Educational Technology

by CONOR GRIFFITH, TheDPost.com

The Monongalia County Schools Board of Education (BOE) has started working on the calendar for the 2016-’17 school year. The board reviewed details of its annual calendar survey used to gauge the opinions of students’ parents during its Jan. 19 night meeting. One notion being considered for next year is using online lessons to make up for up to five days of missed classes. The survey is asking parents if they would support this measure and if they could provide home Internet to make this happen. Superintendent Frank Devono said if this comes to pass, students would not have to make up a snow day if it was covered via online content. Parental and student feedback plus any changes in state policy by the next school year would factor into whether or not online lessons will be used to make up snow days.

http://thedpost.com/BOE-talks-online-classes-to-cove

by Kevin Myrick, Polk County Standard Journal

Students at Rockmart Middle School have kept their creations a bit more grounded and practical, using the Legos Mindstorms kits to put together robots that can bark and walk like a dog and balance on two wheels. The middle school’s robotics connection, taught by Geoffrey Sharpe who also organized the school’s robotics team, brought students from the program to the Polk County Board of Education meeting to show off their skills with bringing their Legos-based drones to life. Sharpe explained during a presentation to the board for their Jan. 12 session how the class has worked so far, and how the robotics competition works. It involves giving students pre-determined challenges and courses, and they have to figure out on their own how to build and program robots to achieve tasks put before them.

http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/polkfishwrap/news/local/learning-lessons-in-tech-polk-school-district-getting-busy-with/article_1d676f7c-bec6-11e5-8522-7bcf4efb5c34.html

By Toni Fuhrman, eCampus News

Lorraine Abraham, CIO and library director of Emory and Henry College (VA), is not taking any chances. “We’re replacing the entire network infrastructure,” she said, noting that E&H will be fully prepared by installing the latest WiFi technology: 802.11ac Wave 2. “When you only upgrade every eight years,” she asserted, “you have to get the latest and greatest.” E&H decided to start now by installing the technology of the future – some of which will not come into play for about a year. With a campus that’s small (1,100 students) and remote (“Our neighbors are cows”) in the beautiful Appalachian Highlands, E&H has to work harder to accommodate its students – 85 percent of whom live on campus. Sean O’Connor, assistant CIO for Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA), is also opting for Wave 2, but for different reasons. “We want to be more agile for students and faculty,”

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/12/ramping-up-for-the-2016-mobile-explosion-with-wave-1-and-wave-2.aspx

By David Nagel, Campus Technology

Tablet sales declined substantially in 2015, but they aren’t down for good, according to one market research firm. Nevertheless, their short-term growth will be slower than previously expected. Although the outlook for tablets has turned slightly grim of late — with sales in 2015 dropping to about $55 billion compared with $68 billion in 2014 — market research firm ABI Research is still calling for a compound annual growth rate of about 3 percent through 2020.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/19/tablets-to-see-slow-resurgence.aspx

by the Dorset Echo

Families are switching onto learning in a new programme. Making robots on a 3D printer, blogging and creating animated videos are just some of the tools a new approach to digital inclusion in Dorset is using to boost self-confidence and increase employability. Digital Families Programme engages parents and children in fun ways of using technology together as a family that also supports learning and teaches basic digital skills. As many as 30 per cent of local families lack access to skills, equipment or funds they need to feel connected and engaged in their communities.

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/14212471.display/

by Aaron Davis, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

“We were quite surprised, but really excited that we have the opportunity to learn about this,” said Daniel Keith, director of instructional design for Tulia ISD. “It was a big deal to be in the top 10.” Of the 10 finalists, five districts will be chosen in April to receive up to $500,000 to bring technology into their classrooms. Inspired by the book “Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools,” the Raise Your Hand Texas initiative is an effort to equip districts with technology in hopes of inspiring other Texas schools to use what the book calls “blended learning.”

http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2016-01-18/tulia-isd-looks-lead-online-learning-effort

by eSchool News

Open-source assessment system is based on alternate achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Breakthrough Technologies and the National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) have partnered on and completed development of an online delivery platform for a new assessment program for students with cognitive disabilities. The NCSC alternate assessment evaluates knowledge of Common Core Math and ELA (reading and writing) standards at grades 3-8 and 11. NCSC’s goal is to ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for postsecondary options. To achieve this goal, it applies lessons learned from the past decade of research to alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AAAAS) to develop a multistate comprehensive assessment system for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/15/new-platform-assesses-students-with-cognitive-disabilities/

BY SCOTT SPENCER, eSchool News

The thought of preparing our students for their 21st century futures conjures up a number of different ideas. There’s imparting the necessary technology skills students will need to thrive in their careers, as well as interpersonal skills such as collaboration and communication and making sure students can function in an increasingly globalized world. On that last point, my school, Shiloh Elementary School in Monroe, N.C., wondered if we were doing enough. Wouldn’t teaching fluency a foreign language be the ultimate means to prepare students for a diverse and multicultural world? Since 2012, Shiloh has been very proud to have hosted what we call the SPLASH Spanish immersion program.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/01/15/inside-the-school-that-immerses-students-in-spanish-and-technology/

by Matt Davis, Edutopia

Black History Month provides a great opportunity for students to explore and learn more about a variety of issues. But it’s important that teachers “reinforce that ‘black history’ is American history,” writes Pat Russo in Do’s and Don’ts of Teaching Black History Month. Russo’s article is a great place to start when determining how to best incorporate black history into your lesson plans. Really, it’s a topic that should be incorporated throughout the year, Russo writes, but in February, teachers can dig deeper, provide students with more context, and connect the past to the present.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/black-history-month-teaching-resources-matthew-davis

By Greg Thompson, THE Journal

Our expert panelists weigh in on education technology to give us their verdict on which approaches to tech-enabled learning will have a major impact, which ones are stagnating and which ones might be better forgotten entirely. The four panelists in THE Journal’s annual end-of-year survey hit full consensus on just two of 11 topics — giving the “hot” label unanimously to “blended learning” and “student data privacy concerns.” Meanwhile, e-portfolios garnered the least amount of enthusiasm, with two panelists opting for “losing steam” and two for “lukewarm.” Other topics formed a mixed bag, with the “lukewarm” rating suggesting that many technologies/techniques are holding steady, if not exactly lighting the education world on fire.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/14/4-trends-that-will-recharge-higher-ed-it-in-2016.aspx

By Graphite by Common Sense Media, THE Journal

A look at three apps and an iBook that aim to take the stress out of The Bard’s iambs and bring a measure of accessibility to his meter. Graphite is a free service for teachers from Common Sense Media that helps educators find the best digital learning tools by presenting them with independent ratings and reviews based on rigorous rubric that evaluates learning potential.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/11/rethink-how-you-teach-romeo-and-juliet-with-these-4-apps.aspx

by Jared Schaefer, WSPY News

At a special meeting Tuesday night, the Oswego District 308 Board of Education approved a state waiver submission application to the Illinois State Board of Education to give eleventh and twelfth grade students at the two Oswego High Schools the opportunity to take physical education courses online. The submission was approved by a 4-0 vote. Board members Mike McDowell, Greg O’Neil and Jared Ploger were absent from the meeting. Attorney Laura Weizeorick told the board that this waiver is a way to better serve certain students with the alternative physical education format.

http://www.wspynews.com/news/local/oswego-high-schools-students-may-be-able-to-take-online/article_444c15ac-bade-11e5-adde-c7da30e40d7f.html

By John Sandman, the Street

Distance learning, where students attend class while sitting in front of a computer, is higher ed’s fastest growing segment according to a 2014 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee report. Some observers also fear that they operate in uncharted—and unregulated—waters, where students are vulnerable to scams. That’s because distance learning or online schools are allowed to set up shop in states, where they have no physical presence. Through deals made with state legislators, they avoid regulations that must be observed by schools that do teaching in a classroom, according to a December 14 report last month from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). 34 states have used these agreements, called State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, or SARAs, that exempt schools from complying with state consumer protections aimed at preventing for-profit college fraud.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/13426057/1/states-urged-to-step-up-protections-for-students-at-online-colleges.html

by Alana Harms, The Times: Youth

Even at my small school in Flanagan, the teachers and staff make sure students have whatever class options they need, including several dual credit courses through a community college. For me, a new experience I had this year was taking an online class. The schedule was flexible enough that I could keep up with my other classes, but I was still learning and being prepared for college courses. I could even talk with my classmates about the theories I had learned and how they affect us in everyday life. In addition to my next semester of calculus, my composition class is switching to an online version and I look forward to it. I know it will be challenging and time-consuming, but it feels great that schools are providing students with classes that prepare them for the future.

