Articles in the Educational Technology category

Harnessing the power of technology

Presented by the Technology Learning Network and National Affiliate branches of NSBA, today’s session on harnessing the power of technology reflected the kind of learning environment schools must offer in the 21st century: collaborative, interactive, and relevant.

“What is innovation?” asked K. David Weidner, a former district administrator, teacher, and now education consultant who led the afternoon workshop, using questions to drive discussion among the group of mostly school board members.

New ground, great ideas, said a few audience members.

“Do we oftentimes think that innovative things are novel?” Weidner probed. “But does innovation have to be new?”

After receiving several nods from the audience, Weidner asked whether technology was working in their district, if it was new, and what made it exciting.

One board member from Fort Washington, Wis., talked about her district’s use of Project Lead the Way, which works with middle and high schools to boost student interest in STEM subjects by training teachers and providing curriculum to schools.

“It’s exciting to watch the students using technology, watching 21st century skills in action,” she said.

Another board member from Arkansas this time, talked about how her small, rural district had been able to secure grant monies to fund its one-to-one computing program.

“We’re changing from a traditional way of learning to a more problem-based learning model,” she said.

Yet another audience member talked about how his district’s high school English department used iPod Touches to teach Romeo in Juliet in high school.

“They download different narrative versions of it, taking exams on the iPod Touch,” he said. “The kids are excited about it, and it’s tough to get kids excited about Shakespeare.”

According to the Horizon Report 2010, which reports on education technology trends, Weidner says collaborative-learning environments and cloud computing like Google Docs will become widely used practices in schools, while mobile phones and educational gaming will be more prevalent in two to three years.

“Technology is increasingly a means for empowering students … and continues to profoundly affect the way we work, collaborate, communicate, and succeed,” Weidner said. “The way we think of learning environments is changing.”

Naomi Dillon|April 10th, 2010|Categories: Curriculum, Educational Technology, Mathematics Education, NSBA Annual Conference 2010, School Board News, School Boards, Student Achievement, Teachers|

Lawmakers rethink prosecuting teens for sexting

“Sexting” became a household term last year after four Pennsylvania teens were charged with disseminating and possessing child pornography after officials learned they had exchanged nude photos of themselves via cell phone. 

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit three-judge panel ruled last week that one of those sexting students and her parent are entitled to preliminary injunction barring prosecution under state’s child pornography laws based on the student’s refusal to participate in  an “education program.” The panel concluded that the prosecution under those circumstances would constitute retaliation for the student exercising her First Amendment right against compelled speech, and for the parent asserting her Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process right to control her child’s upbringing. However, state lawmakers around the country are looking to address the issue by making penalties better fit the “crime” for minors caught sexting.

A study released in December by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project said for percent of teens reported they had sent out sexually explicit photos or videos of themselves. Some 15 percent of cell-phone-owning teens ages 12 to 17 had received nude or nearly nude photos by phone, the report said. In the Pew report, researcher Amanda Lenhart wrote that teens use sexting “as a part of or instead of sexual activity, or as a way of starting or maintaining a relationship with a significant other.” “[The photos] are also passed along to friends for their entertainment value, as a joke or for fun.”

So it comes as no surprise that state lawmakers are working to pass “sexting” legislation. The Illinois legislature passed a bill last week that would limit penalties for minors that share nude or sexually explicit photos via cell phone or computer. Sexting would be classified as a misdemeanor, and minors would likely face juvenile court-ordered counseling and community service. “Sometimes these kids don’t understand what they’re doing, make a mistake, and it follows them for life,” state senator Ira Silverstein, who sponsored the bill, told the Chicago Tribune. “So we don’t want that in their record.”

Connecticut lawmakers want to do something similar to keep minors convicted of sexting-related charges from being required to register as a sex offender. Currently, sexting between minors violates state child pornography laws. So the Connecticut legislature is considering a proposed bill that would make the offense a misdemeanor for minor children aged 13 and 18 that are in “a relationship.”

Florida is also considering legislation to distinguish sexting between minors from existing child pornography statutes. First-time offenders would get a slap on the wrist with eight hours of community service and a $25 fine. A second offense is a misdemeanor that comes with 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. “It’s stupid behavior that young people will regret for years to come, but it shouldn’t be treated as child pornography,” said Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate. “We’re trying to make the punishment fit the crime.”

So far this year, at least 15 stateshave introduced or are considering bills or resolutions aimed at “sexting.” The legislation generally aims to educate young people about the risks of sexting, deter them from the practice, and apply appropriate penalties to those who do engage in sexting. While some states are just encouraging programs to educate teens about the dangers of sexting, others are attempting to de-criminalize the act such as the Illinois, Connecticut, and Florida bills would. Similar measures were passed last year in Utah, Nebraska, and Vermont.

