Group items tagged answer Sheet - Educational Technology and Change Journal

Ten Education Predictions for 2012 Answer Sheet - 1 views

10 education predictions for 2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/10-education-predictions-for-2012/2011/12/29/gIQAB2PbPP_blog.html By Valerie Strauss This was written by La...

Prognostications prediction teacher ratings social emotional learning peer assistance and review

started by Bonnie Sutton on 01 Jan 12 no follow-up yet

Most Literate and Least Literate cities in the US - 1 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-most-least-literate-big-us-cities/2012/01/26/gIQAluv9SQ_blog.html Valerie Strauss Washington, D.C., is the most literate big city in the ...

started by Bonnie Sutton on 26 Jan 12 no follow-up yet

Rupert Murdoch uses eG8 to talk up net's power to transform education | Media | guardia... - 6 views

www.guardian.co.uk/...g8-invest-education-technology

rupert murdoch uses

shared by Jim Shimabukuro on 02 Jun 11 - No Cached

Jim Shimabukuro on 02 Jun 11

"Rupert Murdoch uses eG8 to talk up net's power to transform education News Corp chairman claims 'Victorian' schools are 'last holdout from digital revolution' Kim Willsher in Paris guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 May 2011 18.10 BST Rupert Murdoch, the News Corporation founder and chairman, used his address to the eG8 Forum in Paris on Tuesday to call for more investment in education and "unlocking the potential" of the world's children. Murdoch said it was not a question of putting a computer in every school, but concentrating on opening up opportunities for youngsters to flourish by using targeted and tailored software. News Corp moved into the $500bn (£310bn) US education sector in late 2010, paying about $360m in cash for 90% of technology company Wireless Generation, which provides mobile and web software to enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver personalised learning."

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">"Rupert Murdoch uses eG8 to talk up net's power to transform education News Corp chairman claims 'Victorian' schools are 'last holdout from digital revolution' Kim Willsher in Paris guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 May 2011 18.10 BST Rupert Murdoch, the News Corporation founder and chairman, used his address to the eG8 Forum in Paris on Tuesday to call for more investment in education and "unlocking the potential" of the world's children. Murdoch said it was not a question of putting a computer in every school, but concentrating on opening up opportunities for youngsters to flourish by using targeted and tailored software. News Corp moved into the $500bn (£310bn) US education sector in late 2010, paying about $360m in cash for 90% of technology company Wireless Generation, which provides mobile and web software to enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver personalised learning."</div>

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Jim Shimabukuro on 02 Jun 11

From Harry Keller

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">From Harry Keller</div>

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Claude Almansi on 02 Jun 11

Interesting contrast with Murdoch's attitude in 2009 - see http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/09/murdoch-google - but is it really a contrast?

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Interesting contrast with Murdoch's attitude in 2009 - see <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/09/murdoch-google" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/09/murdoch-google</a> - but is it really a contrast?</div>

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Harry Keller on 02 Jun 11

We've had Ely Broad, Bill Gates, and a host of other billionaires (even George Lucas) attempting to "fix" our education system. They're not doing so well. What is so interesting to me about Murdoch, despite his pirate-like business practices, is that he sees what I think is the real direction for the future of education. Oddly unlike his right-wing colleagues, he's not pushing for vouchers or more school privatization. Unlike the technocrats, he's not pushing for more and more computers in schools. He sees the solution to our schooling problems as "targeted and tailored software." Many (maybe most) countries, including the U.S., lack the political will as societies to fix education the way that Finland did. Software is the other path. Much discussion today centers around the platform. Will we use smart phones or e-tablets or netbooks? Will we see $1 apiece apps as the learning modules or cloud-based solutions? Will our new learning software run on iOS or Android? All of that is window dressing and barely worthy of discussion. For me, Murdoch hit the nail on the head. We have too little software "targeted and tailored" to education or, at least, too little highly professional quality software.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">We've had Ely Broad, Bill Gates, and a host of other billionaires (even George Lucas) attempting to "fix" our education system. They're not doing so well. What is so interesting to me about Murdoch, despite his pirate-like business practices, is that he sees what I think is the real direction for the future of education. Oddly unlike his right-wing colleagues, he's not pushing for vouchers or more school privatization. Unlike the technocrats, he's not pushing for more and more computers in schools. He sees the solution to our schooling problems as "targeted and tailored software." Many (maybe most) countries, including the U.S., lack the political will as societies to fix education the way that Finland did. Software is the other path. Much discussion today centers around the platform. Will we use smart phones or e-tablets or netbooks? Will we see $1 apiece apps as the learning modules or cloud-based solutions? Will our new learning software run on iOS or Android? All of that is window dressing and barely worthy of discussion. For me, Murdoch hit the nail on the head. We have too little software "targeted and tailored" to education or, at least, too little highly professional quality software.</div>

