K-12 Computing Blueprint News - January 2010

Welcome to the January issue of the K-12 Computing Blueprint newsletter. This newsletter and the K-12 Computing Blueprint site are brought to you by Intel and Tech & Learning magazine. If, for any reason, you do not want to receive this monthly eNewsletter, please visit your custom subscription management page (the link is at the bottom of this email), and feel free to unsubscribe to this mailing.

Editor's Note

We are entering our fourth decade of computer technology in K-12 schools. Last year ISTE celebrated its 30th anniversary and this year Tech & Learning magazine (Intel’s partner in producing the K12 Computing Blueprint web site) is doing the same.

“What do we have to show for it?” is the question asked in a number of recent publications. Answers vary tremendously, as can be seen from our Research Watch page, which offers plentiful evidence of the positive impact of one-to-one programs and other technology-rich implementations along with more critical looks at disappointments.We’ll let you decide for yourselves whether we have over-promised and un-delivered or whether the critics are simply overlooking some of the more dramatic changes that have occurred in schools or districts around the country.

In either case, we agree with the authors of Project RED’s new eBook, Revolutionizing Education: What We're Learning from Technology-Transformed Schools, when they say that “it is imperative to shift the conversation … to questions about how students learn, what methodology is most appropriate, and how technology can enhance the process.” In the eBook, as well as in the report on which this month’s Quick Poll is based, some careful thought is given to the factors that inhibit or encourage progress and the systemic changes that are still needed in many settings if we hope to see our schools transformed with help from technology.

-- Judy Salpeter, Editor

Quick Poll: Did We Over-Promise?

In their report Technology in the Schools: What the Research Says – A 2009 Update, Cisco and the Metiri group contend that advocates of education technology “have over-promised the ability of educators to extract a learning return on technology investments in school.” Do you agree? Did we over-promise and un-deliver? And if so, were we exaggerating the potential of technology to transform education or simply unrealistic about the time and effort required for it to do so? Take this month’s Quick Poll and let us know what you think.

Announcing the Project RED eBook

Check out the brand new eBook, Revolutionizing Education: What We're Learning from Technology-Transformed Schools, created by Project RED and produced by K12 Computing Blueprint. In it, Project RED – a national research and advocacy effort – shares preliminary results from a survey of technology-rich schools and takes a look at what past research and current observation tells us about the keys to successful technology implementation. What do we know about curriculum reform or the leadership, funding and legislation changes that will allow technology to transform learning and schools, just as it has transformed homes and offices in almost every other segment of our society?

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

Don’t miss these opportunities:

* Just a few more days to win a School Library makeover from Acer and Intel. Nominate the school of your choice by January 17 and you may have the chance to transform a K-12 school library into a 21st century learning lab with the latest technology and expertise from Acer and Intel.

* Enter the 2010 Schools of Distinction awards program, honoring U.S. schools with 21st century teaching and learning environments that promote excellence in math and science. Winners receive up to $25,000 in cash and $100,000 in products and services.The deadline to enter is February 17, 2010 but those who finish early may win a free Netbook; weekly early-bird drawings will be held every Monday, ending on February 1st.

* Technology Expo in Kent, Washington. If you’re located anywhere near Seattle and interested in learning from a district that’s been a pioneer in one-to-one computing, check out the upcoming “Future is Now” expo put on by the Kent schools on the evening of Wednesday, January 27.

Headlines

A Ten Year Update on Technology and Education
A recent report from Cisco and the Metiri group attributes the lack of dramatic results from technology use in schools to a failure to make systemic changes.

Intel Pledges Support for Federal Math and Science Initiative
At a White House press conference earlier this month Intel announced plans to invest $200 million over the next 10 years to support Presdent Obama's "Educate to Innovate" math and science campaign.

One North Carolina District's Success is Inspiration to Others
Students and staff in Mooresville, NC, have been involved in a one-to-one computer program since 2007 and the results are showing.

Turning ON those cell phones when class begins
Education technology comes in many forms and lately in one Florida school district it is in the shape of a student cell phone.

Another North Carolina District Gets Laptops
Middle school students are the first in Lee County, NC, to test the ability of one-to-one computers to improve the school system and prepare students for the future.

Print Textbooks and Traditional Scheduling Give Way to a New Era
Change is coming to Notre Dame High School in Peoria, IL. The 2010-2011 school year will bring a laptops and a new schedule to support more creative learning.

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