January 2, 2012 | 1:40 PM
By Tina Barseghian
MindShift

In its Policy Priorities report, "Can Social Media and School Policies be “Friends,” ASCD provides a state-of-the union on social media use in schools. How administrators and educators deal with federal regulations, defining what’s legal, parsing out school responsibilities and weighing them against the benefits of using social media to engage and communicate with students are all addressed in this useful guide. MindShift’s Dispelling Myths About Blocked Sites is also in the lineup.

By Christina Samuels on January 6, 2012 5:51 PM

The New York-based Wallace Foundation has distilled a decade's worth of research and work funding leadership projects in 24 states into five "key functions" that effective principals must have. Those functions include shaping a vision of academic success for all students; creating a climate hospitable to education; cultivating leadership in others; improving instruction and managing people, data and processes to foster-school improvement.

The foundation goes into further detail on these effective practices in a report released this week. The report is intended to be the first in a series of documents on good school leadership and how it can be supported at the district and state level.

For example, in the area of cultivating leadership, the report notes that "effective principals studied by the University of Washington urged teachers to work with one another and with the administration on a variety of activities, including 'developing and aligning curriculum, instructional practices, and assessments; problem solving; and participating in peer observations."

The Wallace Foundation provides grant support to coverage of leadership, expanded learning time, and arts learning for Education Week. It also sponsored a webinar I hosted recently on best practices in evaluating principals; the free archive is available here.

Want to keep up with school district news? Follow @district_doss on Twitter.

Download pdf of the Wallace Foundation report
"The School Principal As Leader: Guiding Schools
to Better Teaching and Learning"

by Jason Ohler

Not to take the fun out of the holidays, but I thought it might be a good time to revisit the topic of "trash." We created mounds of it this holiday season, as we gave loved ones gifts of new technology, forcing them to pitch what they had (which was probably working just fine) onto the trash heap of history.

Let's face it. After the giddy unwrapping of presents comes the guilt-ridden discarding of digital detritus, like Kindle 2s, and iPad 1s, and other instantly obsolete pieces of technology that amazed us just a year ago.

You can try giving these away, but it's almost insulting. "Hi, there. Here's yesterday's technology that's slow, impotent, and certainly not cool enough for me anymore. I want you to have it!" For most of us, accepting new technology involves a long journey that roughly follows Kübler-Ross's five stages of grief, and ends at a nearby landfill.

First, there is denial. You put your old gear in an inaccessible cabinet as an act of supreme avoidance. You know you are going to throw it out, you just don’t want to deal with it right now.

Then there's anger, at not being able to figure out how your new stuff works, at the bugs that emerge as you transition to your new technology that is supposed to make life easier. And you can’t believe that you were sucked into the upgrade vortex yet once again. You’re better than that! But it’s not your fault. It’s those wretched tech companies who keep making this stuff, and keep making us have to have it. Why don’t they just leave us alone?

Then there's bargaining. Maybe some twenty-something wunderkind entrepreneur will come up with some really cool way to refurbish the original Kindle, or your first iPhone you haven’t managed to toss out yet. After all, there's that guy who turned the iPod Nano into a wrist watch. So you secretly wait for news from the bleeding edge of innovation that will turn your trash into tomorrow's must-have tech toy. But news never comes.

Then there's depression. It's a silent depression, the kind Thoreau described as he observed society moving too quickly and consuming too much for its own good. Your obsolete cell phones and digital cameras that huddle silently in the recesses of your cabinet start whispering to you. “Please let us out,” they seem to be saying. “We may be old, but we’re still useful, just like you.” And there’s your eco friends. What would they say if they knew you were caught up in the cycle of conspicuous consumption? Your sense of self-worth plummets.

Finally there’s acceptance, which is code for rationalization. There’s nothing wrong with upgrading every year. After all, it’s good for the economy. And it’s your private revolution against the stagnation of yesterday’s ideas. You’re such a rebel as you reach into the cabinet, grab whatever vintage gear you’ve been avoiding, and toss it into the waste basket with a flourish. Heck, you’re more than just a rebel. You’re an iPerson.

The great new gadget that is this season’s gift beckons you to come play. As you head out on to the Web to find out why it isn’t working as advertised, you try to be content with the world of possibilities that it represents. As you watch others fumble with technology that is so last Christmas, you are confident that you are ahead of the curve. And you are! Until next year.

By JOE ROBERTSON
The Kansas City Star
Posted on Tue, Dec. 13, 2011

This is the future American school?

Really?

“You guys are killing me!” teacher Don Labonte shouts.

He’s laughing. He’s roaring back over the din of sixth-grade science students who are hurling arguments over the custom-made board game that is the curriculum for the hour.

But he might as well be speaking for all those open-minded educators who are trying to get up the courage to revolutionize classrooms as we know them.

Welcome to ChicagoQuest charter school.

It can be loud here.

And if you hope to embrace a vision of schooling that puts children in control of team projects immersed in the world of digital information, social networks and games, you’d better get used to it.

Even if it kills you.

ChicagoQuest director Michael Donhost knows about that initial jolt. He felt it when he first visited the original Quest to Learn school in New York City.

He watched classrooms where students seemed at times embroiled in their teamwork.

“I saw them upset,” he said. “I saw them even crying.”

What he saw there, however, helped convince him that he wanted to be part of this Chicago version, launched in August by the Chicago International charter school network.

“This is a part of game-like learning,” Donhost said, nodding at the rampant science lesson storming Labonte’s room.

“This is healthy interaction.”

Here’s how it’s supposed to work:

You start with new national Common Core Standards and plot out your students’ learning targets across the school’s grade span.

Then you take the imaginations of your teachers and team them twice-weekly with your game designers — both video games and board games — and tech wizards.

Together they shape a body of lessons into an ambitious “quest” with a series of “missions,” said the school’s curriculum specialist, Patrick Hoover.

On this particular day in November, one of the missions combined math and writing on individual computers as sixth-graders created story lines in helping a fictional world, “Digiton,” return to rationality in part by exterminating irrational numbers.

You’d have a hard time finding any Kansas City area schools that are all-in with such a complete transformation of their classrooms.

It’s a hard leap to make, Quest school founders acknowledge.

The pressure to maintain test scores doesn’t give a school a year or two to turn itself inside out. Nor has the digital revolution had time yet to amass any tangible evidence that it significantly improves scores.

But one thing is evident in several hours of watching and talking with the sixth- and seventh-graders here:

They like coming to school.

Smartphone app born on the battlefield

CNN|Added on January 5, 2012

A decorated soldier creates a smartphone app that turns your phone into a walkie-talkie.. CNN's Dan Simon reports.

By Christopher Dawson | December 22, 2011, 8:11pm PST

Summary: Here’s hoping I’m more accurate than I was last year.

Earlier this week I wrote about five major technologies that should have had real impacts in education this year, but which never amounted to much. I called more than one of them out a year ago, when all signs pointed to their potential for disruption and transformation in 2011. I can’t resist giving it another shot this year, though. Here are my top 5 predictions for the state of the art in Ed Tech in the coming year.

Analytics and BI will go mainstream
In a former life, I was a SAS programmer doing data management and statistical analysis for clinical trials. SAS is still going strong in large-scale, mission critical statistical programming, but much of its business focus is now on analytics and business intelligence (BI). IBM just launched an initiative to promote education, training, and research at the university level in the fields. For those not familiar with them, BI and BA apply complex business rules and enable decision-making based on the analysis of very large data stores.

Both companies (and many others, although SAS and IBM are arguably the market leaders) have products geared towards making these tools available, relevant, and usable in the education space, where the amount of data we now collect on our students is growing exponentially, both because of federal and state requirements and because most educators realize that data-driven instruction is a powerful tool for improving outcomes. In education, these tools can pick out at-risk students based on wide-ranging data before they ever hit the radar of a guidance counselor.

The data are in place, the technologies are in place, and NCLB and RTTP have conditioned educators to think about data (no matter what else, good or bad, you may think of them). 2012 will see an explosion in the real use of analytics to assist schools and districts in improving quality and outcomes. I’m not talking about reviewing yearly standardized test scores here. I’m talking about the confluence of formative and summative assessments, demographic data, and many other bits of information, all of which are now available electronically and ready to be mined. It’s worth noting that EDUCAUSE was filled with vendors holding up the latest and greatest tools for data mining, aggregation, management, and analysis and Oracle resorted to showgirls standing next to geeks demoing software at both BBWorld and EDUCAUSE.

Google’s tablet will NOT be the holy grail of 1:1
A reader emailed me the other day and asked me if I thought that Google’s tablet, expected for release before fall 2012, would finally make tablet-based 1:1 initiatives a reality. The answer was no. Although I’m sure the tablets will be great pieces of hardware and software and I’m sure that I’ll get one, the predicted $500 price point is just too high. Sure, Google Apps integration will be very strong, as will the management features that go with it, but at that price, you could have an iPad.

While I’m not saying that iPads are better for education than other tablets, I am saying that they have a major foothold in the growing market. Even iPads, though, are only making it into well-funded districts at scale. The only thing that could disrupt the current market and current trends in 1:1 would be a very inexpensive tablet (<$300) with all the management features and a content ecosystem that would finally make the ideal of a "tablet in every backpack" a reality.

Google's move to drop the price of Chromebooks this year and provide enterprise, web-based management consoles for the slick little laptops suggests, as well as innovative rental models for schools and businesses, however, suggests that they may have a few tricks up their sleeves. The Google tablet won't be the holy grail of 1:1, but I'm hopeful that it will be a step in the right direction.

BYOD will make 1:1 possible in a big way
In the face of miserable budgets and no end in sight to a stagnating economy, school/state-funded 1:1 will not be sustainable in the majority of school districts. Worldwide sales of Classmate PCs to education ministries remain strong, but this relies on a very different educational model than that employed here in the States. At the college level, where a computer is a necessity for students, only a tiny fraction of schools supply a laptop as part of a student’s tuition. Instead, students bring their own, often selecting from specially negotiated prices with major OEMs. It’s time K12 schools followed suit.

Again, there is a confluence of factors that will make BYOD the 1:1 model of choice for 2012 (a model, by the way, that will get devices onto a lot more desks and into a lot more student hands in the classroom this year). The emergence of inexpensive devices like the Kindle Fire, despite its lack of manageability, means that tabets will become increasingly commonplace for for students, making instant access to the Internet and a variety of content easily achieved. AMD is promising inexpensive alternatives to Intel’s ultrabooks and prices continue to fall on remarkably usable laptops.

Similarly, great platforms for e-learning, ranging from Moodle 2.3 to the new and improved Google Apps, to a growing ecosystem of tablet apps mean that schools have more reason than ever to leverage all of those devices that are sitting in student bedrooms but often aren’t allowed in classrooms. Finally, robust security and filtering solutions (including tablet integration) from companies like LightSpeed mean that the risks formerly posed by outside devices are increasingly being mitigated both on- off-campus.

Khan Academy, et al, will give publishers and mainstream educators a run for their money
Many teachers and students have leapt at the opportunities provided by Khan Academy, MIT OpenCourseWare, and other free and open educational tool available online, assigning them as homework, using them for flipped classes, suggesting them as resources for study and remediation, and even integrating them into their curricula just as they would multimedia tools that come with their textbooks. Others struggle with the idea that Khan and others represent competition. For the latter group, rest easy…no video can replace an awesome teacher in class. Awesome teachers, though, use whatever resources they can find to ensure that their students “get it”, whatever “it” might be. The teachers who should be worried are those who aren’t, for lack of a better word, awesome. Awesome teachers are engaged mentors to whom students will look for guidance as they navigate the muddy waters of information on the Internet, among other places.

The real moral of this story, though, is that enough teachers are turning to the Internet and open resources (including great open source texts available from organizations like CK12.org) that traditional publishers have no choice but to stand up and take notice. This will be a battle of Darwinian proportions (i.e., survival of the fittest); open resources will no doubt coexist for years to come with proprietary resources from mainstream publishers. But we’re talking about a multibillion dollar industry here. It doesn’t take much of a dent to start shaving millions off of profit margins.

