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July 5, 2005 - Vol. 6, No. 27

TechLearning News

• The Birdville (TX) School District is buying 200 more hand-held computers. Most will go to teachers to use for a variety of administrative tasks, but 75 will be reserved for fifth graders at Mullendore Elementary School.
• Students participating in Michigan's one-to-one learning initiative — Freedom to Learn — are showing a marked improvement in standardized test scores in reading, writing, science and math achievement.
• The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills has released a new report written for policy, education and business leaders who are focused on moving forward an agenda for 21^st century learning.
• The Rapid City School District is auctioning off all district computers that are five-years old or older, including some that are more than 20 years old.

TX District Expands Hand-Held Computer Program

The Birdville (TX) School District knows that good things come in small packages. The district is buying 200 hand-held computers. Most will go to teachers to use for a variety of administrative tasks. The district already has enough of the computers for about 550 teachers and administrators. Kindergarten through third grade teachers use the computers to administer reading tests. Athletic trainers use them to record information about students' injuries or allergies. Seventy-five of the new hand-held computers will be used by fifth-graders at Mullendore Elementary School. Students will use the computers to take class notes, make short videos of projects, and track progress in their classes. The computers come equipped with programs for lessons in English, reading, science, math, social studies, physical education and music. Probes can be attached to the computers to allow students to conduct experiments, collecting and visually analyzing data. Mullendore's principal hopes the hand-held computers will boost science scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.

Source: Star Telegram

MI's One-to-One Initiative Getting Results

Students participating in Michigan's one-to-one learning initiative ý Freedom to Learn ý are showing a marked improvement in standardized test scores in reading, writing, science and math achievement. In January and February 2005, schools took the standardized MEAP test, following the implementation of the Freedom to Learn (FTL) program in the fall of 2004, providing initial data on the effects of the program. Results show that in Flint, MI, where nearly all middle schools are participating in FTL, 7th grade reading scores jumped from 29 percent to 41 percent and 8th grade math scores increased from 31 percent to 63 percent. Across the Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD, student proficiency on standardized tests has increased in both science and math in just one year: science from 68 percent to 80 percent and math from 57 percent to 67 percent. The FTL program provides every student and teacher with access to a wireless notebook PC in a wireless environment, a development that has been credited with improving grades, motivation and discipline in classrooms across the state. Aimed at improving student achievement and engagement in Michigan schools, FTL is one of the largest programs of its type in the country with some 20,000 middle school students and 1,200 teachers participating from 188 schools across 95 districts.

Source: Freedom to Learn

Partnership Calls for 21^st Century Skills Assessment

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills has released a new report, "The Assessment of 21^st Century Skills: The Current Landscape," written for policy, education and business leaders who are focused on moving forward an agenda for 21^st century learning. The Partnership argues that while the assessment landscape is replete with assessments that measure knowledge of core content areas, there is a comparative lack of assessments and analyses focused on elements of 21^st century learning: 21^st Century Content (Global Awareness, Financial, Economic and Business Literacy and Civic Literacy), Learning Skills (Information and Communication Skills, Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills, and Interpersonal & Self- Directional Skills), and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy. Additionally, there is a growing consensus that current assessments are not adequately measuring a student's ability to engage in the kinds of complex thinking and problem-solving tasks required of a 21^st century learner. The Partnership notes that with regard to learning skills and ICT literacy, both private and public sector organizations are demonstrating new approaches to assessing 21^st century skills. And internationally, a broad consensus exists among education ministries that ICT literacy must be treated as a core skill area in the new century. The report is accompanied by "Assess 21," a Web-based repository for information on assessments of 21^st century skills. Assess 21's goal is to highlight what assessments are available as well as make visible where particular gaps in the assessment of 21^st century content and skill domains exist.

Source: Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Old Computers Must Go

The Rapid City School District is auctioning off all district computers that are five-years old or older. Some computers being disposed of are more than 20 years old. The old computers will be replaced with some 6,000 new computers that the district is purchasing this summer for more than $5 million The district sees the move as a way of being sure that teachers are using state-of-the-art technology with students. But teachers are worried that they will have fewer computers to go around. Once the new computers are in place, the district will have about 10,000 computers. Rick Bates, the district's director of information technology, advised the school board to make a one-time purchase to negotiate better purchase prices. Bates said he believes teachers aren't using computer for two reasons: First, the computers haven't been maintained as they well as they could have been, and second, teachers are intimidated to go into a computer lab without technology support. Implementing a networked computer system will provide better maintenance and give teachers better service when a computer doesn't work. But the bigger problem may be the lack of support. The district eliminated instructional technology specialists a year ago. The specialists were available in computer labs and classrooms to help teachers plan and implement a computer project. At "listening sessions" preparing for the transition, teachers weren't complaining about the age of their computers or equipment failures. They were concerned about the lack of support for the act of teaching with technology.

Source: Rapid City Journal