Educational Technology

By Charlie Osborne, ZD Net

Who best to take on the job of hunting pirates than those who have probably pirated themselves? Who best to hunt down prolific pirateeers than those who arguably understand the technology involved more than other age groups? Students. Known for their free exchange and grabbing of files protected by copyright law, from music to books and television shows, it does seem that often when one reads legislation drafted in order to try and combat the issue, a basic fundamental understanding of how you acquire such files online is lacking. (SOPA comes to mind). So, if understanding of file-sharing software, searches and the basic tenants of the way the Internet works is missing, why not lure those who may understand more — and have probably pirated themselves — to your side?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/student-pirate-hunters-hired-by-record-labels/16373?tag=nl.e539

By Ken Hess, ZD Net

Can’t decide on a BYOD management suite? This list will put you on the fast track to finding the one that’s right for you. For those of you still kicking tires on a BYOD management program, I have a special treat for you: A list of ten MDM suite vendors that are itching to make first contact with you. The good people over at Enterprise iOS made a valiant effort at an extensive comparison chart of 30 or so different MDM vendors for you. I’m not one who likes to reinvent the wheel so you can look at that chart for yourself. My part of this evaluation is to highlight ten of those awesome companies–some of whom I’ve spoken with, others I know by directly using their software and still others I know from independent study and evaluation. The ten MDM vendors I’m highlighting here in no way is an endorsement, paid or otherwise, nor is it a ‘diss’ of the vendors that I don’t list in my ten “favorites.”

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/consumerization/10-byod-mobile-device-management-suites-you-need-to-know/422?tag=nl.e539

By Ken Hess, ZDNet

Siri is an interesting concept but for getting real work done, Tap & Speak beats it–hands down. It might be old news to some of you but for me, since I’m still discovering Android’s awesomeness, Vlingo’s Tap & Speak is a Siri killer. I wish Vlingo would port Tap & Speak to the iPhone. I’d pay $4.99 for it. I might pay more. I’d pay something to have a productive App like that at my disposal. Tap & Speak has a very cool ‘Driving Mode’ which allows you to use your phone for calling and texting without having to wreck your car to do it. Hands down (pardon the pun), Tap & Speak is way better than Siri.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/consumerization/whats-better-than-apples-siri-androids-tap-speak-thats-what/456?tag=nl.e539

By Matthew Miller, ZDNet

Summary: It looks like Apple’s days of blowing people away with new features and functions has cooled now that solid platforms like Ice Cream Sandwich and Windows Phone exist. Apple officially announced iOS 6 yesterday and while it is a welcome update for iOS that I look forward to installing on my iPad 3, most everything Apple revealed can already be done today on Ice Cream Sandwich Android devices. Apple does a good job of taking existing technology and features and making it more user friendly (they did it with iOS 5 last year), but ICS took Android a long ways and the experience on the HTC One X is fantastic.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/cell-phones/android-ics-already-offers-more-than-what-is-coming-in-ios-6/7769?tag=nl.e539

By Sarah Rich, Converge

Much like with toy cellphones, kitchenware and hardware tools, children under a certain age once played with toy computers to simulate the experience of working on the real thing. But in recent years, children as young as 2 and 3 years old have eclipsed the step of starting out with a toy version of a piece of technology and are now playing on iPads and other devices before they start kindergarten. And with the rising use of mobile devices, public schools are left to decide if the use of devices like iPads should be integrated into class curriculums. While some education officials praise the newer strategy for aiding learning, others claim devices like iPads have no place in the classroom.

http://www.convergemag.com/policy/Kindergarten-iPads.html

By Tanya Roscorla, Converge

As technology becomes more entwined with curriculum and instruction, school districts are looking to each other for models that work. For their technology and learning initiatives, three school districts were recognized as first-place winners in their respective student population categories in the 2012 Digital School Districts Survey from the Center for Digital Education.

http://www.convergemag.com/classtech/3-Technology-and-Learning-Strategies-to-Steal.html

by Chris Velazco, Tech Crunch

First up, Siri is much smarter than she used to be — she can now easily cull information from multiple new sources to provide (among other things) detailed sports, restaurant, and movie information.Apple has also partnered up with a handful of car manufacturers to deliver what they call “Eyes Free” functionality, which will see a a physical button integrated into forthcoming cars that will bring up Siri on a connected device when pushed. No word yet on exactly when the first Eyes Free cars will roll off the assembly line, but Apple says it should be within the next 12 months. Also part of the substantial new update is support for a handful for a handful of new languages, including Italian, Korea, Mandarin (for Taiwan), and Cantonese. With all these updates in tow, it’s a good thing that iPhone 4S users won’t be the only people who get to talk to Siri — Apple is bringing Siri to the new iPad.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/11/siri-finally-learns-how-to-launch-apps-gets-eyes-free-car-integration/

