songs! :) I can personally relate to this, as I kno others can as well.
Thanks for correcting Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow lyrics!


This super-complaint, submitted in May 2007, asserted that a number of restrictions imposed on providers of legal services in Scotland were significantly harming the interests of consumers by stifling choice, inhibiting innovation, and excluding potential entrants from the legal services market.
These restrictions included: restrictions on lawyers and non-lawyers (or advocates) working together; the prohibition on lawyers and advocates adopting appropriate business models for the provision of legal services; restrictions on third party entry; and the restrictions on direct access to advocates.
Which? asserted that the regulatory structure for legal services in Scotland should be reformed in order to accommodate the lifting of these restrictions. This would improve access to justice and significantly increase consumer benefit.


Balance Your Body Through Frequencies.
Biofeedback is an amazing tool that allows the operator to view and edit key components of the mind and body.
There are no drugs involved with biofeedback what-so-ever. This is a homeopathic approach with unlimited benefits.
The biofeedback operator has the ability to adjust and edit the way your brain waves relate to you body and mind.
Stress affects us all. The deleterious effects of excess stress have been well documented in a wide range of medical publications. Biofeedback can help!
Ellen Stern, a certified stress reduction specialist since 2005, started her journey into alternative healing after getting hit in the head with a golf ball causing brain trauma in 1997. She shifted her lifestyle to eating organically, juicing wheat grass daily, exercising, and using biofeedback for a full recovery. The opportunity of healing herself led to her personal understanding of the power of retraining the brain.
The INDIGO system was in such alignment that she knew she could help others and that began her biofeedback journey of service to humanity. She is a part of the shift of the merging of science and spirituality by using quantum technology and working with consciousness.
Ellen stays current with the latest technologies by continuing her education and personal transformation, having studied with master teachers all over the world. She has served over 1000 clients including other practitioners, healers, and leaders in modalities of quantum physics and spirituality for peak performance. Her support comes through the client education of lifestyle changes, body ecology, and quantum devices. (ionic body charger, parasite cleanses and structured water) She is an accomplished painter and lives with her partner in Pasadena, California.
Quantum biofeedback was a mystery before I met Ellen. I had an extraordinary experience the first time she worked with me. I felt completely relaxed and rejuvenated. She is a warm, skilled and intuitive practitioner. Not only did I thoroughly like the process, I liked the results. I can see that working with Ellen and this modality will now be a part of my life.
I want to tell you how kind and professional Ellen Stern was when I first had a biofeedback session. I work very hard and my colon had been bleeding for years. I feel that biofeedback was one of the factors, that has helped me heal. I also get a power house full of energy from the biofeedback. I was so amazed at the machine knowing, where and what I harbor in my mental and physical body. WOW, is this machine alive, so cool. Thanks so much, Ellen! I am sure I need a tune up now! You're the Best.
Ellen has been providing me, and my family, with biofeedback for more than four years now. I continue to see her on a regular basis and have found her treatments to not only greatly improve my general health but they have also balanced my brain chemistry in a natural, non-invasive way. I had tried various medications in the past but could never tolerate their many harmful side effects. One of the many advantages to biofeedback is the absolute lack of unintended, undesirable side effects! I highly recommend both Ellen and her biofeedback services with confidence! Whether you are new to biofeedback or are already familiar with the benefits it affords, Ellen is worth trying. She is a master practitioner who gets results!
Dear Ellen, I have to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the help that you have brought to me through the work you do. Both the Body Charger and the Quantum Bio-feedback have brought me so much relief from the neuropathy that has developed in my feet and legs. When you first began working on me, I was barely able to walk, was having balance issues, and was in a great deal of pain. I couldn't drive, so I was stuck in the house, spending most of my days on the couch. After your amazing work, I have been able to put on shoes and join the rest of the world! I have even managed to regain the ability to do some of the things I love, including driving, gardening, and even some exercising. The thing I love most about the work you do, is that you have been able to tell me what my body is asking for, so that I can find ways to facilitate my healing on the days I don't have you here to help.That kind of empowerment is valuable beyond words. You're a Godsend Ellen! Thank you.


