Youth Technology News

In Part 9, the final post of her elementary student SEL series, filmmaker Randy Taran talks about what it means when students start using their gifts and passions to make a difference.

The percentage of U.S. students living in poverty jumped by 40 percent in the last decade, and total funding for K-12 education dropped by $1 billion from 2008-09 to 2009-10. Yet, despite these challenges, high school graduation rates are slowly climbing—and more students are completing math and science courses, according to the latest figures from the National Center on Education Statistics.

Released May 23, “The Condition of Education 2013”—the latest in an annual series of reports from NCES, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education—is chock full of valuable statistics for policy makers and education leaders. Here are seven findings of particular significance for K-12 education.

1. Public school enrollment is projected to increase by 7 percent from 2010-11 to 2021-22.

From school years 2010-11 through 2021-22, public elementary and secondary school enrollment is projected to increase by 7 percent overall, from 49.5 to 53.1 million students. But changes will vary widely across states, ranging from a projected increase of 22 percent in Alaska to a decrease of 15 percent in the District of Columbia.

In grades preK-8, enrollment is projected to increase by more than 20 percent in Alaska, Nevada, Arizona, and Washington but decrease by 11 and 13 percent, respectively, in the District of Columbia and West Virginia. Enrollment in grades 9-12 is expected to increase by more than 20 percent in Texas, while enrollment in these grades in the District of Columbia is projected to decrease by 20 percent or more.

2. The percentage of students living in poverty has risen sharply.

The percentage of students living in poverty in the United States rose sharply in the last decade, from 15 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2011, according to NCES data. This rise comes after a decade in which the percentage of students living in poverty had declined, from 17 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2000.

The percentage of U.S. students living in poverty jumped by 40 percent in the last decade, and total funding for K-12 education dropped by $1 billion from 2008-09 to 2009-10. Yet, despite these challenges, high school graduation rates are slowly climbing—and more students are completing math and science courses, according to the latest figures from the National Center on Education Statistics.

Released May 23, “The Condition of Education 2013”—the latest in an annual series of reports from NCES, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education—is chock full of valuable statistics for policy makers and education leaders. Here are seven findings of particular significance for K-12 education.

1. Public school enrollment is projected to increase by 7 percent from 2010-11 to 2021-22.

From school years 2010-11 through 2021-22, public elementary and secondary school enrollment is projected to increase by 7 percent overall, from 49.5 to 53.1 million students. But changes will vary widely across states, ranging from a projected increase of 22 percent in Alaska to a decrease of 15 percent in the District of Columbia.

In grades preK-8, enrollment is projected to increase by more than 20 percent in Alaska, Nevada, Arizona, and Washington but decrease by 11 and 13 percent, respectively, in the District of Columbia and West Virginia. Enrollment in grades 9-12 is expected to increase by more than 20 percent in Texas, while enrollment in these grades in the District of Columbia is projected to decrease by 20 percent or more.

2. The percentage of students living in poverty has risen sharply.

The percentage of students living in poverty in the United States rose sharply in the last decade, from 15 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2011, according to NCES data. This rise comes after a decade in which the percentage of students living in poverty had declined, from 17 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2000.

Teacher Albert Roberts, while generally supportive of BYOD programs, looks at potential problems with this approach and offers a few ways to address them.

These five schools and districts are modeling ed-tech success.

Many schools have learning technologies and ed-tech tools. But what sets exemplary schools apart is how they use those technologies.

Below are five schools, listed in alphabetical order, that are taking teaching and learning to the next level by leveraging ed-tech and learning technologies to boost student engagement and staff productivity. An ed-tech specialist or administrator from each school describes the school’s accomplishments.

