Reinventing Curriculum | Blog

Here you'll find analysis and views on technology, policy and curriculum in elementary and secondary education by two outspoken technology advocates, Elliot Soloway and Cathie Norris. Reinventing Curriculum is published twice per month. Below you will also find the archive for Elliot and Cathie's previous blog, Being Mobile.


'Mobile-First' Is Everywhere — Except in K-12

The biggest technology companies in the world are racing to position themselves as “mobile-first" because people are using mobile devices all the time, everywhere. Going mobile-first is in — except in K-12 education.

A New, Free App Helps Students Explore Social Learning

The latest, free app in the Co.llaboration Suite of collabrified apps, Co.Xplore supports students in learning with each other by sharing the photos they take on their mobile devices.

The Missing — But Critical — Educational App

With zillions of apps in Apple's App Store and the Google Play store, how could there be an educational app that is not there? As you will read in this week’s blog post, there is an app that needs to be built — an app that we built for the Palm Pilot and PocketPC 10 years ago — that needs to be resurrected now!

“Why Should I Change the Way I Teach?”

Singapore’s Ministry of Education provides a clear answer to the question raised by a third-grade Singaporean science teacher: It’s no longer about preparing children for the Industrial Age. It's about preparing children for the Age of Knowledge Work. Okay, American education: Time to enter the 21st century!

App Security: Yet One More Thing Teachers Are Being Held Accountable For

As documented on the front page of the New York Times, teachers are being asked to make decisions about the data privacy and security aspects of the apps they bring into their classrooms. With the current district/school policies, it is only a matter of time before a parent will sue a teacher for allowing a child’s data to be published on the Internet. Something is wrong here!!

The 3 Educational Benefits for Students Collaborating Synchronously

In this post we first describe, based on research, what a productive (synchronous) collaborative interaction is, and then we identify the three benefits to the students from engaging in a productive collaborative interaction.

Why Has Technology Failed To Substantially Improve Student Achievement?

Using the “productivity paradox” from the business world, we can understand why student achievement has not benefitted from technology use.

The 11 Barriers to Technology Adoption

Based on more than 30 years of working with schools in the U.S. and our recent 7 years working with schools in Singapore, we have come up with a list of 11 barriers that need to be addressed if technology is going to have an impact beyond the isolated classroom.

Do Low-Achievers Benefit More from Technology?

In this week’s blog post, we continue with our “Learnings from Singapore, Implications for Us” theme and describe some empirical data that provocatively support the conjecture that technology can, in fact, give a leg up to children who have trouble learning.

A Checklist for Doing Classroom-Based Ed Tech Research (Part 1)

This week’s blog post provides educators and researchers with information on how to set up classroom-based educational technology research. It’s not for the faint of heart, but progress won’t happen without it!

Being Mobile | Podcast

The Being Mobile podcast series features Elliot Soloway and Cathie Norris at their outspoken best, having lively conversations about a different mobile technology topic each month.

  • Bringing Down Barriers to Mobilism

    Fresh from UNESCO Mobile Week in Paris, Elliot and Cathie report on how students in developing countries are using feature phones for education. April 2013; File Type: WMA; Size: 2,919 KB Length: 04:00 Listen Now

  • One Tablet Per Child?

    Falling prices for computers and data plans could have a major impact on K-12, but is your infrastructure ready? March 2013; File Type: WMA; Size: 2,039 KB; Length: 02:48 Listen Now

  • What Does "Successful" Mean?

    When it comes to using mobile devices in class, Elliot and Cathie caution against mistaking engagement for achievement. February 2013; File Type: WMA; Size: 2,757 KB; Length: 03:47 Listen Now

  • Welcome to the Podcast

    Mobilists Elliot and Cathie introduce their podcast and explain why mobile technologies are becoming an inescapable part of the classroom. January 2013; File Type: M4A; Size: 7,246 KB; Length: 03:39 Listen Now