Project Tomorrow's results show that administrators and librarians have the biggest ability to empower students' digital learning aspirations.

A new survey reveals evidence of a major shift in educators’ opinions regarding technology as an educational tool, which might be attributed to the increase in educator and administrator use of ed-tech tools.

According to the latest Speak Up Survey results, more than twice as many educators have a personal smart phone today than in 2008, and there has been a 33 percent increase in the proliferation of teachers who are active Facebook users. There has also been a 50 percent increase of teachers using podcasts and videos as part of their classroom instruction.

Project Tomorrow debuted the second half of the 2010 Speak Up Survey results on May 11, highlighting how teachers, principals, district administrators, librarians, and technology coordinators view the changing role of technology in education.

In fall 2010, Project Tomorrow surveyed 294,399 K-12 students, 42,267 parents, 35,525 teachers, 2,125 librarians, 3,578 school or district administrators, and 1,391 technology leaders in order to gauge their general opinion about the use of technology in teaching 21^st century skills.

The report explored how educators addressed student opinions regarding learning around three key trends: mobile learning, online and blended learning, and digital content.

Some district initiatives ask students to bring their own mobile devices to class.

Mobile devices are now found in the hands of most children, and school leaders are using that to their advantage by incorporating devices that students already own into classroom lessons and projects.

Concerns remain about students who are unable to purchase or borrow a device for use in the classroom, but districts might find creative ways—such as asking local businesses or community organizations for help—to provide devices in such instances, advocates of the trend say.

With access issues in mind, allowing students to bring their own devices from home can offer educational benefits, as well as some surprisingly positive results when it comes to creative thinking and classroom behavior.

While there has not been a large amount of research on mobile learning devices in the classroom, research on one-to-one computing is a type of presage to some of the current research on mobile technology, said Richard Hezel of Hezel  Associates, during an International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) webinar that focused on mobile learning.

Studies of Maine’s one-to-one laptop program, for instance, revealed that laptops were used for math and science, organizing and sharing information, and playing educational games.

“In Maine, findings indicate that teacher knowledge and practices and use of technology increased,” Hezel said. Math and reading scores increased, and all involved learned lessons about technology, learning, and assessment.

Mobile learning success comes from school board support and sound policies, experts say.

At this year’s Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) conference in New Orleans, not only did most attendees carry their iPads and smart phones from meeting to meeting; the annual conference also featured its main discussions around the topic of mobile learning.

Supporting national research that predicted mobile learning will become prevalent in one year or less, CoSN launched an initiative to help school leaders understand how to lead mobile learning programs successfully in their districts. The organization also hosted notable school district, state, and national leaders, as well as private-sector experts, to discuss strategies for mobile learning implementation.

eSchool News, with the help of JDL Horizons’ EduVision, was on the scene to interview these leaders about their thoughts on mobile technology in education:

Karen Cator, director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, has devoted her career to creating the best possible learning environments for this generation of students. Cator discusses the crisis in the American educational system and how mobile devices can support every student’s 21^st-century learning.

Lucy Gray, director of the Project for Mobile Learning, explains how she views technology and new media as essentials in facilitating educational and societal change.

William Rankin, director of Innovative Education at Abilene Christian University, has been active in exploring the ways that converged mobile technology—and especially Apple’s iPhone—can transform teaching and learning in the 21st-century classroom. Rankin also summarizes his keynote speech, which delved into how culture has adapted to new learning technologies throughout the ages.

Many of CoSN’s 2011 sessions focused on mobile learning and cloud computing.

In one of the highest attended sessions of the Consortium for School Networking’s annual conference in New Orleans, the New Media Consortium (NMC), in collaboration with CoSN, on March 16 previewed their 2011 Horizon report for K-12 education, which predicts six technologies that will become prevalent in five years or less.

Chief technology officers, superintendents, and other education stakeholders, though struggling with the session’s early starting time, managed to rally for an early glimpse of this year’s Horizon report. Many were pleased, and not that surprised, to see that mobile learning and cloud computing have a “time-to-adoption horizon” of one year or less.

