Educational Technology

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Want to bring cutting edge to your classroom AND have your work seen by millions at the same time? Check out the Doodle4Google contest that’s ending soon. Basically, students get a scholarship, internet fame, and your school gets a sweet education technology grant in exchange for a winning doodle. If you don’t know what a GoogleDoodle is, you can read more here. Google has opened up contests in the past for students to design the Doodle. This year is no different – they’re once again running their Doodle4Google contest, hoping to inspire young people to doodle the biggest and best things their imaginations can dream up. As of today, there are 12 days left to submit a doodle! The last date for entries is Thursday, March 20th.

http://www.edudemic.com/google-wants-give-edtech-doodling/

by Tanya Roscorla, Center for Digital Education

Busy schedules are one reason why educators don’t collaborate and connect through social networking platforms. But a lack of time isn’t the main issue. It’s priorities. And because this month is Connected Educators’ month, this is a good time to share why educators need to get connected, said Derek McCoy, the new principal of Spring Lake Middle School in North Carolina. “The Connected Educators Month is a great movement, and it’s not about big grand gestures,” McCoy said. “It’s about doing something that you normally have not done and reaching out and making new connections.” Keep reading to find out why two educators make digital connections a priority and how they do it.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/training/Why-Educators-Should-Spend-Time-Daily-on-Social-Media.html

By Center for Digital Education

President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for 2015 includes efforts to reorganize STEM education and bring ed tech training to schools. The budget that he announced on Tuesday, March 4, includes $670 million for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and ConnectED, a federal broadband project designed to reach 99 percent of schools. While STEM appeared in his budget last year, broadband did not. This next fiscal year, Obama wants to spend $170 million on STEM, a drop of $244.70 million from last year’s proposal.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/Obama-Proposes-670-Million-for-STEM-Technology-Training.html

By Kate Lewis, Edudemic

Screencasting is getting a lot of attention as a tool for teachers when using the flipped classroom model. Certainly, screencasts are a great tool for teachers to create presentations for their students to view at home. But I think that screencasting is most powerful when it is used as a student creation tool. Screencasts take a typical presentation a step further by requiring higher order thinking skills; not only do students create the presentation, but they also have to explain their thinking. There are many excellent screencasting applications available, including Show Me, Educreations and Explain Everything. The students in my eighth grade English Language Arts classes recently used Explain Everything on iPads to create grammar screencasts. It was great to see the students engaged and having fun while learning about a topic that usually they would do anything to avoid!

http://www.edudemic.com/screencasts-in-the-classroom/

by Daniel Cohen, Matthew Sargeant, and Ken Somers; McKinsey Report

3-D printing, or additive manufacturing,1 has come a long way from its roots in the production of simple plastic prototypes. Today, 3-D printers can not only handle materials ranging from titanium to human cartilage but also produce fully functional components, including complex mechanisms, batteries, transistors, and LEDs. The capabilities of 3-D printing hardware are evolving rapidly, too. They can build larger components and achieve greater precision and finer resolution at higher speeds and lower costs. Together, these advances have brought the technology to a tipping point—it appears ready to emerge from its niche status and become a viable alternative to conventional manufacturing processes in an increasing number of applications.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/manufacturing/3-d_printing_takes_shape

by Brad Brown, David Court, and Tim McGuire; McKinsey Quarterly

At a unique gathering of data-analytics leaders, new solutions began emerging to vexing privacy, talent, organizational, and frontline-adoption challenges. This past October, eight executives from companies that are leaders in data analytics got together to share perspectives on their biggest challenges. All were the most senior executives with data-analytics responsibility in their companies, which included AIG, American Express, Samsung Mobile, Siemens Healthcare, TD Bank, and Wal-Mart Stores. Their backgrounds varied, with chief information officers, a chief data officer, a chief marketing officer, a chief risk officer, and a chief science officer all represented.1 We had seeded the discussion by asking each of them in advance about the burning issues they were facing.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/views_from_the_front_lines_of_the_data_analytics_revolution

By David Nagel, THE Journal

The PC market tanked last year, but not quite as badly as expected. Overall PC shipments fell 9.8 percent in 2103, slightly better than the 10.1 percent decline previously forecast by market research firm IDC. The drop was the “most severe contraction on record,” IDC reported in its Quarterly PC Tracker, and it’s won’t be the last. IDC said long-term growth will be slightly below negative for the PC market, with a 6.1 percent decline expected this year and a 0.8 percent decline forecast for 2015. Worldwide PC shipments hit 315.1 million units in 2013. That’s expected to drop again to 295.9 million in 2014. By 2018, that figure will have slid further to 291.7 million, according to IDC’s latest forecast.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/05/pcs-see-most-severe-contraction-on-record.aspx

