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Katherine Tarulli

Cellphone Ban Is a Tale of Two City Schools - 3 views

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    Cell phones are banned in NYC public schools, but it is the norm for students who attend schools without metal detectors to bring their phones anyway. If caught teachers are confiscating phones for up to a week, or longer, at their discretion. At schools with metal detectors small businesses have popped up around schools, storing students' phones for the school day for a small fee, similar to a coat check system. Instead of harnessing the power of mobile phones that almost every student already has, they are punishing them and/or causing them to pay money to keep them stored for the school day so that they can have them before and after school. I think this is a missed opportunity for the NYC school system not only because they are missing out on mobile learning opportunities with technology the district doesn't have to buy, but they could also be teaching the students responsible and appropriate use of mobile phones in public spaces.
Uche Amaechi

BYOD - Worst Idea of the 21st Century? : Stager-to-Go - 7 views

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    Uche, you keep posting stuff I have a problem with- OK I understand that BYOD policies may not be so great but I really believe that familes should shoulder some of the costs for hardware since degredation is such a problem. The schools can have agreements with vendors to provide certain laptops or tablets for a certain price point and they can design their systems to support these items. Parents are expected to purchase backpacks, binders, and school supplies. When parents can't provide these back-to-school supplies, schools cover it. The same should be for computers. Speaking as a middle class parent (refer to above article) I believe this is an important investment in our schools so that they can focus on hardware support and software implementation/ integration.
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    @Allison and Uche - I am torn. While I initially thought BYOD was a good idea so that schools would have to stop "blaming" their fiscal woes on their inability to integrate emerging technologies into the curriculum, I now have some appreciation with points from this article - especially around "false equivalences" and "enshrining inequities" in light of my own children's "bring your own electronic device" day that took place two weeks ago. As a school wide reward for meeting their Accelerated Reading goal, all students were told they could bring an electronic device to school to "play" with on Friday afternoon. This prompted my kids to call me (Skype) on Thursday night and ask me if I could buy them a DS or a SmartPhone that NIGHT so that they could bring either of those devices to school for the celebration. Now mind you, my kids have access to lap tops, iPad, Smart Phones, Wii games, GameBoy, iPods, Flip camera, digital camera, etc - albeit not their OWN - but still access to them for use (when Mom and Dad are not using them). But apparently, of the devices left that Mom and Dad weren't using, none of them were "cool" enough for this event. That got me wondering if BYOD might have the same effect on our learners making those who don't have the latest and greatest feel bad or less adequate then their friends or classmates who could bring something they deemed as "better?" Allison, your point seems to be that requiring parents to cover the expense of a digital device as a requirement for school is not a bad idea, but I think you are referring to expecting the SAME device to be purchased and used, not myriad devices with various capabilities, features and functions - am I understanding you correctly? And if we did try to mandate parental supply of digital devices, would we have a different kind of fight on our hands because, as consumers, parents might have their own biases around what they deem is the best device of all (not just PC vs MAC or iOS vs Android, but sma
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    I still believe that a system properly designed could mitigate some of your concerns. In reality, schools can not support any device that a student brings in. They are capable of supporting a certain number and if they build relationships with the vendors to sell those devices that the school is capable of supporting then families will be aware that the school will offer the best deal on the items that are compatible. Every year the school recommends items for back to school supplies. If the laptop could replace all of the binders it might be worth it. There are many factors to consider but the biggest obstacle is that schools maintain such old equipment because of their budget woes. Even when we can purchase the latest and greatest software, the computers can't run it.
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    What a great debate you guys are having! One point worth considering is that typically the parents are responsible for purchasing the supplies, while the school is responsible for providing the content (textbooks, workbooks, handouts, worksheets, videos, etc). In the near future these devices may also be the primary sources of content, replacing textbooks altogether. I would hope perhaps funding for textbooks could be transferred to funding for these devices. I would also hope that the price of these devices drops significantly (is the $35 tablet in our future?). Then of course the question of who pays is less important. In my job producing educational video for publishing companies, I spend way too much time dealing with various formats and compatibility problems with browsers, so I'd love to see a future where this becomes more standardized.
Katherine Tarulli

