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This PAGE One column features technology-in-the-classroom advice from tech-savvy Georgia educators.
Technology in the Classroom:
The Internet of Things: A Powerful Pathway to Personalized Learning By Keith Osburn, Ph.D., CIO and Director of Special Programs for Jeff Davis County Schools
P Keith Osburn, Ph.D., serves as chief information officer and director of Special Programs for Jeff Davis County Schools. He earned his bachelor’s in science education from Valdosta State University (1991), a master’s in instructional technology from Georgia Southern University (2001) and a doctorate in adult and career education at Valdosta State (2012). The 23-year public school educator, who grew up in Jeff Davis County, says that he was inspired in high school to pursue the profession as a result of exceptional educators, most notably his 11th-grade math teacher Leslie Mills, immediate past president of PAGE. 26 PAGE ONE
ersonalized learning is one of the ways in which the Internet of Things (IoT) is radically changing life as we know it. It describes the exchange and enhancement of data via the Internet. By developing a common framework, IMS Global Interoperability Standards enable software vendors to exchange information and thus lay the groundwork for a much higher level of interaction. The sum is greater than the parts. Regarding personalized education, the root data are formative assessments that measure student understanding. Software such as Classworks, DIBELS or Scholastic Reading Inventory first measure student performance
using universal screeners, benchmarks and diagnostics, such as Lexile levels. Secondly, software such as ExamView by Turning Technologies, analyzes the data to provide a real-time analysis of student comprehension. A third integrated software then offers up “smart” objects, such as video or audio clips, mini lessons or URLs, that facilitate meaningful instruction aligned with individual student needs. Safari Montage has a digital library capable of storing smart objects that teachers or curriculum specialists can incorporate into instructional design to construct standardsbased lessons. Other companies offering such tools include Discovery Education, Pearson
Consider a student who has just completed a benchmark assessment, the results of which are seamlessly passed to software that provides an immediate analysis in the form of a standards report. Another tool receives the data and then, based on the assessment results, suggests to the teacher a variety of digital resources that could help remediate or enrich the student’s learning. January/February 2016
