The Answer Sheet: technology


Posted at 07:02 AM ET, 04/25/2013

Can computers really grade essay tests?
By Valerie Strauss
The National Council of Teachers of English say "no," even if there is new software that says "yes."

By Valerie Strauss  |  07:02 AM ET, 04/25/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Debate on Technology in Education, Technology in Education

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/05/2011

How technology will and won't change schools by 2020
By Valerie Strauss
Will ever newer technological devices really lead to an educational revolution and make schools unrecognizable by 2020?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/05/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  education technology, handhelds, larry cuban, technology, technology in schools

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/27/2010

Who in education says 'oops'?
By Valerie Strauss
A former school superintendent explains why virtually nobody in education policy ever admits that they "either goofed or would reconsider their decision."

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools, Charter schools | Tags:  charter schools, education policy, education policymakers, gates foundation, larry cuban, research on charter schools, technology in education

Posted at 12:06 PM ET, 11/23/2010

Murdoch buys education technology company
By Valerie Strauss
This didn't take long: Joel Klein announces on Nov. 9 that at year’s end he will resign as York City’s Schools chancellorship to become executive vice president at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Yesterday the company announced it was buying a technology company with big financial ties to the New York City school system.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:06 PM ET, 11/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  education technology, joel klein, new york city public schools, news corp., news corporation, nyc schools, public schools, rupert murdoch, school policy, school reform, schools, wireless generation

Posted at 03:23 PM ET, 11/07/2010

Why technology scares (some of) us -- and what to do about it
By Valerie Strauss
Do old wounds from school hinder the ability of many adults to deal with Facebook, Twitter, SCVNGR , foursquare, etc. A veteran teacher thinks so.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:23 PM ET, 11/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Technology, Technology | Tags:  baby boomers, facebook, foursquare, technology, twitter

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/05/2010

Is technology changing our brains? -- Willingham
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham looks at the effects of technology on kids and, for that matter, everybody else.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  cognitive science, daniel willingham, effects of technology, how technology affects kids, how technology affects students, is technology changing our brains, steven pinker and cognition, technology and brains, technology and cognition, technology and students, technology in the classroom

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 06/14/2010

Willingham: The unrealized promise of whiteboards
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham looks at the research about how well whiteboards help student learning. His conclusion: Not much.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 AM ET, 06/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Technology, Technology, Technology | Tags:  educational technology, smart boards, technology in schools, whiteboards

Posted at 11:15 AM ET, 05/20/2010

Obama’s mistake with technology in ed reform
By Valerie Strauss
The Obama administration's plan for rewriting No Child Left Behind makes the mistake of relegating technology – a catalyst for all educational reform efforts for the 21st century – to just an “additional, cross-cutting priority.”

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:15 AM ET, 05/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Technology, Technology | Tags:  blueprint for reform, obama and blueprint for reform, obama and mistake, obama and nclb, obamas, teachers college, teachers college at columbia university, technology in education, technology in schools

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 04/28/2010

Social media addiction: Worse than you think
By Valerie Strauss
So 200 University of Maryland students agreed to go without social media for 24 hours--no cell phones or computers--and their reaction was akin to drug withdrawal. I don’t know if these students are clinically addicted or not, but anybody who remembers enjoying life before the cell phone was invented may find some of the student's blog posts disturbing because they reveal thinking that is markedly narrow, unimaginative and too often historically obtuse.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:00 PM ET, 04/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research, Research, Research | Tags:  University of Maryland, kids addicted to technology, kids addicted to video, research, social media, social media experiment, technology

Posted at 06:20 AM ET, 04/26/2010

Vote on Obama's commencement speech contest
By Valerie Strauss
Starting today the public can rate the six public schools named as finalists in a White House competition that offers up President Obama as the prize. Obama will give the commencement speech at the winning school.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:20 AM ET, 04/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Race to the Top | Tags:  Blue Valley Northwest High School, Clark Montessori, Denver School of Science and Technology, Environmental Charter high School, High School Commencement Challenge, Kalamazoo Central High school, MAST Academy, Obama and high schools, Obama gives commencement, Race to the Top, Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge

Posted at 03:23 PM ET, 01/28/2010

Hating interactive whiteboards
By Valerie Strauss
I’ve read a lot about how interactive whiteboards are powerful new tools that allow teachers to create fabulous lessons for their kids. But sixth grade teacher Bill Ferriter hates them, and in this lively piece from Teacher Magazine, explains why.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:23 PM ET, 01/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Technology, Technology | Tags:  technology, white boards

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 01/20/2010

Good news amid screen gloom?
By Valerie Strauss
A new study tells us something we all pretty much know already: young people are spending all of their free time looking at one screen or another--more than 7 1/2 hours a day on electronic media. My colleague Cecilia Kang blogged about the Kaiser Family Foundation, providing interesting details about the lives of youths. Among the findings were that those kids and teens who essentially live on a screen do less well in school than kids who don’t, get in more trouble and report being sad. I’m not sure we know whether the screen time caused these problems or whether the kids with troubles retreat to a screen to escape. But one bit of news that has been portrayed as bad somehow doesn’t seem so bad to me.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 01/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Technology | Tags:  technology and kids

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 10/19/2009

The Best High School in America?
By Valerie Strauss
A reader asked if Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Va., is, in fact, “America’s best high school.” It says so on the cover of Washingtonian magazine’s October issue. The answer: For whom is it the best?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 10/19/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  High School | Tags:  Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, high school rankings