Are We There Yet? }} 27 | INDEX Acer Recommends Windows 8

thejournal.com

April 2014 Volume 41, No. 4 TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH IN THIS ISSUE TECHNOLOGY 9 | MAKERS IN CLASS A hands-on approach engages students, JOURNAL but how does project-based learning connect with standardized testing?

12 | ADAPTIVE LEARNING A tantalizing ed tech buzzword is moving closer to becoming a classroom reality.

17 | DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP The Digital Driver’s License is helping students prove that they can navigate the dangers of the Internet.

20 | HARDWARE CHOICES Despite the growth of mobile learning, desktops still play five important roles in the 21st century classroom.

23 | SPREADING STEM Private and public sector groups are joining the effort to steer students toward tech education and careers.

DEPARTMENTS

3 | OUR SPACE Common Core’s numbers game Adaptive 4 | HERE & NOW Good news from PISA scores Learning: 7 | PRODUCT ROUNDUP New projectors and more 8 | INNOVATOR Joe Mazza, connected educator Are We There Yet? }} 27 | INDEX Acer recommends Windows 8. Explore More Sleeping Beauty. Beautiful and serene in appearance, Mount Fuji is actually considered an active volcano, last erupting in the early 1700s.

Some apps sold separately; vary by market.

Make learning possible everywhere. Give your students the Iconia W510 and the world becomes their classroom. It’s modern technology that’s nimble, powerful and easy to use. And with Educare, you’ll have peace of mind knowing Acer will be there for you with dedicated service you can depend on for years to come.

www.exploremorewithacer.com

©2014. All rights reserved. Acer America Corporation. Information and prices are subject to change without notice. Acer and Iconia Tab are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Bring the aspects of your life together—create, discover, connect, play or work.

Untitled-2 1 3/17/14 10:40 AM ADVISORY BOARD OurSpace Ann Dunkin Christopher Piehler, Editor in Chief Chief Technology Officer, Palo Alto Unified School District (CA) Geoffrey H. Fletcher Common Core, Obamacare and Deputy Executive Director, State Educational Technology Directors Association the Numbers Game Ann Flynn With field tests underway, will CCSS reach the same Director of Education Technology & State Association tipping point that the Affordable Care Act has? Services, National School Boards Association Phil Hardin THE COMMON Core State Standards and haustively, and the Common Core as- Executive Director of Technology, Rowan-Salisbury the Affordable Care Act have a few big things in sessments have had their share of trou- School System (NC) Christopher Harris common. They are both enormous social initia- bles, including opposition from parents The two Coordinator, School Library System, Genesee Valley tives that began with noble goals. (Despite the and teachers, postponed field tests and controversial Educational Partnership (NY) social initiatives current hyperpartisan political climate, I think states switching assessment providers. Cathy Hutchins we can all agree that developing 21st century Despite its troubles, the ACA reached Principal, South Woods Elementary School, St. John’s have both been County School District (FL) educational standards for our public schools is a a tipping point at the end of March. With hampered by Thomas Murray good idea, as is improving access to healthcare.) more than 7 million people signed up for rocky rollouts. Director of Technology and Cyber Education, Both CCSS and the ACA have, of course, health insurance through the exchanges, Quakertown Community School District (PA) faced political opposition. Many of the ACA’s the law now has millions of citizens on Alice E. Owen Tmost vocal critics have called it an intrusion of its side, not to mention a deep-pocketed Educational Consultant Mark Stevens federal power into a state-level issue. I believe healthcare industry that is welcoming all General Manager, NEA Academy this reaction helped create some of the opposi- those new customers. tion to Common Core, which is based on the Common Core (which has its own powerful al- tation next spring, but as more educators get misconception that the standards are a federal lies in the business world) also reached an im- comfortable with them, Common Core is looking initiative. This backlash led to Indiana’s recent portant milestone at the end of March, by which like it, too, will win the numbers game. withdrawal from the standards. point PARCC and Smarter Balanced had admin- Both CCSS and the ACA have also been ham- istered hundreds of thousands of field tests of pered by rocky rollouts. The troubles with the the new assessments. The assessments certain- healthcare.gov website have been covered ex- ly face more obstacles on the road to implemen-

3 | APRIL 2014 shutterstock.com Here&Now Tech + Online + Industry + Partnership

American Students Ahead the 85,000 students who participated in this particular Social Learning: From of the Curve on PISA assessment. Those students represented 44 nations Web 2.0 to Social 3.0

Problem-Solving Scores that participated in the 2012 assessment, most of Mobilists Cathie By David Nagel whom are members of the Organization for Economic Norris and Elliot There’s actually good news about American education Cooperation and Development, also known as OECD. PRESS Soloway discuss coming out of the Program for International Student The complete numbers, which can be found on nces. PLAY mobile education’s Assessment (PISA), the triennial international ed.gov, show that about four-fifths of American shift from the asynchronous conversation of Web 2.0 to assessment that ranks countries based on their 15-year-olds are at or above minimal proficiency the synchronous conversation of what their colleague students’ proficiency in math, science and language (proficiency level 2) in problem-solving, with the Kevin Crosby has named Social 3.0. The new paradigm arts (as measured by standardized tests). remaining 18.2 percent below that level. includes video chatting on mobile devices using In data released this month from the 2012 According to a report released by OECD, “Fifteen- FaceTime, Skype or Google Hangouts — as well as international assessment, on average 15-year-old year-olds in the United States perform strongest on Norris and Soloway’s new free app YesWeKhan, which students from the United States showed a greater interactive tasks, compared to students of similar allows students to chat while watching the same Khan degree of proficiency in problem-solving, in particular overall performance in other countries. Interactive tasks Academy video. on tasks for which they are required to uncover require students to uncover some of the information information in order to solve the problem, than their needed to solve the problem themselves. This suggests [webinars ] peers from other countries. that students in the United States are open to novelty, Is Your WiFi Network Ready U.S. students, with an average score of 508, didn’t tolerate doubt and uncertainty, and dare to use intuition for Online Testing? rank highest in to initiate a solution.” As the fall deadline for Common Core testing problem-solving, On the downside, when American students were approaches, school districts need to make sure that their but they did compared to those from the highest-performing nations network can handle the deluge of devices and traffic beat the average (Singapore, Korea and Japan), the largest gaps were that the new assessments will create. Get a game plan proficiency seen in “tasks where students must select, organi[z]e for putting your network in order with help from Jeffrey score (500) of and integrate the information and feedback received in Jennings, SLED Contracts/E-rate Manager at Xirrus. order to represent and formulate their understanding of Sponsored by Xirrus OECD has made a handful of sample questions from the problem-solving test available to the public. the problem.” Read the full story. New and archived webinars are available at thejournal.com.

