Digital Academics

Thoughtful commentators agree (as noted in June) that the innovation economy requires two things: Growth oriented policies – low tax rates, transparent and efficient government – and An opportunity platform that includes effective education and health services and efficient energy and transportation infrastructure.

You could probably add culture of confidence to round out the innovation formula: opportunity, incentive, and culture.

We need everyone starting something! Therefore, we should aspire to be the world’s best launching pad because our workforce is so productive; our markets the freest and most trusted; our infrastructure and Internet bandwidth the most advanced; our openness to foreign talent second to none; our funding for basic research the most generous; our rule of law, patent protection and investment-friendly tax code the envy of the world; our education system unrivaled; our currency and interest rates the most stable; our environment the most pristine; our health care system the most efficient; and our energy supplies the most secure, clean, and cost-effective.

1. Offer courses through the Digital

2. Flip a Classroom.

3. Blend.

Among the key conclusions of that analysis is that students in virtual schools run by K12 are performing worse academically and dropping out of courses at much higher rates than their brick-and-mortar counterparts.

Such recommendations have been supported by some virtual school advocates, including a structure where funding is based on course completions and not course enrollments, such as the Florida Virtual School's funding model.

Two-thirds of students want to use technology more often in their classrooms, and 76 percent of IT staff said faculty members show increasing interest in implementing educational technology.

But 87 percent of IT professionals said they would need to upgrade their infrastructure before they can incorporate much more technology in their classrooms, and almost nine in 10 faculty members anticipate problems moving away from the traditional lecture model.

“Schools need to have resources equal or better than what [students] have at home,” Washington said.

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Anymals Plants and Wildlife

1. It has been predicted that 44 percent of college textbooks will be digital by 2017. 2. Florida is making K-12 textbooks completely digital by 2015. 3. Even the federal government is taking a strong stance — it released the “Digital Textbook Playbook” to show districts why and how they should make the move toward e-textbooks. 4. The transition to digital content is undeniably taking place in classrooms and on campuses, and will only accelerate in coming years.

2012 Q2 Special Report: The Textbook Reformation & Digital Content

Converge 2012 Q2 Special Report Supplement: Funding and Professional Development

the market for interactive textbooks is taking off (Kno, one of the biggest publishers of e-textbooks, has compiled enough data from extensive use of its platform to publish data on student effectiveness), iPads are everywhere, the Kindle Fire is seeing significant adoption, and Google's Nexus 7 already has solid retail and pre-order traction outside of the technorati who usually represent Google early adopters.