Tech Training Zen

1. George Fox University: a Google campus for 1 ½ years, Apple

• incoming freshman have been given laptops ever since there have been laptops (marketing ploy) recently, hasn’t influenced families’ decisions
• this year, given the choice of a MacBook or an iPad (if you don’t want a laptop)
• ending the laptop program and transition to officially supporting mobile computing
• we need the right apps – helpdesk staff!

Supporting the iPad:

• iPad was an option (chosen by 10%) at orientation – support a non-issue. mainly selected by tech savvy students willing to deal with challenges/limitations
• now, rest of student population are beginning to become more interested in iPad – so now we’re going to see a lot more iPads next year

How do we Adapt our Support?

• the advantage of owning the laptop – loading software; NOT conducive to iPads
• up front, we did not own the iPad, it is theirs – gave them $30 for iTunes for iWork – you’ll be responsible for it! but we don’t want to do this down the road for standardized support
• eliminating laptop program – move this money elsewhere in infrastructure & device management
• equity issues – students will have different types of devices, multiple devices

Printing:

• iPads can’t print, doesn’t have a USB – will this be a problem? mildly inconvenient
• print stations around campus
• web OS’s no file system structure, it’s all in the cloud so you don’t always need to print
• students with iPads expected e-textbooks to be already available (what IS a book?)

Preference for these devices driven by convenience, will force change.
Topics for EdTech Committee:

• what will our minimum computing requirements be? only pertains to adult learners, quickly becoming irrelevant
• will we be more flexible with writing assignment formats beyond Office?
• enterprise apps beyond MS Office? must have apps? fancy note-taking/recording
• public computing labs: content creation workstations
  • provide wireless keyboards & monitors
• IT support – not repairing, hands off – moving to consulting/coaching to help faculty/staff
  • edtech and media production/distribution needs growing

2. Shenandoah University: iMLearning Initiative
students provided with MacBook and choice of iOS device, iTouch, iPhone or iPad, and bag
What We Expected:

• increased network traffic, upgraded internet connection 50MB
• increased helpdesk traffic for first 2 weeks, then it was a non-issue, students adapted
• lost and damaged devices by the second day

Starting Support: The Flood Gates

• iPhone, iTouch, iPad – whatever I have the desk will support, right? they’ll bring it whether we support it or not
• Will we support platforms or devices? where do we draw the line?
  • started with the iOS but that’s not the only game in town
  • standardized web apps that are widely accessible
  • inventory/ownership – barcodes, databases, for mobile, student owns device after add/drop date

HelpDesk Changes

• sufficient coverage and capacity – hired extra students, Apple specialist for desk, but by the second year it wasn’t a big deal
• vendor documentation via website and posted it everywhere, in public areas, then it disappears – self-service
• OS upgrades: talked to Apple after a charged upgrade wtf?
  • set up a desk to help students upgrade devices, which worked

• iPad faculty acceptance: minimal support after beginning of year

• device functionality: in coming years, supply mobile instead of laptops
• looking for collaborators!

3. Seton Hill University: distributing MacBooks, full-time students also get iPads
Training for Devices:

• meet with students at distribution events – 1 hr training, migrating to mac, connecting to wireless and printing – give them a “working knowledge”
• faculty training sessions during summer
• documentation and how-to’s on websites
• helpdesk students go through extensive training, shadowing Apple Tech peers on campus (like learning from peers)
• extended helpdesk hours
• Certified apple care center on campus (hoops to jump) 4 certified techs – cuts down on student downtime away from device

Zendesk Database (moved away from TrackIT)

• used beyond IT: email integration, easily accessed from mobile devices, forums and how-to databases for repeat issues (students and faculty can access), export reports to improve customer service
• 15-20 PC computer labs, 3ish Mac labs – began taking away PC labs and doing Boot Camp/VMware for students needing PC programs
• students are showing us cool stuff, apps that can be used, good feedback

