Converge Special Report

c e n t e r f o r d i g i ta l e d u c at i o n ’ s TM TM

Special Report

inside: 12 Finding and Delivering Curriculum 20 Developing New Digital Strategies 22 Policy and Legislation

KAREN CATOR, Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Dept. of Education

The Textbook Reformation & Digital Content volume 3 | issue 2

contents volume 3 | issue 2

8 introduction

5 What’s With All the Hype?

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So You Want to Go Digital — Now What?

The big idea

6 The Reformation in Action

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10 Laying the Groundwork: It All Starts With Infrastructure

16 Organizing Digital Content: The Importance of the LMS

12 Finding and Delivering Curriculum: Options Abound in the Digital Curriculum World

18 Adding Digital Data Protections: Preventing Digital Leaks and Intrusions

14 Making Device Decisions: The Right Tool Can Make All the Difference

20 Developing New Digital Strategies: Moving to 1:1 Printing and Fine-Tuning Assessment

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Policy and Legislation: Where has it been and what’s coming?

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Barriers to Success — and How to Hurdle Them

28 Mandates and Funding: Moving from “Seat Time” to Competency-Based Models

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What the future holds

Digital Technology Continues to Evolve

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The Reformation in Action

30 Teacher Buy-In and Training: Letting Go of the Textbook as the Course Guide

Transforming Learning Now and Into the Future

32 Plagiarism, e-Cheating and Copyright Infringement: Protecting the Credibility of Published Work

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From the Publisher

“History’s lesson is to make the most of reform opportunities when they arise because they do not arise often and they do not last long.”1 - Christopher “Kit” Bond, Former U.S Senator — Missouri

We’ve very carefully titled this Special Report “The Textbook Reformation and Digital Content.” We could have titled it “The Textbook Revolution,” calling out the benefits of student engagement, low-cost wireless computing devices, virtualization, interactive whiteboards and secure printing for every classroom.

But the reality is that the national education market is still saturated with lengthy textbook adoption cycles and industry practices that are deeply rooted in a system of beliefs about teaching and learning. However, the reasons not to reform content delivery and the classroom are becoming rather thin. Digital content providers have created learning materials that supersede the flatness of a textbook. Content now has dimension, with video and sound.

The systems that surround these interchangeable learning objects now complete tasks automatically that would otherwise require workbooks, paper tests and a team of people.

The truth is, it’s not really about the textbook reforming at all. It’s about changing people and systems to utilize tools that accomplish tasks more efficiently, and arguably better than before, at less cost.

Leilani Cauthen Publisher, Converge Special Reports Converge/Center for Digital Education

K-20 Educational institutions are on the brink of digital reformation. The advent of digital textbooks and the proliferation of digital content on the Internet and elsewhere are enabling students and teachers to take learning to new heights. But reformation is never simple or without struggle. Behind every successful reformation is not only the wherewithal to implement change, but the strategies and policies that spur effective actions.

This Converge Special Report will explore not only the technological tools and capabilities that are agents of change, but also the legislation and policies that are making this transformation possible. We discuss how digital textbooks are being used along with other electronic content and evolving learning support mechanisms. We also discuss emerging procurement methodologies and management tools as we make the move to digital textbooks. In addition, we identify obstacles that are surfacing as we shift to a digital learning landscape.

We understand this reformation is critical and wide sweeping. We also understand that although most schools are on a trajectory for digital content adoption, few are in the same place or making the same assumptions. To that end, we hope this report will help schools and institutions find their place and help them develop sound strategies.

John Halpin Vice President, Strategic Programs Center for Digital Education

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INTRODUCTION

WHAT’S WITH ALL THE HYPE?

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THe big idea

The Reformation in Action These things we know to be true: Textbooks are expensive.

A new college textbook costs an average of $163 in 2011, according to research group Student Monitor.5 Textbooks can become outdated quickly.

Wars take place, laws change, new scientific concepts emerge — yet none of these can be added to an already published print textbook.

Textbooks are heavy.

Studies have shown textbooks weigh anywhere from 2 to 7 pounds each.6 Since most students carry many books — not just textbooks, but ancillary reading and notebooks — the average backpack weight is a hefty 30 pounds.7 Textbook content is mass produced and generic.

Publishers can struggle to satisfy diverse national constituencies leading to content that is written blandly and watered down.

What is actually happening: The University of California at Irvine’s School of Medicine, through its “iMedEd” initiative, provides tablets to its medical students containing the entire first-year curriculum, including digital texts, audio and video libraries, podcasts and tools such as digital stethoscopes.10

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Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., turned to e-books to cut costs, providing open source digital versions of Shakespeare for a literature class.11

East Austin Prep Academy, a middle school in Texas, teaches students how to create their own educational video games aimed at solving social issues.12

What we are learning: Digital textbooks can be more economical.

Digital textbooks in higher education cost approximately $10 to purchase and $4 to rent.8 K-12 districts, too, can save money by switching to digital content, particularly if the district avails itself of open source or leased resources. However, the current nontransferrable nature of digital textbooks can make costs equivalent to traditional textbooks when you consider the hardware, network support, maintenance and professional development costs.

Digital textbooks are up to date and relevant.

They can be keyword-searched and include embedded, interactive tests, games and quizzes, and engaging multi-media content.

Digital textbooks can be personalized to meet academic strengths and weaknesses.

Students with disabilities, English Language Learners, struggling students, gifted students and others with special needs can find particular help in adaptive, technology-based solutions.

Digital textbooks are lightweight.

E-readers and tablets range in weight from a half pound to two pounds — much easier to tote in a backpack than a pile of heavy, sharp-cornered textbooks.9 Digital curriculum is much more than the textbook transformed.

The digital curriculum of the future will hardly resemble the online page-turning experience that most people think of when they hear the term digital textbook. Instead, digital curriculum will take on completely new forms of adaptive, game-based learning and content mashups.

Brevard County Schools in Florida is utilizing and producing video content — with students and teachers creating more than 30,000 digital artifacts of their own. Students also participated in live videoconferences with the Tennessee Aquarium and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.13

At Audubon Elementary in Orlando, young students learn letters through an augmented reality app, displayed on an interactive whiteboard; engaged children see 3D alligators snarl and lions pounce rather than simply staring at flat pictures.14

Charter high schools in New York and Chicago are using a curriculum built around computer games. The Chicago school is supported by the MacArthur Foundation.15

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Office of Governor Patrick

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan makes education reform announcement.

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So You Want to Go Digital ...

Now What?

H

ow can you shift your institution to using more digital content, or even go entirely textbook free? The path isn’t the same for every school or college, but there are some common steps to take. You need to ensure connectivity of digital learning devices. You need to consider whether you will provide these devices and, if so, which ones. Content is another point along the path: what to offer, where to get it, how to organize it and how to afford it. Here are some considerations as you make your journey. n

Digital Content by the Numbers 3 Converge found that 19% of districts are using existing textbooks, but no longer purchasing new textbooks.16 3 Digital will be the dominant form factor for textbooks in higher education within the next seven years, says Xplana.17 3 Sales of e-textbooks in higher education totaled $267.3 million in 2011, according to Simba Information.18 3 Simba Information estimates the digital slice of the college textbook market in 2013 will be 11%.19 3 The e-learning market size in K-12 is $2.9 billion, representing 46 cents out of every $100 spent. In higher ed: $24.4 billion ($5.60 of every $100 spent).20 3 68% to 88% of respondents in preK-12 schools have implemented a learning management system, according to Simba Information. The market is expected to grow 7.3% through 2014-15.21

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GOing DIGITAL

Laying the Groundwork

fLICKR/Scottsdale CC

It All Starts with Infrastructure

Student Tech Center at Scottsdale Community College, Ariz. The college has virtualized over 100 apps.

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sing digital content successfully requires covering a variety of bases. You don’t want to spend precious dollars on thousands of tablets and then not be able to use them due to lack of bandwidth or failure to instruct teachers on how to integrate them into the curriculum effectively. You also don’t want your network to fail during a classroom lesson or statewide online test.

To take full advantage of today’s technological wizardry, you need

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to build a strong infrastructure and provide reliable, fast WiFi. Expect the number of networked devices you will encounter to continue to increase. Not only will students likely have more than one (a phone and a tablet, for example), but your classrooms may each have networked printers, interactive whiteboards and other tools — all demanding bandwidth. Also, 3D images and video in digital content will tax networks more than text alone.

(A file in 3D is four to five times as

large as 2D.) Within 5 years, you can expect to see a 4- to 10-fold increase in demand, so prepare for growth.

To manage this, districts and universities need to invest in a robust local area network (LAN). Wireless with the 802.11n standard will provide bandwidth up to 600 MB, while the new 802.11ac standard — expected to be ratified later this year — can provide up to a 1 gigabyte connection.

Quality-of-service protocols need to be in place to manage

FLICKR/settlja

Tennessee State University found it could save $1.2 million its first three years through a virtual desktop interface. The university streams 17 specialty apps that students and faculty can access from computers.