What does your state have to say about sexting? Let us know.

Andrew Paulson|March 26th, 2010|Categories: Boardbuzz, Educational Technology, Student Achievement|

Rube Goldberg: hands on STEM education

BoardBuzz woke up this morning thinking, what’s the best way to keep kids interesting in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-related fields? Lo’ and behold, Ars Technica presents us with an answer:

We know that giving kids hands-on experience is one of the best ways to spark and keep their interest in STEM-related fields, and to this end, high schoolers all over the country are getting an opportunity to learn and apply STEM knowledge by participating in the annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest.

Reuben Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970) was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. He is best known for a series of popular cartoons he created depicting complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways – now known as Rube Goldberg machines.

If you’re having trouble envisioning such a machine, BoardBuzz would like to direct you to a recent video by the band OK Go. The band’s front man Damian Kulash sometimes makes big declarations like “We’re trying to be a DIY band in a post-major label world.” They are best known for making rather original and interesting music videos. In their latest, they teamed up with as many as 60 engineers and designers to create an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine synced to their song “This Too Shall Pass.” Check it out below.

According to Ars, in 1949, two engineering fraternities at Purdue University began a competition to devise the most complex machine to accomplish a given goal. Sometime in the 1980s, Purdue University revived the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, organized by the Phi Chapter of Theta Tau, a national engineering fraternity. The competition culminated in the first national Rube Goldberg Machine Contest in 1988. Starting in 2007, high schools were invited to participate in the national contest, exposing young minds to one of the most exciting and diabolical engineering competitions ever.

Today, the contest brings Rube’s comic genius to life for millions of fans. Covered widely by the national media, the winning team and their working invention always gets lots of attention. To get a real window into the machine contest, go to www.mousetraptomars.com where you can watch a 2 minute clip from the upcoming documentary that chronicles three teams vying for the winning slot.

This year’s goal: Dispense an appropriate amount of hand sanitizer into a hand.

So what’s so great about this contest? Most of the advisers agree that giving students a hands-on opportunity is a critical aspect of participating in the competition. “It’s a great way to get kids who might otherwise be intimidated by the math or hard science involved and interested in STEM,” says Alexis Kovacs, advisor for the Jones College Prep team. “For those that are already interested in science or engineering fields, this helps them be able to solve real problems and really use their hands.”

Clearly, at a time when the U.S. is looking to inspire young minds, Rube Goldberg’s legacy represents the best in American innovation, humor and unconventional thinking; an inspiring model for us all. Check out Ars Technica for complete coverage of this exciting contest.

Andrew Paulson|March 19th, 2010|Categories: Boardbuzz, Educational Technology, STEM Education, Student Achievement|

Social networking webinar gives tips to board members

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Collectively, these and other sites are part of Web 2.0, a new generation of e-tools that allow for more interactivity and information sharing.

“Web 2.0 isn’t so much a shift in technology as a shift in mindset and how we connect with others,” said Gene Broderson, NSBA’s director of National Affiliate Services and Technology Programs, which hosted a webinar recently on the emerging cyber world of social networking and how school systems and educators can become part of it.

“Sites like Twitter and Facebook are a great way for you to learn about your community and for your community learn about you,” Broderson said. “It improves community relations and gives people you represent an understanding of what’s going on … but there are also some dangers.”

Helping Broderson lay out the landscape of this dynamic field were communication and marketing staff members from the Georgia, California, and New York state school boards associations, which are trailblazers in the social networking arena, launching Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and Wiki pages in order to stay connected with their members.

One thing public relations and communications professionals strive for is increasing public engagement and for school boards, so it’s especially important to find more and more ways to communicate and engage the public, said Laura Reilly, director of communications for the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA).

At GSBA, one way they do that is by using Wikis, a mini website that allows users to collect, manage, and share information with various people.

It’s a lot simpler than an e-mail listserv, said Reilly, which allow questions to be posed and answered in a virtual group setting, but doesn’t make it easy to gather, sort, and disseminate that data.

“Wikis solve that by having a place to store those ideas and documents, than you can build a library for people to find that information,” Reilly said.

In addition, Wiki pages can be customized with your own artwork or logo, and various security settings allow administrators to monitor and invite select people to contribute or edit this virtual workspace.

“Wikis are a shared responsibility, no one person owns the wiki,” Reilly said. “And that’s sort of pervasive throughout all Web 2.0; you have to give up a little bit of control to have that collaboration.”

Reilly said a great resource on how to set up a Wiki can be found at www.pbworks.com.

California’s reputation as a bellwether state continues through its state board association, which not only has a Facebook page and Twitter account, but is on the verge of joining the blogosphere.

