THE EDUCATION UPDATE

Supporters of educational technology are continually looking for that teaching “magic bullet” – a tool that will ease the burden on principals and teachers by helping students to learn in a way that is personal, effective, and efficient.

In their minds, technology can help speed up learning and increase retention by using things like simulations and games.

Some people believe that any change that does happen will occur slowly due to an overall lack of school funding. What they are ignoring, however, is the way that outside technology is changing schools.

Who can deny that the rise of smartphones with built-in internet has altered the way teachers teach – and police – their students?

That wasn’t something handed down by schools, but brought in from the outside. Just because many of the game-changing technologies may very likely be from the private sector, though, doesn’t mean that they won’t greatly affect the classroom.

However, simply saying that doesn’t really give you a sense of what’s out there, or of the many different ways that the landscape of classrooms – and schools in general – could be changed by new technologies. Want to see for yourself? Read on!

1. Say goodbye to textbooks
At least the physical kind. iPads and other e-Readers have made paper textbooks pointless, and many college students have already switched to their digital equivalents.
K-12 schools will follow suit in the next 5 to 10 years because digital books should be far cheaper for schools to buy, especially in bulk, and they are far easier to update as new information is discovered.

2. Trees will rejoice…
… as the use of paper in school decreases by a ridiculous amount – some people say as much as 90%! This is possible because even though we’re saying “e-Reader,” we’re really talking about every student having a handheld computer that will allow them to do all of their schoolwork – reading, writing, test-taking, research – and email it in for grading.

3. Learning Analytics
With the advent of e-learning tools, opportunities to track student’s progress will also arise. It’s a new field called learning analytics, and it will give teachers more data about each student than ever – even if they are not in the classroom.

4. Social media will become mainstream technology
Why? Because even today, cutting edge educators are using Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to engage the younger generation. And as these young people grow up to be educators themselves, they will more attune to this kind of communication than we’ll ever be.

5. Attendance won’t matter…
… because you’ll be able to download lectures and learn when you want to – so long as you turn in your homework by a set deadline. Identity-verification technology will be available to ensure that it’s you doing the work.
For example, you’ll need to turn on a webcam every time you log in to do your homework – but the application on the other end actually reads your eye signature (currently used by security teams to identify known criminals) to verify that it’s you.

6. Home-schooling will become more prevalent
Or at least a version of it – both due to concerns about overcrowding and enhancements in distance learning. Rather than having qualified parents teaching their own children, teachers will hold “class” by using video chat.
Giant, internet-ready flatscreen TVs will make it possible for multiple students from the same “class” to learn together.

7. Specialization will rule
With once-expensive technologies finally entering the realm of affordability, more schools will have specialized classes at an earlier age, such as video editing, photography, and other things that everyone will be able to do easily on their tablet computer.

8. Everything will be personalized
As a result of learning analytics, teachers will be able to personalize the curriculum to each and every student in his/her class.
Are you falling behind? Your teacher will know that way before the exams and will be able to take corrective actions much earlier. Are you weak in a particular topic? Teachers will be able to allocate more time on that just for you.

This article was written by Andrianes Pinantoan. He is a freelance writer who is currently part of the team behind Open Colleges. He can be found on Google+.

Upping the Ante on Education and Jobs
Ask most middle and working class Americans what the two most important issues in the nation today are and a vast majority of them will either say jobs or education. This is because unemployment and the rising cost of tuition are creating a double whammy affect that is leaving many graduates in debt and many prospective students hesitant to commit to hefty student loans. It used to be common sense that if you invested in a college education, studied hard, earned a degree and approached the job market responsibly you were virtually assured of landing a well-paying job. Now not only is the well-paying job not assured, no job is assured, and graduates are left with no means of repaying their debts, much less achieving any semblance of the American Dream.