4. Abeline Christian University (Google, Apple)
Increased Support Needs: smart phone work orders, walkup traffic

• make helpdesk more visible – everyone knows where to go
  • main service location now at the library learning commons
  • support begins at distributions – don’t just hand it to them. last step is for IT staff to to help them connect to internet, download campus apps, email, etc
• increased support hours (7:30am to midnight on weekdays) when the library’s open
• “PitStop” service point: modeled after Apple Genius Bar
  • comfortable, interactive, one-on-one
  • walk-ups and appointments (online reservation system)
• iPhone direct service account
  • GSX account – iphone warranty replacements
  • get a working device in their hands quickly
  • small supply of service phones for use in warranty replacements
• iPod Touch Loaner Program per Semester (for grad students, part-time students)
• you can’t communicate to the students enough!
  • devices aren’t just an object of support, but also a method of support
  • adding our contact info into their devices as a Contact
  • QR codes distribute their contact information throughout campus
  • social networking: Twitter & Facebook
  • alert text messages: optional sign up group for students
  • can’t have enough training materials: wristband flashdrive with flashsite acu.edu/mobilehelp
  • watching videos, booklet on their device, answer all the questions they would call about – 20 min video on TV channel

Changes to Support:

• what do students expect? immediacy
• greater sense of device importance – they take good care of them when they know they can’t be replaced/fixed immediately
• “Simple answer” mentality – expecting a simple, fast solution
  • like a McDonald’s order: fast and to-go, don’t want to wait

Panel Discussion Q&A:

• Moblie Device Management like Casper? good for faculty/staff, also AirWatch
• Access Port Density as devices change? Rucks?
• Lab reduction – leveraging mobile for a virtual desktop environment? virtual labs
• Helpdesk 5 years from now? we’ll be consultants/facilitators, less so wizards. certified apple warranty repair is a large benefit to students, for now… – they’re becoming appliances, we’re the middlemen sending things in
• Recidivism: putting a device in the students’ hands locks them in, it’s a hook; putting your school in a spotlight, attracting the students to the classroom experiences they can have
• Communication – helpdesk is less of a “place” now – resources are online: Changes in helpdesk structure? the social media best way to contact with students, texting
  • seems like students are solving their own problems – they use them a lot but they’re not visiting the helpdesk (self-service)
• Do you pre-provision the iPod Touch or do you do everything with them? haven’t found a way to mass image the devices (remote management in Lion), we’re upgraded them one at a time or with the student there now
  • our campus apps are web apps, not downloadable via the store
  • distribution codes for paid apps (app license mgmt), like Apple guy mentioned

Duke Center for Instructional Technology (for faculty) http://cit.duke.edu/ipad
- academic tech consultants x5 + 5 others

Faculty Loaner Program:

• wifi iPad Short Term Loans – 1 week (4 devices in pool)
• managed by CIT – manually managed devices & rent outs
• come by to pick up, give them a short instruction, then go play
• pretty self-sufficient, came back at the end with questions
• staff would wipe then re-sync, we can put  the apps you want on it for you – but they already pre-load it with 50 apps already
• fill out a questionnaire afterwards to gauge faculty thoughts, questions

Evaluation:

• Most common apps: Blackboard, DoodleBuddy, Dropbox, Email, Evernote, iAnnotate, GoodReader, GoogleDocs, Keynote, Netflix, Pages, Safari, YouTube
• Likes: reading for pleasure, internet access, portability
• Dislikes: document loading, projection

Student Loaner Program:

• 1 week loan (10 devices) – iPads were always checked out within a few hours
• managed by main IT office/helpdesk

Duke Digital Initiative – media checkout desk in library: many devices including Flip videocameras, other videocameras, iOS devices

• checkouts assume financial responsibility
• 20 devices funded by provost as “special funding” program
• others come from IT as part of regular operating budget instead of other purchases

Class Session Loaners:

• only needed iPads in class a few sessions a semester, not every class meeting
• CIT reserved iPads for these classes so they couldn’t be checked out
• staff took time to prep devices, be there in class, then resetting them all – too labor intensive, instead have a special subset of iPads for class session loans

Semester-long Class Loans: we don’t have more or less demand than we can accommodate

