Digital Directions in Education Week
Standards & Accountability
Calculator Use on Exams to Shift With Common Core
Policies emerging from the two state consortia developing common-core assessments would set limits on the devices' use, and likely influence classroom practice.
Teaching
Researchers See Video Games as Testing, Learning Tools
Wisconsin researchers are examining whether games can measure learning and build attention, empathy, and other noncognitive skills.
IT Infrastructure & Management
FCC Blueprint Would Restructure E-Rate
In a notice of proposed rulemaking, the commission calls for revising the E-rate program to support schools’ use of more up-to-date Web connections.
Assessment
Adaptive Testing Gains Momentum, Prompts Concerns
Proposals in Congress highlight lingering disagreements over whether computer-adaptive assessments should include questions above and below a student's grade level.
Federal
Obama Pushes Faster Internet, More Tech Funding for Schools
A new proposal unveiled by the president includes an ambitious overhaul of the federal E-rate program to ensure universal broadband access and updated technology in the nation's classrooms.
School & District Management
Large Urban School Districts Creating Their Own Virtual Schools
Philadelphia will soon join a number of other big-city school districts that have founded virtual schools as a way to expand school choices for parents and lure students back to their school systems.
School Climate & Safety
Surveillance Cameras Gain Ground in Schools
Better technology and high-profile school violence are driving renewed interest, but the trend also draws criticism.
IT Infrastructure & Management
E-Rate Needs Overhaul for Digital Era, Experts Argue
The federal program is in danger of becoming as outdated and insufficient as a sputtering dial-up connection in a Wi-Fi world, many ed-tech leaders say.
Standards & Accountability
Online Testing Suffers Setbacks in Multiple States
Technical glitches during recent online assessments in a number of states are prompting worries about schools' ability to administer common-core testing in 2014-15.
Federal
FCC Commissioner Calls for Overhaul of the E-Rate
Pressures put on school systems by the upcoming common-core assessments, and increasing emphasis on digital learning, are straining districts' online capacity, the official says.
IT Infrastructure & Management
'Real World' Social Media Helps Students Bond, Say Researchers
While socializing virtually can make it harder for students to make deep connections with one another, new studies suggest that situations like video-chats or avatar environments can lead to more natural engagement.
Law & Courts
School Board Transparency a Challenge in Digital Age
With new communications technology, school boards are confounded by how to conduct business and conform to open-meetings and -records laws.
Science
3-D Printing Initiative in U.S. School Attracts International Visitors
A Virginia middle school is partnering with the University of Virginia to use 3-D printing technologies to teach science and engineering concepts.
Education Funding
'Personalized Learning' Varies for Race to Top Districts
The 16 districts that won Race to the Top grants are taking vastly different approaches as they aim to make over the classroom experience.