It is also working on adding mobile apps.

your applications and prioritize those that are most critical, such as high-stakes assessments. Additionally, IT staff need to know how to support and manage large influxes of new devices; some institutions may find they need additional staff for this purpose.

Virtualized desktops are another option. These provide apps using a central server, with connected computers and devices acting as thin clients. With a virtual desktop interface, students can access all the same apps anywhere they have Internet access on campus. Educational institutions can repurpose older hardware as thin clients, giving new life to old PCs. Infrastructure for this can be securely outsourced, and the apps and content require fewer licenses. Moving to the cloud and virtualizing can save districts and universities money while smoothing the path toward digitized content.

Campus Center, Tennessee State University campus.

Tennessee State University found it could save $1.2 million its first three years through a virtual desktop interface, says Network Manager Don Fritts. The university streams 17 specialty apps that students and faculty can access from computers. It is also working on adding mobile apps.

Since implementing virtual desktops, the university has seen about a 20 percent increase in network bandwidth demand, which Fritts expects to double within the next couple of years.

“From a wireless network perspective, I can barely keep up,” he says. “Every student on campus has a minimum of four devices on the wireless network.” In 2011, the university spent over $500,000 in wireless updates and expects to spend that much or more in 2012. 22 Scottsdale Community College in Arizona has virtualized over 100 apps. This provides access to every user at the college, at a cost savings of over $250,000 annually. 23 n

Infrastructure Considerations 3 Do you have enough access points, 3

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3 3 3

3 3

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either physical or virtual?

How many devices per student or per classroom can your network accommodate while still maintaining fast connectivity?

Will you use cloud services, if so, what types of security issues will need to be addressed? What type of management software will you need to install?

Is your infrastructure solution scalable?

Does your configuration avoid bottlenecks and single points of failure?

Are consumer cloud services and Web applications being used without IT oversight?

Do you have network analytic tools and academic analytics in place?

To what extent have you adopted virtualization? Is your data center virtualized?

Have you considered whether a virtualized desktop infrastructure would work for you?

For more information about infrastructure considerations and issues, download the Converge Special Report on Campus Infrastructure at www.convergemag.com/ reports/q1-2012/.

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GO DIGITAL GOing DIGITAL

Finding and Delivering Curriculum Options Abound in the Digital Curriculum World

flickr/studyisland

Study Island offers subscription-based online, state standards-based learning programs to schools across the nation.

O

nce your infrastructure is in place, you’ll need to look at the material you wish to provide to students. Districts and universities can obtain digital curriculum from several sources: • commercial publishers, who have transitioned in the past few years to digital content, now sell or lease course CDs and DVDs, digital versions of books, specialized learning management systems, educational games and tutoring software, and chunks of content (such as individual chapters of textbooks); • software publishers, large and small — a plethora have sprung up to offer innovative project-based and gamebased learning, including online, self-paced courses; • free content collections, called open educational resources (OER);

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examples include videos from Khan Academy, complete courses from MIT and Stanford, and lesson plans and other curricula aligned to Common Core State Standards from nonprofit sites like Curriki.org, the Gateway to 21st Century Skills (funded by the National Education Association), and Merlot and Rice University’s Connexions Open Stax program; • libraries, which are becoming repositories of virtual content more so than buildings housing print books; they are redefining themselves from collection assembly and development to a patrondriven, pay-per-view model; • self-created curriculum, produced by educators, district instructional designers and/or students.

Most of this content is designed to work on any device

A combination of online and in-person learning can blend the best of both worlds, allowing a student social interaction while still giving the opportunity for self-paced, individualized learning. Studies have shown this type of approach achieves the best academic results. or operating system, though increasingly it is being created to take advantage of the touchscreen capabilities found in tablets and smartphones. Educational apps are also being designed specifically for mobile devices.

Having a digital curriculum allows campuses more flexibility in

how they offer courses and classes.

Instead of having all students come to the physical school building, which places burdens on buildings and staff, some districts and universities are shifting to distance models. While not recommended for every type of class, online learning provides benefits for educational institutions as well as students.

Options include: • Fully online – Florida’s Virtual School movement, for instance, allows students to take classes from home.

• Blended or hybrid – Some schools have kids taking traditional courses in classrooms but then supplementing this with online courses from content vendors. Such vendors can pair off-site subject matter experts with students. They may not

physically be with students, but can work with them online.

Some companies provide certified teachers on a 24/7 basis who can answer student questions by text, email or phone. A combination of online and in-person learning can blend the best of both worlds, allowing a student social interaction while still giving the opportunity for self-paced, individualized learning. Studies have shown this type of approach achieves the best academic results. 24 • In class – Even though students might come to a physical classroom, they can still use self-paced learning if needed.

Teachers may place students in small group activities or paraprofessionals may monitor classrooms where students learn on their own. n

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flickr/ mrpetersononline

GOing DIGITAL

Making Device Decisions The Right Tool Can Make All the Difference

O

nce a digital curriculum is established, campuses must decide how digital content will be delivered to students.

Educational institutions that want to buy devices for students face choices between cost and functionality.

• E-readers may be less expensive and allow students to read a digitized version of a print textbook, but they may not have full interactivity, net connectivity and capacity to run educational apps.

• Netbooks and notebooks can be less expensive (some netbooks are only $40 plus a two-year data plan). They also allow for easier content creation due to the inclusion of a keyboard, but in lacking a touchscreen or mobile operating system, they may cause students to miss out on educational apps.

• Tablets can be expensive and relatively fragile; due to lack of a keyboard, they have been criticized

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as being less suited for content creation than for consumption (though a stylus or a wireless keyboard can mitigate this problem). Some can’t run Flash apps (this is becoming less of a concern as more developers shift to HTML5 for animations). They also come in a wide variety of sizes.

• Hybrid devices use various combinations of netbook and tablet features such as touchscreens and keyboards. Some devices have “breakaway” tablets that can be docked into a keyboardequipped station when students need to type, for example.

• Some districts are choosing to let students bring their own devices, so classrooms can be a hodgepodge of different tools. Since so much digital content is device agnostic, it may not matter which platform is used.

Students at Waverly Shell-Rock Middle School in Waverly, Iowa, are issued tablets that they can

52% of freshmen students at Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania find tablets have a positive effect on communication with faculty. take home for studying, as well as for use in class. Bridgette Wagoner, director of educational services for the district, says the tablets have changed the way students learn.

“Students make a lot of movies; they use their cameras all the time; they use Web-based tools and app-based tools.”25 At Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa., all incoming freshmen in 2011-12 were given both a tablet and laptop. Early assessments show that 52 percent of students find the

A New Model for College Learning?

Students working with multiple formats: video, traditional text and digital interactives.

tablet has had a positive effect on communication with faculty.

Seton Hill Assistant Chemistry Professor Demetra Czegan helped create an interactive digital magazine for students to put on their tablet and bring to the lab, complete with penciled notes and diagrams, photos, videos and reference material.26 Reed College in Portland, Ore., tried both e-readers and tablets and surveyed students afterwards. The tablets outperformed the e-readers, though both devices had pluses and minuses. The study authors concluded that tablet adoption is likely to “grow rapidly” in higher education.27 Adding device management software is also a critical consideration when choosing devices as it will reduce the burden on IT staff from having to load every single device separately. n

A new program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gives people who complete free online courses at the university recognition for their achievement.

These courses are not the same as the popular Open CourseWare courses the school began in 2001 (attended by 125 million people to date). Instead, the new “MITx” courses offer a full online learning program with student interaction, labs and assessments.

Students who finish earn a certificate (though not college credit). About 120,000 students signed up for MITx’s first class Stephen Carson, external relations in electronics and director at MIT circuits.

OpenCourseware.

Similarly, Stanford University recently began an open course program run by KnowLabs. This program includes tests, graded assignments and virtual interactions with fellow students. Students will not earn academic credit but will earn a “statement of accomplishment.” More than 100,000 people signed up for the first course in artificial intelligence.

The Stanford professor behind the course, Sebastian Thrun, told WIRED magazine in a recent interview that he predicts this type of learning model will transform higher education so completely that within 50 years, only about 10 universities will still be standing.28 As technology makes individualized, self-paced learning easier to achieve, one result may be the dissolution of the longstanding liberal arts model. Why spend four years earning a degree on an institution’s timetable if work can be completed more quickly on a self-paced online basis, especially if employers accept skillsoriented badges and certificates?

“The issue of disaggregation is going to be a trend as learners get more savvy,” says Stephen Carson, external relations director at MIT OpenCourseware. “People will pull together the pieces they need for their particular program” — and only those pieces.29

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GOing DIGITAL

flickr/ Lance Taylor

Organizing Digital Content The Importance of the LMS

D

igital content is increasingly being organized through an LMS, or learning management system. Learning management systems aim to be one-stop shops where students and instructors (as well as parents and administrators) can find curriculum; student data such as test results, grades and other assessments; email; and links to other communication media in the classroom — message boards, wikis or social media sites.

