Educational Technology

By Sarah Cunnane, London Times

Online education will turn the academy inside out, argue US authors.  Graduation rates in the US have fallen, and states have slashed funding for higher education. As a result, public universities have raised tuition fees, and many are struggling to stay afloat during the recession. But two authors working in the US higher education sector claim that the academy has a bigger battle on the horizon: the “disruptive innovation” ushered in by online education. This disruption, they say, will force down costs, lure prospective students away from traditional “core” universities, transform the way academics work, and spell the end for the traditional scholarly calendar based around face-to-face teaching. Clayton M. Christensen, the Robert and Jane Cizik professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and Henry J. Eyring, advancement vice-president at Brigham Young University-Idaho, outline their ideas in The Innovative University: Changing the DNA of Higher Education from the Inside Out.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=418623&c=1

By Dennis Carter, eSchool News

Technology giant causes stir with promising an ‘education announcement’ that experts believe could be related to eBooks. Apple’s invitation created an instant stir on social media sites. Education-technology advocates took notice when the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs called the textbook industry “ripe for destruction” in his official biography. On Jan. 19, school technologists might just see what Jobs had in mind. A flurry of speculation about Apple’s entry into the digital textbook market swept across Twitter, Facebook, and technology blogs after Apple released an invitation touting an “education announcement at the Big Apple” Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/01/12/apple-to-enter-the-digital-textbook-fray/

CT Digital Edition

January 2012 Issue

Available Now

Free Subscription to the Print / Digital Editions

FREE subscription to Campus Technology in print or digital format

Printable FormatE-Mail this page

By D.A. Barber, Campus Technology

In 2012, higher education institutions will look to improve the learning experience through analytics and personalized learning environments, while reducing costs with digital resources and cloud technologies. Washington, DC-based Gilfus Education Group has released its annual list of the top five trends in education innovation for 2012, which included three focused on higher education technologies:

Prestigious institutions will launch online experiences designed to be as unique as those available to students on campus:

“Dynamic and flexible learning experience engines” will emerge to replace learning management systems (LMS); and

Tablets will surge as a means of delivering courses and e-learning media.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2012/01/09/5-higher-ed-tech-trends-for-2012.aspx

By Tanya Roscorla, Converge

Across the country, schools announce iPad pilots, bring the mobile devices into the classroom and rave about their new tools. “It’s really the first version of the iPad, and there’s a lot of bluster and a lot of sort of enthusiasm about iPads without a lot of concrete statistics and case studies to go by,” said Sam Gliksman, educational technology director at New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, Calif. “People are jumping in left, right and center,” he continued, “and what I’m finding is they’re great for some things, they’re a little limited in others, and it’s a different paradigm from using laptops. You can’t use them the same way, and I think that’s where a lot of people are jumping in and making a mistake.”

http://www.convergemag.com/classtech/Impact-iPad-K12-Schools.html?elq=f1c2c70553794b5eb448fb3ea8cedfff

By Tanya Roscorla, Converge

As students and staff bring more mobile devices on campus, IT administrators figure out ways to allow the devices on their network without compromising security. A number of teachers and administrators at Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Fla., wanted to buy tablets. And the IT staff needed to support them. So Information Security Manager Jim Culbert asked vendor M86 to provide a solution that would give tablets the same level of authentication and monitoring that other devices have. In December, the company announced a new version that would solve that problem.

http://www.convergemag.com/infrastructure/Mobile-Devices-Prompt-Districts-to-Consider-Security-Measures.html

by Tanya Roscorla, Converge

For years, Oregon school districts have collected student test data. In field assessments, the Oregon Education Department found that 125 different assessments existed in the state to track student progress. But the data sat in warehouses, unused or misused. Teachers and administrators didn’t know how to easily find, analyze and use student assessment results to inform instruction, said Mickey Garrison, data literacy director for the Oregon Department of Education.

http://www.convergemag.com/curriculum/Oregon-DATA-Year5.html?elq=f1c2c70553794b5eb448fb3ea8cedfff

By Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

If you work in higher ed, you fall asleep every night asking yourself the following questions:

Will we suffer the same fate as the record industry, the bookstores and the newspaper business?

Is higher ed another example of a physical, as opposed to a digital, information industry – and therefore ripe for disruption?

If the core business model of education is built on scarcity, will we survive this transition to information abundance?

I imagine that these questions also haunt the dreams of people who work in publishing.

