District’s $38M technology bond issue would add more iPads, teaching tools to classrooms

Angela Bagby’s students in the autism classroom at Marshall Elementary School can’t verbalize the answers to a spelling test or hold a pencil for more than a few minutes at a time because of sensory issues. But they can sure operate an iPad.

The use of tablet computers is constantly expanding the boundaries and communication abilities of these dozen mostly nonverbal children with profound behavioral issues. But without grants, Bagby wouldn’t have six iPads in her classroom.

“It’s like their brains are wired for the technology more than they are for social interactions,” said Bagby, a veteran special education teacher. “I go with the philosophy that whatever I’m doing is getting in there. The more access they have to try different ways to communicate or have different ways to understand information, the better. My kids have come farther than they had in probably two years.”…Read More

Schools’ ed-tech budgets shrink as demand grows

More administrators are open to “bring your own device” policies, a new report says.

While educators and parents continue to report a growing need for technology use in education and learning, schools are struggling to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s expectations, according to “From Chalkboards to Tablets: The Digital Conversion of the K-12 Classroom,” the latest report from the Speak Up 2012 survey, released on April 19.

Given the budget realities – with 74 percent of respondents reporting that they have smaller technology budgets than they had five years ago – administrators are re-thinking their opposition to the “bring your own device” approach and districts who are piloting such a program increased by 47 percent in just one year.

When asked in 2010 if they would allow their students to use their own devices at school for academic purposes, only 22 percent of principals said that was likely, and 63 percent said it was unlikely for their school. Today, more than one-third of principals (36 percent) say that a new bring your own device policy for students is likely. The opposing view has now dropped to 41 percent.…Read More

Administrators share top 10 thoughts on digital learning

More and more educators, parents, and education technology advocates see the need for classroom technology and digital learning, but say that stagnant or shrinking budgets continue to impede progress in many cases.

The 2012 Speak Up report, From Chalkboards to Tablets: The Digital Conversion of the K-12 Classroom, completed by 466,000 K-12 students, parents, teachers, librarians, and administrators, gathered input on education technology use, digital learning, policies, and trends from stakeholders.

In the report, 6,011 school and district administrators share 10 ideas about digital learning:…Read More

A failing grade for broadband

The internet is becoming as critical to student success as textbooks and blackboards—in many parts of the country, even basic homework assignments require access to the web, Slate.com reports. This reflects not only a greater variety of educational resources available online to students, but also the rising importance of digital literacy as a fundamental skill. But even as companies create innovative new educational technologies—like cloud-based literacy programs, Skype-based tutors, and virtual math games—many policymakers and entrepreneurs are overlooking a critical factor that stands in the way of widespread adoption of these tools: adequate and universal broadband infrastructure…

Read the full story

 …Read More

Discovery Education offering schools free digital textbooks

Experts said that the digital divide is education’s greatest challenge. Discovery will offer its Techbooks free through June.

During a conference on digital learning, award-winning Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told peers, publishers, and congressmen that going digital in schools is more than just incorporating cool gadgets–it’s a moral imperative. Matching Carvalho’s message, Discovery Education announced that it will give all schools a free trial of its digital “Techbooks.”

“Not providing kids access to the internet and digital resources is not a skillset deficiency, or a resource deficiency,” said Carvalho. “It’s a political courage deficiency. We must erase the digital divide in urban and rural areas to truly unify our country.”

Carvalho’s stirring presentation was part of a day-long conference by Discovery Education and Digital Promise—a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to spur innovation in education—along with Connect2Compete, ERDI, ISTE, NCERT, and many other organizations, to discuss the state of digital learning and its impact on college and workforce readiness.…Read More

Austin next city for ultra-fast Google Fiber

Google Inc. picked tech-savvy Austin as the next city where the search giant will wire homes with ultra-fast internet connections, but did not say how much customers will pay or when the fiber-optic experiment might expand elsewhere in the U.S., the Associated Press reports. Austin and Kansas City are the only places to get Google Fiber — a broadband service 100 times faster than the competition and an alternative to cable or satellite TV providers. The rollout is an expensive undertaking and gamble for Google, which must first build costly new broadband pipelines that can handle “gigabit” speeds. Google hopes the rollout will drive innovation and pressure phone and cable companies to improve its networks, since Google benefits when people spend more time online…

Read the full story

…Read More

100 million ‘offline’ Americans to get cheap broadband, digital literacy skills

The campaign will offer consumers access to programs providing discounted high-speed internet service and low-cost computers.

