K-12 educators do not believe the continued expansion of new technologies into U.S. schools is transforming education. In fact, a new nationally representative survey of 700 teachers conducted by the Education Week Research Center shows that fewer than one-third of America's teachers said ed-tech innovations have changed their beliefs about what…

The massive, systemwide move to remote learning over the past few months created huge frustrations for educators. Those sentiments showed up in the results from surveys conducted by the EdWeek Research Center and in Education Week's reporting. Teacher morale dropped, student engagement was down, and budget cutting plans were already starting. But,…

Lofty ed-tech visions are always tempered by reality. Unexpected problems that arose during a launch of a 1-to-1 computing program and ambitious digital curriculum initiative in Los Angeles led to the dialing back of the effort. Financial, legal, and managerial repercussions continue to swirl in the wake. These problems should not prevent schools…

This special report is the latest installment in an ongoing series about how online education is changing teaching and learning and the development of curricula. It was produced with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This paper contains the following articles: (1) Changing the Role of K-12…

This special report examines how K-12 professional development is taking a more digital and freewheeling approach to educator training. The report--which also features a webinar and online chat--shows how professional development programs are now blending face-to-face and online training, incorporating social networking tools, offering…

The Obama administration urged educators and policymakers last week to embrace a host of digital-learning approaches it says will make K-12 schools better, including putting a computing device in the hands of every student. Guided by an overarching goal set by President Barack Obama to raise national college-completion rates from 40 percent to 60…

The 16 Race to the Top district winners, pushed by $400 million in federal grants that put a premium on personalized learning, are embarking on vastly different makeovers of the classroom experience--from districtwide approaches to a narrower blueprint focused on middle school math. Despite the divergent approaches, a review of the winning…

The word "innovation" seems to be in everyone's lexicon these days; it's even turning up as part of new education job titles in school districts and states. The ideas that undergird it are animating a growing movement that's spurring new policies, programs, and products that carry with them the potential to transform how students learn and how…

For all the national and even international debate about the state of American education, public schooling in the U.S. is still a local matter--and the school district remains its hub. As administrators know, there's nothing abstract about the process of getting millions of students into their seats, assuring they receive the instruction they're…

When therapists are scarce, some schools are turning to online speech lessons. The author reports on how the use of online speech therapy is growing. Schools need to provide the right equipment, including computers with high-speed Internet access and webcams, and, in some cases, an aide or parent might have to supervise while the child is working…

This 19th annual edition of "Quality Counts" takes a broad look at the issues and forces shaping the discussion around early-childhood education. It examines how new academic demands and the push for accountability are changing the nature of early-childhood education for school administrators, teachers, and children alike. Reporters…

In this article, the author discusses the instructional challenges faced by educators this year in the 12,500-student Recovery School District (RSD), the state-run system that took over most of New Orleans' public schools after the storm in August 2005. Roughly 85% of the district's students scored at least two years behind grade level in reading…

The author reports on a move by the online social-networking site Ning to start charging for its services which has raised worries that new fees could stifle educators' technological collaboration and creativity and touch off similar moves by other companies that provide comparable services heavily used by educators. Ning, which provides a…

Parents from around Kentucky are taking part in an unusual effort to encourage parents to take a more active role in promoting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics in their local schools. They have joined the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership, which tries to help adults work with teachers and administrators, and…

Much like the shifting landscape in K-12 educational technology, this year's "Technology Counts" issue is changing to address the challenges of covering schools in the digital age. The 2010 report does not issue state report cards or state policy reports. Instead, the report takes a more district- and school-level look at educational…