The iPad takeover of public education is not just confined to the mainstream classroom: Special needs educators, too, are finding that iPads can be a vital tool to support independence. What sets the iPad apart from other devices is the simple and visually robust user interface that can be used by almost everyone. It is also a highly customizable…

At the end of the 2010-2011 school year, San Diego Unified School District, had 10,000 iPads in use and was set to add 18,000 more the next semester. Teachers and students were enthusiastic about using the devices yet the district faced a serious problem: Teachers were reporting to the instructional tech team that using Apple Configurator and…

At best, insurance is a crucial investment that leads to peace of mind after large educational technology expenditures. If something goes wrong, the insurer pays the claim. At worst, insurance premiums siphon money from school budgets while lining the pockets of distant company executives. John Connolly, director of technology at Consolidated High…

In education, artificial intelligence (AI) has not made much headway. In the one area where it would seem poised to lend the most benefit--assessment--the reliance on standardized tests, intensified by the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which holds schools accountable for whether students pass statewide exams, precludes its use.…

The Jurupa Unified School District in Southern California recently partnered with Microsoft, Dell and the Zone Integration Group for the implementation of a School Interoperability Framework (SIF) database repository model throughout the district (Magner 2002). A two-week project--the Integrated District Education Applications System, better known…

A lunch-time discussion among CELT (Center for Education Leadership and Technology) Corporation staff about how to positively impact the 2004 presidential campaign quickly evolved into a vision for bringing together top executive-level practitioners in education for a national summit on "Leadership, Learning and Technology for the 21st Century."…

Much of the focus for education technology through the '90s was on technology equity as measured by student access to computers. While efforts to improve technology equity and access were met with wide success in the years that followed, the focus of education technology is now shifting away from such issues as new themes have started to emerge.…

The frequency and form of computing for children are still open to definition at the classroom level. There are three major classifications of general-purpose computers to consider: desktops, laptops and handhelds (PDAs). However, despite the final commercial realization of a "computer" teachers should consider the physiological and cognitive…

In an effort to meet local, state, and federal demands for education reform, school leaders are scrambling to identify effective strategies for delivering and reporting on technology professional development and how it impacts school reform. School leaders nationwide are critically evaluating their return on investment as it relates to technology…

Information security management consists of identifying an organization's electronic informational assets, as well as the planning and programs that must be carried out to ensure its continued availability, confidentiality and integrity. Whether the organization is a commercial enterprise, governmental agency or educational institution, these…

With the advent of networked computers and Internet technology, computer-based instruction has been widely used in language classrooms throughout the United States. Computer technologies have dramatically changed the way people gather information, conduct research and communicate with others worldwide. Considering the tremendous startup expenses,…

March 2005 was the deadliest month for U.S. school shootings since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. This time, the tragedy struck at a Minnesota high school when a teenager shot and killed nine people, including a security guard, a teacher and five students, before taking his own life--once again escalating American concerns…

Driven by budgetary and accountability pressures, K-12 education decision-makers have increased their demand for evidence of effectiveness and a return on their investment. The scientifically based research (SBR) provisions in No Child Left Behind (NCLB), while somewhat amorphous in meaning, have nonetheless served as a catalyst for educators…

This article presents the executive summary of a report produced by the Center for Digital Education. Investments in digital technologies have helped community colleges across America prepare for the needs and expectations of "millenials," the name given to a generation of 60 million people born between 1979 and 1994, according to the Center for…

In this article, the author discusses that emerging devices, tools, media and virtual environments offer opportunities for creating new types of learning communities for students and teachers. Examples of learning communities include a national mix of kids working together to create an online encyclopedia about Harry Potter's fictional world, or…