We will say goodbye to a lot more libraries and hello to a lot more information
A local prep school dumped its library about two years ago in favor of a media center replete with computers, Kindles, and an espresso bar (yes, an espresso bar - it’s a prestigious school). Administration took a lot of flack, not because the library was well-used (it wasn’t) but because a lot of people didn’t like the idea that the notion of a library was changing. Now, with far less controversy, Johns Hopkins University is closing its historic medical library in a few short days. Library staff had already transitioned from traditional librarian roles to that of so-called “informationists.” Modern library science degree programs are far more concerned with accessing information than the Dewey Decimal System.

Add to that growing space constraints, emerging 1:1 programs that are far easier to justify if they can reduce reliance on dead trees, and nearly ubiquitous availability of journals and books in electronic formats and you have a recipe for converting libraries as we know them now to anachronisms. This isn’t a bad thing as long as the misson of school libraries can be to make students discerning seekers and users of information. In fact, moving to information-based rather than book-based models could cause a renaissance for libraries. This renaissance simply doesn’t need to involve acquiring larger expensive collections of paper; it needs to involve drastically increasing the amount of time students spend in libraries developing their critical thinking and information access skills.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Chris Dawson is a freelance writer and consultant with years of experience in educational technology and web-based systems. In 2011, he became the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network SaaS provider.

Download the pdf of Consumerlab's report
"Talking, Texting, Poking, and Dating"

Short Film Posted By thekeller on Mon, 23 May 2011 02:56
www.thesmalls.com

Obsession can strangle even the best of us. For Christopher, that one thing is Microsoft Powerpoint... because slides speak so much louder than words.

By Mitchell A. Salerno, Michael Vonhof
12/14/11

Technology is redefining traditional educational paradigms, and many schools are interested in integrating the latest technological advancements into the school curriculum. While increased incorporation of technology seems to be inevitable, most schools are ill-prepared to enter the 21st century owing to a lack of resources, a dearth of appropriate personnel, and some unrealistic expectations. These limitations may provide enough friction to stymie ambitious and well intentioned efforts to improve student learning and prepare students for the future. Overcoming these limitations may seem daunting; however, there are lessons to be learned from schools that have already begun to venture into the world of 1-to-1 initiatives.

Two schools, The Master's Academy in Oviedo, FL and Delmarva Christian High School in Georgetown, DE have initiated ambitious technological programs, providing an iPad for every high school student. As we reflect on our programs and respond to the many inquiries that we receive regarding how schools may replicate our programs, the following general recommendations may be particularly beneficial. The 1-to-1 iPad programs at our schools are not identical; however, we share many similarities and have constantly collaborated throughout the entirety of our launches. Based on our experiences, we suggest that schools interested in iPad 1-to-1 programs must consider six critical areas for a successful iPad 1-to-1 implementation: leadership, cost, network function, security, philosophical frameworks, and pedagogy.

Leadership
Perhaps the most critical, yet overlooked, issue related to technology deployments is leadership. Schools desiring to implement an iPad 1-to-1 program must consider the personnel available within the organization. It is our experience that launching an iPad program requires a champion with sufficient positional power to command the attention of all constituents within the school community, including the head of school, faculty, IT staff, parents, students, and community leaders.

While increased incorporation of technology seems to be inevitable, most schools are ill-prepared to enter the 21st century owing to a lack of resources, a dearth of appropriate personnel, and some unrealistic expectations.

Based on our experiences, successful schools will have a senior administrative leader driving this initiative. The senior leader must be a champion for technology and have sufficient knowledge to coordinate an internal and external technological vision. Furthermore, iPads change the educational process, requiring significant pedagogical shifts within the classroom. A senior leader, with teaching experience and sufficient pedagogical knowledge, will have the ability to gain the respect of the faculty and promote healthy change. While IT personnel may have the technical knowledge to lead portions of the implementation, it is our experience that they do not have the ability or knowledge to facilitate the necessary pedagogical change in the classroom.

Cost
How will you pay for your initiative? Ultimately, this is a critical issue that must be addressed; without the financial means to purchase the devices, it will be impossible to continue. There's a variety of options available for acquiring the funds to sustain an iPad 1-to-1 program. Depending on the type of school and the financial health of the school, funds may come directly from the school, from the parents in the form of a yearly lease fee, or from a blended approach.

Regardless of the approach, schools must consider the life expectancy of the device purchased and future expenditures needed to keep the technology current. The total cost of an iPad 1-to-1 launch is greater than the cost of the device. Schools will need to consider cases, applications (apps), network improvements, security measures, and other related costs. It is our experience that an iPad 1-to-1 program will not, and cannot, be sold to constituents as a cost-saving initiative.

One additional concern related to cost is "bring your own technology" (BYOT). With the proliferation of mobile devices, many wonder if it is possible to permit students to bring their own technology to school, rather than the school purchasing a device for everyone. Our experiences with 1-to-1 technology suggest that this day indeed will come; however, we are not yet prepared to realize BYOT. There are several issues with BYOT; although, in our estimation the greatest concern is ubiquity of use. When schools have multiple platforms, it is increasingly difficult to shift the educational culture. More time will be spent normalizing technology than teaching students. If, and when, this ubiquity issue is addressed, either through improved technology or an elevated technological IQ, BYOT will become an attractive and necessary option.

Network Function
Next to purchasing iPads, the school's network is the next great hindrance to initiating a 1-to-1 program. Schools must ensure that their network is prepared for hundreds of wireless devices.

• Is the wireless network robust?
• Has the school purchased enough bandwidth?
• Will students utilize school servers or the cloud for document storage?
• Are your servers able to host support software for your program?

As schools address these critical questions, they should consider alternative resources that may realize cost savings. Cloud-based services may be able to replace local services, thereby reducing the number of on-site servers. Consumer-grade access points may be used, reducing the cost of wireless deployments.

The success of an iPad 1-to-1 initiative is largely dependent on the availability of wireless Internet access throughout the school. Schools should ensure that sufficient access exists prior to an iPad roll-out.

Security
First and foremost, schools are entrusted with ensuring that each and every student is able to learn in a safe environment, free from danger both from within the school and from without. As schools consider providing each student with iPads, it is imperative to consider inventory management, Internet filtering, insurance, student assent, and parental consent.

Inventory management
iPads are expensive investments, particularly when the devices are loaned to high school students for their individual use on and off of campus; therefore, schools should consider acquiring mobile device management (MDM) software to assist inventory management. MDM solutions permit asset tracking and remote access to the entire fleet of mobile devices. There are a variety of MDM solutions on the market, requiring schools to consider a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the type of device (Apple, Android, Blackberry, etc.), cost of the MDM, and local or remote hosting of the MDM.

A senior leader, with teaching experience and sufficient pedagogical knowledge, will have the ability to gain the respect of the faculty and promote healthy change.

In our experiences, we have chosen different paths for our schools. The Master's Academy has chosen to purchase an MDM to secure its investment and to provide remote access to machines. In contrast, Delmarva Christian has chosen to forgo purchasing MDM, rather relying on built-in functionality provided by Apple to monitor and maintain its iPads.

Internet filtering
Everyone is concerned with the content students consume. This becomes a particular challenge when students are provided with a device for use at any time. Schools must consider how the Internet is to be filtered on campus and off campus. In particular, schools receiving E-Rate funding must consider the ramifications of not filtering off campus Internet content. The particulars of this situation are outside of the scope of this article; therefore, it is recommended that schools seeking to introduce 1-to-1 technology consult their councils in regard to E-

Rate requirements
Once again, our schools have chosen different approaches to Internet filtering. Delmarva Christian has chosen to install an Internet browser that provides constant filtering and monitoring regardless of the students' locations on or off campus. The challenge, however, is reduced browser functionality. The Master's Academy has chosen to utilize the native iPad browser, filtering Internet content on campus. The Master's Academy does not assume responsibility for filtering the Internet off campus, encouraging parents and students to take responsibility for content management in the home and other off campus locations.

Insurance
Providing students with iPads requires risk. There is always a potential for theft, accidental damage, and loss. It is imperative that schools consider this risk and provide options for parents and students to minimize financial loss. Several insurance options exist. The Master's Academy has chosen to engage a third-party insurance company to provide insurance on the devices. Each family has the option to purchase an insurance policy with a reasonable deductible before the start of each school year. If families choose to decline insurance, they are responsible for the full cost of the device regardless of how damage or loss occurs.

Similarly, Delmarva Christian has chosen to provide insurance for the iPad; however, Delmarva Christian has chosen to self-insure the devices. In this model, the school collects funds and places them in escrow. When damage or loss occurs, the school collects the predetermined deductible and then repairs or replaces the device using the money in escrow. This model is certainly a risk/reward endeavor. If the claim rate is low, the school could realize a surplus. However, if the claim rate is substantial, the school stands to lose money and must fund the program out of other internal revenue sources.

Assent and consent
Prior to providing students with an iPad, it is advisable for schools to draft agreements to be signed by both the student (assent) and the guardian (consent). The agreement should include items such as the vision, expectations, proper use, and program details. Each school should consult council to ensure that the language in the document is accurate and reflects the legal obligations provided by local, state, and federal agencies.

Prior to providing students with an iPad, it is advisable for schools to draft agreements to be signed by both the student (assent) and the guardian (consent). The agreement should include items such as the vision, expectations, proper use, and program details.

Philosophical Framework

Up until this point, our discussion has largely focused on IT issues relating to an iPad 1-to-1 launch. As with all technology initiatives, whether in industry or education, the goal is not simply to deploy the technology but to harness its power to change or improve the environment in which the technology was launched. So it is with schools. Implementing technology for technology's sake is sure to fail. It is our experience that schools must answer one important question: "Why are we doing this?" In our estimation, the answer to the question largely determines the success of your program.

Many schools (and other entities within business and government) are justifying iPad programs because of cost savings through reduced paper consumption, including the removal of paper textbooks. While there is the potential for cost savings through reduced paper consumption, our experience suggests that schools will merely transfer costs from paper savings to the sustenance of the technological vision. At this point in our experience, we are unable to provide firm numbers to support our assertions; however, we are confident that solely relying on cost savings as a philosophical framework will mislead constituents and may derail efforts when cost savings are not realized.

The Master's Academy and Delmarva Christian have built upon the philosophical framework that introducing iPad technology will fundamentally alter the learning environment, providing students with the opportunity to learn 21st century skills that will enable them to be productive and informed citizens. In particular, we have been clear that adding iPads will not necessarily increase standardized test scores or improve learning. Certainly, we hope that these outcomes will be realized; however, the success of our programs is not contingent on improved learning.

What then is our goal? Why are we doing this?

Simply stated, our goal is to alter the approach to education, incorporating 21st century skills into the curriculum so that students learn to integrate technology into their educational endeavors. We believe that integrating technology into the curriculum is an add-sum scenario. The scope of this article is not to address the appropriate philosophical underpinnings of an iPad 1-to-1 program. Rather, we simply suggest that schools seeking to implement iPad technology seriously consider their educational philosophy and clearly communicate that philosophy to all constituents.

Pedagogy
Once iPads have entered the school environment, it is imperative that schools provide the tools and support necessary to alter pedagogy. Teaching and learning should happen differently with iPads. Based on our experience, changing pedagogy begins with implementing a learning management system (LMS). There are several LMS options, including Moodle and Blackboard. As in previous sections, this article is not intended to argue the specific advantages and disadvantages of each option. Rather, we assert that a LMS of some kind is essential for a successful implementation.

In each of our schools, we have seen pedagogy shifting because of the iPad. For example, we have seen the forums within the LMS empower student voice. In the past only the vocal student shared their opinions. Now, through forums, all students are able to share and interact. We have seen more collaborative interaction among students and have received requests for desks to be removed in lieu of tables. Access to information is changing how teachers teach. In the past, classes were limited by a lack of information. Now all questions can be explored and students are eager to seek out answers.