An LMS can be located on a district or university network, within a digital content collective or via a third-party cloud. More than half of K-12 districts now organize content this way, with about 65 percent saying

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this had a positive impact on student achievement, according to Simba Information in a 2011 report.30 In higher education, LMS use is even more common: about 90 percent of colleges and universities employ one. 31 Many K-12 districts say they are utilizing an LMS due to the Common Core State Standards, which emphasize digital assessment and personalized instruction. Having an LMS makes it easier to find, modify and share student information. It can also be used as a portal to digital content resources and as a link to instructors’ professional learning communities.

Leon County Schools near Tallahassee, Fla., is developing an

enhanced LMS that organizes student and teacher content in one spot.

When finished, Leon County’s Local Instructional Improvement System, or LIIS, will contain curriculum and instruction information; assessment data; attendance and grade book capabilities; analytic reports and parent, student and teacher portals.

“Right now, a student may have to log in to a math book from one publisher and log in to a science book from another publisher — but with the LIIS, all that content will be in one place,” says Director of Teaching and Learning Scotty Crowe. The system also promises to be a time-saver for teachers.

Higher education institutions are

50% 65%

OF K-12 districts now OF these districts organize content say this has a through an LMS. positive impact on student achievement.

90%

OF colleges and universities now employ an LMS.

It Takes an LMS to Raise a Child Leon High School Leon County Schools near Tallahassee, Fla., is developing an enhanced LMS that organizes student and teacher content in one spot.

finding that traditional, legacy learning management systems need to be adapted and broadened as well so that wikis, blogs and other collaborative Web 2.0 tools can be included. Another issue: providing access to student work done in other courses, which can be helpful when the current class builds upon the content of a previous one.

As digital content loses its textbook wrapper and becomes more a collection of elements, it is overlapping with the assortment of data found in the LMS. And, as the LMS moves from being a monolithic tool to one that uses more modular technologies, digital content and the LMS may at some point merge and integrate. n

Students have a universe of influences, both inside and outside the classroom, and what’s happening outside the classroom can have a significant impact on their achievement.

A new learning management system being developed at Worcester Public Schools in Massachusetts is offering a holistic view of its students. The district is hiring community outreach coordinators to explore social service and other options within the community to identify needs among its students.

“We’ve come to appreciate that student performance is not just based on time in school or academic inputs,” says Chief Academic Officer Jeff Mulqueen. “Students have a variety of stressors in their life or needs going on that can impact academic performance.”

Outreach coordinators can — via the LMS — monitor students’ portfolios and also build coalitions in the community of providers, beyond what a school counselor might offer, in order to have those supports available if students need them.

In addition, the district’s LMS contains a “parent academy” — a portal to learning that encourages other family members to take advantage of digital content resources, in the belief that the more education surrounding a child, the better educated he or she will become.

These kinds of tools are organized in the LMS, which features a student’s academic record, health and wellness measures, and college and career information.

“It empowers the students and parents in ways that are beyond the traditional sense of schooling,” says Mulqueen.

“Everyone’s very excited about the new learning opportunities and the new ways adults can support learning.”32

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GOing DIGITAL

Stan Gatewood, CISO at the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia.

Adding Digital Data Protections Preventing Digital Leaks and Intrusions

E

Download the handbook “One-to-One 2.0: Building on the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) Revolution” for detailed security tips, www.convergemag.com/paper/ One-to-One-20-Building-on-theBring-Your-Own-Device-BYODRevolution.html.

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ducational institutions must concern themselves with security, to prevent both information getting out (such as students’ academic data, health records and financial information) as well as hackers getting in. Data firewalls must be strong.

User authentication can be an issue; educators don’t want to have to repeatedly sign on as they move about a campus or visit different content repositories. Single sign-on allows authenticated users to avoid this hassle — but it can present risks if not handled properly.

Students bringing their own devices and controlling what is on them is another security issue (a student’s device may be infected with a virus, for instance). Content filtering needs to be in place in K-12 institutions to meet Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) standards — compliance is

required if schools use E-Rate federal funding. When students have mobile devices connecting via 3G or 4G, one solution is to use a virtual private network client that runs in the background and is able to tunnel this traffic through the school network so the school content filtering rules are applied, even when people take mobile devices home.

Students carry mobile devices with all their learning materials — digital content, test results, papers and other homework — making them vulnerable in the event they are lost. Students should be given cloud backup and encouraged to use it, and/or encouraged to back up often to another source. Similarly, campuses must have data backup and disaster recovery plans in place. Cloud-based providers can be used to take care of this issue for campuses. n

Inspired to join the textbook reformation, but don’t know where to start?

Download our complementary “Special Report Supplement: Funding and Professional Development,” to find funding opportunities for e-textbooks and digital content, and professional development support.

 Coming soon to www.convergemag.com/reports

Also don’t miss our Converge Special Report Update!

This webinar will cover the main themes of the Special Report and feature speakers from education that are paving the road ahead with their textbook transitions. A live Q&A session will allow you to ask some of your most pressing questions about how to bring e-textbooks and digital content to your campus.

 Register soon at www.convergemag.com/events/webinars/

GOing DIGITAL

Developing New Digital Strategies

SHUTTERSTOCK

Moving to 1:1 Printing and Fine-Tuning Assessment

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ust because we go digital, doesn’t mean we go paperless. Teachers still have many needs for printing — for example, customized worksheets for students, or a child’s digital art project to send home to parents. Schools may need to print full-color literary magazines or yearbooks or other student-created projects. Sometimes the use of a digital device or digital content isn’t appropriate for a certain assignment and still requires paper. What works best with today’s educational apps and digital content is to have networked printers in each classroom.

This print-on-demand, one-printer-per-classroom strategy increases

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flexibility. If you are teaching 20 to 30 students all at different levels, you can print sets of learning materials based on the particular student’s needs. This approach enables personalized learning as opposed to the cookie-cutter approach in play for years. Children who might be stigmatized by pre-printed, tracked and color-coded material are able to avoid this; nobody can tell who is on which track when the worksheets are all the same color.

At the higher education level, instructors are increasingly collating material from various sources into a personalized coursebook. Instead of a book with 800 printed pages,

students might receive a shorter, loosely bound throwaway. This trend is expected to move into K-12.

E-print can be used to push content on a schedule. Teachers can send homework to at-home students through this method. Similarly, publishers can use it for pushing content. Printers can also be used to connect wirelessly with students’ and teachers’ mobile devices to print screen captures and other material.

Standardized printers can be more efficient for districts than a mishmash of unmanaged varying types.

At Tacoma Public Schools in Tacoma, Wash., Director of Instructional Technology Michael Farmer says

“We used to have to stop and drop a dipstick and take a test.

Now there is real-life evidence that is more authentic and happening in real time.”

— Bridgette Wagoner, Director of Educational Services, Waverly Shell-Rock Middle School, Iowa

standardization makes maintenance easier and saves on bulk purchasing of toner and other supplies. 33 School districts with centrally managed printers can better track and control the use of features such as color printing, which often isn’t needed. Teachers can also print Web selections only, rather than entire pages, saving further on ink.

As technology evolves in schools and colleges, more are likely to feature apps that involve 3D rendering.

3D printers are emerging in the market, including some that can print in plastic, enabling engineering students to see and touch their prototypes.

Fine-Tuning Assessment

Too often, standardized tests with their pre-set timetables (perhaps at the beginning, middle and end of a school year, or upon completion of a particular subject) don’t serve the needs of digital learners. Instead, more frequent ongoing assessments can be used to foster continuous growth. This model is an integral part of the new learning process that digital content enables.

For example: If a teacher is planning a week of studying geometry on right triangles, she will want to introduce the topic, then find out where her students are. Who already gets it? Who doesn’t? What are the misconceptions she must overcome?

To help assess her students, she can throw out a few quick questions and have students answer via virtual clickers in their mobile devices, or

perhaps by texting answers using their smartphones. Students who might shy away from raising their hands or asking questions can instead transmit answers privately. This gives a teacher a more accurate assessment of her students’ understanding, letting her immediately adjust her plan of action and tailor it to meet the needs of students.

Ongoing assessments throughout the week further help her differentiate her instruction. Struggling students can be given additional material; those who are ready can move forward while still engaged. In other words, immediate needs are met through adaptive digital learning.

Even without teachers present, students can make use of assessments and feedback. Students can have access through self-directed learning apps to content that is shaped as they use it, so their learning pathway is built by what they demonstrate that they know. In other words, learning that “learns the learner as the learner learns,” similar to the technology that lets Amazon suggest a book or Netflix a movie that fits your sensibilities, based on your past history and your patterns. This type of testing will also be the foundation of the new Core Curriculum Assessments that will go live in 2014.