http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/youth/teens-online-courses-prepare-you-for-the-future/article_4cb7bb54-b560-588e-a679-c484173ae283.html

By Bradley Fuster, US News

Be proactive in understanding why a school classifies a course as one or the other. As online education evolves, the ways classes are taught aren’t as straightforward as they might have previously been. In course listings, university registrars generally include a column labeled “instructional type.” Historically, this column has contained basic terms such as “traditional,” “hybrid” or “online.” While traditional instruction requires no further explanation, increasingly the lines between hybrid and online courses have become blurred. For example, at some institutions, if a class meets in person just once, it is listed as hybrid.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2016/01/15/negotiating-the-many-definitions-of-hybrid-online-classes

By David Nagel, Dian Schaffhauser; THE Journal

The numbers are in for our first annual K-12 IT salary survey. While budgeting frustrations hamper much of IT’s work, there’s also a sense that the work they’re undertaking is important. $63,776. That’s the average annual pay for an IT professional of any rank, type of school or district or years of experience in this salary survey. Whether that sounds low to you or high, keep reading. As we’ve learned from hundreds of K-12 IT people who have shared details of their jobs, there’s more to your work than a single number.

https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/01/13/2016-salary-job-satisfaction-survey.aspx

By Roger Riddell, Education Dive

Technology is increasingly integrated in the fabric of K-12 education, but not all deployments are created equally. One-to-one rollouts of tablets or Chromebooks, for example, have shown great promise when handled with care, but for every success, critics are quick to point out a Los Angeles-style iPad nightmare. And don’t even get the U.S. Department of Education’s Richard Culatta started on smartboards. In an industry still waiting to see what a rewrite of its largest set of federal regulations holds for the future, what the coming years hold for tech in the classroom is often even more murky. What’s working for schools and districts right now? What are their concerns in the coming years? Are faculty, let alone Internet connections, ready to handle the digital workload? That’s what Education Dive set out to learn this summer from our survey of over 150 district officials, principals, and teachers.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/what-does-the-future-hold-for-k-12-ed-tech/408804/

By Roger Riddell, Education Dive

Two tech leaders weigh in on the issues, developments, and trends confronting administrators. As cliché as it may sound, it’s an exciting time for K-12 education. On top of a year that saw a record $1.85 billion invested in educational technology, Congress finally passed a rewrite of the much-maligned No Child Left Behind in the form of the Every Student Succeeds Act. With the latest iteration of the nation’s top educational law set to take effect in the fall and money likely to continue flowing into ed tech, there’s sure to be plenty in store for schools and districts in 2016. With educators and students getting back into the grind for the latter half of the 2015-16 school year, we reached out to two tech leaders for their thoughts on the biggest ed tech issues, developments, and trends administrators will have to face this year.

http://www.educationdive.com/news/whats-most-pressing-for-k-12-tech-leaders-in-2016/411633/

By Michael Hart, Campus Technology

Dremel has debuted a 3D printer designed specifically for use in the classroom. The Dremel 3D Idea Builder is now available to the education market, complete with teaching tools and customer support and training. Available for about $1,000, the 3D Idea Builder is a 20-pound device roughly the size of a small microwave oven. Inside it is an extruder that heats and places the plastic on a left/right and front/back axis. Its movements are controlled by a 3D design digital file that can be downloaded to the printer. Its reduced noise quality minimizes classroom distractions while printing. Intended to enhanced science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) subjects, the printer comes with 10 curriculum-based lesson plans and 3D model kits. Customer support is available via phone, Skype, online chat and e-mail.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/13/dremel-debuts-3d-printer-for-classroom-use.aspx

by Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

Four technology and innovation experts discuss the hottest trends in higher ed tech this year. What should be on your education technology radar? We asked four higher ed leaders to opine on everything from accessibility and competency-based education (CBE) to wearables and virtual reality. Here’s what they told us.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/01/13/9-ed-tech-trends-to-watch-in-2016.aspx

By Brian Witte, US News

Advanced Placement, or AP, classes have traditionally offered high school students the opportunity to pursue a more rigorous education, as well as the opportunity to enhance their college applications and to earn course credit. The rise of online education, however, has provided students with new avenues for accomplishing these same goals. Given that time is often a student’s most precious commodity, which path should he or she take – the AP class or the online course? If you are facing this dilemma, keep the following three considerations in mind.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissions-playbook/articles/2016-01-12/choose-between-ap-online-classes