Blogging is easy to browse and search, enables you to build a more personal relationship because it allows two-way communication, and most importantly, it is affordable and easy to maintain, said Marci McFadden, CSBA’s marketing director.

“Another key benefit is it serves as a media and public relations tool, with the media more likely to follow and come to you for information and rely on you as the expert,” McFadden said. “But there are some cautions about blogging. It can take a lot of time, so you need to calculate that upfront.”

Identify content and individuals who would be responsible for providing the material and managing the blog, which McFadden suggested needed to be updated at least three times a week.

While blog postings should be informal and conversational in tone, districts need to always be cognizant that it is a public forum and that you don’t want to post content that is questionable, potentially offensive, or private.

Indeed, school boards and educators are advised to work with their district attorneys in drafting policies on privacy, internal and external use, and applicable state laws regarding open meetings and FOIA.

“We had a task force before we jumped into this,” said Barbara Bradley, the deputy director of communications and research at the New York State School Boards Association, which maintains a Facebook page. “I know this is a scary arena to get into for some, but take action, just be careful.”

In case you missed it, the entire webinar, complete with slideshows and links to helpful resources, is available here.

Naomi Dillon|March 17th, 2010|Categories: Educational Technology, School Board News, School Boards|

A new National Education Technology Plan

The Obama administration recently released its first National Education Technology Plan, with the goal of raising national college completion rates from 40 to 60% in the next ten years.

In a recent Education Week article, the Director of the U.S. Office of Educational Technology, Karen Cator, spoke about the Plan. She stressed that it is important to not only set the bar higher but also to get more kids to exceed the bar. The Plan stresses 1:1 computing and the role that technology plays in customizing the learning for individual student needs. Mobile learning devices will also play an important role, so that learning can take place outside as well as inside the classroom.

According to Cator, one of the keys is to make this personalized learning more interactive, echoing a theme BoardBuzz is hearing a lot about these days – student engagement.

Cator will be leading a session entitled “A Discussion of the National Education Technology Plan” at the upcoming NSBA Annual Conference, April 10-12, where she will outline the details of the plan and answer questions in an interactive format.

Barbara Moody|March 17th, 2010|Categories: Boardbuzz, Conferences and Events, Educational Technology|

Education headlines: Senate kills D.C. voucher expansion, no more Pepsi in schools, FCC releases broadband plan

The U.S. Senate voted down a measure that would have opened the D.C. voucher program to new students, thus limiting the future of the controversial program, the Washington Post reports. PepsiCo plans to stop selling sugary soft drinks in schools by 2012, in a move aimed at curbing childhood obesity, according to the Associated Press, which also reports on First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech asking food manufacturers to lower the amounts of sugar, salt and fat in their foods and stop marketing unhealthy foods to children… Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) released plans of its sweeping broadband plan, which aims to provide high-speed internet access to more areas of the country and speed up existing lines and contains wide-ranging plans to help schools maximize their use of the technology. Read the Associated Press article here.

Joetta Sack-Min|March 17th, 2010|Categories: Announcements, Educational Technology, School Board News, School Vouchers, Wellness|

Teens and social networking

Social media is everywhere these days. With more and more people joining Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other sites, and the pros and cons of social networking being debated constantly, we can all agree that our communication methods have changed drastically in recent years.

Controversy surrounds the role social media can and should play in the lives of our children, and internationally known writer and educator Rosalind Wiseman has focused on the technological outlets facing the new generation of teens. Wiseman is the author of the best seller, Queen Bees & Wannabes, which examines the interactions of girls from adolescence through the teens and the role that today’s technology plays in their development.

This book inspired the popular movie, “Mean Girls”, and it has impacted the way parents and teachers view girls’ friendships and conflicts. Her most recent book is a teen novel, Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials, which deals with similar themes of teens, relationships, and the struggle to fit in to the social scene.

In a recent appearance on To the Contrary, a PBS news program, Wiseman discusses how teen girls’ interactions have been impacted by the realm of social media, as they are faced with issues such as privacy and sexting.

 

Wiseman will be a speaker at the 2010 NSBA Annual Conference, April 10-12, where she will be presenting a Special Session entitled “Connected 24/7: Safe and Ethical Social Networking in the Digital Age.” She will be doing a book signing at the Conference Bookstore following her session.

Barbara Moody|March 10th, 2010|Categories: Boardbuzz, Educational Technology|

TLN Site Visits Show Education Technology in Action

The first of four site visits sponsored by NSBA’s Technology Leadership Network — a coalition of more than 350 school districts, education agencies, and colleges of education focused on developing and sharing technology best practices — kicks off in Arkansas’ Fayetteville Public Schools on March 14.