text:
Q: Are my files on an ext4 filesystem recoverable after removing the logical volume the filesystem was inside of? Scenario:
The other day I was trying to "unmount" some logical volumes so that I could close the LUKS partition they were inside. I accidentally uses lvremove thinking that was the right command to use; after I realized it was not I restored my LVM configuration with the backup it created right before lvremove.
Setup:
I have a single SSD with a single LUKS partition, inside of that is an LVM partition with three logical volumes for swap, root, and home. Root and home are ext4 filesystems. So SSD(LUKS(LVM(swap,root(ext4),home(ext4))))
Conclusion:
I have determined that the metadata describing my ext4 filesystem has been corrupted. I know this because I have tried to repair it using
e2fsck -f /dev/ubuntu/home
I have tried to repair it using backup superblocks
e2fsck -f -b 12345 /dev/ubuntu-vg/home
I have used TestDisk to try to repair it
I have tried using extundelete (it can't find the superblocks)
I have even looked at the raw hex using
xxd -a /dev/ubuntu-vg/home | less
and compared it to a working ext4 filesystem
Questions:
Is it possible to recover the files using some kind of "deep scan"?
Is this a known problem with LVM and SSDs or is it an anomaly?
When LVM deallocated the memory blocks on the SSD did a TRIM operation or "wear leveling" occur corrupting the data?

A: I'm in the process of reading-up on using logical volumes. I ran across this advice from ArchWiki:

"Warning: Before you remove a logical volume, make sure to move all
  data that you want to keep somewhere else; otherwise, it will be
  lost!"

Based on that, it would appear that your files are "lost". Of course, that doesn't mean that there isn't another person out-there somewhere who may have the knowledge concerning how to recover your lost files.


Dr. Sarah Helfinstein leads analytics and insight generation to drive policy and program design in a number of Surgo priority areas. She is passionate about using data to understand human behavior, and believes that understanding what drives individuals' behavior within a system is essential to effecting transformational change. Along with her colleagues at Surgo, Sarah aims to provide data-driven solutions that can improve health interventions.
Sarah comes to Surgo with many years of experience both in the private sector and in academia. Prior to joining Surgo, Sarah worked as a Senior Data Scientist for an online marketplace, applying machine learning techniques to large-scale data to understand key drivers of consumer behavior. Before this, she was a Research Assistant Professor with the Maryland Neuroimaging Center at the University of Maryland College Park, where her work focused on understanding how the brain encodes information about risky decisions, in particular information about the risk-taking behavior of one's peers. Sarah completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Texas at Austin, where she used predictive modeling techniques to predict, based on neural activity, whether an individual would go on to make a risky or safe choice in a risk-taking game. She received her PhD in Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences from the University of Maryland College Park, and BAs in Biology and Psychology from the University of Chicago.