Are there better days ahead for jobs and education? Recent legislative efforts seem to suggest that there is an impetus within our federal government to ease the burden on students and working class Americans. In the original stimulus package passed in 2008 President Barack Obama carved out some money to reduce student loan debt and that effort appears to have been taken up again.

Last year, the White House launched two Department of Education measures that will attempt to help graduates combat their debts. One measure will create better terms for working class students on loan repayment programs; the other measure will facilitate loan consolidations with better interest rates. Unfortunately, while these measures will benefit new students, they will do nothing for existing borrowers.

Obama wants to help pre-college education infrastructure as well. Last year his administration pleased the nation’s two largest teachers unions by proposing a jobs package that included $60 billion for local school districts, replenishing 35,000 schools and jobs. The overall jobs package had a price tag of $450 billion and, according to US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, would save 280,000 teacher jobs.

While it’s unclear whether these measures and proposals will stand the test of time—congressional battles and election year politics—it’s becoming more and more clear that in order for any candidate to garner middle class votes they will have to address the flailing issues of education reform and unemployment. Hopefully, their campaign promises will be remembered and pushed further into the public discourse.

By now we’ve all probably heard that the ticking “student debt bomb” is set to explode at some point in the next couple years, in the process potentially saddling taxpayers with a significant burden and crippling the standing of American higher education. Once relatively small, student loan debt has exploded in recent years and now, at over $1 trillion in liability, it represents a total value greater than credit card and automobile debt. The average student is over $20,000 in the red – although a concerning minority are well into the six-figure range.\

President Obama has made loan reduction and debt forgiveness a central platform of his reelection campaign, and presumptive challenger Mitt Romney has responded with a proposal of his own. But there is no easy fix for student loan debt. This is partially a factor of its magnitude but it also reflects a long-standing reality: this “debt bomb” has been ticking for some time. A perfect storm of factors has coalesced in recent years to insure that the impending explosion is a memorable one.

What are these long-brewing factors? Here are the major ones:
-Interest rates. The government once offered a full litany of subsidized student loans, thus insuring that graduates could pay back their debt interest-free. In order to compete, private lenders offered low rates as well. With the end of subsidized debt, rates have risen dramatically above the board – and they are expected to jump even higher this year.

-The economy. It’s no secret that the economic recession of the past few years has crippled entry-level hiring, hurt recent college grads, and made student debt even more overwhelming than it would otherwise be. But economic trends – even during the recent periods of growth – have increasingly favored older and more experienced workers at the expense of those who are straight out of school.

-Liberal arts educations. The American collegiate system is grounded on a belief that students should be exposed to a wide range of subjects during their time in school. In theory, this allows for exploration and for the creation of well-rounded individuals. In reality, however, it breeds a system that churns out theater majors who have little hope of finding a job that pays well enough to justify their debt load. A person’s major once mattered little at a time when college degrees were relatively rare; but these days, with most Americans getting some education beyond high school, having relevant skills is a growing necessity.

-The cost of education. Of course, the substantial value of student debt is a direct reflection of skyrocketing tuition rates. The average cost of a 4-year university is over $20,000, a number that has doubled over the past generation and amounts to a total price tag that exceeds $100,000 when cost of living expenses are included. The majority of American families are not capable of spending six figures on a child’s education.

These are the main driving factors behind our current student debt crisis. Although a government measure to reduce interest rates would definitely help graduates in the short term, the long-standing nature of these factors suggests that the root of the problem must be addressed before any meaningful reform can occur.

