Tech Giants Offer Help to Schools Seeking Stimulus Money

Tech Giants Offer Help to Schools Seeking Stimulus Money
Anthony Salcito understands the economic challenges K–12 schools face today. That's why the general manager of U.S. education for Microsoft says the $115 billion in federal stimulus money earmarked for education has spurred the tech giant into action. “We’re focused on how we can partner with schools on using these funds,” says Salcito. “We can help articulate the roadmap and connect the dots.”

Other tech firms, including Apple, have also begun contacting schools, with some of them offering to set up seminars and webcasts to walk educators through the process of how to capture some of the money—and, of course, suggest ways to use it. more » » »

A Vision of Students today - a Michael Wesch update

What went wrong?


How did institutions designed for learning become so widely hated by people who love learning?


The video seemed to represent what so many were already feeling, and it became the focal point for many theories. While some simply blamed the problems on the students themselves, others recognized a broader pattern. Most blamed technology, though for very different reasons. Some simply suggested that new technologies are too distracting and superficial and that they should be banned from the classroom. Others suggested that students are now “wired” differently. Created in the image of these technologies, luddites imagine students to be distracted and superficial while techno-optimists see a new generation of hyper-thinkers bored with old school ways.

10 Digital Writing Opportunities You Probably Know and 10 You Probably Don’t

http://tbarrett.edublogs.org/2008/12/12/10-digital-writing-opportunities-you-probably-know-and-10-you-probably-dont/

ways that technology could support the process of writing and drive the eventual outcomes in the classroom - interesting reading and some tools

A Vision of Students Today

Converged Wireless

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=7155

Two technology trends that have been taking place separately in K-12 and higher-education institutions across the country are now beginning to come together: (1) the proliferation of wireless networks, and (2) the convergence of voice, video, and data on a single network infrastructure.... Full Story

Virtual staffroom

: conversations with leading teachers about technology in the classroom

http://www.virtualstaffroom.net/wordpress/

Virtual Staffroom is run as a community podcasting project by Chris Betcher. The site provides educators of young people with the opportunity to engage in conversation and dialogue which explores the impacts that new technologies will have on classrooms. By providing a communication channel for leading teachers to voice their ideas about 21st century classrooms, it hopes to enable others to tap into that collective wisdom and make the classrooms of tomorrow the best possible experiences for our students.

Embracing Technology in the Classroom: One Professor's Story

By Chris Procello

Laurel Amtower, professor of English and comparative literature, was becoming concerned about how to reach her students. Each semester her classes became larger, and, correspondingly, students were banking on their anonymity. Class attendance had become more sporadic and a good portion of her students sat in the back of her classes, not engaged. Assigned papers were seen as hurdles where students saw no connection between what they were being asked to do and what skills they are supposed to gain as a result of the class.

Read on ...