Communication structures within the school are changing as well. In the past, teachers and students had a difficult time communicating. Now, through e-mail, teachers and students are constantly connected. Additionally, it is possible for the school to communicate to students directly through the iPad, utilizing the power of MDM technology. The Master's Academy had been able to push announcements and other Web links directly to students, minimizing confusion and cost. Delmarva Christian has realized similar gains using e-mail, although the notification is not as immediate.

Suggested Implementation Schedule
Based on our experience, we would suggest schools consider the following launch schedule. Schools do not need to take an entire school year for each step; however, we do recommend that each step be undertaken and that there be no less than one year for the first and second steps combined.

Initially, schools should implement cloud-based solutions and LMS technology. Early implementation of these tools spreads out the learning curve and relieves the community of change overload. Furthermore, faculty need time to develop their course within a LMS, facilitating a smooth transition to a blended environment.

Next, schools should provide iPad technology to teachers. From our perspective, it is important for faculty to have time to consider and prepare for the impending technological shift. Schools will need to facilitate collaboration among the faculty to determine which applications will be purchased and utilized within the classroom. Our experiences suggest that, with sufficient time and support, the faculty will become the greatest champions for the iPad program.

Schools might also consider a pilot program with students; however, great caution and planning are necessary for the pilot to be successful. Schools must ensure that the pilot program mirrors the final product. Many schools are tempted to launch pilot programs where iPads remain at school and are shared by multiple students. The iPad was not designed to be shared, and piloting iPads in this manner may provide a false and disappointing picture of what a true 1-to-1 program will look like.

Finally, it is time to launch. By the time you reach this point, you should have considered each of the issues above and have a firm foundation to build upon. You will still have decisions to consider and adjustments to make; however, you will be prepared.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Mitchell A. Salerno is Assistant Superintendent of The Master's Academy in Oviedo, FL. Dr. Salerno is currently leading iConnecTMA, Florida’s first high school iPad 1:1 program. iConnecTMA is an ambitious endeavor, seeking to teach students to be adaptable, productive, innovative and to collaborate with technology in an ethical manner. He can be reached at mitchellsalerno@mastersacademy.org. 

Mike Vonhof is the IT Director for Delmarva Christian High School in Georgetown, DE and is a founding member and IT Director for the Christian Coalition for Educational Innovation. Mike has lead several innovative initiatives at Delmarva Christian, including an iPad 1-to-1 program, development of online and hybrid courses, and the creation of an online and on-campus dual enrollment program. He can be reached at mvonhof@delmarvachristian.com. 

Simple Physics

Here you are required to build structures for a specific task. In the image below, its a bomb shelter. The task is to build a shelter that withstands the explosion and remains within budget. The lower the cost, the more points. To build it you must consider angles and strength, direction, and force. It's fun and engaging. But its more than a bomb shelter—you build dams, cranes, tree houses, submarines, and staircases, too.

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/simplephysics/id408233979?mt=8

Tinkerbox

This is a similar physics game to Simple Physics. Here you use logic, force, motion, and mechanics to solve a series of problems. The game is supported by tutorials (see below) that assist you in developing your solution. They are not easy, either—there is considerable challenge involved in this game!

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tinkerbox-hd/id415722219?mt=8

Rush Hour

This is a change of style and genre, but is an excellent learning and thinking game. This is a computer simulation of the real game of the same name. The objective is to move the cars in a sequence that allows you to release the red car from the grid lock it is in. The number of cars and the complexity of the sequence varies from easy to hard. It's a great game for developing logic and process. 

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rush-hour/id336542036?mt=8

W.E.L.D.E.R.

This stands for Word Examination Laboratory for Dynamic Extraction and Reassessment. Yeah, its a trifle ostentatious, but behind this mouthful lies a great game for the english student. Simply rearrange the letters and add in a few to create words (they have over 15,000 loaded in the dictionary). Spell the word correctly, score the points, and the letters are removed. It is a very addictive game.

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/w.e.l.d.e.r./id471056941?mt=8

It's easy to overlook the potential of games for learning. Find a game that matches your learning objectives, that reinforces a concept, or that provides a different mode of understanding, and you can unlock a world of engagement and fun.

So, what games have you found that could be useful in class? I would love to hear about them!

Many airline passengers using Kindles, iPhones and other portable electronic devices bristle at flight attendants' orders to turn them all off before takeoff and landing. Why? What's the harm? Fliers routinely leave devices on and the planes don't crash, so the rule must be bogus, right?

That's what we thought, too. Then we decided to take a close look at this question after actor Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines flight for refusing to stop playing Words with Friends on his cellphone. That research, coupled with Gary Stoller's reporting in today's USA TODAY, changed our view.

Plenty of scientific evidence shows that electronic devices can interfere with airliners' radios, navigation units, collision avoidance boxes and even their fire detection systems. As an estimated 43 million people take to the skies this holiday season, many with new smart phones or tablets, that's a finding worth heeding.

The case is even stronger when you combine the technological evidence with dozens of chilling circumstantial incidents in NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, where pilots can anonymously report safety-related problems. Among the reports in NASA's database:

• A regional jet was climbing 9,000 feet last May when the pilots' directional indicators suddenly went haywire, leading the airliner 4 miles off course. After the confused pilots asked passengers to make sure their electronics were off, the cockpit instruments returned to normal.
• As a flight was climbing out of Charlotte-Douglas airport in North Carolina, there was such a loud buzzing on the pilots' radios that they could barely hear controllers. The captain warned passengers that if they didn't turn off all devices, the plane would have to return to the airport. After "nearly the entire plane" checked their electronics, the noise stopped and the flight continued.
• The pilots of an airliner flying at nearly 300 mph toward Philadelphia suddenly got a warning on the instrument panel that they were about to collide with a plane a mile ahead of them. They made an emergency climb before controllers said their radar showed no plane there. A flight attendant later told the pilots she had caught a woman making a cellphone call to her daughter during the approach.
• Pilots descending to land in Baltimore watched their instruments swinging oddly until they broke out of the clouds at 1,800 feet almost a mile off course. They concluded that numerous passengers using their cellphones had caused the error.

Not every device in every seat on every plane is a problem. Incidents seem to depend on which devices passengers use and where they sit, which could be near an antenna outside the fuselage or an electronics bay hidden away inside the plane. On one long over-water flight, for example, pilots began having trouble with their instruments and asked flight attendants to check the cabin. The attendants asked passengers to turn off their laptops one by one until they found the one that was causing the problem.

Some fliers have protested that pilots can now use iPads in the cockpit, so why not in the cabin? Simple: If pilots noticed problems, they could quickly switch their iPads off. And they're required to use them in "airplane mode," which shuts off all transmissions and makes them unlikely to cause problems.

OK, then why not let passengers use their devices in airplane mode, too? That would only work if everyone knew how to operate airplane mode (a surprising number do not), and if it didn't mean flight attendants would have to police each passenger's device.

Soon after Baldwin got the boot, he appeared on Saturday Night Live dressed as an American pilot. He called the rules about electronic devices "just a cruel joke perpetrated by the airline industry."

The bit was funny, but the rules are no joke. Given the evidence, everyone from the Federal Aviation Administration to flight attendants should have "words with friends" about the need to turn devices off. It shouldn't take a crash to make the point.

by Megan Geuss, PCWorld
Dec 29, 2011 2:55 pm

We're living in an exciting time in technology: From consumer products such as phones and tablets to the way your home computer accesses the Internet, everything is changing, and mostly for the better. We predict that next year the following 10 developments will change the way you interact with the digital world.

1. Dual-core processors become the norm in smartphones

In 2011, the Motorola Atrix and the Droid Bionic were the first commercially popular smartphones to sport dual-core processors. In the fall, Apple's iPhone 4S followed suit—and now it seems unlikely that any smartphones unveiled in 2012 will be competitive unless they can offer the same processing power that Apple's phones do.

As a result, you should expect to see a surge in dual-core mobile devices. ARM executive James Bruce, whose company licenses the designs of chips that find their way into almost every mobile device in the world, said in a May interview that dual-core processors would be a huge part of making smartphones not just powerful but also battery-efficient.

"If you look at handsets today, we've seen dual-core handsets reduce power consumption," he says. For example, if you're sending a text message, dual-cores have the potential to effectively streamline the lower-power functions of the phone through one core, while reserving the other core for more power-intensive functions, like gaming or navigation."

And don't expect chip development to stop at two cores. In December, Nvidia announced its first quad-core processor for tablets and smartphones, the Tegra 3.

2. Optical-disc drives disappear from new laptops

If you could download a movie in two minutes at any airport or coffee shop, or access hundreds of family photos from any network connection, how often would you use your laptop's optical drive? For most people, the answer is "not often."

If you could download a movie in two minutes at any airport or coffee shop, or access hundreds of family photos from any network connection, how often would you use your laptop's optical drive?

That's why, in 2012, you'll see fewer laptops with optical drives. And the superlight classes (such as MacBook Airs and Ultrabooks) won't be the only ones abandoning them—larger-screened portables will, as well.

Ali Sadri, president of the Wireless Gigabit Alliance, which is working to propagate 7GBPS wireless on the 60GHz band of the spectrum, says that faster wireless will certainly change the way that laptops look, for good. "Multi-gigabit connectivity gives us all sorts of uses. Suddenly you don't need to have all these bulky devices. A very light laptop doesn't have room for an HDMI cable port, or a docking station."

In 2012, regular-size laptops will be able to ditch their disc drives—and even many of their ports—without losing too much functionality. MacBook Airs don't include optical drives, and larger MacBook Pros will likely follow suit this year. Laptops from other manufacturers, such as Asus, Dell, and Toshiba, will join the trend. Of course, some laptops will retain drives, but in 2012 new laptops with optical-disc drives will become harder to find.

3. Data-only and reduced-voice cell phone plans proliferate

You probably spend way more time sending email and checking Facebook updates than you do making calls on your cell phone these days. And cell phone carriers are taking notice. In 2012, when you're shopping for a phone plan, you'll see data plans emphasized and calling minutes marginalized. Already, T-Mobile and Walmart have partnered to create a prepaid plan that offers 5GB of data and a measly 100 voice-calling minutes for just $30 a month.

PCWorld Associate Editor Patrick Miller tested the plan, doing most of his calling via VoIP on Skype's app. Although his calls sometimes suffered from lag or occasionally cut out, ultimately the voice quality and reliability of his VoIP calls were no worse than on calls he made through a traditional cellular voice plan.

And new carrier Republic Wireless announced a plan that charges just $19 a month for unlimited data, text, and calling. The plan assumes that you'll spend most of your time using Wi-Fi networks in your home, office, or around town, but provides cellular access for those occasions when you're not around a hotspot. Use the cellular service too much, and you get kicked out of the Republic Wireless plan.

4. Facebook accounts become necessary to do more stuff on the Web

Want a Spotify account? You'll need to get a Facebook account first. When Facebook announced its partnership with Spotify in September 2011, the big objection that most people had to the partnership was that everyone could see what songs you were listening to, no matter how embarrassing your musical choices were.

Since then, Facebook and Spotify have decided to allow you to make your sharing private. (Or, for some people, secret. There's a difference.) But one thing that Facebook and Spotify have not backed down on is the requirement that all new Spotify users sign in with Facebook before they can access any free tunes.

Turntable.fm is another new music-sharing service that requires the user to log in with a Facebook account—do so, or take a hike. While many websites aren't quite so stringent with their login demands, it's becoming more and more common to see "Sign in with your Twitter or Facebook account!" in big letters across a website's login area. Only in the small print can you find the option to make an account without linking to your social media pages.