Learning doesn’t end after you graduate high school or college. Experience in the workplace allows you to learn a variety of new and different things about your field, and sometimes, you may find yourself needing to learn new things on your own in order to succeed in the workplace. Then again, there may also be times that you want to learn something new just for the fun of it, or to keep your mind fresh. And due to the current job market, many are choosing to attend school again through CBT.edu or other various universities to make themselves more enticing job applicants. However, not every has the time or money for higher education, but would still like to learn new skills.  Luckily, in the past few years a lot of free online resources have been developed to help facilitate lifelong learning.  A few of the most popular sites include:

The Khan Academy

The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit online resource that seeks to be able to provide a world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Currently, the Khan Academy offers over three thousand instructional videos on a variety of topics, from elementary school history to college-level finance. The K-12 subjects are a great resource for parents who homeschool their children, or people studying for their GED. The college-level videos are great as a supplement to a current college course, or for a graduate who wants to participate in lifelong learning. For example, learning about finance from the Khan Academy may be a way to help improve your job performance, or improve your personal financial skills.

Open Culture

Open Culture is another online resource that wants to provide free media for lifelong learning. It’s founder is Dan Coleman, Director and Associate Dean of Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program. However, the site itself is not affiliated with Stanford. By using Open Culture you can learn new languages or take free courses in a variety of disciplines. If you’ve had a lifelong dream of learning more about psychology, but don’t have the funds, this is a great resource for you. Additionally, if you are looking to learn Arabic or another language for your job, you can do so at Open Culture.

MIT Open Courseware

MIT Open Courseware allows anyone from around the world to sit in on select MIT class lectures free of cost. This truly groundbreaking tools puts the knowledge of one of America’s most renowned universities into the hands and minds of millions of people across the globe. Anyone can now sit in on their engineering or philosophy classes. Attending MIT is a dream for many, and MIT Open Courseware makes this dream possible by providing free lifelong learning resources.

The Benefits of Lifelong Learning

The benefits of lifelong learning are endless. As mentioned, lifelong learning resources can help you improve your job performance or certain aspects of your home life. These resources may even help as a supplement to other educational endeavors. However, one other major benefit of lifelong learning is the knowledge and power it will imbue you with. You will know so much more than you did before. This can boost your self-confidence and empower you to make the most of your life. Free lifelong learning resources are truly some of the best developments to come out of the Web 2.0 revolution.

On Thursday, February 23rd, it was announced by President Obama that the more strict provisions of No Child Left Behind would not apply to 10 states. The states that received waivers were allowed to skip certain provisions, including one that requires all students to have math and reading proficiency by 2014, so long as they implement certain accountability reforms.

Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and New Jersey all received waivers. However, in order to be excused from certain NCLB requirements, these states will have to allow student test results to factor in the evaluation of a teacher’s performance, and to determine which areas focus needs to placed on.

While many are outraged by the decision, believing that these waivers are allowing schools to be lazy with their education standards, education officials are arguing otherwise.

“I almost hate to use the word ‘waiver’ because it sounds like we are relaxing things,” stated Oklahoma school superintendent and elected Republican, Janet Barresi. “When in fact, it will allow us new flexibility to refocus and be proactive…I think this will be a game-changer in Oklahoma.”

However, the waivers given by President Obama are only band-aid solutions – but the President can’t really offer much more. The strong partisan separation in Capitol Hill has made it nearly impossible to get NCLB reformed, causing many schools to lose funding and suffer greatly. The waivers distributed to the ten aforementioned states were simply saving graces in an otherwise unwavering situation.

“After waiting far too long for Congress to reform No Child Left Behind, my administration is giving the states the opportunity to set higher, more honest standards in exchange for flexibility,” stated President Obama. “We’re giving 10 states the green light to continue making reforms that are best for them.”

Unless Congress can work together to reform bills such as No Child Left Behind and reauthorize those such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, public education in the U.S. will continue to fall behind that of most industrialized nations.

To promote education reform, the Republicans of the House Education and the Workforce Committee are introducing two bills: The Student Success Act and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act. These acts will supplement the accountability provisions that NCLB seems to be lacking with hopes of bringing schools back up to higher standards across the country.

“My colleagues and I on the House Education and the Workforce Committee haven’t lost our sense of urgency,” stated Representative Kline of Minnesota who also serves on the committee. “we must move forward and advance long-term solutions to the challenges facing the nation’s schools.”