In Tennessee, A Possible Model For Higher Education - 2 views

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    Tennessee Technology Centers (a "career-training program" that is state funded) is using strictly enforced scheduling to help retain students with 1 in 4 odds of completing their program. The school is taking the opposite approach that most higher education schools take. Instead of having the freedom to create their own schedule, they work with the school to determine a schedule from the beginning which is permanent throughout the duration of their time at the school and is strictly enforced. The school is hoping to increase retention of students in 1 to 2 year programs that have low graduation rates, and produce more graduates in emerging technology fields.
Amanda Bowen

How Khan Academy Is Changing the Rules of Education | Magazine - 3 views

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    One teacher claims that "The idea is to invert the normal rhythms of school, so that lectures are viewed on the kids' own time and homework is done at school." - Do you agree that this is a good solution? 
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    That is the way a couple of my colleagues (science and math) use Khan and they feel it creates more opportunity to use them as a resource for their specific needs. The spend some time at the beginning of class to answer questions as a group and then students begin working on problems and asking for individual help during class.
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    I think the idea of distributing video tutorials and courseware for free is a powerful lever for change and education (Khan Academy, MIT OpenCourseWare, etc). While I'm intrigued by Khan Academy and see the benefit to help student who want to pause and replay lessons, there is a limit to it's use as an educational tool. In the article linked below, the Los Altos district currently piloting the program noted that they have not seen any statistical difference between Khan students and the control group. http://losaltos.patch.com/articles/school-district-expands-khan-academy-to-all-schools
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    I too am intrigued by this "inverting" of time spent in the classroom and at home. My idealized model would be to introduce learners to new material at their own pace out of the classroom (allowing for pausing, note taking, reflecting and/or rewinding) and focus classroom time on face to face guiding and coaching of clusters of students or individual students engaged in applying or exploring the current material. To help facilitate this (and assist with accountability) some brief form of pre-assessment before class or at the start of class could illuminate for student and teacher alike what material has been mastered and what needs more attention. The research report from the TIE Foundations summer reading appears to support this type of hybrid approach. => Marsha Lovett, Oded Meyer, and Candace Thille (2008). The Open Learning Initiative: Measuring the effectiveness of the OLI statistics course in accelerating student learning.
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    An added benefit of tools such as Khan Academy is the option for reinforcement. In a traditional K-12 school environment students do not have the option to watch a video of their class or spend personalized time reviewing a concept they need more time with during class time due to the required pace of school curriculum. An online learning tool allows a student to watch a lesson as many times as needed and to learn from an expert. Often if a student needs help outside the classroom the only people they turn to is parents, who may or may not know about the content themselves.
Bharat Battu

Reflex : Math fact fluency - the next generation. - 3 views

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    The school I am interning at (The Carroll School) is using this in their middle school math classes. Small class sizes typically (4-8 kids /  class), and it's a 1:1 school where every child has a laptop. But - it's working well for designated independent work time in the math classes I've observed- where each kid is asked to play the game for 15 minutes on their own. Kids have their own profiles- and there are several different math mini games they can play, each game focusing on different math skills. Each mini game involves different game mechanics and art styles. But all games involve using arithmetic skills and math concepts to solve problems that progress them in the game. Good performance gives the kids in-game credits/money that they can use to customize their in-gam avatar. 
James Glanville

Learning: Engage and Empower | U.S. Department of Education - 4 views

  • more flexible set of "educators," including teachers, parents, experts, and mentors outside the classroom.
    • Chris McEnroe
       
      This is an example of the promise of Tech in Teaching. It promotes the Psycho/Social pedogogical reality of the learner's sphere of influences into the vital center of our concept of school. To me, it transforms academic discourse into intentional design. Because school experience is so culturally endemic, this is a change in cultural self-concept.
  • The opportunity to harness this interest and access in the service of learning is huge.
    • Chris McEnroe
       