In 2012, it's safe to assume that you'll see more of this. The setup is good for small sites—they can largely weed out fake accounts and abusive users with the filter of a Facebook login, all while making sure that genuine customers don't forget their login information. And the arrangement is good for Facebook—it can keep track of the sites that users visit, and encourage them to share more thoroughly (which is better for Facebook's ad sales).

5. NFC facilitates mobile payments, peer-to-peer networking

While many websites aren't quite so stringent with their login demands, it's becoming more and more common to see "Sign in with your Twitter or Facebook account!" in big letters across a website's login area.

Imagine tapping your phone to a receiver at a register, and instantly paying for an item without fumbling for your wallet. Or getting into a movie theater with a similar tap of your phone. Or being able to load your transit card onto your phone, using a simple tap to deduct money for every trip on the subway.

All of that is already possible with the help of near-field communication chips, which transfer small amounts of data through a short-range, low-friction connection.

Currently, you can buy the Google Nexus S phone, which carries an NFC chip and the Google Wallet companion app for syncing your credit cards to your phone and making mobile payments at participating vendors. Meanwhile, RIM is baking NFC chips into newer phones such as the BlackBerry 9900, and recently it introduced Tag, a RIM-specific feature that allows BlackBerry users to transfer contact information and documents.

The latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, is built to let app developers take advantage of the many uses for NFC, such as setting up peer-to peer connections between phones simply by tapping the phones' backs to each other. So without a doubt, in 2012 you'll see more phones with these chips built into them, as well as more apps that employ the technology.

6. Processing enters the cloud

Makers of devices such as smartphones, tablets, and even cameras are pushing the boundaries of mobile computing by thinking outside of the chip. In 2012, "cloud processing," or the ability to process complex information on remote servers, will make considerable advances.

The most evident indicator of this coming trend is every iPhone 4S owner's new best friend, Siri. This virtual assistant is made possible because your iPhone 4S doesn't have to analyze your request on its own processors—it sends your voice request to Apple's data centers, which process the audio, find a response, and then send that response back to your phone.

A year before Siri debuted, Google Goggles did the same thing: You could snap a picture of a book, a logo, or a notable landmark, for instance, and Goggles would analyze the image at one of its Google server centers and return a search page relevant to the image. So apps that take advantage of cloud processing already exist—but you should expect to see a slew of voice recognition and face/object recognition apps appear for mobile devices in 2012. (A Google exec recently revealed that the company is working on a Siri competitor, called Majel.)

7. HTML 5 takes the stage

Markup languages rarely make headlines, but the HTML 5 upgrade will change the Internet in 2012 more than any cool new website will. That's because it's the foundation that all cool new websites will be built upon. By bringing XHTML under the same umbrella as HTML, and by allowing Web programmers to use brand-new video and audio commands to integrate media into sites more gracefully, HTML 5 will become the key tool for making sites act a lot more like native apps on your phone.

And in some cases, HTML 5 websites might even replace apps. All the major mobile operating systems have adopted the new Web standard. HTML 5 promises to make it easier and more affordable for developers to introduce interactivity in browsers because they no longer need to buy and install proprietary plug-ins to create click-responsive graphics or to embed video.

Facebook is one of the major companies that have committed considerable resources to developing their sites for HTML 5. Pandora redesigned its site with HTML 5, too. Then, in November, Adobe announced that it would no longer continue to develop its mobile Flash Player because HTML 5 has been so much better received than its Flash plug-in.

Watch for redesigned sites in 2012, and be prepared to see companies forgo building new apps in favor of creating a unified HTML 5-based site. There's even an Occupy Flash movement intended to encourage developers to stop using Flash and start using HTML 5.

Watch for redesigned sites in 2012, and be prepared to see companies forgo building new apps in favor of creating a unified HTML 5-based site.

8. IPv6 starts rolling out

To send and receive data on the Internet, every connected device needs an IP address--and 2011 was the year we finally started running out of IPv4's unique, 32-bit sequences.

For the time being, Internet service providers can assign groups of devices a single IP address using network address translation, or NAT, to break down where traffic should travel among the group of devices. We can't use NAT forever, but for the average consumer, that won't be a concern for quite a long time.

In 2012, however, the issue will affect websites that are hosting their content on IPv4-only servers, and smart businesses will want to get an IPv6 address in addition to an IPv4 address so that when the transition to IPv6 does come, they'll be prepared. IPv6 isn't backward-compatible with IPv4, but companies can "dual stack" their servers to offer content on both "versions of the Internet."

It will be important for companies to keep their IPv4 addresses for some time, as households might not be equipped for IPv6 (increasingly, however, routers and device operating systems are offering support for both versions). When the time comes for websites to relinquish their old IPv4 addresses, many average consumer devices will be ready.

9. Consumers borrow more books, movies, and music

The Internet has done wonders for media sharing, and in 2012 it will become easier than ever to borrow media rather than buy it. Spotify and Rdio already let you listen to the music of your choice for free, and Google announced in November that its music-storing service will permit users to share songs with their friends.

E-readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader Wi-Fi PRS-T1 let you rent ebooks from public libraries. And you'll find no shortage of movie streaming services that let you watch flicks at a moment's notice without filling up your hard drive with downloaded copies.

Devices that help you consume multimedia are boosting the trend. Amazon's Kindle Fire, for instance, ships with only 8GB of storage, less than an entry-level iPhone 4S. That means Fire users will likely be streaming movies rather than downloading them, and listening to music from Rdio rather than keeping thousands of tunes on their tablets.And Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet is hardly more than an e-reader with media-streaming capabilities, as only 1GB of its storage is available to hold non-Barnes & Noble downloads.

10. Fewer (but better) tablets arrive

Clearly, tech companies want to sell tablets. In 2011, however, no tablet could truly compete with the iPad. From the genuinely disappointing (Fusion Garage's Grid 10 tablet, based on a proprietary version of Android called GridOS) to the mildly dissatisfying (the Kindle Fire), there's clearly a market for tablets, but someone other than Apple has yet to get it right.

In 2012, you'll almost certainly see some tablet makers dropping out of the game, but the ones that stick around will finally start to understand what tablet consumers want: not a big phone, but a media consumption and creation device that can stand up to heavy use.

New tablets will use the Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS, the tablet-optimized Windows 8, or the new RIM PlayBook 2.0 operating system. Perhaps 2011 was the warm-up, and 2012 will see real competitors to the iPad.

But distraction to others a primary concern

December 28, 2011
By Beth Teitell, Globe Staff

To tweet or not to tweet? That’s the question facing Boston-area theaters as live-performance venues nationwide start offering “tweet seats’’ for patrons who feel the need to tweet about what they are seeing during the show, not just after it.

Purists are already complaining about the glow from all those tiny screens; think of it as secondhand phone. And Suffolk University English professor Thomas Connolly calls the trend a victory for marketing directors.

But tweet seat sections are gaining a fingerhold in Massachusetts. The Lowell Memorial Auditorium has tweet seats planned for the mid-January run of “Sesame Street Live’’ and two subsequent shows. Tweet seats may be offered at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston’s spring performance of “Avenue Q.’’ the irreverent puppet musical for adults. It may also come sometime in 2012 at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester and at the Central Square Theater in Cambridge, where the marketing director wants to figure out just where in his 225-seat venue tweeters can flex their thumbs without disturbing fellow audience members or the performers.

The marketing value of such an addition is clearly attractive. Subscription rates are falling across the country, and a younger audience remains elusive. Live tweeting - silent, of course - is seen as a way to enhance the experience for the tweeter and to encourage followers to see the show.

The idea is not entirely new. Across the country, social media users have been live-tweeting performances for several years. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City offered tweet seats for its final performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore’’ in 2009, and patrons have live-tweeted “Avenue Q,’’ in San Jose and “Hello! My Baby’’ at the Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn. Tweet seats may soon play Broadway itself, at a “Godspell’’ revival.

Purists are already complaining about the glow from all those tiny screens; think of it as secondhand phone.

At the Palm Beach Opera this month, tweeters updated followers on the tragic love story between an American officer and a geisha in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.’’ “Cio-cio san is telling it like it is! #pbobutterfly,’’ one tweeter wrote. “Butterfly will die. Goosebumps. #pbobutterfly,’’ wrote another.

At some performances, tweeters not only broadcast their thoughts but share additional information about the music or onstage action. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra offered tweet seats at several performances this fall, and at each, an assistant or associate conductor backstage tweeted insights about the music and answered questions in real time.

“It almost functions like interactive program notes,’’ said Christopher Pinelo, the orchestra’s vice president of communications.

During “The Rite of Spring,’’ audience members following the action at #CinSym got regular tweets, including one reading, “The piece starts out with a bassoon solo that famously pushes the upper limits of the instrument’s register,’’ and “This is one of the most rhythmically complex pieces of music ever composed up until this time, only to be superseded by the finale.’’

But whether live-tweeting Stravinsky is a force for good or evil remains open for discussion. “It’s a sensitive thing,’’ said Jared Fine, marketing and communications manager at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, which has not given in to the trend yet.

“You’re turning on a device inside a theater, and it needs to be in a way that’s not going to be distracting to other audience members,’’ Fine said. “But it’s a technology that is very helpful in word of mouth, so it’s something that you don’t want to completely negate.’’

As Twitter’s power grows, some local theaters are taking small steps. The Boston Lyric Opera recently encouraged theatergoers to tweet questions to cast members and other insiders during intermission. This spring, the Boston Ballet plans to give carefully selected social media users free seats.

“The tweeters themselves will be culled from our social media forums based upon some criteria - strong writing skills, strong following, and a level of professionalism in their correspondence with us prior to the performance,’’ e-mailed spokeswoman Mariel MacNaughton. “They will be provided with informational packets prior to their visit to the theater and, once in the theater, can tweet from their seats prior to the performance, during intermission, and postperformance.’’

Supporters of the Twitter-critic movement love the immediacy of the medium. But Sarah Ericsson, a harpist twice nominated for a Grammy and a former longtime performer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, worries that tweeters will judge a performance too soon.

“Concerts are two hours long for a reason,’’ she said. “Sometimes at the opera the singer will save her voice for the second act and [the tweeter] doesn’t know that. A concerto has three movements; it’s meant to be heard in its entirety.’’

The BSO has not discussed tweet seats, but is “open to new ideas,’’ a spokesman said.

The tension between art and @art can be seen at Huntington Theatre Company, where the marketing department’s interest in offering tweet seats has been scaled back to a “Twittermission,’’ an interactive conversation that will take place on lobby screens during intermission among the audience, artists, and tweeters from around the world.

The Boston Lyric Opera recently encouraged theatergoers to tweet questions to cast members and other insiders during intermission. This spring, the Boston Ballet plans to give carefully selected social media users free seats.

“I am thrilled by how dynamic and compelling our social media outlets are becoming,’’ Peter DuBois, the theater’s artistic director, said in an e-mail. “But I believe that from the moment the curtain goes up to the moment it comes down, the art on stage is all the engagement the audience needs. That onstage moment you miss to read or send a tweet could be the one that sends chills up your spine, stirs you with empathy, or sends your imagination wild.’’

Many patrons are less worried about the tweeters’ enjoyment of the show than their own. “If someone sitting next to me is using their phone it would definitely distract and annoy me,’’ said Sasha Sherman, 28, of Watertown, who frequently attends the opera and the symphony.

But Eric Andersen, 35, an IBM IT architect with 7,000 Twitter followers, says tweeting has become such a big part of his life that he no longer draws a distinction between commenting to a person who is with him physically and a person who exists in his smartphone.

“If something interesting or unique happened once or twice during the performance and I wouldn’t necessarily be able to remember it later, I’d want to tweet it,’’ he said.

As the lines between physical and virtual companionship blur, Elisa Hale, the public relations manager at the Norma Terris Theatre, says social media users need to be accommodated, particularly by theaters trying to attract young patrons.

“You’re talking about people who can barely help themselves from texting while they’re driving,’’ she said.

