Success of digital classrooms goes beyond devices The success of digital learning relies on factors beyond the devices themselves, according to speakers at the Internet Innovation Alliance's discussion Monday in Washington, D.C. The focus should be on infrastructure, professional development for educators and curriculum design, said Montgomery County, Md., Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr, the event's keynote speaker. Other speakers noted how the digital environment also will transform teachers' role in the classroom. The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (7/15)  | Smarter Tools for Before & After School Program Management MyProgramPlus is a user-friendly, web-based system that simplifies your school-age childcare program management. Families go online to find the right program for their needs, enroll their children, & make payments. From creating contracts, producing invoices, managing payments, & tracking family information, you can do it all with MyProgramPlus. | | Teachers reveal pros, cons of classroom technology A recent study from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project finds that teachers recognize the pros -- and cons -- of technology in the classroom. Among other things, teachers report that tablet devices, Google Docs and the use of shared blogs encouraged middle- and high-school students to collaborate. Also, while 70% of teachers said the use of technology may be having a negative effect on students' writing, such as the use of shortcuts, about half of educators said technology has enhanced their ability to teach writing skills. The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (7/16) Other News  |
When Writing with Technology Matters shows how to take advantage of students' affinity for technology to change and improve the writing process. Includes detailed descriptions of elementary and middle school literacy projects that teachers can follow step-by-step or use as a guide when planning their own technology-based projects. Preview the entire book! |
 | Australian teacher gets an education at ISTE conference Anne Mirtschin, an award-winning teacher from Australia, writes in this blog post about her recent trip to the International Society for Technology in Education conference in the U.S., which she describes as the "world's largest classroom." At the conference, Mirtschin said she was surprised when only about a dozen of the hundreds of attendees at one session said their schools had one-to-one technology programs, and she noted that, in America, there appears to be more fear regarding the use of online technology in schools. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education (7/15) | Utah seeks to expand students' computer literacy beyond Facebook In Utah, a task force is expected to release a report in the fall detailing the level of computer literacy students should have to graduate. Just because the students are able to surf the Internet and navigate Facebook does not mean they are "computer literate," said Cody Henrichsen, a computer science teacher at Canyons School District. Currently, students are required to show basic proficiency, such as creating documents and spreadsheets. The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah) (7/15) | Why hasn't online education caught on in China? While China leads the world in Internet and smartphone users, online education has been slow to catch on there -- driven in part by the country's education system, which focuses primarily on testing, journalist Wei Gu writes in this column. Also contributing to the dearth of online-education offerings is the lack of technology in schools, with most teachers lacking access to the infrastructure needed to offer quality online-education programs, she writes. Still, she notes, experts and observers predict the trend eventually will catch on in China. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (7/12) |  | Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court justice | | Please contact one of our specialists for advertising opportunities, editorial inquiries, job placements, or any other questions. | | Publisher, Education Group: Joe Riddle P: 202.407.7857 ext. 228 | | | | |
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