Project-based Learning Focuses on Internet

The plan is different in each district, but common elements are a focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and project-based learning - instruction that introduces projects at the start as a vehicle for instruction, as opposed to a culminating exercise at the end of a lesson. In a project-based learning situation, everything students learn is connected to a group project about a real-world problem or question. They work with classmates, researching online. Teachers stay out of it until they're needed. It's designed to be more engaging and relevant. It's a concept participants say will get students and the communities excited about their local schools. It also aspires to take advantage of technology to bring the best possible instruction to schools that often struggle to hire qualified teachers. If they succeed, the schools will be held up as models for rural schools throughout South Dakota.

Josh Verges, Argus Leader, 2011

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20110724/NEWS/107240324/Four-rural-S-D-schools-let-students-run-show

Report Cracking the Competency Code

The report sets a policy framework for advancing performance-based learning and builds on recommendations made during the 2011 Competency-Based Learning Summit convened by iNACOL and CCSSO earlier this year. The report recommends that states begin to transform policies from "rigid compliance" to "enabling policies," by offering seat-time waivers or "credit flex" policies that allow for the flexibility to offer competency-based learning in K-12. The policy development is multi-stage -- building towards a "comprehensive policy redesign" that would require school districts to offer competency-based credits; provide proper training and information systems; establish quality-control; support individual growth models for accountability; and align higher education with K-12 competency-based efforts.
Patrick and Sturgis, International Association for K-12 Online Learning, 2011
http://www.inacol.org/research/docs/iNACOL_CrackingCode_full_report.pdf

Online Schools turn to Hybrid Instruction

In just one decade, virtual learning has exploded, with two massive statewide full-time virtual schools in Florida and North Carolina, and more on the way. As online learning is taking off, new research is finding that it may not be the most effective way to teach children, and virtual companies have begun to see that a purely virtual approach has its limits. A key report put out by the U.S. Department of Education in September 2010 demonstrated that a blend of face-to-face instruction and online learning produced the greatest academic gains. Now, not only are traditional schools looking for more online options, but virtual schools in turn are adding bits of brick and mortar to their offerings. Once purely virtual schools—sometimes referred to as 'clicks'—are adding bricks in a variety of ways, Horn says. Some have added check-in centers where students can come by once a week to meet with peers and teachers. Others are moving to a type of hybrid model, with some online instruction with virtual teachers coupled with mentors and in-person teachers who rotate through a building, pulling students out for small group instruction, remediation, or acceleration.
BRIGID SCHULTE, Harvard Education Letter, 2011
http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/506

Report Public Library usage

A new report that dispels some myths that have lingered regarding the target service population for public access computers in U.S. public libraries. It also provides a demographic analysis of public access computer users and uses and demonstrates that public libraries are providing much more than basic technology access. The report examines trends in library computer use according to demographic characteristics. Eight major categories of activities were examined: social connections/communications, education, employment, health and wellness, government and legal, community engagement, managing finances, and entrepreneurship.
2011, Institute of Museum and Library Service, http://www.imls.gov/pdf/Brief2011_04.pdf

Learning in the 21st Century: 2011 Trends Update

Among its findings, the "Learning in the 21st Century: 2011 Trends Update" reports that two in five students believe online classes are an essential component to education, and that administrators' concerns about funding online courses are (slowly) fading, while concerns about evaluating quality of online courses is rising. But while the proportion of high school students who had taken an online course as of last fall tripled from the fall of 2008, from 10 to 30 percent, only about 26 percent teachers surveyed expressed interest in diving into online teaching if they hadn't already done so. The findings come from a survey of nearly 400,000 students, educators, and parents conducted last fall.
2011, Education Week, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2011/06/students_speak_up_for_online_l.html

E-readership doubles in six months

The share of adults in the United States who own an e-book reader doubled to 12% in May, 2011 from 6% in November 2010. E-readers, such as a Kindle or Nook, are portable devices designed to allow readers to download and read books and periodicals. This is the first time since the Pew Internet Project began measuring e-reader use in April 2009 that ownership of this device has reached double digits among U.S. adults.

Tablet computers—portable devices similar to e-readers but designed for more interactive web functions—have not seen the same level of growth in recent months. In May 2011, 8% of adults report owning a tablet computer such as an iPad, Samsung Galaxy or Motorola Xoom. This is roughly the same percentage of adults who reported owning this kind of device in January 2011 (7%), and represents just a 3 percentage-point increase in ownership since November 2010. Prior to that, tablet ownership had been climbing relatively quickly.

2011, Pew Internet Project, http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2011/PIP_eReader_Tablet.pdf

Youth media habits report

This report takes a fresh look at data emerging from studies undertaken by Sesame Workshop, independent scholars, foundations, and market researchers on the media habits of young children, who are often overlooked in the public discourse that focuses on tweens and teens. The report reviews seven recent studies about young children and their ownership and use of media. By focusing on very young children and analyzing multiple studies over time, the report arrives at a new, balanced portrait of children’s media habits.
2011, Sesame Workshop and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center,
http://joanganzcooneycenter.org/upload_kits/jgcc_alwaysconnected.pdf