Educational Technology

By Joshua Falk, Stanford Daily

The School of Medicine in August distributed iPads to its 91 incoming first-year students as part of a trial to incorporate the device into the school’s academic experience. Seeking to facilitate student learning, the program has also tried to pique faculty interest in the iPad and develop more content for it, said Jenn Stringer, director of educational technology at the School of Medicine. “We’re very interested in studying the effects of the iPad on the teaching and learning environment,” Stringer said. Clarence Braddock, associate dean for medical education, held an “iPad summit” last quarter that convened students, faculty and educational technologists to discuss the role of the iPad in the classroom and how it is impacting teaching and learning. The school supplied each course with an iPad in order to help familiarize faculty with the technology their students will be using. The school also launched a website called MedApps, which allows faculty and students to find and review iPad apps for use in courses, research or clinical practice.

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/01/11/ipads-find-role-in-medical-school-classrooms/

by Sue Learner, guardian.co.uk

iPads are used as an integral part of lessons across the curriculum at the independent Cedar school in Greenock, Scotland. At an age when most children are learning how to hold a pencil, a class of five-year-olds at a school in Scotland are practising writing the numbers one to 10 on their iPads. The Cedar school of excellence in Greenock, an independent school, is thought to be the first in the world where all lessons are taught using iPads. It is one of a growing number of independent schools and academies that are spending many thousands of pounds kitting their pupils out with mobile technology such as iPads and iPod Touches. But as teachers eye up all the latest gadgets at the Bett technology show at Olympia in London this week, those in state schools may feel like the poor relations. Technology, one of the most expensive areas in schools, has been among the first affected by coalition austerity.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jan/10/ipad-state-schools-funding-cuts

by Michael Tucker, Belgrade News

A sneaky computer virus brought the entire Belgrade School District computer system to its knees last week, leaving technology professionals no choice but to rebuild the operating system from the ground up, school officials said Monday. As of Monday, the information technology staff had logged 35 hours of overtime since Thursday, working into the wee hours of the mornings to correct the problem, IT director Jeff West said. The fix still is not in, but should be in the coming days. The particular virus causing the problem was able to “get in underneath” the system’s safety net and wreak havoc on the district’s 1,300 computers, West said.

http://www.belgrade-news.com/news/article_2483aede-1d3f-11e0-b670-001cc4c03286.html

By Rich Harbert, Wicked Local Plymouth

In an era of shrinking school budgets, a history teacher from Plymouth South High School is distinguishing himself as an innovative educator. He is also quite the hacker. Greg Kulowiec is saving the school district thousands while giving his freshman World Studies classes an interactive learning experience. For little more than $50, Kulowiec has built his own interactive whiteboard for his classroom. He’s also coached fellow teachers in how to assemble the modern blackboards for their own classrooms. The devices conservatively save the district at least $2,000 each. They also ensure a livelier classroom discussion on topics that might otherwise underwhelm today’s ninth-graders.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/features/x1049175101/South-High-teacher-builds-own-version-of-expensive-interactive-whiteboard

by Computing Education Blog

The second page of the National Science Education Standards highlights the importance of inquiry:

Inquiry is central to science learning. When engaging in inquiry, students describe objects and events, ask questions, construct explanations, test those explanations against current scientific knowledge, and communicate their ideas to others. They identify their assumptions, use critical and logical thinking, and consider alternative explanations. In this way, students actively develop their understanding of science by combining scientific knowledge with reasoning and thinking skills.

http://computinged.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/teaching-computer-science-through-inquiry/

By Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy: Clovis News-Journal

Isaac Asimov once said “the most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!” but “That’s funny…” I actually heard that exact phrase uttered by a student in that scientifically inquiring way just before the holiday break. Judy Williams, technology teacher at Clovis High School Freshman Academy, was teaching robotics and showed me around her classroom. Eavesdropping on several of the student robotics teams, I heard the “… that’s funny …” remark as the students rallied around their robots, completely oblivious to me.

http://www.cnjonline.com/news/once-41482-class-robotics.html

By Stacey Menser, Times Leader

Higher education is gained each and every day at the Caldwell County Area Technology Center by students from Caldwell and surrounding counties. As one ATC teacher pointed out at a recent meeting of area educators, “what we offer here can prepare an 18- or 19-year-old to go out and start a job making $50,000 a year.” Gone are the days of being “a trade school.” “We haven’t been a trade school or trade center since the 1950s,” said Caldwell County ATC Principal Ruth Gray. “We are a technology center, and students are number one here. “Some of the smartest students in your school districts come here, and they have to hold high grades to remain here.”

