Educational Technology

By Harmony Huskinson, State Press

A blur of fingers thrum the keyboard assertively, avoiding mistakes, a symphony of taps and clacks until — ding! — the line is finished and a hand pushes the carriage return to start a new line. Ryan Adney, who graduated in 2004 with a degree in secondary education and now teaches English, started to incorporate typewriters in his class last year when his students showed interest in the 1952 Royal HH typewriter on his desk. Adney said he found his first typewriter in the school library last year, checked it out of the library, experimented with it and fell in love with writing on a typewriter. “A typewriter never begs for your attention. You can give it your attention, but it never asks for it outright. It never distracts you from what you’re doing when working,” Adney said.

http://www.statepress.com/2011/04/14/asu-alum-uses-typewriters-in-high-school-classroom/

By JOE LANDON, Naples News

What are the signs?

“Withdrawal or isolation is one of the first,” she said. “When a child starts to dislike going to school, begins avoiding those social media tools that they’ve enjoyed before, and when it appears they’re not getting a lot of joy out of school or being with friends, those are big warning signs for parents. You need to contact the school to get in for a meeting to talk about what might be happening.”

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/apr/11/class-notes-parent-forums-new-online-tool-availabl/

by Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Education

Probing the uses of nine different types of social media among professors, the study found that professors consider YouTube the most useful tool by far — for both teaching and non-classroom professional use. Nearly a third of respondents said they instructed students to watch online videos as homework, and about 73 percent said they thought YouTube videos were either somewhat or very valuable for classroom use, regardless of whether they use them currently. Other Web 2.0 tools fared less well among the professors — particularly the tools with the most currency in broader culture. Only 2 percent of the professors said they used Twitter in class, and another 2 percent said they used it for professional purposes outside the classroom. Slightly more said they could see at least some value in the microblogging site, but those long-sellers still amounted to less than a tenth of all respondents.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/12/survey_examines_youtube_facebook_twitter_and_other_social_media_use_by_college_professors

by the Manchester Evening News

Computers have become an essential part of everyday life, but some people need a little extra help to allow them to access the technology that most of us take for granted. People with special physical and educational needs can use computers to learn, communicate, play and much more, and Oldham-based business Inclusive Technology specialises in helping those with disabilities access such benefits. Its hardware and software is designed for use by people with conditions ranging from dyslexia to the most severe physical impairments.

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/innovation/s/1417815_technology-that-makes-computers-inclusive

by Amy Clancy, KIRO 7 Seattle

Using software, cellphones and Xbox consoles, the smartest young computer programmers in the country gathered at Microsoft recently to compete in the 9th annual Imagine Cup. The Imagine Cup is a contest that challenges high school and college students to make the world a better place through software and game design. This year, more than 70,000 young people registered. And eventually, the field was narrowed to the top four teams in each category.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/27523568/detail.html

by the Otago Daily News

Rock music blares in a Manhattan classroom as an 11-year-old builds a website for video game enthusiasts. In another room, pupils are immersed in a life sized-video game, sifting through the remains of ancient civilisations. What kid wouldn’t love a school developed by video game designers? Quest to Learn was designed to be different from the ground up. This complete reinvention of the typical urban middle school downplays rote memorization in favor of collaborative learning, critical thinking and imaginative exploration as a way to change how today’s students learn.

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/technology/156009/school-gaming-generation

by Russ Poulin, WCET blog

The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released a new ‘Dear Colleague’ letter on the ‘state authorization’ regulation. The USDOE is to be commended for demonstrating that it heard the distress of the distance education community. The letter seems to go about as far as it could in trying to assist institutions on this issue. Even so, it leaves the institutions with much work to do. This is very positive as institutions will receive some relief from the pressure of trying to comply in such a short timeframe. That’s the good news.

