Education

Join the Open Innovation Portal, launched by the U.S. Department of Education, to identify, improve, and implement innovative solutions to educational challenges. Make sure that children with disabilities, their teachers, and assistive technology solutions are part of the conversation.

Try out this Leaders and Laggards interactive map that displays the 2009 data on state educational innovations and barriers. See how states match up on 8 dimensions.

Fraction Sense creates an effective learning approach for children and their teachers. This 2008 NCTI Technology in the Works award shows how collaborative research can overcome implementation challenges.

NCTI was at NECC in force. We enjoyed attending the conference in our backyard in Washington, DC. View some of our highlights.

A panel of educational technology experts spoke before the members of the House Education and Labor Committee June 16, stressing the importance that technology plays in the classroom as well as the need for continued professional development.
In the first of what Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., said will be a series of panel discussions, educators [...]

An ambitious new research project aims to revolutionize education by showing that well-implemented technology initiatives can save states money after an initial investment.
Project RED (for Revolutionizing EDucation) will examine the outcomes of educational technology initiatives using a cost-benefit analysis to determine which ed-tech programs and devices are having the most cost-effective impact for schools, parents, [...]

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) released the 2009 Trends Report, Focus on Technology Integration in America’s Schools, on April 2. This report identifies programs that effectively integrate technology to create robust subject-matter content, innovative curricula, ongoing professional development, and diagnostic assessments to facilitate individualized instruction and highlights the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant [...]

This video explores how the Colorado Department of Education has been using technology to enhance communication, learning, and results. Ken Turner, Ed.D., Deputy Commissioner, and members of the communication and web management team illustrate how the use of technology has positively influenced how children learn, teachers teach, and results are achieved.
Click here to watch the video.

Find out how Fire and Ice is developing learning, collaborative action, and cultural relationships through web conferencing and social networking technology.

Digital Directions: The President-elect pledges to put more computers in classrooms and expand broadband access to schools and homes. . . .

On June 29, 2008, the Software and Industry Information Association (SIIA) published the results of a pilot survey designed to assist educators and administrators in monitoring their progress toward achieving the following goals and measures (termed Vision K-20):

Help schools meet the needs of all students
Support accountability and inform instruction
Deepen learning and motivate students
Facilitate communication, connectivity and [...]

The U.S. Department of Education in early July 2008 released its first guide to evaluating K-12 online-learning programs. Designed as a resource for leaders and evaluators of these programs, the guide offers seven evaluations that vary by program type and evaluation type. The guide focuses on challenges in and response strategies for evaluating online learning programs in order to ultimately guide program improvement.

NEC Foundation of America recently announced grants totaling $222,250 to seven organizations that engage technology to remove barriers to communication, participation and independence encountered by people with disabilities.

The “Doing What Works” site offers a user-friendly interface to quickly locate teaching practices that have been found effective by the U.S. Department of Education’s research arm – the IES – and similar organizations. The site recently added a feature that will empower educators and administrators with research-based strategies to help boost their early childhood language and literacy practices.

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recently released a study that presents the impacts of the Reading First program on classroom reading instruction and student reading comprehension during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. The Reading First federal program provides assistance to states and districts to ensure that increased proportions of students read at or above grade level, have mastery of the essential components of early reading, and that all students can read at or above grade level by the end of grade 3.

Hear Yong’s thoughts on innovation, how technology is defining new talents, and why we all should embrace change.

As a school administrator, how can you determine which technology products will support your State-aligned curriculum? As an ed-tech vendor, how can you help your clients effectively integrate products into the classroom? Our simple and easy-to-use Consumer Guides help school administrators and ed-tech vendors learn what questions to ask and how to make informed decisions relating to education technology.

In response to findings from recent studies showing increasing use of the Internet by students  – and increased threats to student safety from cyberbullying and other dangers – the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has laid out specific recommendations for both school leaders and policy makers.

A new report issued by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) provides an overview of the free, open-source online learning program called Moodle, which has been quickly rising in popularity in the educational field. The report looks at what the program can do and provides profiles of how it is being used in several different [...]