Like all TLN site visits, the jam-packed three-day tour highlights innovation in action — in this case, a district that has embraced 21st century teaching and learning modalities through things like technology enabled reading interventions, digital science notebooks, and pre-engineering programs.

“Hearing about a district’s initiatives through a conference workshop or webinar presentation is simply not the same as seeing first-hand how they have been implemented,” says Ann Flynn, director of NSBA’s Education Technology Programs, the department that oversees TLN, organizes the site visits, and runs the annual T+L conference.

“Participants get a 360 degree look that encompasses the district’s vision around adopting particular strategies, their implementation decisions, and the retrospective view of what has and has not worked, as well as originally anticipated.”

By talking with teachers, students, administrators, board members and business partners, Flynn says, attendees gain a depth of knowledge to help them evaluate their own technology planning efforts, building on the success of the host district.

The 2010 line up, which includes trips to Colorado’s Jefferson County Public Schools, suburban Chicago’s Avoca School District 37, and a first-ever trip across the northern border to Quebec’s Eastern Townships School Board, promises to inspire and show other districts how technology can drive their entire system, not just teaching, into the 21st century.

To register or get more information on the education technology site visits go here.

Naomi Dillon|March 5th, 2010|Categories: Educational Technology, School Board News|

ASBJ to host free webinar on Education 3.0

Time is running out to register for our free webinar on Education 3.0.  American School Board Journal is partnering with Cisco for a free webinar on how to move your school district into the next generation. Led by Jim Lengel, a professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York, the session will feature a seven-step process on how to assess where your district is now and how to get where you need to go. The webinar will take place on Thursday at 2 p.m. EST. Register here.

Kathleen Vail,  Managing Editor

Kathleen Vail|February 24th, 2010|Categories: Educational Technology, Leading Source, Multimedia and Webinars, NSBA Publications|

FCC allows E-rate programs more flexibility

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a plan to allow the public to take advantage of schools’ internet access during non-operating hours. Schools that receive funding from the E-rate program (more formally, the schools and libraries universal service support program) may now provide internet access to the public during non-operating hours. This change attracted broad support in comments received while developing the National Broadband Plan.

This action will leverage universal service funding to serve a larger population at no increased cost to the E-rate program. If a school chooses to allow community access, the general public will be able to use the internet access already present in schools for purposes such as job searches and applications, digital literacy programs, and online access to governmental services and resources. The FCC feels that increasing community access to the internet is particularly critical in communities where residential adoption of broadband Internet access has historically lagged, including many rural, minority, and Tribal communities. Libraries already may provide internet access to their communities using E-rate support.

The order enables schools to provide similar access to the public. The E-rate program commits $2.25 billion in funding annually to schools and libraries for eligible telecommunications services, Internet access, internal connections, and basic maintenance of internal connections.

Current E-rate rules require schools to use the funding only for “educational purposes” directly related to student activities. The FCC says waiving that rule will maximize the use of school facilities and serve more of the community.

Ars Technica notes:

This expansion of E-rate facilities was first tried in Alaska. It could take some of the pressure off public libraries, which share their Internet stations with patrons for general use, and have been deluged with job seekers who have no access to broadband anywhere else. But one wonders how many cash-strapped public schools will avail themselves of this change, given that opening up their workstations will require them to spend additional money on access supervisors and technical support.

BoardBuzz wonders that too. Do you think your school will pursue opening its network to the public? Would it be worth the effort? We think it depends largely on how the rules are rewritten and who is expected to foot the bill of support and maintenance costs. Let us know your opinion.

The FCC’s broadband plan also recommends upgrading the E-rate program to improve broadband access in public elementary and secondary schools, working to improve online learning opportunities including the reduction of regulatory barriers, and promoting digital literacy for students and teachers.

Leveraging broadband to support education is just one of the areas the FCC’s Broadband Task Force outlined in its preview of the National Broadband Plan, due to Congress in 27 days. The Task Force also outlined a laundry list of ways that government could make broadband more useful for the public. These include:

  • Setting up a broadband powered “national employment assistance platform,” which would offer the workforce “anytime, anywhere e-learning tools to drive enrollment in post-secondary education and job training programs”
  • Authorizing the Rural Health Care Program to fund high speed Internet adoption at rural health care facilities, and encouraging the use of remote monitoring vital sign equipment hooked up to the ‘Net
  • Fast tracking the digitization and accessibility of health care records
  • Encouraging deployment of smart grid technology, and releasing more government data on digital platforms so that consumers have online access to their energy use records
  • Creating a nationwide interoperable broadband wireless public safety network.

More detail can be found in the presentation made to the Commission.

Andrew Paulson|February 22nd, 2010|Categories: Boardbuzz, Educational Legislation, Educational Technology|
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