Educational Technology

by eSchool News

The law limiting private teacher-student conversations through social networking sites such as Facebook had been scheduled to take effect Aug. 28. A new Missouri law prohibiting teachers from having private online conversations with students suffered a double setback Aug. 26. First, a judge blocked it from taking effect because of free speech concerns. Then, the governor called for its repeal. The law limiting teacher-student conversations through social networking sites such as Facebook had been scheduled to take effect Aug. 28. But Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem issued a preliminary injunction blocking it until at least February, saying the restrictions “would have a chilling effect” on free speech rights.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/08/27/missouri-judge-blocks-facebook-limits-for-teachers/

by Vicki Windman, Tech Learning

As administrators and educators, we need to find ways to assess staff and students. If you work with special-needs students, part of the process is documenting goals that are measureable. We now have apps that can assist us with tracking students’ progress. There are quite a few free observation and data apps but you must commit to their software to sync your data. Examples include: Ecove, Stride walkthrough, RANDA, Observation 360, OASYS.

http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=103

by Tech Learning

Sometimes the hardest part is deciding what to put on your Moodle page. There is no wrong way to create a Moodle page. Your page should fit the needs of you, your students and parents. Below is a list to help you decide what to include on your page. Have fun creating with Moodle!

http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=2992

by Tech Learning

It’s time to get your iPad ready for school. I suggest at least one grade, attendance, note taker and lesson plan app. Gradebook Pro $9.99 – allows you to grade and take attendance. For high school teachers, it supports weighted and standard grade scales.

Gradepad $2.99 – Assess a variety of behaviors and performances with GradePad rubrics that have criteria and scales. Manage groups of individuals and track their performance over time.

Essay Grader $5.99 – allows teachers to grade essays with three banks of prepared comments for a multitude of topics within the categories of praise, organization, content, mechanics, style, and documentation. All comments are editable, and Essay Grader comes with three empty banks where you can write original comments of your own.

http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=2989

by Scott Kirsner, Boston Globe

To appreciate the scope of what Steve Jobs accomplished during his second stint as Apple’s chief executive, you have to rewind the tape – or rather, spin back the iPod’s wheel – to an August morning in Boston 14 years ago. More than 1,500 of the Apple faithful filled the Park Plaza Castle to hear Jobs deliver his first MacWorld Expo keynote since returning to the company the year before. I was in the front of the hall, covering the event for Wired magazine’s website. It felt like a conclave of Shakers, devout but dwindling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEHNrqPkefI

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2011/08/28/in_boston_the_keynote_to_apples_turnaround/

By LEJENE BRECKENRIDGE, South Bend Tribune

Learning how to write a cursive S was harder than learning to find the same letter on a computer keyboard when 16-year-old Aisha Erby began practicing cursive. That’s no surprise to some educators and handwriting researchers who said many students these days are less proficient in cursive than keyboarding. It’s a shifting paradigm that’s gained more attention recently as school districts consider whether cursive is relevant to students preparing for higher education and entering the work force in 21st century. In fact, the Indiana Department of Education issued a policy earlier this year that districts starting this fall have the option of whether they want to teach cursive, and should focus on developing students’ keyboarding proficiencies.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/sbt-relevance-of-cursive-writing-questioned-in-technologydriven-era-20110827,0,4343096.story

by Steven A. Rosenberg, Boston Globe

Talk to principals like Gallagher and Larkin and the word they use most often is collaboration. In Burlington, Larkin envisions each classroom as a learning incubator where teens brainstorm in small groups, work on research projects with other students using Skype or Google docs, use their laptops to create instructional videos, and ultimately discover the best learning style that works for them. There will still be some old-fashioned lectures, and some tests will be given on paper, but Larkin said the online technology will serve as a platform for students to access learning, a process, he said, that mirrors the real world. He also thinks that in the coming years, learning will take on a collaborative environment created by the students, where teachers will serve more like guides, oversee the classroom, and be available to help create individualized learning programs.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2011/08/28/leading_the_way_to_cyber_learning/