August+10,+2011+-+Social+media+policy,+online+learning+and+online+evaluations,+blended+learning,+common+core+and+21st+century+skills,+open+source,+etextbooks,+teaching+with+the+iPad,+and+a+few+interesting+articles



=Worthy of Note: August 10, 2011=


 * //“If we teach today’s students as we did yesterday’s, we are robbing them of tomorrow.” //**
 * //— John Dewey //**

Educational Technology Cooperative Information Sites
SREB WikiSpaces  has information you can use from the Educational Technology Cooperative. Featured now is //SREB EdTech Worthy of Note//, //2010 State Virtual School// reports and a recent ETC brochure.

SREBWorthy of Note  also is posted as a blog on this site – usually the following day.

Social Media
The 10 Best and Worst Ways Social Media Impacts Education //Edudemic // Social networking communities are here to stay. Facebook has over 500 million users, while Twitter has over 200 million. That’s not even counting blogs or YouTube video blogs. There’s no doubt that students are actively engaged in online communities, but what kind of effects are these sites having and how can parents counteract the bad and bolster the positive?

For insight into how students feel about social media consult the 2009 Speak Up Report. //Project Tomorrow (2010) - //Creating our Future: Students Speak up About Their Vision for 21st Century Learning

Social Media Policy
(Most of these articles relate to K-12; higher ed is referenced in the last two articles.)

Social Media Access in K-12 Schools: Intractable Policy ... //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">June Ahn, Lauren Bivona and Jeffrey DiScala, // //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">University of Maryland, (n.d.) // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Complete title: //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Social Media Access in K-12 Schools: Intractable Policy; Controversies in an Evolving World // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The use of social media in public primary and secondary education (K-12) presents schools with numerous obstacles and constraints. Education leaders and policymakers face difficult questions of how to promote access and use of technology while safeguarding children. In this paper, we present a frame analysis of several policy forces that govern technology use in K-12 schools.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Social media introduces controversy because it blurs the line between school and the outside world. Policies are needed that clarify how schools will deal with out-of-school behavior as well as in-school conduct.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Student Internet Use – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (policy) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools provides an electronic communications network (CMS network) that allows students internal access of CMS information resources and external access to the Internet.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Acceptable Use Policies in the Web 2.0 and Mobile Era //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) // <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">A Guide for School Districts <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Web 2.0 applications and mobile Internet devices have added new issues to the safety/access situation for schools. The purpose of this CoSN guide is to assist school districts in developing, rethinking, or revising Internet policies as a consequence of the emergence of Web 2.0, and the growing pervasiveness of smart phone use.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Moving From 'Acceptable' to 'Responsible' Use in a Web 2.0 World //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Jim Bosco & Keith Krueger, Education Week, July 20, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">(Commentary) "Highly restrictive Internet and mobile policies in the school environment provide only a false sense of protecting kids."

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">U.S. Teachers Protest Social Media Crackdown //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Associated Press in Education Week Teacher, August 5, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">As they prepare lesson plans for fall, teachers across Missouri have an extra chore before the new school year begins: purging their Facebook friend lists to comply with a new state law that limits their contact with students on social networks. The law was proposed after an Associated Press investigation found 87 Missouri teachers had lost their licenses between 2001 and 2005 because of sexual misconduct, some of which involved exchanging explicit online messages with students. But many teachers are protesting the new restrictions, complaining the law will hurt their ability to keep in contact with students, whether for classroom purposes, personal problems or even emergencies.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Read more about what Ian Quillen (Education Week, August 6) has to say about this: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">'Show Me' Your Facebook Friends, Internet Filters. This topic is making local and national headlines, and the information here is explanatory of the information above.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">'Safe' Social Networking Tailored for K-12 Schools //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Michelle R. Davis, Education Week, June 13, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Descriptions of some controlled environments.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Social Media & FERPA Guidelines for Schools & Educators //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Rebecca Peterson, Storify, February 8, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">This collection highlights recent articles on social media policy and practices of educators (higher ed and k-12). Also contains links to social media policy examples.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">To Friend, Follow, or Connect? //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Eric Stoller, Inside Higher Ed, // //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">July 5, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Does your institution regulate your contact with students on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn? I've read several conversations about whether or not we should connect with students in online social spaces. Scores of professionals seem to insist on grouping every single social media site into an "all or nothing" / "yes or no" scenario. My opinion is that social media are far too nuanced for one "policy" that covers every site. Stoller comments on the top three social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin). Agree, disagree, that's okay he says, but at least note that not every social media site is the same.