http://www.timesleader.net/articles/stories/public/201101/09/4ZZH_news.html

By Bobbi Eichhorst, the Las Cruces Sun-News

New Mexico to join Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a pre-college curriculum that helps students prepare for careers in engineering and engineering technology. The program has grown in LCPS high schools during the past four years – there are now about 350 students participating. And the school district continues implementation of Gateway To Technology (GTT), the middle school component of PLTW. “I’m looking forward to it,” said sixth-grader Jason Swindle just before his second day of GTT classes at Camino Real Middle School. “I love technology. I’m one of those tech guys … if a computer goes down at home, I’m the one who likes to fix it.”

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-education/ci_17053436

by Hao Jiang, IEEE Learning Technology

There is growing interest in applying a socio-constructivist approach in language education. Masaki Kobayashi conducted a study that examined language socialization theory. Kobayashi cites Bernard Mohan, stating that language socialisation “is a major source for learning about and expressing what one must say, know, value, and do in order to participate in sociocultural situations of society (Mohan, 1987, cited by Kobayashi). Simina and Hamel state that when integrating a learner-centered, socio-constructivist approach within a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) environment, the potential for successful acquisition of the target language is maximized (Simina, Hamel, 2005). This article attempts to demonstrate a collaborative approach combined with web 2.0 tools can greatly aid target language acquisition among learners.

http://www.ieeetclt.org/issues/july2010/IEEE-LT-Jul10.htm#_Toc269551163

by Internet for Lawyers

In late December 2010, Google quietly launched (as they so often do) a new Google Labs “experiment” called “Shared Spaces.” The official description of Google Shared Spaces describes it this way:

Google Shared Spaces allows you to easily create a space with a collaborative gadget and a chat box in it. The gadgets are based on the Wave gadgets technology, so there are already more than 50 gadgets across different categories, like games, productivity, and event planning. Anybody can create a new space by going to the gallery and clicking on one of the featured gadgets. Spaces can easily be shared by just pasting the URL into a chat window, an email or a content sharing platform like Google Buzz or Twitter. And if you know a little Javascript, it is easy to get started building your own real-time, collaborative gadgets and create new spaces based on those.

http://www.netforlawyers.com/content/google-shared-spaces-next-google-wave-00010

By Maggie Shiels, BBC

Everybody is trying to grab a piece of the tablet action at the gadget geekfest known as the Consumer Electronics Show. Among them, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, whose mission is to bring low-powered, low-cost devices to the developing world. They have just launched a hybrid computer that turns into a tablet, but plan to release a dedicated device by 2012. The new $165 (about £106) XO-1.75 laptop will start shipping after the summer to countries around the world to bring school children into the computer age. Its precursor cost around $199 (about £128) and OLPC says around two million have now been distributed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12144651

by Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Today

My resolutions were so ambitious in the era before children. I would start each year with a list of goals, similar to the list you make when applying to colleges: Some are a stretch, others within reach and a few backups to prevent feeling like a complete failure. But as my responsibilities have grown, I’ve streamlined my resolutions. Life starts feeling too short to be in a constant state of self-improvement. My goal this year is not forward-looking. It’s an attempt to regain something from the past: Focus. We used to have the ability to give sustained, undivided attention to a person or to a project. But all the devices that make our lives more efficient come at a price. They drain us of our focus, too rare a commodity these days.

http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/relationships-and-special-occasions/parenting/aisha-sultan/article_9c2234ac-023a-54d9-a309-b669d5289fc5.html

by Sarah Kessler, Mashable

At a time when many teachers are made wary by reports of predators and bullies online, social media in the classroom is not the most popular proposition. Teachers like Delmatoff, however, are embracing it rather than banning it. They argue that the educational benefits of social media far outweigh the risks, and they worry that schools are missing out on an opportunity to incorporate learning tools the students already know how to use. What started as a Facebook-like forum where Delmatoff posted assignments has grown into a social media component for almost every subject. Here are the reasons why she and other proponents of educational social media think more schools should do the same.

http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/

By LISA GUERNSEY, New York Times

You might say it all started with spell-check. In the 1980s, with the introduction of word processing programs like WordPerfect, it became apparent that computerized proofreaders could come to the rescue of struggling spellers and bad typists. Thirty years later, an ever-growing array of assistive technology is available to help students read, write term papers and take tests. From pens that can remember to text that can talk, such technologies are now being held up as important tools for students with learning disabilities like dyslexia, dysgraphia (trouble writing) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/09tech-t.html?_r=1

by the Petosky News-Review

Technology has changed the way our kids are learning in the classroom and it helps prepare them for successful lives in the ever-changing world. From computer labs to smart phones, iPads, Online classes, Online books, PowerPoint and other technological advances our kids are learning to be technologically savvy. “Our students’ understanding (of technology) is growing when they come to us and we need to keep up with it in the classroom,” said Bob Alger, Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District director of instructional services. Students are learning to use many different kinds of technology and learning how to link them together in presentations so they can simulate the business world.

http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/null-technology-enhancing-lives-01072011,0,1168276.story

By Ashleigh Oldland, Long Beach Gazettes

The students in John Fox’s eighth grade algebra class studied for their Monday math test without the help of a textbook — instead, they used handwritten notes and their iPads. “The future of textbooks is that there won’t be any — everything is going digital,” Fox said while the Washington Middle School students listened to “A Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack and completed one of their final tests of the fall semester. Fox teaches classes both with the iPads and without as part of a pilot program started this fall to determine the effectiveness of Apple iPad’s new, full-curriculum algebra application. Progress made in both types of classes is being tracked by an outside research firm.

http://www.gazettes.com/news/education/article_14c5d116-19de-11e0-9cc8-001cc4c03286.html

by Alisa Fisher, Cincinnati Enquirer

Computers are everywhere in schools–in labs, on carts, on desks, in hands, on walls, and even in backpacks headed home because that’s where tonight’s homework is. Schools recognize the powerful impact technology can have on learning. The question about “computers and schools” isn’t necessarily how many, but how well. The buzzword is integrated, meaning how well are computers incorporated into classroom learning. When a teacher sits down to think about what he wants students to learn, is he thinking about how computers will help him accomplish the lesson’s objectives? Will computers play a small role, a big role, or be the entire show?

http://www.examiner.com/k-12-in-cincinnati/local-school-harnesses-power-of-computers

By Lauren Barack, School Library Journal

We spoke with John White of the New York City Department of Education about a new $30 million initiative to bring more technology and individualized class instruction to the city’s 1,600 K-12 public schools. As deputy chancellor in charge of the Division of Talent, Labor, and Innovation, White outlined the way students will start shepherding their own learning in 82 K-12 schools, allowing teachers to spend more one-on-one time with kids.

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/888668-312/nyc_does_john_white_on.html.csp

by Alex Wilhelm, the Next Web

The education of a nation’s youth to a full height of academic rigor and standing is a complex process that nearly always spans more than a decade, requires tens of thousands of dollars, dozens of teachers, and of course, technology. Not always the most recent technology, mind you, but even the oldest Pentium One computer was once new. Technology inside of education is a somewhat problematic premise, an idea that generates controversy from the earliest of primary school grades right through to the top of the academic pyramid, graduate school. As you well know, technology can be a powerful tool for learning, and it can be the same for cheating. It can be used to inform, and to distort. It can boldly open new doors, while flinging open some that were perhaps best left closed; not every topic is appropriate for all age groups.

http://thenextweb.com/industry/2011/01/05/how-technology-has-changed-education/

by Martin Bryant, the Next Web

Google Apps users requiring rock-solid stability have some pleasant news today, Google will now compensate its paying users for any downtime to the cloud-based office suite whatsoever. As much as their users would prefer them to never be down, Web-based services do occasionally break down. 

With the cloud-based office solutions market becoming increasingly competitive, Google’s deal is the first time that a provider of such services has offered 100% uptime, with compensation for any break in service however small. Until now, Google has had a 99.9% Service Level Agreement with its Apps customers,meaning that it would pay compensation for any unscheduled downtime suffered, but any routine maintenance, or breaks in service of up to 10 minutes, would not be covered.

http://goo.gl/2DoVf

by Courtney Boyd Myers, the Next Web

The numbers are in! comScore, released its latest analysis of the U.S. search marketplace. While Facebook may have surpassed Google as the most visited site in 2010, Google Sites still led in search for the month of December, grabbing up 66.6% of the search market share in the U.S..

http://goo.gl/XHtUH