Educational Technology

By STEPHEN KLOOSTERMAN, The Holland Sentinel

A group of 19 teens will train to become ambassadors for bringing technology to the elderly, minorities and the poor. Latin Americans United for Progress director Roberto Jara said on Tuesday his organization received a grant to create a Digital Connectors team in the Holland area. The students will study leadership, teaching, computer hardware and networking in order to later teach others to use technology. “We’re looking for volunteer opportunities. … We would like to go into nursing homes, actually,” said Carmen Ruffino, program instructor for the Digital Connectors team. Another potential project for the teens could be acting as technology tutors for parents or community members.

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x719367248/Teens-tasked-with-connecting-groups-to-technology

By DEBBIE McKUSKER, Phoenix Examiner

What is Computer Explorers? Computer Explorers provides project-based technology education classes that reinforce core academic skills. The program is an additional opportunity to use technology to discover and learn. There are many ways the program can be put into place for a particular school. Schools are able to provide the service as an extra-curricular after school or summer program. Parent-teacher organizations can work with Computer Explorers to provide partial or complete payment for the program. Established in 1984 with the COMPUTERTOTS program, Computer Explorers continues to improve, update, and add classes and technology to the program. “Age-appropriate technology activities reinforce the readiness skills for Kindergarten and First Grade.” The program has grown over the years to include classes up to eighth grade and even includes classes for adults. Children are able to work with robots, digital cameras, and iPads. Deb Evans, CEO of Computer Explorers, says, “The children love the iPads!” The program offers engineering skills in working with Legos™. It reworks the program to include interesting twists to relate with girls as well as boys.

http://computerexplorers.com/computer-explorers-blog/item/199-examinercom-computer-explorers-education-through-technology/199-examinercom-computer-explorers-education-through-technology

by Arizona State University

After nearly three years, a successful grant-funded after-school program for high school students across Arizona is receiving recognition from the state and funds to expand the program to younger students. In fall 2007, ASU’s Carole Greenes and colleagues received a $1.35 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund a three-year project to increase the number of students who enroll in and complete college majors in preparation for careers in the STEM sectors: science, technology, engineering and math.

http://asunews.asu.edu/20101213_primethepipeline

By Lee Logan, St. Petersburg Times

“I used to think it was my handwriting,” she said. “But I realized they read everything on a screen. Things on a computer are not written in cursive.” Cursive, that old mainstay of grammar school, seems to have lost its mojo. Blame an influx of technology. Blame a jam-packed curriculum. Whatever the reason, cursive doesn’t get the emphasis it used to.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/a-disappearing-art-cursive-writing-is-part-of-floridas-script/1139656

By Luke Harold, Philadelphia Inquirer

The program, Digital Connectors, now in its second year, helps prepare high school students for a career in information technology. It is held in the Honickman Learning Center on Judson Street in North Philadelphia and in 11 other cities, including Washington, Miami, Denver, and Chicago. Digital Connectors is sponsored nationally by Comcast and in Philadelphia by nonprofits Project HOME and People’s Emergency Center. The 12-month program starts in September. Philadelphia’s Digital Connectors program is taught by Christina Harrison, who also teaches art and technology at Ewing (N.J.) High School. She interviews all prospective students; there were 25 this year, and she selected 10 boys and three girls.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20101213_Philly_program_gives_students_a_different_take_on_computers.html

By Alexandra Burton, Standard Examiner

It’s astonishing to see how far technology has come in just a few short years. It has changed the way we live, including the way we see and get along with those around us. How have relationships changed now that we have cell phones, social websites, webcams and the works?

http://www.standard.net/topics/features/2010/12/13/technology-helping-hurting-relationships

by Arizona State University

ASU reaching out to young students in smaller Arizona communities to open doors to careers in engineering. Victor Robles recently graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering – and with hopes of going to graduate school and pursuing research in communications technology for radar systems. In addition to his academic achievements, Robles has been vice president of the ASU chapter of the Society of Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists, an officer in the ASU chapter of the Society of Hispanic and Professional Engineers and a mentor to younger university students. He’d like to earn a doctorate and go on to a career engineering “the most innovative top-of-the-line high technology.”

http://asunews.asu.edu/201015_metscenter

By Blake Thorne | Flint Journal

Ever wonder something — such as the temperature at which water boils — and start flipping through an old science textbook? Probably not. Most people would turn to the Internet. A Google search for “water boiling temperature” renders 13.7 million results — including charts on boiling temperature in relation to air pressure and YouTube videos on how to boil water in a vacuum chamber. Such access to information also is credited for a growing interest in home schooling. “For almost anything you want to learn, you can find a video on YouTube,” said Lisa Wagner, who home-schools her two daughters and two sons in their Dryden home. “You just have to be careful. There can be a lot of inaccurate information.”