4 | APRIL 2014 Here&Now GRADUATE TO A BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE EDUCATING TOMORROW’S LEADERS REQUIRES TODAY’S BEST TECHNOLOGY. With online state assessments helping to spark a digital revolution in schools, your students need the right game on originality, overall design and technology to prepare them for digital learning, online testing and the development they’ll need to get to the next {win big!} educational stage. They need devices, applications, digital content and a reliable network to access it all quickly. quality, complexity and enjoyment, as STEM Fuse Asks well as through voting on the STEM Students: ‘Got Game?’ Fuse Arcade. First prize includes a 9/10 $250 Best Buy gift card and a free 69% TEACHERS OF TEACHERS say that the Internet has a major STEM Fuse course subscription (a say educational technology enables them to do impact on their ability to access 1 $1,499 value). Game submissions will “much more than ever before” for students. important teaching materials.2

Curriculum development company be accepted through May 31, 2014, at ONLY 28% STEM Fuse has invited middle- and 5:00 p.m. Central, and winners will be OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS high-school students to compete announced on June 6. have the broadband speed necessary to reliably in its 2014 Spring Got Game? access the Internet. 3 Competition. To enter, students create breaking news games using GameMaker Studio or WE DESIGN IT. WE CONFIGURE IT. WE IMPLEMENT IT. WE SUPPORT IT. WE GET IT. We can help you upgrade your technology so teachers and students have GameMaker Lite. (The Studio version quick and reliable access to educational tools. And our education experience gives us the expertise to help improve your learning environment. is available as a free download here.) The game must be original work by THE PEOPLE the student(s) submitting the entry, Click Here for Breaking News Our dedicated K-12 account managers work exclusively with public and private schools. And with geographically specifi c sales teams, we understand the regional issues you face. and each student or team can submit THE PARTNERS only one game. We work with industry-leading partners who off er a variety of technology and solutions including: mobile devices, classroom technology, wireless networking, data center optimization, security and The competition is open to students cloud computing. from fifth through 12th grades, THE PLAN We can accommodate your timing and budgetary needs. We can also train teachers and staff competing in two divisions: Fifth- to use new technology, so you can get the most out of it from day one. through eighth-graders compete in the Junior Division, while the Senior From classroom technology to Common Core necessities, we can help. See how at Division is for ninth- through 12th- CDWG.com/commoncore graders. STEM Fuse will judge each 1PBS Learning Media Survey, pbs.org, Feb. 2013 2Pew Internet, How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Th eir Classrooms, pewinternet.org, 2013 3Washington Post, Getting Schools Up To 21st Century Speed , washingtonpost.com, 2013 ©2014 CDW Government LLC. CDW®, CDW•G® and PEOPLE WHO GET IT™ are trademarks of CDW LLC. 5 | APRIL 2014

Untitled-9 1 4/1/14 1:25 PM Here&Now

[industry update] Teachers Honored for Innovative Use of Tech to Teach Science Explorations of friction and rocketry were two of the projects that won an annual competition put on by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Vernier. All of the winning educators were selected based on their use of data-collection technology in science classes. The six winners in K-12 were honored during this year’s NSTA National Conference and received $1,000 in cash, $3,000 in Vernier products and $1,500 toward travel expenses to attend the event in Boston. One winner was Bill Burton, a science teacher at the Lamplighter School in Dallas, who used a Vernier Force Plate to help his first-grade students learn about friction. In the experiment, they experienced the forces required to overcome friction as they pulled themselves across different surfaces, including several hundred tennis balls. The Force Plate collected real-time data that was projected on the classroom’s interactive whiteboard for discussion. Burton had demonstrated his lesson during last year’s NSTA conference and then wrote an IT’S NOT JUST TECHNOLOGY article about the experiment for the NSTA journal, Science and Children. YOU’RE PUTTING IN STUDENTS’ Another winner, David Auerbach from Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, NH, put on the “C-Prize” project, a takeoff on the X-Prize. To learn about speed, HANDS. IT’S POSSIBILITY. velocity and acceleration, students constructed When the nation’s second-largest union high school district decided to equip 6,500 7th graders (and 44,000 and tested rocket prototypes. The experiment over the next six years) with iPads, they needed to pair those iPads with the best LMS available. A great 1:1 program–where every student gets their own device– demands an LMS that’s intuitive, user-friendly, with included developing hypotheses and analyzing uber-responsive support and a seamless implementation process. That’s why Sweetwater Union HIgh School data that students collected with the use of a District decided to partner with Canvas. It’s 21st Century education on a 21st Century device with a 21st Century LMS. Vernier Photogate, a timing device used for precise See how Canvas can help you transform learning and ﬁnd out more Lamplighter School teacher measurements of high-speed or short-duration about Sweetwater Union High School’s experience with Canvas at Bill Burton teaches students instructure.com/technology or by calling 855.308.2804. about friction. events. You can read about all of the winners here.

Untitled-2 1 3/10/14 3:12 PM Editor’s The latest hardware, software and services Product Roundup Picks

The Echo Meter Touch bat Casio’s new XJ-UT310WN The Ruckus ZoneFlex R700 is detector is a key-fob-sized, ultrashort-throw projector is a new three-stream 802.11ac ultrasonic module that plugs lamp-free. It provides 3,100 access point. It features dual- into an iPhone or iPad. Paired lumens and supports wireless band (5 GHz/2.4 GHz ) op- with a free app, it allows users delivery of images from com- eration and uses six antenna to hear and record bats in real puters as well as Android and arrays to maintain fast through- time. Read the full story. iOS devices. Read the full story. put. Read the full story. Click here for new releases new releases

Sookasa Cloud Compliance Nuance’s Power PDF is a McGraw-Hill’s custom- Service is a “compliance-as-a- PDF-creation tool designed publishing tool, Create, allows service” tool that helps schools as an alternative to Adobe educators to select and maintain FERPA compliance Acrobat. The tool was created sequence archived or original by encrypting files on cloud to support document-sharing materials to create customized services and mobile devices. and collaboration within an print or electronic books. Read the full story. organization. Read the full story. Read the full story.

7 | APRIL 2014 On April 28 at 4 PM ET, learn more about Mazza’s innovative use of technology in an edWeb.net webinar hosted by THE Journal’s Christopher Piehler.

JOE MAZZA, DIRECTOR, CONNECTED TEACHING, LEARNING & LEADERSHIP, NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT, LANSDALE, PA INNOVATOR

TOOLS FOR TRANSPARENCY more information and to connect and collaborate, Much of what I’m now doing is working across 18 even from 10,000 miles away. MY TOP 3 buildings, 2,500 teachers and 100 administrators to build capacity for using social media tools to be MAKING CONNECTIONS more transparent in our approach. The idea is not I have a Twitter account that I use to share different only to provide for current teachers’ professional de- chat topics that relate to our school and organiza- velopment, but to let the community see a new way tional goals. I use the hashtag #ff to suggest in- of teaching, learning and leadership on a daily ba- novative teachers that people in the district should sis. I’ve been working with schools on things such follow. I blog, sharing stories about where I am in as embedding Twitter feeds on teacher websites. the district and what the teacher I’m with is working Sounds simple, but not a lot of teachers are doing on. I identify best practices in family and community Watch Mazza’s tips on creating a that, and unless your parents are tweeting, how are engagement, as well as digital citizenship and where connected learning environment. they seeing everything you’re sharing on social me- we can be more innovative in our policies. We’re dia on a daily basis? planning a 1-to-1 BYOD rollout next year, so I’m go- people. It’s that culture where you can tweet some- ing out to other districts, seeing what people are do- thing to your network and within minutes have more DO AS THEY DO ing and leveraging human experience and expertise. resources than you know what to do with. I’m a big believer that principals, superintendents and other leaders are dealmakers or dealbreakers CASTING A WIDER NETWORK PASSING THE SCREEN TEST in terms of this connected teaching, learning and The biggest positive I’ve seen in my four years of The best thing about these social media tools is leadership. If they can visualize how this works and being on Twitter as a connected leader are the rela- that your principals and teachers are exposed to how it takes the organization to a new level, they’re tionships. I know so many people on just about ev- passionate educators. I want to send my child to a more likely to model those tools and experiences, ery continent who can help me with just about any- school where people are always trying to be better. and that will take some pressure off of teachers to thing. These are people you develop a relationship To me, an innovator is someone who constantly has have to be trailblazers in their schools. It’s up to all with because you’ve helped them with something, two screens up: The screen on the left is what he’s of us to model digital citizenship, to show kids what and it’s about paying it forward online. A network for using to do a good job on that day, and the screen lifelong learning means, what it means to be a curi- principals used to be the other six principals in your on the right is looking at what we can do tomorrow, ous, inquisitive person who’s always trying to find district. Now, your network consists of thousands of next week, next year, to improve.

