Explaining the concept of “data visualization” is easier shown than said – which, ironically, is the point of data visualization. Cansu Tatar makes this clear when she navigates her browser to an interactive table that allows her to compare math and reading
Read morePi-Sui Hsu honored with Presidential Engagement, Partnership Professorship
Pi-Sui Hsu knows her mission. “Scientific argumentation is one of the eight essential practices in the Next Generation Science Standards,” says Hsu, a professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment. “I firmly believe that this practice can produce young
Read moreETRA researchers employ robots again to nurture computational thinking skills within an NIU STEAM summer school
What began in Naperville Community Unit School District 203 could not stop there. Faculty from the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment interacted with around 200 students in 2021 and 2022 to observe how working with LEGO educational robots might stimulate
Read moreETRA faculty attend May 16 workshop to understand, consider HyFlex teaching
Faculty in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment (ETRA) are now more skilled in the delivery of “HyFlex” – hybrid-flexible – teaching. Such courses provide “both a classroom and at least one online participation option, or mode, to students. Students
Read moreFear not! ETRA summer course will help teachers to tackle artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is changing the game for all professions, including teaching. Understanding it is only the first step; success in the new reality also will require trying to keep pace with AI’s rapid evolution and the ability to keep an open mind
Read moreNorth Chicago teachers near completion of technology specialist endorsements
No matter their subject matter – English, English as a second language, history, math or even driver’s ed – teachers use technology. Six educators within those disciplines at North Chicago School District 187 are now upping their game in ways that will
Read morePhotos: ETRA at STEM Fest
Several representatives from the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment staffed Booth 33 at NIU’s STEM Fest 2022, held Oct. 15. “Our VR and AR educational games were a great hit!” Chair Wei-Chen Hung said. “Kids and parents stood in long
Read moreWarmth of the Sun: Pi-Sui Hsu enables Rockford students to build solar ‘cars’
What provides the key to driving solar-powered model cars to the finish line? Observations and questions, apparently. At least that was the case for a dozen Rockford middle-schoolers who spent a week with Pi-Sui Hsu this June. “The purpose of the summer
Read moreHard fun: Naperville children provide data on robots, computational thinking
Some faculty in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment (ETRA) were busy this summer writing about robots – and children. Can children program robots to sort differently sized objects for recycling? Can they write code for robots to simulate an
Read moreVirtual virtuosos: ETRA keeps Learn-IT online, adds student panel discussions
Learn-IT was still virtual in 2022 – and organizers remain enthusiastic about some of the benefits of that online delivery. The Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment’s annual workshop for pre- and in-service educators traditionally has been held the first Saturday
Read moreHow do you like ETRA’s Apples? iMacs find new home in Puerto Rico school
Laura Ruth Johnson knew that some of the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment’s out-of-date computers were just sitting in storage rooms. Johnson also knew where those 21 iMacs could return to life and to resume their mission of teaching and
Read moreOnline grad programs in good company via U.S. News & World Report rankings
Online master’s programs in the NIU College of Education are in good company, according to the annual rankings released Jan. 25 by U.S. News & World Report. NIU, which has been ranked every year since the distinction debuted in 2013, is tied
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