Lately, it seems I have been confusing and disturbing friends and colleagues from across the political spectrum. My general support for the charter school movement and the principles behind the Common Core initiatives draw ire from those on the left, while my usual skepticism of corporate “interests” in education via E-Rate and assessment dollars brings smirks from those on the right.
I must admit to enjoying the disruption. The issues are thorny and complex and I have the luxury to avoid particulars. Many of our contributors this month don’t have it so easy. Ronald S. Chandler, Chief Information Officer, and Dr. Themistocles Sparangis, Chief Technology Director, IT Customer Services for Los Angeles Unified School District, detail their progress in rolling out the largest 1:1 initiative ever attempted (Beyond the Software). You can also watch the archived panel discussion they held at our most recent Techforum event here: www.livestream.com/techlearning. Connie White, Director of Technology & Learning, Lakeview Academy, Gainesville, GA, lays out some of the professional development strategies she uses for not only students, but faculty and parents, when it comes to the acceptable use of devices in her school (X:1 How to Manage a Multitude of Mobile Devices).
I feel all of our contributing educators this month did a great job of distilling these issues to focus on what I believe Tech & Learning does best—share tools and ideas for edtech leaders. We’ll leave the politics to others. Of course, all of these topics are being hashed out online daily at techlearning.com. Come and share your opinions.
— Kevin Hogan
Editorial Director
khogan@nbmedia.com