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Claude Almansi on 04 Jun 11

Errh yes about Murdoch pushing "targeted and tailored software" , Harry. But see also: "News Corp moved into the $500bn (£310bn) US education sector in late 2010, paying about $360m in cash for 90% of technology company Wireless Generation, which provides mobile and web software to enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver personalised learning." So he is doing at software level what Microsoft etc were doing at hardware - and at times software - level: promoting his wares in a very juicy market. We've had "targeted and tailored to education" software for decades, now: LMSs, addons to office suites, etc. Some good, some bad. The problem with software that is targeted and tailored to education is that it is a) often boring; b) perforce based on an abstract general idea of education; c) often remote from what gets used outside school. Would it not be better to train teachers in adapting whatever software is generally available, be it desktop or on the cloud, to fit their and their specific students' needs?

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Errh yes about Murdoch pushing "targeted and tailored software" , Harry. But see also: "News Corp moved into the $500bn (£310bn) US education sector in late 2010, paying about $360m in cash for 90% of technology company Wireless Generation, which provides mobile and web software to enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver personalised learning." So he is doing at software level what Microsoft etc were doing at hardware - and at times software - level: promoting his wares in a very juicy market. We've had "targeted and tailored to education" software for decades, now: LMSs, addons to office suites, etc. Some good, some bad. The problem with software that is targeted and tailored to education is that it is a) often boring; b) perforce based on an abstract general idea of education; c) often remote from what gets used outside school. Would it not be better to train teachers in adapting whatever software is generally available, be it desktop or on the cloud, to fit their and their specific students' needs?</div>

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Harry Keller on 04 Jun 11

My point is simply that Murdoch gets it. His motives don't have to be pure for us all to benefit from the light he's shining on educational technology. Regarding the software, your points are well-taken. However, one extra qualification must be added. The software must be "good." That means it must avoid the problems you list.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">My point is simply that Murdoch gets it. His motives don't have to be pure for us all to benefit from the light he's shining on educational technology. Regarding the software, your points are well-taken. However, one extra qualification must be added. The software must be "good." That means it must avoid the problems you list.</div>

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Harry Keller on 05 Jun 11

"Would it not be better to train teachers in adapting whatever software is generally available, be it desktop or on the cloud, to fit their and their specific students' needs?' I disagree with this analysis. Software not created for educational purposes will only adapt so far. It is, for example, word processing substituting for paper and pencil. That's worthy of doing but really makes no difference in instruction. When software is created specifically for learning, it can reach much more deeply into the learning processes. It's not just peripheral but central to learning. You can adapt lots of software to education in lots of ways, and I've read of many very clever adaptations. Almost all could be done without the use of a computer, albeit somewhat less efficiently but nonetheless effectively. I read Murdoch's call, which echoes something I've been saying for many years, as meaning that we have to build software that answers the necessities of learning. We don't have much today.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">"Would it not be better to train teachers in adapting whatever software is generally available, be it desktop or on the cloud, to fit their and their specific students' needs?' I disagree with this analysis. Software not created for educational purposes will only adapt so far. It is, for example, word processing substituting for paper and pencil. That's worthy of doing but really makes no difference in instruction. When software is created specifically for learning, it can reach much more deeply into the learning processes. It's not just peripheral but central to learning. You can adapt lots of software to education in lots of ways, and I've read of many very clever adaptations. Almost all could be done without the use of a computer, albeit somewhat less efficiently but nonetheless effectively. I read Murdoch's call, which echoes something I've been saying for many years, as meaning that we have to build software that answers the necessities of learning. We don't have much today.</div>

