A Fistful of Challenges for Ed Tech

via The Journal “A new report has identified key challenges facing education technology in the coming years, ranging from changing economics to instructional practices that have failed to adapt to the evolving technology landscape. But the No. 1 challenge in ed tech, according to the report, is with teachers themselves and the inadequacy of their preparation and ongoing training.

The report, released Tuesday, is the latest in an annual analysis of the outlook for education technology. Conducted by the New Media Consortium (NMC) and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the Horizon Report focused primarily on emerging technologies that will impact education in the near term, as we reported Tuesday. But it also addressed opportunities and challenges facing technology’s adoption in America’s K-12 schools.

For the 2011 Horizon Report K-12 Edition, researchers identified five “key” trends and five “critical” challenges.” [Continue Reading at The Journal]

The Case For Making Online Textbooks Open Source [INFOGRAPHIC]

via Mashable “As companies compete to digitize the textbook market, there is one approach that shakes the traditional publishing business model: open source textbooks, whose proponents believe online educational tomes should be free.

Many universities, including MIT and Carnegie Mellon, post course lectures online for free use. A New York Times article last year explained some of the barriers to applying the same approach to textbooks.

For one thing, the textbook authors must agree to have them distributed online without charging royalties — something that may work well in the software world, where engineers often work on projects while keeping a day job, but typically avoided by writers who put their sweat equity into one book at a time. Also, books for K-12 classrooms must meet state standards, and most states don’t have procedures in place for approving open source textbooks.

But there’s no arguing that having at least a few open source textbooks (even when purchased through companies like Flat World Knowledge that charge for downloading or printing them) would cut down on the average $900 per year that the average student spends on textbooks. Online School has compiled this infographic to explain the cost savings.” [Continue Reading at Mashable]

6 Reasons Why Tablets Are Ready for the Classroom

via Mashable “Since the debut of the iPad, tablets have captured the imagination of consumers. In just one year, the iPad surpassed even the most optimistic of projections to define a brand new product category and become the best-selling gadget of all time, and Forrester analysts project that in 2011, tablet sales will more than double.

But are tablets ready for the classroom? Though tablets have caught on with consumers, the higher education market has been slower to adopt, and understandably so. From grades to degrees to job placement after graduation, the devices that are used in classrooms are tied to important outcomes.

As a result, colleges and universities must proceed carefully when considering whether to adopt a new technology on a large scale. However, reports from recent iPad pilot programs at schools across the country have been positive, and some colleges have even begun distributing tablets to all of their students. As we wrap up the first post-iPad school year, do we know enough to make the “fad, fail, magical” call? I think so.

By looking at all that tablets offer in the context of student behavior and some of the recent trends in education, it’s clear that tablets are ready for the classroom. Here’s a look at the top reasons why.” [Continue Reading at Mashable]

Speaking Up in Class, Silently, Using Social Media

via New York Times ‘Wasn’t it just the other day that teachers confiscated cellphones and principals warned about oversharing on MySpace?

Now, Erin Olson, an English teacher in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, is among a small but growing cadre of educators trying to exploit Twitter-like technology to enhance classroom discussion. Last Friday, as some of her 11th graders read aloud from a poem called “To the Lady,” which ponders why bystanders do not intervene to stop injustice, others kept up a running commentary on their laptops.

The poet “says that people cried out and tried but nothing was done,” one student typed, her words posted in cyberspace.

“She is giving raw proof,” another student offered, “that we are slaves to our society.”

Instead of being a distraction — an electronic version of note-passing — the chatter echoed and fed into the main discourse, said Mrs. Olson, who monitored the stream and tried to absorb it into the lesson. She and others say social media, once kept outside the school door, can entice students who rarely raise a hand to express themselves via a medium they find as natural as breathing.

“When we have class discussions, I don’t really feel the need to speak up or anything,” said one of her students, Justin Lansink, 17. “When you type something down, it’s a lot easier to say what I feel.”’ [Continue Reading at the New York Times]

How Can Cloud Computing Help In Education?

via Cloud Tweaks “Whenever we talk of cloud computing, we always talk about its impact on business. In all my previous articles, I have done the same, speaking about how cloud computing can improve efficiencies, cut costs, save time and in general, give businesses a great return on investment. However, today I am going to speak on something quite different – how cloud computing can help in the noblest human pursuit of all, education.

