February 2009 Archives

Edweek.org now has a widget for our coverage related to the federal stimulus. You can embed this widget in your blog or on your Web site to help readers follow the latest news and analysis on how the huge infusion of federal money is being targeted for schools.

Just click on the grey "Get Widget" tab, above, and copy and paste the code into your blog or Web site. It's easy!

Our crack Web team has already posted a page with all of Education Week's comprehensive stimulus coverage to date. They've also embedded the widget in the right column.

Our widget cover page displays a range of topical EdWeek widgets, including ones for "Charters & Choice," "Curriculum & Learning," "No Child Left Behind," and "Technology."

EdWeek widgets are a great way to help your readers find up-to-date and relevant information from the nation's education newspaper of record.

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As I learned from my story about open content licensing, there's a lot of confusion on the part of both teachers and students about copyright law. The Internet in particular has made copyright even more difficult to figure out, since it's so easy to copy information, pictures, music, and other forms of multimedia, whether it's legal or not.

That's why I was particularly excited to get the announcement from the American Library Association's Office for Information Technology Policy and the American Association of School Libraries (AASL), in partnership with the National Council of Teachers of English, about new copyright lesson plans for middle schoolers. The lessons have been updated and modified to include connections to the AASL's Standards for the 21st Century Learner.

There are a total of five lessons, all of which are available on the ReadWriteThink Web site, or you can go to each individual lesson by clicking on the links below:
Exploring Plagiarism, Copyright, and Paraphrasing
Students as Creators: Exploring Copyright
Students as Creators: Exploring Multimedia
Copyright Law: From Digital Reprints to Downloads
Technology and Copyright Law: A "Futurespective"

Each lesson includes an overview, objectives, further reading, activities, and Web resources, and they're written to be taught collaboratively by the teacher and the students' library media specialist. Before educators can tap into the open resources that are available on the Internet or share the resources and materials that they create, it's really important for them—and their students—to understand what copyright actually means and how it works.

Posted by Katie Ash at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

There's been a lot of debate about the role of personal technologies in schools, particularly cell phones and text devices. Schools generally try to prohibit students from phoning and texting when they are supposed to be listening in class.

So what kind of role models are these lawmakers who were Twittering during President Obama's State of the Union address?

Dana Milbank's columns in The Washington Post are always entertaining, and offer unique insights into the inner workings of Congress. Today's piece is a commentary on lawmakers' preoccupation with the 140-character messages they were sending to their "followers" on Twitter, questioning their attentiveness to the task at hand.

"It's bad enough that Americans are paralyzed by economic jitters. Now the president has to deal with lawmakers paralyzed by Twitter," Milbank writes. "At a time of national emergency, when America needs the focused attention of contemplative and reflective lawmakers, they are dispatching rapid-fire thoughts in 140 characters or less."

Teachers often have a similar take on their students' obsession with texting and talking with friends when they should be focused on a more critical concern: learning. Students will tell you they can do both, simultaneously.

I wonder if we gave those twittering lawmakers a quiz on last night's speech right after it ended if they would pass it.

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One segment of the K-12 population that I think is sometimes forgotten about by ed-tech folks (and I admit: I'm guilty of it as well) is the "little folks" as Tammy Worcester, author of several books about computer activities for K-3 students, would say. The last session I attended at NCCE was her talk on "Computer Activities for Little Folks," which went through many suggestions of activities that could be used for K-3 students.

I'm not going to go through everything she talked about—like the greeting cards or mini-books she showed us how to make through PowerPoint—but she did have some good suggestions, I thought, on how to introduce younger students to technology and get them familiar with basic computer skills. For example, one tip she gave was to create links to Web sites and put them directly on the computer's desktop, so that kids can just double-click on them to get to where they need to be. Typing out a Web site is difficult for younger students, especially if there's only one teacher and 20-something students. Creating desktop links makes it much simpler and faster.

