THE Journal — Policy/Research
Study: Top Web Application Vulnerabilities Remain Unfixed
Organizations still aren't doing enough to protect their data from Web application vulnerabilities, according to a study released Tuesday by security firm Cenzic. The study, Application Security Trends Report, Q1 2008, identified "1,409 unique published vulnerabilities for the first quarter of 2008, with Web technology vulnerabilities comprising 70 percent of the vulnerability volume...."
(5/13/2008)
Study Reveals What Kids Are Reading for School
According to the first study of its kind released in the United States, kids are reading an average of about 26 books per school year. That's the great news. The less than great news is that their volume of reading peaks in second grade, and the level and volume of books that they're reading stagnates from about sixth grade onward, even dropping off in high school.
(5/8/2008)
Report: Half of High School Classes Could Be Online by 2019
Low-cost delivery and tailored learning opportunities could drive up to half of all high school courses online by 2019, according to a report from researchers that's set to appear in the summer issue of Education Next, published out of the Hoover Institution, the public policy research center at Stanford University.
(5/7/2008)
Next-gen WiFi Expected To Be in 99% of North American Campuses by 2013
Although the wireless standard 802.11n is found in less than 3 percent of North American universities currently, it will be available in 99 percent by 2013, according to a new study by ABI Research. According to the research firm, the increases are driven by a variety of needs and demands in both K-12 and higher education.
(5/5/2008)
Report: STEM Gap Widens for Underrepresented Minorities
It probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise to our readers, but research released this month shows an expanding ethnicity gap for Americans pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. A new report from the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) reveals that the number minority students pursuing STEM degrees and careers has flattened out or even declined in recent years.
(5/2/2008)
21st Century Teaching and Learning: Assessing New Knowledge
As technology continues to change and affect how students think and process information, instructors must realize that there is an opportunity now to capture and assess in ways not formerly possible. Research continues to enforce the importance of learning as a process, student engagement, and learning outcomes in the process of learning. Technology does not change this reality, but it can provide new ways to evaluate learning.
(5/1/2008)
Pennsylvania Rolls Out Interactive Technologies to 231 Districts
Technology provider CDW Government reported this week that it's completed implementation of technology programs for some 231 school districts across Pennsylvania as part of the state's Classrooms for the Future program. As part of the initiative, nearly 82,000 laptops and more than 4,000 interactive whiteboards have been deployed in 257 schools over the last two years.
(5/1/2008)
Consolidation Bringing IT Budgets Down in 2008
Information technology executives are focusing on cutting costs rather than investing in technology this quarter, according to a report released this week by research analysts at IDC.
(4/29/2008)
Study: Teens See Disconnect Between Personal and School Writing
Students see a distinction between the writing they do for school and the writing they do in their personal lives. While the vast majority of 12- to 17-year-olds (85 percent) engage in some form of electronic writing--IM, e-mail, blog posts, text messages, etc.--most (60 percent) don't consider this actual writing. That's one of the findings from a study released last week by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools and Colleges.
(4/28/2008)
21st Century Teaching and Learning, Part 1
Cognitive psychologists have told us for some time that people process information differently and that meditative and transmittive technologies have affected thinking and perception, which in turn has affected learning. Therefore, instructors have had to become instructional designers conscious of how technology works and what it can offer to the teaching and learning process. Current mobile technology challenges that design even further as it demands a totally different approach to instructional design and also teaching methodology. It requires a fluidity never before seen and new skills from both teacher and student. In fact, I would argue that while we focus on the skills needed for students in the 21st century, we must discuss more and learn more about the skills required of teachers in the 21st century.
(4/24/2008)
Information Security Set for Explosive Growth
Driven by compliance and public confidence issues, information security is expected to expand dramatically over the next few years, according to new research released by Frost & Sullivan and (ISC)². Worldwide, the number of information security professionals will grow from 1.66 million in 2007 to about 2.7 million in 2012, experiencing a compound annual growth rate of 10 percent.
(4/23/2008)
Florida Bill Strikes Zero Tolerance
A bill filed April 18 in the Florida House of Representatives aims to prevent further harm from zero tolerance policies that have caused children to be expelled and, in some cases, arrested for violating school rules. CS/HB 7087 revises state juvenile justice statutes and provisions and, among other things, strikes all references to zero tolerance in schools and specifies that students should be expelled and referred to law enforcement only for "serious criminal offenses."
(4/21/2008)
Crossroads in Education: Issues for Web 2.0, Social Software, and Digital Tools
We are at a crossroads in educating our youth. Advancements in technology, principally Web 2.0, social software, and digital tools, have challenged what it means to be educated and how we proceed to educate our youth in a culture where innovation and creativity, lifelong learning, personalization, and knowledge from and with the collective vie for a rightful place.
(4/16/2008)
Accountability, Yes. Teaching to the Test, No.
