September+17,+2013

=Worthy of Note: September 17, 2013 =



In this issue ...
Broadband and E-rate Ed-Tech Initiatives Trends in Education Digital Literacy Collaboration Badges Data Analytics MOOCs Online Learning Competency-Based Degrees Assessment WCET News Flipped/Inverted Classrooms Personalized Learning <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Tablets in the Classroom <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Security <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Resources

Broadband and E-rate
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Broadband in Schools //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">99 in 5 //
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Add your name in Support for the “99 in 5” Campaign
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Add your Voice to the “99 in 5” Campaign
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Support High-Speed Internet Access in Schools

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The E-Rate Program //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Federal Communication Commission // //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">A Consumer Report // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The FCC's E-rate program is the government's program for connecting the nation's schools and libraries to broadband. It is the government's largest educational technology programs. When E-rate was established in 1996, only 14 percent of the nation's K-12 classrooms had access to the Internet. Today, virtually all schools and libraries have Internet access. But learning is changing. Innovative digital learning technologies and the growing importance of the Internet in connecting students, teachers, and consumers to jobs, life-long learning, and information, are creating increasing demand for bandwidth in schools and libraries. In an FCC survey of E-rate recipients, nearly half of respondents reported lower speed Internet connectivity than the average American home — despite having, on average, 200 times as many users.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The FCC began updating E-rate in 2010, and is now initiating a full review to modernize the program. This revitalization is centered around three proposed goals:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Increased connectivity to high-capacity broadband
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Efficient purchasing through bulk buying, consortia, and competitive bidding improvements
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Cutting red tape to speed, streamline, and increase transparency in application reviews

Ed Tech Initiatives
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">A state-by-state look at top ed-tech initiatives //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Laura Devaney, eSchool News, September 13, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">This is a compiled list of one ed-tech initiative in each state and the District of Columbia, to offer a look at some of the great technology advocacy and work being done around the nation.

Trends in Education
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Five education trends for the new school year //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Meris Stansbury, eSchool News, August 23, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Trends in education are always appearing, such as iPads and online testing (and remember virtual reality classrooms?), but with recent developments in national standards and a new federal emphasis on equity, the 2013-14 school year will have a set of trends all its own. Trends in eTextbooks, coding will dominate the 2013-14 school year.

Digital Literacy
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Teaching Critical 21st Century Skills //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">eSchool News // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Today’s students need more than just instruction in the core topic areas. They also need to develop key 21st-century skills that will serve them well in a globally competitive, information-based society, such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. These skills will be critical for success on the new Common Core assessments set to begin next year.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">But teaching these skills can be a challenge, which is why a growing number of schools are adopting a project-based learning approach to instruction. With the generous support of Learning.com, this collection of resources will help you integrate 21st century skills into your own curriculum.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Understanding the central themes of the Common Core Standards and the need to develop digital literacy and 21st century skills in today’s classrooms //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Amber Parks, The Learning Project // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Today’s students need to do more than just learn the concepts and skills introduced in daily instruction in order to be successful. They need to know how to use technology to acquire knowledge, analyze and evaluate information, explore, draw conclusions and test theories. More importantly, they need to know how to apply what they learned to real-life scenarios. Students need to learn how to think critically and creatively, navigate an increasingly digital world safely, and conduct meaningful research that will lead to understanding through discovery. The goal of the Common Core State Standards is, in part, to promote these same

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">School libraries: A shift to digital //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Laura Devaney, eSchool News, September 4, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The school library is changing. Instead of a stuffy and silent space filled with books, today’s school libraries are becoming collaboration centers, where teachers and librarians work together to help students develop technology skills and evaluate digital information.

Collaboration
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Report: The Future of Collaboration Is Cross-Platform //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">David Nagel, Campus Technology September 9, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">By 2016, most collaborative technologies will be available across devices, from Web browsers to desktop software to native smart phone and tablet apps, according to a new report released by market research firm Gartner.

Badges
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Report: Digital Badges Help Learners Demonstrate Accomplishments, Need Documentation for Credibility //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Leila Meyer, Campus Technology, September 29, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Digital badges can help students pursue personal learning pathways and provide a standardized platform for learners to demonstrate their accomplishments, according to a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Mozilla Foundation.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The report, "Expanding Education and Workforce Opportunities Through Digital Badges," examines how digital badges can be used to improve student learning and outcomes. It explains what digital badges are and how they work, provides examples of digital badges that have already been implemented, and speculates on the future of the system.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Badges and the Common Core //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Edutopia, September 11, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">One of the main goals of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is to prepare students for "college- and career-ready performance." According to CoreStandards.org, "English language arts and math were the subjects chosen for the Common Core State Standards because they are areas upon which students build skill sets which are used in other subjects." Badges can acknowledge the learning that has occurred along the way.