“Mobile learning is fast becoming a reality, and has really skyrocketed from last year’s report,” said Laurence Johnson, CEO of the NMC, “in large part because of how useful mobile tech is in emergency preparedness on campuses.”

Other technologies covered in the report include game-based learning, open content, and personalized learning environments.

The Horizon report, sponsored via a grant from Hewlett-Packard, is produced each fall using a process that is informed by both primary and secondary research. Nearly 100 technologies, as well as dozens of trends and challenges, are examined for possible inclusion in the report each year; an internationally renowned Advisory Board examines each topic in more detail, reducing the set until the final listing of technologies, trends, and challenges is selected.

The entire process takes place online and is fully documented at horizon.wiki.nmc.org.

The condensed preview of the 2011 report was produced specifically for CoSN’s conference. The full report, as well as CoSN’s accompanying toolkit, will be available May 17.

What to expect

With many of CoSN’s sessions focusing on mobile learning and cloud computing, it was no surprise for many attendees that cloud computing and mobile learning have a “time-to-adoption horizon” of one year or less.

CoSN's new initiatives will address mobile learning and online communities.

During its annual conference in New Orleans March 15, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) launched two new initiatives: one to help school leaders understand how to lead mobile learning initiatives successfully in their districts, and the other to help them extend the reach of technology access for all students.

CoSN’s Leadership for Mobile Learning (LML) program aims to help school district leaders overcome barriers to mobile learning and develop, implement, and manage policies to effectively use mobile devices to improve teaching and learning, said Keith Krueger, the group’s CEO.

The initiative intends to provide thought leadership to school district leaders on how to leverage these tools to make a meaningful, positive impact on education at the K-12 level.

“With a recent Project Tomorrow survey showing that 88 percent of administrators and 77 percent of teachers think mobile devices in schools will increase student engagement, school leaders need solid information on how to best undertake mobile learning strategies. Mobile devices hold a lot of potential for facilitating learning both in and out of the classroom and improving educational outcomes, but we need to focus on the leadership and policies that enable that vision,” said Lucy Gray, project director of CoSN’s LML initiative. “Educational leaders need up-to-date information to make the best decisions about developing and maintaining a technology infrastructure that includes mobile devices.”

“While the LML initiative is an important, new undertaking for us, we also are leveraging CoSN-related tools and resources. For example, the new initiative will highlight CoSN’s EdTechNext report on flexible mobile platforms, two new case studies on districts leveraging student-owned devices, and our new Guide to Rethinking Acceptable Use Policies—pulling them all together under the LML banner,” explained Krueger.

The objectives of the new initiative are:

1. To highlight leadership, research, and best practices for using mobile learning devices in education;
2. To identify district policies that hinder the effective deployment of mobile learning devices; and
3. To develop strategies and tools for the successful deployment of mobile learning technologies in school districts.

The initiative also aims to provide information on the role of mobility in bridging the digital divide, technical considerations for mobile learning implementation, and the impact of mobile devices on curricular content and student achievement.

Last fall, nearly 50 percent of middle and high school students said they carried some type of smart phone.

Not all that long ago, the term “mobile learning” implied laptop computers and mobile carts that were wheeled from classroom to classroom. Now, as a growing number of students carry smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices that can connect to the internet wirelessly through a cellular as well as a Wi-Fi connection, the definition of “mobile learning” is expanding—and with it, the possibilities inherent in the term.

The rise of mobile technologies small enough to carry in one’s pocket, and the increasing power and functionality of these devices, is causing a seismic shift in education technology.

Last fall, nearly 50 percent of middle and high school students said they carried some type of smart phone—a 47-percent increase from fall 2009, according to Project Tomorrow’s annual Speak Up survey of students, parents, teachers, and administrators on their uses and views of school technology.

For more on mobile learning, see:

Leveraging the Power of Mobile Learning

Innovative learning content for mobile devices

Where are we going? A look at the future of mobile learning

Three successful mobile learning projects

There are now five billion wireless subscribers in the world, and of those, 1 billion are 3G subscribers, according to Wireless Intelligence. By 2014, there will be 2.8 billion 3G subscribers. (3G refers to a third-generation cellular network, which is capable of streaming video and other bandwidth-intensive applications wirelessly. Already, some providers are rolling out 4G services that promise even faster download speeds and more capabilities.)

