Educational Technology

May 31, 2010

Young women are untapped resource for science-based economy

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:39 am

By Anne Hardy, Mercury News

For years now, accepted wisdom has held that, as the West loses manufacturing jobs, we will keep our economies growing by leveraging our substantial advantages in technology and education. If you attended the Tech Challenge last month at San Jose’s Tech Museum of Innovation, you might be tempted to believe that our future is assured. The event involved more than 1,200 middle- and high-school students in a raucous competition to devise ways to attach thruster rockets to a disabled satellite. The ingenuity of 260 teams produced solutions ranging from the methodical to the brilliant, from the whimsical to the near-maniacal. One group of kids devised a small-scale trebuchet; others deployed motorized balloons.

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_15119734?nclick_check=1

Share on Facebook

For Wes-Del students, math is computer memory

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

 

By JOY LEIKER, the Star-Press

Wes-Del Community Schools is one of 18 corporations in the state that will enhance its math instruction with technology as part of a pilot program paid for by the Indiana Department of Education. As a result, next year middle school and high school students enrolled in pre-algebra or algebra classes will sit down at desks with 10-inch laptops. The $44,350 grant paid for 75 of the small computers, plus access to an online mathematics curriculum. Mike Bush, curriculum and technology coordinator for the district, said, “We’re working to be a true one-to-one school.” Within two years, Bush hopes that there will be a computer for every student in grades 6-12. The new 75 laptops are in addition to the 400-plus other computers already in place in corporation classrooms and labs.

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20100520/NEWS01/5200326

Share on Facebook

More than surfing: The Web brings innovation to the poorest classrooms

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:28 am

by Philip Salter, Christian Science Monitor

The UK is getting a healthy dose of much-needed innovation as a number of schools take on lessons from the research of Professor Sugata Mitra. SOLE (Self-Organised Learning Environment) is a truly radical experiment that takes the pedagog out of pedagogy, relying instead upon children’s natural curiosity. The hole-in the-wall experiments have been a phenomenon in India, across the developing world and now in Gateshead. It originates from when Professor Mitra decided to knock a hole in the wall of Delhi office, install a computer, hook it up to the internet and observe. As Professor Mitra explains, “Groups of Indian children were able to organise their own lessons using a single computer through unsupervised access to the world wide web.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/The-Adam-Smith-Institute-Blog/2010/0518/More-than-surfing-The-Web-brings-innovation-to-the-poorest-classrooms

Share on Facebook

May 30, 2010

Netbooks become valuable tool in GHS chemistry class

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

by DREW BRACKEN, Newark Sentinel

In an effort to get more computers in the hands of more students, Candace Susa’s chemistry classes at Granville High School have been experimenting with new netbooks. “Everybody’s looking for more ways to get computers in the hands of students,” said Granville School District Technology Director Dennis Souder, “and this is a less expensive way to do it.” Netbooks are a rapidly evolving category of small, lightweight and inexpensive laptop computers suited for general computing and accessing Web-based applications. They often are marketed as a companion device to augment a user’s other computer access.

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20100519/COMMUNITIES02/5200332

Share on Facebook

IIT to give all freshmen Apple iPads

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

by WLS-TV Chicago

Beginning this fall, first year students at the Illinois Institute of Technology will receive an Apple iPad. IIT envisions that students will take the portable computer tablet to class to take notes, read books and surf the Internet. The school explains faculty who teach engineering and computer science can also build applications specific to their courses. The freebee will cost the school about $250,000 dollars.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7448921

Share on Facebook

School district buys technology, still short on tech staff

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By DAN BARKER, Ft. Morgan Times

Fort Morgan Board of Education members on Monday approved almost $500,000 in new technology to improve education — but Fort Morgan High School will still not have enough teachers to offer all of its technology classes. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding, for instance, is paying for the special education computers, and the 130 other computers will be paid for with money from the district maintenance fund mill levy as part of the annual replacement schedule, Wagers said. Unfortunately, state budget cuts and the consequent reductions for the district have meant cutting some teaching positions, including those which are specifically aimed at teaching the use of computer technology.

http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/ci_15107918

Share on Facebook

May 29, 2010

Educational technology needs to grow like a weed

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

by Marie Bjerede, O’Reilly Radar

How do you get to a technology platform that supports scalable education reform? Perhaps the best option is to grow it. Plant it in the fertile soil of existing open source education software and open education resources. Seed it with some simple elements: digital content creation or assessment distribution or maybe collaboration spaces or online courses. Feed it with a few data flows: perhaps computer-graded quiz results to students, teachers and parents; homework assignments and recorded lectures in one direction, completed projects in the other; automated attendance data to teachers and administrators. Immerse it in an environment built on feedback loops that are nourished by the data that is generated on the platform. Adapt and evolve it in response to decisions and needs that are uncovered by those feedback loops.