1. Adrian Public Schools, Michigan
Christopher J. Timmis, Superintendent

The district is implementing a 1:1 iPad initiative at the high school that includes the creation of a custom app, Virtual Locker. We use iPads, iPod Touches, TI-Nspires, SMART Boards, document cameras, and mobile tablet devices to improve our ability to deliver instruction under the Adrian Instructional Model. In many grade levels, we use blended learning models with Waterford and SuccessMaker. In grades 5-8, every student is part of Project Lead the Way, which blends technology with project-based engineering work. We operate a virtual school that uses e2020 and GradPoint. We are also one of only four districts in the world (one of two in the U.S.) participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Open World Schools Pilot, offering online courses to any student, anywhere in the world, regardless of whether or not they attend an IB school.

(Next page: Four more ed-tech leaders)

These five schools and districts are modeling ed-tech success.

Many schools have learning technologies and ed-tech tools. But what sets exemplary schools apart is how they use those technologies.

Below are five schools, listed in alphabetical order, that are taking teaching and learning to the next level by leveraging ed-tech and learning technologies to boost student engagement and staff productivity. An ed-tech specialist or administrator from each school describes the school’s accomplishments.

1. Adrian Public Schools, Michigan
Christopher J. Timmis, Superintendent

The district is implementing a 1:1 iPad initiative at the high school that includes the creation of a custom app, Virtual Locker. We use iPads, iPod Touches, TI-Nspires, SMART Boards, document cameras, and mobile tablet devices to improve our ability to deliver instruction under the Adrian Instructional Model. In many grade levels, we use blended learning models with Waterford and SuccessMaker. In grades 5-8, every student is part of Project Lead the Way, which blends technology with project-based engineering work. We operate a virtual school that uses e2020 and GradPoint. We are also one of only four districts in the world (one of two in the U.S.) participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Open World Schools Pilot, offering online courses to any student, anywhere in the world, regardless of whether or not they attend an IB school.

(Next page: Four more ed-tech leaders)

These five schools and districts are modeling ed-tech success.

Many schools have learning technologies and ed-tech tools. But what sets exemplary schools apart is how they use those technologies.

Below are five schools, listed in alphabetical order, that are taking teaching and learning to the next level by leveraging ed-tech and learning technologies to boost student engagement and staff productivity. An ed-tech specialist or administrator from each school describes the school’s accomplishments.

1. Adrian Public Schools, Michigan
Christopher J. Timmis, Superintendent

The district is implementing a 1:1 iPad initiative at the high school that includes the creation of a custom app, Virtual Locker. We use iPads, iPod Touches, TI-Nspires, SMART Boards, document cameras, and mobile tablet devices to improve our ability to deliver instruction under the Adrian Instructional Model. In many grade levels, we use blended learning models with Waterford and SuccessMaker. In grades 5-8, every student is part of Project Lead the Way, which blends technology with project-based engineering work. We operate a virtual school that uses e2020 and GradPoint. We are also one of only four districts in the world (one of two in the U.S.) participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Open World Schools Pilot, offering online courses to any student, anywhere in the world, regardless of whether or not they attend an IB school.

(Next page: Four more ed-tech leaders)

In April, NAMAC and Women Make Movies partnered to host a webinar to help independent filmmakers successfully navigate the film festival circuit.

In this blog post, one of the attendees, filmmaker Magali Pettier, discusses what she learned in the webinar and how that learning will affect the distribution of her company's first UK indie feature documentary, Addicted to Sheep.

Video of the webinar, including attendees' questions, and follow-up resources can still be purchased as a package for $15. Contact Aggie Ebrahimi Bazaz for more information at aggie [at] namac.org.

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Edutopia blogger Mark Phillips suggests building engaging curriculum around not just what interests students, but around what concerns them.

Google is enabling a more naturally spoken question-and-answer interface to its search service for people with a new version of Chrome, CNET reports. Google demonstrated conversational search at Google I/O a week ago, a style of search designed to be more like natural human speech than the technically constructed search queries that people often use today to retrieve information from a search engine…

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Craig Haas, Special Ed and Student Services Coordinator at Edwards Middle School, shares how his team uses expanded learning time to provide relevant academic support to each individual student while breaking down stigmas between children of different abilities.