Our future depends on putting tech education at the core

The Huffington Post reports: “Does this class count as an Advanced Placement course?” It’s been a common question of my returning IT Academy students. My courses are demanding. I expect them to read and write daily, to meet online after school for concept and skills reviews, and to practice using skills that will help them in college and career. They view my Cisco Networking Academy and computer science courses as college-level, and want others to view them that way too (in addition to the grade inflation that accompanies AP courses). Unfortunately, the courses that I teach aren’t a part of the core curriculum. Instead, they’re seen by many as electives and therefore expendable. They shouldn’t be…

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Are you a technophobe or a technophile in the classroom?

The fact that technology hardware today is ever-changing does not help a technophobe, according to an ASCD blog. Computers are now the size of a marble composition book or a two-pocket folder. You can write on it with a computer pen (called a stylus) and save what you wrote. You can see and talk with someone halfway around the world, stream movies, and draw on the person’s face you’re talking to and on the movie you’re streaming (and your computer will save both). I can see how an educator would be intimidated when someone takes out a wafer-thin flat screen monitor, connects it to a wafer-thin keyboard, and when he’s done using his computer, takes it apart and puts it in his wafer-thin tote bag. This is LEGO blocks on steroids…

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How to choose the right education technology

Education technology integrator and curriculum designer explains how to pick the right tools for schools and districts

education-technology

With so many education technology tools now available, how can school and district leaders implement the best choices? According to one veteran tech-savvy education technology integrator, there are a few ideas to consider when implementing technology. One of the biggest considerations? Put yourself in students’ shoes!

“It’s not just about the technology or the technology other schools and district are using,” said Jane Englert, learning designer and technology integrator at Ephrata High School (Pa.). “It’s understanding the needs of your students, as well as how to integrate the technology seamlessly with your curricular goals for the class.”…Read More

Education 3.0: Embracing technology to ‘jump the curve’

Wired.com reports: It may not be “The Winds of War.” It may not even be as exciting as “Sharknado,” but I would argue that the role of ed tech in Education 3.0 is far more important than anything Hollywood has produced (and definitely more valuable than sharks dropping from the skies?) Education 3.0 is what we can achieve when we begin to transform education. It’s the underpinning for things that we know, frameworks that we are creating, and models that we have studied for years. Education 3.0 is what I believe we can aspire to so as to educate our students, at all levels, in ways that actually promote 21st-century skills and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow (aka, the jobs that don’t exist today but which will be required in the future). It’s the coming together of creativity, outcomes, critical thinking, big data, personalization, and much more…

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Will technology save public education?

There’s no doubt that technology is the new “panacea du jour” for public education in America today, the Huffington Post reports. Hundreds of millions of dollars (and much more on the way) are being spent on getting iPads and other tablets into the hands of teachers and students all over the country in classes as early as kindergarten. This nationwide effort was described in detail in a recent New York Times Magazine article. Many parents are clamoring for it, the U.S. Department of Education is supporting it, and, of course, many of the so-called education technology companies are profiting handsomely from it…

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Are digital badges the new ‘disruptive’ technology?

Movie over, iPads! Digital badges could revolutionize education, thanks to a new standard.

education-badgesOver the last year, the concept of digital badges has been gaining momentum in states and school district initiatives across the country. But thanks to a new standard, emerging technology experts are calling digital badges the next ‘disruptive’ technology—not only for students, but for teachers and administrators, as well.

Digital badges are a digital credential that represents an individual’s skills, interests, and achievements, and can convey academic content knowledge, as well as 21st century competencies that cannot be measured by traditional assessments. They have recently gained traction in state education, educator professional development, and initiatives, thanks to clearer definitions and more companies and nonprofits creating digital badge projects.

But just like completion of an online course once came under intense scrutiny for lack of credentials, those wary of digital badges wonder: Without a uniform standard, how can digital badges be taken seriously?…Read More

A State-By-State Look at Top Ed-Tech Initiatives

What initiative are you most proud of in your state?

tech-initiativeSometimes, an ed-tech initiative grabs national headlines. Other times, a technology initiative quietly spreads throughout a school building or district as it connects teachers with mentors, helps administrators become more efficient, or boosts student achievement and engagement.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of one ed-tech initiative in each state and the District of Columbia, to offer a look at some of the great technology advocacy and work being done around the nation.

