5 Days: Digital Learning Day Countdown!

From the inbox about an hour ago…

Dear Michael:

5 days and counting…1.7 MILLION students participating so far!

Tip of the Day: 

1.      Answering the MOST ASKED question of this campaign!

2.      Check List for Digital Learning Day:  Plan a Lesson, Tune-in To The Webcast, Watch the Town Hall

3.      Plan To Participate:  New Digital Learning Day Video Contest for Teachers and Students

What Will Actually Happen On Digital Learning Day?

That question is definitely the most asked question of all!  Here is the answer…

In each state, district, school and classroom Digital Learning Day will look a little different depending on the plans made. We hope that all teachers who signed up and many, many more will be reviewing the toolkit to plan an activity.  We hope teachers and administrators will try something new, celebrate innovation, show off what’s working to policy makers, incorporate digital content into a lesson for deeper learning, plan more ways of integrating technology into future instruction, and think about how technology can improve instructional practice.

Here in Washington, DC the National Digital Learning Day Celebration will have two major components:

Digital Learning Day Webcast:  Starting at 9:00 AM on our website, three-plus hours of programming will begin. The segments are listed on the website at http://www.digitallearningday.org/events/national-events/dldwebcast and will provide teachers and administrators with valuable models for using technology in math, science, social studies, and art. It will also highlight project based learning ideas and important aspects of digital learning initiatives such as leadership, innovation, and professional development opportunities.  Check out the list and tune-in to whatever parts of the morning look interesting to you. There is no need to register for the morning sessions, just tune-in and enjoy! There will be an online chat capability so we ask that you chime in and participate in the sessions online! As always, tweeting is also highly encouraged if your system allows for it.

Please note:  The Webcast will be re-broadcast after the National Town Hall Meeting for our teachers on the West Coast.

National Town Hall Meeting: After the webcast, we will go live to our National Virtual Town Hall Meeting being broadcast live via the Internet in front of a live in-studio audience from the Newseum in Washington, DC.  This online event is free, as is all Digital Learning Day activities.  If you plan to watch the Town Hall live you will need to register at http://www.digitallearningda.y.org/events/national-events and test your system to ensure there are no issues on the day of the event.  The national town hall meeting is geared to an audience of teachers and educational leaders. Take a look at the agenda for all the information. It could also be a great social studies or language arts lesson for middle and/or high school students.

Although you are already signed-up to receive information about Digital Learning Day please ensure you REGISTER TO WATCH the Town Hall Meeting as well if you plan to join the virtual audience.

However you choose to celebrate Digital Learning Day, we thank you for your enthusiasm, planning, and leadership. We truly are building a wave of innovation – making a difference for students.

A Quick Checklist for your participation in Digital Learning Day:

1.       Make a plan to celebrate Digital Learning Day at your school with your students. Go to the Teacher Toolkit for idea from us and teachers like you at http://www.digitallearningday.org/toolkits/teachers/. The Awesome Ideas link provides templates you can customize that may give you some ideas to get started.

2.      DONE!  If you are getting this note directly, you have already signed-up at http://www.digitallearningday.org/sign-up to participate. So mark that off your list! J

3.      You are encouraged to watch the live town hall meeting being streamed via the Internet on February 1, 2012.  You can view this on your own, with colleagues, or as a class. Please make sure to register at http://digitallearningday.eventbrite.com/ to get the directions, bookmark the link, and test your system before the live webcast on February 1 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

ANNOUNCING! Digital Learning Day’s Video Contest

We want to hear how digital learning is improving your school and how you celebrated Digital Learning Day!  There are categories for Teachers, High School Students, Middle School, and Elementary Students.  Go to http://www.digitallearningday.org/awards/ to view the categories, directions and rules.  Submissions will be due on Friday, March 2^nd.

Thanks for everything – please keep spreading the word about Digital Learning Day!

Sara Hall

202-828-0820

All Things Relative

I’m not sure how it came across my electronic desk but earlier this week the following press release came to my attention:

K12 Inc. Named Leading Provider of Online Curriculum to School Districts: Independent report shows K12′s leadership in rapidly growing market segment

The press release begins with:

In an independent report on educational technologies, MDR’s market research service EdNET Insight ranked K12 Inc. the leading provider of online curriculum to school districts across the United States.  Based on large-scale surveys of instructional and technology decision makers at the district level, the report shows that more respondents named K12 as their provider of choice for online content than any other provider.

Not to take anything away from K12, Inc. receiving this distinction, but as the report indicates its purpose is “to help you understand the ramifications for your business of developments in education, technology, and the education industry” (p. ii).  It is a marketing survey, in much the same way that the blind taste tests between Coke and Pepsi in the 1980s and 1990s were.  Only in this case the taste test isn’t blind.  Unfortunately, the free previews of the report don’t provide access to the actual methodology, beyond indicating that it is based on surveys with school district personnel responsible for instructional and technology decision making.

Knowing the methodology is important, only because it would tell us what the survey questions were.  For example, if these personnel were asked:

1. Based on your knowledge of the market, what K-12 online learning content provider has the highest quality content?

The response to that question is going to be premised or based on two things: a) any actual experience with the products and/or providers, and b) any knowledge of the products and/or providers.  Now if the question is answered based on a), then the response is based upon the individual’s use of and assessment of the actual curriculum.  However, if the individual hasn’t used any or many of the K-12 online learning provider’s materials, their response is largely based upon knowledge of the companies – where simply marketing can have a large and misleading role.