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Claude Almansi on 05 Jun 11

Taking up your example of word processing as substitute for pen and pencil , Harry: true, and that's what I retorted in the late 1990's to a digitalophobe academic, when we met about the Italian translation of one of his books, and he boasted of having got a letter from a publisher saying he was their last author to deliver typescripts on paper and not as a digital file. I pointed out that cut and paste, copy and paste (the things he particularly hated the ease of in digital media) existed in the real world looooooong before computers, let alone PCs, let alone the Web. And yet... in 2007 I was asked to set up at very short notice an intensive preliminary French workshop for participants in a master course in intercultural studies: though in Lugano, the course was to be in French and English. I asked for access to the Moodle for the course, to store course materials there etc. The organizers refused: "The Moodle will only be explained to the students in the first week of the course proper". The idea that graduate students needed to have a Moodle explained to them in 2007 seemed peregrine, but rather than arguing, I set up a for-free wiki instead. At our first meeting, the students asked why we weren't using the Moodle, I repeated the official explanation, they laughed and got the hang of the wiki immediately. Then, for reading comprehension, they chose one of the assigned texts for the course: a longish book chapter they had received by e-mail as a grayish PDF based on a low-resolution scan, based on a reduced photocopy to make 2 pages fit on an A4 sheet: i.e. with no margin to take notes on. So we printed the PDF, separated the pages with scissors, pasted the separate pages with glue sticks on new A4 sheets, to get wider margins to write in. And then we made a wiki page for it, copied in it the subheadings, between which the students, added the notes they were taking, working in groups on the new paper version. Result: http://micusif.wikispaces.com/Vinsonneau

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Taking up your example of word processing as substitute for pen and pencil , Harry: true, and that's what I retorted in the late 1990's to a digitalophobe academic, when we met about the Italian translation of one of his books, and he boasted of having got a letter from a publisher saying he was their last author to deliver typescripts on paper and not as a digital file. I pointed out that cut and paste, copy and paste (the things he particularly hated the ease of in digital media) existed in the real world looooooong before computers, let alone PCs, let alone the Web. And yet... in 2007 I was asked to set up at very short notice an intensive preliminary French workshop for participants in a master course in intercultural studies: though in Lugano, the course was to be in French and English. I asked for access to the Moodle for the course, to store course materials there etc. The organizers refused: "The Moodle will only be explained to the students in the first week of the course proper". The idea that graduate students needed to have a Moodle explained to them in 2007 seemed peregrine, but rather than arguing, I set up a for-free wiki instead. At our first meeting, the students asked why we weren't using the Moodle, I repeated the official explanation, they laughed and got the hang of the wiki immediately. Then, for reading comprehension, they chose one of the assigned texts for the course: a longish book chapter they had received by e-mail as a grayish PDF based on a low-resolution scan, based on a reduced photocopy to make 2 pages fit on an A4 sheet: i.e. with no margin to take notes on. So we printed the PDF, separated the pages with scissors, pasted the separate pages with glue sticks on new A4 sheets, to get wider margins to write in. And then we made a wiki page for it, copied in it the subheadings, between which the students, added the notes they were taking, working in groups on the new paper version. Result: <a href="http://micusif.wikispaces.com/Vinsonneau" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://micusif.wikispaces.com/Vinsonneau</a></div>

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Teachers Appeal to President Obama- Answer Sheet - 1 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/teachers-appeal-to-president-obama/2011/06/19/AG2MHVbH_blog.html

educational change testing teachers Dept of Education

started by Bonnie Sutton on 19 Jun 11 no follow-up yet

Save Our Schools Conference and Clippings - 0 views

A few clippings. The Save Our Schools March http://www.washingtonpost.com/local By Valerie Strauss "I don't know where I would be today if my teachers' job security was based on how I performed o...

Paul Gorski Save Schools Rally Diane Ravitz Alfie Kohn teachers Tired Teacher Blog Answersheet White House Invitation to our Leaders

started by Bonnie Sutton on 01 Aug 11 no follow-up yet

How many testing scandals do we need as a wake-up call? - 1 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/how-many-testing-scandals-do-we-need-as-a-wake-up-call/2011/08/07/gIQAIvfZ0I_blog.html By Valerie Strauss -- This was written by Lisa Guisbon...

testing nclb effect cheating school system meeting AYP by scandals

started by Bonnie Sutton on 07 Aug 11 no follow-up yet

'Mr. President, public education in the U.S. is on the wrong track' - 1 views

By Valerie Strauss This is the text of an open letter written to President Obama by Mary Broderick, president of the Arlington, Va.,-based National Schools Boards Association, a not-for-profit or...

educarion Public reform innovation and creativity testing no child left behind

started by Bonnie Sutton on 24 Apr 12 no follow-up yet

The challenge of the introverted student - 2 views

The challenge of the introverted student By Valerie Strauss http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-challenge-of-the-introverted-student/2012/04/28/gIQATva9nT_blog.html This ...