At Waverly Shell-Rock Middle School in Iowa, where students are equipped with tablets, teachers make formative assessments by embedding questions in videos, says Bridgette Wagoner, director of educational services. Students respond via their

tablets, enabling teachers to make on-the-fly adjustments, either re-teaching or moving on more quickly than originally planned.

Having students perform tasks — such as creating videos — helps teachers get “more relevant and realistic evidence of their learning,” says Wagoner. “We used to have to stop and drop a dipstick and take a test. Now there is real-life evidence that is more authentic and happening in real time.”

Overall, she says, these types of assessments have allowed learning to become more student-centered, personalized, creative and collaborative. 34 n

The Questions to Ask When Considering Digital Content • Is it engaging? Does it use multimedia or other visual elements to draw in visually oriented students?

• Does it use gaming? Not all subjects are as conducive to gamification as others.

• Is it dynamic? Can it adjust to learners’ individual needs?

• Are assessments embedded? When and how is the data made available?

Is feedback instant? Are virtual clickers enabled?

• Are there metrics for accountability?

How are these tabulated and provided to teachers?

• Is content logical and easy to follow?

• What kind of student training might be needed before using this content?

• What kind of teacher training is needed?

• Is it self-paced? If not, what type of instructor assistance is needed?

• Can paraprofessionals be on hand or are teachers needed for guidance?

• Is it platform agnostic?

• Can students use it to create content?

• Is it collaborative?

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POLICY & LEGISLATION

david kidd

Policy and Legislation

Federal Communications Commission building: The FCC states that savings could reach $250 per student each year if schools move to digital textbooks.

Where Has it Been and What’s Coming?

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he adoption of digital content in public education depends to a large degree on government policy and legislation, at both federal and state levels. In many instances, changes have been made that are helpful to the textbook reformation.

Too often, however, there remains a continuing perception of digital content as e-textbooks; as high-tech PDFs — perhaps jazzed up with zoomable pictures, but essentially books translated to pixels. This appears to be changing with new initiatives.

A Look at the Past

Until recently, state and federal legislation dealt with “the book” as

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the vehicle for educational substance.

Procurement policies and funding have been textbook-centric. Campuses typically buy core subject books in five- to seven-year cycles; math books might be purchased one year, science the next and so forth, with the core book being “refreshed” when a new cycle starts — assuming the educational institutions could afford it.

Schools facing tough financial times have extended their textbook cycles beyond seven years. Some have books a decade or more out of date, without enough copies for all students.

Education measurements have focused on content from books — on whether students can master this

david kidd

Karen Cator, director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, is a proponent of “untethered learning” — more virtual and mobile learning — as well as a “smart demand” process to replace the traditional textbook purchasing model in K-12 education.

material. These measurements have not focused on skills attainment or knowledge derived from multi-media digital resources. The emphasis has been on homogeneity; in this factory model, all students of a certain grade are expected to attain mastery of standardized, textbookcontained content. Measurements have not allowed for personalized learning or education customized to a local area. High-stakes testing has been annual, with no timely feedback to schools or teachers.

Federal laws such as Title I have provided funding for textbooks and for technology. No Child Left Behind emphasized high-stakes testing and inspired “teaching to the test” rather than studentcentered, personalized learning.

Meanwhile, other initiatives have supported technological innovation.

The National Technology Plan and National Broadband Act of 2010 pushed for nationwide broadband in homes and schools. STEM (science, technology, engineer and math) educational initiatives have funded programs to attract teachers and students to these high-need fields (recently, a movement to add the arts has led to so-called STEAM initiatives as well). 35 The federal E-Rate program subsidizes technology purchases based on the percentage of students in free and reduced lunch programs (schools can save up to 90 percent of such costs). At this time, E-Rate doesn’t support mobile devices used at home — but is studying doing so through pilot programs in U.S. schools.

The Common Core State Standards represent another policy change, adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. The Common Core sets up detailed standards of attainment higher than most states, but leaves specific content up to users; it provides a map showing detailed goals, but leaves the paths to these goals up to the educator.

Within the standards are emphases on collaboration and technological integration, which are of course compatible with the shift to digital content.

The federal E-Rate program subsidizes technology purchases based on the percentage of students in free and reduced lunch programs (schools can save up to 90 percent of such costs).

Assessments for the Common Core are expected to involve online testing.

Two large organizations are developing assessment tests — the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC).

Most states that have adopted the Common Core should begin implementing it later in 2012, and need to be ready for online testing not long afterward. 36

Promising New Federal Policies

At the beginning of 2012, the Obama administration challenged all K-12 schools to move to interactive digital textbooks within five years.

It released the Digital Textbook Playbook to show districts why and how they should move toward this goal. 37 In March 2012, the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Education announced more steps on the move to digital. The government has established the Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission to create a blueprint for K-12 schools to make this transition. The commission is expected to release an action plan by late 2012.

As part of its statement of support for the commission’s work, the FCC evaluated a Project RED study and released new side-by-side cost models of traditional learning versus “new” learning, illustrating a savings of $250 per student each year if schools move to digital textbooks.

According to the FCC, conservative estimates show that: • a traditional learning environment, including traditional textbooks, paper, technology and connectivity, costs an estimated $3,871 per student per year; • a new learning environment in 2012, including digital learning content, devices, technology and connectivity, costs an estimated $3,621 per student per year.

The FCC also pointed out that the U.S. trails other countries in adopting digital content. South Korea, for example, is set to begin the transition in 2015. 38 In these initiatives, the FCC and Department of Education use the term “digital textbooks,” which we

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have shown in this report does not begin to describe the transformative changes expected as institutions shift to the use of mobile digital content. However, a Department of Education official clarified this language at an education conference.

Karen Cator, director of the Office of Educational Technology for the Department of Education, explains that “digital textbooks” is a shorthand term for a larger conception of digital content. Cator, speaking at an International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) conference in February 2012, says the administration used the term as a bridge term to refer to the evolution from traditional to digital teaching, with all the multi-media and other possibilities this holds.

In her talk at the conference, Cator also called for “untethered learning” — more virtual and mobile learning — as well as a “smart demand” process to replace the traditional textbook purchasing model in K-12 education. 39 The Obama administration is proposing additional funding for education innovation in its 2012 budget.

It hopes to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Education, or ARPA-ED. If approved, the agency — with an initial budget of $90 million — will support projects aimed at transforming teaching and learning. Suggested projects include digital tutors, smart learning apps that adapt on the fly to learners’ needs and game-based instruction.40 At the state level, changes are also taking place. About a third of states are freeing up the definition of a textbook for budgetary purposes, allowing funds to flow from different budget areas (the technology fund, for example).41 States that have recently passed laws to redefine “textbook” to cover digital content include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, West Virginia and Texas.42 n

ext goes here.

Text goes here. n

Department of Education building.

A Digital Policy Sampler Here are some examples showing how legislation is playing out across the country. Many states are adopting digital education in some way, at K-12 and higher education levels.

Washington The state’s community and technical colleges have developed an Open Course Library, featuring digital textbooks, syllabi, activities and assessments. Cost to students for course materials is capped at $30.43

California About 50 free open source digital textbooks will be available to college students by 2014, under a $25 million legislative proposal. This would potentially save students $1,000 out of their estimated $1,300 annual textbook costs.46

Utah The state announced in January 2012 a measure to develop and support open source digital textbooks.44

Arizona Students can graduate based on demonstrated competency rather than seat time, under the “Move On When Ready” initiative introduced by Sen. Rich Crandall.47

Maine The state’s education commissioner is creating a plan to increase digital learning options, including online learning, for K-12 students.45

Texas Texas created an Instructional Materials Allotment for its public schools in 2011. Funds are awarded based on the number of students enrolled and can be used for software, learning management systems, professional development fees, technology services and equipment.48

Florida Public schools are required to adopt digital-only textbooks and spend at least 50 percent of their textbook budget on digital materials by the 2015-16 school year.49

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Barriers to Success and How to Hurdle Them Though many educational institutions are taking action to adopt digital textbooks and content, certain barriers are hindering advancement.

Top challenges facing K-12 and higher education institutions alike include mandates and funding; teacher buy-in and training; and plagiarism, e-cheating and copyright infringement.

This section offers some tangible solutions to help campuses hurdle these barriers on the road to digital content adoption.

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Barriers to Success

wikipedia

Rice University is publishing free, high-quality books created by faculty in core subjects, using nonprofit publisher OpenStax College.

Mandates and Funding Moving from “Seat Time” to Competency-Based Models

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tate and federal mandates can stand in the way of the textbook reformation, particularly those that make funding difficult. In some states, for example, textbook funds are not spelled out; in others, definitions need to be expanded to cover digital content.

State funding to date has often relied on “seat time” — payment to schools based on student attendance in the actual, physical building. This ignores students who learn remotely as well as those who can self-pace their learning and advance quickly through the school curriculum.

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“Seat time” over a “competencybased model” as a way of awarding funds makes it more difficult for customized digital learning, as well as distance education, to occur.