Data Analytics
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">How Districts Use Data to Drive Proactive Decisions: Benefits and Best Practices for Creating a Data-Rich Culture //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Education Week, White Paper sponsored by SAS // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">As schools attempt to improve student outcomes and maximize the use of limited resources, snapshot mandated reporting is no longer enough. Using data for continuous improvement at the school and district levels is crucial. This paper details a webinar hosted by Education Week in which education professionals from CoSN (Consortium for School Networking) and Rock Hill (SC) School District 3 discuss the benefits and value of using data – and the culture shift required to become data-driven.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Coming Big Data Education Revolution //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Doug Guthrie, U. S. News, August 15, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Big data, not MOOCS, will give institutions the predictive tools they need to improve outcomes for individual students.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Using Data in the Classroom <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Pedagogic Resources //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">National Science Digital Library // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">This page contains links and references that provide information or background about pedagogical or practical issues in using data in the classroom.

MOOCs
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Major 'MOOC' Provider Makes $1 Million in Student Revenues //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Michele Molnar, Education Week, Digital Education, September 13, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Coursera, a massive open online course (MOOC) provider, announced yesterday that it has made some money, collecting $1 million from students wanting "verified certificates" in recognition of successfully completing its free courses.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">That pales in comparison to the amount of funding Coursera has raised — $22 million last year and $43 million in Series B funding this July. But this first $1 million in user-generated revenue could be just the earliest confirmation of the prediction by venture capitalist Matt Greenfield that MOOCs can, indeed, make money.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Answers for Middle-Aged Seekers of MOOCs, Part 1 //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Cathy N. Davidson, New York Times, September 4, 2013 // Advice for Middle-Age Seekers of MOOCs, Part 2 //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Cathy N. Davidson, New York Times, September 11, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Cathy N. Davidson, a professor of English and interdisciplinary studies at Duke University, is answering questions about how to find and use Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other online continuing education tools.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">First STEMx MOOC Takes Place Sept. 19–21 //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">David Nagel, Campus Technology, September 9, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The International Society for Technology in Education will host the 2013 Global STEMx Education Conference, a MOOC dedicated to STEMx educators.

Online Learning
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Florida Virtual School Faces Hard Times //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Benjamin Herold, Education Week, August 27, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Florida Virtual School — the largest state-sponsored online K-12 school in the country — is facing troubled times, a sign of major policy shifts now reshaping the world of online education.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Performance-based funding: You get what you pay for //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Julia Freeland, Clayton Christensen Institute, September 11, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">As we see the growth of virtual school options, I anticipate that more states will contemplate performance-based funding schemes. Michael Horn noted this trend in his “Digital Roundup” in the most recent issue of Education Next. Florida, for example, reimburses the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) using a completion-based funding formula. This means per-pupil course funding is provided only upon a student’s successful completion of the course. Utah’s Senate Bill 65 stipulates that providers receive 50 per cent of funding upfront and the other half upon student completion. These early examples hold promise as online learning spreads and concerns about appropriate accountability mechanisms grow with it. As Michael Horn also noted, the next wave in performance-based funding will hopefully include actual measures of student performance rather than just paying providers based on course completion.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Analyzing 346 Online Course Reviews //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Brian Bridges, California Learning Resources Network, September 4, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">346 published reviews are significant and it provides us a critical mass of data to analyze. What’s disappointing is that 27% of all online courses don’t teach what their course titles claim to offer. While some publishers have told us that students who take their courses successfully complete them, competency of 40% of the Common Core Algebra I standards isn’t something to brag about. Read more….

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Keeping Pace 2013 preview: State-Supported Supplemental Online Course Options //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">John Watson, Keeping Pace, September 12, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">This is a preview of the next Keeping Pace at the iNACOL Symposium in October. One of the important discussions this year — which we have touched on in previous blog posts — is around the ways in which some states are moving to provide supplemental online courses via course choice programs along with, or instead of, state virtual schools.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Keeping Pace 2013 preview: Multi-district fully online schools <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">John Watson, Keeping Pace, September 16, 2013 <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Among the data points that //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Keeping Pace // has tracked for several years is the number of students attending fully online schools that operate across states (or, in California, across multiple districts because no online schools can operate statewide).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Top 3 solutions to cheating in online education //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Denny Carter, eCampus News // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Here's a rundown of the four most common -- and popular -- ways colleges, universities, and MOOC platforms are battling against cheating in online courses. Keystroke monitoring software: Instead of relying on passwords or fingerprint scans, many online programs and some major MOOC platforms are exploring the use of technology that recognizes and identifies keystroke patterns. Register and logon to read more….