8 | APRIL 2014 TEACHING & LEARNING Greg Thompson

The Maker Movement Connects to the Classroom A hands-on approach to STEM engages students, but how does project-based learning connect with standardized testing?

hether it’s a paper airplane or a robot that have changed. He said that the walks, kids have always wanted to create current maker movement “is but- functional objects with their own two hands. tressed by accessible technol- These days, many educators are channel- ogy, both in terms of cost and ing that natural urge to build with help from the wider ease of use. You can go all the “Maker Movement,” which has spawned Maker Faires way back to the 1950s and find and dedicated “maker spaces” in classrooms and that they had numerically con- media centers around the country. Pam Moran, super- trolled milling machines, but they intendent of the Albemarle County Public Schools were expensive. Now you can (VA), contends that American classrooms of the past get reasonably priced 3D printers regularly fueled this type of creativity, and now is the and computers.” time to bring back that spirit of innovation. “I see the maker movement as being a reconnect, both inside From Club to Classroom schools, as well as in communities, to redevelop the After-school Lego Robotics clubs

idea that we are creative individuals,” Moran said. have been a mainstay in many shutterstock.com “We are analytical problem-solvers, and we are people districts for years, but Moran and who, in working with our hands and minds, are able to others believe it’s time to bring create and construct. We are makers by nature.” these hands-on activities into the Glen Bull, a professor of STEM education at the Uni- classroom during regular school hours. In Albemarle, options and pathways. “We have two public charter versity of Virginia, Charlottesville, agreed that while the Moran is working to engage some of the district’s schools,” Moran enthused. “If you went to one of our urge to create endures, the tools available to students 13,000 students in 26 schools by offering customized community charter middle schools, you would see

9 | APRIL 2014 TEACHING & LEARNING

kids engaged in an arts-infused curriculum in which robot, but another might be interested in building a something for students with disabilities that exempli- they are making. In our regular schools, you would see glove with a sensor on it.” fies the maker concept. They make pastries and sell the same thing. If you went to one of our 16 elemen- Charlottesville City Schools (VA) has invested in them throughout the school.” tary schools, you would find maker spaces permeating creating spaces and purchasing equipment that sup- Stager hopes that maker concepts will eventually be classrooms where kids can work on projects and use port maker activities for middle- and high-school seamlessly incorporated into the curriculum. In making tools. We had four of our elementary schools that ran students. According to Gertrude Ivory, associate the case for “tinkering and engineering” throughout maker schools instead of traditional summer schools.” superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the the school day, Stager and Martinez believe that keep- For one recent project, Moran said, a student used a nine-school district, “We renovated our science lab at ing maker spaces separate from the classroom is less 3D printer in the library to produce a new case for her the middle school, and we are renovating an atrium than ideal. “When computers first came into schools, iPhone — which the school’s principal posted on the school’s Twitter account. “When kids and teachers are “When kids are given an opportunity to make, to given an opportunity to make, to create,” Moran said, “all of a sudden you see people becoming passionate about create,” said Pam Moran, “all of a sudden you see people who they are as learners.” becoming passionate about who they are as learners.” While new technology can engage students, Gary Stager, co-author (with Sylvia Martinez) of Invent space. In our high school, we took a portion of the they came in through the classrooms of interested to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the media center. We’ve taken about one-third of the teachers, and then they all got rounded up and segre- Classroom, pointed out that maker projects don’t re- library space, carved that out, and added two levels gated and we made computer labs,” lamented Stager. quire costly machines. “We see teachers and students with the classroom — plus spaces for collaboration “It wasn’t very successful to have everything separat- working with traditional materials combined with new between students and teachers.” ed out, and we don’t want to make that mistake again. materials — even cardboard construction,” he said. In partnership with the University of Virginia, middle We make the case that this kind of learning can hap- Martinez added, “There are new conductive materi- school students in the Charlottesville district are us- pen in every subject area and in every classroom.” als, conductive tapes where you can paint a picture ing 3D printers in courses specifically designed to VIDEO:that Caption... actually does something, such as lighting up. incorporate those tools into science classes. “We Coexisting With Standardized Tests These materials draw people in in ways they don’t have other projects where students publish or print The cold realities of end-of-year assessments can expect. One person might be interested in building a their artwork and sell postcards,” Ivory said. “We have conflict with high-minded learning philosophies. In

10 | APRIL 2014 TEACHING & LEARNING

Charlottesville, Gertrude Ivory makes every effort to tant to let go of the traditional, tried-and-true practices puter assisted design (CAD) programming and using reconcile so-called traditional teaching methods with because they’re afraid until they have a lot of success Google Apps in powerful ways. “We sent a team of maker concepts and project-based learning (PBL), but with it.” teachers to Chicago Children’s Museum, and they she admits that it’s not easy. “The standards don’t necessarily lend themselves to According to Sylvia Martinez, “PBL takes experienced the kind of teaching that goes into the maker activities,” teachers, but in the long runs it is actually easier.” Ivory said. “Teachers sometimes have a really hard time embracing the project-based activities, because they Superintendent Pam Moran called herself a “fierce worked with the people who helped to design and feel so compelled to get students ready for standard- opponent of letting tests dictate the work that teach- implement maker labs,” she said. “Those teachers ized tests. We have a few teachers who do understand, ers do with kids,” but conceded that making time for came back absolutely jazzed. They were fearful of and are risk takers, and they see the payoff. maker activities remains a challenge. “Like everybody turning young children loose with some of the tools, She added that, with PBL, “The students remember else, we have to be sure our kids are ready for those such as glue guns, drills or saws, but after they went more. We’re seeing some of that with our science and Virginia tests in the spring,” she said. “Teachers stand up there and saw that happening in a public mu- engineering classes, but the teachers are a little reluc- with one foot on one side of a stream that is about seum, they came back and said, ‘We know how to testing, and another foot on the other side about mak- make this work.’” RELATED READINGS FROM THE JOURNAL: ing sure what kids do is worthy of their learning.” As maker projects are getting more time and space STEM-focused Christa McAuliffe Center Continues According to Sylvia Martinez, research shows that in classrooms, they are also gaining acceptance as Teacher Ed Work with PTC PBL leads to deeper understanding for students, proof of learning among elite universities. According A certification helps teachers learn how to teach STEM. and yet it’s still all too rare. Why? Martinez believes it to Stager, “The admissions department at MIT has Colfax High Students Learn Product Development comes down to training time. “PBL is more difficult, been traveling the country telling parents and kids that with 3D Prototyping and it takes experienced teachers,” she said. “But they want makers at MIT. They’ve added a space on A 15-year-old invents and builds a solution for skiers who in the long run it is actually easier, because kids are the MIT application for makers to submit a portfolio of lean back too far. working on things they care about, and when they do what they have made.” For These Schools, Adding Arts to STEM Boosts that, they are empowered to really make a difference.” Curriculum Moran has seen teachers get excited, too, when Greg Thompson is a freelance writer based in Fort STEAM engages students with hands-on activities. they get hands-on experience with 3D printing, com- Collins, CO.

