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Features Tom Rooney sees competency-based education-supported by digital learning tools-as the path to building a better school district. The superintendent of the 4,200-student Lindsay Unified School District in California, Rooney set in motion this school year a plan to move to a system in which students progress not on the basis of their age or a set school calendar, but by demonstrating proficiency on learning objectives.

This is the link to a MOOC orchestrated by Stephen Downes, "Change in Formal Education Systems". Unlike the MOOCs that are getting all the press, like Coursera and EdX which are largely replicating a model that pushes content to the learner, this MOOC is actually trying to change the dynamics of teacher-learner interactions. The live session described here is about interaction. "Interaction - The various types and methods by which interaction is supported in formal education, especially student-student, student-content and student-teacher interactions. We look especially at the capacity to substitute one form of interaction for another based on funding, time subject and context."

Not surprising that the cradle of innovation in this country is backing up the truck to support the "innovative" blended learning model.

"Technology in education is one of the "prominent technology trends expected to influence the consumer electronics (CE) industry in the years ahead," according to the 2013 edition of "Five Technology Trends to Watch," a report released this week by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The other four tech trends identified were the future of 3D printing, next-generation TVs and displays, the evolution of the audio market, and the mobile revolution in Africa." Basically goes on to state that parents and students support more ed tech (which I think has come up in a couple other articles, too).

Its great to see an organization like PBS jumping into both providing resources and support for educators to maximize the use of technology and not compromising quality content. Includes a teacher survey on use of technology in classrooms across the country (successes & challenges)

UNESCO recommendations on mobile use policies in education. This is from a global perspective on using mobile technologies in the classroom. There is a link to the actual UNESCO policy draft.

Here's a link to a series of paper UNESCO has on Mobile Learning. The nice thing is that it even breaks Mobile Learning down intro different regions. It also looks at different initiatives from a policy perspective, and by looking at what can be done to support teachers/improve practice. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/m4ed/mobile-learning-resources/unescomobilelearningseries/

I agree, great article about forthcoming UNESCO mobile learning policies and this exciting new educational area.

For the first time, Amazon's digital books had outsold paper books. While many popular consumer books have successfully made the switch into the new format, textbooks are still widely read on paper. However, textbooks as e-books ought to be seen as a stepping stone to the future. And we need to design devices that are specifically made to support academic reading.

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) implementation in Australia seems to bring positive results. In remote, largely indigenous northwest Queensland, Doomadgee, 3rd grade students' numeracy improved from 31 per cent last year to a staggering 95 per cent in 2011.

In contrast with the deployment issues of OLPC, here's an article on 1-1 initiative that focused on professional development, teacher collaboration, switching to a teacher selected, digital based curriculum with formative assessments, and a leased laptop support & deployment model.  (Full disclosure - the vendor is Apple).

NOW!!! THIS IS REALLY COOL!

I wish it was this easy when I applied to undergrad. 

interesting point that the MBA admissions director from University of Iowa mentions. Admissions dept.'s are finding traditional application essays stale. New/social media outlets like twitter are bringing back originality and creativity. Maybe embracing Tweets as a medium is like a page-limit on a paper assignment. The constraints force students to really hone in on their points, and convey it as succinctly and clearly as possible? Conveying an entire thought/argument in 140 characters... it isn't easy, and perhaps those who can do it best are really effective 21st century communicators, and are worth rewarding/supporting.

I thought this was interesting following our discussion about Sherry Turkle yesterday. Robots assessing "risky behavior?" A South Korean prison will begin a month-long trial to see if robots make good prison guards. (Image Credit: Asian Forum For Corrections) The BBC reports that a jail in Pohang, South Korea, will soon begin a one-month trial of three new robots, which will be there in a support capacity to monitor for "abnormal behavior."

The headline promises more than the article delivers. It mainly identifies the limited effectiveness that the federal government can have. There are no specific "how to's" here and no mention of technology whatsoever, perhaps because that would be too specific a focus for the scope of the article. These are prominent figures in a prominent publication having a conversation that could have taken place in 1980. How do we change that? The absence of real civic engagement on issues about education is the missing link in education reform. I wonder if we can organize public discourse on the internet more effectively to have formal impact on civic activism and administration.

I usually do not venture into blogs. But, this data is so powerful and so supported that I could not resist.

A initiative that may support the BYOD movement.

Quoting directly from the company-wide email (to Microsoft) "Microsoft YouthSpark is a new companywide initiative that will create opportunities for 300 million young people around the world over the next three years. We know young people everywhere face real challenges....Yet, this is more than philanthropy. We are mobilizing the company. From Partners-in-Learning to Office365 for EDU to Skype in the Classroom, we're marshaling a wide range of company's programs to support youth. As Steve said this morning, "We believe that working with our partners we can help empower young people to change their world, and we are committed to using our technology, talent, time and resources to do that."" (Personal Communication)

A useful service for innovators and entrepeneurs

I was especially struck by the "take a pile of dirt" argument: new products don't require as long an incubation period as they once did. And so we're likely to see more and more untested ed tech options on the scene. That entrepreneurial spirit seems exciting, but the absence of research in support of any given innovation might also be something to be wary of.

One of the few uses of advanced technologies in the history curriculum

As delivery of history teaching to students becomes more and more realistic, it is more important than ever to ensure that we have in place a robust and diverse oversight network to ensure that the narrative being suggested is an accurate representation of the time and place, as opposed to a history-as-written-by-the-winners narrative, which is pervasive throughout many textbooks. For many students, this sort of immersion will overwhelm any alternative streams of knowledge coming from Harlem in the 20s, so it is vital that the VR be constructed in a way that captures the context of why it was such a dynamic time in New York. As for the creators of this technology having to turn to the porn industry for technical support, that should not come as a surprise, as many claim that porn has revolutionized, or at least been instrumental in, the emergence of many new industries from VHS to the internet.

eMentoring is a more powerful means of online professional development than presentations and, if done well, can use social media as an asset

Did some digging into the Quest for Learning school that was mentioned in the Connected Learning reading. They're about average on test scores in 2012 (found here: http://projects.nytimes.com/new-york-schools-test-scores/counties/new-york/districts/new-york-city-district-2/schools/quest-to-learn), which could be cited to support arguments on both side the 'gaming v traditional learning' coin with regards to standardized tests. It will certainly be interesting to see how their graduates fair over the next decade or so.

Well spotted, Ms. Laura. Schools like this really do take some leap of faith. Even parents/students/administrators/teachers who really believe in the ideals must realize that the students do not exist in a vacuum and that if/when their kids take the SATs, apply to college, etc., they are buying into the system that they are trying to reject/amend earlier in the students life.