Funding would be more effective if granted by learning modes rather than seat time. This would better accommodate online and blended education. Institutions must change their budget processes to emphasize digital learning, recognizing that it is not a frill or add-on, but a necessity for improved learning.

Keeping curriculum and technology budgets separate doesn’t recognize

the overlap today between these functions. Also, combining funds between the two departments — rather than siloing them — can sometimes make the difference between a digital learning initiative getting off the ground or not.

“I hear about districts where curriculum and IT are kept separate, but we see these as very much intertwined,” says Bridgette Wagoner, director of educational services at Waverly-Shell Rock Schools in Iowa.

Rather than curriculum initiatives or technology initiatives, she says it makes more sense to consider these “learning initiatives.”50

Arizona District Goes ‘Beyond Textbooks’ and Uses Funds to Boost Student Achievement

In 2005, Empire High School in Vail, Ariz., became the first one-to-one laptop, textbook-free public high school in the nation. A few years later, Beyond Textbooks was born. Vail School District created a wiki for every single power standard in five core subjects. Teachers uploaded lesson plans and other digital content they found online. Other teachers in the district downloaded the content; sometimes they used it as is, but other times they modified it to suit their students’ needs.

Other districts in Arizona took notice and asked to be able to use the content wiki.

Vail agreed to let them, but for a fee, which included training for teachers. Today, Beyond Textbooks is used by 57 districts and three charter schools in Arizona, and the fees it charges have helped sustain the program.

In the first half of the 2011-12 school year, for example, Beyond Textbooks took in $700,000 in revenue, says Director Kevin Carney. The money will be spent on staffing, travel and school needs, with some put into savings.

Before Vail School District became digitized, making changes to the curriculum was cumbersome: “Everything was paper, so we had to type changes, make copies, mail to school sites and then hope the teachers put them in their curriculum binders,” says Carney. “It was a lot of legwork and hoping it got to the correct people and the correct place.”

The wiki makes the process much more efficient. It also has made it possible for the district to stop buying new textbooks. While existing textbooks are still used, Vail now buys only the components it truly needs — ones that don’t have a good open source equivalent.

The school district has done very well since digitizing content. While 10 years ago the district was at or below state averages, for the past 5 years all the schools are deemed “excelling” and it is now the No. 1 school district in the state academically, says Carney.52 ehs.vail.k12.az.us/

Policies that keep all students moving along at the same pace through a system can stymie the self-pacing inherent in digital learning. Advocates need to push for competency-based pathways. States such as Connecticut and Oregon are piloting programs that allow this.

States are beginning to relinquish the reins over textbook choice and purchase. Local districts are being given control to choose the content — as well as the responsibility of paying for such materials.

Local control can provide a community balance to state or even national educational goals, policies and standardized content. Some digital content providers allow teachers to modify content, or teachers can create their own content from scratch. This puts tools back in the hands of local people to tailor an educational ecosystem to make it look and feel like they want it to.

This freedom to direct content locally can represent a challenge as well, particularly in diverse communities where all may not agree on, say, the teaching of evolution or American history. Nonetheless, a shared vision of education is important to have within a community and can strengthen commitment to it.

Empire High School in Vail, Ariz.

Open Source: An answer to funding challenges?

Open source educational resources come at no or little cost under Creative Commons licensing.

A variety of nonprofit groups and public universities are offering course materials, lesson plans, entire curricula, chunks of content and more for academic use.

These groups either host or link to collections of content. Typically, such content is mapped to standards (such as the Common Core) and vetted by experts. Some groups allow anybody to post, while others restrict to expert sources.

Such sites also offer teachers the opportunity to share content they’ve created and connect with other teachers in online forums.

Content can be ranked and rated by users, providing a crowdsourcing element that can maintain control.

Open content also includes full textbooks. Rice University, for example, is publishing free, high-quality books created by faculty in core

subjects, using nonprofit publisher OpenStax College. 51 Other universities are engaged in similar exercises.

At this point, however, large publishers remain, as do educational app developers and software companies. It remains to be seen whether the OER movement will entirely supplant commercially produced content, or whether it will flourish only in pockets as a niche solution. n

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Barriers to Success

Teacher Buy-In and Training Letting Go of the Textbook as the Course Guide

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Making Curriculum Pop is a resource for instructors using multi-media and other types of alternative content. mcpopmb.ning.com

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or digital content to be effective, it needs to be taught in an effective manner — meaning teachers need to be on board with it and understand its power. This is not always the case in either K-12 or higher education. Not only are seasoned teachers comfortable with the print texts and traditional ways they have always taught, but younger teachers as well may feel unmoored without a textbook to rely on.

“Many young teachers hold onto textbooks like life rafts to get through the first years of teaching — and given the present educational climate, one can’t blame them,” says Ryan Goble, an adjunct English professor who runs the “Making Curriculum Pop” Ning site (mcpopmb.ning.com), a resource for instructors using multi-media and other types of alternative content.

Teachers both young and old need professional development — training

in technology integration, as well as collaboration with other teachers to share knowledge. Yet too often teachers don’t have time in their day for this, and campuses don’t have the money to set aside paid time for professional learning.

Another challenge to teacher adoption is the new role teachers take on in a digital learning environment.

Not being the all-knowing issuer of information can be a difficult step back for some teachers, yet today’s students have the facts and figures in their smartphones; they need teachers to show them what to do with this information, how to analyze it and contextualize it, and how to dig for more.

Teachers need to accept that students often know more than they do about technology — and what they don’t know, they will learn more quickly than teachers can. Waverly-Shell Rock students

Kathy Duhl works with teachers on how to effectively utilize digital content in the classroom.

Training the Teachers

trained their teachers how to use movie-making software, for example.

Middle-schoolers also trained high school teachers to use their tablets.

On the other hand, teachers should not assume students know how to use devices or the knowledge found online. Waverly-Shell Rock Schools presumed when it added tablets that students, being digital natives, wouldn’t need training, but this was a mistake, says Educational Services Director Bridgette Wagoner. Not giving it to them at the outset meant confusion and classroom time spent later.

“Our students needed more support — more upfront loading about how to use it and how to troubleshoot it,” says Wagoner. 53 Students also need to be trained in digital citizenship: learning how to navigate away from inappropriate sites (if a district’s content filters don’t work or a student encounters

material while on a home network, for instance), learning how to vet material and not believe everything simply because it is online.

Some districts and many colleges and universities have a bring-yourown-device policy, which means students use whatever tool they own. Yet they must still adhere to institutional standards, and acceptable use policies (AUPs) need to be made explicit.

In 2005, Virginia created a team of 1,200 instructional technology resource teachers to go into schools and help teachers integrate technology — the first state in the country to provide support like this for teachers.

The commonwealth also maintains an iTunes U site where standards-based, media-rich content is made available for teachers, students and families.

The eMINTS national research center is studying technology, student performance and professional development at 58 schools in Missouri. In this study, teachers received different amounts of training — some for one year, some for three years and some not at all. The study will go through 2015; when complete, it should give some interesting clues as to the importance of professional development, as well as what length of training is most crucial. 54 n

Kathy Duhl is a long-time teacher and school administrator in northern California who trains teachers in using digital content. She works for a nonprofit curriculum repository called Curriki.org, a website that gathers free content for K-12 teachers to use. She mostly works with teachers-in-training, or intern teachers, and engages them in learning how to use digital content so they can be better prepared to reach the diverse range of learners in their classrooms.

“They come to their internship raw,” says Duhl. She shows them how to use data management systems, write blogs, find open educational resources (OER) and use these digital materials in class.

Duhl says schools today need to better train all teachers, not just new ones. “There needs to be ongoing professional development. Schools have got to figure out a way to release teachers so they can keep up with the technology, but that’s just not happening because of all the budget cuts.”

Overburdened teachers often don’t have time for new learning unless their districts set this aside for them. But school districts have a tough time finding funds to do this.

They also may be uncertain about moving to OER or other forms of digital content.

“I think the real issue is trust,” says Duhl. “Schools are institutions made of tradition. This whole idea of giving up what we’ve known forever can be so overwhelming for them.”

And so change is moving slowly. However, says Duhl, the young teacher trainees she works with enjoy learning about the new technologies available to them and how they can use these to improve education for their students. “They love it and are so eager for it.”55

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Barriers to Success

The Sage Gateshead: Location of the Fifth International Plagiarism Conference, which will take place July 16-18, 2012 in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

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Plagiarism, e-Cheating and Copyright Infringement Protecting the Credibility of Published Work

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hen students use digital devices to do work and take tests — particularly if they do so outside of school — the potential exists for “e-cheating,” including plagiarism. Some steps educational institutions can take to protect the credibility of student work include: • Having a site-based component so instructors become familiar with students and their work. If a student suddenly starts writing in a tone unlike his or her normal voice, or aces material he or she has struggled with all semester, teachers can be alerted to investigate the possibility of cheating.