By Joshua Bolkan, THE Journal

California’s Mountain View Whisman School District has deployed 80 tablets to its special education classrooms. The Silicon Valley-based district, serving approximately 5,000 students, decided to adopt SpEd K12’s Android-based SmartEdPad, a tablet designed specifically for special ed classes. “We have stories of school districts that haven’t achieved measurable benefits by rushing to buy tablet devices,” said Cynthia Loleng-Perez, director of special education at MVWSD, in a prepared statement. “We knew from the beginning buying a few tablets and loading it with a few dozen apps doesn’t solve the problem. This is just because we wanted our mobility device strategy to align with our educational ecosystem. It must align with Common Core State Standards, align with IEP goals for a student, align with RTI process and most importantly be a dedicated educational solution that changes the way teachers teach and students learn.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/07/california-district-adopts-tablets-for-special-education.aspx

by Yarden Skop, Haaretz

Students will answer 3 questions: whether the class was interesting, how they rated the lecturer’s performance, and how they ranked the lecturer on a scale of 1 to 100. Tel Aviv University is launching a pilot program of an app that allows students to rank their lecturers in real time on their cellphone or tablet. The pilot, initiated by the office of the dean of students, will begin next week in five courses in the faculties of humanities, the arts and the social sciences. All of the courses chosen are those in which the lecturer agreed to take part.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.578836

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Both the number of online virtual schools and the number of students enrolled in those schools grew substantially last year, according to a new report out of the University of Colorado Boulder. According to a new report from the National Education Policy Center, which operates out of U Colorado Boulder’s School of Education, there were 338 full-time virtual schools operating as part of a public education system in 30 states in the 2012-2013 academic year. That’s up from 311 the previous year. The report, Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2014: Politics, Performance, Policy, and Research Evidence, found that total number of students enrolled at these schools hit about 243,000 in 2012-2013, up 21.7 percent from the previous year, according to the report.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/06/virtual-school-enrollment-increases-by-double-digits.aspx

by Gregor Novak, Edutopia

The essence of the JiTT pedagogy is timely pre-instruction assignments, usually called warm-ups, that inform the upcoming lesson by encouraging the students to examine their prior knowledge and seek information about the upcoming topic before coming to class. Involving the students in the learning process this way is in line with current education research that recommends actively involving students in learning: To be actively involved, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Within this context, it is proposed that strategies promoting active learning be defined as instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/just-in-time-teaching-gregor-novak

by Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Advances in education have always stemmed from innovation. From chalkboards, to pencils, to computers and online based activities, education has come a long way. The handy infographic below outlines a few of the technological innovations that have come to education over the years, and it highlights some current trends in education as well. And hidden down waaayyyy at the bottom are some suggestions for five ways on how to be more innovative. It can be an important reminder that innovation isn’t just for young people. Keep reading to learn more!

http://www.edudemic.com/education-innovation-evolution/

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Infographics are popular. They’re a fun way to present and read data, and many people believe that information that is presented visually is often retained better (at least for some learners). Many teachers today are using infographics, both in their classrooms and for their own professional development. There are so many tools out there to make your own infographics. In the education realm, most people I chat with say that they use Piktochart because it is free and very simple to use. One of the (newer) trends we’ve been noticing lately has been that more and more infographics are interactive. Visit the link below for more information.

http://www.edudemic.com/making-your-own-interactive-content/

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

This year’s theme is “Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment”. The honorees range from an American Indian diplomat to a civil rights attorney, and all of them have really interesting stories. You can use them to highlight stories of personal strength, historically significant events, or a particular theme such as human trafficking or GLBT rights. However you slice it, there’s something interesting to learn from these folks – so take the opportunity to incorporate them into a lesson this month! The following biographies and information of the 2014 honorees are from the NWHP website. You can follow the links below for more information about each one.

http://www.edudemic.com/womens-history-month/

By Sean Michael Kerner, eWeek

A Linux training course that once cost $2,500 is now free, as Linux Foundation ramps up its education efforts. The open-source Linux operating system is freely available to those who want to use it, but finding good sources of training for Linux has not always been as free. In a move to further enable more people to get Linux training, the Linux Foundation is now opening up its education efforts. The Linux Foundation is now working with edX to build a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Linux training. EdX is a nonprofit online learning platform started by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012.