She also recommended a Web site that collects flash tools that can be used in classrooms. The example, the "random name picker," allows teachers to type out a list of students and then spin a computer-generated wheel that picks a student's name. The teacher could use this tool to choose students to answer questions or complete activities or whatever the lesson calls for. Another Web site she recommended was Imagination Cubed where students can draw pictures using an interactive crayon and whiteboard.

There are a number of activities out there for early elementary school students—ones that don't require advanced typing or reading skills—but it's definitely not the focus of the ed-tech movement at this point. But considering the amount of people crammed into this session on the last day of the conference, I would say it's definitely a place where teachers are hungry for more information.

Posted by Katie Ash at 12:31 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

As I mentioned before, I attended two sessions at the NCCE conference last week that were great. The first session I went to, which was standing-room-only, was about open-source tools and content for teachers by Karen Fasimpur. She spent the first part of her talk explaining the different licenses that are available to create open resources, something that I wrote about awhile ago after I realized how much confusion was out there about those licenses.

She then went on to talk about how open licensed content can be used in the classroom and where educators could find those resources. Check out the K12 Open Ed wiki she created to find links to open licensed resources—like photos, videos, music, and sound effects—that educators can use (legally) for projects in the classroom. She's amassed quite a collection of useful links for those interested in open resources and the open educational resource movement, so poke around the wiki if that's something that interests you.

The second session I attended was about renewing the International Society for Technology in Education's NETS-A, or National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators. I sat in on a similar session back in October at the T+L Conference in Seattle, and it was great to see how far they've come since just a few months ago. The new standards will be unveiled at this year's National Educational Computing Conference in Washington, and although they're still collecting feedback, in about 3 weeks they'll be sitting down to read through everything to try and come up with the finalized version.

I was able to see a draft of the standards, which we were to compare to the old standards and make suggestions about. The idea is to move towards a more student-centered, 21st-century model of learning, and I believe that the new standards reflect that. Although we definitely had some suggestions in the group that I worked with, the standards are on the way to becoming more active, less prescriptive, and more in line with what the 21st-century classroom looks like.

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Working from home can be isolating at times, and it's always a treat when I can get out of the house and talk with real, live people about ed-tech issues, which is what I spent all day Friday doing at the Northwest Council for Computer Education's "Navigating the New World With Technology" conference here in Portland.

The conference opened with a keynote address from Debra Pickering, author of several books about teaching and learning that she's co-authored with Robert Marzano. Pickering addressed a couple of issues that I hear about over and over as I talk to teachers who are trying to effectively implement technology into the classroom—how do you create meaningful lessons for students that achieve the learning goals you set, and where does technology fit into the equation?

To keep yourself on track, Pickering suggested asking yourself some tough questions, such as "what is the learning goal?" and "is this assignment really the best way to reach that goal?" As well as, "is this assignment worth the time it will take the student to complete?"

At the root of those questions was something I hear over and over again from the ed-tech community—don't use technology for technology's sake. Just because you can use technology doesn't always mean you should, Pickering stressed. Without a clear purpose and effective integration, technology doesn't add anything to the lesson and could even be more distracting, she said.

One interesting part of Pickering's presentation, I thought, was when she polled audience members to find out what aspect of teaching and learning technology could have the biggest and quickest impact on. Out of a list of nine choices (learning goals and feedback, introducing new knowledge, practicing and deepening, meaningful use of knowledge, student engagement, establishing rules and procedures, adherence to rules and procedures, teacher-student relationships, and high expectations), the overwhelming majority chose student engagement. Which, for the record, was my choice as well. The poll then prompted a discussion of how important it is to both capture students' attention as well as sustain their interest. Although technology can initially capture students' interest and lead to higher engagement, students really need to be engaged in the lesson or subject matter—not the technology.

Stay tuned to hear about a couple of really fantastic sessions I attended at the conference—one about open content resources for teachers and the other about standards for IT administrators.