Since the 1950s, standardized test scores have been used to compare and rank schools, districts, states, and now nations, according to Rick Stiggins (2007), founder of the Educational Testing Service's Assessment Training Institute. In a commentary on assessment myths, he posed a question that has probably been discussed since standardized testing was chosen as the large-scale measure of effectiveness of schools: "Are we helping students and teachers with our assessment practices, or contributing to their problems?" (p. 28).
(4/10/2008)
CIOs See Declining Budgets in Q1
Although IT budgets are expected to grow in 2008 overall, about a fourth of CIOs in the United States reported decreases in their budgets in the first quarter of 2008, according to a survey released by Gartner this month and highlighted at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo: Emerging Trends event this week in Las Vegas.
(4/10/2008)
Are Schools Inhibiting 21st Century Learning?
The idea of technology in education is to enhance learning, not limit it. Yet a large portion of students say teachers and school IT departments are doing just that: throwing up barriers to learning with the very technology that's supposed to facilitate it. And teachers, administrators, and parents seem to be largely unaware of this, according to the results of the 2007 Speak Up survey released Tuesday by Project Tomorrow.
(4/8/2008)
More States, Vendors Ally with Partnership for 21st Century Skills
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills recently reported that Iowa has joined its State Leadership Initiative--the seventh state to join to date. The group also told THE Journal that two more states are expected to join up within the next 45 days.
(4/1/2008)
Study: American Public Concerned over State of Science Education
Think of the old Bazooka Joe one-liner: "The food is terrible, and the portions are too small." Grasp that, and you'll have an inkling of attitudes toward science education in the United States, where 44 percent of U.S. adults grade the quality of science education in this country at a "C" level or lower, and 79 percent say there isn't enough attention being given to it. This according to a new survey released by the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, "The State of Science in America," the aim of which was to gauge attitudes of "average" Americans toward science and science education.
(3/26/2008)
A Taste of Web 2.0
In the initial launch of Collaboration 2.0, Dave Nagel (2008) reported that during 2008 educators can look for "a continued trend toward more and more hosted, mashed-up, collaborative tools in education, from assessment platforms to collaborative learning tools (such as blogs and wikis) to online delivery of audio and video to full-blown productivity tools, such as Google Apps for Education and others" (p. 2). Everything on the Web sounds good.
(3/19/2008)
Idaho and Minnesota High Schools Go Virtual
Insight Schools, a company with a network of free, diploma-granting, online public high schools, recently announced virtual campuses for students in Minnesota and Idaho, which will open for the 2008-2009 school year. The service is free for the participants.
(3/18/2008)
K-12 Online Teaching Endorsements: Ohio Department of Education Perspectives
In "K-12 Online Teaching Endorsements: Are They Needed?" (Deubel, 2008), I noted that four states, including Georgia, have endorsement programs for teaching online and suspected that it is only a matter of time for more to follow. A reader responded with concerns. Endorsements might deter current licensed teachers from pursuing teaching online, require some colleges and universities to create new courses for their teacher preparation programs, add thousands of dollars to the expenses for teachers-to-be to take additional coursework, and ultimately impact state departments of education, which might need to create new administrative offices. Of course, this is just one opinion, but the reader raised legitimate issues. There is the flip side to an endorsement movement.
(3/13/2008)
Gates to Congress: Improve Math, Science Education
In testimony before the Committee on Science and Technology at the United States House of Representatives Wednesday morning, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates implored Congress and the President to "act decisively" to ensure that the country maintain its global leadership position in technology innovation. Gates's testimony focused on three key themes: education, research, and immigration.
(3/13/2008)
Institutions Pressure Presidential Candidates for Science Debate
Drexel University, Carnegie Mellon University, Temple University, Lehigh University, Lafayette College, and a number of other institutions of higher education, as well as museums and private companies, have called on the presidential candidates to participate in a science-focused debate on technology, climate change, health policy, and education.
(3/13/2008)
California Superintendent: Parents Have Right To Homeschool
Saying that public schools might not be a good fit for every student in California, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell released a statement this week supporting the rights of parents to homeschool their children, despite the Feb. 28 Second District Court of Appeals ruling to the contrary. The statement comes on the heels of a pledge by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to support homeschooling by fighting against the court ruling either through the courts or through other political means.
(3/13/2008)
Gov. Schwarzenegger Promises Reprieve to California Homeschoolers
In late February, California's Second District Court of Appeals issued a ruling that effectively banned every form of homeschooling in the state--whether coordinated through a public school district, combined with online schooling, or otherwise administered in a way that does not include full-time, in-person instruction from a credentialed teacher. It was a ruling with widespread implications for every homeschooling parent in the state, and one that is now being challenged on two fronts: by homeschool advocates and by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger himself.
(3/10/2008)