As mobile learning has come to mean something very different than it once did, the very definition of a mobile device may be changing. Mark Anderson of Strategic News Service, a predictive newsletter covering the computing and telecommunications industries, says there are three categories of today’s popular computing devices: the laptop, the carry-along (which includes netbooks, iPads, and other slates), and the mobile.

The Kineo features a 7-inch touch-screen display and a battery that reportedly lasts up to 12 hours per charge.

As more school leaders look at using iPads and other tablet computers as learning tools, the Florida-based company Brainchild has developed an iPad-like device that is designed specifically for elementary and middle school students.

Built on Google’s Android operating system for mobile devices, the Kineo—which is Greek for “to excite”—acts as an eBook reader with internet access and Flash capability. Its replaceable battery reportedly lasts for up to 12 hours on single charge, and at $299 it costs far less than Apple’s iPad.

Perhaps best of all for educators, the Kineo enables school leaders to specify the applications that students can use on the device by “locking down” apps they don’t want students to use.

What’s more, the Kineo can only access websites that are pre-programmed by an administrator or teacher, and its messaging capabilities have been disabled to make sure students use it for learning, not texting.

“A teacher can have full confidence that when her students are working on Kineos, they are on task and won’t get into trouble,” said Brainchild President Jeff Cameron, who introduced the product at the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC) in Orlando Feb. 1.

Cameron’s company has more than 15 years of experience in building handheld devices for education.

Introduced in 1995, Brainchild’s first product, the PLS-1000 (short for “Personal Learning System”), ran on one of the first operating systems designed for a handheld computer. A decade later, the company’s Study Buddy—with a color screen, stereo sound, and multimedia lessons—replaced the PLS-1000, but it was still just an offline practice device.

With the Kineo, students can learn and practice their math and reading skills either offline or online using Brainchild’s Achiever! assessment system. Students’ offline results can be synched with the server-based Achiever! software through a proprietary technology that Brianchild calls GlobalSYNCH, so educators can track their students’ progress toward mastery of state standards.

Technology coordinator Joseph Morelock has shown that several classrooms using the iPod touches generated better test scores than the district average.

With a furrowed brow and a deep breath, 9-year-old Dallis Engel pressed down on the screen of her iPod touch.

Then, she began to read.

“My brother William is a fisherman,” she said, using a finger to trace words in Patricia MacLachlan’s book, Sarah, Plain and Tall.

The fourth-grader stumbled over pronunciations and skipped words as an application recorded her voice. When she finished the passage, she glanced over at her teacher, Kelly Turcotte, and explained her next step.

“I have to listen to it and make sure it’s perfect,” she said. “If you sound like a robot, you have to do it again.”

In Oregon’s Canby School District, it’s a familiar scene. While other school systems across the nation have banned personal cellular phones or mobile internet devices, the Canby School District is one of a growing number of districts that is fully embracing mobile learning technology.

During a time of steep budget reductions—employees must take 14 furlough days this school year—Canby has issued an iPod touch to every third-grader, challenging the idea that digital technology exists largely as a distraction for a plugged-in generation.

More information on mobile learning programs:

Launching a Mobile Learning Program: What Every School Leader Should Know

Survey: Mobile learning at a tipping point

Georgia grants launch algebra by iPod

Since implementing a pilot project at Philander Lee Elementary School three years ago, the district has used about $250,000 in state and federal grant and rebate money to purchase the iPod touches, a portable media player that connects to the internet through a Wi-Fi network.

In addition, the parent-teacher association at Lee Elementary raised about $12,000 to buy 60 iPod touches for the school’s fourth- and fifth-graders, and another parent organization pitched in about $15,000 for 30 iPads at Eccles Elementary School.

The choice of equipping third-graders first was intentional, according to Joseph Morelock, the district’s technology coordinator. The third grade is the first to take state tests, and administrators are eager to help students pass math achievement standards that recently have been raised.