Online Learning and Online Evaluations
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Gov. Perry Announces Creation of WGU Texas //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">WGU Texas, 8/3/11 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Gov. Rick Perry announced the creation of WGU Texas, a subsidiary of Western Governors University (WGU), which is an accredited, nationally recognized, nonprofit university. WGU Texas will offer an affordable and flexible alternative for Texans seeking a higher education degree.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Online College Rule Struck Down //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Christopher Magan and Meagan Engle, Hamilton Journal News, Ohio (MCT) Reported in Education Week, Digital Directions, July 25, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">A summary of this decision with link to the rule (pdf file).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Price of an Online IT Degree: Fort Hays Cheapest; Mercy College Priciest //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology, August 4, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The average cost for an online bachelor degree in information technology or computer science currently stands at $46,758. Findings come out of a research project by GetEducated.com, a Web site that provides information about online colleges.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Five Common Pitfalls of Online Course Design //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Elizabeth St. Germain, Faculty Focus, July 6, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Much of what passes for an “online course” these days could more accurately be described as the electronic version of class hand-outs. These courses usually consist of a course description, a syllabus, lecture notes, reading lists, and assignment checklists. In other words, whatever materials a student might have viewed on paper in the past are now read onscreen, and whatever presentations a student might have watched in the classroom are now observed on their screen.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The “online” in online course does not mean uploading Word documents into a course template rather than printing them out. Expand your view of how computer applications and Web resources can be used to increase the relevance, power, and memorability of the educational experiences you create.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Community-College Students Perform Worse Online Than Face to Face //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Ryan Brown, The Chronicle, July 18, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Community-college students enrolled in online courses fail and drop out more often than those whose coursework is classroom-based, according to a new study released by the Community College Research Center at the Teachers College at Columbia University.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Oregon Colleges Implement Online Teacher Evaluations //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Tim Sohn, Campus Technology, July 25, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">What-Do-You-Think? from Portland, OR-based CollegeNet, is different from Web sites such as ratemyprofessors.com in that the evaluations are not made public. They are accessible only by students, faculty and administrators. Rate My Professors allows the public to search anonymous evaluations by professor for free. Check out the features of What-Do-You-Think?

Blended Learning
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">10 Reasons Teachers Love Blended Learning //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Tom VanderArk, Huffington Post, July 11, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Blended learning is a shift to an online environment, for at least a portion of the student day, made to improve learning and operating productivity. Blending the best of online and on-site learning can work better for students and teachers. Tom presents ten reasons that blended learning makes teaching a better job

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Tom Vander Ark is CEO of Open Education Solutions and a partner in Learn Capital, a fund focused on innovative learning tools and formats. He was the first business executive to serve as a public school superintendent and was the first Executive Director for Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Educational Technology Cooperative-Sponsored Webinars on Blended Learning __ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">We have posted announcements about the Cooperative sponsored webinars on Blended Learning in previous Worthy of Notes. Here is the first one archived. The remaining ones will be archived and posted in the next Worthy of Note.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">To see the archived sessions, click the link and enter your name and email address.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Session 1: The Westside High School Initiative: Blended Learning Across The Disciplines // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">August 8, 2011 at 10:00 AM (EST)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The session was recorded. To view the recording, please click the link below: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">@https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2011-08-08.0703.M.7D3EC3DC0C0CA66DF6FE13CC517CB4.vcr&sid=849

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Session 2: Case Study of The Florida Virtual School Blended Learning Models // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Dianna Miller <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">August 9, 2011 10:00 AM (ET)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">This session was recorded. To view the recording, please click the link below: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">@https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2011-08-09.0702.M.5BD514D8EFB973B6A23A8F18712CBE.vcr&sid=849

Common Core and 21st Century Skills
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">P21 Common Core Toolkit //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Partnership for 21st Century Skills // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">(Common Core Toolkit Aligns Standards with 21st Century Skills Framework, THE Journal, August 2, 2011) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">For the first time in U.S. education history, a majority of states (44 to date) have agreed to a common baseline for academic knowledge and college readiness skills. The release of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010 has been an important turning point in the standards movement.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Over the past decade, many organizations such as P21 have advocated for standards that adequately address both the core academic knowledge and the complex thinking skills that are required for success in college, life and career in the 21st century. Partnership for 21st Century Skills urges the integration of the CCSS into teaching and learning in ways that honor the fusion of the 3Rs and 4Cs.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Download the P21 Common Core Toolkit.

