Federal director of educational technology to step down

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November 15, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise Head of the Class    Federal director of educational technology to step down Karen Cator announced Wednesday that she will step down from her role as director of educational technology for the U.S. Department of Education. It is still unclear who will replace Cator, whose tenure with the department will end in 2013. During her tenure, Cator advocated for education technology and professional development to help teachers master classroom technology. Her office also released the first national education-technology plan. Education Week/Digital Education blog (11/14)       Free Webinar: Help for Struggling Middle School Readers It's not too late to help Middle School struggling readers, but we can't keep doing what hasn't worked before. Learn how new techniques researched at the Universities of Iowa and Rochester have been implemented in Sioux Falls, SD to have lasting impact. You won't want to miss this FREE webinar - Tuesday, 12/4, 2pm ET. Register Now eLearning  Survey: Technology has shortened students' attention spans Two-thirds of middle- and high-school teachers surveyed said they believe digital technology has created a generation of students who are easily distracted and have short attention spans. Research has shown that students' distractions are primarily rooted in technology, including texting and logging into Facebook. Researchers working with students found that if the students check Facebook once in a 15-minute study period, they are more likely to have lower grades than their peers. eCampus News (free registration) (11/13)         Other News Formative assessment is basis for emerging blended-learning programs T.H.E. Journal (11/14)       Systems Management  Neb. district reverses course on iPad integration Officials in a Nebraska school district have reversed an earlier decision to purchase iPads for students over concerns the devices may not meet the needs of the schools and their students. At issue, officials said, is concerns about off-site filtering of Web content and the "testing capabilities" of the iPads. For now, officials say, students will continue to have access to laptop computers. Kearney Hub (Neb.) (11/13)       Managing Budgets  1,189 districts are represented in Race to the Top competition In the latest round of the federal Race to the Top grant competition, 371 applications, representing 1,189 school districts, were received. This most recent round was open to school districts or a consortia of districts, which were required to provide plans to personalize instruction for students. Klint Willert, a superintendent of Marshall Public Schools in Minnesota, said his consortia's application "established a vision of creating an experience where learning is the constant and time is the variable." Education Week/District Dossier blog (11/14)       NYC focuses on education technology in Race to the Top application: In an application for $40 million in Race to the Top funds, New York City officials are seeking to expand their Innovation Zone schools. Such schools are focused on using new technologies in instruction. The city's application also includes plans to train teachers in the use of technology in classroom instruction. GothamSchools.org (New York) (11/14)       Schools and Social Media  Social media privacy is focus of high-school essay contest In New Hampshire, middle- and high-school students who penned Constitution Day essays focused their writing on whether employers or school officials are allowed under the Constitution to request social media passwords. Reid Zuckerman, a high-school senior who won the high-school category, wrote that companies are not banned under the law, but they should be. The Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.) (11/12)       Other News Professor blogs about his time at the World Innovation Summit for Education SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education (11/13)       Last Byte  FTC chairman sees progress on children's online privacy issues A children's online privacy bill that has been in the works for some time might be finished by the end of the year, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz says. Breakthroughs in "do not track" guidance for developers and updated regulations for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act are currently in the works. The FTC wants to make websites, mobile applications and data brokers responsible for securing parental consent before collecting data from youth. Reuters (11/13)       SmartQuote  Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." --Marie Curie, Polish-French physicist and chemist       SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! 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