• both for faculty and students; looking for a broad range of faculty/disciplines
• not prepped by staff – students could buy apps as “course material,” could sync
• faculty apply to use device in class; then evaluations by survey, interviews
  • didn’t require a specific proposal – very exploratory
  • easy to apply: lower barrier for jumping in, the more jump in
• once the faculty have adjusted to the device, they want to keep using them
  • be explicit: this is an exploratory program, no guarantee of doing it again
• devices from 2 sources as one pool – 20 devices (5 3G) + ~30 + 30 more now

Faculty Uses: grading, viewing media, note-taking, mind-mapping, audio recording, course prep, medical resources, prepping for next semester’s class

• how iPad effects student reading, writing and comprehension of the material vs print
• using iAnnotate to correct student writing – took a while to get started but got into it
• music: ForScore used to review and annotate musical scores while listening to pieces
• recording field notes (sports): MentalNote, MindNode, Twitter
  • only 1 of 2 classes got the iPads – device intuition improved mind-mapping, iPads were brought to class vs the laptop class (iPad students more prepared)

Student Uses: studying programming, media, grading papers, presenting in class, e-reading
Semester Loan Program by Program

• Medicine: 12 devices loaned, managed by medical center librarian, custom lab coats!
• Engineering: 3 devices in shop, used for viewing tutorials, evaluated extremely valuable
• Evaluation: from raves to “meh” – some preferred their laptops; useful niche between phone and laptop, difficult for standard tasks – file transfers, typing, projecting

iPad Grants: Long-term use for multiple classes for prestigious programs

• Duke Global Health Initiative & School of the Environment

Resources and Support:

• iPad monthly users group for borrowers/interested ppl – topics and open meetings
• CIT consultants – “go to” experts
• CIT iPad webpage & blog posts – blog posts required for faculty about their use

Training:

• brief in-person tutorial at checkout for faculty, not for students
• lynda.com license for Duke community

Challenges:

• manual CIT management
• app provisioning for classes
• class session loans are a pain
• time window for ROI

Future Plans:

• have about 80 now, continue to loan in summer and fall
• different program focus? target those looking to do specific research now
• watch iPad development
• medicine future plans – grants or dept money

Q&A:
addressing accessibility? not an issue for students we’ve heard, works with accessibility director to coordinate a student’s needs (right now, no one is required to use the devices)

1. Matt Maclnnis, Inkling – Rethinking Textbooks in the 21st Century 

• the brain is wired for interpersonal communication (oral tradition), kinetic, emotional stimulus – NOT textbooks
• but then print became scalable – books! opportunities and restraints
  • whole types of books are going away – encyclopedias
• even Word makes you think about “pages,” spacial, print-driven concept
  • why apply the constraints of one technology to another?
• canvas of a book and the canvas of an iPad is totally different (an infinite plane)
  • putting a textbook on a kindle? like a horse-drawn car
• Textbooks in the Near Future:
  • modular by learning outcome
  • hierarchical, not linear
  • interactive
  • learner-dynamic: a unique experience of the content makes sense for them

What are the creation tools? internally built, will share. it’s complex work for a simple output. Platform agnostic – ipad, html5, android
we need affordability – innovating away from the “textbook” as we go

2. Sidney Burrus, Rice University: Open Educational Resources
Two Phases of Disruptive Technology:

1. what the old stuff did, but better – “intended consequences” (e-textbooks)
2. change the game: new stuff redefines the problem – surprising innovation and “unintended consequences” (Inkling’s apps)

We’re sort of between phase 1 and 2.
Connexions: a repository of modules of info available, maintained by editors
Accredited degree for self-directed learning? you can get info, but not an education that way

3. Jeff Shelstad, Founder and CEO, Flatworld Knowledge
How did the $200 college textbook happen??
The faculty prescribes the book, but the student has to buy it: value gap.