The Square Enix action role-playing s game, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, can be somewhat tricky, which is why we want to support you with some useful tips and guide in some areas.
Health and energy are the two bars that you have to always keep in mind. With energy you can use your special skills that you will need throughout the game. These ensure that you can create serious obstacles or pass through clouds of poison without dying. Here is our Beginner's Guide with some tips that will help you to keep these two bars under control.
- Bottom left of the screen you the bar for energy appears. Sets a their augmentations, this energy is consumed. The wide part of this bar is always crowded on by itself, so you always have a little energy. The rest you have to recharge with bio cells, which finds her scattered everywhere.
- The health bar appears bottom right of the screen. This regenerates with time also in large part again, but it may take a long time. To speed up this time, you can use the ability "Defibrillator" (to be found in the torso in the skill tree).
- To have a higher standard health value, you should unlock the three stages of "angiogenesis" (to be found in the torso in the skill tree). If you play more aggressively, then it will be very useful to you.
- Take a medication, so you can regenerate your health immediately. If you know that you will get all that much damage on the next attack, then you can take precautionary medication. Thereby your health is briefly increased above the default.
Hacking is still a big issue in the latest adventures of Adam Jensen. Compare to its predecessor, it was a little overworked, but basically works very similarly. If you have played any of the previous Deus Ex games, then these tips and tricks will help you to get started with the hacking.
- When hacking it comes to take the registries (green balls). Look at the nodes on the way to the registries. If you have a high security level, it takes longer to take it and it is more likely that you will be discovered. Select the path of least resistance.
- To make hacking easier, you can unlock all four stages of "hacking / Apply" (found under the skull). In this way, it will take longer before you discover the enemy's security systems.
- You can enhance occupied nodes by clicking on them and this option you can select in the menu. By "hacking amplify" (found under the skull) can increase this protection. Thereby it prevents access to your I / O port (blue ball) and also cannot be thrown out so fast.
Actually, it is not so difficult. Give me a gun, ammunition and tell me which key should I press to recharge. Sure, so you can also play Deux Ex: Mankind Divided without any help, but we recommend you to test the quieter option. Especially because you have supportive skills for all. Overall, there are two ways to deal with your enemies and opponents. This of course depends on your playing style and partly to the necessary resources. The following tips show you what you should consider in this case.
- You have the ability to easily shoot your opponents or to use grenades. These options are noisy and can attract more enemies. It may happen that you will see a horde of killers contrary.
- However, the complete elimination assures you, that your enemy is dead and you can not be dangerous. With "Cybernetic arms" (found in arms) can also strengthen your weapons attacks.
- Teams can generally be turned off softly and yet completely. The choice will be displayed to you when you stand near an opponent.
- You can also hold the neck of your enemies and knock them out quietly. You neutralized your enemies by dragging them out. However, it is possible that they will be awakened again.
- Breaking operations are only possible when the energy limit is full and they also consume energy. If you want to play Deus Ex: Mankind Divided in this way, you should use the "energy converter" (found in torso) optimize your energy and energy bar on it.
If the answer to your question is not listed above? Below, we include additional general tips and tricks for getting started in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
- Don't spend too much time in planning your approach, because some optional objectives depend on how quickly you start your mission. So it may be that you cannot protect a target person, or that he escapes you.
- Look at your surroundings well. Sometimes behind cupboards you'll find doors or walls, which you can open and thus gain access to valuable objects. Push the cabinets and other obstacles easily aside.
- I you don't need an augmentation, then don't forget to disable it again. Otherwise it will consume unnecessary energy.
- Use the tutorial mode at the beginning of the game to test your approach in different ways.
- The people in this world are afraid of Optimists and don't like to see. Step into their premises, from which you want to chase the civilians, then take their threats seriously, because they attack you if you don't listen to them.
- Speak to all NPCs you meet, so you can be sure that you will also trigger the side quests.


Perhaps to beat the winter weather or maybe to make fans happy in the off-season, the Mets have already begun work on moving in the Citi Field walls in right field.
The team released photos on Twitter Wednesday of the early work, with the simple caption "work has begun." It is not exactly clear how far the Citi Field walls will be moved in, but it looks like the walls will be straighter, getting rid of those annoying nooks. This is probably the most telling photo.