The push to allow such phone use during shows comes at a time when performing arts attendees are increasingly older than the average US adult, according to a 2008 survey by the National Endowment for the Arts. The percentage of adults ages 18-24 attending classical music concerts fell from 11 percent in 1982 to 6.9 percent in 2008. Ballet attendance among the group also dropped, from 3.9 percent in 1982 to 2.5 percent in 2008.

Not just any tweeter will do, of course. Theaters need a correspondent who is focused on the show and not the Patriots score and who actually knows how to tweet. When the Palm Beach Opera advertised free twitter seats at its final dress rehearsal, it wanted only those with large or engaged Twitter followings.

Even legitimate tweeters can encounter issues. Said Hale: “I was reading what someone had written, thinking of a response, then realizing I should be putting down my phone to clap.’’

Beth Teitell can be reached at bteitell@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @bethteitell.

http://thejournal.com
Education Trends | Featured News
By John K. Waters—12/13/11

Students are different today because of technology. Every educator knows this, of course, but this change is about much more than agile thumbs, shriveling attention spans, and OMG'd vocabularies. According the Pew Research Center, the combination of widespread access to broadband Internet connectivity, the popularity of social networking, and the near ubiquity of mobile computing is producing a fundamentally new kind of learner, one that is self-directed, better equipped to capture information, more reliant on feedback from peers, more inclined to collaborate, and more oriented toward being their own "nodes of production."

"These three elements together have changed the context of learning," says Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. "Today, knowledge is literally at your fingertips."

Rainie spoke to attendees at the 2011 State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. The Pew Center's Internet and American Life Project is a non-profit, non--partisan "fact tank" that studies the social impact of the Internet. Rainie is a co-author of Up for Grabs; Hopes and Fears; Ubiquity, Mobility, Security; and Challenges and Opportunities--books focused on the future of the Internet. He's also co-authoring a book, expected to debut in early 2012 from MIT Press, on the social impact of technology.

"I don't have to have an opinion," Rainie joked during his keynote. "I just have to find out what's true."

The Pew Center conducted its first survey of Internet behavior in 1999 and watched what Rainie called "the broadband revolution" unfold.

"We watched as the world moved from a dial-up world to a broadband world," he said." The spread of broadband made it possible for students to become content creators. We know that three-quarters of Internet-connected teenagers now create content and share it online. It's not necessarily profound stuff--it's not War and Peace. They're sharing status updates; they're telling stories about their lives; they're reacting to things; and they're rating and ranking things. But that's the way people are using these new tools to tell stories about themselves."

According to the Pew Center, 95 percent of teenagers now use the Internet, while 78 percent of adults use it. And 82 percent of teenagers (ages 12-17) have broadband at home, as opposed to 62 percent of adults.

Broadband also inherently facilitates new forms of information dissemination, Rainie said.

"Links have now become a central aspect of text," he said. "There are clear ways now that students assess and use information in the context of the links embedded in text. They will check primary sources, go back to original documents, and do a little bit more work to get there. Links have changed the way knowledge is presented; it's no longer linear. It's sometimes disrupted, scattered, and related to multimedia. There are ways now in the linked environment to pack more information into textbooks and other learning vehicles. You can do story telling in ways now that you never could."

"They're sharing status updates; they're telling stories about their lives; they're reacting to things; and they're rating and ranking things. But that's the way people are using these new tools to tell stories about themselves."

The proliferation of broadband helped to facilitate the rise of the social network, Rainie said. Students now turn to their social networks to help them in three ways:

1. To act as sentries or early warning signals about what's going on in the world and what's the news in their social environment;
2. To act as evaluators of information (Is it true? What does it mean? How much weight should I give it?); and
3. To act as an audience.

"We've all got audiences now on Twitter and Facebook," Rainie said. "Everybody can be a publisher and broadcaster; students in particular are taking advantage of that. Predictably, young people have an acute sense that they're sort of performing for the people in their social network, particularly the people who don't know them very well. They want to increase their reputation, increase their status, and build communities. Social networks are now primary places where people can kind of show off and strut their stuff."

According to the Pew Center, 80 percent of teenagers who are online (76 percent of all teenagers) now participate in social networking sites like Facebook, though just 16 percent participate in Twitter, which is actually a microblogging service. Meanwhile, 65 percent of adult Internet users (50 percent of all adults) are now using social networking sites; 33 percent of those who are 65 and older and use the Internet now participate in social networking sites.

The advent of broadband combined with the popularity of social networks has also given students the means to publish pictures and video, which is changing students in another important way, Rainie said.

"When people start sharing pictures online, they become radically different social beings," he said. "They're thinking chronologically about their lives and sharing specific moments with their friends. This kind of information sharing has become a deeply rooted expectation. The visual element in social networking--posting pictures after a party or concert--is now almost as important as the texted information."

Pulling these two "revolutions" together is the spread of mobile computing. Rainie cited some statistics from CTIA, the wireless trade lobby, which reported last year that there were 303 million total wireless subscriber lines in the United States. Just this quarter CTIA reported that that number had grown to 322.9 million.

"There are more cell phones in America now than there are people," Rainie said. "And we're not the first to this party. Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, and a couple of Scandinavian countries have more than 100 percent penetration of cell phones. And the numbers are only going to get bigger."

Currently, about 30 percent of teenagers have smart phones--iPhone, Androids, etc.--that provide Internet connectivity; most teens have so-called feature phones, which allow them to send text messages, but not surf the Web.

What's important about mobility in the context of education, Rainie said, is that it changes the way people think about the availability of information, knowledge, and learning.

"It alters the places where learning takes place and expectations about where learning can take place," Rainie said. "When something is perceived to be available all the time, anywhere, on any device, it changes the way that anybody, but particularly students, thinks about how they can access the information and media they want on the schedule they want."

Among the consequences of this confluence of trends is a massive inflow of data, which the enterprise refers to as "Big Data." These are datasets that have grown so large that they're hard to work with, that traditional database management tools can't handle.

"Because the broadband environment has so increased the volume and velocity and variety of information in people's lives, analytics has become much more important," Rainie said. "We are entering the age of Big Data, and it's one of the trends we are going to be tracking at Pew. The big question is, how are we going to figure out what all these data are telling us about our students.

___________________________________________________________________

About the Author

John K. Waters is a freelance journalist and author based in Palo Alto, CA. 

Posted by Lisa Nielsen
on Dec 28, 2011

We live in a world that is increasingly mobile. In order for adults to connect with our kids and students, we need to mobilize. Kids love their phones, they are highly motivated to use them (constantly), and they always have them right there with them (if they’re allowed). What a strong basis for an educational tool: empower students to use tools they already own as a means for better education!

The Disney Mobile Cell and Tell survey of more than 1,500 10-17 year-old cell phone users found that teens and tweens like their cell phones perhaps more than other luxuries in their lives.

If they had to choose between their phone or something else:

? One-third would give up listening to the radio, playing video games or going to the mall.
? Nearly one-fourth would give up their MP3 players.
? One in five would give up TV” (2007)

As a parent, imagine having the opportunity to help your child with their homework by encouraging them to text for help while waiting at the dentist office or on the way to dance class. As a teacher, imagine having a student respond quickly to a reflection-type question from the day’s lecture while checking their texts during a water break at basketball practice. For both, imagine having a mother learning through a text about the vocabulary test in her son’s biology class tomorrow so she can review with him as they drive to karate lessons.

Today’s phones can alert students to study, serve as a smart vehicle to take notes, provide instant, on-demand answers and research, and even provide a great way to record and capture student oral reports or responses to polls and quizzes. The family dinner table is fading, the homework hour is constantly challenged, and we are out and about (with our phones) more than ever.

Parents may need to take the lead in allowing their children to use their phones for learning and in educating their teachers and administrators of the value in working toward acceptable use policies. There are numerous ways educators and parents can empower students with the freedom to learn with a device they love using.

We want to share the ways you can start using cell phones to enhance learning. To follow are 12 of the most useful ways to support learning as adapted from the newly released book on the topic Teaching Generation Text (www.TeachingGenerationText.com). These ideas will help adults discover how to engage youth with fun, free, safe, and easy methods using nothing more than a basic, text-enabled cell phone.

1. Pictures make it real with Flickr
When cell phones have cameras, a new world is opened. Your kids can take pictures of homework projects, research material, field work, activities, etc. for their own use or to share with others. Encouraging students to take pictures of discussion material shared on the board, on handouts if they are going to be doing homework in route, or just to make sure the material does not get lost and stays handy is a great use of the cell phone camera. Flickr provides a free, easy and efficient way to share pictures taken on your cell phone and group them into slideshows based on topic. www.flickr.com/

2. Use an online cell phone notebook with WeTxt
Most cell phones have a notepad tool themselves, but when you want to be able to print notes, organize notes, and keep a running record on your computer, a service like WeTxt offers a free way to add your online notebook and notebook sections to your contacts and you and your kids can text in notes anywhere, anyplace, anytime. www.wetxt.com

3. Capture oral assignments and thoughts with Google Voice
Google voice enables educators to capture voice messages from students without providing them with their direct phone number. The power of this kicks in when you realize that what Google Voice does is actually become a repository for oral reports, assignments, or sound bites. Not only is it a repository, but parents and teachers can write notes on each clip, share, and post them. This is obviously an effective tool for auditory learners. www.google/voice.com

4. Have an expert in your pocket with ChaCha
Imagine having an expert to turn to at any time for information, advice, guidance…for free! That’s ChaCha, an amazing service that will become invaluable to students and parents alike, works on any cell phone with every provider and enables students to ask any question and receive an accurate answer as a text message in just a few minutes.
You may want to caution students/parents that there may be advertising as part of the ChaCha message and teach them to be aware users by disregarding unnecessary inclusions. www.chacha.com or text 242242

5. Get homework help using Google SMS
Even if students are banned from using cell phones at school, teaching them to use Google sms will be powerfully important for students as a homework tool. Even with a text-only plan, Google sms provides much of the vast amount of knowledge and information formerly available to only those with the Internet. Have students enter “G-O-O-G-L-E” in their phones with the number 466453. This is the code that unlocks the key to a world of knowledge for students who will now be able to use their phones to translate languages, convert currency, calculate, define words, find out what’s going on in other parts of the world and much, much more. www.google.com/sms or text 466453

6. Gain collective intelligence with Twitter
Twitter provides a terrific way for teachers and/or parents to get an unlimited stream of feedback from students over a period of time on any subject. Twitter is a great tool to use to share interesting and relevant information with the student body, staff, parents and family. With just one teacher cell phone per class, contributions can be made and modeled anywhere, anytime. Like texting, the beauty of Twitter’s is that its core technology is a device agnostic system that lets the masses participate. www.twitter.com

7. Get feedback on your writing with TextNovel
Few students are given the opportunity to write for a real audience (beyond the teacher). Textnovel.com can change that. When you want to encourage reading and writing, make it available through children’s/students’ phones. Textnovel is the first English language cell phone novel website, allowing members to write and read fiction with their cellphones Teachers and Parents will need to monitor use of this site. Appropriate use on this and all sites should be discussed. www.textnovel.com

8. Collect and display thoughts and ideas with Wiffiti
Wiffiti allows kids to submit a text message to an online bulletin board. This easy-to-use tool enables your children and students to use the same technology that is viewed by thousands at large-scale events. In short, Wiffiti publishes real time messages to screens anywhere on any screen and this can be a tremendously powerful educational tool. Even when cell phones are banned at school, parents can encourage kids to enhance their presentations and involve their audience for free with Wiffiti. www.wiffiti.com and text 87884

9. Create a phonecast for your report with iPadio
Phone casting provides the ability to easily create and capture an audio broadcast from your phone that can be published and shared anywhere. iPadio is currently one such free option. Just dial in, talk, and when you hang up, Wah La! You’ve created a phone cast that can be broadcast to the world. Have struggling writers create phonecasts with iPadio by telling their story right into a cell phone. www.ipadio.com

10. Give your presentation a face and a voice with Voki
Voki is a terrific way to enable your students to share a message using an animated avatar that talks using their own voice recorded right from their phone. The Voki will increase interest during revision, give students another lens through which they can review their writing, sharpen their speaking and listening skills, and add another creative outlet for displaying their work. Many students are uncomfortable reading their work aloud to the class. Thanks to Voki students can practice and maybe even present through their avatar. www.voki.com

11. Do your own surveys and gather responses with Poll Everywhere
Rather than using expensive and burdensome polling equipment, “clickers,” teachers and parents can empower students to gather information through polling and share their voice using a free service such as Poll Everywhere and Text the Mob, which provide students with a simple method to gather and/or share ideas right from their phones. For example, the information gathered can be used as support in student written reports, feedback for teachers, or for parents planning a fundraiser. The uses are endless. www.polleverywhere.com or www.textthemob.com

12. Be an effective learner with the basic tools in your phone
All of the tools shared thus far are exciting ways to enhance learning through a text enabled cell phone and free services. However, we must not forget that without any service, learning, or set-up, the phones in your children’s and students’ pockets provide a clock, calendar, calculator, notepad, reminder, alarm, and access to you and other “experts”’ who can support their learning. We just need to get past their constant social texting and encourage them to use these tools for school. Putting assignment due dates in the phone, setting up reminders to study, creating mobile study groups, being prepared (never needing a pencil, paper, camera or calculator), and always knowing what time it is are all actions of an effective student and now they can be done on the cell phone!