11 | APRIL 2014 NEXT: Adaptive learning: Are we there yet? FEATURE | teaching & learning

Tech companies and publishers are working to transform an ed tech buzzword into a classroom reality. But, as one expert says, “It’s going to take some time to get it right.” BY JOHN K. WATERS ADAPTIVE LEARNING: ARE WE THERE YET? FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, K-12 educators have been hearing about the potential of adaptive learning, an approach to instruction and remediation that uses technology and accumulated data to provide customized program adjustments based on an individual student’s level of demonstrated mastery. But interest in adaptive learning has been heating up in the last couple of years, thanks to new attention from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, new partnerships among education publishers and adaptive platform providers, and a growing list of

product vendors. Along with that increasing interest and expanding vendor landscape shutterstock.com has come a fair bit of confusion about exactly what the term “adaptive learning” means. To some, it’s almost synonymous with “personalized learning,” but in practice, these are different concepts, and K-12 districts investigating systems that promise to deliver adaptive learning should understand that difference. }} 12 | APRIL 2014 FEATURE | teaching & learning Classroom management now includes support for Chromebooks and iOS/Android tablets

What Is Adaptive K-12 educators have been person- Learning, Exactly? alizing learning for decades: If Jesse According to Adam Newman, found- is having trouble reading, the teacher ing partner of Education Growth Advi- assigns her some extra reading in sors (EGA), a strategic advisory and Chapter Two. Personalized learning consulting firm and investment bank covers a range of approaches, New- focused exclusively on the education man said, including competency- sector, “ ‘Personalized learning’ is re- based learning, differentiated instruc- ally an umbrella term.” In two recently tion and tutorial models — as well published white papers commissioned as true adaptive learning. by the Gates Foundation (“Learning In “Learning to Adapt,” EGA re- to Adapt: Understanding the Adap- searchers went on to define “adaptive tive Learning Supplier Landscape” learning” as a method that employs and “Learning to Adapt: A Case for “a sophisticated, data-driven, and in Accelerating Adaptive Learning in some cases, nonlinear approach to Higher Education”), Newman and instruction and remediation, adjust- his colleagues defined “personalized ing to a learner’s interactions and Monitor entire classroom - Remote control students - Block internet - Surveys - Send messages learning” as a “pedagogical method demonstrated performance level, Broadcast teacher’s screen - Class registration or process that draws on observation and subsequently anticipating what Classroom technology is evolving ... but is your classroom management to inform tailored student educational types of content and resources learn- software keeping pace? interventions designed to increase ers need at a specific point in time to Equipping your IT labs with the latest technology is one thing; ensuring teachers have the tools to effectively support and manage students in today’s multi-platform learning environments can be the likelihood of learner success.” As make progress.” quite another.

Newman said, technology isn’t actually The EGA researchers divided adap- With NetSupport’s award-winning classroom management software, a host of monitoring, instruction, and assessment tools combines with support for Windows (including Windows 8), required for personalization, but the tive approaches into two categories: Google Chromebooks, iOS/Android tablets, and Mac and Linux desktops to deliver the answers to tech makes it possible to personalize “Facilitator-driven” systems provide all your classroom challenges. And with our free-to-download tablet and smartphone version for teachers, you can even manage your NetSupport-managed classroom on the move. at scale. instructors with actionable student Learn more and download a free classroom trial at www.netsupportschool.com

13 | APRIL 2014 w: www.netsupportschool.com | e: [email protected] | t: 1-888-665-0808 (Toll Free)

Untitled-4 1 3/26/14 11:06 AM FEATURE | teaching & learning

and cohort profiles, typically via a dashboard; while Partnering to Adapt ALEKS, an acronym for “Assessment and LEarning in “assessment-driven” platforms provide dynamic adjust- One recent trend that promises to advance adaptive Knowledge Spaces,” is a Web-based, artificially intelli- ments to the instructional content as students interact learning in K-12 is partnerships among educational gent assessment and learning system that uses “adap- with it. Facilitator-driven systems provide information publishers and adaptive learning platform providers, tive questioning” to determine what a student knows that instructors act upon; assessment-driven systems such as CogBooks, CCKF and Knewton. This year, and then select the topics he or she is ready to learn. make their own adjustments and allow students to Knewton announced a partnership with Microsoft, The system reassesses periodically and adjusts the move through the course individually or in a group, which will make the Knewton API available to “its vast learning pathway. McGraw-Hill is currently offering a without instructor interaction. The two approaches are partner and publisher ecosystem.” And in 2013 K-12 range of ALEKS-based K-12 online math courses. not mutually exclusive, Newman said, and both might content company Macmillan Education announced be found in a single product or system offering. plans to build new digital products using the Knew- Adaptivity in Action ton API. Knewton has also been working with Triumph Mary Cullinane, chief content officer and EVP of cor- BEYOND THE BUZZWORD Learning and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) to add porate affairs at HMH, said, “There has been a lot of adaptivity to their K-12 learning products. noise in the marketplace around adaptive learning, but Triumph is using the Knewton API to enable adaptivity so many of the offerings are just binary ‘if you get this in new digital products aligned with the Common Core. question wrong you go here; if you get it right, you go Triumph is set to launch these products this year in there’ kinds of things. True adaptivity isn’t just about multiple subject areas. HMH worked with Knewton in a understanding that the kid got the question wrong, but previous collaboration on a project to provide adaptive why the kid got the question wrong.” learning in math, science and language arts to incarcer- The Knewton platform, for example, is a set of adap- ated K-12 students. HMH is now using the Knewton tive learning infrastructures designed to allow third- INSERT: platform to bring adaptive learning to its mainstream party vendors to add adaptivity to their products. The K-12 content in math, reading and other core subjects. platform collects and processes data from real-time The publisher is currently in the process of adding the streams and maps the relationships among individual VIDEO: HMH’s Mary Cullinane says that adaptive Knewton-powered adaptivity to its GO Math! program. concepts within the learning content, which are inte- learning will only improve student outcomes if McGraw-Hill Education’s 2013 acquisition of ALEKS grated into taxonomies, learning objectives and student technology is paired with the right content. gave the publisher its own adaptive intelligence engine. interactions. It then uses this data to evaluate student

14 | APRIL 2014 FEATURE | teaching & learning

proficiencies and generates “insights” and predictions Smart Sparrow’s founder and CEO Dror Ben-Naim The Holy Grail of Data that lead to recommendations. The goal is the creation said, “I’m a big believer that we should not take the Data collection is essential to any adaptive learning of an individual “learning path.” teacher away from the teaching process. We should system, of course, but according to Kuntz, such a sys- David Kuntz, Knewton’s VP of research and adap- build the technology around the teachers to empower tem applied in a K-12 environment presents a unique tive learning, explained, “Our partners are the experts them and put them at the center of the story.” Smart opportunity. “One of the great things about K-12 is that in their target market. They create the application and Sparrow grew out of years of research at the University students spend a long time there,” he said. “You get to pass us the data. We process that data and make a set of New South Wales in Sydney, which is currently col- collect data from students year after year as they proof actionable inferences about the students, and then laborating on a project with Arizona State University and gress through the curriculum. You get to see them in all pass those back to the application, and the partner other universities to build adaptive online courseware for of their classes with all of their teachers and all of their decides how and when to render those for the student.” high school students. proficiencies, what they’re prepared for and not, what HMH is currently taking its adaptive math program for a test drive with more than 2,000 students in California, but the company is keeping the details of that “closed pilot” test under wraps for now. Cullinane said, “We’re No Matter How You Slice It still in the early stages, and we want to be super-honest about that. But we do feel that this is technology that We Have The Best Deals can actually deliver on its promise. It’s going to take a On The Best Products little time to make sure that we do it right.” Rather than using content from third-party publishers, Australia-based Smart Sparrow’s Adaptive eLearn- ing Platform supports educators in creating their own Over 700 Brands! | Fast Shipping! | Low Prices! adaptive courseware. The educator-created content IPADS • MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS • PROJECTORS • WHITE BOARDS • WIRELESS • PORTABLE PA • MICS then responds to students by providing feedback that is unique to the individual. Using this “adaptive feedback,” Follow Us the system presents differentiated learning sequences for each student.