• Using software designed to detect copying. Turnitin, for instance, is a program used by about 10,000 colleges and schools. It compares student work to Web texts and flags similarities. If instructors announce at the beginning of a course that material will be run through Turnitin, this can have a deterrent effect on cheating.

• Using identity verification tools.

One online course provider, for instance, has an authentication system that asks verification questions that only a student enrolled in the course could know.56 Copyright and digital rights management are valid concerns. Most content made available on OER sites typically is published under Creative Commons licensing, which allows for academic use. However, laws are murky when it comes to ubiquitous

digital redistribution, which occurs in social media sites like Pinterest, Tumblr, or other blog and wiki sites. The issue is also tricky within schools. End-user licensing for digital content can be complicated, depending on the provider. Both students and teachers may unwittingly cull protected images or videos to put in material they post online.

Programs to create digital textbooks also may have copyright and use restrictions, so content writers need to take care and read the fine print embedded in end-user license agreements (EULAs).

Districts and universities need to take care not to inadvertently leave themselves open to charges of copyright violation, and should publish clear policies for faculty to follow. n

The Global Leader in Addressing Plagiarism visit www.turnitin.com/

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THe FUture

What the Future Holds Digital Technology Continues to Evolve

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igital technology will continue to evolve in the coming years. Already, numerous cutting-edge innovations are making their presence felt or are on the horizon, soon to come to a school — physical, online or a blend of the two — near you.

Touchscreens, for instance, are no longer confined to a physical device like an interactive whiteboard or tablet or phone. Instead, projectors can beam touchscreens on any flat surface: tables, desks, walls. Users can swipe and tap the projected image, using it just like a “real” screen, and then put it away with the click of a button.56 Keyboards, too, can appear seemingly out of nowhere for easy use, then

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disappear when no longer needed. A new type of device interface allows a raised keyboard to pop up from a flat surface, then fall back to regular screen smoothness when a user turns it off.57 Other keyboard advances include foldable, rollable mats.

Gesture-based technology is being used in education. Students studying how to perform autopsies can stand beside a projected 3D image of a human body, then via gestures perform virtual incisions. This is also being used in K-12 education to create interactive classroom activities in the academic areas of math, science, social studies and language arts.

Augmented reality allows users to step inside simulated 3D worlds.

The Harvard Graduate School EcoMOBILE project combines both forms of reality — virtual and actual — in lessons that break down the classroom walls and engage students.

A student uses gesture-based technology.

Sixth graders in Massachusetts enter a virtual marsh on their smartphones as part of a game-based ecology lesson, then visit an actual marsh to take water samples, entering the data on their phones and participating in interactive lessons at stops along the way. The Harvard Graduate School EcoMOBILE project combines both forms of reality — virtual and actual — in lessons that break down the classroom walls and engage students.58 Tools like these further enhance trends already changing education, particularly mobile anywhere, anytime learning.

Digitized content on WiFi-equipped mobile devices fosters more outsidethe-classroom learning, whether it is in the form of fully online courses and schools, or blended and hybrid classes. This trend is likely to continue as costs for building maintenance and expansion affect cash-strapped school districts; having students take online courses saves money and allows for self-paced, independent and customizable learning.

A traditional textbook-based curriculum — following a textbook’s pacing, with everyone in the class learning the same lessons at the same time — makes less sense as digital content becomes more prevalent. Educators can easily chunk off the portions they see best serving the needs of their students, and leave the rest — buying chapters from publishers, but not necessarily the whole book. Or perhaps buying nothing and instead writing content themselves, or collecting it from one of

But Does it Really Work?

• Tablet computers used for a year increased math scores by 20 percent compared with classes that had traditional paper textbooks, according to research at Amelia Earhart Middle School in Riverside USD in California. The students used a math app on their tablets and scored an average of 78 percent on California Standards Tests for spring 2011. Their schoolmates without tablets scored 59 percent.59 • Auburn, Maine, kindergartners were some of the first in the nation to receive tablet computers from their public school in September 2011. Initial research by Boston University shows modest gains in literacy, particularly in areas of phonemic awareness and ability to represent sound with letters.60 • Utah high-schoolers learned just as much science with $5 open source textbooks as with $80 textbooks, researchers from Brigham Young University found in a two-year study.61 • At Madison Elementary School in Santa Ana, Calif., where 95 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch, second-graders used math and music apps to dramatically improve performance from 25.5 percent to 82.7 percent on state tests in about five years.62

many free educational resource sites.

The movement toward OER is likely to continue with the spread of digital content and as budgets remain tight.

Free, vetted, standards-aligned content can be a worthwhile alternative for educational institutions, especially with the shift to Common Core State Standards.

However, we predict OER will remain a smaller subset of the larger world of digital content for the foreseeable future. Commercial publishers and software companies that already

hold the vast majority of the market are moving rapidly to offer increased digital content alternatives, with leasing models to ease costs.

Another trend is the movement toward video-based content of all types. Both higher education and K-12 will see more use of videoconferencing as well as video created by and for students to share educational content; videotaped or streamed lectures; interactive videos such as videogames; and informational videos embedded in digital textbooks.

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Students using adaptive educational applications can get instant feedback on their progress, with smart programs that quickly learn their educational strengths and weaknesses, then serve up the lessons best suited to their needs. Such tools not only engage students but let them progress at their own pace.

For some students, this means moving more quickly through a standard curriculum. As policy changes to become more flexible and to remove “seat time” requirements, students may be able to graduate high school in two or three years instead of four.

College, too, may shift from a four-year or six-year degree-based model as students either take accelerated courses online or choose informal learning, such as alternate forms of credentialing (badges or certificates recognizing content mastery, for example).

The role of instructors continues to evolve, whether within a classroom or in an online, virtual space. Students may have data at their fingertips but need instructors to show them how to understand and use it. Too often, instructors aren’t being trained in technology integration; experienced instructors may know pedagogy but not how to use digital content to engage and inform students, while new instructors may have a better handle on technology but not how to teach.

Collaboration is key. Instructors can learn much from each other when given the opportunity to do so. Through professional learning

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communities and social networking sites, they can share tips about the best digital content resources and tools to use. They can also work together in cross-content teams to develop effective curricula.

Collaboration also works among students who learn from each other and who also learn to work together — skills they will need as they enter the workforce.

Employers increasingly allow and encourage employees to use mobile devices on the job. Digital skills such as video presentations and conferencing, Internet research and analysis, and Web content creation all can and should be honed in schools. This way students can be better prepared to compete in a global, 21st-century economy.

To accommodate these types of technologies, districts and universities will need to continue to update infrastructure so wireless networks can handle exponentially increasing demand. Data storage and security remain key areas to address, especially with the proliferation of student data and mobile Internetconnected devices (and as more schools turn to BYOD policies).

Recent federal funding and policy initiatives show a commitment to digital content. Whether funding will be allocated remains a concern. Even if it doesn’t, alternatives remain, so that money should not, and must not, block the growth of digital learning. n

A Virtual Alternative

If schools don’t have the resources to offer live dissections, virtual technology — such as the Virtual Frog Dissection App featured — can offer an educational, cost-effective alternative. Lick Creek School District in Illinois uses the Frog Dissection App for its junior high classes, which do not have regular live dissections in classrooms. www.frogvirtualdissection.com/

2012 Converge Yearbook

Call for Nominations!

The Center for Digital Education and Converge are on a quest to find the top technology innovators that are transforming education. The Converge YEARBOOK is about getting these thought leaders the recognition they deserve by celebrating their efforts and impact. We want to hear from you! Who are the digital education pioneers? Who is driving change that is impacting educational outcomes where you live? We are looking for nominees from all strata of the public sector digital education landscape. What is important is their impact and innovation using digital tools to transform education.

Nominate the person you believe deserves recognition!

Deadline for submissions is June 30, 2012.

For more information and to nominate, visit www.centerdigitaled.com/2012-Converge-YEARBOOK.

C E N T E R F O R D I G I TA L E D U C AT I O N ’ S TM

Yearbook

BONUS ISSUE

Technology Innovation in Education

“We must move beyond the evolutionary phase of digitizing textbooks into a transformational phase of providing an interactive learning experience – subject matter that interacts with and is shaped by the student. This intelligent adaptive technology, which is student-driven and student-architected, is key to transforming the way students learn. And it is available today.”

- Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO, DreamBox Learning

“Technology is an essential element of the operations of any educational organization that is tasked with improving effectiveness while reducing costs. HP offers a range of integrated document workflow solutions that facilitate educational processes, from streamlining teaching and grading tasks to reducing administrative costs.”

- Lesley Harris, Vice President Public Sector, HP Imaging and Printing Group

“Digital textbooks – particularly those self-published by educators and students using iBooks Author – may be one of the most ground-breaking new education technologies to be introduced in years, and the possibilities are very exciting.”

- Chip Pearson, Managing Partner, JAMF Software

“The goal is not digitizing content because we can. Our goal is to continuously transform education by personalizing the learning experience in a way that traditional content delivery simply cannot. We will judge our success in education reform by how far we advance student achievement beyond what we could through traditional constructs.”