Compare that situation with this kind of survey methodology.

You are asked to spend no less than 10 minutes and no more than 30 minutes using the K-12 online learning curriculum from each of these XXX providers.  At the end of the session, please rank the providers based on the following:

1. How easy was the curriculum to use in terms of the logic and sequential flow of its navigation?

2. How appropriate was the presentation of the materials for the specific age group it was intended to reach?

3. How effective were the pedagogical strategies that were incorporated into the curriculum?

4. How engaging was the use of various types of media in the curriculum?

In this situation, those who were surveyed were in a position to make an informed, intelligent ranking based on actual use and pedagogical consideration of the various online learning provider’s curriculums.  Which of these two methods were used?  We don’t know for sure unless you purchase the report!  Although if I was a betting man, I’d wager on the first method.

So what do we know at this stage, based on this information?  Basically, this is an industry survey, conducted by a marketing company.  Based on the limited amount of information provided by both K12, Inc. and MDR’s market research service EdNET Insight, what this says is that K12, Inc. could have the best online curriculum out there; or it might simply say that K12, Inc. has the best marketing out there.  From an education standpoint, that isn’t useful information.

Who Says K-12 Online Learning Isn’t About Big Business

This is an interesting article from Education Week…

Mergers Seen on the Rise in the K-12 Marketplace

By Jason Tomassini

he education industry accounted for an estimated $10 billion in mergers and acquisitions last year, with K-12 technology responsible for the second-largest annual increase in transactions of any education sector, a report from an investment banking firm says.

The flurry of transactions last year—which included major purchases by the education publisher Pearson and the online-course provider K12 Inc. and the acquisition of Blackboard Inc., a learning-management-system company—matched 2010 activity, but doubled the amount of dollars spent in acquisitions in 2009, according to the report released by New York City-based Berkery Noyes.

Transactions related to K-12 technology continued a steady incline from 16 in 2010 to 24 last year. And the deals were bigger—the nine largest education transactions in 2011 accounted for an estimated $5.66 billion in value, an increase of more than $2 billion over transactions in 2010.

To continue reading…

Call For Award Nominations For Distance Learning

From yesterday’s inbox…

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Quick Links NUTN Network Contact Us Join Our Network Award Descriptions   Network 2012 Distance Learning Colleagues, The NUTN NETWORK celebrates its 30th anniversary with a look at where we have been since that first meeting in Kansas City and what the present and future hold for Learning,Technology & Innovation - the challenges and opportunities for higher and distance education in dynamically changing environments. This is a call for nominations and submissions for awards to be presented at the annual NUTN NETWORK annual distance learning conference September 17-19, 2012, in Kansas City, Missouri. Awards   The NUTN NETWORK 2012 Planning Committee invites you to nominate or self-nominate award candidates for awards in the following categories: NUTN 2012 Research Paper Award NUTN 2012 Shirley Davis Award for Excellence in Syncronous Distance Learning NUTN 2012 Distance Education Innovation Award NUTN 2012 Award for Institutional Achievement NUTN 2012 Student Recognition Award Click here for award descriptions and criteria. Important Dates Submission deadline for each award category: March 30, 2012. Finalists will be notified by May 11, 2012.  Award announcements will be made at the Network 2012 conference in Kansas City, Missouri, September 17-19 at the InterContinental hotel on the plaza. Finalists of awards are expected to attend the NETWORK 2012 conference.  Brief video presentations (2-3 minutes) produced by award winners in coordination with NUTN will be on display at  NETWORK 2012 with links also on the NUTN NETWORK web site to further acknowledge the achievements of NUTN Network 2012 award winners.  Award recipients will have the opportunity to make brief acceptance remarks at the awards luncheon ceremony. Finalists of awards may register for NUTN NETWORK 2012 at NUTN member discounted rates. See submission requirements for each award. Contact Patti Jennings, NUTN Administrator, with questions. Submit Nominations Patti Jennings, NUTN Administrator LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications 9596 Walnut Street Dallas, TX 75243-2112 pjennings@dcccd.edu About NUTN The NUTN Network is a professional development network for innovative leaders advancing teaching and learning in the distance education field.

Forward email Dallas TeleCollege | 9596 Walnut Street | Dallas | TX | 75243

Webinar Archive Available: E-Learning Goes Global

Received notice of this recording on Wednesday…

Thank you for attending the “E-Learning Goes Global” webinar. The on-demand event is now available here. You can view the on-demand version free for the next six months.

Please make sure to test your computer before viewing the event.

You can also cut and paste this URL into your browser to access the webinar: http://edweek.org/go/webinar/eLearningGlobal

The Powerpoint presentation is also available for download here.

Read “U.S. Schools Forge Foreign Connections Via Web,” the first article in the Education Week special report “Virtual World of Learning,” available Jan. 30, 2012.

To continue the discussion on e-learning with today’s webinar guests, see our new forum, “E-Learning on an International Scale.”

Thank you.