(see Russ Poulin’s blog post for the important details)

http://wcetblog.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/second-dear-colleague-letter/

by the Huffington Post

Online learning is one of the fastest growing trends in educational uses of technology, according to a 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Education. But the rapid growth raises the question do students get as much out of online learning as they do from face-to-face lessons with a teacher? More than one million K-12 students took online courses during the 2007-08 school year. And with cuts to education spending escalating in recent years, online instruction is one option getting increasing attention as school districts look for ways to cut costs.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/12/online-learning-pros-and-cons_n_848362.html

By Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

We have nothing against private enterprise making an honest profit for providing a needed service or useful product. But in this case there is no evidence that the product is needed nor is there evidence that it will be useful. Just because something is high-tech doesn’t mean it is good. As Gerald Bracey pointed out, computers have made it possible to do in nano-seconds what shouldn’t be done at all. We are about to waste a gigantic amount of money when it is badly needed elsewhere, and where it can be put to much better use.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/a-21st-century-boondoogle-high-tech-testing/2011/04/11/AF37LZND_blog.html

by Augusta Chronicle

As a new state-authorized public online school, Provost Academy Georgia is free of charge to residents of Georgia. Students work toward their regular public high school diploma – recognized by colleges and employers – as they would in a traditional school, but in the convenient, safe environment of their own home through computer-based educational programs. Provost Academy Georgia offers more than 100 online classes, developed in collaboration with faculty of Stanford University’s School of Education; including Advanced Placement and honors courses with a particular emphasis on high demand subjects, such as science, technology, engineering and math.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2011-03-28/new-online-high-school-free-ga-residents

by Alexandra Zavis, LA Times

Petty Officer Sarax shifts in his seat as a therapist asks him about the wartime experiences that are causing strain with his wife. “There are some things that I just don’t want to talk about with her and she keeps pushing,” he says. “… I lost a couple of friends over there. It was bad.” Sarax could be one of many veterans who are struggling to cope with the stress and trauma of war. But he is in fact a computer simulation. Researchers at USC hope that virtual clients like Sarax will help social workers learn to interact with military personnel and identify the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. It is one of the ways that the university’s School of Social Work is harnessing technology to improve care for returning veterans and help head off a looming crisis.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-military-social-work-20110319,0,2326016.story

By BLAIR ANDREWS, Chatham Daily News

The program uses interactive audio and video technology to help students learn second languages. Students at UCC are using it for their lessons in French and Spanish. Among other things, the program allows teachers to record lesson plans on the system. Vilaranda said this means students can gain a better understanding by playing back the lessons as many times as they wish without holding up the rest of the class. Students can also record their voices and listen back to compare their pronunciation with their teacher’s examples as well as with samples from their peers. The Internet-based system also means that students can access XpressLab from home.

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3048557

By Nate Adams, Montville Patch

The Montville Township School District is investigating a breach of the high school’s computer system that took place last week. According to Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried, the high school’s student information system was broken into. The district is looking into the possibility of records being tampered with. In a letter to the district’s parents, Fried said the breach has been remedied and that students committed the breach. “The police were notified and we are quite certain that the students responsible have been identified,” he said. “

http://montville.patch.com/articles/students-breach-high-schools-computer-system

By David Nagel, Campus Technology

Adoption of iPads and other alternative computing devices has started cutting into PC sales. Traditional computers–desktops, workstations, laptops, and netbooks–saw a steep decline in the first quarter of 2011 in the United States, with sluggish shipments worldwide as well, according to a new preliminary report released this week by market research firm Gartner. The report, “Preliminary PC Market Results, Worldwide, 1Q11,” found that worldwide shipments of traditional PCs declined in the first three months of 2011 by 1.1 percent, bucking an earlier positive forecast of 3 percent growth for the quarter. And while the first quarter is typically a weak one for PC sales, the dip in 2011 may be more than just a seasonal blip.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/04/14/traditional-computers-on-the-decline-in-2011.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

A new institute within the University of Illinois’ Coordinated Science Laboratory will focus on research and development in the area of parallel computing. The Parallel Computing Institute will promote interdisciplinary projects by providing access to resources and infrastructure, teaching students, going after grants, and facilitating partnerships among academia and industry. The parallel computing scenario sets up multiple processors to work together on complex computing problems. The institute is the latest in a number of parallel computing-related operations at the university, including the Microsoft- and Intel-sponsored Universal Parallel Computing Research Center and the Institute for Advanced Computation and Applications Technology. Currently, U Illinois is also building Blue Waters, a joint effort with IBM and the Great Lakes Consortium for Petascale Computation, funded by the National Science Foundation. Blue Waters will be used for open scientific research and is anticipated to be one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world when it’s done.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/04/14/new-u-illinois-institute-pushes-parallel-computing-research-into-double-time.aspx

