Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Project to evaluate use of tablets in schools

Michael Flood, kajeet’s education VP, said kajeet “expects to learn a lot from this project,” particularly about what types of web activity students gravitate toward—and whether mobile device use improves academic performance.

Tablets—with their lightweight portability and interactive touch screens—have been hailed as the next “must have” as schools move toward mobile computing. But questions linger: How much network access do students need? How can schools ensure that students will use the devices appropriately? Does more time using mobile devices translate into better academic performance?

Kajeet, a cell phone carrier that specializes in kid-friendly mobile service, announced June 25 its participation in “Making Learning Mobile,” a pilot program that assesses the mobile computing needs of students and teachers.

Sponsored by Qualcomm Inc.’s Wireless Reach initiative, the project will incorporate the work of partners Common Sense Media, Emantras, and EduTone.…Read More

The top 10 ed-tech stories of 2010: No. 8

New advances could make mobile computing via smart phones even more powerful.

Using cell phones as tools for learning actually began a few years ago, but a number of developments occurred in the last year to help accelerate this trend.

For one thing, smart phones have gotten even smarter. At an ed-tech industry summit in May, Qualcomm’s Peggy Johnson showed a graph indicating the growth over the last decade in MIPS (millions of instructions per second) that cell-phone chips can handle. The curve of the graph started rising steeply in 2004, when cell-phone chips could handle roughly 400 MIPS; today, that figure stands at nearly 2,000.

Today’s smart phones give users “all the power of a laptop in your pocket,” she said.…Read More

Summit: Mobile computing is education’s future

Students in a Project K-Nect math class use smart phones to learn algebra.
Students in a Project K-Nect math class use smart phones to learn algebra.

Speakers at a recent education technology industry summit had a key piece of advice for the company executives who make and sell products for schools: Go mobile.

Hosted by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the summit was intended to keep company executives abreast of the latest trends and recent developments in school technology. But its content also gives educators a glimpse into where business leaders see the ed-tech industry heading.

Keynote speaker Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of Qualcomm Inc., pointed to a successful initiative in North Carolina, called Project K-Nect, that uses mobile phones to help teach algebra as an example of how mobile technology can empower learning.…Read More

Intel partners with McGraw-Hill on updated Classmate PC

Intel's newest Classmate PC features a partnership with McGraw-Hill.
Intel's newest Classmate PC features an elementary reading program from McGraw-Hill.

Intel’s newest Convertible Classmate PC design, unveiled April 26, gives elementary school students a chance to have “micro-mobility” as they move between individual, small-group, and whole-class activities, Intel says. The new Classmate portable computing device also includes improved energy efficiency and enhanced eReading capabilities.

Intel has joined forces with McGraw-Hill to include that company’s LEAD21—a new elementary school literacy program that offers students and teachers full print, digital, and professional development resources—on the new education technology device.

“Rich content and innovative applications bring the unique Classmate PC design to life, providing a complete solution that makes learning fun and teaching effective,” said Greg Pearson, vice president of the sales and marketing group and general manager of worldwide sales and operations for Intel.…Read More