Open Source (LMSs and Resources)
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">A Guide to K-12 Open Source LMS Options //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Natasha Wanchek, THE Journal, July 27, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Which open source learning management systems are right for K-12? Which districts are using them? And what has the experience been compared with commercial alternatives? THE Journal offers this overview of both popular and emerging LMS options for K-12 technology decision makers.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Open Questions on Open Courseware //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Eric Jansson, Inside Higher Ed, July 7, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Sustainability of digital projects is in the news again. The announcement that the National Science Digital Library, or NSDL, will be de-funded in 2012 serves as the latest reminder of the difficulties of sustaining large-scale efforts to aggregate and publish digital academic content. That the NSDL will lose funding in the midst of a recognized crisis in STEM instruction makes the warning that much more clear.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Open courseware initiatives are vulnerable too: efforts to digitize and publish online the academic output of a number of our elite research universities. Collectively, these initiatives are higher education’s principal homegrown variety of open educational resources, or OER. Read more…..

Charter Schools (Face-to-Face and Virtual)
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Equal or Fair? A Study of Revenues and Expenditures in American Charter Schools //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Gary Miron and Jessica Urschel, Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice, IssueLab, June 6, 2010 // __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Summary/Abstract ____<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> A new study finds that charter schools typically get less funding than traditional public schools. And it also reveals that the primary reason charters tend to get less funding is because traditional public schools must offer far more special education, transportation and student support services. Spending on those programs and services -- often not available in charter schools -- accounts for much or all of the difference in funding each receives. This finding is one of several that Professor Gary Miron and his co-author Jessica Urschel make in //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Equal or Fair? A Study of Revenues and Expenditures in American Charter Schools //, released by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">‘Overwhelming’ Interest in State’s Virtual Charter Schools //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Heather Miller, The ind.com, ////<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">July 1, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">According to The Monroe News Star, Louisiana Connections Academy, a state-approved online virtual charter school, has seen “overwhelming” interest from parents seeking alternative choices to traditional public schools.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Louisiana’s other virtual charter school, Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy, has a 1,320-student capacity and 1,400 applicants, 80 percent of which have already been approved for enrollment.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">And in Tennessee: Interest Grows in Virtual School

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">There’s a downside though. Who gets all the funding? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">For instance, Tennessee Virtual Academy Draws Interest & Concern

E-Textbooks
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">E-Textbooks: 4 Keys to Going All-Digital //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">John K. Waters, Campus Technology, August 3, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">When Daytona State College, a 53-year-old former community college in Florida, now a state college offering a four year degree, set out to implement an all-electronic book program two years ago, its goal was to drive down the cost of textbooks by 80 percent. The school is well on its way to achieving that goal, and along the way it made some discoveries about what it takes to make a successful transition to e-texts.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Would Students Really Give Up Sex for E-Books? //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Inside Higher Ed, July 28, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">A full quarter of college students would rather wear a chastity belt than a backpack. This according to research commissioned by Kno, Inc., a software company that sells e-textbooks optimized for mobile devices. Absent any evidence that students want e-textbooks instead the printed kind, Kno's study focused on what students don't want: backpacks full of heavy print volumes that can be easily lost. In a survey of 506 students at four-year institutions, conducted by the marketing research firm Kelton Research, the company says that 25 percent would give up sex for year to alleviate the burden of hauling their textbooks around for four years. More than a third said they would stay home on Saturday night for a whole semester. "The findings of the study show a shift in perception from college students and lend new light to the future of digital learning," the company declared in its press release.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Oh, could this study have a little bias? According to Sex vs. Textbooks’ Survey Doesn’t Jibe with Student Preferences (Dennis Carter, eCampus News, July 29, 2011) there are polls and surveys in which college students say they’re not yet willing to give up traditional books. We’ve heard that several times.

