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PoweredUp Boston: October 14 + 15, 2010 * Hear from leading Boston area developers and thought leaders on the latest local and global issues shaping our industry. * Network with local developers, investors, educational institutions and government officials. * Learn about the unique resources and opportunities available to Boston area businesses in the video game industry. Who Should Attend: * Boston area indie game developers (existing and aspiring) * Established Boston area game developers looking to connect with other developers * National and international companies looking to establish a presence in Boston * Investors * Infrastructure, middleware and other organizations interested in doing business with Boston area game companies * Students and faculty interested in the gaming industry

Boston area Landmark High School received a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant, which seeks to foster innovation and focus on STEM fields. These students will work on creating a water desalination system for countries with low rainfall. This type of project has a lot of potential to develop 21st century skills and teach complex problem solving skills.

high bandwidth offers new education possibilities. HGSE has a telepresence station in Gutman

Good share, Diana. This article is particularly interesting for the issues it chooses to raise and the way in which various arguments are presented. One quote struck me, "We have Smart Boards in every classroom but not enough money to buy copy paper, pencils and hand sanitizer," said Nicole Cates, a co-president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Kyrene de la Colina, an elementary school. "You don't go buy a new outfit when you don't have enough dinner to eat." But she loves the fact that her two children, a fourth-grader and first-grader, are learning technology, including PowerPoint and educational games (Page 5)". How can we work to harmonize these two? This reminds me an article I read in the Boston Globe this morning regarding teachers going out-of-pocket to equip their classrooms with enough supplies for an increasing number of students. The article suggests that budget cuts that make this necessary save teacher positions. There has to be a better way. http://www.Boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/09/05/budgets_cut_teachers_dig_deeper_for_supplies/

An article about the shift towards computer-based teaching systems.

Thanks for sharing Jennifer. I currently work for Pearson and worked on many of the "digital paths" that the article refers tot. I am seeing first hand the shift in priority towards customized personal learning through digital technologies. Pearson's first attempt at integrating technology into their curriculum was a good start but I think the future of Pearson products will employ a lot of the strategies we've been learning in class from intelligent tutoring systems to fully integrated learning platforms. Very exciting shift for the educational publishing industry!

As Mary Jo said in class today, the lack of collaboration between teachers and developers is a hugely frustrating. The Shared Learning Collaborative is an organization that tries to bring the groups together for "camps" that tap the skills of both around big problems in education. This weekend, there's a Codeathon/Tagathon in Cambridge aimed at increasing the volume of properly meta-tagged content in the Learning Registry. Could be interesting to check out.

This conference addresses a very real gap - I really hope that more opportunities like this one bring people together that share the common goal, but are coming at it from such different perspectives. Thanks, Hannah!

Interesting report from Main on an iPad Kindergarten pilot.  A study in collaboration with Boston College showed evidence of increased kindergarten literacy scores compared with a control group of Kindergartens with traditional instruction.

Debate continues on virtual learning, on quality and assessment. Educators try to find how to exploit technology in a way that advances access to AP courses, specialized courses, customized individual learning, and full online school.

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.

Ways of using technology with kids: EdMakers is an event to encourage students to use technology to tackle challenges facing education.

Cushing Academy is transitioning from traditional library to a learning center without books, staffed with electronic readers.

A rundown of the top 20 teacher blogs, similar to the Best of Boston rankings.

Really? Social Analytics to discover whether you're gay. Their methodology seems like common sense. but I still question the conclusions. Especially since it wasn't tested.

This sounds interesting. An interactive game right here in Boston. Would you consider this augmented reality? Anyone want to get a group together and play? It says we "must represent [ourselves] with a senior member of the organization." Would you be interested, professor/TFs? (Post a reply to this link if you do and send me an email just in case - jhnsn.c@gmail.com)

this sounds like it will be fun!

That would be a fun adventure. Keep me posted.

Very few virtual schools have worked with students this young, so there are interesting questions about jumping from no virtual schooling all the way to this model.

There is a really fascinating and controversial policy story behind this. Through "legislative sausage-making" the states first virtual school is being run by a single district out in Western Mass., mostly as a result of the entrepreneurial spirit of the superintendent. There are big questions about what will happen as students across the state sign up for the virtual school and their districts are required to pay tuition to Greenfield. And Greenfield isn't really providing a school, they are just enrolling students to be taught by a for-profit company, K-12. There are quite a few very interesting policy issues that would be worth digging into as the state launches this new venture in an unusual way.

When I first read the article, I immediately thought "an idealist gone rogue." I wondered if there was even any research/method behind this decision, and you mentioned there is a fee. Did I understand correctly that the school district will have to pay this fee for the student like some sort of voucher? If I get a chance I'm going to look for more articles out there on this project. Thanks for mentioning it, Justin. Interesting, indeed.

We have to get used to letting kids chime in on decisions made about their education.

While this article does not address technology directly, I think this is the type of school community that could so benefit from emerging educational technologies. The traditional school model has been failing them, and they are prime for redesign. I'd be interested to see even how something like ecoMUVE could begin to change the classroom atmosphere.

This article makes a pretty bold statement about what's real and what's not; do you agree?