XplanaZine

Incubating Next-Gen.Edu
Given a blank slate, what should the 21st century college classroom look like, and how should it be operated? Two newly launched initiatives-one at a large public university and the other at a smaller, private institution- demonstrate the unique journey incubator spaces take from conception to setup and use, even when they’ve been designed with similar goals. In both cases profiled here, many of the actual trappings are almost laundry-list: flexible seating and tables, portable computing devices that can be stashed away, broadband connectivity, collaboration software, interactive whiteboards, and easily viewed displays. — Campus Technology

Drexel Online Launches New Library and Information Science Concentrations to Increase Educational Career Options for Librarians
Drexel University Online, a pioneer in distance education, has increased its degree offerings with the addition of three new concentrations within the Master’s in Library and Information Science program: Competitive Intelligence and Knowledge Management, School Library Media, and Youth Services. These innovative online concentrations will increase the educational opportunities for library and information professionals. — eMediaWire

The rise of ‘virtual schools’ divides education world
Online learning will become the norm and expand a learner’s choices, says Adam Urbanski, a vice president with the American Federation of Teachers. In Minnesota, online enrollment last school year climbed 50 percent over the previous year, though the figures are minuscule, compared with the 840,000 who attend public school. The North American Council for Online Learning says 42 states have significant part- and full-time learning programs serving about 1 million kids, up from about 45,000 in 2000. Still, public schools are concerned that for-profit organizations run online schools. There is also the competition factor: an online school from out of state competing against Minnesota school districts for students and the state dollars that stay with them. — Minnesota Post

Groundbreaking ‘education learning system’ puts East Midlands schools at the forefront of personalised learning and e-safety
Over 600,000 students from across the East Midlands in England are now benefitting from a groundbreaking £45m service that is helping to boost learning, whilst protecting their online safety. The East Midlands Broadband Community, a procurement partnership of 8 local authorities, has teamed up with IT specialist Synetrix to develop one of the most extensive and advanced learning systems in the world. As well as having safe and secure internet access in over 2000 schools, pupils are able to access and share their schoolwork and teaching online, chat and e-mail to each other and create their own personalised web sites within a secure community of registered users. — 24dash.com

Science and Technology: Computers coming to Albanian primary schools
By the end of the year, all primary schools in Albania will have computers and IT centres, the education ministry announced on Sunday (May 25th). About 44% of Albania’s 600,000 primary school pupils have so far benefited from the project, titled “Schools with IT and Communication”. — Southeast European Times

School leaders get advice on ‘green’ computing
Educators can reduce energy consumption by holding online meetings and video conference calls to save on gas and printing costs, programing computers to automatically enter energy-saving “sleep” modes after 20 minutes of idle time, and offering more virtual coursework and professional development. “Going green is a long-term investment. — E-School News

The Value of a Textbook
A genetics Professor and textbook author offers a somewhat controversial defense of textbook prices in view of their value as an investment in education and personal earning power. — Inside Higher Ed

For poor, a gaping digital divide
Chicago heralds itself as one of the largest cities launching WiMax, a wireless network that will provide consumers high-speed Internet access almost anywhere in the city. Yet thousands of its residents, including schoolchildren, won’t be logging on because they can’t afford home computers or Internet access. The significance of such a barrier isn’t lost on Nicol Turner-Lee, founder of the Neighborhood Technology Resource Center, a non-profit where Marie learned computer skills and now is an instructor. People with computer skills in places like India, China and African countries are quickly advancing in the global economy, Turner-Lee said, while Americans without such skills are slipping further behind. — Chicago Tribune

New Agendas for Media Literacy Conference Scheduled For June 6-7 at The University of Texas at Austin
Media education scholars from across the U.S. will come together with experts in gaming, simulations, Second Life, journalism and education to explore the potential of new media for learning at the “New Agendas for Media Literacy” conference June 6 and 7 on The University of Texas at Austin campus. Some of the topics to be addressed during the conference include: preparing teachers for digital learning environment; new media literacy in the formal classrom; and games, simulation and virtual environments. — University of Texas News

