5 goals, 5 barriers of digital curriculum

Survey reveals how school and districts leaders aim to use the digital curriculum transition to better serve students and teachers

 

digital-curriculumSchool district leaders’ top objective in transitioning to a digital curriculum is to achieve greater instructor effectiveness, according to a survey from The Learning Counsel.

The second annual survey from the organization, which aims to provide guidance around the K-12 shift to digital curriculum, also revealed that 65 percent of those surveyed are currently staffing positions to help deal with the expansion of digital resources.…Read More

7 digital curriculum implementation strategies

Key implementation steps can help a digital transition be as smooth as possible

digital-curricSchool leaders know how important it is to “make the move to digital”—ensuring students are able to access digital tools and resources to cultivate skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and research and evaluation.

To support this digital push, a number of solutions have flooded the market in an attempt to help districts make this transition. But before school leaders choose and implement a solution, they must make sure they’re planning properly.

Here, Tom Arnett, a former math educator and an education research fellow at the nonprofit Clayton Christensen Institute, outlines how to evaluate and implement digital curriculum so that it empowers students and teachers.…Read More

Key ways to support your district’s digital transition

The move to digital can be overwhelming, but the rights steps lead to success

digital-transitionPlanning, enlisting stakeholder support, and identifying the “why” are among the most important steps when it comes to moving from traditional classrooms to digital, connected classrooms.

In fact, according to ed-tech experts and school leaders, technology decisions and purchases should come later, after those crucial steps.

A number of influential educators, stakeholders, and policymakers gathered for Discovery Education’s second annual Future@Now forum, which this year focused on steps and policies necessary to support and enable the nation’s transition to digital classrooms.…Read More

TCEA: Digital content’s impact on teaching and learning

Annual survey data reveals benefits, barriers to digital content

digital-contentDuring a crowded TCEA 2014 session, attendees received an exclusive look at the upcoming Speak Up 2013 survey data from Project Tomorrow, a nonprofit that researches and evaluates the impact of digital learning on students.

A digital conversion is occurring in schools across the nation, with many schools moving from printed textbooks and computer labs to digital textbooks and content, and one-to-one or bring-your-own-device initiatives.

But how, exactly, are schools going about this digital conversion? What benefits are there to using more digital content? The 2013 Speak Up results have answers.…Read More

How 3 districts leverage librarians’ digital knowledge

School librarians are critical to schools’ digital success

librarians-digitalLibrarians and libraries are in a unique position to help schools and districts prepare for and progress through the digital transition, according to a just-released Alliance for Excellent Education report.

Librarians and school leaders can partner to create strategic technology purchasing and implementation plans, and librarians and educators are able to work together on technology integration when it comes to teaching and learning. School libraries, then, become critical to digital learning experiences.

The American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians has adopted the term “school librarian” to include library media specialists, teacher librarians, and media coordinators.…Read More

How school leaders can empower the digital transition

Administrators are crucial to helping teachers implement digital curriculum

digital-transitionTransitioning to a digital curriculum has been met with a mixture of enthusiasm and concern. While digital resources align with students’ learning preferences and will enable them to leave school ready for college and the workforce, education leaders know that the digital shift requires planning, professional development, and support for teachers.

As school administrators determine which digital curriculum solution–including packaged solutions with built-in assessments to state-created resources–will best suit their needs, they must ensure that teachers have enough administrator support and professional development to correctly implement truly beneficial digital curriculum resources.

A large piece of the puzzle is “finding a way to get teachers comfortable with rethinking what they’re doing,” said Jeremy Macdonald, integrated technology systems coordinator with Bend-La Pine Schools in Bend, Ore., during an Alliance for Excellent Education Project 24 Google+ Hangout.…Read More