By ELLWOOD SHREVE, Chatham Daily News

Information technology is rapidly evolving and the Lambton Kent District School Board is trying to envision the impact it will have on the classroom of the future. Local public school administrators, educators, trustees and students gathered for a TALK Taking Action Lambton Kent workshop Friday to discuss information technology, particularly the growing popularity of personal electronic devices such as iPhones, Smartphones, iPods and laptop computers. Director of education Jim Costello said the board is in the middle of developing a multiyear strategic plan with the goal to have it in place for next September. “Part of that will be . . . what the 21st century class should look it,” he said. “Woven through that and the thread and the fabric of how students learn is information technology.”

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3069866

BY NICK LEHOTSKY, Patriot-News

Camp Hill High School, recently fed up with an inordinate number of students wasting an inordinate amount of time on Facebook, blocked the site. Though I originally applauded the move, I am now condemning it. What administrators see as an obstruction to modern education I see as a potential pathway to modern education. In the 21st century, sites such as Facebook can and should be utilized by schools, teachers and students for educational benefits. The three R’s of old (reading, writing and arithmetic) need to be updated to the three R’s of a 21st century education: understanding responsibility, reliability and risks in today’s world of technology. Schools should embrace ways to teach students about appropriate technology use, not just try to pretend the digital world doesn’t exist.

http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/04/schools_should_embrace_social.html

By Chris Mikesell, Star-Advertiser

Sheri Lynn discovered that her 13-year-old daughter was being cyberbullied three years ago when she came across the girl unconscious in the hallway. She had taken a bottle of pills in a suicide attempt. “If I hadn’t gone home earlier that day, my daughter would be dead,” said Sheri Lynn, who asked that her last name not be used out of concern for her daughter. According to a survey by the University of Hawaii at Manoa this year, one out of every 10 students in Hawaii’s schools is a victim of cyberbullying — acts of digital harassment, intimidation, annoyance, libel and humiliation that can be as simple as sending unwanted texts or as elaborate as staging a fight on school grounds, recording it with a cellphone camera and uploading it to YouTube.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110410_Senate_tackles_cyberbullying.html

by KRISTINA IODICE, THE GAZETTE

Facebook can be a powerful tool for working on school projects, according to Paul Gilliam, an eighth-grader at Discovery Canyon Campus Middle School. The popular social networking website allows Paul and his classmates to trade ideas and work on projects outside of class, he explained, describing how students use different tools during Academy School District 20’s annual Share Fair last week. It was the fourth year of the evening event, which brings together students and teachers from district schools as they share how 21st century skills, including technology, are used in classrooms.

http://www.gazette.com/articles/school-115964-paul-students.html

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Successful ed-tech programs might dwindle if EETT funding disappears, stakeholders fear. Educational technology stakeholders are speaking out against federal efforts to eliminate the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program by releasing state profiles and information showing how important the program is for ed-tech implementation. On April 13, the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training (NCTET) released “Profiles in Innovation: How the Enhancing Education Through Technology Program is Improving Teaching and Learning in America’s Schools.” The profiles of 10 schools illustrate how instrumental EETT funds have been in helping to create successful educational technology programs.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/04/13/ed-tech-stakeholders-protest-budget-cuts/

by eSchool News

Some critics question whether iPads are worth the cost of giving them to kindergarten students. Kindergarten classes are supplementing crayons, finger paints, and flashcards with iPads, a development that excites supporters but that detractors worry is wasted on pupils too young to appreciate the expense. Next fall, nearly 300 kindergartners in the central Maine city of Auburn will become the latest batch of youngsters around the country to get iPad 2 touchpad tablets to learn the basics about ABCs, 1-2-3s, drawing, and even music.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/04/13/ipads-take-a-place-next-to-crayons-in-kindergarten/