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Biggest Myths (And Realities) Of Online Learning //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Katie Lepi, Edudemic, September 8, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The handy infographic takes a look at some of the common myths about online learning, following them up with a more accurate representation, as well as some of the things that online learning offers students, regardless of age or the subject that they’re studying. (Source: Tom Vander Ark, Getting Smart, //How Digital Learning is Changing the World//, Jossey-Bass. 2011)

Competency-Based Degrees
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">2 Texas Colleges Will Offer Competency-Based Hybrid Degree //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Hannah Winston, The Chronicle, September 5, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Texas A&M University at Commerce and South Texas College said Thursday that they are working with Pearson Education to open a competency-based, affordable hybrid degree for Texas students by next spring. The Texas Affordable Baccalaureate Program is set to offer a 90-credit-hour online program that relies on a competency-based curriculum, according to a news release.

Assessment
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Beyond Grades //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed, August 2, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Testing firms are offering new ways to measure what students learn in college. Their next generation of assessments is billed as an add-on — rather than a replacement — to the college degree. But the tests also give graduates something besides a transcript to send to a potential employer.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">As a result, skills assessments are related to potential higher education “disruptions” like competency-based education or even digital badging. They offer portable ways for students to show what they know and what they can do. And in this case, they’re verified by testing giants.

WCET News
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">State Authorization: Updates on SARA, the Military, and the USDOE Regulation //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">WCET Frontiers // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">In the last several weeks there have been several developments regarding state authorization of distance education courses and programs. Here is a summary of those activities.

Flipped/Inverted Classrooms
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">What’s different about the inverted classroom? //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Robert Talbert, The Chronicle, August 6, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">First, the inverted classroom places a lot of <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">intentional structure on the out-of-class experience. We don’t just hand students a book or a PDF or a bunch of videos and say, //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Read/Watch these and then we’ll discuss them in class //.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Second, the inverted classroom has a specific purpose for class time as well, and this purpose seems slightly different than an ordinary studio/lab/seminar course. I think that purpose is to <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">put all students in situations where they have to make a leap in their knowledge – and also to be maximally available when this leap occurs.

Personalized Learning
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">2013 Q3 Special Report: Pathways to Personalized Learning //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Center for Digital Education // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">This CDE Special Report looks at the personalized learning movement sweeping through K-20 education. It presents research and firsthand accounts of how personalized learning is transforming the way we have traditionally viewed the educational model, and how leaders can overcome challenges to bring its benefits to their institutions. In the 2013 survey commissioned for this Special Report, out of 120 K-20 education officials, 63 percent said creating a personalized learning environment was a top priority for their education institutions.

Tablets in the Classroom
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">No Child Left Untableted //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Carlo Rotello, New York Times Magazine, September 12, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Sally Hurd Smith, a veteran teacher, held up her brand-new tablet computer and shook it as she said, “I don’t want this thing to take over my classroom.” Read about these alternatives.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Rethinking Tablets in K-12 Education //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Center for Digital Education // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Tablets are becoming ubiquitous — over 100 million were sold by the end of 2011, with sales rising ever since. While all sectors of society are experiencing rapid increases in tablet use, a significant transformation is occurring in the field of education — schools are now using tablets more than ever before. That said, not all tablets are created equal, and some serve the educational marketplace better than others. This Center for Digital Education thought leadership paper, sponsored by Dell, expands on the challenges of tablet management in K-12 education. Read more…

Security
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Advanced Persistent Threats: Higher Ed Security Risks //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Center for Digital Education // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Higher education institutions are facing numerous data security challenges. One of the most insidious types of attacks today is Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). Learn about the threats to higher education and offers strategies for dealing with them.

Resources
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Free Resources: Saylor Foundation Opens Thousands of Learning Tools to Colleges and Universities //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">David Nagel, Campus Technology, September 21, 2013 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Saylor Foundation has opened its Media Library to the public, providing thousands of open educational resources, videos, articles, and full-length textbooks.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Core Math Tools Home //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">National Council of Teachers of Mathematics // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Core Math Tools is a downloadable suite of interactive software tools for algebra and functions, geometry and trigonometry, and statistics and probability. The tools are appropriate for use with any high school mathematics curriculum and compatible with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics in terms of content and mathematical practices. Java required.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Learning Registry <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> learning registry is a new approach to capturing, connecting and sharing data about learning resources available online with the goal of making it easier for educators and students to access the rich content available in our ever-expanding digital universe.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Today large collections of learning resources sit online, waiting to be accessed. The burden of locating these resources, assessing their quality, connecting them to related resources, and sharing them with others often falls on individual educators.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Learning Registry makes all of these activities easier by acting as an aggregator of metadata — data about the learning resources available online — including the publisher, location, content area, standards alignment, ratings, reviews, and more. The graphic illustration is important to this discussion.