      This sentence makes me think of an explorer who has discovered a vast mineral deposit and is looking for capital investment. To persuade teachers, parents, and school boards the explorer will need to show tangible evidence that ". . . our education system [can leverage] technology to create learning experiences that mirror students' daily lives and the reality of their futures." The sixth grade teacher will need to be able to demonstrate to the parent of a student the tangible benefits of a technology infused paradigm.
  • The challenge for our education system is to leverage technology to create relevant learning experiences that mirror students' daily lives and the reality of their futures.
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  • large groups, small groups, and activities tailored to individual goals, needs, and interests.
  • What's worth knowing and being able to do?
  • English language arts, mathematics, sciences, social studies, history, art, or music, 21st-century competencies and expertise such as critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, and multimedia communication should be woven into all content areas.
  • expert learners
  • "digital exclusion"
    • Chris McEnroe
       
      Isn't this just another iteration of the general disparity in all kinds of resource allocation? This could just as well be articulated by debilitating student/teacher rations, or text book availability, or the availability of paper, or breakfast, or heat in the he building?
  • School of One uses technology to develop a unique learning path for each student and to provide a significant portion of the instruction that is both individualized and differentiated
  • Advances in the learning sciences, including cognitive science, neuroscience, education, and social sciences, give us greater understanding of three connected types of human learning—factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and motivational engagement.
    • James Glanville
       
      I'm interested in how our current understanding of how learning works can inform best practices for teaching, curriculum design, and supports for learning afforded by technology.
    • Erin Sisk
       
      I found the neuroscience discussion to be the most interesting part of the Learning section. It seems to me that the 21st century learner needs more emphasis on the "learning how" and the "learning why" and less focus on the "learning that." I think teaching information literacy (as described in the Learning section) is one of the most important kinds of procedural knowledge (learning how) students should master so they can access facts as they need them, and worry less about memorizing them.
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    "School of One uses technology to develop a unique learning path for each student and to provide a significant portion of the instruction that is both individualized and differentiated." I liked the definitions of individualized (pacing), differentiated (learning preferences/methods), and personalized (pacing, preferences, and content/objectives).
Daniel Melia

A Brooklyn High School Takes a New Approach to Vocational Education - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    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.
Stephen Bresnick

How Online Learning Companies Bought America's Schools | Truthout - 3 views

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    This article shows the dark underbelly of the educational policy world as it relates to technology. As schools are increasingly adopting online learning models in classes, companies are predictably lining up to get money from the movement. However, there are many companies who are taking it a step further and lobbying for policies that do not have children's best interests in mind and which operate under the simplistic and misguided assumption that "schools will not need teachers once computers become good enough." It should give us pause to consider what needs to be done in these early stages to prevent the edTech movement from falling into the wrong hands and killing our schools.
Sunanda V

Re-thinking School Architecture in the Age of ICT | A World Bank Blog on ICT use in Edu... - 0 views

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    Brings up the interesting issue of physical space in 21st century classrooms. Should schools of the future look like the way they do now (ie. desks and chairs, albeit with iPads/laptops atop desks)? How can we match the shift in pedagogical thinking with what our physical spaces of classrooms look like? On a related note, a colleague at an international school in Mumbai showed me around their new K-12 school recently (K-12 1:1 laptop program, phenomenal tech integration program)... and they no longer have walls to demarcate classrooms across the entire school. Instead of classrooms, they have "learning pods." So, imagine you're a third grade teacher--you have four slidable "walls" that you can open up to collaborate with the adjacent third grade section for social studies. Or perhaps you notice that the fifth grade science experiment seems to align with what you're doing today so you walk over to see if they'd be up for sharing what they're doing. Their idea is that the physical space needs to reflect the same environment of open education and collaborative learning that we're promoting in our classrooms.
Kasthuri Gopalaratnam

Should the School Day Be Longer? - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com - 1 views