Posted by Katie Ash at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Most of the attendees at the Mobile Learning Conference in Washington this week are among the true believers when it comes to the potential value in putting handheld devices, along with well-designed content, into the hands of more students and teachers. So you might expect them to get a bit ruffled when someone suggests that cellphones and other small, wireless electronics have no place in the classroom.

But Elliot Soloway, a professor of computer science and education at the University of Michigan, was outraged by a statement by Janet Bass in this New York Times article. Ms. Bass, a spokeswoman for the American Federation of Teachers, said cellphones have been more of a distraction for students than a learning tool. In reference to a study of cellphones potential for student learning, paid for by a cell chip manufacturer, she said it "is almost laughable that the cellphone industry is pushing a study showing that cellphones will make kids smarter."

Soloway, an outspoken advocate of ed tech, and the CEO of GoKnow, which develops educational software for mobile devices, chastised Ms. Bass.

"The AFT said it's almost laughable that these devices improve education," he said in his comments at the conference. "If the AFT really believes what that lady says, then they are stopping educational innovation."

He went on: "Someone should tell the AFT that they don't really understand. There's a huge benefit" to learning with mobile devices.

The naysayers aren't the only obstacle to expanding the use of cellphones in classrooms. Many schools ban their use by students. But David Whyley, a British researcher who is directing a large scale mobile learning project in the United Kingdom, said that setting rules for students and installing safeguards on the devices has led to responsible usage.

"The absolutely crucial thing is that you have intensive training before you allow kids to get their hands on" the cellphones, he told attendees Tuesday. "You have to work on classroom management of the device."

Posted by at 2:11 PM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

There are certainly a lot of cool tech tools and projects available or in the works to enable broader use of mobile devices, like cell phones and handhelds, by schools and students.

I got a chance to see and hear about a few yesterday at the Mobile Learning Conference in Washington. Like Project K-Nect, which puts cell phones loaded with a math program into the hands of middle school students, who then collaborate and practice more. The first results on the project are due out next month. There are also a number of ed applications for iPhones and other cellular devices.

One innovation touted as "in development" crossed out of the "cool" realm and into the creepy. In a presentation that set out to define mobile learning, a presenter suggested that soon enough, perhaps in 5 or 10 years, mobile devices will be embedded in humans. Imagine, the speaker asked, all the challenges and opportunities for teachers who will be designing curricula for such devices!

It seemed a pretty far out there statement to me, but then again I don't have an iPhone or Blackberry, so maybe I just don't understand how someone would want to be permanently attached to a computer. But I came across this article from last year that includes an interview with Martin Cooper, who invented the cell phone. He has long envisioned this kind of application of technology, but is disappointed at how long it is taking to get there.

Yet even Cooper is skeptical that embedded devices will gain broad acceptance: "It's not really the technology, it's the people," he told Reuters. "People are really conservative."

I may be from the Oldspeak era, but none of the little humans in my house will be fitted with a computer as long as I have anything to say about it. And that goes for tattoos and body piercings as well!

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Catching up on all the blogs I read over the long weekend, I discovered this post from Snarkmarket about a new public charter school slated to open up in NYC in the fall that's completely designed around game-inspired teaching methods. There's more information on the Institute of Play's Web site about the school, called Quest to Learn, which will serve kids in 6th-12th grade. Also, here's the press release (PDF) about the school.

The school is being created by the Institute of Play, an NYC-based nonprofit organization that researches the connections between games and learning, and New Visions for Public Schools, an NYC-based ed reform organization that works to improve academics in the city. They expect to open the school with a 6th grade class in the fall, adding another grade level each year.

This is a very exciting project, and one that I will definitely be keeping my eye on. It sounds really good to me in theory. But bridging theory and practice in education is always a challenge.

Posted by Katie Ash at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

My colleagues Alyson Klein and Michele McNeil have the latest on the economic stimulus bill. Has anyone waded through the details on ed tech? We are beginning to take a closer look at the specifics and it looks like there is roughly $650 million for it.

