Education & Policy

"Computer science is having a revolutionary impact on scientific research and discovery. Simply put, it is nearly impossible to do scholarly research in any scientific or engineering discipline without an ability to think computationally. The impact of computing extends far beyond science, however, affecting all aspects of our lives. To flourish in today's world, everyone needs computational thinking.   The mission of the Center for Computational Thinking is to advance computing research and advocate for the widespread use of computational thinking to improve people's lives. The Center accomplishes this by seeding research activities, seminars, and symposia that lead to vivid demonstrations of the value of computational thinking in diverse areas of human life. "

"WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 257 - Intel, 3 others to manufacture Aakash 4 for Rs 3,500: Sibal - Free Press Journal Intel, 3 others to manufacture Aakash 4 for Rs 3,500: Sibal The new specifications mandate 2G/3G/4G connectivity with weight less than 500 gm, 4 GB storage capacity and Wi-Fi connectivity NEW DELHI : The government has finalised the tender for manufacture of Aakash 4 tablet with four companies, including chipmaker Intel Corp, selected for manufacturing the tablet at a cost of 3,500 rupees per tablet, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal said on the sidelines of an event."

"EdTech isn't optional, it's essential." - the Infographic.

"EdTech Isn't Optional, It's Essential by Seeta Pai June 21, 2013 Research, Technology integration How important do you think it is for teachers to use educational technologies in the classroom? During this school year, how often do you or your students use [insert type of educational technology] in your classroom? What are the biggest challenges to integrating educational technologies in schools?  These are some of the questions we asked in a national online survey of teachers and administrators, conducted for Common Sense Media's Graphite by Harris Interactive in May 2013. And here are some of the answers. EdTech isn't optional, it's essential. An overwhelming majority of teachers (86%) and administrators (93%) think it's "important" or "absolutely essential" to use products (such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools, or digitally delivered curricula) designed to help students or teachers. Almost all teachers (between 87% and 96%) agree the use of educational technologies increases student engagement in learning, enables personalized learning, improves student outcomes, and helps students collaborate. And 9 out of 10 teachers agree they would like to use more edtech in the classroom."

"The 5 Pillars SLOAN-C QUALITY FRAMEWORK Goal Process/Practice Sample Metric Progress Indices"

"Quality Framework narrative, the 5 pillars In 1997, Frank Mayadas, President of Sloan-C, affirmed that any learner who engages in online education should have, at a minimum, an education that represents the quality of the provider's overall institutional quality. Any institution, he maintained, demonstrates its quality in five inter-related areas - learning effectiveness, access, scale (capacity enrollment achieved through cost-effectiveness and institutional commitment), faculty satisfaction, and student satisfaction. These five have become Sloan-C's Five Pillars of Quality Online Education, the building blocks which provide the support for successful online learning. The intent of the quality framework, which is always a work in progress, is to help institutions identify goals and measure progress towards them."

"Thought Leadership Over the past twenty years, Don and others have literally "written the books" on organizational transformation to meet the emerging context of the Knowledge Age. The Strategic Initiatives team has combined thought leadership and artful practice to shape the leading edge of thinking on leading and navigating change, crafting and executing strategy, focusing on value, and performance measurement. Our team has also defined best practice in e-learning, knowledge-sharing and developing e-knowledge repositories, and designing technology-rich facilities for Knowledge Age applications. Strategic Initiatives uses thought leadership to generate the insights that position our clients for success. Our thought leadership has been manifested in publications, presentations and speaking appearances, satellite/Web broadcasts, and other venues."

Animated treatment of copyright in a university environment.

DRAFT PARCC ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES AND ACCOMMODATIONS MANUAL Guidance for Districts and Decision-Making Teams to Ensure that PARCC MidYear, End-of-Year, and Performance-Based Assessments Produce Valid Results for All Students  FIRST EDITION Produced by: Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) Pre-decisional. Updated June 19, 2013

"Wednesday, July 10, 2013 Bring Your Own Device #BYOD - 5 Lessons for Success Guest post by Craig Crittendon The Network Engineer's Nightmare.. I knew it was going to be an interesting phone call (any call usually is before 8:00 in I.T.).    When the teacher asked why she couldn't get to "insertwebsite.com" and her kids were arriving in 15 minutes for the first BYOD pilot class, I took my first deep breath of the morning…. The second call came about 8:25…  She was still trying to get students logged into their devices…  A technology specialist and a tech were trying to assist….  Some had limited connectivity to our wireless; others were trying to reach their carrier network, which didn't have a good signal in that part of the building.  The app she was trying to get everyone on wasn't working and wouldn't pull up for everyone… And that's how the first couple of weeks went... The teacher was frustrated and her students were behind schedule.  The principal was not pleased.  One month and a half into the program, they ordered 30 iPads, and the official BYOD pilot unofficially became a 1:1 iPad project. What happened?  The teacher seemed prepared the week before. Here are lessons we learned."

"A Dozen Strategies for Improving Online Student Retention By: Al Infande, EdD in Online Education Add Comment Online student retention is one of the most critical components for the success of any college or university. The key to a successful online retention program is the realization that student retention is everybody's job. The main objective of a well-established online retention program is to maintain a student's enrollment and to keep him highly satisfied with the level of education he is acquiring in an online environment. This is not an easy task since there are many reasons why a student might need or want to withdraw or leave the program of study. Below are a dozen strategies for improving online student retention for administrators and faculty:"

"A Resource Supporting the Full Integration of Technology in Arizona Schools What is the Arizona Technology Integration Matrix? The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal directed (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. Together, the five levels of technology integration and the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments create a matrix of 25 cells. What is in each cell? Within each cell of the Matrix one will find two lessons plans with a short video of the lesson. Each lesson is designed to show the integration of technology in instruction and classrooms as well as the Arizona Educational Technology Standards."

"The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal directed (i.e., reflective), authentic, and collaborative (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. Together, the five levels of technology integration and the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments create a matrix of 25 cells as illustrated below."

With the recent growth of the Internet and other distance technologies, web based course delivery has become an attractive option for expanding the educational opportunities available to students. Our institution, like others, is actively pursuing this means of delivery in order to expand its reach to new students and to facilitate the scheduling of existing students. During a recent academic term, our students had the opportunity to enroll in such a course. Unique circumstances resulted in the simultaneous offering of additional course sections in a traditional lecture/discussion format, as well as a web-enhanced format. This pilot study documents a comparative evaluation of the three course formats.