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    "When and where does it make sense to institute a longer school day, and how should it be designed?"
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    I think a case can be made for structuring school hours flexibly, to accommodate those who engage in sports and other extra currlicular activities and also those who desire or need additional academic learning time.
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    From my own experience, using technology was an effective way to maintain student engagement during a longer day. As a sped teacher, I offered students the opportunity to do an extra online-based reading intervention if they came to school early. I had a surprising number of students come - almost every single day. Additionally, using technology during afternoon tutoring sessions helped my students stay on-task. I think if the standard school day was to be extended, putting a substantial focus on technology would be both an effective learning tool and a good way to help prevent students from burning out by the last bell.
Maung Nyeu

The Mackinac Center: Outdated thinking stands in the way of online learning | Detroit F... - 3 views

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    In the US, 250000 students are enrolled in full-time public virtual schools in 30 states, according to Susan Patrick of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a trade association. Although that's just a fraction of the country's 50 million students, it has grown 30% each year. Some schools in Michigan already shown the advantage of digital learning.
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    This is an interesting article. I am just concerned that it is not unbiased or driven by an agenda other than improving education. I found this information about the Mackinac Center online: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/mackinac-center-public-policy I am starting to realize that a lot of the technology in schools rhetoric is driven by corporate and political interests, and as the industry becomes ever more profitable, I'm worried that companies are going to jump in and try to influence policy, rushing through the movement toward the wrong kind of technology in schools- i.e. sacking half of the teaching staff and replacing them with cheap computers. I think one of our most important jobs as Harvard TIE students is to education the public about the right ways to adapt technology in the classroom, and the important role that teachers will continue to play in this movement.
Chris McEnroe

How to Rescue Education Reform - NYTimes.com - 2 views

  • No Child Left Behind also let states use statistical gimmicks to report performance
  • ” federal financing should be conditioned on truth in advertisin
  • To shed light on equity and cost-effectiveness, states should be required to report school- and district-level spending; the resources students receive should be disclosed, not only their achievement.
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  • efforts to reduce inequities have too often led to onerous and counterproductive micromanagement.
  • it comes to brain science, language acquisition or the impact of computer-assisted tutoring, federal financing for reliable research is essential. 
  • , competitive federal grants that support innovation while providing political cover for school boards, union leaders and others to throw off anachronistic routines.
  • , dictates from Congress turn into gobbledygook as they travel from the Education Department to state education agencies and then to local school districts
  • it’s not surprising that well-intentioned demands for “bold” federal action on school improvement have a history of misfiring. They stifle problem-solving, encourage bureaucratic blame avoidance and often do more harm than good.
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    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.
Katherine Tarulli

Online Educators Make Inroads in Public Schools - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    This article highlights how virtual education can transform the learning experience for students with special needs, as well and low and high performing students by allowing them to slow down or speed up according to their needs. As more and more students enroll in online courses, public schools are trying to figure out how incorporate virtual learning into their districts.
Hannah Lesk

Three U.S. Schools Recognized for Instructional Innovations -- THE Journal - 1 views

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    Microsoft recognized three U.S. schools at its Global Forum Educator awards last week. I didn't find two of them terribly intriguing, but the third, LYNCing Distance Learning Math Classes to Blind and Visually Impaired Students, was a great example of how technology can be used to link educators with special skills and students with special needs how may not otherwise have access to a qualified instructor.
Yan Feng

10 Things That Will Be Obsolete in Education by 2020 - 6 views

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    Interesting.
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    I thought the word "satchel" was already obsolete? HA! And does anyone else agree that they use the term "obsolete" very loosely in some of their explanations - for example HOMEWORK - doesn't "some work at school and some work at home" still constitute homework? And about Standardized TEACHING - until Standardized TESTING goes away, HG and supporters can advocate for this type of teaching reform, but try as we might (and many of us do offer alternative lessons and assignments to take advantage of the multiple intelligences within our classroom), end of the day, we still have to get our kids to pass those tests. It is how we as students, teachers, schools, districts, states and a nation are continually evaluated as being successful.
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    I think this article is a little odd too. I think that a lot of times, writers of articles want to make these large shocking claims in their headlines. When you read the actual body of the text though, it becomes evident that the term "obsolete" isn't what they're after - but rather, it's about renaming or altering the way we think about current systems. Also, I was interested in what they meant by changing the actual architecture of schools. When I looked into the gallery though, it was a group of photos of a bunch of weird structures that didn't really show anything about schools (maybe the outsides?).
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    Also, I can't imagine that education will make the fear of failure extinct. It may make failing a bit more tolerable with individualized instruction, but I can't image that the pressure on students to succeed will decrease; it seems more likely that it will increase.
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    I appreciated that they mentioned learning HTML. I wish I learned that in school -- I think basic web design should be a 21st century skill.
Maung Nyeu

