February 8, 2012
Digital Directions, Vol. 05, Issue 02
Student Well-Being & Movement
Online Schools Go Old-School to Nab Cyber-Truants
To catch online truants, officials in virtual schools in Minnesota use mathematical formulas that compare the hours spent on online lessons and academic progress.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Is Microsoft So.cl the Start of Something Big?
Designers of a new social-networking pilot say the project's design is based on how students use social networks and
search engines for research.
Reading & Literacy
Louder Libraries for a Digital Age Opening Across United States
Imagine walking into a public library filled with PlayStations, Wii game consoles, and electric keyboards pumped up to maximum volume.
School Climate & Safety
Internet Threats
A new Illinois bill gives school boards and administrators the power to suspend or expel a student thats threatens a school employee, another student, or any school-related personnel on the Internet.
Reading & Literacy
Reading Apps
One of the biggest challenges of incorporating iPads, iPods, and other touch-screen devices into the classroom is figuring out which apps are best suited for students.
Classroom Technology
Oklahoma Board Rescinds E-Course Requirement
The Oklahoma Education Board has rescinded emergency rules that the board previously approved requiring school districts to provide online courses.
Standards & Accountability
In This Vision of Education's Future, Games Hold the Key
ChicagoQuest embraces a vision of schooling that puts children in control of team projects immersed in the world of digital information, social networks, and games.
Classroom Technology
Q and A: Imagining a Virtual Education Oasis
Fiction writer and techie Ernest Cline, who has a particular passion for education and how it might look in the future, answers some key questions from Education Week Digital Directions.
Teaching Profession
Tech-Trends: Acess to Digital Tools
This special Digital Directions data page provides statistics about teacher and student access to certain types of digital tools.
Classroom Technology
Joplin Takes Digital Approach to Rebuilding Education
Ambitious 1-to-1 laptop effort emerges in the wake of the tornado that devastated the Missouri district.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Battle for Whiteboard-Market Supremacy Heats Up
Companies are making moves to differentiate themselves from the pack and reinvent their products in the age of tablet computing.
Equity & Diversity
Data Tools Aim to Predict Student Performance
Some district and state data systems are finally mature enough to look into the future, by using complex analytics to predict which indicators mean students may go off track down the line.
School & District Management
Virtual Education Seen as Understudied
Educators, policymakers, and researchers see a need for more and better research as the popularity of e-learning continues to rise.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Rethinking Testing in the Age of the iPad
Moving assessments onto mobile devices may open the door to quicker feedback for students and teachers as well as richer data, but integrating them into classrooms can be a challenge.
Curriculum
Picking and Choosing Digital Content
Technology is changing the way schools go about crafting curricula and purchasing content, prompting publishers to rethink how they do business.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Necessity Drives Innovation
Editor Kevin C. Bushweller says necessity is the fuel that motivates most of us to innovate, try a different approach, or learn a new skill.
Standards & Accountability
Virtual Education Sees Shift to Accountability
A new report argues that virtual schooling is in the era of a fundamental shift in its development that should be embraced, not feared.