Introverted student isolation the silent pupil

started by Bonnie Sutton on 29 Apr 12 no follow-up yet

Jamming the System: Standardized Tests, Automated Grading and the Future of Writing - 2 views

View slide show on original site. | View on Flickr on original site. Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning http://spotlight.macfound.org/blog/entry/jamming-the-system-standardized-t...

Ja the System: Standardized Tests Automated Grading Future of Writing robotic evaluation

started by Bonnie Sutton on 29 Apr 12 no follow-up yet

A state that just says 'no' to charters, other reforms - 1 views

A state that just says 'no' to charters, other reforms By Valerie Strauss This was written by Melissa Westbrook, a public education activist and co-writer of the Seattle Schools Community Forum...

charters other reforms Washington State innovation support

started by Bonnie Sutton on 04 May 12 no follow-up yet

Guess when this warning about testing was written - 1 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/guess-when-this-warning-about-testing-was-written/2012/05/06/gIQAQqEX6T_blog.html

testing ombudsman concerns about teaching to the test

started by Bonnie Sutton on 07 May 12 no follow-up yet

The War on Teachers, - 1 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-war-on-teachers-why-the-public-is-watching-it-happen/2012/03/11/gIQAD3XH6R_blog.html The war on teachers: Why the public is watching it hap...

attack on the teaching force transforming reality of learning landscape

started by Bonnie Sutton on 12 Mar 12 no follow-up yet

Diane Ravitch The Tolls of School Reform on Public Education - 3 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/ravitch-the-toll-of-school-reform-on-public-education/2012/03/27/gIQADjVEfS_blog.html

Diane Ravitch public education reform

started by Bonnie Sutton on 29 Mar 12 no follow-up yet

When An Adult Took Standardized Tests Force on Kids - 0 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/when-an-adult-took-standardized-tests-forced-on-kids/2011/12/05/gIQApTDuUO_blog.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz

standardized testing validity of

started by Bonnie Sutton on 06 Dec 11 no follow-up yet

Hawaii teachers reject contract in 'blow' to Race to the Top - 2 views

By Valerie Strauss http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/hawaii-teachers-reject-contract-in-blow-to-race-to-the-top/2012/01/20/gIQA2KHCGQ_blog.html Public school teachers in Hawa...

race to the top performance based evaluation DOE

started by Bonnie Sutton on 21 Jan 12 no follow-up yet

Teach for America: Liberal mission helps conservative agenda - 1 views

Teach for America: Liberal mission helps conservative agenda http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/teach-for-america-liberal-mission-helps-conservative-agenda/2011/12/25/gIQApoVZHP...

Teach for America Liberal mission Education reform Andrew Hartman unionized teachers DC Schools wendy Kopp Michelle Rhee

started by Bonnie Sutton on 27 Dec 11 no follow-up yet

Microsoft Wins TEACH Campaign from the Education Dept - 0 views

Microsoft wins TEACH campaign from Education Dept By Valerie Strauss http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/microsoft-wins-teach-campaign-from-education-dept/2011/11/13/gIQA5t5bMN_bl...

Microsoft education department teach doe

started by Bonnie Sutton on 15 Nov 11 no follow-up yet

What Achievement Gap Data Reveals and What it Doesn't - 0 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what-achievement-gap-data-reveals--and-what-it-doesnt/2012/02/21/gIQAJpkRhR_blog.html

started by Bonnie Sutton on 01 Mar 12 no follow-up yet

What Parents say Testing is doing to their kids - 1 views

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what-parents-say-testing-is-doing-to-their-kids/2012/05/30/gJQABJCz2U_blog.html?fb_ref=NetworkNews

results testing effect kids and

started by Bonnie Sutton on 07 Jun 12 no follow-up yet

Advice to Education Dept. on newest Race to the Top - 3 views

By Valerie Strauss -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/advice-to-education-dept-on-newest-race-to-the-top/2011/07/20/gIQA9n8tQI_blog.html This was written by Monty Neill,...

Race to the Top ELC funding advice

started by Bonnie Sutton on 23 Jul 11 no follow-up yet

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