A proposal expected to be discussed during the 2012 Alabama legislative session is one that, if passed, would put 21st century technology in the hands of all high school students in Alabama.

Sen. Gerald Dial (R-Lineville) and Rep. Jim McClendon (R-Springville) announced in December their plan to propose the “Alabama Ahead Act” in the legislative session, which convenes Feb. 7. The proposal suggests purchasing pen-enabled electronic tablets for each student in grades 9-12. The tablets would allow students to use digital copies of textbooks instead of the traditional printed copies.

“Some will ask, ‘How can we afford to do this?’ My answer is, ‘How can we afford not to,’” McClendon said. “If our students are going to compete in a 21st century job market, they need 21st century tools.”
(more…)

When the 2011-12 school year began, students in about 600 districts nationwide returned with a new piece of tech: their own personal Apple iPad. Since the iPad launched last year, some schools have replaced textbooks with E-books. Programs in two thirds of the 600 districts are new for this year; others started these “one-to-one” programs, in which schools provide one iPad for each student, soon after Apple released the tablet in April, 2010.

(more…)

In 2005, Talbot County Schools, located on Maryland’s eastern shore, launched an innovative initiative that provided a new laptop computer to each ninth grade student for use at school and at home. This video documents the initiative’s evolution into an example of systemic change within the school system that has resulted in significant positive outcomes for students, families, teachers, administrators and the community. Superintendent Karen B. Salmon, school administrators and teachers involved discuss the project’s philosophy, goals, and migration from drill and practice instruction to experiential learning. Watch video.

UPDATE: CodeAcademy has launched CodeYear to encourage people to learn computer programming skills as a New Year’s resolution. Nearly 300,000 have signed up so far, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced via Twitter, “My New Year’s resolution is to learn to code with Codecademy in 2012! Join me.” Co-founder Zach Sims envisions CodeYear as “the beginning of an initiative,” noting that in an increasingly technical world, programming skills are becoming a sought-after asset by employers, and even basic-level skills can make the difference between two résumés in the competitive job market.

As society grows increasingly digital, being conversant in code—the language that makes websites, games and apps run—is quickly becoming the new literacy of our time. Columbia University students Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinsky believe that using a computer is the equivalent of knowing how to read, and knowing how to program for a computer equates to the ability to write. Their start up company, CodeAcademy is a free, easy, interactive and fun way to learn how to code with friends, while tracking and sharing personal progress. The site has attracted close to 1 million users and $2.5 million in funding from tech investors. In this video interview Zach and Ryan discuss what it takes to launch a company with the huge vision of teaching the world how to code.

 In just the past couple of years, Salman Khan has built a huge following for the Khan Academy. He’s created more than 2,700 free educational videos that have been viewed tens of millions of times over. In the very foreseeable future, teachers will be able to upload their own videos to the Khan Academy website, but also be able to create their own “knowledge maps” or repositories of content for their classes, using videos – within or outside of the Khan Academy – and all of Khan’s analytics, and reporting tools, in order to customize their own curricula. (more…)

Ben Johnson is a former administrator and superintendent of Natalia Independent School District in Natalia, Texas where he helped bring about major improvements in student learning.

If I had thirty iPads in my class, what would I do with them? How would I use them to help my students learn better and help me teach better? (more…)

The Consortium for Digital Learning had a significant presence at this year’s AASB Annual Conference. Select keynotes speakers and other presenters were recorded and can be viewed HERE thanks to The Chariot Group and GCI. Included are presentations from the Experienced Board Members Academy by Joe Morelock, Director of Technology and Innovation at Canby School District in Canby, Oregon, and Dr. Michael Gielniak, Director of One-to-One Institute in Detroit, Michigan. (more…)

A Stony River student participates in the "iPads4Literacy" project

In an effort to improve student achievement and prepare students with skills ready for post-secondary education, the House District 6 “iPad4Literacy” project was initiated by Rep. Alan Dick. The Association of Alaska School Board’s Consortium for Digital Learning serves in the capacity of program design, program administration and school district liaison for the project. The target population for the project are elementary school children in classroom groupings containing 3rd grade (ages 7-12) within the boundaries of HD 6. Nine school districts, approximately 500 students and 50 teachers in 40 schools are now participating in the project. iPads were rolled out to students in the month of October. The goals of the project are to use technology to improve student achievement in the areas of reading and math literacy and fluency. (more…)