• textbook rental, discount books online, P2P from friends
• publishers get defensive: bundling books, raising prices, increased revision pacing

Free and Open Textbooks: 4 R’s of Openness

1. Reuse – right to copy
2. Revise – adapt, rework
3. Remix
4. Redistribute

Available from:

• individuals
• aggregators like Connexions
• publishers like FlatWorld Knowledge

Rethinking Textbooks:

• creating great content, fully supported
• pass control of the content to the local expert legally
• open licensing – creative commons, customizable platform

4. Martin Frohlich and Felix Hofman, PaperC GmbH
Between Open Access and Commerce at PaperC

• allow free reading online for a limited time
• Freemium (like a copy machine) for printing, copying, highlighting, sharing notes
  • downloading most used feature, then copy/paste (not notes)
• New Freemiums: buy pages for reading/downloading, buy PDF ebook, buy printed book
• demand for iPhone/iPad/Android compatibility
• PDF easiest way to get content from publishers (not ePub)
  • PDF downloads do well on tablets and PC
• Soft DRM – publishers accept it, users like it, no illegal filesharing yet
  • user’s email and watermark is on every page

Future Plans:, more social features, html5 web reader, B2C platform, becoming the platform for expert-generated content

Presenter: Kristy Strickland, Technology Trainer
Central Michigan University: freshman studies courses 

• using clickers for 10 years – 6,000+ students using daily ($40) –> with iPod Touch, expectation goes up so students want more use
• 1,500 students on iOS devices 3 semesters later
• 50 students using iPads in 2 courses
• last Fall, 40 faculty with evaluation iPads, but others buy one themselves
• lots of students with Androids and tablets

Learning in Hand:

• no central mandate from university – bootstrapped 350 kids
• rented iPod Touch for $35/sem from bookstore if they don’t have one already. if students keep it, their billed the difference – iPad rental for $100, only available for students in certain classes
• students can use own device with caveats
  • old iPod Touch’s, jailbroken devices (if it can be used, they’ll support)

Setup and Support:

• video and PDF tutorials via Blackboard & websites
• tech staff speak to student classes the first week – student responsibility to get devices set up and up to date
• extensive tech support first 3 weeks (98% of students) then shutting down support, then trickling ongoing student/staff support office hours
• Apple problems – bad devices wont hold OS, wont install apps, etc
• assessment: sit in the back watching the students use the devices, student surveys throughout semester, tell faculty about issues ahead of time
  • GPA jumped .2, significant difference & engagement
  • neg feedback: we’re not using the devices enough, solution for distraction: backchannel, team-based learning

Myth of the Digital Native: “a mile wide and an inch deep”

• almost 80% of device owners had never visited the App Store
• goal: turn consumers into critics and creators
• the digital converts: faculty
• second generation academic technologies: backchannel, blogging, eportfolio platform (http://mahara.org – open source) (WordPress multi-user site)

Identified Concerns & Arguments:

• biting off more than you can chew – the three technologies rule
  • integration vs presenting – faculty have to revisit material structure
• is this worth $xxx? – the more expensive the device, the bigger expectations students have. they get mad when they’re not used enough or the faculty stops using it.
• could something simpler perform the same function? if you’re going to do an iPod Touch you need to think beyond what you use a clicker for (expectation-setting – what are you going to do to make it worth the $100 for the students?)
• the consumption problem – what do you do to make the device something more than content consuming? *re-engage them, let then consume content outside of class
• “information grazing”: the iPad is subtle – students can multitask things that have nothing to do with the class

Windows of Opportunity:

• we back up faculty a whole semester before they can use devices
• identifying tech for integration into coursework
• training
• evaluation of implementation plan
• rollout

Ladder of Engagement:

1. loaner kits to get a feel for the device. if you like, the students are ready to rent
2. student purchase
3. migration to iOS devices
4. migration to iPad

The Road Ahead:

• constant re-evaluation
• “the nomadic technology lifestyle” – faculty use and don’t use devices every semester
• menu of engagement “packages”
• preparing for a wider range of platforms – Android tablets

Case Study: Physical Resources Staff and iPads
Distribution (make it like Christmas! yay!) and Training Day