http://www.eweek.com/pc-hardware/linux-intro-course-available-online-for-free.html

By Jeff Dunn, Edudemic

There are a lot of web tools out there. Many of which are free or, at the very least, freemium. In other words, you can do a free trial to see if you like it. With so many to choose from, it’s tough to figure out which ones work best, are popular, are well supported, etc. Thanks to the Global Education Database, we can easily see which web tools are being used in classrooms around the world. We can check out how to use each tool, pros and cons, and a lot more. Below are just a handful of some of the many resources in the GEDB. If you have a web tool, app, device, or other favorite product that you think should be included in this list and the database, you can add it here. It’s all free and simple enough to add your own products – add as many as you like!

http://www.edudemic.com/top-10-free-web-tools-chosen/

by Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet

Windows leaker WZor revealed last month that there was some kind of new Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU in the works. It is expected be added to the SKU line-up alongside the Windows 8.1 Update 1 release, which Microsoft just released to manufacturing earlier this week. Newly leaked Windows 8.1 documentation revealed that the new Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU is targeted at new low-cost Windows devices, Neowin reported on March 5. Windows SuperSite’s Paul Thurrott also is reporting that the Windows 8.1 with Bing SKU will be focused on low-end devices, and, as Neowin noted, will set Bing as the default search engine. Users who purchase the devices with this SKU will be able to switch the default search engine from Bing if they want. The SKU is Windows 8.1 Core (both 32-bit or 64-bit, Intel-only) with Bing set as the default search engine.

http://www.zdnet.com/microsofts-new-tack-for-cheap-tablets-windows-8-1-with-bing-7000027070/#ftag=RSS14dc6a9

By John Aziz, the Week

The country that literally invented the internet is now behind Estonia in terms of download speeds.  According to a recent study by Ookla Speedtest, the U.S. ranks a shocking 31st in the world in terms of average download speeds. The leaders in the world are Hong Kong at 72.49 Mbps and Singapore on 58.84 Mbps. And America? Averaging speeds of 20.77 Mbps, it falls behind countries like Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Uruguay. Its upload speeds are even worse. Globally, the U.S. ranks 42nd with an average upload speed of 6.31 Mbps, behind Lesotho, Belarus, Slovenia, and other countries you only hear mentioned on Jeopardy. So how did America fall behind?

http://theweek.com/article/index/257404/why-is-american-internet-so-slow

by Zach Miners, PC World

The Khan Academy will offer SAT test prep materials for free, the online learning platform said Wednesday, through a partnership with the College Board that aims to help level the playing field in a college admissions process that has increasingly favored wealthier applicants. The new offerings come as some fundamental changes are on the way for the SAT, the College Board announced Wednesday. Khan Academy will provide a range of free learning tools designed specifically for the new SAT, which will do away with the obligatory essay and more esoteric vocabulary words.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2105040/khan-academy-to-offer-free-sat-prep-in-partnership-with-the-college-board.html

by Becky Butts, the News Record

Recent data breaches at some of America’s largest higher education institutions are highlighting the vulnerability of students’ and faculty’s private information — and the constant threat universities across the country face.

“Unfortunately, every organization in the world is vulnerable and is at a risk of being breached by a hacker or group of hackers,” said Bogdan Vykhovanyuk, associate director of UCIT information security. At the University of Cincinnati, private information — including students’ names, social security numbers, addresses, dates-of-birth, phone numbers and Bearcat Card information — are in danger of being illegally accessed on a daily basis. Everyday, UCIT security systems intercept 1.5 million threats from entering the university’s network, Vykhovanyuk said. He and four other specialists are tasked with preventing potential breaches.

http://www.newsrecord.org/for_the_record/science_and_technology_issue/hackers-turn-attention-to-american-universities/article_c2e57f96-a417-11e3-bc5f-001a4bcf6878.html

By Shannon Edwards, Forbes

While coding ‘boot camps’ have become readily available, they have historically been geared toward those who want a job in the technology industry. What’s different about this new ‘generation’ of computer science enthusiasts is that they include bankers, marketers and business entrepreneurs who just want to learn for the sake of learning. Why with the endless requirements of our 24/7 lives and multiple devices that already take up too much time and space would we care to tackle the mysteries of ‘coding’?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2014/03/05/the-case-for-learning-to-code/