Supporting kids in using the tools they love for learning makes sense. Educating ourselves about the many ways cell phones can enhance learning and encouraging our children to use these, discover their own, and together involve their school can be a wonderful way to collaborate with children and be more involved in their educational experience. Seeing cell phones as more than a way to check up on them, as more than a distraction, and as more than another bill to pay, can open our eyes to ways to build stronger relationships with our kids and strengthen the home-school connection, while leading the way toward connecting the school world and the real world by embracing the educational power of cell phones.

Usage Differs by Age and Education

Released: December 20, 2011

SURVEY REPORT

Cell phones are owned by overwhelmingly large majorities of people in most major countries around the world, and they are used for much more than just phone calls. In particular, text messaging is a global phenomenon – across the 21 countries surveyed, a median of 75% of cell phone owners say they text.

Texting is widespread in both wealthy nations and the developing world. In fact, it is most common among cell phone owners in two of the poorest nations surveyed: Indonesia and Kenya.

Many also use their mobile phones to take pictures or video. A median of 50% use their cell phones in this way in the 21 countries polled. Fully 72% of Japanese cell phone owners take pictures or video, as do roughly six-in-ten in Mexico (61%), Spain (59%) and Egypt (58%). Fewer users access the internet via cell phone, although more than four-in-ten mobile phone owners use their device to go online in Israel (47%), Japan (47%) and the United States (43%).

The survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted March 21 to May 15, also finds that social networking is popular in many nations around the globe. This is especially true in Israel (53%) and the U.S. (50%), where half or more say they use social networking websites. More than four-in-ten use these sites in Britain (43%), Russia (43%) and Spain (42%).

Social networking is generally more common in higher income nations; however, this is largely driven by the fact that wealthier countries have higher rates of internet access. People in lower income nations who have online access use social networking at rates that are as high, or higher, than those found in affluent countries.

In nearly every country, the young and the well-educated are especially likely to embrace all of these technologies. People under age 30 and college graduates tend to use their cell phones for more purposes than those in older age groups and those without a college degree, and they are also more likely to use social networking sites.

Many Use Phones for Texting, Pictures

Text messaging is highly prevalent – in 19 of 21 countries, a majority of mobile phone owners regularly send text messages.

Texting is most common among cell phone owners in Indonesia (96%), Kenya (89%), and Lebanon (87%), with eight-in-ten or more in Poland, Mexico, Japan and China also saying they regularly text.

In Western Europe, seven-in-ten or more say they send text messages on their cell phones, with the notable exception of Germany, where just 56% regularly text. Only in India and Pakistan do less than half (49% and 44%, respectively) of cell phone owners text.

The Japanese are the most likely of the publics surveyed to say they regularly take pictures or video with their cell phones, with 72% using their mobile phones for such purposes. Roughly six-in-ten cell phone owners in Mexico (61%), Spain (59%), and Egypt (58%) use their phones for snapping pictures or shooting video, while this is much less common in Lebanon (33%), Kenya (31%), Germany (27%), and India (26%). Only 9% of Pakistani cell phone owners say they use their devices for taking pictures or video.

In none of the countries surveyed do a majority use their cell phone regularly to access the internet. Still, at least 30% in six countries – Israel, Japan, the U.S., Britain, China and Poland – do go online using their phone.

Social Networking Widely Popular

In 15 of 21 countries, at least 25% of those polled use social networking sites. Israel (53%) and the U.S. (50%) top the list with the highest percentage of adults who say they use online social networking sites such as Facebook.1

About four-in-ten of all adults in Britain (43%), Russia (43%), Spain (42%), Lithuania (39%) and Poland (39%) also say they engage in social networking. Among this group, Russia is the only country where nearly all internet users are on social networking sites. Only 6% of Russian internet users say they do not go on these sites. In Germany (35%), France (35%), and China (32%), about a third of adults do so.

Germany, France, and Japan are the only countries polled where more internet users say they do not go on social networking sites than say they do. While 35% of Germans use social networking sites, 44% go online but do not use such sites; the comparable numbers are 35% and 38% in France and 25% and 33% in Japan.

About three-in-ten are on social networking sites in Ukraine (30%), Turkey (29%), Jordan (29%), and Egypt (28%). In these four countries, as well as many others where social networking is less prevalent, the percentage of users tends to be low because majorities do not use the internet at all; however, among those who do use the internet, more are using social networking sites than not.

In most of the countries surveyed, there has been only marginal change in social networking use since 2010. Two notable exceptions are Egypt and Russia – countries where the role of social media in recent political upheaval has been the subject of considerable attention. In both nations, usage has increased by ten percentage points over the past year, from 18% in 2010 to 28% in 2011 in Egypt and from 33% to 43% in Russia.2

The percentage of adults who use social networking sites is determined in part by the prevalence of internet use, which is more broadly connected to a country’s wealth. The scatter plot below shows the positive relationship between GDP per capita (PPP) in the country and the level of social networking.

The U.S., which has the highest per capita GDP among the countries surveyed, is also among the countries with the highest percentage of adults using social networking sites, while Pakistan and India have two of the lowest per capita GDPs and the lowest levels of social networking.

Young, Educated Are More Connected

Consistently, young people are more likely to use their cell phones for functions other than phone calls and they are much more likely to become involved in social networking. For instance, in nearly all countries, people ages 18 to 29 are more likely than those 50 or older to access the internet on their mobile phone. This is especially true in Japan, where 78% of mobile phone users ages 18 to 29 regularly use their cell phones to access the internet, compared with only 20% of those 50 or older. Similarly, in the U.S., 73% of 18-29 year-olds use their cell phone for the internet, compared with 49% of 30-49 year-olds and 21% of those 50 or older. Young people are also consistently more likely to use their cell phones for texting and taking pictures or video.

Meanwhile, social networking varies considerably by age in almost all countries surveyed. In 13 of 21 countries, majorities of adults under age 30 use social networking sites. The only country in which even a quarter of those 50 or older engages in social networking is the U.S. (26%).

A gap of 50 percentage points or more between adults under age 30 and those over age 50 emerges in 11 of the countries surveyed. The gap is most striking in Lithuania, where 84% of 18-29 year-olds use social networking sites, while 43% of 30-49 year-olds and just 10% of those 50 and older do the same.

The gap on use of social networking between the oldest and youngest age groups is also large in the U.S., Western and Eastern Europe, Israel, and Japan.

There are smaller gaps between age groups in Indonesia (-26), Kenya (-19), and Jordan (-17), countries with lower internet usage rates. The age gap is smallest in the two countries with the lowest internet usage – India (-8) and Pakistan (-5) – as well as in Egypt (-9).

While younger adults are more likely to go online than older adults, the age gap in internet usage is not the sole driver of the age gap in social networking. Even among internet users, older people are consistently much less likely to engage in social networking than adults under the age of 30.

There are also notable education gaps regarding the use of these technologies. For example, 76% of Chinese cell phone owners with a college degree use the internet on their device, while just 34% of those who did not complete college use their phones in this way. Among American cell phone owners with a college degree, 53% use their phone to go online, compared with 39% of those without a college degree.

Education level is also a significant factor in social networking usage, though the importance of education varies widely by country. The largest differences between college graduates and those without a college degree are found in Egypt (+71) and China (+51). The education gap is somewhat less pronounced in the U.S. and Western Europe; and it is especially low in Germany (+4) and Britain (+2).

Compared with age and education, gender differences are less common in these measures of technology usage. Nevertheless, there are notable gender gaps in a few countries, including Spain, where 29% of male cell phone owners use their devices to access the internet, compared with 13% of females. In Germany, 26% of men who own a cell phone regularly use it for accessing the internet, while just 11% of women do so. And in Turkey, the gap is 16 percentage points between men (30%) and women (14%).

In Egypt, the gender gap is reversed, with women more likely than men to use their cell phones for texting (80% vs. 65%) and for taking pictures or video (65% vs. 53%).

There are few gender differences in social networking usage, although in Turkey 37% of men use social networking sites, compared with just 20% of women.

Martin Reisch holds up his iPad displaying his passport in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012.
Reisch was allowed entry into the United States using a scanned copy of his passport on his iPad.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

By Rob Gillies
Associated Press / January 4, 2012

A Canadian man who realized he forgot his passport as he approached the U.S. border found a new way to gain entry -- his iPad.

Martin Reisch said Tuesday a slightly annoyed U.S. border officer let him cross into the United States from Quebec after he presented a scanned copy of his passport on his Apple iPad. Reisch was a half hour from the border when he decided to try to gain entry rather than turn back and make a two-hour trek back home to Montreal to fetch his passport.

He told the officer he was heading to the U.S. to drop off Christmas gifts for his friend's kids. He said that true story, the scanned passport and his driver's license helped him get through last week.

He said the officer seemed mildly annoyed when he handed him the iPad.

"I thought I'd at least give it a try," Reisch said. "He took the iPad into the little border hut. He was in there a good five, six minutes. It seemed like an eternity. When he came back he took a good long pause before wishing me a Merry Christmas."

Reisch said the officer made an exception.

Canadians began needing more than a driver's license for identification for U.S. land border crossings in 2009. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it only accepts a passport, an enhanced driver's license or a Nexus pass from Canadian citizens entering at land crossings. The list doesn't mention facsimiles, like scans and photocopies.

A spokesman for the department did not immediately respond to questions on whether scanned passports are also commonly accepted at U.S. points of entry.

Reisch, 33, said he took a scanned photo of his passport years ago in case it was over lost or stolen while traveling. He said he also successfully used the passport on his iPad to get through Canadian Customs on the way home later that day.

He said he doubts he'd get away with it again and will bring his passport next time. But he hopes border officials will eventually make digital identification an official form of travel document. He noted that many airlines now accept digital boarding passes stored on smartphones.

"I see the future as 100 percent being able to cross with your identity on a digital device -- it's just a matter of time," he said.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Truly student-centered learning has a lot of support in high places in education, but it can’t happen without the right technology infrastructure to drive it.

By Jennifer Demski
01/04/12

Educators have known for some time now that a one-size-fits-all approach to learning does not lead to the level of student engagement and academic success that schools strive to achieve. In their search for a more customized approach to delivering instruction, they’ve explored project-based learning, addressed different learning styles, and increased collaborative learning among students. Educators have also looked to technology for customizable solutions, implementing 1-to-1 laptop programs, utilizing data-driven decision-making tools, and setting up learning management systems to access digital content.