Georgia Department of Education to Announce Program for Providing Free Training to Teachers on How to Use Innovative Online Education Resources From Thinkfinity.org
Teachers throughout Georgia will be eligible to receive free training to use the innovative resources of Thinkfinity.org, through a grant from the Verizon Foundation that will be announced at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 7. Thinkfinity.org is the Verizon Foundation’s comprehensive online portal to more than 55,000 educational and literacy resources for teachers, parents and students. — StreetInsider.com

Next-Gen Educator Earns USDLA Award for Innovative Mediasite Course
A professor and her Mediasite coursecast won the highest accolades at the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) National Conference. Professor Diane Zorn won the USDLA Excellence in Teaching for Online Distance Learning award for her use of Sonic Foundry’s market-leading webcasting platform in a fully-online, rich media Philosophy course at York University. — PRNewswire

The Boston Digital Bridge Foundation Wins National Verizon Tech Savvy Award
The Boston Digital Bridge Foundation’s Technology Goes Home @ School Program at the Lilla G. Frederick Middle School has been selected as the national winner of the Second Annual Verizon Tech Savvy Awards. Through the Technology Goes Home program, Boston public school teachers provide computer and technology training to students and their parents after school or on weekends. — Media Newswire

Online books may ease students’ money woes
A coalition of students and professors from more than 100 campuses across the nation have concluded that textbook prices have become a barrier to affordable education. Surveys conducted by the University of California System, the California Student Public Interest Research Group and the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group found that the average student now pays approximately $900 a year for textbooks, which is nearly a fifth of the total tuition and fees at most four-year public institutions. The rising costs and aggressive tactics of publishers have caused many education and research organizations to unite, leading to the formation of the Make Textbooks Affordable Campaign and The Open Textbook Campaign. Open Textbooks are online, open-access, digital textbooks that can be downloaded, printed and recreated without expressed permission from the author. The Make Text Books Affordable website currently lists more than 70 Open Textbooks that have been published and used at a variety of universities. The textbooks range in price from $30 to free. — The Rebel Yell (University of Nevada)

Outsell, Inc. Issues Trio of Reports Analyzing Markets for Education Content, Technology, and Related Services
Outsell, Inc. has published three significant reports as part of its recently expanded education coverage. The reports examine what educators are doing with information, identifying what those at the forefront are using, and where they are investing: K-12 Education Market 2007: Key Trends and Dynamics, Mainstreaming K-12 Special Needs Students: Impact on Products and Services, and Digital Content: Analyzing Demand in the Postsecondary Education Market. — BusinessWire

Study: Teens See Disconnect Between Personal and School Writing
Students see a distinction between the writing they do for school and the writing they do in their personal lives. While the vast majority of 12- to 17-year-olds (85 percent) engage in some form of electronic writing–IM, e-mail, blog posts, text messages, etc.–most (60 percent) don’t consider this actual writing. That’s one of the findings from a study released last week by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools and Colleges.However, 64 percent admitted that conventions from their informal writing do creep into their formal writing occasionally (such as the use of emoticons and common abbreviations, like LOL). The study, Writing, Technology and Teens, involved 700 students aged 12 to 17 and their parents. — The Journal

More than scores, the quality of education is what matters: study
As the center of gravity of technology development and innovation shifts to emerging economies, developed nations have begun taking stock of their science and math education, believed to be determinants of a country’s place in the new global economy. But two articles in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature say caution is needed so that we do not create policies that overstock the science and technology workforce. The authors dispel some of the myths associated with international science and math testing scores, and also point out how school teaching has lagged even in continental Europe. — LiveMint

Study challenges stereotype of tech entrepreneurs
Twenty-somethings with dreams of starting technology companies shouldn’t worry about competing with each other. It’s their parents they need to watch out for. Twice as many U.S.-born tech entrepreneur start ventures in their 50s as do in their early 20s, according to a study released on May 1 by the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Results challenge the stereotype of the typical tech entrepreneur as college-age whiz kids. — Kansas City Business Journal