Recent articles

Edtech advocacy in 3 easy steps
04/04/2018
Topics: Advocacy
Our nation recently mourned the loss of civil rights activist Linda Brown — the little girl at the heart of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision "Brown vs…

No internet at home? Tap into your community to narrow the digital divide
02/08/2018
Topics: Advocacy
Just four years ago, the Rowan-Salisbury School System in Salisbury, North Carolina, put devices in the hands of 19,500 K-12 students. Learners in grades 3-12 brought the devices home every day. Almost immediately, an issue arose.
Despite every student having a…

WHAT WORKS: Teaching digital citizenship without devices
12/15/2017
Topics: Advocacy, Digital Citizenship, Education leadership
Over the summer, a group of preteens attended a camp to learn how to communicate online. They explored computational thinking concepts, practiced using social media and developed their media literacy skills.
And they did it all without a lick of technology.
Instead, they put on…

TAKE ACTION: Connecticut endorses ISTE Standards for Students, Educators
12/15/2017
Topics: Advocacy
The Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology, our state’s educational technology lead, unanimously adopted the ISTE Standards for Students last year and the ISTE Standards for Educators last June, becoming the first state to do so in both cases.
We see the ISTE Standards as…

Educator Standards make their way into Texas law
07/26/2017
Topics: Advocacy, professional learning
In the same month the new ISTE Standards for Educators were launched, the governor of Texas signed a bill requiring that preservice teachers be evaluated on their ability to teach in a digital environment,…

Epic LEGO wall allows anytime tinkering
06/14/2017
Topics: Advocacy, Assessment, Corporate innovation, Education leadership, Makerspaces, professional learning, Standards
What if making wasn’t something students did only at certain times of the day?
What if, instead, it was built into the fabric of their lives — or even the very walls of their school?
Employees at innovative companies like Google use tinkering to recharge their…

Digital Technologies: Australia's answer to discipline-based computer education
06/14/2017
Topics: 1:1, Advocacy, BYOD, Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Curriculum, Flipped learning, Gaming, Learning spaces, Mobile learning, Online learning, professional learning, Technology infrastructure, Tools
Globally, computer education is a focus of many national strategies as awareness grows of the impact of automation and technology. Australia took the opportunity when developing a national curriculum to reframe computer education away from a subset of design and technology to become a distinct…

Empowering new voices to speak for edtech
06/14/2017
Topics: Advocacy
Supporting technology in education is incredibly important to give students the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven world. This support has to happen far beyond the walls of the classroom or school, and even the boundaries of the district. Advocacy at the state and…

3 tips for developing a digital content plan for maximum impact
06/03/2017
Topics: Advocacy, Assessment, Assistive and adaptive technologies, Corporate innovation, Education leadership, Mobile learning, professional learning, Standards
The Innovator Solutions section includes contributions from corporate sponsors and advertisers representing education organizations, businesses, policy-making bodies and other influencers dedicated to transforming education.
The research is in, and it’s clear that…

When students become teachers
04/27/2017
Topics: Advocacy, Assessment, Corporate innovation, Education leadership, professional learning, Standards
Students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD) in Alaska were familiar with videoconferencing. After all, distance learning via videoconferencing technology (VCT) had become a regular event in their remote rural schools, connecting them to professionals and other students…