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/12/more_homeschool_families_turn.html

by Jeanette Friedman, Chabad.org

Down Under, in Melbourne, Australia, at the Yeshiva Beth Rivkah Colleges, there’s a learning revolution going on. Teachers at the K-12 school are using high tech response systems – very similar to the handheld devices developed for marketing focus groups and polling companies – to transform the at times tedious and regimental learning experience of yesteryear into a fun and interactive way to participate in class. The results speak for themselves, says Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Moshe Loewenthal, director of Jewish Studies in the primary school there. “The students are 100 percent more engaged,” he effuses. “And so are the teachers. Teachers’ knowledge about students is based on student response, and we’ve discovered that the talking head tactic is not working.”

http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/1383917/jewish/Technology-Transforms-Classroom-Experience.htm

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

A new Google Labs project, Shared Spaces leverages more than 50 gadgets, or mini-apps from Google Wave to let people collaborate with planning and productivity tools, Sudoku puzzles and polls with one other user. There are gadgets for maps, YouTube, Twitter and other utilities. Users, who may browse among gadgets here and use a Google, Twitter or Yahoo account to sign in, may also chat with their collaborators in real time. JavaScript developers will be able to build their own gadgets for Shared Spaces in time. “A shared space turns a (Wave) gadget into a standalone collaborative application,” explained Douwe Osinga, software engineer for Google’s Shared Spaces, in a blog post Dec. 21. “Just click on the gadget you’re interested in to start a new shared space, and then simply send the URL around to share it with your friends and colleagues.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Google-Shared-Spaces-Leverages-Google-Wave-Gadgets-111715/

By Alex Bloom, Eagle-Tribune

New legislation, signed earlier this year, defines cyberbullying as bullying through technology — text messages, e-mails, Facebook posts — that creates a hostile learning environment for another student or infringes on the rights of a student at school. While cyberbullying might happen outside school walls, the new legislation empowers school administrators to act to correct a problem that spills over into their buildings. “We believe it’s a good thing,” Viscosi said. “If (cyberbullying) is truly impacting kids and their access to education, that’s our business.” The legislation comes on the heels of what Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett calls a “precipitous rise” in criminal cases resulting from cyberbullying — which can involve threats and identity theft.

http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x1822750923/New-legislation-also-targets-bullying-via-technology

By ALYCIA LIM, Malaysia Star

Proving that computer games can be used as a beneficial learning tool, Cyberview Sdn Bhd recently organised the first Malaysian Cybergames Festival 2010. Supported by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and technology partner Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Malaysia (AMD), the festival is an initiative by the Malaysian Cybergames Operations and Research centre (MyCORE) to encourage primary schoolchildren in nine states throughout Malaysia to learn about positive gaming. Challenging their peers through playing computer games based on Maths and English, the competition aims to introduce online educational games and inculcate interest in game development.

http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/12/12/education/7548148&sec=education

by OnlineClasses.org

Life as a teacher, especially one fresh off attending your own classes, can be hard. You have to wake up early, work late and manage a classroom full of kids, each with their own diverse needs and expectations. Luckily, there are numerous teachers out there who are willing to share their expertise and classroom experiments with teachers young and old. Here are some great blogs that offer insights into what classes of kids are doing around the world as well as providing some great advice on everything from dealing with parents to figuring out grades.

http://www.onlineclasses.org/2010/12/08/100-seriously-cool-classroom-blogs-for-teaching-ideas-inspiration/

by Technology Daily

The work builds into cells the same logic gates found in electronic computers and creates a method to create circuits by “rewiring” communications between cells. This system can be harnessed to turn cells into miniature computers, according to findings reported in the journal Nature. That, in turn, will enable cells to be programmed with more intricate functions for a variety of purposes, including agriculture and the production of pharmaceuticals, materials and industrial chemicals, according to Christopher A. Voigt, PhD, a synthetic biologist and associate professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry who is senior author of the paper. The most common electronic computers are digital, he explained; that is, they apply logic operations to streams of 1’s and 0’s to produce more complex functions, ultimately producing the software with which most people are familiar. These logic operations are the basis for cellular computation, as well. “We think of electronic currents as doing computation, but any substrate can act like a computer, including gears, pipes of water, and cells,” Voigt said. “Here, we’ve taken a colony of bacteria that are receiving two chemical signals from their neighbors, and have created the same logic gates that form the basis of silicon computing.”