Did ed tech get a good deal or was it shortchanged? Give us your take.

Meanwhile, I'm making my way through the summary. Ed Week Asst. Managing Editor Mark Bomster calls the file for the bill, on the House of Representative's Web site, "a choke-your-computer monster." Hopefully I will be able to have it fully downloaded by Tuesday.

Posted by at 11:29 AM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

Readers of this blog might enjoy my co-blogger Kathleen's story on virtual field trips. Through the Internet, teachers can access thousands of virtual field trips to places all over the world, many of which are free, says the article.

The trips are a good option for schools that are cutting budgets and can't afford to bus every student to a specific place, or for schools that are short on instructional time but still want students to explore a place outside the classroom. And according to at least one evaluation, students retain more information from the virtual trips than students who physically visit, possibly because they don't have to worry about following a crowd and can concentrate on what they're seeing, says the article.

Not everyone is on board, though. An editorial in a local newspaper lamented the amount of time that students sit in front of TVs and computer monitors, which is a good point. But what I think is even more important, educationally, is to spark a student's interest, and if it's between reading a textbook and participating in a virtual field trip, I think teachers might have more luck with the latter.

What do you think? Have you ever participated in or considered using a virtual field trip? If so, did you find it helpful for your classroom? And what might we lose by trading real field trips for virtual ones?

Posted by Katie Ash at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Here's a troubling story about a MySpace prank gone awry.

A teen in Wilkes Barre, Pa., was sent by the local juvenile court in 2007 to a privately run youth detention center after creating a spoof MySpace page of her assistant principal. According to The Associated Press article, the teen claims she wasn't told of her right to an attorney. Now prosecutors have uncovered what they say is an elaborate kickback scheme that put millions in the pockets of two judges who made a deal with the detention centers to send them more inmates.

This raises all kinds of issues about corruption in the court system. But more relevant for the interests of this blog are the unanswered questions about students' free speech rights and whether the reach of school authorities extends to Internet activities off campus.

Where do you stand on the issue of disciplining students for online activities that occur off campus?

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The Education Department wants everyone to see how it has come into the 21st Century. The department is now on Twitter and I just got an alert that it has tweeted!

The tweets are blasts of information in 140 characters or less, so I'm not sure how much info we can expect from these communiques. Today's tweet links to a video of Education Secretary Arne Duncan speaking at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va.

Now I'm really feeling like I'm in the loop. I wonder if the department will send out tweets on the really important stuff, like to alert us to the release of an inspector general report, or its response to critical news?

You can follow the Ed Department tweets too: @usedgov

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The ins and outs of the federal E-rate program are enough to set even the steadiest of heads spinning. Now a consulting firm that works with clients on E-rate compliance issues has launched a blog that will tackle the complexities of the program, which provides financial support for telecommunications in schools and libraries.

Funds for Learning, LLC, based in Edmond, Okla., will tap experts in the field to explain details of the program, provide policy analysis, and offer tips. The Funds for Learning blog will also invite guest posts from E-rate administrators.

The new FFL resource is not alone though. There are already a number of Web sites and blogs aimed at demystifying the E-rate regs, including those maintained by state agencies. And library groups, like this one, with its bent toward public libraries, are all over it.

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Todd Oppenheimer has long questioned the unmitigated enthusiasm some educators and policymakers have for technology in the classroom. The author of The Flickering Mind: Saving Education from the False Promise of Technology is now urging the Obama Administration to curb any plans to expand programs that boost technology use in the nation's schools, particularly the teaching of technology skills in the elementary grades. In this San Francisco Chronicle article he makes the case for developing other skills that are required for success in the global economy: "writing and reasoning; reliable work habits; the capacity for concentration and face-to-face communication; a sense of history, cultural anthropology, and--for jobs in the technology sector in particular--higher math and science."

While he wouldn't deny the use of the Internet in schools, he would curtail it, and he would resist the temptation to invest new money in the latest hardware and software.