• make it exciting! they got a bunch of goodies and unwrapping it
• 4 hour workshop for 17 employees
• open everything up (1 hour), create their itunes account, setup email and calendar, download some apps
• easy to understand – know your audience: they’re not technologically driven
• teach them about it on a personal level – training by using games and work-related apps
• get them comfortable and wanting to use it.
• afterwards: be available, schedule a follow-up meeting or open lab session for questions/one on one sessions

Staff departments want to go more mobile, paperless:

• need to share info quickly and easily with each other
• info can be gathered and edited in a collaborative environment (Google docs)

Q&A:
Supporting Students:
boot camp last step in distribution process: basic overview of device, documents, videos, setup email calendar, one on one appointments, mobile support site & recommended apps, online resources and tv station, let them know what resources are available
go to the faculty’s class as a support
student orientation sessions with students – the audience is the parent – rationale – “how are you preparing my child to compete in the new workforce?”
* set an expectation before they get to school, get their device *
How do employees use the iPads? faculty sign a contract with the proposal and report, if they lose it they have to replace it, give it back in fair working order for rentals

1. Allison Cerra, Alcatel-Lucent
Text Shift: 

• 3,339 texts sent and received by a teen in a month on avg
• after only 1 year, iPad will exceed Mac sales
• Facebook communication between faculty and students shifts teaching dynamic

Generational Shift: 4 gens in the workforce for first time ever: Boomers, Xers, Yers, Millennials (fragmented technology is now connected – idealistic as Boomer parents)

Cloud Tipping: democratization of content, virtual classrooms
Education Implications: cooperation, vocabulary but what of mlearning vs distraction? technology as an enabler, not as a deterrent.

2. Don Henderson, Apple: Challenge-Based Learning at http://ali.apple.com/cbl/
example: http://www.cooktimewithremmi.com/

• schoolwork that has meaning beyond school, goes home with them
• 80% said schoolwork made a difference in their community
• disconnect between formal and informal learning spaces (class vs social media)
• “Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow”

6 Design Principles for the new Classroom (student-centered):

1. 21st Century Skill Outcomes
2. Relevant and applied curriculum
3. informative assessments
4. culture of creativity and innovation
5. social and emotional connection (re: dropout rates) why are we learning this? no one cares anyway
6. 24/7 access to tools and resources

Don’t abolish old model of standardized tests, but “teach standards without teaching standards”.
apple.com/education/challenge-based-learning

3. Abdul Chohan, Essa Academy, UK

• The assembly line, disturbed: students will no longer be “batched processed depending on date of manufacture,” moving away from one-way school-to-learner teaching
• exploratory (students) vs explanatory (teacher) learning – making mistakes vs explicit instruction
• less active students became more engaged in creativity and class discussion
  • poet students read begins participating in an app group
  • record their own learning – they own and influence the content, how they learn
• savings by no longer having paper planners, cutting down on printing
• let students sit for exams when ready, rather than making them all wait
• Now: all teachers have iPads, teachers are learning now too

4. Maria Anderson, Muskegon Community College

• information is more than drinking from the firehose now, but educational internet is at a trickle due to barriers – we need “free range” learning
• digital hoarders rarely go back to re-visit what they saved
• what would we do if we created a new learning ecosystems from scratch with a clean slate and internet access? SOCRAIT
  • constantly re-engage what you’re learning to improve biological memory
  • layer new media on top: a learning media, a “learn this” button like a socratic social bookmarking
  • types of assessment: the difference between recognition and recall
  • our culture doesn’t value learning so let’s do game theory – certifications, levels, stats become accreditation
  • instructors become coaches like old school tutors of yore- guided learning
  • we won’t pay for video or text, so create a new media we want to pay for
  • we have content, now what about developing critical thinking skills about it?