http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/05/technology-enabled-education-r.html

Share on Facebook

Programs boost graduation success rates

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

By Stephanie Toone, Augusta Chronicle

Credit recovery, online course options and other alternative forms of education have added some flexibility for students this year to help them meet diploma requirements. The options give more students who would have remained dropouts a chance to receive a diploma, said Carol Rountree, Richmond County schools’ director of student services. She expects 20 to 40 students to be added to the roster of graduates after summer school and Georgia High School Graduation Test retakes this summer.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2010-05-23/programs-boost-graduation-success-rates?v=1274585126

Share on Facebook

Online high school another option for students in Minn.

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Kelli Lageson, Albert Lea Tribune

A representative from Insight Schools came to Albert Lea on Thursday to talk to parents about options their high school-age children have for education. John Jacobs was at Lakeside Cafe on Bridge Avenue to talk about the growing number of high school students completing all their work online. Insight School of Minnesota is a state-funded public high school that follows all the same standards as traditional high schools and is completely free to all students.

http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2010/may/22/online-high-school-another-option-students-minn/

Share on Facebook

May 28, 2010

History and Technology are Rapidly Converging, Says Documentarian Eric Stange

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

 by Jill O’Neill, History News Network

Eric Stange is the executive producer and founder of Spy Pond Productions, an award-winning independent documentary film producer, and a director and writer who specializes in history and science subjects. His work has been broadcast on PBS, The Discovery Channel, and the BBC. Before becoming a filmmaker, he wrote about art and culture for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic Monthly and other publications. Eric has been the recipient of a Harvard University Charles Warren Fellowship in American History. He’s on the board of Common-Place, a web site devoted to early American history, and writes a column about media and history for American Heritage magazine.

http://www.hnn.us/articles/126031.html

Share on Facebook

Computer Classrooms Gathering Dust

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

by YLE.fi

For most schoolchildren, computer use is a part of daily life, but usually after school. Helsinki University Professor Kirsti Lonka says that there is a need to upgrade the role of computers in Finnish education. Interviewed on YLE Monday morning, Professor Lonka compared the computer classrooms that appeared in Finnish schools during the 90s to the pianos that gather dust in many homes. Computer classrooms are found in most schools, but their level of use is low. Lonka says computers should be more tightly integrated into teaching.

http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/05/computer_classrooms_gathering_dust_1686574.html

Share on Facebook

Technology brings education to you wherever you may be

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

by Ray Irving, Times Live

No so long ago, the very notion of a distance learning MBA would be regarded with disdain, the chief argument being that it lacks face-to-face contact. But as technology has progressed, so too are those perceptions shifting rapidly. Someone with first-hand experience in this is Ray Irving, head of learning and resources development at Warwick Business School in the UK. “When I started working with the Warwick distance learning MBA 12 years ago, we would have to inquire whether students had access to things like an e-mail address, a CD-ROM drive and whether they were able to install a browser on their computers. “Now we can stream lectures live over the Internet to students across the world. They can simply log in via their web browser and watch the lecture. Not only that, but they can participate in the lecture, either via voice or text chat.”

http://www.timeslive.co.za/business/article450935.ece/Technology-brings-education-to-you-wherever-you-may-be

Share on Facebook

May 27, 2010

Technology linked to happiness, study claims

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

by the BBC

Social media and mobile phones were highly valued. There are positive links between access to technology and feelings of well-being, a study claims. BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, analysed the results of a survey of 35,000 people around the world. Access to communication devices was found to be the most valued.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10108551.stm

Share on Facebook

Agency awards laptops to college-bound kids

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:36 am

by KENNETH C. CROWE II, Times-Union

Janelle Carrigan has never owned a computer, but she will soon because of the Watervliet Housing Authority Laptops for Kids program, which gives college-bound students the tools they need for success. “It’s awesome. They said a lot of our work is going to be based on computers,” said Carrigan, a 17-year-old Cohoes High School senior who will study nursing this fall at Hudson Valley Community College.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=931389&category=RENSSELAER

Share on Facebook

Online literacy seen as a family affair

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Blanca Gonzalez, UNION-TRIBUNE

A San Diego organization seeking to bridge the digital divide one child at a time has started a partnership with the San Diego Public Library to get more computers to low-income families while improving computer literacy citywide. Computers 2 San Diego Kids, known as C2SDK, refurbishes used computers and distributes them to eligible families at little or no cost to the recipients. The program, which has distributed more than 10,000 computers since its inception in 2004, is expected to hand out at least 3,000 more this year and eventually reach a goal of distributing 6,000 annually.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/15/online-literacy-seen-as-a-family-affair/