Experts Convene to Discuss How Online Learning Is Better Preparing K-12 Students to Com... - 2 views

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    In US alone, 4 million K-12 students are enrolled online. Annual conference on online (and blended) learning in Indianapolis on November 9-11, by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL). Online learning is seen as the solution to allowing greater access to diverse resources curriculum, especially when many schools face serious financial crisis. Expect to hear from experts and educators, such as, such as Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers; Paul Peterson of Harvard University; Michael Horn, author of Disrupting Class; Steve Midgley of the U.S. Department of Education; and iNACOL president Susan Patrick. Full program details are available at www.virtualschoolsymposium.org.
Maung Nyeu

Virtual schools on the rise, but are they right for K-12 students? - Schools of Thought... - 1 views

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    While a seventh grader improves her score using online school, led by a teacher few miles away, online schools debate continues.
Stephen Bresnick

Online Education: My Teacher Is an App - WSJ.com - 0 views

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    An estimated 250,000 students are enrolled in full-time virtual schools where their instruction and interaction is completely online. There are many benefits to this model: lower overhead, anywhere/anytime learning, meeting students where they are...yet the students in these full-time online schools consistently fall short of their peers in traditional schools. Gives us pause to consider what is lost in the online learning environment and what are the essential parts of face to face learning that cannot be replicated online..
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    This article contradicts one of my favorite quotes from ISTE 2011 - "The Killer App for 2011? The Teacher" I agree Steve, while it seems to be more and more the norm, economics shouldn't be a major determinant in alternatives to good education. Would they do the same for health care? Perhaps Siri can diagnose and prescribe treatment based on patient symptom input into an app?
Jaclyn Ruszala

1-to-1 Computing: Turning Around School Technology - 6 views

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    This article explains why the district chose laptops over tablet and how the community is helping to turn the schools around.
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    This is a very throrough article.If replaceing computers every 4 years and maintaining them is only 4% of the budget, I wonder what all the resistence is to schools maintaining computers. Is 4% still too much? Is 4% specific to this Alabama district? Also, I felt individualized instruction for foreign language would be the best way to transition a school towards networked individualized learning in a school environment. It's silly that everyone in elementary schools has to take the same language simply because there is only one foreign language teacher. Instead of a Spanish teacher you would need to hire multi-lingual specialists who are able to monitor langauge acquisition. Cool future!
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    "The teachers that were involved said that if every kid had their own computer, we could do amazing things". It would be interesting to know if the teachers presented some concrete ideas of 'amazing things'. It would also be interesting to know whether they have a bank of spare laptops to loan to the students while the defective ones are getting fixed. I have a feeling that in the not-so-distant future the choice between a tablet and a computer may become a moot point. The hardware that powers a MacBook Air and iPad is very similar. We have laptops that double as tablets and tablets that are paired with a keyboard to be used as a laptop. Eventually these two will merge.
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    Great overview of the issues -- I agree with Kasthuri -- I think the issue will become moot
Maung Nyeu

Balancing Technology in Our Schools | The Cornell Daily Sun - 1 views

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    There were two recent articles in NYTimes on use of technology with opposing view. While one article proposes replacing textbooks with laptops, the other school "doesn't compute." This article takes a middle path, a balanced used of technology in our schools. The author argues that computer cannot replace books, technology cannot replace a teacher, writing, or discussion. Technology is a tool to enrich the material and agument a curriculum.
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