Please take a few minutes to look around and see what God is doing through Capitol Commission's ministry to the state and national leaders in our great nation. Our new national prayer blog, www.pray1tim2.org, will help you pray for our elected leaders. Please sign up to receive regular emails as to whom to pray for.
I am thankful for the ministry of Capitol Commission. In a day when the direction of our government is so quickly changing, a strong Christian witness is desperately needed at all levels. God has ordained the government, and we must do all we can to influence its officials and staff with the life-changing truths of His Word. May the Lord enhance and expand the outreach of this Bible-centered work.
When I was a state senator in NC we met on Wednesday mornings for Bible Study and then once a month for a Prayer Breakfast. The Bible studies were extremely important to me and to those who attended because they gave us a grounding in the middle of the week that was very, very important to us. I want to commend Capitol Commission for its work in branching out across the United States to offer this wonderful ministry to elected officials in State Capitols.
As followers of Christ, we are commissioned to make disciples of all people. We are commanded to pray for those in authority over us. God has raised up Capitol Commission to help the church fulfill these concerns of our Lord. Ministering to both sides of the aisle and mobilizing prayerful saints, Capitol Commission is a rare and welcome ministry.
I believe that the biblical basis and the practical wisdom that I have seen in Capitol Commission is the kind of ministry that every state capitol as well as the federal government politicians need in the USA. I want to encourage all believers who care for the state of the nation and for the direction of the political dialogue national and state-wide to support the ministry of Capitol Commission.
I thank God for men and women who are deeply concerned about our government leaders and who are taking specific steps to reach our Capitol Communities for Christ. I'm honored to endorse this ministry!
Few doors have seen God open with more clarity of purpose and opportunity for impact than Capitol Commission. While God has ordained men and women to serve in our government's legislative branch, He has brought our leaders an opportunity for discipleship, prayer, and most importantly study of God's Word. Further, through Capitol Commission, every legislator can be covered in prayer, by name, through an organized daily prayer effort using the prayer ministry of thousands of concerned believers. This significant ministry is not Republican, Democrat, Independent, nor oriented with any political party. We all praise God, and His Word is clear...He did not come to take sides, He came to take over! I heartily commend this ministry!
Believing that the Gospel is non-partisan, and needed by all, Capitol Commission has the vision of sharing the good news with all who are in government, no matter their political affiliation. Great idea! And Biblical!
The Apostle Paul was very clear about the function of government. It is designed for the good of the people (Romans 13:3). Good government is where those who govern are informed by God and His Word. Capitol Commission's mission to reach the Capitol community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to disciple them in God's Word is critical to the production of good government. Back to the Bible applauds the Capitol Commission's efforts to make government good government.
In the first century, the gospel of Christ reached the highest echelon of power within the Roman empire so effectively that the Apostle Paul could send greetings to believers who lived and served in the household of Caesar. Twenty centuries later, Colonial Baptist Church is privileged to support the ministry of Capitol Commission – a ministry that is reaching, instructing and encouraging a new generation of political leaders throughout our nation's capitols by delivering the wisdom and perspective found only in God's timeless Word.
Scripture tells us to pray for our leaders and those in authority over us. In fact, the Apostle Paul goes even further to say that our prayers should be evangelistic because God our Savior desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. If we are responsible to pray for the salvation and sanctification of our leaders, it follows that we should be engaged in every effort possible to impact them for the gospel. Capitol Commission does just that by placing trained men of God in the state capitols to be effective evangelists and edifiers. We at Grace Community Church wholeheartedly endorse this effort.
In our world, bringing the transforming influence of the gospel into the halls of power is no small thing. Especially in a political environment where chaos, rivalry and tactics of revenge hamper officials to do their work of bringing peace, safety and security to their citizens. Ultimately, the only way to bring effective change is by changing the lives of our leaders and supporting the officials that lead in the ways of Jesus. Thankfully the ministry of Capitol Commission is busy about changing our political climate, one life at a time! I'm a raving fan!
Capitol Commission is a non-partisan, non-political, Biblically based effort to bring the Bible and the Christian message to office holders in Pierre. Through weekly Bible study, prayer, encouragement and personal witness, political office holders are challenged to evaluate life and their decisions in a Biblical manner. I heartily endorse it and the effort of Mr. Wipf. It has benefited my life and the lives of other legislators.
Our nation's Founders were steeped in Biblical truths, and the impact of Biblical principles on American society and government cannot be overstated. Capitol Commission is raising a standard of Biblical truth and principles in the heart of state capitols across the nation by their work with state legislators, and the beneficial impact of their labors also cannot be overstated. I encourage you to participate in the work of Capitol Commission. God bless!
I'm excited to commend to you Capitol Commission…a ministry seeking to reach a very particular and important people group----politicians. It is a ministry that is mobilizing people and churches to share the gospel and disciple new believers so that we might have people in positions of influence who will make a Godly impact for our nation…..a ministry that is very vital to the welfare and health of our nation. They hold in their hands the future of our children and our grandchildren. This is a ministry that I believe in, a ministry that I support.
Capitol Commission shares with government leaders and legislators of every political persuasion the love of God as proclaimed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, challenging them to live a transformed life personally and professionally that is founded on Biblical truth. I commend this strategic and vital ministry to you.