Untitled-1 1 3/19/14 10:54 AM 15 | APRIL 2014 FEATURE | teaching & learning

kinds of things engage them and how that develops “A Premise, Not a Panacea” products might not know what it is about quadratic over time.” Because students undergo cognitive development as equations that’s challenging to that student, person- “You could call it the holy grail,” Newman added. “It’s they progress through the grades, an “assessment- ally. More sophisticated approaches we’re seeing now this idea of being able to build a learner profile, such that driven” approach to adaptive learning makes sense in seek to provide an understanding that it’s not just that the instructional pathway the student pursues over his or K-12. As the EGA researchers pointed out, the more the student doesn’t understand quadratic equations, her lifetime is being dynamically modified and adjusted sophisticated solutions “model and categorize learners but that it’s these three steps in solving for quadratic based on a whole bunch of data and information.” through the aggregation of cognitive and non-cognitive equations that really trip him.” Then the focus becomes “The truth is, we’re just scratching the surface,” Kuntz data, resulting in a more three-dimensional ‘profile’ of building the student’s mastery of just those steps. said. “When we start to see students from early in their the learner.” This learner profile enables a solution to To get to that level of granularity, an adaptive system educational careers into adulthood — that’s when we personalize a student’s experience. As the researchers must break down the learning into building blocks. The will be able to gain truly deep insights into how people wrote, “This approach requires the greatest degree of more sophisticated systems understand which blocks actually learn and how they develop over time. We’ll be technical acumen, as the system must monitor, track are prerequisites to larger concepts. The current crop able to discover, say, whether that thing you learned and analyze extensive, large-scale data ranging from of adaptive solutions that get to this level of granularity, in third grade actually mattered, in terms of your pre- previous learner/s’ experiences to cognition, modalities Newman says, are mapping to a set of known, required paredness for higher-order concepts later on. That pic- and social learning, among others.” objectives or competencies. ture of each individual student and how it changes over This observation points out an aspect of the adaptive “Whatever the approach,” Newman said, “the essen- time will be invaluable.” learning landscape that might not be immediately ap- tial premise of adaptive learning — and it is a premise, The result, in theory, will be that the more a student parent: There are varying levels of adaptivity. A product not a panacea — is that it holds the promise of a more interacts with an adaptive product, the more individual- or platform isn’t simply adaptive or not adaptive. The outcomes-oriented system that is more efficient in the ized that product will become. Cullinane said, “I might be differences, Newman said, boil down to understanding use of time and resources.” He concluded that adap- looking at 10,000 students for whom a particular piece what the end goals or learning objectives are, and the tive learning “has a lot of promise. It can be powerful, of content is working. When I see the 10,001st student level of granularity with which those goals are captured. but there are lots of options that an organization can with the same set of characteristics, I have a much bet- “Let’s say we’re talking about a student’s path explore.” ter chance of pointing that student to the appropriate through Algebra I,” he said. “Some of the courseware content. I guess you could say that, as the platforms products will give that student a diagnostic that says John K. Waters is a freelance journalist and author become more adaptive, the content is getting smarter.” he needs to work on quadratic equations. But those based in Palo Alto, CA.

16 | APRIL 2014 NEXT: Digital citizenship for the real world DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP Stephen Noonoo

Digital Citizenship for the Real World The Digital Driver’s License is helping students prove that they’re ready to navigate the hazards of the Internet.

very new driver takes a road test before ever tak- Park is a pioneer of the lat- ing the wheel. With so much at stake, it would be ter approach. Three years ago, reckless not to. So it’s something of a mystery with input from approximately why, in the age of increased attention on cyberbul- 20 K-12 educators, Park first lying and online predators, schools aren’t doing more to applied the driver’s ed model prep students for the inevitable realities of the Internet. to digital citizenship when he Too often, digital citizenship topics like student safety co-designed the Digital Driver’s and proper research methods are reduced to brief lec- License as part of the OTIS tures that get wedged between keyboarding and soft- initiative at the University of ware tutorials in catchall computer courses. Sometimes Kentucky. the digital component to the lessons is missing alto- The Digital Driver’s License, gether. But with BYOD and 1-to-1 programs blossom- which was partly inspired by ing around the country, the subject is at least getting a Mike Ribble and Gerald Bailey’s second look from educators. ISTE publication Digital Citizen- According to Marty Park, chief digital officer at Ken- ship in Schools, is an online tool that takes students In 2011, the program debuted in a handful of local tucky’s Department of Education, 21st century topics through a series of hypothetical, real-world scenarios Kentucky classrooms. Since then, more than 600 dis- require 21st century teaching methods. “We can either related to digital literacy and safety. The tool has been tricts (and about 60,000 students) have discovered it. take the approach of ‘we have to sit people down and designed to encourage independence and caution Park said that the tool has reached not only traditional say the same things or watch the same PSA video,’ or among digital learners, much the same way a driver’s school districts, but also home-schooled students and we can take a different approach and try to really en- ed course prepares drivers for dangers that might pop adult learners. “We try to take a really proactive ap- gage in the online space where students want to be.” up when they are alone on the road. proach, but also a performance angle, and try and look

17 | APRIL 2014 DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

at scenarios that not just students, but that we all find The open source nature of the DDL doesn’t just mean In response, Payne told Marty Park that he should ourselves in,” Park said. that it’s free; it also means it’s open to meaningful con- consider adding a middle school component beyond Today the Digital Driver’s License, or DDL as it’s com- tributions from educators who have something of value basic cell phone etiquette — and he in turn suggested monly known, features about eight scenarios, tailored to add. Gerry Swan, a professor at the University of that she write it. Payne ended up completing two sec- by age level, that cover topics including what consti- tutes copyright violation and how to stay safe online. The DDL stresses more than just engagement and Each student registers individually and then progresses relevance for students; it’s also about flexibility of use. through background material related to a given sce- nario, which might include a video or examining a given Kentucky and director of OTIS who co-created the DDL tions. “Educate Yourself, Connect With Others” cov- situation. with Park and is responsible for much of its structural ers social networking and online safety, while “Protect When a student feels confident she has mastered support, said that the DDL is “open in that not only can Yourself, Protect Others” deals with digital commerce a topic, she can take a “prove it” quiz that puts her everyone use it, but everyone can contribute to it and and online scams. “The content there helps to cover knowledge to the test. A passing score is 80 percent or make it better.” the nine sections of digital citizenship that are commonly greater. Scores, answer resets and attempts are logged referenced nationwide,” she said. for educators, who can follow each student’s prog- Middle Schoolers and Mobile Devices Payne’s work obviously struck a chord with educators. ress in an admin toolbar. Educators can further specify When Henderson County Schools (KY) was looking According to Park, “Just a week after publishing her cas- which scenarios will be required to earn a DDL. to develop a BYOD program for interested classroom es, there were thousands of attempts on assessment.” Designed as an open educational resource — and teachers, Linda Payne, the district’s technology instruc- thus free from the beginning — the DDL stresses more tional coordinator, knew that students first needed a Many Roads to Learning than just engagement and relevance for students; it’s grounding in digital citizenship to prepare them for using The flexibility built into DDL means that, by design, there also about flexibility of use and self-directed learning. their devices in an academic setting. Payne had been is no one model for using it with students. “If teachers “We wanted schools and districts to be able to use one of the first to sign on to the DDL program back in are gung ho about their classes getting a Digital Driver’s whatever they wanted, however they wanted to, and 2011, but, she said, “When our middle school was the License, some of them will allow the students to use VIDEO:we’re Caption... seeing a lot of different types of implementation,” only school using the Digital Driver’s License, the high class time,” Payne said. “But most of the students do a said Park. “The idea is that the student or the learner school part,” which was the only comprehensive course majority of that on their own time.” As students complete really owns their own path.” available at the time, ”was a little over their heads.” cases, Payne and a colleague go through and check