In presentations, Morelock has shown that several classrooms using the iPod touches generated better test scores than the district average. He looks at iPod touches and other mobile learning devices as unparalleled tools that can be used in nearly every class.

Analysts believe the iPad will account for the bulk of the 55 million tablets that Gartner Inc. expects will be shipped.

Apple Inc.’s popular iPad is getting its strongest competition thus far as consumer-electronics manufacturers unveil tablet computers with bigger screens, front-facing cameras for video chatting, and other features that could be useful for education.

The iPad has been a smashing success since its April launch, leaving other companies to play catch-up in the suddenly hot market for the keyboardless, touch-screen devices.

Rivals are making a bigger push at this week’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2011) in Las Vegas, betting they can challenge Apple in the market for tablet computers with such features as Android, the popular smart-phone software that Google Inc. developed to compete with the iPhone; high-definition touch screens; and cameras for video chatting and taking photos.

The competition is going to be fierce. DisplaySearch analyst Richard Semenza estimated that a hundred different tablet computers are in development, though not all of them will reach store shelves.

Major companies such as Motorola Inc. and Dell Inc. are expected to trot out new models. At least two companies—high-definition TV makers Vizio Inc. and AOC—announced tablet computers Jan. 3, days before the official opening of CES 2011 on Jan. 6.

Toshiba Corp. also plans to unveil a new tablet computer this week. Tentatively called the Toshiba Tablet, it will include two cameras for video chatting and taking photos, a high-definition screen that is larger than the iPad’s screen, and the upcoming Honeycomb version of Android that is more optimized for tablet computers.

“This is the starting gun for tablets, except Apple had a yearlong lead in the race,” BGC analyst Colin Gillis said.

Apple was expected to sell more than 13 million iPads in 2010, making up the vast majority of the total market. Although analysts believe the iPad will account for the bulk of the 55 million tablets that Gartner Inc. expects will be shipped, there’s still room for rivals to vie for sales of the remaining 10 million to 15 million devices.

]]> http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/01/04/electronics-show-to-bring-fiercer-competition-to-ipad/feed/ 0 http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/11/19/launching-a-mobile-learning-program-what-every-school-leader-should-know/ http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/11/19/launching-a-mobile-learning-program-what-every-school-leader-should-know/#comments Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:24:50 +0000 Victoria Chapa http://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=50661

Today’s students are wired. They have grown up with technology. They have integrated it into their lives. They socialize through technology. Technology gives them instant access to information at home and on the go. But, what about their classroom experience? Some forward thinking educators have realized that technology is a key ingredient in driving student engagement and learning outcomes. These educators are embracing new learning programs that feature a small, portable computer called a “Netbook”. In the hands of students, these devices can help to increase collaboration and engagement, creating a technology-rich learning environment that students are comfortable with.

This webinar features one school district’s story of launching a Netbook program. Lake Tahoe Unified School District embarked on a journey in 2009 to capitalize on smaller, low cost Netbooks to increase student engagement and save money on textbooks. The district began with a pilot program and almost immediately noticed improved classroom results as a result of greater student engagement. The district plans to expand the program, as a result, by putting a Netbook in hands of every student in grades 3 – 12 by the end of 2012. Dr. James Tarwater, Superintendent of Lake Tahoe USD, will present his first hand perspective on launching this program and its impact to date. He will address issues such as funding, organizational buy-in, and technical issues to consider. Dr. Tarwater will also review the key benefits the district has experienced, including cost savings, teacher time savings and increased student enthusiasm.

In addition to Dr. Tarwarter, the webinar will feature Linda Uhrenholt, AT&T’s Regional Education Director, who will offer her perspective on the growing use of Netbooks for one to one programs across the nation.

Webinar attendees interested in launching a Netbook program like Lake Tahoe’s will benefit from hearing the district’s story. Key takeaways include:

- Increased student engagement and enthusiasm.
– Cost savings by enabling the adoption of digital textbooks and cloud computing applications.
– Teacher time savings by enabling the use of online assessment tools that reduce time devoted to grading papers.

Click through to page 2 to view the archive…

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