Shenandoah University (VA) “iMLearning Initiative”: 

• people threatened to update their resume…
• learning materials always available
• class time focused on discussion and interaction
• level playing field by giving them a mobile device and a laptop (and bags) – all students have the same tools

First Steps:

• faculty buy-in – choose key people
• live in the world our students live in
• build teams around strong leaders
• train, test, learn, collaborate

Pre-deployment needs:

• large room near secure storage
• controlling and tracking inventory
• seamless connectivity
• granting admin privileges to students? the universities all agreed – yes!
• deploying software and updates to students

Under the Hood:

• real-time updates to database (Datatel)
• ease of entering info (barcodes)
• easy first-time network connectivity – turn it on, it connects
• easy binding to the domain on the network
• incidental issues

Custom Process:

• Apple sent people to help (auto-binding scripts)
• open wireless network as gateway to secure network
• custom deployment app (print two copies of an agreement with student)

The Unexpected:

• late deliveries
• iphone setup activations delays, takes a long time
• wireless network surprises
• student account issues with late fees
• scheduled to help students school by school but students didn’t know this and lined up down the street
• processed 100+ students an hour and it worked

Lessons Learned:

• counting papers to compare to inventory
• more people didn’t speed up deployment
• streamline process but don’t cut corners
• student account issues need to be resolved on-site (go to that table)

Improvements:

• paperless student agreements
• resource management (Casper)
• easy wireless setup (Cloudpath)
• inventory management (school dude and Casper) – tickets and inventory
• on-site Apple certified techs, on-site warranty repairs
• a strong support team is key

Seton Hill University: “The Griffin Technology Advantage”

• Committed to providing students with best tech available.
• All incoming trad Freshman get a MacBook Pro and iPad, then phase in
• All full-time students get an iPad

Timeline:

• Summer 09: upgraded network infrastructure
• Fall 09: conceived GTA program and proposal, planning
• January 10: NYC to meet with Apple
  • “for full integration, every student/faculty need the same thing”
• April 10: full-time faculty distribution and training on MacBooks
• June 10: first student iPad distribution
  • *constantly ordering for a moving target* – checking admissions numbers, placing rolling orders with Apple purchasing coordinator, fast quotes and order dates

Prepping the Equipment:

• MacBooks fully imaged and inventoried by Bell Techlogix, who received deliveries
• Staff also helped image last minute computers?
• MacBooks decal-ed right before deployment
• D-day took over the gym, training session also in gym partitioned off, gym also served as secure storage
• Custom database: students had to sign a contract, leasing the equipment (4 semester commitment for laptop, 2 semester commitment for iPad)
  • database shows assigned devices, returned devices
  • contract is signed on the iPad from the database, copy is emailed to student
• Deployment staff: IT/Admissions staff, provost, registrar, Apple/Bell/Enterasys reps
• staff use the equipment they hand out
• 1 hour distribution/training sessions 7am-5pm for each student to attend
  • getting started guide for getting on wireless and email
• wide range of student ability – needed more training vs didn’t want training at all
  • prior assessment??

• only phones and iTouch, not laptops
• phone challenges, working with AT&T for bill payment/contract
• used an online ordering site this year (vs. lots of reps and direct shipping)

July: choose an iPhone and iPod Touch, agree to online contract (ACU owns the devices while they’re in school, they keep it at graduation) - current customer, upgrading, new customer? they have to be attached to ACU group account

August: Ordering Process

• written and video instructions on how to order
• take them to AT&T site, ACU could remote in and help them order (parents do this for students usually)
• Not every student made it through the ordering process – get help once at school

1. Identify their selection status, where are they in the process? Built a tool for this

• communication about where to go – signage, flyers on beds, apple tents, AT&T balloons, admissions, IT staff available

2. Ordering & Selection Room for those that didn’t order over the summer

• sit down 1 on 1 with the student/family
• talk to an AT&T rep, parents love it
• video preview distracts groups too, overview the device and uses

3. Distribution – ACU

• tracking barcodes
• mobile device agreement (hard copy if requested, also online)
• support materials in distribution box – guidebook then USB wristband with a flash helpsite

4. Activation – AT&T

• account creation, call testing, deposit waiver, verification

5. Hands-On Assistance: walk away with a working device!! ready to go

• first time configuration, wifi registration, configuring email and calendar – walk the students through the process one on one, not taking it away and doing magic
• import contacts using Cellbrite
• staff in residence halls helping students with all devices

Q&A:

• Why Apple? ease of use and support right out of the box, guaranteed standard platform, faculty could guarantee what software/equipment students had
• Verison iPhone? 2 carriers doubles the trouble, ACU hasn’t decided yet about this
• Phone version upgrades? always do latest, greatest model; not only initial deployment but upgrade deployment for older students
  • for iPads, they’re doing wifi only right now, not decided about 3G iPads. new students will get new iPad
  • also, loaner devices
  • what about students who damage their devices over and over? students are contractually obligated to care for their devices; we don’t handle non-warranty work
• What about grad students? focus on undergrad for now
• Large groups of students: school by school deployment (small schools get to be more hands-on)
• Giving students admin rights? Yes, students could add a printer or software on their own – it’s their computer while they’re here. Eliminates helpdesk visits.
• Tech fee? fees based on what devices they choose $500-300 a semester
  • all macbooks on an insurance policy, but they’re on their own for insuring iPads
  • Junior year refresh – this will be the computer they keep when they graduate
• Where’s this going? Age of laptop is over, we’ll have stations for our mobile devices, we’re not quite ready to give up laptops but it’s coming soon, replaced by tablets and phones
• Batteries: iPads do last 10 hours, better than laptops and phones, but we’re seeing that they use different devices for different classes. we’ll implement charging stations.

Presenter: Karen Cator, Director, Office of Education Technology, US Dept of Education 

Clip from documentary: Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century: http://video.pbs.org/video/1797357384 – HS students given laptops at school

Obama: by 2020, America will have the biggest population of college grads in the world

National Education Technology Plan 2010: http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010
Teaching, Learning, Assessment, Infrastructure, Productivity, R&D Grand Challenges

1. Learning: 21st Century Expertise
   1. how people learn – cognitive development
   2. personalized learning, contextualized, participatory
   3. universal design for learning – accessibility design & preferences for interacting
   4. informal & formal learning environments – learning in and out of school
2. Assessment for Learning: measure what matters
   1. embedded assessments – game theory, challenges as you go
   2. real-time feedback
   3. portfolios & learning records – keep track of your learning
   4. universal design – multiple, different ways of demonstrating competency
3. Teaching: highly effective and connected to what they need for students
   1. differentiated roles
   2. informal & formal – mentors outside of school
   3. re-inspiring the profession – supporting the students supports the teachers
4. Infrastructure: access to comprehensive infrastructure where learners need it
   1. 24/7 community wide
   2. broadband, access points
   3. think about what we’re doing vs the device we’re holding – devices come and go
   4. you can only learn online if you’re digitally literate – opportunities for leveraging these learning environments
5. Productivity: mapping out a learning progression – video series from addition to calculus, not divided by grade level but totally accessible (includes embedded assessment)
   1. need non-proprietary platform
   2. moving away from linear text to multi-level paths
6. R&D: What needs to be invented?
   1. interoperability standards
   2. transition from print to digital
      1. improve access
      2. transparency & stories of success and experiences
      3. focus on communities and support systems
      4. invest in rapid improvement & technology transfer

Q&A:

• How do we students safe online? better filtering systems, articulate policies, and “each one teach one” about using materials online – we see the same behavior (like bullying), but it’s a new, amplified media
• Access to Internet? we need 98% of US covered in next 5 years – also mobile educational solutions for those needing access in a variety of non-campus places
• Funding? we need those doing these initiatives to be transparent about spending. first thing students need is their device – mobile’s not “over there,” move it to the base budget to support learning-based outcomes
• the Digital Promise from the 2008 Higher Ed Act
• how early is it useful/practical to put a device in a student’s hands? these devices are so simple to operate, kids intuitively figure it out – “the pass back effect” – it’s about content and interaction, not the device
• what role will the textbook industry play in moving to digital?  2014 assessments will be using technology – need to increase literacy prior; the industry can support this (Aug ‘12)
• how can we provide support to teachers to help them learn about using technology: experience, participation, mentoring, communities of practice – connected to experts and each other – co-development vs isolation – have a “persistent professional profile” demonstrating competency and current initiatives (love it!)
• downsides of moving from print to digital? technology shouldn’t simply replace what’s done on paper