Tech learning big data is not bad

Volume 34 / Number 8

techlearning.com

Ideas and Tools for ed Tech leaders

I

March 2014

I

$6

Big Data isn’t BaD
Digital BaDges

The fuTure of PD
See page 23

It’s just
misunderstood.

(See page 32)

Put to the test

Lego eDucaTion
STorySTarTer
See page 18

To see more
Tech & Learning
scan the code
or visit us online
at: www.techlearning.
com/mar14

Why We
still need
librarians
See page 10
for more.

The Total
Common Core
Solution
Learn more on

PG

25


active
passive
public
private
digital
analog
formal

informal
calm
energetic
social
quiet
choice

the new library
focused
alone
together
engaged
relaxed
observant
focused
innovative
traditional
brainstorm
contemplative
collaborative

Today’s students demand choices, requiring libraries to offer a range of spaces to support
the many ways they learn. Steelcase works with the world’s leading educational institutions
to create multipurpose, high-performance destinations for all of the places learning happens.
Find out more at steelcase.com/libraries
©2013 Steelcase Inc. All rights reserved. Trademarks used herein are the property of Steelcase Inc. or of their respective owners.


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contents
FEatUrEs

23

there’s a Badge For that

32

school cio: Who’s aFraid oF Big data?

36
38

school cio: Back oFFice Business

16

By Richard Ferdig and Kristine E. Pytash
Digital badges have captured the imagination of many
educators because they have proven to be an important way
to demonstrate a shared understanding of accomplished

outcomes.
By Dr. Steven Rubenstein
Big data is overwhelming, but it can also furnish important
information about individual students, schools, and districts.
Here is how one district created a school system and culture to
embrace data as a partner in learning.

tech tools For assessing the “soFt” skills

By Cathy Swan
Should schools teach “soft” skills, such as communication,
problem-solving, and critical thinking? Most colleges and
workplaces believe the answer is yes. This article provides a
variety of examples of tech tools that can help you teach and
assess these skills.

PrODUcts

16

Put to the test: t&l editors take some neW
Products For a test drive.
16
18
20
22

42

Digital Passport: Classroom Edition

LEGO StoryStarter Curriculum Pack
HotSeat’s Edustation flight simulator
Adobe Creative Cloud

What’s neW

DEPartMEnts &
cOLUMns

22

38

4

editors desk:
get on With the shoWs

6

neWs & trends
• This Ain’t Your 70s Snow
Day
• Why We Still Need
Librarians
• ConsideringNewLearning
Spaces

Scan here to access
the digital edition,

which includes
additional resources.

Tech & Learning (ISSN-1053-6728) (USPS 695-590) is published monthly by
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tech & Learning, PO Box 8746, Lowell, MA 01853
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Copyright ©2014 NewBay Media, LLC All Rights Reserved.

www.techlearning.com

| M a r c h 2 01 4 |

3


EdITOR’S

note
March 2014

Get On With
the ShOWS

W

hat a way to start the year! The Tech & Learning
team has been on the road and even “across the
pond” these past few weeks, keeping up with
what could be called edtech’s show season.

First up was our own Tech Forum in Long
Beach, with an inspirational keynote by Dr.
Alec Couros (couros.ca/cv/), and an insightful panel that included
LA CIO Ron Chandler discussing that little iPad pilot you may have
heard about. You can watch it yourself at our Livestream channel
(www.livestream.com/techlearning).
Then we spent a week in London for BETT, the granddaddy of
edtech shows. More than 40,000 educators from across the planet shared best practices in panel
sessions, which included one hosted by our UK advisor Terry Freedman. Meanwhile, in Philly,
managing editor Christine Weiser was reporting on
T&L advisor Chris Lehmann’s Educon (educonphilly.
org), which is a sort of Davos for edugeeks. Finally, we
all gathered in Austin, TX, for the Texas Computer
Education Association show and to celebrate our own
Awards of Excellence. You can read about all of these
events plus some takeaways from this year’s Florida
Besides the emerging
Education Technology Conference on pages 14 and 15
maker movement
and online at techlearning.com.
and education app
market, i saw nothing
So what’s the next “Big Thing” to come out of all
much new in the way
these shows? Besides the emerging Maker Movement
of hardware and
and education app market, I saw nothing much new
software. what
in the way of hardware and software. What I did
i did find exciting

find exciting were the new and innovative ways that
were the new and
educators are learning to use current technologies.
innovative ways
Next stops—SXSWedu back in Austin, TX and Tech
that educators
Forum in Atlanta on March 28, featuring longtime
are learning
School CIO advisor Carl Hooker as keynote speaker.
to use current
We look forward to seeing you online or in real time soon.
technologies.

|

vol. 34 no. 8

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neWSandtRenDS
ThE LATEST NEwS & STATS AFFECTINg ThE K-12 EdTECh COMMUNITY

top10
wEB STORIES

From techlearning.com

1

2

3

4

Making 1:1 Work
Ellen Ullman checked in with
some 1:1 districts to get their
insight into what makes these
initiatives strong and how
they can be sustained.