– J Rollins, Senior Vice President, Solution Strategy, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

“We’re reaching a tipping point with this shift to digital content – kids are digital natives and they’re going to demand content digitally.”

- Tim McEwen, CEO, Archipelago Learning

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Darren Whitley/Northwest Missouri State University

conclusion

The Reformation in Action

Northwest Missouri State University students

Transforming Learning Now and Into the Future

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igital content has the potential to democratize learning.

Students of varying abilities and circumstances can access knowledge, which can be formatted and scaled to best meet their needs and abilities. Blind students can use text-to-speech functions to have content read to them and to respond; English Language Learners can have text translated; more advanced students can progress at their own pace; students with learning difficulties can benefit from embedded videos, games and adaptive learning tools that help break down lessons for them.

Mobile devices can help students learn where they are. A student who must work to support a family, or who is chronically ill, or who can’t travel to an educational facility can still learn via distance learning, which is enabled by digital content.

School districts that for decades have used traditional textbooks

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created to meet standards in larger states no longer need to do so. They can choose to use only part of a textbook — buying just a chapter or a learning element — or they can find alternative resources. There is more freedom now to create curricula that ref lect local educational needs and local community values.

Studies indicate students are excited and engaged by digital learning and that, as a result, achievement scores rise. Students like getting to use the tools of their time — the phones and mobile computers many have grown up with and will use throughout their adult lives, both at work and at home.

Mastering these tools in school will help them master their futures.

The traditional printed textbook may become an anachronism, reformed into a new shape to meet the needs of the digital age. And learning will continue in new, exciting and transformative ways. n

Solution Spotlight: samsung

Innovative Printing Solutions that Meet Today’s Needs

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s schools transition to digital content, it is becoming critical that they revamp print management strategies and printing solutions to progressively meet the needs of students and staff in a digitally oriented classroom.

Why Printers Now?

multi-function printers can help deliver more pages per minute and greater output at a lower total cost of ownership. They provide a secure solution that not only helps reduce ink and paper consumption, but bolsters accountability and efficiency.

With the integration of digital content and e-textbooks in classrooms, schools need secure, cost-effective and efficient printing solutions to provide students and staff with the resources necessary to improve learning. Printers are essential in this digital reformation: Students still need to print out projects to share with the class or parents, and instructors can now print out personalized worksheets for students. Samsung knows this and has developed innovative printing solutions tailored to the needs of today’s schools.

Samsung’s printer solutions provide:

The Samsung Difference

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Samsung printers foster digital evolution in the classroom.

Networked printers and document management solutions allow students and instructors to selectively access and print digital content. Digital printers fit into today’s ever-mobile lifestyle, enabling students to print from mobile devices. Samsung’s reliable, scalable,

+

+ + +

Cost control — schools can reduce costs by controlling toner levels, and color and paper usage Document management — transform hard-copy documents into digital assets to increase both access and security Networked and secure devices — user and setting controls ensure only the appropriate person accesses print jobs at the appropriate location and time Support for mobile learning — Samsung’s Mobile Print App allows users to scan and print documents directly to and from any Samsung printer on a Wi-Fi enabled network, and everything can be done from a smartphone without the need for a print driver or server Assessment tools — printers can score and populate scores, and send relevant data results to integrated gradebooks and other reporting mechanisms

Education. Innovated.

At Samsung we create groundbreaking solutions that empower educators and students to embrace tomorrow’s opportunities today. Our innovative offerings add value to any curriculum by giving instructors the tools they need to engage students, inspire imaginations, elevate learning and bring lesson plans to life.

To begin preparing your school for a brighter future, visit www.samsung.com/education.

Solution Spotlight: cDW•G

The Support Schools Need for Their Digital Content Transitions Technology can be a powerful tool in the classroom, and with more options available than ever, digital content is quickly becoming the next big thing for schools. CDW•G, a leading technology solutions provider, is helping develop and implement digital content programs to move schools forward.

Read more of the fcc’s “digital textbook playbook” at www.fcc.gov/` encyclopedia/digital-textbookplaybook.

According to Julius Genachowski, Federal Communications Commission chairman, U.S. schools spend more than $7 billion annually on textbooks; still, most textbooks are between 7 and 10 years old. Genachowski and the FCC recently announced the “Digital Textbook Playbook,” which outlines a plan for schools to transition to digital textbooks. The playbook encourages schools to consider leveraging digital content to alleviate stressed budgets and better engage students.

Moving to digital content programs enables schools to transition away from more expensive, traditional textbooks that weigh down backpacks, clog lockers and strain district budgets.

If your school is considering moving to digital content, CDW•G offers the following recommendations:

`` Invest in professional development to ensure that teachers understand how technology can be used in the classroom

`` Establish student learning benchmarks and test students both pre- and post-pilot launch

`` Conduct a print versus digital content cost analysis to understand the true cost of moving away from a 100 percent print environment `` Establish good relationships with your textbook publishers “Increased publisher support of digital content is coming at a time when smaller school budgets and increased achievement demands have schools looking for ways to extend every dollar,” says Julie Smith, vice president of K-12 for CDW•G. “CDW•G is committed to helping schools use technology and digital content to save precious budget dollars.”

For more information about CDW•G and the 21st-Century Classroom Report, please visit www.cdwg.com/21stCenturyClassroomReport. For more about CDW•G’s solutions and services to K-12 schools, please call 1.800.808.4239, email cdwgsales@cdwg.com or visit CDWG.com.

Solution Spotlight: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

A Partn Partner for Every Ever

Phase iin Your u Journey You may have heard that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is one of the world’s largest providers of materials for pre-k through adult learning. But did you know that HMH is also pioneering innovative, customized solutions and approaches to the specific challenges facing schools today? HMH helps districts around the world solve complex, multi-faceted challenges such as creating a healthy learning environment, implementing a blended learning approach and improving educator effectiveness — just to name a few.

HMH’s curricula expertise, technology innovations and professional services provide a platform for collaboration with school districts, administrators, teachers, parents and students. Delivering comprehensive, results-driven learning solutions is what they do best.

HMH Listens, Then Helps Transform The expert consultants at HMH help school districts by first collaborating with them to understand what their needs are.

They then craft custom solutions based on those unique needs that drive performance and increase effectiveness at the classroom, school and district level.

When you partner with HMH, you gain access to expansive curriculum and technology resources to help you reach your goals. HMH will assist you in developing strategies to transform your district into a next-generation learning environment, including: • Educational consultative services (professional development, leadership and teaching training, school and district partnerships) • Innovative technology (digital content and platforms) • High-quality curricula and assessments • Project and change management To learn more about the unique HMH solutions approach, visit www.hmheducation.com.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s unique solutions-based approach combines the best end-to-end technology delivery systems with the reliable curricula, assessment, and professional development you need to support deep implementation — so you always get the right content, for the right student, at the right time. Learn more about the HMH Advantage at www.hmheducation.com.

Solution Spotlight: HP

Textbook reformation and implications for the printed page Digital Doesn’t Equal Paperless The move to digital content may seem like its taking place at lightning speed, but schools are in a state of transition — and will be for a while. The challenge of digital access is very much still real. According to the Federal Communications Commission, many schools struggle to successfully meet the need for the higher-speed Internet access that digital content requires. It cites this demand as one reason it unveiled the National Broadband plan in March 2010.

Additionally, many students lack access to digital content at home.

According to Broadband.gov, approximately 100 million Americans still do not have broadband at home. Although schools may start using more digital content in the classroom, it doesn’t mean that students can access it to complete homework or study outside of school.

Not everything can live in the digital ether, either. Teachers want to print customized student worksheets or completed computer work to send home; and student projects such as magazines, newspapers or yearbooks need print access. Cost-effective, on-demand printing solutions are a necessity for every classroom.

This is further supported by Bobby Blount, assistant superintendent of accountability, technology & strategic planning for Cherokee County School District in Georgia: “Even our pre-K classes use printers as they produce PowerPoint slides and craft story boards to express their ideas.”

Schools from K-12 to graduate level have technology needs in common: cost control, reliability and energy efficiency.

Standardizing and upgrading to devices with increased functionality and lower operating costs is an effective strategy for schools to increase productivity while reducing the overall costs of their print and imaging fleet.

“Standardizing cuts down on total cost of ownership because we support fewer models across the district,” says Jerry Reininger, Ed.D., director of information technology, Meridian Joint School District No.2, Idaho. “Also, in terms of supplies, if a school gets rid of a printer and they still have extra toner cartridges, we can move the cartridges to another building.”

HP’s newest printers address the need for cost-effective, on-demand printing in lieu of traditional mass pre-printed classroom materials. Furthermore, HP’s full line of award-winning digital color printers is among the most reliable and cost effective in the industry, helping you inspire and improve academic performance within your budget. Studies have shown that color has the power to influence, motivate and inspire. It affects students’ attention spans and perception of time. Color helps facilitate perceptual organization and memorization, and increases study skills in students — especially those with learning difficulties.

