K-12 Tech Trends :: October 11, 2006
Opinion
Keep the Customer Satisfied
By Geoffrey H. Fletcher
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with a teenager who goes to a school with a 1-to-1 implementation. I have been in schools with 1-to-1, talked to teachers and administrators, and looked at the results of studies done on these schools. I also have read how 1-to-1 implementations are coming under some pressure to show their value. What I haven't seen is an extended conversation with a student, other than extracted comments like, "This is very cool," or "I am really more engaged now, and class is more interesting."
I came away from my talk with the student with more insight than I can convey here. I found out quickly that I was talking to a very sophisticated education consumer. That sophistication goes far beyond the game-playing, IMing, internet-surfing, TV-watching, music-listening activities of the typical teenage multitasker. You'll see how far after reading a sampling of his critiques...
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News Briefs
Viewpoint School Deploys Xirrus Wi-Fi Network for Campuswide Connectivity
Xirrus Inc., a provider of high-capacity, long-range Wi-Fi products that can effectively extend wired network capabilities to wireless without compromise, has deployed its Wi-Fi solution to support the new...
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Capital One, JA Unveil Mobile Financial Literacy Program for Middle School Students
Capital One Financial Corp. and JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement) have teamed up to create the Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park that was unveiled last week in Washington before it heads to Fairfax and Richmond, VA, this fall...
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Thinkronize, ENA Bring Safe Internet Searching to All of Tennessee's K-12 Schools
A recent partnership between Thinkronize, developer of the netTrekker suite of safe educational search products, and Education Networks of America (ENA), a provider of managed network and technology solutions for school systems, has made safe Internet searching a reality for every K-12 student, parent, and educator throughout Tennessee...
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LeapFrog SchoolHouse Teams With Gymboree for School-Readiness Programs
LeapFrog SchoolHouse, the school division of LeapFrog Enterprises Inc., has announced that Gymboree Play & Music, a provider of parent-child play and learning programs, will offer LeapFrog SchoolHouse products...
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By the Numbers
1:1 Computing Grows Six-Fold
A new research study, America’s Digital Schools 2006: A Five-Year Forecast, sponsored by Pearson Education and Discovery Education, found that more than 24 percent of the nation’s school districts are implementing some type of 1:1 computing initiative in at least one grade.
The last major study to touch on this topic was a QED study of the 2003-2004 school year. At that time, only 4 percent of districts reported actively implementing a 1:1 program...
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Show Me the Money
Sealed Air Announces Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors
Sealed Air Corp., the creator of Bubble Wrap brand cushioning, is sponsoring the first-ever Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors. The competition encourages U.S. students in grades 5-8 to demonstrate their imagination and ingenuity by creating an invention that incorporates the use of Bubble Wrap cushioning. Three finalists will win a three-day trip to New York City where the grand-prize winner will be announced on Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, Jan. 29, 2007. In addition, the grand-prize winner will receive a $10,000 savings bond, while the second- and third-place winners will receive $5,000 and $3,000, respectively, in savings bonds. The deadline for entries is Dec. 8, 2006...
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Products & Services
Print-Limit Pro Gets an Upgrade, Adds Support for Mac OS X Servers
The latest version of GenevaLogic’s Print-Limit Pro can be installed on Mac OS X servers. Version 6.2 of the print management solution allows educators to easily and efficiently manage printing across large, multiplatform environments...
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SMART Unveils Online Training Sessions for Mac Users
SMART Technologies Inc. recently announced that all of its free online training sessions are now available to Mac users in North America...
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Coming Up
THE Journal Opportunities
Share Your Best Practices
T.H.E. Journal is currently looking for the following types of articles for future issues and for our eNewsletter, T.H.E. SmartClassroom:
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- Case Studies – have you implemented technology and learned a lot from the experience? If so, share your efforts about what worked -- and what didn't.
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