"Educators have been trying to improve schools with every technology we've ever invented, beginning with Thomas Edison's promise, in 1912, to create '100 percent efficiency' in the classroom through the medium of "the motion picture." Since personal computers and the Internet first arrived in classrooms, in the early 1990s, schools have spent approximately $100 billion on technology," Oppenheimer writes in the Feb. 4 article. "Throughout this campaign, educators and the technology industry have been searching madly for solid evidence of whether the computers were boosting achievement. So little has been found that this data has become education's WMD."

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Like most of my colleagues at Digital Directions, I am knee-deep in a bunch of stories about how online education is impacting K-12 schools, which is the focus of this year's upcoming Technology Counts report (to be released at the end of March.) At this point, I've talked to countless people about this—from teachers and administrators to CEOs and academic experts—and there's a lot of excitement about where online education could take us.

To get a sneak-peek into some of what the stories we're working on delve into, I highly recommend that you check out my colleague Michelle Davis' audio interview with Elizabeth Pape, the CEO of the Virtual High School Global Consortium. Pape touches on a lot of what is so exciting to educators about online learning—the potential it has to expand educational opportunities for students in a cost-effective way, how it can be used to deliver effective professional development for teachers, and what effect the stimulus package might have on online education.

Another advantage of online education, advocates say, is the ability it has to engage students through individualized, or personalized, instruction. With an online course, students can move at their own pace and the teacher receives immediate feedback about the progress each student makes, which allows him or her to adjust instruction or provide extra support based on each individual student.

K-12 schools are notoriously slow to embrace change and whether or not online learning will have the transformative effect that many people are hoping for is still up in the air. But like Pape discusses in the interview, the economy is playing a huge part in schools' decisions right now, and as they look for innovative and creative ways to provide high-quality education to all students in an efficient way, online education might prove to be a viable option.

Posted by Katie Ash at 12:42 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Bill Gates sure knows how to get people's attention. But at the Technology, Entertainment, and Design Conference this week, it didn't take any high-tech tools to perk up the crowd, according to this article.

Gates unleashed a jar full of mosquitoes on the business, arts, and science leaders in the audience at the elite conference in in Monterey, Calif., to make a point about malaria.

"There is no reason only poor people should be infected," he told them.

He paused before telling them the insects were disease free.

The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into vaccination and disease-prevention programs in developing countries.

Posted by at 1:20 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Chicago public schools has been creating a series of videos about various initiatives and projects in that district called CPS Right Now! The videos typically involve students and teachers, who share with the viewers their experiences, what they're doing in class, and how it's helping students. It's a really fascinating project—I could watch these all day.

Here's one episode that explores iEARN—International Education and Resource Center—which students in Chicago are using to connect with classrooms across the globe. I think it really encapsulates the types of skills and opportunities that technology can bring to the classroom, which otherwise wouldn't be possible. Check it out:

Posted by Katie Ash at 3:16 PM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

If you're like most ed-tech enthusiasts, I'm sure you're watching closely the economic stimulus packages proposed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, both of which include $1 billion for education technology. (Here's a story written by my colleague Alyson Klein about the details of those plans.) The question now is whether that money is going to make it through the conference committee (when the Senate and the House hammer out the differences between their plans), and what will it look like if it does.

I listened in today on a conference call, sponsored by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), all about that question. Unfortunately, at this point it's hard to tell what's going to happen, although it is clear that ISTE as well as many ed-tech advocates are working hard to ensure that the $1 billion stays intact and is specifically slated for education technology—not lumped in with other school modernization projects. ISTE has created an Ed Tech Action Network to make it easy for supporters of ed tech to write to Senators and Representatives about this topic.

To read more about the economic stimulus plan and what its effects could be on ed tech, check out the story I wrote for the latest issue of Digital Directions. Or listen to an audio interview with Keith Krueger, the CEO of the Consortium for School Networking, about how ed tech can help fire up the economy.

Posted by Katie Ash at 5:06 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend