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Top educational technology news: May 2012
In the May 2012 issue of eSchool News, we report on several significant ed-tech developments, including a speech by education historian Diane Ravitch about the promises—and perils—of school technology; what parents and educators want most from assessment; and the result of a web filtering lawsuit with important implications for schools.
To read these stories in our digital edition, click on the headlines below—or browse through the entire publication by clicking here.
Students want personalized learning, mobile technology
More and more students own mobile devices, including tablets, and indicate a strong desire to use those personal learning tools in school to increase collaboration and access to resources, according to the annual Speak Up Survey, which is facilitated by Project Tomorrow.
This year’s survey, “Mapping a Personalized Learning Journey: K-12 Students and Parents Connect the Dots with Digital Learning,” explores how students want to take control of their learning and the tools they use to learn. It includes parent and administrator input on issues such as personal technology use in schools, online learning, and top technologies.
“Students, perhaps without realizing it, are already seeking out ways to personalize their learning,” according to the report. “Looking to address what they perceive as deficiencies in classroom experiences, students are turning to online classes to study topics that pique their intellectual curiosity, to message and discussion boards to explore new ideas about their world, or to online collaboration tools to share their expertise with other students they don’t even know. Students now expect in their learning lives the same types of personalized interactions that adults already experience in our everyday lives.”…Read More
How to expand students’ ed-tech access—and stay out of court
Finding the right balance between keeping students safe and letting them explore their world digitally was the focus of an April 21 session during the National School Boards Association’s 72nd annual conference, in which NSBA senior staff attorney Sonja Trainor gave advice on how school districts can open their doors to technology without getting sued.
Cracking down on cyber bullying or harassment, searching students’ cell phones or laptops, and filtering school internet access are some of the areas where educators can get into trouble if they don’t know their proper legal boundaries, Trainor said. Here’s what she had to say about each of these areas.
Cyber bullying and harassment…Read More
Top school technology news: April 2012
In the April 2012 issue of eSchool News, we report on several significant technology-related developments of interest to schools, including Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Apple and Google in the era of mobile computing, the use of video as a key tool in teacher training and evaluation, and how technology is changing the lives of students with disabilities.
To read these stories in our digital edition, click on the headlines below—or browse through the entire publication by clicking here.
Microsoft sees future in Windows 8 amid iPad’s rise…Read More
Boost your grant-seeking success by demonstrating strong credibility
“Grants & Funding” column, February 2012 edition of eSchool News—You might have noticed that some funders require you to address the “Capacity of Your Organization” to carry out the project you’re describing in your grant proposal. If you come across this requirement, how can you demonstrate the sustainability of your organization to potential funders? To put it another way, what types of information can you provide that will convince a funder that you’re a credible applicant who will not carry substantial risk if you are chosen for a grant award?
Keep in mind that your entire proposal should send a strong, “unspoken” message that you are credible and reliable. But here are some suggestions for what you can include in the Capacity section of your proposal to make this message even stronger:
1. Describe your experience receiving and managing other grants, especially noting those for significant amounts of money (say, more than $25,000) and those that were funded by a federal agency. (I suggest mentioning any federal grants because most funders will recognize that these tend to be larger, more complex grants that are extremely competitive and can be hard to receive.) Talk about the scope of the project(s) and the dollar amounts you received. When addressing grants management, you can discuss how your staff track their time on grant-funded projects and who has responsibility for making sure that programmatic and fiscal reports are submitted on a timely basis.…Read More
Tips for making the move to online assessments
As states move toward implementing online assessments in 2014, a panel of experts agreed that school technology leaders must ensure that districts have the capacity, manpower, and foresight to see that the transition is a successful one.
Online assessments present a handful of concerns for school technology leaders, said Ray Eernisse, chief information officer for Missouri’s Francis Howell School District, and Daniel Honore, director of information services for Wisconsin’s Kenosha Unified School District.
Eernisse and Honore were part of a Jan. 17 Consortium for School Networking webinar panel that addressed how preparing for these assessments can help set the school technology agenda and make network development a top priority for the future of teaching and learning.…Read More
Central High makes student achievement, tech access its top priorities
Philadelphia’s Central High School focuses on making its technology initiatives student-centered, with an emphasis on boosting achievement—and this focus has paid off in a big way.
Administrators, teachers, students, and parents are able to able to access grades, news, and pertinent communications instantly, and students have access to a wide range of applications to advance their learning. By strengthening the home-school connection, Central High is enhancing students’ chances of success.
For these reasons, Central High was chosen as our “eSchool of the Month” for October. Here, Brian Howland, a teacher and technology committee member, describes some of the school’s accomplishments and its keys to success.…Read More
On ed tech, we’re asking the wrong question
Default Lines column, Oct. 2011 edition of eSchool News—Does the use of textbooks lead to better student achievement? Somebody should do the research. Schools nationwide are spending billions of dollars each year on textbooks, with no clear evidence they improve test scores—and stakeholders deserve some answers.
I’m being facetious, of course. Textbooks are simply tools that educators use in their instruction, and few people would suggest that textbooks—by themselves—hold some larger power over whether students learn.
But if we wouldn’t expect this of textbooks, then why should we expect it of educational technology?…Read More
CCSC keeps the focus on teaching and learning
Indiana’s Crothersville Community School Corporation (CCSC) recognizes that technology is an important tool for helping students embrace learning. The district has used creative solutions to finance its ed-tech priorities, and a wireless virtual desktop solution helps keep support time to as minimum, so IT staff can focus on applications for teaching and learning.
For these reasons and more, we’ve chosen CCSC as our “eSchools of the Month” for September. Here, Assistant Principal Drew Markel describes some of the district’s accomplishments and its keys to ed-tech success.
(Editor’s note: To nominate your school or district for our “eSchool of the Month” feature, go to http://www.eschoolnews.com/eschool-of-the-month.) …Read More