THE Journal — Policy/Research
Pearson Puts Naglieri Online, Updates WriteToLearn
In several announcements last week, education publisher Pearson unveiled new online offerings, updates to a Web-based learning tool, and confirmed a new partnership providing exclusive rights to a widely used education survey.
(7/7/2008)
ISTE, NEA Tackle Role of Feds in Education
What should the role of the federal government be in education? With the imminent exeunt of the Bush administration, the National Education Association (NEA) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), among others, have each begun developing their positions on the question in the hopes of influencing the next administration and Congress to embrace significant policy changes.
(7/3/2008)
The Future of Instruction: Teacher as 'Co-Learner'
The expectations of students and the demands of the education community are changing radically in the 21st century. Necessarily, the role of the teacher is changing along with those. But what will that role be? The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is attempting to answer that question with the release this week of the long-anticipated update to its National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) framework.
(6/30/2008)
CoSN Details Changes to E-Mail Regulations, Calls for 'Comprehensive Solution'
What's the difference between Open Records and eDiscovery? With changes in Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, what does e-mail compliance mean these days, and how do schools achieve it? The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), an education technology advocacy group, is attempting to answer these questions with a new white paper called "School Districts, Data Retention and Federal eDiscovery Rules: The Case for a Full E-mail Archiving Solution Now."
(6/27/2008)
NEA: Test Scores Improving in Spite of NCLB
Have reading and math scores improved since the enactment of NCLB? In some cases yes, according to a study released this week by the Center on Education Policy (CEP). But according to the report's authors, the results do not indicate cause and effect. And, according to the National Education Association (NEA), any improvements in student test scores may have come in spite of NCLB rather than because of it.
(6/25/2008)
Kerry Intros Education Portal Legislation
United States Senator John Kerry Tuesday introduced new legislation aimed at funding state education portals. The legislation, dubbed the "Empowering Teaching and Learning through Education Portals Act," is designed to support teacher professional development, improve teacher retention, and offer online support for teachers and administrators.
(6/24/2008)
Groups Call on Candidates To Invest in Ed Tech
How can we make education technology and 21st century learning a national priority? Four education advocacy groups think they have part of the answer. The groups came together Tuesday to launch "One Giant Leap for Kids," a new campaign designed to bring ed tech to the forefront of the minds of the presidential candidates.
(6/24/2008)
Digital Divide? What Digital Divide?
Students in low-income families may have more access to technology than previously thought. What's more, according to preliminary research coming out of the University of Minnesota, these students are using technology consistently to boost their 21st century skills--even if many of them aren't aware that they're of the educational value of their activities online.
(6/23/2008)
Addressing the Needs of Students with Disabilities in Math (Part 1)
Students can have a range of physical, cognitive, sensory, and learning disabilities that affect their entire lives. Any of these might pose unique academic challenges, particularly when learning mathematics. The good news is that technology is removing barriers for the education of students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Unfortunately, not all software is based on principles of universal design.
(6/19/2008)
Tech Association Calls for Greater Broadband Access for Schools
While most schools in the United States (in fact, 98 percent) have basic Internet access, for many that access is cripplingly slow--too slow to accommodate technology-driven educational initiatives--according to a new report from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). The group is recommending certain baseline figures for adequate bandwidth for schools and proposing policy changes to effect upgrades over the next five to seven years.
(6/19/2008)
Classroom Technology 'Woefully Inadequate,' Study Finds
Educators are, in large part, bullish on the role technology can play in improving student outcomes. But too large a percentage of them aren't receiving adequate training in the areas that matter most: instructional software, technology integration, learning outcomes management, and designing individual lesson plans. This according to a study released last week by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, which also described access to classroom technology as "woefully inadequate" in most schools.
(6/16/2008)
UCF Study Finds Video Games Increase Student Achievement
Based on research conducted by the University of Central Florida (UCF), immersive educational video games can improve students' math skills and comprehension and raise scores on district-wide benchmark exams.
(6/16/2008)
Are Underprivileged Students Better Off Without Computers?
We take it for granted that computers have tremendous potential to transform education. But this potential isn't always going to be realized, especially where support for improving outcomes through technology is lacking. But can access to computers actually hinder education? According to new research that focused on computer adoption among the poor in one Eastern European country, computers at home can actually help to lower the grade point averages of students, distract students from homework, and potentially contribute to behavioral issues.
