District Administration - February 2012 - (Page 63)

Students at Stratford Elementary School in Iowa play a math game in their classroom. It’s part of the mobile learning curriculum that the district uses for such devices. “It has to start with the school principal and superintendent saying, ‘I want this in my school,’” he says. “If you value something, you’ll find the money for it.” Future Funding In one funding boost for schools, the Federal Communications Commission this school year launched an innovative pilot program that provides free wireless connections for school districts and libraries in 14 states. The project, called “Learning on-the-Go,” is aimed at giving participating K12 schools off-premise connections to the Internet to increase access to digital textbooks and other mobile learning devices. The program is providing a total of $9 million in funding for the participating schools and libraries. In addition, the San Diego Unified School District has received a $1 million grant from the FCC under the program, which will help the district continue its major pilot program. For now, the district is integrating 24/7 online learning into its curriculum for all sixth-graders in 10 middle schools. With the help of a $2.1 billion school improvement bond passed by voters in 2008, the district has issued 30,000 netbooks so students can access curriculum beyond school hours. District officials hope the technology will transform the learning experience in and out of the classroom. Kelly Puente is a freelance writer based in Long Beach, Calif. What’s New With Mobile Apps? Blackboard Mobile Teachers, students and parents can get instant access to courses, content and announcements via their mobile devices using Blackboard Mobile platform. Students and teachers can access documents in multiple formats, post announcements, create discussion threads and comment on blogs and journals. Desire2Learn With a collection of applications that students and other users can access anywhere, Desire2Learn is among the mobile learning platforms in K12. With Desire2Learn Mobile Web, for example, students can review what they read in class or identify unread topics they need to review. Content can be bookmarked for reading later on, and the application automatically connects to online bookmarks. Students can also quickly check their latest grades on assignments, quizzes and projects. GoKnow It can run on any hand-held computer or smartphone. The GoKnow education software platform has seven differ- New software and applications for mobile learning devices are popping up every day. Here are five that can be used in the classroom. ent applications that allow teachers to create coordinated, curriculum-based learning activities. Multi-activity assignments allow students to compose, create, report, draw, animate, view grades, upload completed projects and more. One popular application called Sketchy is an animation/drawing tool that features pen options and geometric objects. Mobl21 Teachers can create topical study guides, flash cards and quizzes, which students can then access from their mobile devices, using Mobl21, a mobile learning application. The Mobl21 iPhone/iPod Touch application, for example, is a free application that enables the use of video and audio. Poll Everywhere Turn any mobile phone into an audience-response device with Poll Everywhere, a software program. Teachers can ask a question in class, and students can pull out their cell phones and send in the answer via text message. Poll Everywhere is used in many circles, including K12 schools, colleges and nonprofit organizations. www.DistrictAdministration.com February 2012 63 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - February 2012

District Administration - February 2012
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Conversations
Product Focus
What Can U.S. Schools Learn From Foreign Counterparts?
A New Prescription for Fighting Drug Abuse
The Game Changer
The Legal Implications of Surveillance Cameras
CIO News
Mobile Devices Drive Creative Instruction
Products
Crisis Response
Professional Opinion
Problem/Solution
New Directions

District Administration - February 2012