District CIO

June 8-14, 2013
Orlando, Fla.

Over the past decade, the United States has spent upwards of $100 billion on K12 classroom technology to no discernible effect. The reason is clear: most education technology in use in K12 classrooms is not integrated into core instruction, and thus offers limited educational value.

While technology has revolutionized how people communicate and learn, federal and state governments insulate schools from the disruptions technology creates in other organizations. To overcome these obstacles, we must persuade teachers that technology will empower them and help their students learn. Here are five strategies for successful teacher adoption of education technology.

Lisa Nelson of the Innovative Educator blog looked to her peers for ideas on how to use Pinterest as a creative tool and was surprised that she was unable to get any help. Then she discovered Pinterest guru NewYorkBob and the ideas began flowing. Here are her five favorites.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, which is managing the standards creation and feedback process, offers a wealth of information on its website to help district staff understand the process and get their questions answered.

If you're looking for software for your school or district, the SIIA CODiE Award winners may be a good place to start. From the cloud to mobile to collaboration, this list gives district CIOs a place to start when preparing an RFP or doing a software application search.

BYOD guidelines are just being defined, but one warning must rise above the din, this author says: never, ever, try to gain unauthorized access to an employee's private social networking site.

Rowland Unified School District
Rowland Heights, Calif.

Columbia Middle School
Sunnyvale School District
Sunnyvale, Calif.

George H.W. Bush Elementary School
Dallas Independent School District
Dallas, Texas