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.
Thanks for sharing Prof. I know of many educators who have actually started playing WoW just so they could understand their students' world a little better. I wonder how many principals would have supported them openly though.
Blended learning got the vote of Brian Greenberg, the former leader of Oakland's Envision Schools and the Fisher Family Foundation to spend on transitioning from the current instructional model of 25 Bay Area Schools.
Program in Estonia designed to have all students age 7 to 16 learn to write code in a drive to turn children from consumers to developers of technology.
I am very curious, as well, and trying to find more information. I think it would necessarily be a program that expands with their comprehension and maturity... starting with very basic "Move the Turtle" applications and then grown with the student, hopefully to real world application, as they go until age 16!
Who initiated this ProgreTiiger program? The Estonian government? Local IT companies? Concerned parents who disparately wanted their children to learn to code?
Estonia is very wired country and it's economy has found a niche in IT services, so much so that it's even been dubbed "eStonia" (http://e-estonia.com/). This program seems to be an example of market forces guiding educational policy since there are clear incentives for it's population to be technologically literate to ensure it's competitiveness and dominance in the tech sector (see: The Many Reasons Estonia Is a Tech Start-Up Nation (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303734204577464343888754210.html)
A little blurb on how "plug-in" Estonia actually is:
"The geeks have triumphed in this country of 1.3 million. Some 40 percent read a newspaper online daily, more than 90 percent of bank transactions are done over the Internet, and the government has embraced online voting. The country is saturated in free Wi-Fi, cell phones can be used to pay for parking or buy lunch, and Skype is taking over the international phone business from its headquarters on the outskirts of Tallinn. In other words, Estonia - or eStonia, as some citizens prefer - is like a window into the future. Someday, the rest of the world will be as wired as this tiny Baltic nation." (http://www.wired.com/politics/security/magazine/15-09/ff_estonia)
p.s. I hate sensational titles like "Guess Who's Winning the Brain's Race" Learning coding doesn't automatically make your brain bigger or necessarily increase your intelligence. Sure, it's a very useful skill, but I wonder what classes will be cut out to make time in the school day for coding. Coding vs recess: Tough call.
Hmmm.... I read about Estonia being very plugged in as well. I wonder if there is research on whether the kids are actually learning better as a result. I think that you have a point Jeffrey. It depends what the cost is. If kids are missing some critical lesson because they are coding at such a young age, there may be a trade-off. On the other hand, maybe the skills they are obtaining from coding are more critical. I wonder...
I think civic engagement in general fails to capture Americans' interest if you look at voting demographics and overall participation in local government.
The LA Board of Education will be meeting later this month to discuss providing iPads to every student + teacher in the nation's 2nd largest school system.