Bringing more technology into the classroom might strike fear into the hearts of traditional educationalists, but one academic believes it may just hold the key to solving a worldwide problem.
Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University in England is using Skype to reach out to students in a distance learning program. (more…)
One of the fastest growing aspects of 21st century education is the dramatic rise of distance learning. One recently released report estimated that more than 1 million students are now taking classes online – a 47% increase from the Sloan Consortium’s original K-12 study done two years earlier. “K-12 Online Learning: A 2008 Follow-up of the Survey of U.S. School District Administrators” finds the vast majority of American school districts are providing some form of online learning and even more plan to do so within the next three years.
Califone announced today it anticipates the use of classroom audio equipment to continue to grow. “Teachers and administrators have shared that they expect continued increases in the use of personal sound fields as well as classroom-wide audio amplification systems,” shared the company’s vice president of marketing, Tim Ridgway. Based in part on an online poll conducted for three months ending January, over 63.4% of respondents replied they expect the use of classroom audio-related technology to “increase significantly” from how much it’s being used currently. In addition, 18.3% of participants anticipate it to increase “only slightly,” while 11.8% expect it will stay “the same”. (more…)
As the fastest growing school system in Arizona, Dysart Unified School District outside of Phoenix is dedicated to preparing their students to thrive in the new century, which means each of their 21,500 students needs to master technology-based skills. To support more than 450 projection systems installed in K-8 classrooms throughout the district, Ezra Williams, the district’s network specialist, decided to purchase the Califone PI30 Array Speakers for audio support.
Said Williams, “The array speakers allow teachers to amplify music, videos & interactive programs played directly from connected laptops, all without adding new ambient noise to the classroom – giving the students greater opportunities to listen and learn.”
Fairfax County Public School administrators were looking for hardware that could help tie together several technologies – such as microphones, headphones and computers – to create a learning center for the foreign language department. It also had to support the district’s goal in encouraging students to use their critical thinking skills, so administrators decided to purchase the Califone USB Jackbox (1216USB). According to Aron Sterling, one the district’s School Based Technology Specialists, “We are using technology to encourage kids to develop and use their own critical thinking skills. An important result is that they’re not noticing the technology – it works seamlessly so they can concentrate on their lessons and not on the technology.” (more…)
A small, rural school district where the majority of students do not have access to technology at home, Jemez Valley Public School District, north of Albuquerque, New Mexico, wanted to provide their students with new and different challenging course options. With limited resources within the community, JVSD decided to implement a distance learning program. “Since hosting a distance learning program requires quality headphones, we chose the Superior Stereo Headphones because we trust the brand and know the equipment can handle the kids,” shared Lisa Simpson, Systems Manager for the district.
