Educational Technology

by the Observer, Guardian

Under plans unveiled by Michael Gove last week, the school system in England and Wales will be radically overhauled. Some will break away from local government control. Elsewhere, other new schools will be created by parents. We have got to have a rethink of what students learn and how they learn it. There needs to be a revolution in science, maths and computer-science teaching so we have a cohort of students who can truly compete with any in the world. There is not enough thinking in schools and it appears that the Tories are in danger of making things worse by insisting on even more cramming of facts in a return to didactic teaching methods. It’s time we started to test skills other than the ability to write a two-hour exam: creativity, analysis, team work, communication skills.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/30/schools-academies

By David Wylie, Canwest News Service

Leander Kahney has written several books about Apple, including The Cult of Mac and Inside Steve’s Brain — the bestselling biography of the enigmatic Apple CEO. He said Apple’s milestone this week of becoming the biggest tech business in the world is remarkable. “It’s probably the biggest turnaround in business,” he said. “What other company has been completely on the ropes and is now reinventing a whole industry? It’s definitely a Cinderella story.” The two longtime tech rivals swapped spots Wednesday when Apple’s shares rose as much as 2.8 per cent on the Nasdaq and Microsoft’s shares dropped by four per cent. Apple closed at a market value of about $222 billion US, compared to Microsoft’s $219 billion.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/APPLE+CINDERELLA+STORY/3089535/story.html

by FONG SOON FOOK, the Star (Malaysia)

In today’s learning environment, teachers must be equipped with ICT knowledge and move from being passive users to active contributors. In today’s ICT-enabled learning ecology, conventional training programmes to produce technically competent teachers are no longer adequate. To learn and work effectively in an increasingly information-rich environment, students and teachers must use ICT effectively. The necessity for this skill has already been proposed, rationalised and justified many times over in expert journals globally.

http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/5/30/education/6295959&sec=education

by Wayne Green, Tulsa World

We’re No. 49. That’s the big headline for Oklahoma from the U.S. Department of Education’s annual report on how much states spend on public schools. The report — read it for yourself at www.tulsaworld.com/schoolreport — shows that in the 2007-08 school year, Oklahoma spent $7,683 per pupil on public education. In a 21st century world that doesn’t rely on horses for transportation and has the benefits of computer technology, we don’t need a 19th century school system. In fact we can’t efficiently move forward with one.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=261&articleid=20100530_261_G6_WereNo456929

By Michele Morgan Bolton, Boston Globe

The Virtual High School proves that the Internet is not just about downloading, Pape said: “It’s about creating.’’ The International Association of K-12 Online Learning, meanwhile, says 10 percent of all courses will be computer-based by 2014, and in 2019 about 50 percent will be online. Additionally, educational technology consultant Ambient Learning says 2 million American high school students are already learning online, a number expected to jump to 10 million by 2014.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2010/05/30/online_high_school_courses_grow_in_popularity/

by The Press-Enterprise

 Dr. Guillermo Valenzuela presented new personal laptop computers to students at Riverside elementary schools this week. He awarded the computers — one per grade level — to students at Longfellow Elementary on Friday, at Patricia Beatty Elementary on Wednesday and six to students at Emerson Elementary School on Tuesday. The recipients submitted winning essays or artwork in his third annual Technology Encouraging College Hopes Scholarship Program, answering, “How can a college education change your life?”

http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_W_wlaptops29.12ed0f6a.html

by Karl Yu, Grand Forks Gazette

School District 51 will allocate $50,000 of next year’s budget on technology that will be used in the classroom. According to Superintendent Michael Strukoff, local schools will be able to purchase SMART boards, LED projectors, Document Readers and Tablet PCs. “Some of our teachers have had a chance to see other teachers in other schools using (the items) and there has been an interest and they’ve seen the interest that it creates with students,” explained Strukoff.

http://www.grandforksgazette.ca/article/20100529/GRANDFORKS0101/305299999/-1/GRANDFORKS01/school-board-investing-in-technology-for-classroom

By Jason Sandford, Citizen Times

Perdue’s short tour Friday, which highlighted the use of technology at the school, comes as N.C. House lawmakers put the final touches on their version of the state’s budget. With revenue lagging in the sluggish economy, Perdue and both the House and Senate are proposing cutting millions in education funding. The exact cuts will be worked out in coming weeks. But Perdue said Friday that finding money for school technology is crucial to student success, which leads to future economic development.

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100529/NEWS/305290034/1007/COLUMNISTS

By DON FRASER , St. Catharines STANDARD

The one big difference is that teacher and students are linked by electronic blackboards and pens that are writing the next chapter of the digital age. On Thursday, the District School Board of Niagara showcased technology tools it is introducing to classrooms. The Sheridan Park system uses Smart Boards and response systems that connect a computer, students and teacher with an interactive electronic screen. The event at the DSBN headquarters included the Sheridan Park Smart demonstration and a sample of vLearning, using video and audio technology to connect other schools in real-time.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2598192

By TARA HETTINGER, News & Tribune

Charlestown Middle School’s Jacob Goodwin admits he wasn’t always the best student. He had his share of lower grades, particularly a D in math. Now, he boasts a 97 percent — a solid A in the same subject. He was one of many students who lined the halls of the school Thursday evening to tell people what technology has done for them since they got their laptops about 3 months ago. This was all part of the school’s first Technology Fair, an event the school hopes to become an annual occurrence. “I just felt motivated now. I never seen the point of math before,” he explained as to his growth.