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/publishing-education-and-how-book-born

by School CIO

New Media Middle School, in partnership with Samsung Electronics America and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), announced today the launch of the school’s curriculum featuring Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1. Opened in August 2011, in the heart of downtown Columbus Ohio, New Media Middle was formed to help urban middle school students bridge the education gap between them and their suburban peers. The school does this by combining a rigorous academic and community engagement curriculum with the latest technology to create an interactive and paperless learning environment. “New Media Middle was founded to create a 21st century teaching and learning ecosystem where students will be immersed in a newfound relationship with technology,” said New Media Middle Principal Erik Cohen.

http://www.schoolcio.com/article/middle-school-students-go-paperless-with-new–slim-tablet/52053

By Nancy Caramanico, CIO Advisor

Filtering is an important area for school CIOs and technology and school leaders. There are local and national rules and guidelines to follow. At the same time, tech departments are faced with growing requests for broader access due to the ever-expanding content online. When schools make web filtering and blocking decisions, they need to be sure that they are not also blocking learning, blocking productivity, blocking progress. Shifts have occurred widely over the last couple of years in schools regarding the filtering question. Security still remains a top priority. However, the question of what content to block and not block is one where the winds of change are continually blowing.

http://www.schoolcio.com/Default.aspx?tabid=136&EntryId=3578

by School CIO

Tulsa Public Schools, as an outgrowth of its anti-bullying efforts, is launching a new online tool to encourage students, teachers, staff and others in the Tulsa community to confidentially report bullying or other potentially harmful incidents. The district plans to go “live” with TIPS (Threat Assessment, Incident Management and Prevention Services) in January 2012, with a link from the TPS website at www.tulsaschools.org. In addition to bullying and cyber-bullying, TIPS also allows for the anonymous reporting of weapons possession, drug/alcohol use, harassment or intimidation, school vandalism, physical assault, threats of violence, suicide risk, abuse or neglect and other incidents.

http://www.schoolcio.com/article/tulsa-public-schools-launches-anti-bullying-program/52062

By Brittany Anas, Univ Colorado Camera

Students who purchased e-textbooks saved only $1 in some cases when compared with others who bought traditional books, according to a new study. The two-year study by Daytona State College, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, evaluated students who bought traditional books, rented print books, rented e-textbooks and purchased e-books. A few years ago, the introduction of e-books in college bookstores held promise for saving students money and becoming a popular choice among today’s wired students. Instead, they’ve fallen flat — with many students still preferring a paper option. Students who purchase e-books also forfeit the opportunity to sell back their books at the end of the semester. Fewer than 1 percent of students who shop at the CU Bookstore are choosing e-book titles, according to officials.

http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_19692985

by UK Virtual College

E-learning has been given a significant push in India and other parts of the world as more and more schools consider the implementation of mobile technologies in their curriculums. The Payal Tiwari Foundation in association with the Pune Municipal Corporation and Sundaram Group this week gave students the first wave of tablet computers in a bid to increase their knowledge of online tools and encourage independent learning, the Indian Express reports.

http://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/-Elearning-encouraged-by-tablet-computers-in-schools-newsitems-801257882.aspx

by Matthew Albright, Houma today

While educators all over the country talk about beefing up technology in schools, one Louisiana teacher is trying to make sure an old-fashioned skill isn’t getting neglected — handwriting. Kathy Simmons-O’Neal, a reading teacher in West Carrol Parish, is attending “Handwriting in the 21st Century? An Educational Summit” in Washington, D.C., where educators from across the country will discuss ways to implement handwriting instruction into the core standards that schools nationwide will soon need to adopt.

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20120107/ARTICLES/120109727/1211/news01?Title=In-computer-age-what-about-handwriting–

by Florida Courier

Computer Mentors Group Inc., a Tampa Bay technology education non-profit, is re-launching its nationally recognized youth computer-training program. Executive Director/Founder Ralph Smith and recently hired Program Manager and Marketing/Public Relations Officer Kéto Nord Hodges have restructured the current Teen Computer Certification and Ownership Program. Says Smith, “Students are going to do more than just attend class and receive a free computer. They will also gain invaluable technology skills while giving back to the community.’’Service projects will be required.  Under the new model, students will perform three-to-six month technology-based community service projects as part of their training after gaining an initial hardware and software certification. Students will receive a free computer during the certification training and those that qualify for the rigorous advanced training will earn tangible incentives like iPhones and laptops.