By Tom Simonite, Techology Review

Conventional security software is powerless against sophisticated attacks like Flame, but alternative approaches are only just getting started. Two weeks ago today, computer security labs in Iran, Russia, and Hungary announced the discovery of Flame, “the most complex malware ever found,” according to Hungary’s CrySyS Lab.For at least two years, Flame has been copying documents and recording audio, keystrokes, network traffic, and Skype calls, and taking screenshots from infected computers. That information was passed along to one of several command-and-control servers operated by its creators. In all that time, no security software raised the alarm. Flame is just the latest in a series of incidents that suggest that conventional antivirus software is an outmoded way of protecting computers against malware.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428166/the-antivirus-era-is-over/

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

The acquisition of Moodlerooms by Blackboard brings two archrivals under the same tent. Just what does Blackboard have in mind for open source education? In discussing the higher ed LMS market, pundits invariably fall back on Star Wars analogies: Blackboard is the all-powerful Empire waging a scorched-earth campaign against the struggling Rebel Alliance, made up of smaller competitors such as Desire2Learn, Moodle, Sakai, and Instructure. But not even Hollywood could dream up the kind of plot twist unveiled on March 26, when Blackboard announced the acquisition of Moodlerooms and NetSpot. That ‘s like Darth Vader adopting Yoda and joining a bowling league with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Just what is going on here?

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2012/06/01/the-empire-strikes-a-deal.aspx?=CTIN

by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

“We have to challenge ourselves to rethink our longstanding assumptions about postsecondary education in the United States,” said Josh Jarrett, deputy director of Postsecondary Success, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Postsecondary education faces very real challenges in helping more students, particularly low-income students and students of color. Seat capacity is tight, tuition is skyrocketing, completion rates are low, and millions are unqualified for highly skilled jobs. We have to do something differently, and that’s what these investments in breakthrough learning models are about.” The Gates Foundation is announcing grants to several postsecondary initiatives that are fundamentally redesigning how students learn, how they are supported in that process, and how the postsecondary business model works to support affordable student success.

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/breakthrough-learning-models-120619.aspx

(ed note: the University of Illinois Springfield is contributing to one of the grant initiatives: http://www.league.org/blog/post.cfm/league-for-innovation-in-the-community-college-announces-new-learning-first-project)

By Steven M. Baule, CIO Advisor

As the media frenzy continues around bullying, I don’t want to be viewed as jumping on the bandwagon. However, despite the media circus, sadly we are losing children who feel their lives are too difficult to continue, it is important that people in every aspect of school organizations look to how they can assist in making schools safer. From an IT standpoint, we need to ensure that we are putting the appropriate safeguards in place to limit bullying and harassment in all of its forms. Does the district filter e-mail and websites that contain hate speech or assist bullies in accessing victims? Do you block student access to Facebook, etc.? Some students prefer not to have access in schools. Edmodo and similar programs provide the same functionality with the ability to provide staff controls on content.

http://www.schoolcio.com/Default.aspx?tabid=136&EntryId=4271

By Jon Castelhano, CIO Advisor

Building and promoting a digital-age learning culture can be difficult with the rapid change of technology. Every week a new shiny device is released and it can become distracting from the educational goals of a district, unless the focus is on good teaching and not the device. The device type will continue to change, but good teaching must remain constant and use whatever tool best meets the needs of their students. Take the time to collaborate and create a foundational plan that will guide good teaching practices that support the learning goals. The “College Readiness for All” is our foundational guide in the Apache Junction USD.

http://www.schoolcio.com/Default.aspx?tabid=136&EntryId=4331

By: Michelle Maisto, eWeek

Apple’s decision to reduce the iPad 2 to $399, following the introduction of the newest iPad majorly affected pricing in the market. During the first quarter, the average price was down to $386, from $488 a year ago. The average tablet price, during the first quarter of 2012, fell 21 percent to $386, compared with a year ago, IMS Research reported June 8, citing data from its quarterly tablet tracker. While low-end tablets with much in common are having to compete aggressively on pricing, the dramatic first-quarter drop is largely attributed to the dominating player on the high end of the market: Apple’s iPad. Apple’s decision to lower the price of the iPad 2 to $399, following the introduction of its third-generation iPad, “has meant greater price pressure on its rivals, forcing them also to reduce price to make their products competitive,” said the report.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/iPads-Are-Pushing-LowEnd-Tablet-Prices-Still-Lower-Report-382195/?kc=rss

by Amber Baillie, Air Force Academy

High school students interested in the Air Force Academy can walk around the Academy’s campus, buy items from the cadet store and even fly a plane–all without leaving their bedrooms. The Academy’s admissions office is taking advantage of social media tools like Facebook and mobile phone applications to reach out to students interested in the Academy, and they’ve also developed a virtual world where potential applicants can view the Academy’s facilities and learn important Air Force facts without stepping foot on campus. “A company called Designing Digitally created the virtual world,” said Leann Nelson, chief of marketing and media from the Academy’s Admissions Office. “It was a year-long project. Their team had to come up with a plan and take detailed pictures so that it would look exactly like the Academy and it really does.”