http://newsandtribune.com/clarkcounty/x1174312230/Students-get-unplugged

By Ike Wilson, News-Post

If the half-day student professional development conference held Thursday at Frederick Community College was intended to inspire the 350 high school students who attended, by all accounts the program did so, and then some. Sponsored by the Frederick County Business Roundtable for Education, the conference featured two key presentations by Donald A. Thomas, an astronaut of 19 years and director of the Willard Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science at Towson University, and digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong.

 http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/business/display.htm?StoryID=105493

By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI, Wall Street Journal

The debut of Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet computer in Japan is generating a level of hype and excitement rarely seen these days for a new electronics product in this gadget-loving nation, underscoring the paucity of buzz-worthy, homegrown devices. The steady decline of Japan’s electronics industry, once considered the birthplace for must-have gadgets, has accelerated in recent years as consumer electronics newcomers such as Apple, Amazon.com Inc. and Vizio Inc. have moved in on the turf with more innovative or cheaper versions of products first developed in Japan.

http://bit.ly/dCwk73

By Stephanie Sorrell-White, Herimer Telegram

To the familiar tune of the “Jeopardy” theme music, students in Audrey Cucci’s algebra trigonometry class raced to answer the question displayed on a screen projecting in front of the classroom.

Unlike the television game show, however, students submit their answers by using the TI Nspire, a calculator that allows students to interact with the classroom computer, download the teacher’s lesson plans and serve as a tool for homework and notes.

http://www.herkimertelegram.com/news/education/x1070027173/Students-get-new-cutting-edge-calculators-at-F-S

by the New York Times

There have been growing complaints about Facebook, its privacy settings and disclosure of users’ personal information to third parties. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and chief executive, made a new pledge this week to add privacy controls that are simpler to use. Facebook Privacy: A Bewildering Tangle of Options But for lots of critics Facebook’s general opt-out approach isn’t enough. Fifteen privacy groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission seeking an investigation over possible deceptive trade practices.

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/should-government-take-on-facebook/

By Shane Schick, CIO Canada

Rick Swanborg is among the first instructors in IT World Canada’s Tech Learning Space, an online education platform for technology professionals. Hear his thoughts on making it as a CIO and beyond.

http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/what-it-takes-to-teach-future-it-leaders/140738

by Insight Schools

Rock stars, a Super Bowl champion, and a New York fashion designer are just a few of the amazing speakers that today’s high school students learn from first hand. At least for online, public high school students at Insight Schools. Insight students log in monthly to chat live in a “virtual assembly,” the Insight Experience Series, with unique speakers such as world-famous musician Dave Hernandez of The Shins; Lt. Colonel Brent Keenan, a C-17 Air Force pilot; holocaust survivor and author Alter Wiener and others. The school’s technology allows students to chat with inspirational speakers all over the country, speakers that might be out of reach in a traditional school setting.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/technology-brings-dream-career-speakers-to-online-high-school-students-94809224.html

by GeekTech Bloggers, PC World

Who are the people behind GeekTech? We’re writers, students, rocket scientists, astronomers, musicians, programmers. We come from all different backgrounds. We’re, well, geeks. In honor of Geek Pride Day, we decided to discuss what got us into geekdom to begin with, what our favorite geeky books are, our geek role models, and our favorite geek WIN/FAIL moment. Here’s what we had to say.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/197041/meet_the_geektechers.html

By Magdalena Wegrzyn, Longmont Times-Call

Patrick Coniway grew up with technology. The Skyline High School junior designed his first website when he was 12 years old. At 16, he writes his own software programs and runs a site to share his work. Now he’s part of a team that will help other students navigate new technology. For the Students, By the Students — or FTSBTS — is a new program that turns tech-savvy students into teachers.

http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=22160

By KRIS STADALSKY, Sun-Times

Alex Cotton, a sixth-grade student at Channahon’s Three Rivers School, couldn’t contain his excitement when he was handed an award certificate for his very own personal computer. It’s the first computer he’s ever owned. “I think this is very exciting. I am very interested in computers. I know a lot about them. I can’t wait until this is mine,” Cotton said, patting a computer monitor with his name on it. Cotton was one of 18 students in Will, Grundy and Kendall counties who received a refurbished personal computer during an awards celebration from Vista Learning’s Computer 2 Kids in Need program last week, held at the Professional Development Alliance.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/2308410,4_6_JO24_SWCOMPUTERS_S1-100524.article

By Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal Blog

Texting has been blamed for a lot of things–harassment among teenagers, driver distraction on the highway, bad grades among students. Now, it is being blamed for bad manners at work. Based on research on 9,000 U.S. workers and managers, Christine Pearson, a management professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management, says all the texting and emailing interrupting meetings and face-to-face conversations at the office are slowly but surely eroding human civility and making us–well, rude, she writes.

http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2010/05/24/texting-during-meetings-the-decline-of-civility/

By Tracey Read, News-Herald

A Mayfield High School student bullied on Facebook comes to school and stabs another boy. A popular teen girl commits suicide in Suffolk County, N.Y., after a series of nasty Facebook messages by her schoolmates. A principal in New Jersey makes nationwide headlines after urging parents to ban their children from using the social networking site at home. Increasingly, school districts find themselves in the position of trying to protect children while embracing technology to stay relevant.

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/05/23/news/nh2532916.txt