http://www.flcourier.com/lifestyle/technology/7333-computer-mentors-re-launches-youth-training-program

by Vicki Davis, New York Times

Adaptive learning’s greatest potential may be adaptive testing, which we barely have at all. How many questions does it take to determine that a child doesn’t know decimals? Probably just two or three. At that point, a computer could start going “down” to see if a child knows fractions. If a child is reading below grade level, then test him on grade level. If he can’t read it, he can’t answer the questions at all and the entire reading section is pointless. If a child is reading below grade level, and his test is on grade level, then if he can’t read the test, he won’t be able to answer the questions and the entire reading section is pointless. Paper and pencil can’t adapt. Adaptive testing is really about personalizing the knowledge of the student. It is about understanding the individual student. If we can understand enough individual students and aggregate the data, then a school can create a plan to help those students progress and move ahead.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/03/the-frontier-of-classroom-technology/embrace-adaptive-testing

BY JENNIFER GREGORY, Cary News

Students in Sarah Daugherty’s special education preschool class at West Lake Elementary in Apex constantly ask her if they can use the computer. But this isn’t just any ordinary computer. The brightly colored learning station, encased in sturdy plastic and filled with preschool educational activities, is just their size. Daugherty’s classroom is one of 10 preschool special education classes in Wake County that received a Young Explorer computer through a $25,999 grant from the IBM KidSmart program. Briarcliff Elementary School in Cary also received the computers.

http://www.carynews.com/2012/01/04/50038/kid-sized-computers-make-learning.html

By SANDRA OKAMOTO, Enquirer

If you haven’t visited a local library lately, you might be in for a surprise. Walk into a library and you won’t just encounter rows of books, you’ll find computer rooms, language learning labs and even a recording studio. You’ll find computer savvy trainers who are available to help those struggling with technology. You’ll be able to sign up for computer classes at Chattahoochee Valley Libraries and the Phenix City-Russell County Library. You’ll be able to check out “talking” books and DVDs alongside traditional books. You’ll find separate children and teen departments and activities that go beyond reading.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/01/05/1880721/flipping-to-a-new-page.html

by Tribune Media Services

Gadgets might be more commonly viewed as toys for the tech crowd, but music has always been a key focus. From the Walkman to the iPod, consumer electronics companies know that people want access to their music wherever they go. But consumers aren’t the only focus of music-centric gadget makers. Musicians increasingly are looking for a technical edge to make them stand apart from the crowd. Here are a few of the more interesting items that have recently hit shelves for artists and composers.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-201201041700reedbusivarietynvr1118047905jan04,0,4097523.story

By Jessica DiNapoli, THE Journal

Preschoolers in North Carolina’s largest school district will now be able to use touchscreen computers in the classroom. The Wake County Public School System in Cary installed 24 whiteboards and 39 touchscreen computers–made by Winston-Salem, NC-based educational technology company Hatch–in its Title I pre-K classrooms, which are for four-year-olds who need academic support. The district, made up of more than 146,000 students, recently made the technology purchase to help close the gap in early learning. About 65 percent of the students in Wake County’s Title I pre-K program have limited English proficiency, but both the whiteboards and computers are equipped with Hatch’s activities that are designed to help increase literacy and build language skills necessary for kindergarten.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/01/04/technology-to-help-bridge-gap-for-north-carolina-preschoolers.aspx

by Lev Gonick, Inside Higher Ed

The year ahead may be among the most difficult ever for the economics of postsecondary education in much of the world. At the same time, and in the same time frame, I believe we will see major new developments from the world of information technology that will, over time, lead the university to adapt and enable the familiar institution to not only persist but to maintain its relevance to the disruptive forces of society and economy all around it

Here are the 2012 top 10 IT trends impacting the future of higher education:

1. Open Learning Initiatives Become an Institutional Imperative… (please see URL for details)

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/01/06/gonick-essay-predicting-higher-ed-it-developments-2012

by Sarah Pinault, Geek Mom

At the beginning of the current school year I had a chance to talk with Peter Robinson, the Director of Information Technology for the Auburn school department in Maine. With the support and help of his district and some federal money, Robinson’s staff is pioneering the use of iPads in the classroom–in kindergarten to be precise. The pilot program began last spring. A literacy specialist in the district was having trouble getting through to some children. They weren’t responding to conventional or even unconventional methods, so she thought outside the box and brought her iPad in to school. Loaded with a select a few educational apps, it allowed her opportunities to reach children who had been untouched by other efforts. It allowed them learning opportunities that they just weren’t open to by other means. It also sparked many conversations in the right places, and at the right time.

http://www.geekmom.com/2011/12/ipads-in-the-classroom-a-case-study-in-auburn-maine-part-one/