Group items tagged

In this article, we use evidence to describe seven key lessons from a four-year district-wide computer science implementation project between Howard University and the District of Columbia Public Schools. These lessons are: (a) Get to know the school counselors (and other key personnel); (b) Expect personnel changes and strategic reorganization within school districts; (c) Be innovative to build and maintain community; (d) Be flexible when developing instruments and curricula; (e) Maintain a firm commitment to equity; (f) Develop tiered content and prepare to make philosophical adjustments; and (g) Identify markers of sustainability. We also include original curricula materials including the Computer Science Course Evaluation and the Computational Thinking Survey. The seven lessons and curricula materials provided in this study can be used to inform the development of future computer science researcher-practitioner partnerships.

"In this article, we use evidence to describe seven key lessons from a four-year district-wide computer science implementation project between Howard University and the District of Columbia Public Schools. These lessons are: (a) Get to know the school counselors (and other key personnel); (b) Expect personnel changes and strategic reorganization within school districts; (c) Be innovative to build and maintain community; (d) Be flexible when developing instruments and curricula; (e) Maintain a firm commitment to equity; (f) Develop tiered content and prepare to make philosophical adjustments; and (g) Identify markers of sustainability. We also include original curricula materials including the Computer Science Course Evaluation and the Computational Thinking Survey. The seven lessons and curricula materials provided in this study can be used to inform the development of future computer science researcher-practitioner partnerships."

Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency is organising a 26-day long e-District training programme in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu. As part of the training, the revenue staff of the district, including tahsildars, revenue inspectors, and village administrative officers. The objective of the training is to train them on providing various revenue documents such as income certificate, community certificate and domicile certificates electronically.

"A new wave of e-textbooks is giving students more than just words and a few hotlinks on a digital page. Publishers over the last few years have been adding video, interactive maps and gamified quizzes designed to engage students more deeply in their learning. "Think of it as making the textbook a hands-on activity," says Andrew Miller, an ASCD faculty member and technology expert. "It's making the content come to life in a way that meets the needs of different learners-auditory learners, visual leaders, text-based learners." The latest e-textbooks, developed by traditional publishers as well as new players like Discovery Education, are powered by a host of adaptive features, such as adjustable levels of difficulty and instant translation into other languages. And in some districts, teachers are using platforms like Apple's iBooks to create their own digital course materials."

The Bihar government moved closer to nearly four million residents of Gaya district spread over 24 blocks and 332 panchayats, as Gaya formally became an e-district thereby making the people just a mouse click away from the government. Gaya administration entered the cyber world on Sunday afternoon at a function organized at Hasrat Mohani auditorium to mark the occasion.

Technology brings 'new P.E.' to schools School districts compete for grants that bring more interactive, information-based curriculum to gym classes

"Rather than the maker experiences being an after school program, an add on activity, or an activity that is implemented when students have done their regular lessons work, it should be part of the regular, day-to-day curriculum. As noted in USC Rossier Online, "In order for your school and students to be fully invested in maker education, it has to be integrated into your curriculum, not squeezed in" (https://rossieronline.usc.edu/maker-education/sync-with-curriculum/).  Ayah Bdeir, who invented and runs littleBits, had this to say about integrating maker education into the curriculum: It's time for maker ed to move into the mainstream. Making should not be relegated to the times spent outside of class, e.g. lunch or after school. Nor should it only flourish in private schools, which don't have to teach to standards. We need to work to show how making is a rigorous process that leads to valuable new technologies, products and experiences. Specifically, we need to tie maker projects to standards-based curriculum and show clearly the kinds of knowledge, skills and practices students learn as part of making (https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-09-24-building-connections-between-maker-ed-and-standards) Albemarle County Public School District is very intentional in their implementation of maker projects: Maker projects can be created to support just about any subject area, from science to history to language arts. Maker education can be a tool for teaching the curriculum that you already have, At a glance, maker projects may appear disconnected from the curriculum. What may look like an arts and crafts activity, or just a bunch of kids playing with Legos, is actually a way to teach about ancient Rome or how to write a persuasive essay. (https://www.edutopia.org/practice/maker-education-reaching-all-learners) "

"The district wide iPad committee that I served on was tasked with creating a list of core apps for the iPads. There was significant thought and care put into making the list. We wanted to stick with free apps, developmentally appropriate, focused on creation yet considering space limitations on the device. We liked this visual for sharing the apps so we tried to recreate our list in this style. http://www.teachthought.com/apps-2/47-core-teacher-apps-a-visual-library-of-apps-for-teachers/"