http://www.techmagdaily.com/logic-gates-made-to-program-bacteria-as-computers.html

by Indiana University

As part of an effort to encourage more young women to choose careers in technology, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and a consortium of 10 Indiana universities and 15 Indiana corporate sponsors are recognizing 20 high school women from around Indiana for their accomplishments and aspirations in computing and technology. The young women have been named winners of the INDIANA-NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing, which recognizes high school women for their computing-related achievements and interests. The winners were selected by NCWIT and Indiana STARS, a new, multi-purposed computing coalition led by Indiana University and made up of university, industry, K-12 and community partners.

http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/16668.html

by Ray Schroeder

Check out the new release from Google Labs. Shared Spaces includes some of the most popular Google Wave technologies. Among those included are: Map Gadget, Mind Map, Yes/No/Maybe Polling, Diagram Editor, Listy, Concept Draw MindWave, and more! Easy to use stand-alone web pages are created. Works best with Chrome

http://sharedspaces.googlelabs.com/

By DIANA MARTIN, Chatham Daily News

The one-on-one computer training offered at the computer- learning centre in the Chatham-Kent Public library (CKPL) is a two-way learning street for youth worker Lisa Vander Weide. The recent University of Windsor graduate started teaching computer skills through the CKPL Community Access Program (CAP) two weeks ago. “I’ve gained skills that I haven’t expected to, like marketing, training and promotions,” she said. “For me that’s not anything I had in my (masters of sociology) educational skills.” Vander Weide is enjoying watching her students evolve from users intimidated by computer technology to ones who are excited about exploring the Internet, social media sites, downloading photos and organizing their desktops.

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2884020

by HPC Wire

Computer-related technology is increasingly driving the US economy, yet computer science education is scant in most American elementary and secondary school classrooms and the number of introductory and Advanced Placement courses in computer science has actually declined in the last five years, according to a report released this fall. “Some states and some schools are offering some really excellent courses,” said Mark Stehlik, co-author of the report, “Running on Empty: The Failure to Teach K-12 Computer Science in the Digital Age.” “But overall, the picture is pretty bleak,” added Stehlik, assistant dean for undergraduate education at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science.

http://www.hpcwire.com/offthewire/Report-Finds-K-12-Computer-Science-Education-Declining-111605494.html?ref=494

 by Angela Hatton, WKMS (NPR)

Technology is now an important part of education, with schools employing entire departments devoted to maintaining and updating software and hardware. Some education stakeholders worry too much access to technology like the internet and text messaging will tempt students to abuse the right. They worry some students will even use technology to cheat on exams. The majority of schools in western Kentucky ban personal devices during school hours entirely. As Angela Hatton reports, one school system is taking a different approach.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wkms/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1736019/Local.Features/Teaching.Responsible.Technology.Avoiding.Cheating.2.0

by IRA FLATOW, National Public Radio

Now, I am sure that you have had one of these moments: You’re driving down the highway. Your GPS is telling you get off of the next exit. But you know that’s the wrong exit; the one you really want is right after that. But that little voice keeps insisting: Merge right 100 yards, turn right. And then comes the inevitable: recalibrating. Now, I don’t know about you, but it gets pretty aggravating to me, to the point where I’ve told my GPS to, let’s put it mildly, to shut up, or I have threatened to swap it out for a compass. Of course, it can’t understand your insults. But what if your GPS could sense when you were losing your patience and react, maybe try to sweet talk you a little bit, like, since it seems like you know the way, I’ll just sit back and let you drive. Gee, I’d like to hear that sometime. Wouldn’t that be something?

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/10/131967508/Teaching-Computers-To-Be-More-Empathetic

By Brittany Pieper, KSLA

Since birth, Ashleigh has faced several challenges. She’s a quadriplegic, and has difficulty speaking among other things. Ashleigh says she never thought she would complete in a spelling bee, but with the help of technology, she sat on the stage along with her other classmates. 14-year-old Ashleigh uses a head band to control her computer mouse. Once she gets it where she wants it, she can use her right arm to click on the letter. When she’s done spelling the word, the answer will show up on this screen for the judges to read. “She wants to be involved. She wants to be a part of everything,” said Ashleigh’s father, Doug Strange. Strange says there are challenges. The family’s day starts at 5-30 a.m. to get Ashleigh ready for school. An aid must stay with her to act as her hands and voice in the classroom, but she has never given up on something she wants to do. “We all have deficiencies in one form or another. We choose to let it hinder us or we choose to work with it and go beyond and get to where we can be,” said Strange. Ashleigh didn’t make it past the first round. She misspelled “destination”, but she plans to compete again next year.

http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=13654478