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K-12 Computing Blueprint News - July 2009

Welcome to the July issue of the K-12 Computing Blueprint newsletter. This newsletter and the K-12 Computing Blueprint site are brought to you by Intel and Tech & Learning magazine. If, for any reason, you do not want to receive this monthly eNewsletter, please visit your custom subscription management page (the link is at the bottom of this email), and feel free to unsubscribe to this mailing.

Editor's Note

Mid-summer greetings from K-12 Computing Blueprint.  We hope you're enjoying some R&R this summer and also finding time to catch up on reading and planning for the fall. We do have some new resources to help you with this endeavor. Check out the new articles on WiMAX, moving beyond textbooks, and low-cost tablets in the classroom. Weigh in about the stimulus and how things are going in your state. And keep up with the latest news about the stimulus, online learning and one-to-one initiatives. 

Infrastructure Revisited

The times they are a changing when it comes to bandwidth and connectivity and the infrastructure section of our web site is changing to reflect that. Learn about WiMAX, which provides entire communities with always-on, high-speed Internet access from school and home, in Intel's new publication on WiMAX in Education. Or follow the links to additional resources related to broadband connectivity. Look for more on WiMAX and broadband in education in the weeks to come.

ARRA Funds for Assessment: Your Opinion

Our Stimulus News Page keeps you up to date on how ARRA funds for education are being spent – as well as the controversies surrounding how they should be spent. Last month we heard from many of you who had strong feelings about one small portion of the stimulus program: the money earmarked for new assessments.  An overwhelming majority of respondents (92.59%) felt that we already had ENOUGH tests and should focus on improving instruction and schools. Comments included:

• It's time we started feeding the pig instead of always weighing the pig. Prime class time is spent preparing for testing instead of just teaching what kids need to know. [Dwight Zirschky]


• The [state-mandated] test has become the 800 pound gorilla that virtually all school districts are coerced to teach to, and with a "dumbing down of the curriculum" and a narrowing of the curriculum, we have been reduced to teaching to the … tests. [D.E. Sizemore]

On the other hand, several of you saw the value in better tests. As Barbara Dunn put it, "It's not an either/or situation. My vote is for less testing, but to come up with a few key assessments that measure progress AND inform instruction. Test smarter, not more."

QUICK POLL: Your Take on the Stimulus

This month we invite you to weigh in again on another Stimulus-related issue causing controversy: how individual states are spending the money available to them. Is yours a state that has moved fast on ARRA money for education? Have your state leaders been reluctant to take the money? Determined to use it in a way that differs from the Obama Administration's view of how it should be used?  HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT THE STIMULUS IN YOUR STATE? Weigh in today.

New Case Studies at Blueprint Web Site

Check out the growing number of success stories and one-to-one profiles on the home page of the K12 Computing Blueprint site. We've just added a profile and links to information about Vail, Arizona's Beyond Textbooks program, a ground-breaking initiative first introduced by Vail CIO Matt Federoff to attendees at Intel's 2008 Visionary Conference and now fully functional at schools throughout the district. Also added this month: a profile of St. Paul Academy and Summit School, an independent K-12 school that has piloted the use of Intel-Powered Classmate PCs with its sixth graders.

Headlines

U.S. Department of Education Reports that Online Learning Enhances Classroom Instruction
The June, 2009, study finds online and "blended" learning to be more effective than face-to-face.

Nebraska High School Outfits Laptops
High school students in Ashland, Nebraska, will move to one-to-one in the fall with HP laptops and lots of extras.

One-to-One with Netbooks in Growing Texas District
The Northwest Independent School District will purchase netbook computers for every student in its two high schools for the 2009-10 school year.

North Carolina Teens "Own the Knowledge" with iPods and Macbooks
With 50 applications and ubiquitous access, iPods add an interesting new twist to the one-to-one equation.

Foundation Offers Structure for Laptop Funding
The wish list for the public schools in Stoughton, MA is one step closer to reality with a foundation to pursue fundraising.

Working Toward a Laptop Vision in Rural Illinois
Middle school students in Roadhouse, IL, might be equipped with laptops by the end of the next school year.

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