The latest compilation from the US Department of Education (from 2010-2011) reports that about 13 percent of public school enrollment consists of students served by special education programs. That count has pretty much stayed the same for the past 13 years. What is different now is that, as technology pervades all aspects of the classroom,…

In 2008, the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation began the social studies textbook adoption process. Concurrently, the Indiana State Board of Education wrote a memo encouraging schools to look at digital resources; BCSC did not hesitate. This article describes why BCSC chose to move to a digital format at the secondary level, the process…

Launching and sustaining a laptop initiative is an expensive proposition. For that reason, districts often begin with modest pilots or roll out programs incrementally, a grade or two at a time. These days, few, if any, public school districts have budgets to finance full-service 1-to-1 programs. Instead, some seek outside assistance. Private…

In many ways, specialized computer labs are the black holes of IT organizations. Budgets, equipment, employees--even space itself--are sucked in. Given a choice, many IT shops would engage warp drive and escape their gravitational pull forever. While Captain Kirk might have looked to Scotty for a fix to the problem, colleges and universities are…

Government visions of a digital future show little indication of how disabled people, reliant on access technology, will participate. Access technology has the potential to offer independent use of the Internet but many disabled people already face barriers that prevent them having equitable digital experiences. Multiple obstacles include high…

In 2011, "EDUCAUSE" appointed a research panel of IT leaders from nineteen representative member institutions to both identify and prioritize the top IT issues facing their institutions. In two focus group sessions in September and October 2011, the panel members were asked the question: "What is the single-biggest IT-related issue currently…

Information technology (IT) is an essential part of modern education. The roles and contributions of technology to education have been thoroughly documented in academic and professional literature. Despite the benefits, the use of educational technology systems (ETS) also creates a significant impact on the environment, primarily due to energy…

In recent years, information and communication technology (ICT) has become embedded and affected the every aspect of our lives. Rapid development of ICT has changed our language teaching pedagogy at all levels. Teachers, curriculum developers, researchers have been constantly striving to find techniques to use some form of it to both assist and…

Air-traffic controller might be a relaxing second career for anyone who's coordinated IT operations at a large research university. Just ask administrators at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. As at most big universities, IT operations on the academic side are decentralized on a major scale. When a faculty member in one of Michigan's 19…

Making a one-to-one computing program work calls for more than just placing a computer on everyone's desk. It takes a complete transformation of learning and teaching. In this article, the author shares a few lessons she learned on the path to one-to-one success. (Contains 3 online resources.)

As professional, academic and accrediting bodies have periodically reviewed the need for and content of foundational college curricula in information management, a broad-based consensus has emerged as to what is to be covered in the standard management information systems (MIS) course. Within U.S. business schools today, there is little debate…

The explosion of technology and information has resulted in major changes in education in the twenty-first century. School librarians have a vital role to play in efforts to ensure that students are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed and participate in the digital society of the twenty-first century. This role presents an…

School librarians play an important role in developing a technology plan for the school library program that reflects teaching and learning for today's education. The school librarian's leadership in the overall process and the written plan itself can influence future strategies for teaching and learning with technology that can go well…

With the rising popularity of personal mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets, an increasing number of colleges are asking students and teachers to bring their own technology to class. The so-called bring your own device, or BYOD, movement promises easier access to resources such as textbooks and educational services for students, and…

In the corporate world, the "consumerization of IT" is being debated by C-level execs. Will libraries adopt the new bring-your-own-device-to-work policy? In the workplace, there may be room for debate, but in libraries, librarians don't have a choice whether or not to support the devices patrons want to use, at least not if they want to remain…