Mayrath Ed Tech Blog

EDUCAUSE article by GYLO & Abilene Christian Univ.

2011-04-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Our company's research with Abilene Christian University is featured in EDUCAUSE Quarterly: http://bit.ly/f38NOQ

We specifically discuss digital textbooks and what must be done in terms of software before digital textbooks become preferred over their paper-based predecessors.

You can read more about GYLO's research on our site: www.GYLO.com

What are your thoughts and opinions about the adoption of digital textbooks?

Dr. Michael Mayrath

National Educational Technology Plan - revised & re-released

2010-12-21T07:43:00.000-08:00

The U.S. National Educational Technology Plan was recently updated. The plan outlines an agenda for progressing towards an eco-system of devices and systems that integrate pedagogy & technology in K-12 schools. The Plan puts forth five goals focused on learning powered by technology: Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure, and Productivity. The Obama Administration and Secretary Duncan have charted an ambitious vision put together by experts including my old boss, Dr. Chris Dede at Harvard University.

If you are interested in improving learning through technology, then you should read the Executive Summary of this report. It will give you a top level view of the various complexities associated with integrating technology into the classroom at scale.

If you have read this report, do you agree with it?

What are the challenges associated with implementing the ideas stated in the report?

Dr. Mayrath

GetYa Learn On - Innovating mobile learning

2010-11-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

Technology is finally beginning to truly revolutionize education leaving significant opportunities to apply proven pedagogical methods to emerging technologies. I'm excited to be leading GetYa Learn On (GYLO), an educational software company based in Austin, Texas. We have 18 apps in the iTunes App Store and 8 apps in the Android Marketplace.

GetYa Learn On's Mobile Learning Platform

GYLO's existing core technology is the Mobile Learning Platform™ which is used to publish GYLO’s own apps, such as “Statistics I”. GYLO has multiple apps selling in the Apple and Android app stores, and GYLO continues to build new
E-Textbooks in collaboration with faculty around the country. The Mobile Learning Platform™ is also licensed to clients needing to quickly convert their content into mobile learning apps.
www.AndroidEducationApps.com
www.IntroductoryStatisticsApp.com
www.IntroStatsApp.com
www.iPadIntroStats.com
www.LearnStatsiPad.com

Professional Service - Mobile Learning App Developmentt

GYLO also builds app for iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) and Android platforms.
www.AustinAppDevelopment.com

Video Review of Statistics I app by GetYa Learn On

2010-02-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Check out this video showing a Stats app for the iPhone: http://dailyappshow.com/statistics

Drs. Chris Dede, Paul Resta, & Me

2009-12-08T22:01:00.000-08:00

I'm lucky to work with these guys.

This was from last year's AERA conference in San Diego.

Pics from the Virtual Performance Assessment project

2009-12-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

The VPA project is going great. We've been piloting testing at Watertown Middle School here in Boston. Making a game/assessment of scientific inquiry is challenging; however, we're using the latest technologies and theories. Jody Clakre-Midura and I are working with rockstars like Chris Dede, Bob Mislevy, and Cathy Kennedy. The pics show the virtual environment where students solve the problem and the concept map is an Flash-based drag and drop system.

Finally finished the Ph.D. Now, on to Harvard!

2009-07-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working under Chris Dede at Harvard University on the Virtual Performance Assessment project. You can read up on our project as http://virtualassessment.org/

More soon...

Projects and stuff

2009-03-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hi, This blog is from Michael Mayrath.

I'm working on my dissertation and things are looking good for graduation in May 2009. I've accepted a postdoctoral fellowship under Dr. Chris Dede, Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard Graduate School of Education. I will be working on the Virtual Assessments project, which is funded through the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.
www.VirtualAssessment.org

My dissertation examines instructional media modality (text & animation, voice narration & animation, and voice+text & animation) and interface restriction (locking part extraneous parts of the sim's interface vs. not locking down parts of the sim). The sim used is Packet Tracer 5.1.
www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/course_catalog/PacketTracer.html

My big project of 2008 was titled "A Proposed Method for Converting Professional Military Education Programs into Blended Learning Courses with Live, Virtual, and Constructive Simulations" and was co-authored with Sheilagh O’Hare. The project is headed by Aubrey White, and we work at University XXI, Institute for Advanced Technology, University of Texas at Austin. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Air Force's Future Learning initiative.
www.aetc.af.mil/library/whitepaper.asp

In early 2009, myself and three partners started a company called GetYa Learn On that develops educational games and apps that utlize the pedagogical affordances of the iPhone, including the touch-screen, accelerometer, high fidelity graphics, wifi, and processing power. Our first app is going to be released in summer 2009. It is being pilot-tested using a spiral development cycle in which user feedback is used to modify the app and increase its pedagogical effectiveness.
www.GetYaLearnOn.com

Finally, Educate Austin continues to provide information to teachers and parents on research and teaching tips. Texas State Representative Mark Strama's education advisor, Mary Throop. Mary, myself, and a team of others surveyed over 1,000 Texas K-12 public school principals. We developed a 52-item online survey called "The Texas Public School Technology Inventory" which examined six areas of technology integration: 1) computer hardware, 2) software, 3) Internet access, 4) professional development, 5) information technology support, and 6) technology integration in the classroom. Four recommendations were made based on the data: (A) Need for a Central Repository of High-Quality Technology Resources; (B) Need for On-Campus Technology Specialists; (C) Need for Laptops, Not Desktops; and (D) Need for Online Grade and Assignment Portals. In the 2007 Legislative Session, Rep. Strama introduced legislation based the recommendations. His legislation passed the House but not the Senate. However, he is back working on the recommendations right now in the 2009 Session.
www.EducateAustin.org

Texas_Public_School_Technology_Inventory

Here's my vita:
Mayrath Vita

Thanks for checking out my blog.

Michael

Michael Mayrath's Educational Technology Blog

2007-11-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

This blog includes perspectives and resources for educational technology. We view ed tech to be a very general term, but one way of looking at it is as a continuum ranging from the integration of technology into K-12 classrooms to intelligent virtual environments. According to our research, Texas K-12 classrooms still have on average only 2-3 student computers in each classrooms. While mobile laptop carts are becoming more common, over half the schools in Texas do not have laptop carts that can be wheeled into a classroom. Thus, across Texas public schools remains a shortage of computers and a lack of teacher professional development and integration technology mentorship. The computers that are available are usually 2-4 years old which limits their ability to run software that requires more powerful technology, such as Second Life.

On the other side of the educational technology continuum are the innovative and exciting applications possible with powerful computers. Such applications include animated pedagogical agents, intelligent tutoring systems, and virtual worlds. We are researching how these three technologies can be integrated to create the possibility of Intelligent Virtual Worlds, a likely topic for my dissertation.