Three in 10 Americans are offline, citing both cost and digital skill barriers—but thanks to Everyone On, a new nonprofit initiative, more than 100 million offline Americans, including homes with children, will have cheap broadband access and training in digital literacy skills.

According to a new national survey on the current state of home broadband adoption released by the national nonprofit Connected Nation, broadband adoption is on the rise—increasing from 65 percent in 2011 to 70 percent in 2012, but that still leaves almost 70 million Americans (30 percent) offline at home.

Out of that 30 percent, almost 8 million households with children do not subscribe to home broadband service, representing almost 15 million children living in those homes.…Read More

How one school district deployed 10,000 iPads in five weeks

A Texas district has deployed more than 10,000 iPads to high school students and teachers.

Sticking to its resolution to put iPads in students’ and teachers’ hands, the Mansfield Independent School District in Texas deployed 10,600 of Apple’s popular devices in just 5 weeks—no small feat, but worth the effort, district ed-tech staff said.

Describing the initiative as “kind of a monster job,” Kristi Bell, an ed-tech trainer with Mansfield ISD, said the deployment involved students at six high schools, a career-tech school, and educators in those buildings.

Mansfield ISD leaders began the project in February 2012 with a “goal to ensure educational opportunities for all students, delivered through innovative and inspiring teaching methods.” State legislative changes meant the district could use some of its instructional materials/textbook funding allotment for digital resources, which opened the door for the initiative.…Read More

Could Verizon nix unlimited data for everyone?

Verizon Wireless isn’t making it easy for loyal, longtime smart phone customers to keep their existing unlimited data plans, CNET reports. And now some subscribers, who are willing to pony up the full price for a new smart phone, worry that Verizon may change its policy again and get rid of the plan for everyone. Truth be told, few people actually need unlimited data. But for those who do, it’s a good deal. In fact, it’s such a good deal, these customers worry about losing it. And if you’re a Verizon customer, who wouldn’t worry?

Click here for the full story

…Read More

Survey: School web filtering can impede learning

Many survey respondents said web filtering can curb learning’s social potential.

More and more students are bringing personal mobile devices to school, but a new survey from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) finds that internet filtering often prevents students from taking advantage of learning’s social potential.

School librarians report that web filtering programs have had varied effects in their schools and on school library programs. Fifty-two percent said internet filters have impeded student research when topics or keyword searches are filtered. Half said web filtering has decreased the number of potential distractions, while 42 percent said it discounts social aspects of learning.

Roughly one-third said internet filtering has decreased the need for direct supervision, 25 percent said it has prevented continued collaboration outside of face-to-face opportunities, and 23 percent said web filtering allows research curriculum to yield more relevant results.…Read More

How proper ed-tech implementation can transform learning

When it comes to digital learning, high-quality programs embrace what the report identifies as the three Ts: teaching, technology, and time.

A new report outlines four critical challenges facing public education and identifies steps that school and district leaders must take in the next two years to ensure that digital learning has a lasting effect on students.

The Nation’s Schools Are Stepping Up to Higher Standards,” from the Alliance for Excellent Education, notes that the nation’s education system is begging for an overhaul, and the coming years are crucial as policy makers and educators strive to create an education system that addresses student needs and ensures that all students emerge ready to compete on a global level.

“The next two years will see unprecedented developments in K-12 public education as states set fundamentally higher-than-ever standards for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds,” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. “Technology can play a vital role in supporting teachers and helping public schools and districts meet these challenges, but technology by itself is not the answer; simply slapping a netbook on top of a textbook is not enough. But when districts develop a plan to pair technology with effective teaching and more efficient use of time, technology can accelerate the pace of improvement and boost student outcomes.”…Read More

Mobile networks nearing normal coverage after Sandy

Cellular coverage for some carriers approached normal levels in the northeastern U.S. a week after Hurricane Sandy made landfall, but some areas remained cut off from mobile service because of ongoing power and telecommunications outages, InfoWorld reports. Verizon Wireless said on Monday that 99 percent of its cell towers in the Northeast were online, up from 97 percent on Friday, while AT&T reported that more than 98 percent of its cell sites were operating. New York City and New Jersey remain the epicenter of cellular woes, though carriers continued to improve coverage there. AT&T said 95 percent of its sites in the city were up and running…

Click here for the full story

…Read More