But, for the most part, schools have incorporated these 21st century instructional techniques and tools as add-ons to the teacher-centric 19th century classroom structure, in which the majority of the curriculum is pulled from a textbook, and, despite best intentions, most students learn the same thing in the same way at the same time.

Enter personalized learning, a student-centered teaching and learning model that acknowledges and accommodates the range of abilities, prior experiences, needs, and interests of each student--with the goal of moving every student to a higher standard of achievement. It’s not a particularly new theory (versions of it have been around since the 19th century), but it has gained currency among many of today’s education thought leaders, particularly because technology seems to be ready to do its part to provide a more personalized learning environment for every student.

By marrying the principles of personalized learning with the tools of technology, some educators believe that they have a chance to create the kind of customized learning environment that can finally break schools out of the industrial-age model of education to bring about true 21st century school reform.

But what exactly is personalized learning? And why is technology so central to its outcomes?
            
De-Mystification Is in Order

To start with, personalized learning is not individualized learning, in which students share the same learning goals but progress through the curriculum at their own pace. Nor is it differentiated instruction, in which students also share learning goals but receive instruction that is tailored to their learning needs.

In any personalized learning model, the student--not the teacher--is the central figure.

In the National Education Technology Plan, the US Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology describes personalized learning as an instructional approach that encompasses both differentiation and individualization, but is also flexible in content or theme to match the specific interests and prior experiences of learners. Karen Cator, director of the OET, explains further: "Personalized learning really takes into consideration that long tail of interest, of prior motivation, of languages. It leverages all the different things that people have in their repertoire to add value to their learning."

The Personalized Learning Foundation says attributes of a personalized learning model include "a strong emphasis on parental involvement, smaller class sizes, more one-on-one teacher and student interaction, attention to differences in learning styles, student-driven participation in developing the learning process, technology access, varied learning environments, teacher and parent development programs, and choices in curriculum programs."

In the PLF model, technology is just one factor, but there are many educators--including Cator and her boss, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan--who advocate a tech-enabled model of personalized learning. According to Cator, access to technology is "the essence and the nature of the opportunity to provide a much more personalized learning environment for students."

In any personalized learning model, the student--not the teacher--is the central figure. In a technophilic view of a personalized learning environment, students have access to traditional learning resources like books and hands-on materials, and time-honored support from people like teachers, parents, mentors, coaches, and schoolmates. But, critically, they have ubiquitous access to technology, which allows them to connect to learning communities, information management and communication tools, personal learning networks, information and data, expertise and authoritative sources, online tutoring and guided sources tailored to their needs, knowledge-building tools, and peers with common interests.

In Cator’s words, "The opportunity with technology is this vast array of resources of interest areas that we can bring into the classroom. The classroom is not a closed system anymore."
 
Collaboration and Personalized Learning

Personalized learning may be "personal" but it’s also highly social. Collaboration and project-based learning both play a large role in the personalized learning model. When students collaborate on a team, they learn to assess their own strengths, and learn from their peers in areas where they have weaknesses. Project-based learning also presents a dynamic classroom environment that encourages the creativity, engagement, and drive necessary to keep students at the helm of their learning.

As Mark Edwards, superintendent of the Mooresville Graded School District (NC), explains, "Personalized learning can look different from hour to hour and from class to class, but there are some common threads. There are always high levels of engagement, high levels of differentiation, lots of opportunities for students to expand their personal interests through school projects, and a lot of collaboration."

When Edwards’ district implemented its 1-to-1 laptop and personalized learning initiatives for third- through 12th-grade students across the district’s eight schools, it completely redesigned its classrooms as well, replacing rows of desks with tables around which students gather for small-group learning. It also moved to a digital curriculum--the district is now 90- to 95-percent textbook-free.

Edwards says that the increase in student engagement and achievement was dramatic from the start. In five years, the graduation rate has risen from 64 percent to 91 percent. Overall composite scores have risen from 63 to 88--third-best in the state, even as the district ranks 99th in the state in regard to funding. Mooresville pioneered the district-level implementation of the tech-powered personalized learning model, and routinely hosts visitors looking to implement such a model at their own districts.
 
Leading Through Technology

Thomas Greaves, CEO of The Greaves Group, an educational consulting firm, takes Cator’s point one step further and says that it’s doubtful personalized learning could happen--or at least, happen well--without the right technological tools in place.

Personalized learning may be "personal" but it’s also highly social. Collaboration and project-based learning both play a large role in the personalized learning model.

"The student, using technology, is better able to personalize their learning than a teacher is," he says. "Teachers don’t have time to sit down and study each student, each day, in each course to figure out what they’re going to do differently with them. Teacher-driven personalization ends up being very weak, with very few factors, whereas if the students are leading their personalization via technology, then their instruction can be personalized based on a hundred variables instead of one or two."

Greaves also seems to suggest that tech-driven personalized learning will, by its very nature, enable individualized learning and that holy grail of teaching, differentiated instruction, in which a teacher adapts classroom instruction to the various needs and skill levels of each student. Historically, differentiated instruction, as a practice, has been incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to implement in a teacher-centered learning environment that is driven by a print-based curriculum. Personalized learning may finally allow individualization and differentiation to actually happen in the classroom.

Ideally, tech-driven personalization combines the best of individualized learning--self-paced, diagnostic-driven--with the ability to adapt to a student’s specific learning styles, interests, and backgrounds. Personalization could be as simple as students compensating for any gaps in their pre-existing knowledge by allowing them to unobtrusively Google unknown terms during group instruction rather than raising their hand, or as sophisticated as students entering information about themselves into a piece of software that selects digital content based on the their interests and skill levels.

Key Tech Elements

Greaves has surveyed more than 1,000 schools in Project RED (Revolutionizing Education), a national survey that his group is conducting, which analyzes the factors that contribute to student success in technology-transformed schools. In his research, Greaves found that teachers who had access to digital tools spend more time each day on personalized and collaborative small-group instruction than on traditional lectures. Greaves found four specific tech implementations as most effective in supporting personalized learning in these classrooms:

A well-implemented 1-to-1 laptop initiative. "Overall, across 1,000 schools, in every grade, in every subject, 1-to-1 laptop initiatives out-performed all other tech-distribution initiatives," explains Greaves. Yet, he adds a caveat: "How the 1-to-1 initiative is implemented is equally important. A well-planned cart or 3-to-1 initiative will outperform a poorly implemented 1-to-1 program." Greaves found that 1-to-1 districts that provide formal change management leadership training for school principals were more likely to see increased teacher training on effectively integrating the laptops into the curriculum, thus leading to an increased incorporation of tools for personalized learning.

Learning management systems. "The learning management system has a tremendous ability to personalize," explains Greaves, "because they provide the framework that supports several different personalization functions without adding a lot of extra work for the teacher. In fact, it’s difficult to have a robust personalization system in place without a well-implemented learning management system."

Access to online remedial coursework. "We found that the No. 1 predictor for success in schools in a number of areas was the availability of fully digital-driven remedial courses that had online curriculum behind them," explains Greaves. In one California high school, Greaves’ team found a remedial algebra class in which every student had already failed the course twice. With the same teacher, they now were accessing the coursework on laptops in a more personalized environment, where the teacher moved from student to student to answer questions as needed, while the students proceeded through digital course materials at their own pace. One hundred percent of the students who attended the class achieved a passing grade.

Open access to search tools. "The effect of search tools on student achievement was kind of amazing to me," remarks Greaves. "The more searches a kid did, the better they scored in a number of variables--the better their test scores, the better their attendance, the more likely they were to go to college, the less likely they were to drop out of school." While he can’t claim that the relationship is causal, Greaves speculates that "a big part of personalization is to keep the learning switch always on," he says, and tech tools like search offer students a chance to keep learning in motion. "You can go to the search engine and find out the answer. Or you can use social media and collaboration tools and ask somebody. Get an answer and then you're back to learning again." 
             
The Netflix Factor

Ed tech experts are also looking to products being developed outside of the education market for ideas on further personalizing core curriculum content to match a student’s specific interests and abilities--the so-called "Netflix factor."

... opportunities for personalized learning will grow as districts are able to set up security infrastructures that allow students to access materials on their personal smartphones ...

"The opportunity for mass customization is already happening in the consumer sector, with targeted ads, for example, or movie recommendations based on what a consumer has previously viewed or rated positively," remarks Cator. "We can learn a lot from these algorithms and from the different methodologies behind using data to provide more directed, personalized, and customized learning experiences for students."

Some companies are already there. Language-arts publisher Capstone, for example, modeled its web-based MyON Reader software on the Netflix model of customization.
Launched in January 2011, the software pulls up personalized reading lists for students from a library of more than 14,000 enhanced digital books, based on their interests, their Lexile level (the software does a Lexile assessment), and their ratings of their previously read books. Embedded assessments track reading comprehension, and the software delivers data to teachers that allows them to track their students' progress.

The Charleston County School District (SC) introduced the software to their students, districtwide, just before the summer 2011 vacation. One and a half months later, students logged more than 500 hours of summer reading, according to media services coordinator Constance Dopierala. "I expected to see that in our suburban schools where students have computers and internet access at home, but our inner-city, high-poverty students are logging hour after hour of reading," she says. "I’m blown away. I can’t wait to see what this does for student engagement in our schools."

Ed tech experts predict that opportunities for personalized learning will grow as districts are able to set up security infrastructures that allow students to access materials on their personal smartphones, which will bring schools to a more ubiquitous technology environment.

"Students have access to so much information now," says Katie Morrow, media specialist and technology teacher at O’Neill Public Schools (NE), where they have implemented a large 1-to-1 personalized learning program (see "Always Support the Core," page xxx). "And with that access comes the ability to choose what they want to learn, and when and how they want to learn it, and it’s all available to them on their smartphones.

"If we allow them to have these opportunities to harness this technology to personalize their learning, dig deeper in certain subjects, and find real world connections to apply their learning to while they’re going through school, they’re going to be better prepared for their futures, and they’ll be able to provide a better future for us, as well."

"With the right guidance, smartphones are very powerful," agrees Jayne James, formerly the senior director of education leadership at ISTE. "In classrooms where students are allowed to access their own smartphones for learning, they’re already accessing resources almost constantly to build out their learning agenda. The trick is allowing them to use this while maintaining the safeguards that schools put in place to make sure students aren’t accessing inappropriate materials, to make sure the network is secure, and to make sure that students are good digital citizens."

Cultural Change 

Greaves has visited more than 1,000 schools as part of his research on technology-transformed schools and he says that he can point to only one district--Mooresville Graded School District (NC)--"where you can go into every classroom in every school and see personalized learning in action."

Clearly it’s not just a matter of implementing 1-to-1 programs and accessing some digital curricula.

Greaves’ experience suggests just how far there is still to go to implement a true personalized learning model on a national level. Clearly it’s not just a matter of implementing 1-to-1 programs and accessing some digital curricula. Cultural change has to happen for all stakeholders--including teachers themselves, who, let’s face it, are likewise a product of the industrial education model and need support in understanding and embracing this kind of radical change.

A O’Neill Public Schools, in addition to coaching, modeling, and weekly tech meetings, the district has encouraged teachers to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking tools to support their professional development and expand their professional learning. "When they’re living and breathing these tools," explains Morrow, "they can see the value that social media can bring into their class." 

At the start of its 1-to-1 initiative, the district also made the bold decision to issue laptops to students and teachers simultaneously. "We’ve never forced or mandated a certain number of technology-based lessons, we just let the teachers know that they have to allow the students the opportunity to use the computer if they need to," Morrow says. "Tech-based personalized learning in our school has grown so quickly and so rapidly, though, and we really believe it’s being driven by the students suggesting and demonstrating ways to use the laptops within the curriculum." Although the positive response from teachers was not unanimous when they began the 1-to-1 program in 2007, when they had to decide in 2011whether to renew the program for another four years, 100 percent of teachers were in favor of continuing the initiative.