(6/12/2008)
Pearson's Behnke Appointed to IMS Board
Jim Behnke, chief learning officer for education publisher Pearson, has been appointed to the board of directors for IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS GLC), a group of 14 education and technology professionals within IMS GLC.
(6/11/2008)
Global Learning Initiative Helps Kansas Students Collaborate with Peers Around the World
Through its global learning initiative, Douglass (KS) Public Schools is providing students with technologies for communicating and collaborating with other students around the world. Projector Director Marjorie Landwehr-Brown discusses the program in her district and the impact it's having on kids.
(6/9/2008)
SIIA Issues Final Call for Ed Tech Survey
The Software & Information Industry Association this week issued a final call for its Vision Survey, part of the SIIA's "Vision K-20" effort toward developing a technology-based educational framework for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. The survey runs until June 9.
(6/4/2008)
Social Networking: Learning Theory in Action
There has been a lot of recent debate on the benefits of social networking tools and software in education. While there are good points on either side of the debate, there remains the essential difference in theoretical positioning. Most conventional educational environments are "Objectivist" in nature and highly structured in terms of students progress and choice. Social networking essentially requires a less controlled, user-generated environment which challenges conventional views of the effective "management" of teaching and learning. Therefore, can social networking both as an instructional concept and user skill be integrated into the conventional approaches to teaching and learning? Do the skills developed within a social networking environment have value in the more conventional environments of learning?
(5/21/2008)
Microsoft To Adopt ODF, Take Role in Format Development
Microsoft Wednesday posted plans for expanding file format support in the next major revision of Office 2007. The move follows charges from the ODF Alliance and the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) that Microsoft has been stifling options for users by favoring its own OOXML format.
(5/21/2008)
Security: Schools Frustrated by Budget, Staff Constraints
While schools have spent the last year beefing up their physical security infrastructure, the quality of their data security has apparently dropped. According to the 2008 School Safety Index, conducted by Quality Education Data and released this week by CDW Government (CDW-G), district IT professionals rated their own "cyber security" 25 percent lower this year than they did in last year's survey results, while their physical safety score rose 39 percent over 2007.
(5/20/2008)
Alliance Weighs In on Microsoft Interoperability in Education
As we reported last week, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), a group that advises the British government on education technology issues, referred a complaint to the European Commission about the impact of Microsoft's interoperability issues in education. Now the ODF (OpenDocument Format) Alliance is stepping in with support for Becta's move. Microsoft, for its part, responded today by saying that it wholly supports interoperability and will work to resolve the issues raised by the groups.
(5/19/2008)
Study: Top Web Application Vulnerabilities Remain Unfixed
Organizations still aren't doing enough to protect their data from Web application vulnerabilities, according to a study released Tuesday by security firm Cenzic. The study, Application Security Trends Report, Q1 2008, identified "1,409 unique published vulnerabilities for the first quarter of 2008, with Web technology vulnerabilities comprising 70 percent of the vulnerability volume...."
(5/13/2008)
Study Reveals What Kids Are Reading for School
According to the first study of its kind released in the United States, kids are reading an average of about 26 books per school year. That's the great news. The less than great news is that their volume of reading peaks in second grade, and the level and volume of books that they're reading stagnates from about sixth grade onward, even dropping off in high school.
(5/8/2008)
Report: Half of High School Classes Could Be Online by 2019
Low-cost delivery and tailored learning opportunities could drive up to half of all high school courses online by 2019, according to a report from researchers that's set to appear in the summer issue of Education Next, published out of the Hoover Institution, the public policy research center at Stanford University.
(5/7/2008)
Next-gen WiFi Expected To Be in 99% of North American Campuses by 2013
Although the wireless standard 802.11n is found in less than 3 percent of North American universities currently, it will be available in 99 percent by 2013, according to a new study by ABI Research. According to the research firm, the increases are driven by a variety of needs and demands in both K-12 and higher education.
(5/5/2008)
Report: STEM Gap Widens for Underrepresented Minorities
It probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise to our readers, but research released this month shows an expanding ethnicity gap for Americans pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. A new report from the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) reveals that the number minority students pursuing STEM degrees and careers has flattened out or even declined in recent years.
(5/2/2008)
