Social Networking Technologies in Education

Dallas McPheeters shares his unique and very important perspective on this topic.

The struggle within modern society regarding the adoption of new technologies has been framed as a dichotomy between those who oppose its tendency to redefine culture and those who embrace it. However a new paradigm has emerged among the young generation that sees beyond the bipartisan debate, rendering the debate itself irrelevant. This sense of irrelevancy among a whole new generation is mistakenly viewed as disinterest by the two sides of debaters.

Read more: March 8th, Tech & Learning Magazine

Scott Le Duc’s Delicious Bookmarks Wordle

Wordle: Delicious Social Bookmarks

This is a Wordle.net image of my social bookmarks at Delicious.com as of today.  It’s fun to see what is emphasized in my bookmarking. I have found Wordle.net to be one of the best text visualization tools available.  Whether it be a student paper or resume, one can see the frequency of word use. Oh and it’s simple and interactive.  Too much fun!

School AUP 2.0

Wiki dedicated to AUP developmentI was looking at David Warlick’s 2 ¢ blog today and came across School AUP 2.0.  It’s a wiki dedicated to creating a discussion and resources for student acceptable use of  online resources.  It’s incredible.  A must see.  Two thumbs way up!  Our school district is grappling with the idea of how to keep kids safe, yet have them publish in the real world.  Students take their work and themsleves more seriously if they have a real audience, it seems.  The balancing act continues, but now the discussion has been elevated thanks to this wiki.  We live in exciting times!

SETDA Technology Report Released

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has released its annual National Trends Report, revealing new data on the power of technology to increase student achievement and describing the need to equip American children and teachers with the knowledge and technological proficiency necessary to make America a leader within the competitive—and “increasingly digital”—global economy. The report, titled “Focus on Technology Integration in America’s Schools,” describes programs that “effectively integrate technology in efforts to create robust subject matter content, innovative curricula, ongoing professional development, and diagnostic assessments to facilitate individualized instruction.” One of the report’s highlights is the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program, a component of the NCLB Act, and explains how states are using funds to increase student achievement.  – From April 9, 2009 Tech and Learning Magazine

Highlights:

  • 31% increase in innovative use of technology by teachers in core subject areas
  • 17% – 33% increase in reading achievement
  • 18% – 36% increase in math achievement
  • 14% increase in graduation rate (66% to 80%)

ARISE and Manage Your Classroom Technology

ARISE Graphic

Great article addressing technology adoption, management and innovation for education in the March 2009 edition of Tech and Learning

Now that digital technology is an integral part of many of our classrooms, we have a new challenge: How can we manage this essential technology? How can we maximize the school district’s financial investment? Most importantly, how can we maximize the students’ educational benefit? Unfortunately, in many districts these questions haven’t been asked, much less answered. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

– By Jennifer J. Farr, Certified New York State Educational Administrator