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October 15, 2002
Trend Watch
By T&L Editors
So Long, Summer Vacation
Many school districts nationwide moved up the opening day of school this year, requiring students to report for first period a week or more earlier than in the past. While some districts are experimenting with block scheduling and an early end to the fall semester, others cite the threat of sanctions resulting from poor student performance on standardized tests as the reason for the calendar change. Getting the kids in earlier in the fall means more lead time to prepare them for testing early next year. In Florida, for example, third-graders will have their reading skills tested in the early spring; those who fail state tests won't be promoted.
What's Your Opinion?
Has your school calendar changed to accommodate standardized test prep? We'll report your responses on the Back Page in a later issue. |
The Dark Side of Text Messaging
Just as schools are beginning to accept student cell phone use as part of everyday life, educators and parents are raising concerns that the phones are not always vehicles for harmless chat. A recent Wired News story described kids in the United Kingdom, some as young as 11, who have received intimidating text messages from school bullies on their phones. Child advocates say this form of peer abuse is especially pernicious, because the ubiquity of the technology means bullies can virtually follow their victims into their homes. In the United States, where some kids are already delivering threats via online instant message programs, the situation may only become worse as more wireless companies offer cellular text messaging services.
Schools to Be Trust Fund Babies?
One of the most sweeping educational initiatives since the GI Bill came closer to becoming a reality when both the Senate and House introduced legislation for the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust this summer (congressional hearings are slated for this fall). The fund, aptly nicknamed DO IT, would be used for research and development of innovative learning simulations, new teacher training models, and the digitization of materials from the nation's libraries, museums, and universities, among other initiatives. The project will be financed using revenues earned from government auctions of public radio spectrum, which are expected to reach $18 billion by 2007. DO IT supporters claim the fund will do for education what the NSF does for science and the NIH does for health. www.digitalpromise.org
Jones Knowledge Gets to the Source
The open-source movement in education will soon get a boost when e-learning company Jones Knowledge releases to developers the code for its e-education online course management software. The company, which is phasing out the product, says it's providing the source code to schools and universities to help spur the "global democratization of education via the Internet." Open source has already gained followers worldwide as a low-cost alternative to proprietary software. For example, this year the rural Extremadura region of Spain switched its public schools to a Linux operating system. Mexico's move to install Linux in its nation's schools, however, did not gain momentum-lack of training and technical support were cited as key obstacles.
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