Image Credit Many digital citizenship programs focus on digital citizenship with students with a list of "don'ts." The ideas below look at positive and proactive steps to consider citizenship issues with students. In recent years, many blue ribbon committees have called for changes in schools to prepare children for their futures. Globalization, competition, and new … Continue reading A Different View of Digital Citizenship
Category: Technology
Notes From Techcon 2012
Techcon 2012 Techcon occurred October 26, 2012 at the Naperville Campus of Northern Illinois University. Over 160 local school administrators, technology leaders, and classroom teachers convened for the one-day session. Google's Jaime Casap (Twitter: @jcasap) was the keynote speaker. His presentation focused on the crisis of low expectations and that even though the jobs that … Continue reading Notes From Techcon 2012
Virtual School’s Symposium 2012 Summary
The student panel at the Virtual Schools Symposium 2012 Over 2,000 conferees assembled in New Orleans, Louisiana for iNACOL's edition of its Virtual Schools Symposium held October 21-24, 2012. Across the program, presentations looked at research in the field, instructional models, administrative successes, and policy proposals. This year's conference focused on the trends in the field that … Continue reading Virtual School’s Symposium 2012 Summary
Where’s the Education Leadership on Technology in Schools?
Image Credit In 1988, Congress' Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) reported the "most promising current uses and demonstrations" (pp.12-13) for computers: Drill and practice to master basic skills. Development of writing skills. Problem solving Understanding abstract mathematics and science concepts. Simulation in science, mathematics and social studies. Manipulation of data. Acquisition of computer skills for general purposes, … Continue reading Where’s the Education Leadership on Technology in Schools?
Successful Online Courses
Image Credit The SLATE Conference is October 11-12, 2012 at the Northern Illinois University campus in Naperville, Illinois. The conference brings together conferees who are interested in non-traditional forms of learning, especially in electronically supplementing traditional courses or implementing online courses. My presentation is about factors for successful online courses. They include: issues of curriculum, … Continue reading Successful Online Courses
Remembering Neil Armstrong: The Sky At the First Moon Walk
The sky around the time of the first moon walk (July 20, 1969, 9:56 p.m. CDT) shows Jupiter near the waxing crescent moon that was in the western sky. While beyond naked eye sensitivity, Uranus was very close to the largest planet. The star Spica was to the left of the moon and Mars was … Continue reading Remembering Neil Armstrong: The Sky At the First Moon Walk
Starting an Online Program: To Blend or Not to Blend
Image Credit Blended Learning: First, in all of the blended programs, the students learn in a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home at least some of the time. Second, the students' experience online delivery with some control over the time, place, path, and/or pace. (Reference) In the rush to digital learning, school districts may be … Continue reading Starting an Online Program: To Blend or Not to Blend
Starting an Online Program: The Target Student Group
Image Credit School administrators are being bombarded with encouragement to use digital learning in their classrooms. Neighboring districts may be employing blended learning or fully online learning; the local leadership feels pressure from its peer districts and its community to do something, anything. To start a digital learning program, it is essential to look at … Continue reading Starting an Online Program: The Target Student Group
Innovation and Democracy
Image Credit Is innovation a democratic process? Innovate: to introduce something new; make changes in anything established. (reference) In Disrupting Class, author Clayton Christen informs school boards that introducing digital learning into schools may be hampered by purposeful democratic processes that are part of schools' cultures. Cooperative tools like "financial incentives, negotiations, vision statements, training, performance metrics, and even litigation . . … Continue reading Innovation and Democracy
Student-Teacher Interaction Essential in Online Courses
(Click the image to see it larger.) Student-teacher interaction is essential in online courses. Online courses require rich content that includes many modalities for students to choose their learning path, including text, audio, video, kinesthetic and other modes. This is one of the features of online learning that is difficult to produce and separates from … Continue reading Student-Teacher Interaction Essential in Online Courses