Hidden Assets

Microsoft’s Web page had an article on the talent shortage that it faces. The article suggests that the company should tap into the “disconnected youth.” It said that the young people are technologically fluent and have potential to excel in an IT career, but they lack formal training. Microsoft is offering grants, programs, training and careers to younger people to help fill the talent gap.

Links:
Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/issues/essays/2007/11-19UnlockingNY.mspx

Computers are they the wave of the future?

Older teachers shy away from them, younger teachers want them. Computers are the wave of the future with endless possibilities. Julie Stephens, high school English teacher at Wilson Classical High School, has three working computers in her classroom for a class size of about 30 students. Richard Marengo, computer and Spanish teacher at Jackie Robinson Academy, has four computers that his class of 20 plus uses for projects. Both schools have computer rooms but the teacher must sign up for the room for that day. Computers in the classroom can have a big affect on student’s opportunity for learning. Can the wave of the future be reality or is it just a dream?

Links:
Jackie Robinson Academy
http://www2.lbusd.k12.ca.us/robinson/homepage.htm

Wilson Classical High School
http://www.lbusd.k12.ca.us/wilson/index.php

New technology to help students in Mathematics

The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) is using new forms of media to students learns. The most recent CD-ROM they made is designed to teach mathematics problem-solving skills to students. The name of the video is called Fraction of the Cost. The seven minute lesson, three middle school students plan to build a skateboard ramp with the money and materials given them. They then have to solve the problem using math skills of converting, calculating percentages, reading plans and working with fractions. The CD contains other models to help students’ strengthen their problem solving skills.

Links:
Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/news/coverStories/new_technology_advances_research.php

Creative games for learning

Center for Children & Technology (CCT) was asked by Global Kids to help them in their innovative curriculum for engaging undeserved youth in developing and disseminating of online games, called Playing 4 Keeps (P4K). The Games are designed to educate the youth around the world on important social issues. “Global Kids will conduct P4K annually as an after-school program, enabling the students involved to publish one web-based game each year,” said Shelley Pasnik on CCT’s Web site. CCT will develop and administer surveys before and after the game.

Links:
Center for Children & Technology
http://cct.edc.org/project_summary.asp?numProjectId=3060

Local school learns about China with technology

Gone are the days when students learned from book.
Students of Anaheim hills are learning about China with a three-minute video clip from Discovery Atlas. The program called KOCE-TV is used to distribute lessons for teachers using different media forms, like video clips from United Streaming, questions with Web sites to find the answers and KOCE provides lesson plans for teachers.The program is a product of Telecommunications of Orange County, a 30-year-old program providing multimedia instructional materials to teachers nationwide.
Technology is making life easier for teachers and students, but at what cost? Is all the visual stimulation a good thing? Does it stifle a students creativity? These questions can only be answered in time.

Link:
Orange County register
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/communities/anaheimhills/article_1547102.php

Running Springs Elementary School
http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/schools/elementary/runningsprings/

KOCE-TV
www.koce.org/

Apple provides free lectures online

The Los Angeles Times wrote a story called, The iPod lecture circuit. The story talked about 28 colleges and universities that provide free lectures online through iTunes and how unofficial students are able to access the lectures. The free lectures online give students the opportunity to brush up on information they missed during class. Technology has made receiving an education much easier. Unofficial students will not earn a degree for listening but do receive the same information that that students receive.

Links:
L.A. Times Story:
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-fi-podclass24nov24,1,2641233.story?coll=la-news-learning&ctrack=1&cset=true

Stanford iTunes:
http://itunes.stanford.edu/

iTunes U:
http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu/

Impact of Education and technology

John Schacter wrote an article called, The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement. He used seven different examples of technology and education intermixing and shared the positive and negative aspects of it. Five of the seven are large scale studies.

The first study is the Kulik's Meta-Analysis Study. "The research technique called meta-analysis to aggregate the finding from more than 500 individual research studies of computer-based instruction," Schacter said. It uses computer-based instructions to help accommodate the needs, interests, proclivities, current knowledge, and learning styles of the student. The software has tutorial, drill and practice, and integrated learning systems.

The results showed that students that used computer-based instructions scored 14% higher than students without computers. It also indicated that students learn more in less time when they receive computer-based instruction. Students like their classes more and develop more positive attitudes when their classes include computer-based instruction. The negative finding said that computers did not have positive effects in every area in which they were studied.


Links:
Milken Family Foundation
www.mff.org

Milken Exchange Web site
www.milkenexchange.org