18 | APRIL 2014 DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

their success. Once they pass all the sections, students “We want to make sure the students actually do the choices as far as where they go on a network and what get an embossed “DDL” decal on their planners and are lessons so we have it a little more structured with the they do on the Internet for the rest of their lives.” given access to the school’s network. teachers at this point.” Morris noted, however, that the By contrast, students at Carson City School District program is still finding its footing, and the district may Continuing the Conversation (NV) move through DDL units with their teacher in a shift more responsibility onto older students to com- Right now, Park and Swan are tweaking some basic special “academic intervention” class and then work plete the cases on their own time. usability features based on feedback they’ve received individually on the prove-it assessments in class. Lead That’s the strategy currently favored by the Raymore- from educators, and they plan to refresh some of the technology integration specialist LeAnn Morris, whose Peculiar School District (MO), which is using the DDL digital citizenship content this summer. They also have district has incorporated the tool into a comprehensive to revamp its digital citizenship curriculum to prepare plans to expand the “driver’s license” model to other ar- digital citizenship course for fourth- through 12th-grad- students for an expanding BYOD rollout. Ryan Good- eas (such as standards-based grading for professional ers to prepare them for a 1-to-1 laptop program, said, ing, the district’s director of technology, said, “In the development), operating under the assumption that, as middle school and above, we kind of put it on the stu- Swan put it, “If it’s good for students in digital citizen- EARNING YOUR LICENSE dents to get it completed,” adding that in the fifth and ship, it might be good for other topics and areas.” sixth grades, “Teachers walk the students through the While the founders agree that the model provides a sections they thought were age-level appropriate.” good basis for engaging students, they stress that digital In his interactions with students who have gone citizenship doesn’t end with the DDL — just as develop- INSERT: through the program, Gooding has been “surprised” ing good driving skills doesn’t end with an exam. “The by the response. With a school full of digital natives, DDL is not, as we like to say, a Roomba,” said Park. “You “I thought I would get a lot of, ‘This is ridiculous,’” he don’t just turn it on and hopefully your house is clean. It’s said, “but a lot of them actually talked about things they very much a conversation. That’s one thing we like to be had learned, or that they had gone through the first very upfront about. It’s not a self-graded computerized section and gotten a score of one out of 11 and went thing you’re going to walk away from and now, magically, back and watched it again.” Sections on copyright and your students are going to do the right things.” VIDEO: Co-designer Marty Park walks educators plagiarism particularly struck a chord with high school- through the process of registering for the DDL and ers. “It’s a big thing with teens right now. Hopefully Stephen Noonoo is a contributing editor based in Los setting parameters for students. they’re going to be able to apply that as they make Angeles.

19 | APRIL 2014 NEXT: Why schools still need desktop computers HARDWARE Leila Meyer

5 Reasons Schools Still Need Desktop Computers Despite the growth of mobile learning, desktops still play important roles in the 21st century classroom.

esktops aren’t dead. Even as schools in- Unified School District (CA) has creasingly implement 1-to-1, bring-your- labs for AutoCAD and video pro- own-device (BYOD) and other mobile device duction classes that are outfitted initiatives, many are choosing to retain at least with high-end desktops. Accord- some desktop computers — and others are even ing to Jason Gregg, director of in- upgrading to swanky, top-of-the-line machines. Keep- formation services for the district, ing at least one desktop computer in each classroom “Although you can buy laptops is a common practice, and some schools are keeping that are able to run that software, their dedicated desktop labs, either for general use or they’re a lot more expensive, so for specialized classes. It seems that some classroom that’s definitely a place where it’s needs are still better served by a desktop computer more cost effective to have desk- shutterstock.com than by a laptop or tablet. Here, school technology top computers.” leaders from around the country share five reasons why you might want to keep at least some desktop 2) Screen Size computers around. The classes that benefit from the me where I can have a little more screen real estate powerful processors also tend to benefit from large to work on my project, or if I’m editing video I want 1) Processor Power computer screens. John Orbaugh, executive direc- to have a little more space than I would find on the Schools that offer classes in video editing, engineer- tor of technology at Tyler Independent School Dis- typical laptop.” ing or CAD drawing need computers with scads trict (TX), said, “If I’m sitting down in an AutoCAD In video editing or CAD drawing classes, it’s impor- of power because the software required for those lab, I don’t want to really do that much AutoCAD on tant for students to be able to see the visual details of classes is processor-intensive. For instance, Chico a laptop screen, I want a 24-inch monitor in front of their work, and larger screens make that easier. And

20 | APRIL 2014 HARDWARE Are You Ready for Common Core? If Not, You’re Not Alone

GovConnection understands your IT challenges, and we’re here to help. That’s why we offer customized solutions around topics that you while it’s possible to connect a larger or iPad-type keyboard. We use the and your peers have identified as your biggest priorities. A recent survey* of K–12 external monitor to some laptops, dis- extended keyboards on our desktops and higher education institutions found that: tricts find that it’s often more practical so students have the numeric keypad and cost effective to stick with desk- there on the side.” top computer for those situations. Susan Plante is a teacher and the said they are not ready Plan your strategy with for digital learning director of technology at Eagle Hill our more than 7 different Network Assessments at your disposal. 3) Ergonomics Southport, a school in Southport, Rely on our technology Screen size is essentially an ergo- CT for students with learning disabili- deployment expertise. In 2013, we deployed ranked wireless broadband more than 120,000 custom HEADLINEnomic issue, but it’s not the only ties. She said some of her students as their top priority for configurations through our IT investment ISO 9001:2008 certified lab. one. Some schools are sticking with find it easier to work with a full-sized For AutoCAD, video production and classes are using the cloud or have plans to implement Create the perfect cloud that deal with spreadsheets, desktop a cloud solution with our offerings across 3 primary areas: Lay the groundwork Private • Public • Hybrid computers are still the right tool for the job. for success with our identified lecture capture Voice and Video or video on-demand as a Readiness Assessment desktops so they have more control monitor and keyboard and to use a key part of their IT strategy over the placement of the monitor mouse. The separate keyboard also are experiencing and keyboard, and to provide stu- makes it easier to teach typing skills, substantial We offer Professional administrative dents with full-sized keyboards with in Plante’s opinion. Development training data growth courses on every topic integrated number pads. Phil Hardin, “I focus on kids with learning dis- planned to invest from mobile devices in professional and document cameras recently retired executive director abilities, but I think teaching typing is to interactive whiteboards. Control your data growth with our Storage development Assessment and a host of storage services, of technology at Rowan-Salisbury so beneficial for any student in today’s including virtualization and consolidation. School System in Salisbury, NC, said, world,” she said. “It is so much harder Read on to learn how we can help you solve your technology challenges “Dealing with spreadsheets and num- to teach them to type when things are with insightful guidance and innovative IT solutions. bers is inefficient on a typical laptop all connected. We want them not to *Source: 2013 Yearbook: Technology Innovation in Education, Center for Digital Education

