Group items tagged

DARPA is funding "hackerspaces"--high-tech workshops to give high school students opportunities to explore engineering and learning through creation--at 1,000 U.S. high schools. 

full disclosure: classmate Alex Schoenfeld first shared this with the us in the TIE facebook group :). But it brings an interesting trend in the adoption and pricing of mobile apps: Article outlining what lots of us know when it comes to moblie apps and pricing - free, $1, and $2 are the price-points that sell, and allow us to try out an app with minimal regret. But with the rise of more and more high-quailty, high-profile, and high-budget educatioanl apps, will the pricing structure change? Will parents and educators be willing to spend the prices of traditional computer software ($50 or more?) for really great mobile apps? The article brings up an interesting model that seems to already be coming to life looking at how apps are being sold and updated lately: "Donahoo and Russell propose there's a better way: subscriptions and content expansion packs.  Launchpad Toys follows the latter tact. The initial price the Toontastic app for $3 (though it's currently free). Users can use that fully functioning app, or choose to add additional characters and themes with $.99 expansion packs. This way, they contend, costs are controlled; it's cheap for parents and children to evaluate an app, and the model encourages regular updates."

Online education for high school students is not an option, it is mandatory. Idaho Education Board approved that at least two credits of online class is required to graduate from high school. Idaho is first in the nation to mandate online class. We have read articles and discussed in class pros and cons of online learning. However, should online learning be mandatory for high school students? Do you think it is a good idea?

Having online education for the sake of online education does not seem like a good idea to me. If it saves them enough money that they can improve classroom education, that might be worth it, but I'm not convinced that this is worth doing.

Agree with Ayelet. Idaho board of education went through this despite heavy criticism from public. Instead of making it an option, Idaho makes it mandatory. Online education may not work for some students. They may feel that it has been pushed down their throat.

Short and sweet video about improving high school physics.

This article discusses how a charter school in Texas has students focused on technology rather than sports.

Online foreign language learning for high school students at Woodridge High. ""Either we get on the [online learning] bus or we're going to get hit by the bus", says Superintendent Walter Davis.

A look at a Brooklyn public school that offers a six-year high school/college curriculum geared toward jobs in the technology industry. Ironically, it doesn't seem like technology is being used to transform student understanding. And there seems to be a risk that these kids are being trained to do jobs that will be obsolete by the time they finish school.

Interesting idea!

Elite Universities, like Stanford University, are putting their brand and prestige behind online education and offering diplomas to 30 seniors from "Standford Online High School." Harold O. Levy, a former New York City schools chancellor and founder of Kaplan's online master's of education program, believes Stanford's involvement in this sector could be a watershed.

Though it is only 5 years old and Stanford officials are still unsure whether it really compares to a brick and mortar school, the cache of Stanford's name could certainly do a lot to elevate the reputation of online programs. I think it is especially interesting that most students are from remote areas where it is impossible to get a comparable education at a similar private school because of location.

"Sunday's New York Times story broke the news that Stanford University, one of the world's most prestigious research institutions, is putting its brand squarely behind a full-time, degree-granting online high school program. It's just one more reason to set aside the silly debate about whether online educationcan possibly be effective for high school students."

Fedora to provide scholarship. Incentive to contribute to open source technologies for high school students. Perhaps getting high school students engaged in open source projects is a means of putting the medium of technology into the learners hands.

High tech or no-tech - debate continues in Canadian schools. While schools introduce technology from Grades 3 ,4,or 5, Waldorf schools are growing too, 24 affiliated schools with students from K-12, and is growing.

This is discussed in the Productivity section of the NETP

Arizona is taking an interesting view on seat-time http://news.yahoo.com/high-school-less-four-years-070000848.html Hundreds of schools in Arizona are being given the chance to opt into an initiative called Move On When Ready where students are allowed to graduate after their sophomore year based on proving academic achievement. Some are arguing that it is the same option as getting a G.E.D. after one turns 16 but I would argue that there is a negative connotation to having a G.E.D. versus a high school diploma and that this program provides a way for students to achieve a diploma without "putting in" four years of high school seat-time.

This is a website created by Burlington High School students that are taking a class called Help Desk. In the class they run a help desk to help teachers learn and integrate current technology into classrooms. This was administration's response at Burlington to teachers needing support in incorporating web 2.0 tools into curriculum when they started a one to one device system.

Voters in Idaho voted 2:1 to repeal a RTTT-inspired state law that would have brought 1:1 laptop programs to all high schools and required all students to take 2 online or blended courses in order to graduate from high school. The public felt that the law would have "diverted taxpayer dollars to technology corporations and marginalized teachers."

Idaho voted down several education measures including one to require participation in an online course before high school graduation and a shift to 1-to-1 computing in schools.

"By 2017, the first wave of students of P-Tech - Pathways in Technology Early College High School - is expected to emerge with associate's degrees in applied science in computer information systems or electromechanical engineering technology, following a course of studies developed in consultation with I.B.M."

This article explore's a high school teacher's efforts to teach students how to create apps for androids. I think it's a good example of how technology can and should be used in classrooms.

My grandparents live far away, and it's really hard trying to explain computer stuff on the phone. It would be great if there were more efforts like this, hooking up high school/college students to help local seniors.

The Education Program for Gifted Youth is now Stanford Online High School. Raises some interesting questions about online education, access and cost, and scalability.

A profile of a teacher in Florida who is using smart pens from LiveScribe to create pencasts of exercises for her HS math classes.