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News european commission
Nature needs Action (Plan) Heroes
The snowdrops and crocuses are in bloom – living mosaics of colour signalling that spring has officially sprung here in Brussels.
Victory! - All for Nature, Nature for All
Victory! Today, the European Commission finally announced that they will uphold the benchmark and hugely popular laws that protect Europe's Nature.
It's autumn, free the Nature Directives!
It's "back to school" for the European Commission after the summer break and one of the
Failure to ban toxic ammunition putting bird...
The European Commission has announced it will continue allowing the use of lead in ammunition, despite the chemical being responsible for thousands of bird deaths.
A real European union emerges to back nature
Environment Ministers from EU member countries have backed the Nature Directives in the face of a European Commission 'Fitness Check' process.
Major EU countries join fight to protect European...
Key European nature laws have just been given a massive boost as a number of major EU countries, led by Germany, call for them to be protected.
EU adopts BirdLife's classification standard...
Here's three reasons why this is important for conservation efforts.
Nature in the crosshair
The Birds and Habitats Directives are the bedrock of nature conservation in the
Green Infrastructure - Enhancing Europe's Natural...
On Monday 6th May the European Commission launched a new strategy to encourage the deployment of green infrastructure. The strategy also revealed a clear policy signal to ensure that the enhancement of natural processes that provide multiple benefits, such as green infrastructure, becomes a systematic part of spatial planning. This is a key element of the implementation of the EU's Biodiversity Strategy towards 2020.
Producing biofuels without increasing greenhouse...
A recent report about the Dutch biofuels market, compiled by research institute CE Delft, reveals that the environmental performance of biofuels sold on the Dutch market could be significantly improved by shifting to biofuels that produce low levels of CO2 emissions.
Europe and Central AsiaNetherlandsUnited Kingdom
Green groups: no medals in sight for Barroso II
Halfway through its term in office, the European Commission is falling behind in the race to create sustainable long-term prosperity in Europe, warn Europe's leading green groups in a critical assessment of the Commission's environmental performance since 2010 released on Tuesday 3 July. This report finds among others that the Commission has acted to protect the environment even less than the first Barroso Commission.
Final Warning for Bulgaria over Failure to...
On Thursday 21 June, the European Commission issued a final legal warning against the Bulgarian Government over its failure to fully designate, protect, and prevent deterioration of the Kaliakra Special Protection Area and Site of Community Importance, required under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives.
Europe and Central AsiaBulgaria
The EU continues to fail in financing successful...
On Monday 12 December, the European Commission proposed the renewal after 2013 of the LIFE programme, a key tool for financing biodiversity and the Natura 2000 network.
Environment Commissioners win a round for...
The European Commission has made a timid step forward towards honoring its commitment to integrate biodiversity in its legislative proposal on the Cohesion Policy, one of the two main components of the EU Budget.
The EU must reform fisheries and farm policies if...
BirdLife welcomes the new EU Biodiversity strategy to reverse the decline of biodiversity and ecosystems by 2020.
Disappointment over European Court of Justice...
The European Court of Justice has ruled against the European Commission in a case brought against the Romanian Government.
European Commission urges Romania to protect the...
The European Commission has urged Romania to improve its protection of the Sulina area in the Danube Delta, as new tourism developments threaten to degrade it.
Protection set to increase for migratory birds of...
The EU Council of Ministers is on its way to signing an important MoU that would significantly increase protection for migratory raptors across European, Asian and African flyways, after a recommendation to do so by the European Commission.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl