Educational Technology

by Dawn Joseph, White House Office on Science and Technology Policy

The second annual Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) has come to an end, but we at OSTP did not want to let this important milestone pass without bringing some attention to its goals of building up and strengthening computer science education programs around the country to better prepare students for the digital age. By stimulating a range of activities all across the country, this special week of celebration and education seeks to ensure that our Nation retains and expands its innovative and skilled workforce in order to address such pressing problems as environmental degradation, poverty, hunger, and threats to homeland security. Building on the success of last year’s CSEdWeek, this year’s effort has built support for rigorous and extensive computer science education programs in states, universities, and local school districts. An array of local celebrations has helped create awareness of the challenges facing the field—including the need for better professional development for teachers, improved curricula, and inclusion of more students from groups underrepresented in technical fields—even as they have inspired a growing number of students to pursue classes and careers in computer science.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/10/celebrating-computer-science

by the Kenilworth Weekly News

Two computer-whizz mums are providing fun learning courses for children which combine a classic construction toy with the latest technology. Caroline Piper who lives in Southam and her colleague Geraldine Spelman of Coventry have launched Stretching Minds, a company which uses robots made from LEGO® to teach youngsters various skills in fields such as IT, mathematics, design and technology and science. Pilot sessions held at after-school clubs have been well received and the pair will offer their first course to the public at Coventry Transport Museum in January. Mrs Piper, a former IT projects manager, said: “Most children are familiar with LEGO® and quickly become captivated by what they can do with the robots. “We are already planning to run more Saturday courses as well as holiday camps, parties and school workshops.”

http://www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk/news/local/programming_robots_helps_youngsters_learn_1_2193388

by John Kennedy, Silicon Republic

In his look back on the week, Siliconrepublic editor John Kennedy reasons that not only do we need greater ICT competency in our schools, but we need more kids that code, that break things and who, ultimately, build things. Last week, three things happened that once again confirmed in my mind how important it is that we do not lose momentum in terms of equipping future generations of Irish school-leavers with the right skills, particularly ICT skills, and how a much better job needs to be done to grow our engineering population.

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/19732-digsch2010/

by The Associated Press

An eastern Kentucky school district is aiming to have wireless networks in all schools and “smart” instructional devices in every classroom by 2012. Cary Williams, the director of technology for Ashland Independent Schools, said the district also wants all computers to have updated operating systems and software by the deadline. The Ashland Daily Independent reports that the school district is also reviewing the technology skills of students and teachers to determine how much computer access they have at home.

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/12/19/1572922/ky-schools-aim-for-wireless-smart.html

By Andy Barrand, Journal and Review

Technology is something we all often take for granted. Over the years technology has made our lives simpler. It has given students of today instantaneous access to all kinds of knowledge. In the near future I’m sure every student in every school will have access to a computer throughout the day. There is already talks at the state level of giving ISTEP tests on the computer.

http://www.journalreview.com/articles/2010/12/19/viewpoints/01barrand.txt

by Jack Marshall, ClickZ Stats

Share Microsoft’s Bing search engine continued to grow its share of U.S. searches in November, enjoying a 0.3 percentage point increase versus October, according to data from comScore. That gain appears to have come at the expense of Google, Yahoo, and AOL, all of which saw 0.1 percentage point reductions. Though that growth is by no means exponential, Microsoft has been consistently growing its market share over the past year, accounting for 11.8 percent of searches in November 2010 versus 10.3 percent during the same month in 2009, and 11.1 percent of searches in August.

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1933490/bing-search-share-edges-november

by Jack Marshall, ClickZ Stats

Online video advertising continues to reach more U.S. users, with almost half viewing an ad during November, according to data from comScore. The measurement firm estimates 48.6 percent of users were exposed to a video ad over the course of the month, compared with 45.5 percent in October. As Google continues to roll ad products out across YouTube, its growing the volume of ads it’s serving also. Google sites streamed 241 million video ads in November, representing significant growth over the 170.5 million served in October. The company’s reach also grew from 13.9 percent to 16.3 percent over the same period.

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1934434/nearly-half-users-view-video-november

by Tracy Jan, Boston Globe

Classes at the flagship campus can be so large that some students sit on the floor in lecture halls, leaning against their backpacks, the walls, or the legs of fellow classmates. Nine percent of all classes have more than 100 students — compared with a national average of 2 percent, according to a College Board analysis of public universities. Faculty lament that they have little choice but to evaluate students in oversize classes by multiple-choice exams and use computers to grade homework. Some professors have made attendance at lectures optional, offering as an alternative prerecorded lessons over the Internet, which allows the university to serve many more students than would fit into an auditorium. Some students have even received letters from their departmental advisers suggesting that they take classes at other colleges to improve their odds of graduating in four years.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/19/overbooked_classes_strain_umass_faculty_students/

by Editorial Board, the Oregonian

In a letter to a friend, Mark Twain suggested the difference between the right word and the almost-right word was the difference between lightning and a lightning bug — this from a man who, already a literary treasure, railed publicly about the difficulties of spelling words right. Now comes the Oregon Department of Education, which has decided to allow middle and high school students the use of spell-checking software while taking online writing and content-mastery tests. No need to worry about spelling correctly or losing time on it — just focus on the ideas, the grammar, the marvelousness of well-constructed sentences and paragraphs as they tumble forward. Well, let’s rane on Twain — oops, the computer just coughed. Is it rein? Reign? Hmmn, let’s choose rain. It’s truly raining in public education. The decision to allow spell-checking on a writing test is a setback for young people, who must, though several educationalists would dispute it, be able to spell with reasonable competence in order to read with comprehension and write with proficiency.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/12/spell-checked_and_checked_out.html

by Erin McCarthy, Register-Mail

Longtime teacher Jean Tulin can’t imagine teaching without SMART Boards, even though she did it for 25 years. The SMART Board is an interactive, computerized white board that is connected to the teacher’s computer and all that is inside. It can be operated from the computer, or by touching the board itself with a fingertip or wand. Tulin, an upper-level math teacher at Knoxville High School and certified SMART Board instructor, says SMART Boards are changing the way teachers do their jobs and widely diversifying the learning environment for their students. “I would say 50 percent of it is a help to the teacher, and the other 50 percent is student participation and their engagement,” Tulin said. “Diversification is the biggest — the audio, the visuals, the colors, the videos and some of the fun stuff. It’s just something you can’t get from a white board or an overhead projector.”

http://www.galesburg.com/features/x1167186807/SMART-Boards-becoming-classroom-staples