Sustaining Technology in a Discovery Learning Community

Difficulty integrating technology into classrooms is a well-known challenge. As early as the 1920’s, radio and film were predicted to be innovations that would change the classroom. In the 1950’s, it was television, in the ‘60s and 70’s teaching machines, and from the ‘80’s to the present, computers. Generally, the teachers who embrace technology are the rare minority, and those who don’t are blamed for the break-down in implementation because they are regarded as showing, “indifference, lethargy, even antagonism, toward this revolutionary means of communication” (Tyack & Cuban 123). But the truth of the matter is “in the top-down process of advocating and implementing technology, teachers [are] rarely consulted, though it [is] mainly their job to make it work in the classroom” (Tyack & Cuban 121). Currently, with the near universal availability of the personal computer, it is hard to understand why many teachers still do not use computers in their classrooms. If the machines are installed in their rooms and the teachers receive training, how is it that computers often go unused other than to reward children for finishing schoolwork early or for good behavior? While working with the teachers employed at The Discovery Institute, I have begun examining how and why some teachers use technology with their students while others don’t, and have found that educating teachers rather than training teachers to use technology and providing the support of a community of learners seems to play a significant factor in whether a teacher will or will not use technology to enhance her or his classroom. Through further interviews and focus group observation, I expect to find that teachers who merely receive training outside a discovery learning experience and without the professional and emotional support of a community of learners will be less likely to effectively use technology in their classrooms

When You Pass on, Don\u27t Leave the Passwords Behind: Planning for Digital Assets

The universe of digital assets is vast, including email accounts, picture and video storage sites, social networking sites, domain names, games and related sites; professional sites and backups; as well as online banking and business accounts. Moreover, digital assets go beyond online accounts to include your own personal or work computers, their hardware and software. If your clients are smart about their digital life, then they have numerous usernames, passwords, and security questions for their accounts. Trust and estates lawyers are increasingly helping to plan for the care of digital assets upon their client’s incapacity or death, providing advice concerning both the safekeeping of usernames and passwords and the disposition of the assets themselves. Each of these issues requires different techniques from the estate planning toolbox. Lawyers provide this planning for new clients, and they may often follow up with previous clients to ensure a periodic review of the disposition of these assets. This article discusses the reasons to engage in digital asset planning, the steps to plan for digital assets, the obstacles to planning for digital assets, and concludes by looking at what the future may hold

Harnessing Technology in Schools Survey 2007: technical report

This technical report provides a detailed review of the methods used and the data gathered for this survey. The report also provides copies of the research instruments used in this survey

Wired Seniors

Presents findings from a survey of 26,094 adults, conducted between March and December 2000. Explores what motivates seniors to go online, what they do when they get Internet access, and how they have benefited from the resources available online