Share on Facebook

May 26, 2010

Moving beyond MySpace, Facebook

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

By Michelle L. Quinn, Post-Tribune

The Iceland volcano, Eyjafjallajokul, caught the attention of Hammond’s seventh-graders, but only in the most passing sense since they had bigger holes upon which to stumble. Specifically, the whereabouts of a volcano at the bottom of the ocean off the Aleutian Islands had their rapt attention Wednesday, and students from Gavit Middle School found it in the Purdue University Calumet’s Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation. Instead of waiting for it to erupt and throw the ocean traffic into chaos, the 1,100 students used their science, math and computer skills to locate their volcano. As if that wasn’t cool enough, the students needed 3-D glasses to view the ocean “floor,” as it was projected onto the lab floor.

http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/2267866,pucsub0513.article

Share on Facebook

500 computers for Richmond schools sat in warehouse

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:35 am

By Holly Prestidge, Times-Dispatch

New computers meant for Richmond’s public school students sat in a city warehouse for several months — and in some cases several years — before being installed in schools, according to a city auditor’s report released this week. Of the 500 computers discovered in boxes at the school division’s Parker Field warehouse, seven were purchased in 2006 and three in 2007. The rest were purchased in March and September 2009, the report said. The computers were valued at $338,500.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/COMP13_20100512-221804/344126/

Share on Facebook

National Education Technology Plan in line for an update

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Alice Lipowicz, Federal Computer Week

The draft plan primarily covers kindergarten through high school education and focuses on leveraging technology for learning, teaching, assessment and productivity. Students are urged to use computers and software for personalized learning experiences and teachers are encouraged to connect with networks to ensure their knowledge and methods are up to date. “Technology-based learning and assessment systems will be pivotal in improving student learning and generating data that can be used to continuously improve the education system at all levels,” the draft plan states. “Technology will help us execute collaborative teaching strategies combined with professional learning that better prepare and enhance educators’ competencies and expertise over the course of their careers.”

http://fcw.com/articles/2010/05/12/national-education-technology-plan-updated.aspx

Share on Facebook

May 25, 2010

IMS Global Learning Consortium Announces 2010 Learning Impact Awards Recipients

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:43 am

by IMS

The Learning Impact Awards (LIAs) recognize use of technology to improve learning across all industry segments and in all regions of the world. Twenty-seven finalists recently exhibited and were evaluated by an expert panel at the IMS annual Learning Impact conference. The LIA awards are unique in that they recognize the use of technology in context.

Award winners included the Gold Award for going to Epigeum and Durham University. Epigeum just announced the release of their US edition of Learning Technologies.  This series of seven high-quality programs includes North American online learning leaders Larry Ragan, Caroline Haythornthwaite, and Terry Anderson. This American -release version was edited by Ray Schroeder.  It provides a rich resource for faculty development in the area of online and blended teaching techniques and technologies. 

http://www.imsglobal.org/pressreleases/IMSPR-LIA2010Winners.pdf

Share on Facebook

Whatcom Community College event helps foster girls’ interest in technology

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:40 am

by Peter Jensen, the Bellingham Herald

A purported dog-napping helped foster girls’ interest in technology – and the bevy of careers it offers – at an event at Whatcom Community College Saturday, May 8. Girls Go Tech was all-day affair devoted to solving the fake kidnapping of the dog, named Bailey, and the 22 girls who attended participated in three workshops devoted to providing clues to finding Bailey. Each workshop was put on by a department at the community college and was intended to show the girls how applicable a knowledge of technology can be in a variety of careers, said Lori Gardner, an organizer of the event. “It’s a nice exposure to different ways that technology is used,” Gardner said.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/08/1179426/whatcom-community-college-event.html

Share on Facebook

Togetherville: A social network for kids

Filed under: Educational Technology — admin @ 12:30 am

By Kevin Makice, CNN

One of the challenges for the newest generation is how to gain fluency in online networking without being able to draw on large, diverse social networks of their own. On Tuesday, Togetherville announced the open beta launch of a new online community for kids and their caretakers. The site brings parents into the same virtual space as their children to help them mentor kids to be good digital citizens. “We built Togetherville using the spirit of the neighborhoods most of us remember when we were kids,” said co-founder, CEO, and parent Mandeep Singh Dhillon, “where everyone knows everyone else and watches out for each other. In Togetherville, parents have peace of mind that their kids are playing with people they know and trust and kids have fun while learning the tools they need to become good digital citizens.”

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/05/19/wired.togetherville/

Share on Facebook
Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress