Educational Technology

by Marie Leech, Birmingham News

The distance learning program is, educators say, the biggest advance in leveling the playing field in Alabama education since desegregation. The program has the potential to change the face of education in Alabama, says state Superintendent Joe Morton, and students are no longer victims of their ZIP codes. The senior, who wants to be a doctor, signed up with seven other Cordova students to take Advanced Placement calculus through distance learning. They sit in a stark white classroom at Cordova High School in rural Walker County equipped with webcams, three big-screen televisions and an interactive white board.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/02/distance_learning_connects_cla.html

By Rachel Schleif, The Wenatchee World

While other high school students sat in fifth period class Feb. 11, Andrew Kibbe of Yakima laced up his ice skates at the Town Toyota Center. The 16-year-old finished his school work for the week early, which is one of the perks of being an online student at Washington Virtual Academyâ?”Omak, the region’s first open online school. “I like having more free time and working ahead,” he said. “I’ve already had two days off this week.” More than 1,000 students have signed up for WAVA-Omak since the high school program launched a year ago this month. The K-8 program opened last fall. Every online student has a story explaining why they made the switch. This story includes a sampling of reasons why students choose online school, and in some cases, why not.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4906495

by the Virginia Gazette

Growing demand for virtual courses in Virginia has prompted York Schools to offer up its own program to other divisions. And make $550 a pop doing it. More than 50 courses online are free for regular county students, transfers and those who need to make up a class. Others who participate free are homebound students, alt-ed students and those who are simply taking their course load online. York is applying to the state for approval to expand by taking in up to 100 additional students across the state. Reginald Fox, coordinator of online learning, said that York’s program was among those used to model the “Virtual Virginia” program. He said one of the big benefits of online learning is its flexibility.

http://www.vagazette.com/articles/2011/02/19/news/doc4d5f2d2445293495048632.txt

The SLN SOLsummit will be broadcast LIVE!

The webcast is provided FREE of charge and there is no need for registration. Just keep in mind that the times listed are EST.  Sessions begin today!  Your friendly editor of the Educational Technology blog will be presenting Thursday afternoon on searching for a better “BackRub”…. clue: before being re-named Google in 1997, the search engine developed at Stanford was dubbed BackRub. 

http://slnsolsummit2011.edublogs.org/mediasite/

by Prfessor.com

Educators love the idea of online courses, but traditional colleges and in-person training programs see it as a threat to their billion-dollar enterprises, according to the findings in a new report, The 2011 Future of Online Education from Prfessor.com. The report brings together the opinions of top online educators. The report can be accessed for review at Prfessor.com/future. Distance education removes the traditional in-person barriers of learning, therefore allowing millions of young and old to teach or learn what means the most to them, all within the confines of their living room or favorite coffee shop.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/what-will-online-education-look-like-in-2011-and-beyond-hear-what-top-industry-experts-say-116648404.html

By NBC 29

The Charlottesville School Board is taking a major step that will change the way the city’s kids learn. It’s planning to have computers in the hands of every student in grades 6 through 12 by September. The school board passed the one to one computer initiative as part of its budget for next year. The support for the program comes as major cuts were made elsewhere. “Textbooks are going the way of the wagon wheel and the dinosaur,” said Ned Michie, of the Charlottesville School Board.

http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=14072484

by Megan Johnston, Sydney Morning Herald

The use of digital tools is radically reworking how schools are communicating in lessons, writes Megan Johnston. Computer studies were once relegated to a classroom of their own. Once a week students would crowd around small grey screens to type basic text and play simple games. Now digital technology in countless forms has become integral to learning. And many independent schools are at the forefront of their application.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-new-class-of-technology-20110221-1b2bk.html

by Michael Gorman, Technology and Learning Advisor Blog

As I have pondered iPad possibilities for classroom integration and performed my share of app searches, one particular app always keeps showing itself at the head of the class. It was at ISTE in Denver when I saw IEAR.org (I Education Apps Review) for the very first time I knew I was viewing a site with great potential. After talking with Scott Meech, a founder and creator of this unique community, I was aware that it would be a quality site built on practicality. This past weekend I was assisting with Discovery’s SCIcon 2011 and had the opportunity to listen to a wonderful presentation on mobile apps by (DEN Star) Cheryl Lykowski who once again reminded the attendees of IEAR.org. I knew it was time to post this!

http://techlearning.com/Blogs/36664

by Shelly Terrell, Technology and Learning Advisor Blog

I’ve read quite a lot about giving incredible presentations and have attended several amazing workshops with some of the best presenters out there. I’ll give you their number one advice for free, “It’s all in the preparation!” For this reason, my presentations consume me. Even after preparing them I go over them 1000s of times in my head. I picture how I will give the presentation and what I will say. I even imagine the questions the audience will give me. I picture every little detail even the clothes I’m wearing and the pitch of my voice. Preparation takes time. Planning slides, arranging them, finding pictures to accompany the messages, and making decisions on color schemes and templates can take hours. That is why I like to plan on the go and with mobile devices and apps, you can sketch out your presentation and rehearse almost anywhere. Here are the apps I recommend.

http://techlearning.com/Blogs/36830

by School CIO

Brainchild offers a solution to the costs and risks of using tablets and handheld devices in the classroom with Kineo, launched today at the Florida Educational Technology Conference. It’s the first Android™ tablet eBook reader created exclusively for education, with built-in features to keep schools and students safe. “Learning devices need to enhance instruction, not be a distraction. With over 15 years of experience in developing handhelds and software for schools, we know how to make a tablet device suited to a teacher’s needs for individualized instruction,” said Jeff Cameron, president of Brainchild. “Teachers can be confident that Kineo is a secure and safe handheld instructional device because Kineo removes the temptation for students to text or surf.”

http://schoolcio.com/ShowArticle/36382

by Mary Quinn O’Connor, Fox News

Walden University in Minneapolis conducted a survey of more than 1,000 K-12 educators and found that 60 percent consider themselves either sporadic or infrequent users of technology, while only 22 percent considered themselves frequent users. Some teachers claim this could be due to intimidation — because the students are savvier than the teachers. “We know students know more about it than we do. They’re the digital natives,” admitted Natalie Smith to FoxNews.com. Smith specializes in bringing technology into classrooms here in Lexington County, S.C. “Some of us are behind the game but that’s OK. The kids are really good about helping us to integrate it more,” Smith said.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/27/classroom-tech-students-know-teachers/?test=faces

by Bob Wheaton, Jackson Citizen Patriot

At Jackson High School, Maureen Hesslau’s students can text her if they get stuck on their math homework. They can even send her a picture of their work as they try to solve a problem. At Columbia Central High School, special education students can pick up a Nook and listen to a story on the e-book reader. And at Grass Lake High School, students can take advanced placement classes from Stockbridge High School via interactive, long-distance learning technology.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2011/02/schools_embrace_technology_in.html

by Earl Horlyk, Sioux City Journal

What’s a responder? About the size of a remote control, it allows students to answer multiple choice questions from their desks and gives teachers the chance to record the results electronically. Starting with the 2010-11 school year, all Sioux City Community School District elementary schools have such devices, according to technology director Neil Schroeder. Over the next few years, the district will also be outfitting the middle schools and high schools with similar high-tech “toys.” The funding for this new technology is a result of a $179.95 million class-action lawsuit the state had against the Microsoft Corporation. The terms of the settlement provides the school district with more than $2 million between now and 2014, half of which must be spent of settlement administrators-approved software.

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/special-section/local/education/article_647ecb74-cef7-5226-9b77-9f9f16f51e3e.html

by Thomas Nassiff, The Independent Florida Alligator

Technology seems to advance quicker than anything these days, and with rapid advancement comes fads of hip new devices — one being the tablet personal computer. With Apple’s introduction of the iPad in 2010, the technology market boomed with competitors trying to match Apple’s latest venture. Following Apple’s lead, tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Dell Streak 7 have emerged, and each device comes with its own unique quirks. And as tablets have become more popular for personal and business use, they have also gained popularity in the education system as learning aids. The iPad has been the most common tablet instituted at schools so far. Among those, universities such as Oklahoma State, Seton Hall University and Illinois Institute of Technology have used the iPad in the past year to kick-start their already renowned technology programs.

http://www.alligator.org/the_avenue/features/article_90fd1ec6-3fca-11e0-809e-001cc4c03286.html

by Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy, CNJ Online

For example, at one of our elementary schools, a teacher shared with me that, knowing she had to be absent for a couple of hours one day to attend a school workshop, she decided to use the video capture feature of her document camera to record the procedure for doing long division problems. She left the video clip on a classroom computer and instructed the substitute to just hit “play” when they reached the math lesson. Upon her return the next morning, the teacher learned that the students loved the clip and had replayed it a number of times and begged her to play her “movie” again when it was time for math. They replayed it a number of times and would pause and work on a section at a time; they used the slider bar to move to a specific point in the clip, discussing the how’s and why’s, helping each other. These students had really taken ownership of their learning. Their improved individual grades attested to the success.

http://www.cnjonline.com/news/technology-42122-education-students.html

By Craig K. Paskoski, The Evening Sun, Hanover, Pa.

Littlestown High School senior Josh Abreght starts his school day by coming into the technology lab, sitting down in front of a computer and signing on. After typing in passwords, Abreght gets ready for class and waits for his teacher, Ms. Gitzel. She appears on the computer screen and greets him in Japanese to begin their class. Abreght’s Japanese 102 class is one of several online courses the Littlestown Area School District offers its students. The district has nearly two dozen students taking advanced-placement courses in calculus and biology online, but Abreght is the only student studying Japanese.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4911105

by WABC

We live in a digital age and most kids are more computer-savvy than their parents. Now, one local school is ditching the old-school text books, in favor of going electronic. Every student who chose the New Hudson High School for learning technologies understood there would be no textbooks. “When we say they don’t have a textbook, what we’re saying is they don’t have a weighted, paper copy in front of them,” said Principal Nancy Amling. “But they have access to all sorts of information,” she adds.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/education&id=7973650

by Alexandra Davis, Daily Gleaner

Physical education teacher Jon Crossland was one of three educators involved in organizing the project. He said the goal of the video was to show how technology is integrated into student life from students’ perspective. Some of the technologies featured in the video include smart boards, a sound-field system that helps project a teacher’s voice, live video morning announcements, Nintendo Wii game systems, which students use during gym class, and Skype, which students use to interact with people all over the world. Crossland said it’s important to integrate technology with education because of the many advantages to students. “I think it’s important because the world relies so much on technology now, and it’s what students are using too,” he said.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1382789

by Melanie Smollin, Take Part

Computer labs are understocked, with outdated, broken computers, and teachers have no way to integrate technology into the curriculum. Most tech-deprived schools serve students from low-income, minority communities. Historically, these kids have been at a disadvantage to their affluent peers. Exclusion from the digital world only widens this gap. Sarah Silverman teaches fifth- and sixth-grade writing in Columbus, Ohio. She recently told TakePart about her struggle to bridge the digital divide for her students.

http://www.takepart.com/news/2011/02/22/educators-still-struggle-to-bridge-digital-divide–

By Mary Ann Thomas, VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH

Authorities sprayed protesters with high pressure water hoses, and tried to corral them with police dogs. The images were frightening. Those scenes and others from the mid-1960s civil rights movement stun viewers again — this time in the Second Life virtual-reality game, which immerses Indiana University of Pennsylvania students in that movement. Allen Partridge, a professor in the school’s Communications Media department and his doctoral students developed the project in his Simulation of Games doctoral class. Not just an excursion into computer geek territory, Second Life is a computer-based tool that takes students into a virtual world where history comes alive. As avatars (computer-generated characters), students walk through and with the 1965 Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., and other pivotal moments.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_723607.html

by Andy Sedlak, Middletown Journal

Tom Charles stays awake until 2 a.m. some nights — long after most in Middletown’s Liberty Retirement Community have dimmed the lights — and surfs the information superhighway on his Dell laptop. “I’m just searching around for junk,” the 77-year-old said. “If you see something on TV you can switch over to the computer and get all the details.” The retirement community was recently outfitted with wireless technology to benefit its approximately 100 residents. Internet usage among senior citizens is one of the web’s most booming demographics. A computer club within the nursing home has sprung up in the past couple weeks, already boasting 10 members. The organizer of the club is Nathan Squire, a 17-year-old senior at Middletown High School and some 60 years the junior of many of Liberty Retirement’s residents.

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/seniors-surfing-the-web-with-wireless-technology-1086783.html