Captivating footage of the “Speaking Out on Educational Technology Research” panel from NCTI’s Technology Innovators Conference was showcased on eSchoolNews TechWatch  this week.  Watch clips of panelists discuss how findings from education technology research can more effectively be used to drive improvements in the field. Panelists included Milton Chen, executive director of The George Lucas [...]

The evolution of social media and collaborative online environment has been rapid and pervasive, and people are struggling to understand and keep abreast of new developments. See NCTI’s Issue Brief for a discussion on the implications.

The Fourth Annual International Edublog awards were held this month on Second Life. See the winning blogs.

The North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) has released its fourth annual Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: A Review of State-level Policy and Practice report. The report discusses national, State, and program-level information regarding K-12 online learning.

The Wall Street Journal recently asked Tim Magner, the director of the office of educational technology for the U.S. Department of Education, to recommend books “on the intersection of technology and the classroom.” Below is a brief listing of Mr. Magners’ recommendations.

This issue brief provides guidance to states as they respond to requirements presented in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) in the area of dropout prevention for students with disabilities. It also highlights the role of State Performance Plans as starting points for states to develop data collection and monitoring procedures, and supplies states with considerations and recommendations for providing a consistent method of tracking dropout data.

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has named three school systems as 2007 Salute Districts in recognition of their focus on technology to promote student achievement.

How are kids using the internet? Find out in this report on social networking by the National School Boards Association and Grunwald Associates LLC.

The Children’s Partnership released a report on how children with disabilities use broadband and other technologies. The report shows while technology can open new doors for youth with disabilities, these children lack the access they need to put the technologies to use. What are the implications of these recommendations and the state of broadband availability and use for students with disabilities, research, and policy? Join the discussion!

Find trusted information and research on assistive and learning software and tools. Your resource to find the best technology tools for students with special needs. With many additional products and research citations, it is greatly expanded and easier to use. Come see what’s new!

Christian Science Monitor: Virtual college campuses host international student exchanges. Around the world, universities, and even the US Department of State, are turning to online virtual worlds to create cultural exchanges. In these immersive, 3-D environments, users from around the globe can collaborate in ways that were previously impossible. . . .

Marina Bers, an assistant professor at Tufts University and the author of the new book, “Blocks to Robots,” has created a software program that aids in learning by letting children create their own virtual communities.

At 19, Mark Zuckerberg came up with a new way for college kids to connect—and started an online revolution. Now 23, he’s trying to build out his business without losing its cool. . . . Newsweek reports.

This report describes results from the third and last field investigation in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Technology-Based Assessment Project, which explores the use of new technology in administering NAEP. In the Technology Rich Environments (TRE) study, two extended scenarios within the domain of physical science were created for measuring students’ ability to [...]

A new survey from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) and Cable in the Classroom reveals that states are making progress when it comes to teaching students about media and information literacy–but two out of five states surveyed still don’t have standards in place for doing this. To help states and school systems teach [...]

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders asserts that more than 30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous sound levels on a regular basis. Califone International, Inc. and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) announced a collaborative effort to promote awareness of the safe use of audio products. Also read about Califone International’s new [...]

CANnect is a consortium of schools and philanthropists who aim to be the leading online educator of people who are blind or visually impaired. CANnect solves problems for people with vision impairments so they can get on with learning. Eventually CANnect will be a one-stop shop for accessible learning resources on the Web.

Penn State College of Education’s Special Education Program developed this comprehensive new series of DVD courses to meet the increasing need for special education training for elementary and secondary school teachers. The series helps teachers tailor teaching skills to meet the needs of every child in the classroom.

Doing What Works is a website dedicated to assisting teachers in the implementation of effective educational practices. The Doing What Works website contains practice guides developed by the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences that evaluate research on the effectiveness of teaching practices described in the guides. The website also contains examples of possible ways this [...]

Keep up to date with federal policies, initiatives, and research on supporting English Language Learners at this site from the U. S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition.  Find data specific to your state in the State Pages.

NACOL is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to fostering a learning landscape that promotes student success and lifelong learning. NACOL increases educational opportunities and enhances learning by providing collegial expertise and leadership in K-12 online teaching and learning.