http://www.usafa.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123305348

By ZACH SIMS, Time

Programming is incredibly vital to our twenty-first-century economy—and not just to programmers. Learning to code helps people build a deeper understanding of the world around them and can help them to automate and improve their daily lives. And it creates higher-level job opportunities for un- and underemployed young people, some of whom will go on to found their own companies, or work for companies (in every industry) that now rely on technology to move forward. With our education system falling short, the answer lies with the Internet and entrepreneurs. A new generation of education entrepreneurs have started businesses like mine to help teach a new generation the most important skill they can learn at low or no cost, allowing any budding young entrepreneur or programmer to take part regardless of location or education. Let’s make sure we support them—and learn how to code while we’re at it.

http://business.time.com/2012/06/08/codecademy-founder-why-everyone-should-learn-programming/

BY MOLLY BLOOM, State Impact

Computer programs can help teach students how to write, but they have their drawbacks. There are some things computers really can do better than humans. But what about writing? There is a growing push to use computer programs to teach students how to write. But not everyone is happy with the results. Imagine a school where every child gets instant, personalized writing help for a fraction of the cost of hiring a human teacher. Computer essay graders are on the rise in Ohio and other states. Advocates say they save money and grade better than some humans. Sure, robots may be cheaper and efficient. But better graders?

http://stateimpact.npr.org/ohio/2012/06/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-using-computers-to-teach-students-how-to-write/

By Karen Holst, Huffington Post

While volunteering with Iridescent’s Technovation Challenge, I would often come home from mentoring the group of teenage girls with a smile on my face and a fist pump in the air. “Finally!” It seemed the only word that fit. Finally, a program for high school girls that exposes them to the startup world, teaches them what it takes to be a high-tech entrepreneur and gives them a glimmer of what they could grow up to become. It’s the “confidence-building-change-your-life” experience fitting for any girl out there. Don’t you wish they had this when you were in high school?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/women-20/high-school-girls-learn-t_b_1579979.html

by Huda Tabrez, Gulf News

Would it be easier for children to dive into the ocean of knowledge if they were helped by the ease of technology via tablet computers? The role of gadgets in education is often contested and debated, but tablet computers seem to offer more to educators than any other technology did in the past. With a single investment, schools will be able to provide updated information to students that would not only reduce costs but also make learning more enjoyable for children, say many. So, should tablet computers be used in schools? (see URL for educator responses)

http://gulfnews.com/opinions/speakyourmind/should-tablets-be-used-in-schools-1.1033425

by Salman Khan, MIT

Below is the prepared text of the Commencement address by Salman Khan ’98, MEng ‘98, founder of the Khan Academy, for MIT’s 146th Commencement held June 8, 2012.

It is truly a deep honor to be here at MIT. Not only did I spend some of the best years of my life here, but it has proven to continue to define my life in countless ways. Many of you may not remember, but in the late 1990s and early 2000s, many corporations and universities were exploring how they could profit or protect themselves from online education. Then MIT stepped in the mix and launched MIT OpenCourseWare. As powerful as the offering had the potential to be, MIT’s rationale for it was even more powerful. MIT was implicitly saying that some things are more important than profit or any strategic concerns. Even if it would cost the Institute potential revenues, MIT had the moral clarity to realize that if it could give access to knowledge to people around the world for free, it should and would….

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/commencement-khan-address-0608.html

By Fred O’Connor, IDG News

“The positive revolutions will not be started by generals and politicians. They’ll be started by innovators like you,” said Khan, a 1998 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Some would place Khan and the nonprofit online education venture he founded, Khan Academy, into this category. The organization offers, for free and to anyone with a Web connection, approximately 3,000 videos Khan created and narrates off camera explaining a range of topics mostly in the science and math fields. In the videos he writes on a virtual blackboard, drawing notes and diagrams to accompany the lessons, and uses Web services, like Google Maps, to help teach. Some of the many lessons on Khan Academy’s YouTube Channel include videos on the big bang theory, chemistry and home buying in addition to topics on U.S. history and civics.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/257239/salman_khan_to_mit_grads_innovators_will_foster_societal_change.html

by Executive Resumes

Employers like to hire people who keep their skills up to date. The best way to do this is to become a life-long learner. The Education resume section shouldn’t just begin and end with your university degrees. Keep on learning. Take classes, view webinars, participate in association chat and conference sessions, anything that will increase your knowledge and expertise in life and your job. There are a variety of places to look for life-long learning opportunities. You can start with Continuing Education through your professional association or college. Many PBS television stations carry some form of adult learning classes. Take the seminars that are offered through your job. Checkout online videos or webinars that showcase college lectures. Search for higher education institutions that allow you to take online classes. Some classes are free while others have a charge for earning credit. Scan your local paper for museums, institutes and other public places that offer classes. Classes for credit are good because you are tested and held accountable to learn what is being taught. But even classes that do not offer credit or that are not taken for credit will still add to your skill sets and knowledge base.

http://exclusive-executive-resumes.com/assessments-education/lifelonglearningopportunities/