| APRIL 2014 21 1.800.800.0019 WWW. GOVCONNECTION.COM 1

Untitled-7 1 3/11/14 12:34 PM HARDWARE

look at the keyboard and we want them to look at the when we’re streaming video, especially as it keeps dents at inopportune moments. To resolve the prob- screen. It’s so much more challenging to say don’t look getting more and more into the high definition video,” lem, the school moved the desktop computers from when everything’s all connected, whether it be a tablet said Orbaugh. “To make it a nice experience where the labs into the classrooms and gave each classroom or a laptop.” something’s not stopping, pausing, queueing up a a computer to be used exclusively with the IWB. little bit and then playing and pausing, for us right now Alex Podchaski, director of technology at the school, 4) Wired Connectivity in our environment, the best way to accomplish that is said, “We’ve now created a specific purpose for that Those engineering and graphics classes are demand- with a hardwired connection.” desktop in a classroom, so we can make sure that the ing. Not only do they require powerful processors and smartboard is always connected and always ready, large screen sizes, but they also generate huge files. 5) Dedicated Usage and we manage the software. So we’ve taken the When those files need to be transferred over the net- Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit, NJ, desktop in a very specific direction and have been us- work, wireless connections are often too slow or unre- recently dismantled its computer labs and switched to ing it for very specific, dedicated purposes.” liable. Consequently, many schools prefer to use wired carts of mobile computers that can be used anywhere Ultimately, the decision of whether to use desktops, connections, and while many laptops support wired in the school. But they didn’t get rid of those desktop laptops or tablets is all about practicality. As Orbaugh Ethernet, it’s often more practical to use fixed wired computers. Instead, they repurposed them. put it, “What’s the job that you’re trying to accomplish, connections with desktops because they can stay plugged into the network all the time. John Orbaugh said, “There’s still no substitute Ann Dunkin, chief technology officer atPalo Alto Unified School District (CA) said, “If students are pull- for having that hardwired connection to our network ing big files down off the server to work with, in some when we’re streaming high definition video.” cases you want to put them on the wired network because they really do have some very high data The school has interactive whiteboards in each and what’s the best end-device to help you accom- transfer needs.” classroom, and teachers used to connect their laptops plish that work?” In some cases, a desktop computer Another common reason why some schools are to the IWBs to display materials to classes. But that may still be the best solution. sticking with desktops for wired network connectivity solution wasn’t always ideal: Sometimes a teacher is video streaming. “For us, there’s still no substitute would forget to close her e-mail application before Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British for having that hardwired connection to our network class and e-mail alerts would pop up in front of stu- Columbia.

22 | APRIL 2014 NEXT: Partnerships that help STEM take root STEM Bridget McCrea

Helping STEM Take Root Private and public sector groups are joining the effort to steer students toward tech education and careers.

t has been nearly five years since President Junior Achievement, Microsoft, Obama launched Educate to Innovate, an effort Girls Inc. and Discovery Education to push American students from the middle to the have rolled out ongoing and one- top of the heap in science and math achieve- time events focused on stoking ment. Through this initiative, the federal government, interest in STEM. The Siemens “We companies and nonprofits have moved into the K-12 Can Change the World” Challenge, STEM arena in an attempt to broaden the nation’s for example, encourages K-12 stu- tech-minded talent pool. dents to develop and share envi- The goals of these groups go beyond just ensur- ronmental solutions. Developed in ing that today’s kids are exposed to STEM subjects in conjunction with Discovery Educa- school. They’re also helping students select careers in tion, the effort has attracted more growing industries that pay well. According to a recent than 80,000 participants, who are Mashable article, “The 10 Fastest-Growing Job Titles using scientific investigation and Are All in Tech,” job-matching service TheLadders says Web-based curriculum tools to find

that the fastest-growing jobs (which include DevOps solutions to local environmental shutterstock.com engineer, iOS developer, data scientist and staff ac- issues and take on global energy countant) require “deep educational qualifications and challenges. specific skills in the areas of science, technology, engi- Discovery Education has also neering and mathematics.” worked with Girls Inc. to make STEM resources more than those employed in non-STEM fields, yet women To help students get started on the path to these op- available to girls. According to Girls Inc., women em- represent only a quarter of all workers in STEM-related portunities, organizations like Siemens Foundation, ployed in STEM fields earn on average 33 percent more jobs. In September 2013, the two organizations

23 | APRIL 2014 STEM

provided STEM-related professional you how many kids leave here say- development opportunities to edu- ing that they had no idea science and cators and mentors and introduced math were this much fun.” a series of standards-aligned STEM That “fun” component plays an im- curricula designed around the National portant role in JA’s STEM efforts, ac- January 20–23, 2015 ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER ORLANDO, FL “Kids had no idea science and math were this much fun,” said Becky Harding.

Mark your calendars and plan to Academy of Engineering’s grand engi- cording to Harding, whose team tries join your peers and colleagues at FETC 2015. FETC is the content-rich neering challenges. to infuse as much enjoyment as pos- international conference that brings sible into the center’s activities and together education and technology leaders to exchange techniques Turning Fun Into a Career events. Giving students projects that and strategies for teaching and learning success. Fuel your Junior Achievement of Utah is involved actually relate to the real world — inspiration for innovative teaching, with a number of STEM-related initia- such as building a model of a bridge and join the growing FETC CALL FOR SPEAKERS community to connect, collaborate, NOW OPEN! tives. Its JA City Career Exploration and then testing it to see how much create and improve teaching and learning in the 21st century! CLICK HERE for complete information Center offers in-class programs that weight it can hold — helps build on submission guidelines and access to the electronic application form. prepare students for future jobs in confidence levels and breaks down STEM by teaching problem-solving historical barriers and perceptions skills, creativity and “thinking outside that may have kept kids from explor- Deadline for submissions is of the box,” said Becky Harding, direc- ing STEM careers. Friday, June 6, 2014 tor of the center. Four-hour science “We’re supplementing what they’re camps, for example, give K-12 stu- learning in the classroom without any VIDEO:dents Caption... hands-on lessons in subjects huge risk on their part,” said Harding, INNOVATION RADIATES FROM FETC that they may have typically shied who recently observed an apprehen- away from. Harding said, “I can’t tell sive 9-year-old taking apart a PRODUCED BY 24 | APRIL 2014

Untitled-11 1 3/17/14 4:21 PM STEM

computer and putting it back together again without and careers, Microsoft has launched an initiative called female STEM graduates is unbelievably low,” he said. much trouble. “There’s a student who isn’t going to be Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS), To help boost those numbers, Microsoft partners with afraid of technology.” which places computer scientists in high school class- groups like the Society of Women Engineers and runs Linda McCracken, president and CEO of Junior rooms across the country, either in person or virtu- programs like DigiGirlz, which gives high school girls Achievement of Northern California in Walnut Creek, ally using Lync. The company also sponsors summer the opportunity to learn about careers in technology, said that the organization’s own research shows that in camps designed to grow girls’ interest in STEM-related connect with Microsoft employees, and participate in 2013, 46 percent of students were interested in STEM careers and supports Code.org’s Hour of Code pro- hands-on computer and technology workshops. careers — a 15 percent decrease from 2012. In most gram, which encourages kids to spend an hour of their According to Espinosa, Microsoft is also working to cases, she says confusion over exactly what a STEM time learning how to write code. increase the amount of computer science taught in career is can impact a student’s interest level. Sid Espinosa, director of corporate citizenship at high school. Currently, Espinosa said, just 5 percent of “They need to understand their own roles in society Microsoft Silicon Valley, said that the company’s focus students have access to these classes. “Some of the and where their job opportunities are,” said McCrack- on STEM goes beyond promoting careers in computer wealthier schools offer computer science as an elec- en, whose organization has created entry-level math science. “We want to make sure students get the edu- tive, but it rarely counts toward graduation require- classes to teach young children basic financial prac- cation they need to get into the fastest-growing jobs, ments,” he explained, noting that Microsoft has been tices; middle school programs that encourage kids to which are all STEM-related and computer-focused in working to change that at a policy level without impact- explore prospective workplaces; and high school “job some way,” said Espinosa, who also pointed out that ing current graduation requirements for math. shadow” initiatives that give students a chance to in- the U.S. continues to fall short in this area. “The bottom To other groups looking to help promote STEM across teract with current employees. “Many of the shadowing line is that we are not doing a good job of prepping our the country, Espinosa said that tackling the problem opportunities are prioritized to STEM companies,” said youth for the jobs of the future. As a technology firm, with little steps in the right direction is the best ap- McCracken, “with the goal of exposing students to one we’re highly concerned about that.” proach. “There are no quick fixes to these issues, so it’s of the most demanding and rewarding career paths in And, true to the stereotype, tech continues to be best to just get started,” he said. “Talk to other orga- today’s economy.” something of a boys’ club. According to Espinosa, a nizations, learn what’s going on at the local and state high percentage of female students lose interest in level, and find a way to get involved.” Planting the Seeds of STEM math and science in middle school. By high school, With a vested interest in helping to boost the number of most lack any interest in such subjects. “That number Bridget McCrea is a business and technology writer in students who take an early interest in STEM education continues to dwindle in college, where the number of Clearwater, FL.