Educating parents and communities about personalized learning is an absolute requirement if schools are going to get buy-in from stakeholders. When the team in Mooresville began planning the implementation of its 1-to-1 personalized learning initiative, they started off by building community awareness--both within the district’s internal community of teachers, principals, and staff, and in the external community beyond the district’s walls--of what they wanted the school experience to be.

Then, in addition to instituting ongoing differentiated teacher training, strengthening the leadership skills of grade-level and department chairs, and increasing their data-driven decision-making capabilities, they extended their training efforts to parents and guardians who, in the personalized learning model, are an important resource in a students’ learning network. "We have opportunities throughout the year for parents to come in and learn more about what their children are learning and how they are learning it," says Mooresville Superintendent Mark Edwards. "We’re trying to build an overall culture in the district that focuses on teamwork and commitment. Our motto is ‘Every child, every day.’"

To Edwards, schools have no choice but to embrace a tech-enabled personalized learning model for education. "It’s a moral imperative," he says. "If we want our students to be able to find meaningful work and be contributing members of a global society, then we need to prepare them for their future, not our past."
 
Always Support the Core

While skeptics or critics may view a multi-dimensional student-centered model as some loosey-goosey abandonment of high standards, proponents of personalized learning believe this model actually promotes core learning better than the 19th century industrial learning model currently in place, in which all students learn the same thing in the same way at the same time. As the National Education Technology Plan states, "A core set of standards-based concepts and competencies form the basis of what all students should learn but, beyond that, students and educators have options for engaging in learning: large groups, small groups, and activities tailored to individual goals, needs, and interests."

Jayne James, former senior director of education leadership at ISTE, refers to personalized learning as "the marriage of the supply-side and demand-side approaches to education. If you look at how students learn outside of the school day, it’s very demand-driven," she says. "‘What piques my curiosity? What am I interested in?’" A personalized learning model, she says, "allows students to take their interests and connect them to what their teachers supply--the curriculum and the competencies that we want them to learn."

While personalized learning supports the core curriculum, advocates say it also provides a more holistic approach to learning and skill development beyond the core subjects. "We understand that students need to take math, English, and history," explains Katie Morrow, media specialist and technology teacher at O’Neill Public Schools (NE), "but true learning that molds kids into lifelong learners has to be connected to something they care about.

A personalized learning model, she says, "allows students to take their interests and connect them to what their teachers supply--the curriculum and the competencies that we want them to learn."

"If I teach myself something that I care about, like playing a specific instrument, the process that I go through in connecting with experts, collaborating with other people who play that instrument, practicing, performing, and recording--everything that’s associated with my learning path will carry over into English class when I need to write a research paper. I’m going to know how to use my social networks and connect to experts. I’m going to understand deadlines and work ethic. I’m going to know how I learn best."

At Morrow’s district, which implemented its personalized learning model along with its 1-to-1 MacBook initiative in the 2007-08 school year, students access online coursework and digital media to drive independent learning in subjects and topics that the rural school is unable to provide classes on, ranging from digital photography to guitar to Google’s SketchUp drafting software. The school provides opportunities for student "experts" to share their knowledge with other students, rewarding them for and validating the effort they put into their independent learning.

"We’ve definitely seen an increase in student engagement and creativity since implementing these programs," says Morrow. "When a teacher gives an assignment, no longer does she expect to receive 20 clones of what she asked for. Students exceed teachers’ expectations so much more now because they have this opportunity to be creative and try things out in different modalities and share their work in different forms of media."

The Latest in Learning Management Systems

Like most software programs, learning management systems are constantly updating their features and adding new functionality. Here, we compile recent news and information about several systems currently on the market, as shared with us by the vendors themselves.

Blackboard
Blackboard Learn 9.1 was shaped by K-12 educator feedback, and designed to meet all K-12 online learning, content management, professional development, and community build­ing needs. It focuses on fostering active and social learning, promoting planning and productivity, enhancing monitoring and evaluation, increas­ing district-wide efficiency, and facilitating professional development. The new release introduces integrated lesson planning, standards alignment, and standards reporting to help teachers align course content and instruction to state standards. As standards evolve based on curricular changes, a new standards mapping tool will automate updates within the learning platform.

Learn 9.1 also enabled interactive mobile learning opportunities through Blackboard Mobile Learn--a set of native mobile applications for popular mobile platforms, including iPhone and BlackBerry. 

For more information, visit blackboard.com.

BrainHoney
Agilix Labs' BrainHoney LMS has now been adopted in all 50 states and more than 50 countries worldwide. The system allows users to search tens of thousands of educational resources to find the curriculum that best fits students' individual needs. Teachers can browse curricula from multiple content providers, search for content by keyword or aligned standard, and simply drag and drop lessons into their courses. It provides a suite of tools that facilitate collaboration not only in traditional forms such as online discussions, blogs, wikis, and journals, but also during the creation and management of digital curriculum. Instructors and institutions can also share materials, quiz items, and other resources with each other to leverage the power community.

In both 2010 and 2011, BrainHoney won "Best Classroom Management System" at the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) CODiE Awards.

For more information, visit agilix.com.

Instructure
Instructure Canvas is a learning management system native to the cloud. While traditional LMSs use a software model with versions, Instructure updates continuously, with no additional downloaded updates, allowing users to benefit immediately from changes to the system.

Canvas is also taking steps to tackle the growing concern among parents for privacy in their children's digital interactions. Students using the system can choose to be notified in a text message, an e-mail, or a Facebook notification whenever an assignment changes or class notes are posted. This allows teachers to post course materials and message their students without officially "friending" them on Facebook, or storing the student's personal phone numbers. It also provides schools with an audit trail, detailing the interaction.

For more information, visit instructure.com.

MoodleRooms
MoodleRooms, a Moodle partner, provides e-Learning solutions for K-12 schools to help them manage blended or full-online courses.

Last June, MoodleRooms released joule 2, the newest version of its enterprise platform that provides schools with the same features of open-source Moodle 2, combined with enterprise-level features and service options, including the personalized learning designer (PLD). With the PLD, instructors can automate elements of their courses, enabling different experiences based on a student's interaction. This allows instructors to identify key behaviors and take action to re-mediate or accelerate learning. The PLD goes beyond Moodle 2's basic conditional release capabilities; it enables personalized instruction to create individualized learning paths by establishing event-based "rules" that trigger special messages as well as activities and resources. 

For more information, visit moodlerooms.com.

RCampus
In early 2011, RCampus launched the newest addition to its ePortfolio suite, FolioMatrix, a new approach to the collection of artifacts, reflections, and assessments. FolioMatrix allows teachers and evaluators to easily monitor student progress in alignment with standards through a full web-based visual layout. It also provides a guided learning structure, which helps students to easily submit, organize, and showcase their work while enabling teachers to save valuable time by streamlining the grading and feedback process.

In addition to availability through Google Apps and the cloud, RCampus is available to institutions through flexible licensing and hosting options, and is free to individual teachers and students with optional upgrades to premium services. Last April, RCampus Outcomes was named a finalist for the annual TechAmerica High-Tech Innovation Awards. The new cloud-based editions of RCampus offer a scalable option, which helps schools manage costs by allowing them to only pay for their usage and the features they need most.

For more information, visit rcampus.com.

RM Education
The RM Learning Platform, from RM Education, is specifically designed for K-12, and combines features of a learning and content management system, parent portals, and school websites, offering social networking tools, assessment, student e-portfolios, and staff professional development.

In 2011, RM introduced a range of new user interfaces for children, including blogs, wikis, forums, and chat services in a school-inclusive network. In July, the company introduced a simple rating system for content in the content management system.

Instructional staff across a school or district can now rate educational resources and assessments and share their experiences. The system can be integrated with student information systems, and already supports a variety of technology standards, including SIF. Additional integration options are currently in development.

For more information, visit rmeducation.com.

By Daniel Cooper
posted Jan 19th 2012 10:10AM

We're here at Apple's education-flavored event at the Guggenheim museum in New York City. Phil Schiller has just taken to the stage and announced the first half of Apple's platform that's going to "reinvent the textbook:" iBooks 2. Saying that there were 1.5 million iPads currently in use in Education (using 20,000 specific apps), the revamped book-stand now includes education-specific features to help the budding students of the world.

You'll be able to paw through content, stopping to flick through detailed 3D animated models of elements within, access video and definitions without leaving the page. VP of Productivity Applications, Roger Rosner said that "Clearly, no printed book can compete with this:" given the constantly-updated data available, that's kinda obvious. Still, you'll be able to read in a text-heavy portrait or picture-biased landscape mode and there's also the option to have random pop-quizzes appear to keep you on your toes. Annotations is an integral part of the system: you can add stickies to individual pages and aggregate them into virtual 3 x 5-inch note-cards for revision during finals. You'll also get the same purchase, download and re-download rights you enjoy in the company's other stores.

The company's partnered (initially) with textbook makers Pearson, McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, as the trio are responsible for 90 percent of all textbooks sold -- as well as DK and the E.O. Wilson Foundation. Phil was gushing, saying that he couldn't "overemphasize the importance of these partners working with us." Pearson's High School Science, Biology, DK's Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life, Natural History Insects, Animals and My First ABC as well as the first two chapters of E.O. Wilson's Life on Earth will be available at launch -- the latter is free. You'll be able to download iBooks 2 from the app store free of charge, whilst textbooks themselves will cost $14.99 or less : a far cry from the $80 dead-tree textbooks we shelled out for in college.

Press Release

Apple Reinvents Textbooks with iBooks 2 for iPad
New iBooks Author Lets Anyone Create Stunning iBooks Textbooks

NEW YORK-January 19, 2012-Apple® today announced iBooks® 2 for iPad®, featuring iBooks textbooks, an entirely new kind of textbook that's dynamic, engaging and truly interactive. iBooks textbooks offer iPad users gorgeous, fullscreen textbooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, unrivaled navigation and much more. iBooks textbooks can be kept up to date, don't weigh down a backpack and never have to be returned. Leading education services companies including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson will deliver educational titles on the iBookstore? with most priced at $14.99 or less, and with the new iBooks Author, a free authoring tool available today, anyone with a Mac® can create stunning iBooks textbooks.

"Education is deep in Apple's DNA and iPad may be our most exciting education product yet. With 1.5 million iPads already in use in education institutions, including over 1,000 one-to-one deployments, iPad is rapidly being adopted by schools across the US and around the world," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Now with iBooks 2 for iPad, students have a more dynamic, engaging and truly interactive way to read and learn, using the device they already love."

The new iBooks 2 app is available today as a free download from the App Store™. With support for great new features including gorgeous, fullscreen books, interactive 3D objects, diagrams, videos and photos, the iBooks 2 app will let students learn about the solar system or the physics of a skyscraper with amazing new interactive textbooks that come to life with just a tap or swipe of the finger. With its fast, fluid navigation, easy highlighting and note-taking, searching and definitions, plus lesson reviews and study cards, the new iBooks 2 app lets students study and learn in more efficient and effective ways than ever before.

iBooks Author is also available today as a free download from the Mac App Store and lets anyone with a Mac create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books and more, and publish them to Apple's iBookstore. Authors and publishers of any size can start creating with Apple-designed templates that feature a wide variety of page layouts. iBooks Author lets you add your own text and images by simply dragging and dropping, and with the Multi-Touch™ widgets you can easily add interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote® presentations and 3D objects.

Apple today also announced an all-new iTunes® U app giving educators and students everything they need on their iPad, iPhone® and iPod touch® to teach and take entire courses. With the new iTunes U app, students using iPads have access to the world's largest catalog of free educational content, along with over 20,000 education apps at their fingertips and hundreds of thousands of books in the iBookstore that can be used in their school curriculum, such as novels for English or Social Studies.* The iTunes U app is available today as a free download from the App Store.

*Some content is available only for iPad.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.