3D equipment helps school lessons take on a whole new dimension

Vera Johnson’s fifth-graders barely noticed as visitors walked into their classroom this week, reports the Dallas Morning News: They were far too focused on the disembodied head that seemed to float in the front of the room. Suddenly a human ear, with all its innards exposed, jumped out at them. “Whoa!” The kids were responding to a relatively new kind of technology just starting to filter into North Texas classrooms: a 3D projection system, coupled with interactive, computer-driven content. In her class at Richardson ISD’s Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet elementary school, Johnson was teaching a lesson about the human senses. Down the hall, Brittany Russo gave her third-grade class a tour of the solar system. The sun, planets, and asteroids spun gently like an animated chandelier. Russo “grabbed” a comet and took the class on a virtual ride though an orbit, all the while engaging her students in a spirited question-and-answer session. Both teachers were part of a pilot program coordinated last school year by DLP, a division of Texas Instruments that produces hardware for this kind of 3D projection. This week, both teachers welcomed the technology back into their classrooms. “My struggling students don’t give up,” Russo said. “It’s almost impossible for them to stop paying attention.”

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Schools grapple with social media policies

Dallas-area schools open their doors today to tech-savvy students who probably spent their summer texting their friends and updating their Facebook pages, reports the Dallas Morning News—but should that type of direct and somewhat personal communication extend to teachers and students? The concept is unexplored territory for some school districts and is gaining acceptance in others. Some coaches and extracurricular sponsors have been texting students for years with practice updates or cancellations. Others are more hesitant to break the invisible barrier between the classroom and after-school life. The situation has school districts perched on the precipice of a slippery slope: Now that this technology is commonplace, what is the proper use of it? The definition of proper electronic behavior with students is still being hammered out, as local school district policies are inconsistent and still evolving on this ever-changing issue. Districts are keenly aware of the potential pitfalls of teachers communicating with students via the internet and cell phones. On the other hand, school districts and teachers trying to reach and engage students and parents find that using the latest and most popular technology is faster, cost-effective, and meets students and parents in their communication comfort zones. Statewide, the Texas Education Agency does not have a policy about electronic or social media and does not provide direction about the issue. Districts are seeking guidance from local teacher groups and the Texas Association of School Boards. But even those messages can conflict…

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Schools’ stimulus spending tough to track amid varied reporting rules

Alongside textbooks and technology, Texas school districts have doled out stimulus money to car dealerships, Atmos Energy, and neighboring cities. Why? It’s hard to tell, reports the Dallas Morning News. Districts must report whom they’ve paid when they spend at least $25,000 in stimulus funds, but they don’t have to say what they’ve purchased—and anything less than that doesn’t require federal reporting. The state education agency asks districts to explain how they will spend their share of $7.1 billion, but the public can’t obtain the information easily. Because few districts break down the purchases, most taxpayers don’t know how their stimulus money gets spent. Federal expenditure reports add to the confusion. They include payments to companies outside the district’s normal supply chain, but offer no further detail, making some acquisitions look questionable. The districts’ answers speak more to accounting than scandal—but determining the funds’ real use remains tricky because the federal Office of Management and Budget wrote the rules to cover all agencies receiving stimulus money, not specifically school districts, said Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. “Bottom line, [this was a] great first attempt at setting up a federal reporting system,” she said. “It works quite well for some programs, but doesn’t allow as much detail at the [district] level as we would have built in if we were designing it just for ED.”

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More Texas school districts consider switching to online textbooks

Texas could help lead a textbook transformation if Gov. Rick Perry’s recent proposal to abandon traditional texts in favor of online versions takes hold, reports the Dallas Morning News. Electronic textbooks are imperative, advocates say, because they offer inexpensive, interactive lessons that engage today’s tech-savvy students and keep content fresh. Opponents worry that more free-flowing material will affect quality and remain unavailable to poorer students without computers. Perry already has support in the Legislature, which passed two bills last year increasing schools’ access to digital content. But the process won’t happen with the click of a mouse, warn educators, who might be the faction that needs the most convincing. “Some of the headaches that come with computers won’t be any cheaper than traditional textbooks,” said Gail Lowe, the state Board of Education chairwoman. “You know what a drain the maintenance of hardware is. It’s difficult to ensure every district is able to supply the same [technological] support” and access, she says. The new state laws grant the commissioner of education the authority to select a list of electronic textbooks for districts, including open content—texts that can be downloaded free of charge online. The laws also allow districts to use their textbook funds to buy electronic material and devices such as netbook computers that can access it. That means the state board will have less control of the content…

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Homework at North Texas schools is going high-tech

A vanguard of schools around the country is sending students home with the same advanced technology they work with in the classroom, reports the Dallas Morning News. Every netbook is a potential eBook reader and Wi-Fi portal, research tool, and classwork file. It’s a trend that education experts say is inevitable, as prices and durability of the equipment improve along with the educational opportunities accessible online. Last week, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders at the Math, Science and Technology Magnet Elementary School, part of the Richardson Independent School District, carried school-owned netbooks home. A few weeks earlier, students at Richardson West Junior High Magnet School were assigned similar computers. “Kids that age are the ones using iPhones at 8 years old,” said Angela Vaughan, principal at Richardson’s MST elementary school. “This is a natural thing for most of them.” The real hurdles have more to do with the teachers, said Alan Foley, an associate professor of instructional design, development, and evaluation at Syracuse University. Instructors need to learn how to work the new machinery into lessons, and about new issues of classroom management…

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Career-oriented courses at Texas schools get with the times

Movies are in 3-D, accountants who track fraud are in demand, and farmers now use computers to measure moisture in the soil. While the times have changed, high school career classes in Texas were much the same, sometimes emphasizing outdated skills, reports the Dallas Morning News—but that is now changing, too. New Labor Department revisions in career and technology education have trickled down to the Texas Education Agency and to school districts. Following the Labor Department’s lead to cluster career classes into 16 areas, the state has collapsed 600 approved classes into 200 carefully planned courses. But the new career and technology curriculum has hit at the same time as new state graduation requirements, causing some chaos. Wes Cunningham, principal of Frisco’s Career and Technical Education Center, said he thinks the state changes, for the most part, are good. They emphasize new skills for the job market. For instance, students interested in architecture have learned a computer program called AutoCAD, the standard for drawing plans. But that standard is changing to Revit, which produces 3-D drawings. Students will spend less time on AutoCAD and will add Revit, he said. That falls in line with the goal to make sure students are prepared for both a job and college…

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