Environmental responsibility is another important consideration.

HP has recycling programs for not only supplies but also retired hardware, so schools can safely and securely dispense of materials and equipment that are no longer needed, and even bank those recycled assets toward future purchases.

Real-world sensitivity matters. And when schools are transitioning to the digital age, it’s important to include every student. HP supports student learning in the digital age with printing and computing solutions that enable teachers to teach in whatever form best suits each student — on demand, in real time, every day.

For information on special offers for HP printers visit: www.hp.com/go/SpecialOffers

Digital Textbooks One-to-one for Mac and iOS Lab Management

Everything Apple for education, managed.

www.jamfsoftware.com/everything-education

Solution Spotlight: canon

A Winning

Combination: Video and Digital Content Creation Digital content used as educational material has gained a solid place in today’s increasingly technologically savvy classroom. A winning combination is emerging: Mobile devices and digital content used together not only increase student engagement, but can improve learning.

Digital cameras and camcorders are taking this winning combination to the next level. From producing video podcasts on research material to capturing oral histories on video, digital cameras and camcorders are inspiring student videographer creativity and providing a deeper understanding of material to viewers — often other students.

Preparing students for the future workforce

Picture-perfect devices for every budget Canon is devoted to helping students experience the world through imaging. The Canon Education Department offers schools Digital SLR, point and shoot, and video cameras that include advanced features for every budget.

Canon’s easy to learn and use Powershot point and shoot EOS Digital SLRs and VIXIA camcorders take stunning HD video and still photos, with some models featuring GPS capabilities that tag images with time and location. They’re an ideal choice for schools pursuing projects that promote student thinking, learning, problem solving and collaboration — and mastering 21st-century technology skills.

flickr/Micheal Peterson

The latest handheld digital cameras support not just the capture of images and sound, but encourage a collaborative process that prepares students for future careers. In Lake Forest, Calif., students worked together to re-enact adventures of early explorers such as Lewis and Clark on camera. The young frontiersmen and women shot and edited material, then uploaded their projects to Google Earth.

Producing videos means writing scripts, assembling video and audio, and taking control of a story. Teachers can begin the collaboration by providing digital visuals and audio such as photos, maps, sound effects and music. Students continue the project with narration, organization and assembly, thereby directly taking part in the presentation of material. Learning such skills prepares students for the future workforce.

For more details about how Canon video products can enhance classroom learning, contact the Canon Education Department at educationsales@cusa.canon.com or visit us at usa.canon.com/educationsales.

Acknowledgements

Sponsors:

Acknowledgements: John Halpin is Vice President of Education Strategic Programs for the Center for Digital Education. As a veteran K-12 teacher, college professor and IT consultant, Halpin has been active in promoting the use of technology in education for over 25 years. He has led sales and marketing efforts for some of the largest technology companies and has written for various media outlets. In addition, Halpin is a frequent speaker on public sector technology issues for national professional associations, various state leadership councils and technology companies.

Lorna Collier has written about education and technology for the Chicago Tribune, THE Journal, Learning Solutions, the National Council of Teachers of English Chronicle, MSN Encarta, ATT.net, and many others. She is the former online editor for GetEducated.com, a website focused on distance learning.

The Center for Digital Education is a national research and advisory institute specializing in K-12 and higher education technology trends, policy and funding. Along with its research services, CDE issues white papers and conducts the annual Digital School Districts and Digital Community Colleges surveys and award programs as well as hosting events across the K-12 and higher education arena.

CDE also supports the Converge media platform comprised of the quarterly themed Converge Special Reports, Converge Online, and custom publishing services.

End notes

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

www.brainyquote.com www.nextisnow.net/blog/digital-textbooks-reach-the-tipping-point.html www.teleread.com/library/texas-florida-lead-transformation-to-digital-textbooks/ www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/digital-textbook-playbook www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-02-12/ college-costs-free-textbooks/53123522/1 6. http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/BettyTan.shtml 7. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/weighing-school-backpacks/ 8. www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-02-12/ college-costs-free-textbooks/53123522/1 9. www.tabletpccomparison.net/ 10. www.imeded.uci.edu/about.asp 11. http://qctimes.com/news/local/education/in-an-effort-to-cut-costs-collegestry-e-books/article_92daf514-5393-11e1-82f1-0019bb2963f4.html 12. http://southwestkey.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/nonprofit-film-festival-honor/ 13. CDE email interview with Matt Frey, March 30, 2012 14. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0VdvqtPMmQ&feature=player_embedded#!

15. http://spotlight.macfound.org/blog/entry/new-gamesbased-charter-school-to-open-in-chicago 16. Percentage based on 145 responses to surveys at 2012 Converge Dots Events.

17. http://info.xplana.com/media/wp-content/themes/mediajm/assets/uploads/Xplana_Whitepaper_2011.pdf 18. Ibid.

19. www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/world/americas/schoolworkgets-swept-up-in-rush-to-go-digital.html?pagewanted=all 20. www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/unleashing_ the_potential_of_educational_technology.pdf 21. Simba Information, PreK-12 Learning Management Systems: A Market Overview, 2011 22. CDE interview with Don Fritts, March 8, 2012 23. www.govtech.com/enterprise-technology/IPadsCommunity-College-Funded-Virtualization.html 24. www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf 25. CDE interview with Bridgette Wagoner, March 2, 2012 26. www.setonhill.edu/news/story.cfm?ID=703 27. www.reed.edu/cis/about/ipad_pilot/Reed_ipad_report.pdf 28. www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/ff_aiclass/all/1 29. CDE interview with Stephen Carson, March 15, 2012 30. Simba Information, PreK-12 Learning Management Systems: A Market Overview, 2011 31. http://www.campuscomputing.net/item/campuscomputing-2011-big-gains-going-mobile 32. CDE interview with Jeff Mulqueen, March 30, 2012 33. CDE interview with Michael Farmer, April 2, 2012 34. CDE interview with Bridgette Wagoner, March 2, 2012 35. http://stemtosteam.org 36. www.corestandards.org 37. www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/digital-textbook-playbook 38. www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-chairman-and-ed-secdiscuss-digital-textbooks-edtech-leaders 39. http://inacol.kzoplatform.com/swf/player/68 40. www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/arpa-ed-background.pdf 41. www.ncsl.org/issues-research/educ/online-learning-101.aspx 42. www.ncsl.org/issues-research/educ/education-technology-statepolicy-overview.aspx#Electronic_Materials___Digital_Text_Books 43. http://chronicle.com/article/State-of-Washington-to-Offer/125887/ 44. www.schools.utah.gov/main/INFORMATION/Onlinenewsroom/DOCS/01252012OpenTextbook.aspx 45. http://bangordailynews.com/2012/02/01/politics/lepageexecutive-order-seeks-to-expand-digital-learning-options/ 46. http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/18/open-source-textbooks/ 47. www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/08/ 14/20110814arizona-schools-new-diploma-system.html 48. www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=2147502175 49. www.marketwire.com/press-release/texas-florida-leadtransformation-on-digital-textbook-adoptions-1606166.htm 50. CDE interview with Bridgette Wagoner, March 2, 2012 51. http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/07/rice-university-andopenstax-announce-first-open-source-textbooks 52. CDE interview with Kevin Carney, Feb. 21, 2012 53. CDE interview with Bridgette Wagoner, March 2, 2012 54. www.emints.org/results-impact/i3-grant/ 55. CDE interview with Kathy Duhl, Feb. 23, 2012 56. www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-04/touchscreen-table 57. www.plusultratech.com/2011/02/future-of-mobile-phone-in-our-lives-2.html 58. http://haggerty.cpsd.us/news/ecomobile 59. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57363113-1/ipads-inclassroom-provide-20-percent-jump-in-math-scores-study-says/ 60. www.convergemag.com/classtech/iPad-Kindergarten-Research.html 61. www.schools.utah.gov/main/INFORMATION/Onlinenewsroom/DOCS/01252012OpenTextbook.aspx 62. www.mindresearch.net/cont/research/re_ps.php

converge | special report

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Don’t miss any of the Converge Special Reports Coming in 2012: The Blended and Virtual Learning Frontier, Issue 3 Technology Innovation in Education, Yearbook Campus Specialty Tech Programs, Issue 4

Past Reports: Campus Management Systems

2011 – Issue 1 Digital Teaching & Professional Development

2010 – Issue 2

2011 – Issue 2

Classroom Technology

Mobility & Security

2010 – Issue 3

2011 – Issue 3

Campus Technology Infrastructure

The Education Dashboard

2010 – Issue 1

2011 – Issue 4 The Evolving Classroom 2012 – Issue 1 Campus Infrastructure

2011 – Yearbook 2010 – Issue 4

Digital Content & Learning Management Platforms

Technology Innovation in Education

Download them at: www.convergemag.com/reports/