The worth of human society is not in how much it earns but how much it knows. For it is knowledge that drives advancement, and ultimately, human comfort. And is not comfort the ultimate aim of increased earnings? However, the worth of knowledge goes far beyond the limitations of material wealth. It is knowledge that makes man, Man.

That being said, I believe that cloud computing has a prominent role to play in the classrooms of tomorrow. Let me provide a few examples. Many of our nation’s schools suffer from low graduation rates directly attributable to insufficient infrastructure – shorthanded staff, tiny classrooms, lack of teachers. Cloud computing solutions can solve many of these problems.” [Continue Reading at Cloud Tweaks]

iPad, Tablet Users Prefer Digital Texts

via Campus Technology “Acceptance of digital texts is way up, especially among users of iPads and other tablets. In fact, according to research released this week, time spent reading texts in digital formats now just about equals the time spent on paper-based texts.

According to the report, released by market research firm Gartner, a full 94 percent of iPad users and users of other tablet devices either prefer reading digital texts (52 percent) or find them as readable as printed texts (42 percent).

Contrasted with that were laptop users, a large portion of whom–47 percent–said they find reading texts on screen more difficult than reading paper. (The next-largest group among laptop users, 33 percent, said the experience was about equal to reading printed texts.)

The report, “Survey Analysis: Consumer Digital Reading Preferences Reveal the Exaggerated Death of Paper,” surveyed more than 1,500 end users in the United States, the UK, Japan, India, Italy, and China in the fourth quarter of 2010. It found that the amount of time spent reading digital texts now nearly equals time spent reading printed materials.” [Continue Reading at Campus Technology]

6 Companies Aiming to Digitize the Textbook Industry

via Mashable “The world’s readers purchased an estimated $966 million of ebooks in 2010, and Amazon has been selling more ebooks than paper books since January. But students have yet to catch on to the digital book revolution with the same fervor.

A 2010 study by OnCampus Research found that 74% of college students surveyed still prefer to use a printed textbook.

Where some see non-adopters, others see untapped markets, and thus large and small players alike have long been targeting the digital textbook niche. Here are some of the ways they’re looking to get students to trade their print for pixels.” [Continue Reading at Mashable.com]

Why Career & Technical Education Should be a Priority for the U.S.

via Mashable “For today’s students, the experience of going to school can feel like flying in an airplane, minus the excitement of travel. Students enter a world cut off from their own where they are asked to turn off all electronic devices. They can feel trapped, simply staring straight ahead for hours. Without a clear sense of where they are going, many U.S. students simply opt to get off the plane.

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama said, “… If we want to win the future — if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas — then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.” However, the United States now graduates less than 75% of its students. Worse, in sixteen of the biggest cities, the graduation rate is less than 50%.

To win the future, the United States needs a well-educated workforce that will drive tomorrow’s innovation. We need students who graduate ready to take skilled positions in high-growth sectors of the economy. At all levels, businesses need employees that are more creative, more technical, and more connected than ever. This means that technical literacy is no longer “nice to have,” but a requirement for success.” [Continue reading at Mashable.com]

CampusCE Adds University of Minnesota OLLI

Seattle, WA – Campus CE is pleased to welcome The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at The University of Minnesota to the CampusCE Lifelong Learning Family. CampusCE also supports the OLLIs at Furman University, Kennesaw University, University of Texas Medical Branch, and Yavapai College. Our commitment to lifelong learning is stronger than ever, and we will provide administration, online membership, registration and payment services for their growing lifelong learning program.

Global Corporate College Corporate Education Powered By CampusCE

Global Corporate College, a provider of corporate training to more than 45 colleges and universities worldwide, continues to expand its clientele and is now offering its corporate education services to American Greetings through the CampusCE Education Management System. The CampusCE system enables Global Corporate College to offer real-time online registration and administration for its corporate education courses. CampusCE also provides custom-built input fields, specifically tailored reports, and a site branded to represent the Global Corporate College and American Greetings partnership.