Digital Directions in Education Week
IT Infrastructure & Management
Maine 1-to-1 Computing Initiative Under Microscope
Gov. Paul LePage has called for a review of his state's groundbreaking digital learning program, questioning the impact of the effort on student achievement.
School & District Management
Brain Imaging Eyed as Path to Better Education Software
Pioneering researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are investigating how scans of human brain activity can provide information on student problem-solving, potentially leading to better ed-tech products.
Classroom Technology
Educators Weigh Learning Value of Pokémon Go
Teachers see potential to use the Pokémon Go game to help teach local history, civics, and other lessons, but skeptics worry about privacy risks.
Classroom Technology
Digital Device Choices Could Impact Common-Core Test Results, Studies Finding
Some test questions are likely harder to answer on tablets than on laptop or desktop computers, presenting a new challenge as states move to online assessments.
Education Funding
Ed-Tech Market in Flux as Investors Grow More Selective
Analysts see signs that the market, both globally and in the United States, is cooling off a bit after years of intense activity.
Education Funding
MacArthur Foundation Launches Nonprofit to Scale Up Digital Learning
The new organization, named Collective Shift, wants to connect schools, businesses, libraries, museums, and city leaders in efforts to build new “ecosystems of learning.”
IT Infrastructure & Management
Schools Set to Adjust to Revamped E-Rate Policies
A new version of the E-rate program will include funding for school and library wireless-technology projects, and phase out support for services that federal officials see as outmoded.
Privacy & Security
$10,000 Price Tag Put on Nevada Parent's Data Request
The situation is raising a tangled web of questions about state educational databases, federal student-privacy laws, and common-core standards.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Student-Login Chaos Fueling Software Password Upgrades
Schools are exploring "single sign-on" technologies that allow both teachers and students to access multiple software programs with just one set of login information.
Privacy & Security
Indiana Data Network Draws Opposition
An Indiana project that seeks to track information on students from elementary school through their time as adults in the workforce is drawing objections from critics concerned about data privacy and security.
Assessment
NAEP Crafts Plans to Deploy Tablets for Testing
The architects of one of the best-known gauges of student achievement—the National Assessment of Educational Progress—are preparing for a dramatic expansion of technology-based assessment.
Standards & Accountability
Khan Academy, Open Ed. Providers Evolve With Common Core
Khan Academy's unveiling of interactive and adaptive math resources tied to the common core represents an important step for the field of "open education resources," observers say.
Classroom Technology
Educators, Entrepreneurs Connect at South by Southwest
About 6,000 educators, entrepreneurs, and other innovation-minded people gathered in Austin, Texas, to talk about how technological advances are fueling improvements in education.
Federal
Ed. Dept. Makes Protecting Student Data a High Priority
Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education comes amid a flurry of activity around student-data privacy, including recommendations from a leading technology trade group and proposed legislation in California.