The initiatives included here are not necessarily the most-discussed or the biggest in a given state. Sometimes they’re small, and sometimes they’re well-known. Some relate to the use of digital content, some support broadband expansion, and in others, states have formed groups to better support administrators and teachers as they work tirelessly to advocate for ed-tech’s crucial role in today’s classrooms.…Read More

Researcher: College CIO shortage on the horizon

Forty-five percent of college CIOs plan to retire by 2020, according to a recent study.
Forty-five percent of college CIOs plan to retire by 2020, according to a recent study.

Wayne Brown’s seven years of research has identified a wide swath of campus technology officials eager to become chief information officers someday. They’re just not quite sure how.

Excelsior College, an online school based in Albany, N.Y., unveiled this month the Center for Technology Leadership (CTL), which will open next October in Silver Spring, Md., and host week-long courses designed to plug the “readiness gap” for computer experts who strive to head their college’s technology office, but need extensive training on how to translate techno-speak for campus higher-ups and allocate responsibilities to staff members.

The lack of guidance for aspiring CIOs, coupled with projections that show nearly half of higher-education technology chiefs plan to retire in the next decade, translates to a potential CIO shortfall for college campuses of every size, said Brown, head of the Center for Higher Education Chief Information Officer Studies and Excelsior’s vice president of technology.…Read More

Universities save much-needed cash with the help of technology

UC officials said IBM analytics have helped save money for the university system, which has 228,000 students and 180,000 faculty.
UC officials said IBM analytics have helped save money for the university system, which has 228,000 students and 180,000 faculty.

An analytics system designed to manage risks and improve security has saved the University of California’s 10 campuses and five medical centers more than $160 million since 2006, officials announced March 25—helping the university system cut costs during an economic crisis that has crippled campus budgets.

The universities in the UC system have used IBM’s analytics software since 2006 to better aggregate massive amounts of data from the 228,000-student system and help administrators target wasteful spending and isolate dangerous areas on campus that result in injury or operation failure.

Using IBM’s Enterprise Risk Management System program, UC officials said decision makers at every campus and medical center have been able to mine the system’s database and spot trends, such as pushing and pulling injuries at medical centers.…Read More

Use multiple news channels to reach ‘on-the-go’ consumers

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40 percent of 'on-the-go' news consumers are parents of young children.

School officials need to share information via a variety of media platforms in order to reach today’s “on-the-go” news consumers, a new study suggests.

According to the study from the Pew Internet and American Life project, while 99 percent of American adults access news daily, only 7 percent use just one media platform to do so. The majority—six in ten Americans—use a combination of online and offline sources.

This also means school communicators who haven’t expanded their efforts to include social media networks, micro sites, and other non-traditional methods probably are missing a significant swath of the population, particularly those under age 30.…Read More

Tech-savvy superintendents honored in Phoenix

Editorial Director Gregg Downey of eSchool News poses with Eric Conti, one of the 2010 TSSA winners.
Editorial Director Gregg Downey (left) of eSchool News poses with Eric Conti (right), one of the 2010 TSSA winners.

Snow wreaked havoc with travel plans in several U.S. states last week, but the sun was shining in Phoenix on Feb. 11 as eSchool News honored 10 superintendents who are among the nation’s most successful in leading their schools into the 21st century.

The occasion was eSchool News’ Tenth Annual Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards, sponsored by K12 Inc., the Pearson Foundation, Promethean, and JDL Horizons’ Eduvision. The winners were honored at a private ceremony held in conjunction with the Century Club 100’s annual meeting during the American Association of School Administrators’ National Conference on Education.

Winners were nominated by the school field and then chosen by the editors of eSchool News with the help of Tech-Savvy Superintendent laureates from prior years.…Read More

Viewpoint: Failure is not an option in our schools

Six principles are key to student success.
Author Alan M. Blankstein offers six principles that are key to student success.

On Jan. 28, a group of inspiring educators from four diverse school districts across the country came together to take part in a live webcast panel discussion—the first in a 12-part series—to share their views and experiences on how they have turned their underperforming schools around, and the tools they used to succeed.

It’s what I’ve coined as “Failure Is Not an Option,” and for the past several years I’ve been working with these schools and others like them from coast to coast to focus on student success at every level. The program outlines six principles to guide student achievement. (Click here for more about those six principles.)

The webcast connected leaders, practitioners, and innovators within the education community not only here in the U.S., but from around the world to showcase real tangible frameworks for student success in our public schools. The panelists openly shared their own school success stories after implementing the “Failure Is Not an Option” program.…Read More