25 | APRIL 2014 Untitled-1 1 3/7/14 10:58 AM thejournal.com April 2014 : vol. 41 : no. 4 ADVERTISER/URLs PAGE SALES CONTACT INFORMATION

Acer ...... 2 CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER Wendy LaDuke exploremorewithacer.com Editorial Staff P (949) 265-1596 C (714) 743-4011 Editor in Chief Christopher Piehler CDW-G ...... 5 [email protected] Executive Producer David Nagel cdwg.com/commoncore Managing Editor Joshua Bolkan WEST COAST SALES DIRECTOR Online/Custom Content Editor Kanoe Namahoe FETC 2015 ...... 24 Mark D. Buchholz fetc.org Senior Contributing Editors C (714) 504-4015 [email protected] Linda Briggs, Dian Schaffhauser, Matt Villano Full Compass Systems...... 15 Contributors fullcompass.com Bridget McCrea, Leila Meyer, Stephen Noonoo, EASTERN REGION SALES MANAGER M.F. Harmon Greg Thompson, John K. Waters GovConnection ...... 21 shutterstock.com P (207) 883-2477 govconnection.com Art Staff C (207) 650-6981 [email protected] Creative Director Jeff Langkau Instructure ...... 6 Graphic Designer Erin Horlacher instructure.com/technology SENIOR SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Production Staff Jean Dellarobba Director, Print and Online David Seymour NetSupport ...... 13 P (949) 265-1568 Production netsupportschool.com [email protected] Production Coordinator Anna Lyn Bayaua Quakertown Community School District (PA) ...... 3 Knewton...... 14-15 Raymore-Peculiar School District (MO) ...... 19 TheLadders ...... 23 THE Journal Subscription ...... 26 SALES DIRECTOR, Lego...... 8 thejournal.com/subscription Rowan-Salisbury School System (NC) ...... 3, 21 PUBLIC SECTOR EVENTS South Woods Elementary School (FL) ...... 3 Macmillan Education ...... 14 Patrick Gallagher St. John’s County School District (FL) ...... 3 Mashable ...... 23 C (617) 512-6656 President James Causey SCHOOL INDEX Tyler Independent School District (TX) ...... 20, 22 McGraw-Hill Education ...... 7, 14 [email protected] Chief Content Officer Anne Armstrong Microsoft ...... 14, 23, 25 Chief Revenue Officer Wendy LaDuke Albemarle County Public Schools (VA) ...... 9 COMPANY INDEX Ruckus Wireless ...... 7 MEDIA KITS Chief Marketing Officer Carmel McDonagh Cardigan Mountain School (NH) ...... 6 Siemens...... 23 Direct your media kit Carson City School District (NV) ...... 19 Adobe ...... 7 Smart Sparrow ...... 15 requests to Emily Jacobs, (703) 876- Charlottesville City Schools (VA) ...... 10-11 Best Buy ...... 5 Sookasa...... 7 5052 (phone), [email protected] Chico Unified School District (CA) ...... 20 Casio ...... 7 STEM Fuse ...... 5 REPRINTS President & Eagle Hill Southport (CT) ...... 21 CCKF ...... 14 Triumph Learning ...... 14 Chief Executive Officer Neal Vitale For reprints, posters, plaques, and Senior Vice President Henderson County Schools (KY) ...... 18 CogBooks ...... 14 Twitter ...... 8, 10 permissions, go to 1105reprints.com. & Chief Financial Officer Richard Vitale Lamplighter School (TX)...... 6 Discovery Education ...... 23 Vernier ...... 5 Executive Vice President Michael J. Valenti North Penn School District (PA) ...... 8 Education Growth Advisors ...... 13, 16 Xirrus ...... 4 LIST RENTALS This publication’s subscriber list, as well as Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child (NJ) ...... 22 Google ...... 4, 11 This index is provided as a service. The publisher Vice President, other lists from 1105 Media, Inc., is available Finance & Administration Christopher M. Coates assumes no liability for errors or omissions. Palo Alto Unified School District (CA) ...... 3, 22 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt...... 14-15 for rental. For more information, please contact Vice President, Information Technology our list manager, Merit Direct: (914) 368-1000 & Application Development Erik A. Lindgren (phone); [email protected]; REACHING THE STAFF THE Journal (ISSN 1553-7544) is published monthly by 1105 Media, Inc., 9201 Oakdale Avenue, Ste. 101, Vice President, meritdirect.com/1105. Event Operations David F. Myers Staff may be reached via e-mail, telephone, Chatsworth, CA 91311. Complimentary subscriptions are sent to qualifying subscribers. Subscription fax, or mail. A list of editors and their complete inquiries, print back issue requests, and address changes: Mail to: THE Journal, P.O. Box 2166, Skokie, IL contact information is also available online at 60076-7866; e-mail [email protected] or call 866-293-3194 for US & Canada, (847) 763-9560 SUBSCRIPTIONS Chairman of the Board Jeffrey S. Klein thejournal.com. for International; fax (847) 763-9564. For questions on subscriptions or As a subscriber of an 1105 Media, Inc. Education Group publication, you’ll periodically receive information about circulation, contact Annette Levee, E-mail: To e-mail any member of the staff, related products and services. To view our privacy policy for more information, visit: 1105media.com/privacy.html (512) 301-2632 (phone); (512) 301-3361 please use the following form: (fax); [email protected] FirstinitialLastname @1105media.com. © Copyright 2014 by 1105 Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Electronic sharing of individual pages or single issues of an edition by subscribers is permitted on a limited basis. Institutions that wish provide institution- Corporate Office wide access to academic users for research purposes only must e-mail [email protected]. For all other uses, submit your request at 1105reprints.com. (weekdays 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. PST) Telephone (818) 814-5200; The information in this magazine has not undergone any formal testing by 1105 Media, Inc., and is distribut- fax (818) 936-0496 ed without any warranty expressed or implied. Implementation or use of any information contained herein is 9201 Oakdale Ave., Suite 101 the reader’s sole responsibility. While the information has been reviewed for accuracy, there is no guarantee that the same or similar results may be achieved in all environments. Technical inaccuracies may result from Chatsworth, CA 91311 printing errors and/or new developments in the industry. 27 | APRIL 2014