Best in Show

T&L editors made their annual sojourn to the Florida Educational Technology Conference in Orlando, where data-driven decision making, accessibility, and mobility were key themes. Following are some highlights:

1. "Teacher dashboard" wins the prize as the buzz word du conference. The basic premise: pulling together critical information such as assessment and test data and presenting it in one user-friendly place — a digital dashboard — so that educators can make more informed instructional decisions. Among the many companies talking up the technology were industry thought leader SchoolNet, Sagebrush, and STI.

2. The Consortium for School Networking launched an initiative that encourages universal design learning environments for all students. Expect to see a best practices toolkit and online course about this topic in the near future.

3. Before HP CEO Carly Fiorina's sudden exit, the company's new line of laptops dominated the news.

We had an opportunity to check out the various models and were particularly impressed with the 17-inch-screen HP Compaq nx9600. Billed as "a high-end desktop in a notebook design," it kind of reminded us of the new double-decker Airbus A380.

4. Leapfrog Learning gave us a heads up on their FLY pentop computer. Available this fall and aimed squarely at the "tween" market, the $99 technology platform adds multimedia to the traditional pen-and-paper platform.

QUOTATION of the MONTH

"I wouldn't presume to advise him on domestic policy, but I would certainly hope the private sector would make up for any lack of funding for technology in the public schools. ...The U.S. is not keeping pace with much of the rest of the world."

—Queen Noor of Jordan, when asked by T&L at the recent Sun Worldwide Education and Research Conference in San Francisco what message she might have for President Bush regarding his proposal to cut $500 million from the Enhancing Education Through Technology funds.

What's Your Opinion? If the EETT budget cut is passed, will your district face layoffs? Click on T&L QuickPoll and let us know what you think. We'll report your responses in a future Trend Watch.

Tech Funding Imperiled

President Bush's 2006 budget proposal slashes the Title II-D Enhancing Education Through Technology program, which currently provides $500 million for developing distance- learning courses, data infrastructures for meeting NCLB reporting demands, and much more. According to the State Educational Technology Directors Association, this bucket of money is the sole funding source for school technology support in more than 13 states. Not surprisingly, the proposed cuts have drawn the ire — and activism — of the ed tech community (see Editor's Desk.

Smackdown: Desktop vs. Mobile Computing

techlearning.com's Leader's Edge column recently explored computer purchasing trends.

Question:
Our district hardware specifications still call for desktop computers for student use, but my middle school staff is interested in investing our resources in technology that's mobile and can be used in a variety of settings. What are national trends in this area?

Answer:
The predictions published in Quality Education Data's 10th annual "Technology Purchasing Forecast" last fall show that your teachers' desire for mobile technology is aligned with national developments. According to the report, K-12 schools plan to spend at least $7 billion on new technology this year, with a heavy emphasis on mobile computing. Other national marketing reports also support this trend. Falling costs for increasingly powerful equipment, along with a desire to increase students' access to technology, are driving this shift. It's time for your district to consider expanding its hardware specifications to offer teachers more choices in hardware selection. — Susan Brooks-Young

Outplayed, Outwitted, Outlasted

The ayes have it. 85 percent of respondents to our online QuickPoll confirmed our suspicion that a great many educators believe their students run technological circles around them. Here, some comments from both sides of the argument.

Agree:

"Students are now coming to school better prepared than teachers in technology. Many teachers find it hard or impossible to ask students for help and advice."

"Most teachers I talk to feel unable or unwilling to keep up with new technologies that their students learn or pick up enthusiastically...teachers need to acknowledge they need to adapt in response to a rapidly changing world if they are to remain relevant to their students."

"I can show something ONCE to most kids in the district, but many of the teachers never learn because nothing is intuitive [to them]..."

Disagree:

"Absolutely not! Grow up! The kids learn the same way that we do. Get busy!"

"Students may know more about technology for entertainment but do not necessarily know more than teachers about other, more serious uses of technology."