Also In This Issue

Apps are a great educational resource, but if you don’t have a tablet, smartphone, or iPod touch, you can’t really use them, right? Well, not exactly. You actually can access thousands of free and paid apps on your desktop, laptop, or netbook using Google Chrome.

In one Northern Kentucky high school, students have come together to help their classmates get computers and connect to the internet with a classroom project called Communities to Computers.

Given advancements in computing, the growing penetration of technology and the rise of cloud storage, Bill Gates says now is a “special time” in education technology. But despite climbing investments, the sector still needs more.

Higher education is the next bubble. Facebook will replace classroom instruction. Textbooks will go away, and some colleges will, too. In other words, everything is going to change. Or, at least, that's the talk we in education and technology regularly hear these days. It sounds exciting—and, to some, scary. Is all the talk just hype? Or are we really starting to see the beginnings of major change?

Many school administrators classify teacher technology users into two categories: those who use technology and those who don’t. While this school of thought is logical, after having worked with and trained hundreds of teachers and administrators on integrating technology into instruction, I have found that there are generally three categories of technology teachers. I refer to them as, Digital Rock Stars, Digital Groupies, and Digital Phobes.

A survey of teachers who instruct American middle and secondary school students finds that digital technologies have become central to their teaching and professionalization. At the same time, the internet, mobile phones, and social media have brought new challenges to teachers, and they report striking differences in access to the latest digital technologies between lower and higher income students and school districts.

Educators are experiencing almost relentless pressure to show their effectiveness. Unfortunately, the chief indicator by which most communities judge a school staff's success is student performance on standardized achievement tests.

This month's New Products column features NaviGate Prepared, a web-based security system by Lauren Innovations, which was adapted for schools and gives first responders access to critical information such as maps, floor plans, emergency protocols, call lists and real-time video into a situation wherever there are cameras.

In the 21st-century classroom, K12 students are no longer practicing math equations at the chalkboard. Instead, math instruction has evolved into online and software-based programs that make learning interactive, challenging, and fun. The following math software programs do just that, as well as adapt to a student’s individual needs and skill level and provide much-needed information to teachers and parents.

At the moment, I’m wondering about the futures of my teen-aged children. It’s not that they’re not smart enough or hard-working enough, or don’t have the personalities to be successful in a career. It’s more about if those careers will still be around in the long-term, and whether or not my children can deal with the consequences if they’re not.