Teaching with the iPad
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Teaching with the iPad (and Angry Birds) //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">John K. Waters, Campus Technology, July 26, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Several faculty at Marian University (Indianapolis, IN) share their experiences with the iPad tablet in the classroom, and offer a list of links to apps with potential for educational use.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Apps for the iPad are arranged by topic, i.e., English Language Arts, Math, Science, etc. Also, this Apple apps site may be helpful, too.

Resources
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Center for Digital Initiatives: Arkansas State University <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The mission of the Center for Digital Initiatives (CDI) at Arkansas State University is "to promote ASU's position as a leader in the use of virtual environments for cross-disciplinary teaching, research, and service." To that end, they continue to post their engaging projects on this website, and visitors can get started by clicking on the "Projects" tab. All of these projects are hosted in Second Life, which is an immersive virtual environment that allows users to wander around and act with people, buildings, and so on. There are several heritage sites here, including the "Lost" town of Napoleon, Arkansas and the Southern Tenant Farmers' Museum. Visitors can also read about the motivating principles behind each project and listen to their podcasts, which provide more details on each project. Overall, the site will be quite compelling to people with an interest in new and emergent technologies, and it is one that visitors will want to share with others. (Internet Scout Project)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">BioEd Online: Spider in Space Mission Page //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Biology Teacher Resources from Baylor College of Medicine // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Beyond the bounds of the Earth's atmosphere, two golden orb spiders are living and flourishing on the International Space Station. Each one lives in separate habitat chambers, and they have a bountiful supply of fruit flies. Each chamber contains cameras and lighting systems, and visitors can use this site from BioEd Online to peer into their world up above. BioEd Online also provides an amazing teachers guide here for educators, along with a dozen or so archived spider videos. Educators take also take advantage of the PowerPoint presentations, and a collection of links to pamphlets on the operation of rockets and microgravity. (Internet Scout Project)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">ISTE 2011 Highlights from the Conference and Related Events

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Free Email and Collaboration Tools for Schools Google <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">For higher ed, K-12 and states and systems

Other Interesting Articles
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">For-Profit College Group Sued as U.S. Lays Out Wide Fraud

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Tamar Lewin, New York Times, August 9, 2011
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Department of Justice and four states on Monday filed a multibillion-dollar fraud suit against the Education Management Corporation, the nation’s second-largest for-profit college company, charging that it was not eligible for the $11 billion in state and federal financial aid it had received from July 2003 through June 2011.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Maryland Becomes First State with Environmental Literacy Requirement //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Jena Zwang, eSchool News, August 3, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Environmental issues will be taught in multiple core disciplines; counties are free to develop or choose curricula themselves.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Public Opinion On Teacher Compensation //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Matthew Yglesias Think Progress, Aug 3, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Interesting data from Education Next on public opinion about school reform highlights that people think teachers should get paid more unless they’re informed that the average teacher salary is already $54,819.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Technology not a Priority for Most College Administrators, Report Finds //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Tanya Roscorla, Converge, July 28, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">While 98 percent of college administrators surveyed say technology skills are important for student careers, few list technology as a priority, according to the CDW-G 21st Century Campus Report.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Is a Bookless Library Still a Library? //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Tim Newcomb, Time, <span class="date1" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">July 11, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">We've been hearing about it for years, but the bookless library has finally arrived, making a beachhead on college campuses. At Drexel University's new Library Learning Terrace, which opened just last month, there is nary a bound volume, just rows of computers and plenty of seating offering access to the Philadelphia university's 170 million electronic items. Scott Erdy, designer of the new library, says open, flexible space — the furniture is movable and the walls act as one giant whiteboard — allows student and staff "knowledge transfer," a concept reinforced by Danuta Nitecki, dean of Drexel's libraries. "We don't just house books, we house learning," she says.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Cuts to K-12 Expected in Wake of Debt Deal //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Michele McNeil, Education Week, August 9, 2011 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Education advocates are bracing for the fallout from the eleventh-hour congressional vote to lift the federal debt ceiling—and the significant belt-tightening that comes along with it.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Committee for Education Funding, a coalition of 85 education groups, estimated those automatic cuts would amount to 6.7 percent in most agencies, which for the U.S. Department of Education would translate into about $3 billion annually. Read more…..

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Digital Edition: Multimedia Transformation <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Education Week <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Download the report about multimedia in schools//,// //Multimedia Transformation//, and read more about it here.