A review of the growth of the
U.S. from the Revolutionary
War until all the states
were added in 1959.

New Study Says MOOCs
Have Few Active Users

7

A new study from the
University of Pennsylvania

Graduate School of Education
reveals some interesting
findings related to MOOCs.

8

Google Adds More to Play
Google Play for Education
announced a new aspect of
their content distribution
strategy—digital books.

6 Must-Have Evernote iPad
Apps and Chrome Extensions
J Robinson lists additional
extensions and tablet apps that
make Evernote even more useful
and versatile for the school
leader and classroom teacher.

5

6

Product Review: Britannica
Pathways: Science
MaryAnn Karre reviews this
online, interactive approach to
teaching the scientific method.

Animated Atlas: Growth of a
Nation

Survey: Americans
Concerned about Use of
Students’ Personal Data

Send Them on Learning
Missions

Top 100 Sites and Apps of
2013
David Kapuler cites digital
storytelling as one of the most
prominent themes in this year’s list.

F I N d l I N k s at W W W.t ec h l e a r n i n g .co m / m a r 1 4

6

| M a r c h 2 014 | w w w . t e c h l e a r n i n g . c o m

Part of being a strong leader is
allowing yourself to trust others
to do their best, even if their idea
sounds a little crazy.
—Pernille ripp
If your school, and your school
day, is not about students
collaborating, connecting,

and building knowledge and
understandings together, why
would anyone come?
—Scott McLeod

Favorite Student Apps & Tools

Shelly Terrell stopped giving
her students homework and
began to give them a choice
of missions and challenges.

10

We should be designing our
instruction and teaching our
students to use a wide selection of
digital tools that best fits within
their learning style.
—rob Miller

At Tech Forum California,
students from elementary
through high school shared
their favorite apps and tools.

Common Sense Media released
a survey showing adults
are concerned about how
students’ personal data may

be used to market to them.

9

Blog Bits

toP
tWeets
@geraldaungst: Improvements
coming to E-rate for libraries and
schools. More funds, emphasis
on broadband. http://aungst.
me/1fIhsRJ
@henrythiele: School on snow days?
Thank technology - Chicago
Tribune />o6uxksw
@rroysden: Inquiry Driven: Ask
questions we don’t know the
answers to! Dare kids to ask
questions! @chrislehmann


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NEwS ANd TRENdS

this ain’t your
1970’s snow day

jOSIEPhOS/ISTOCKPhOTO/ThINKSTOCK

It’s been a rough winter for much of the country, but
inclement weather doesn’t mean the learning stops.
Here are tools many schools used to keep lessons rolling
anytime, anywhere:
* Google Apps for Education: Had a small-group
activity in mind for room 218, period 3? Set up a Google
Doc and have students answer questions collaboratively

from home. If you have a presentation all ready for a
“live” class, throw it up to a shared class folder.
* Twitter #Chats: Use push notifications to send out
reminders, reading links, or review questions for
students. Use class hashtags to help students easily find
relevant info, or create a class Twitter account. Set up a
live #chat when you are available to answer questions.
* Google Forms: Google Forms can be turned into quizzes
simply by asking content-specific questions. Or they can be designed more like a handout
where students answer/practice/reflect on topic areas you wanted to cover face to face.
* G+ Communities: Create a G+ Community for just your class. This makes a group page
where you can upload readings, videos, and links and have students comment on them.
* Try a HangOut: Feeling like a live chat? Set up a Google Hangout on Air. The added benefit is
this records the discussion for later viewing.
—Jennifer LaMaster, CIO Advisor

T&L REaDER
SuRvEy

securIty/saFeroNlINe/

Microsoft launched the
Safer Online site to spread
the word about online
safety and encourage
people to “Do 1 Thing” to
help make the Internet a
safer place.

Never

4%

When Was The
lasT TIMe you
doWnloaded
an educaTIon
app?

In the
past year

4%

In the
past month

9%

Just today

33%

In the
past week

50%

K
STOC

hINK
TO/T

F o r m o r eISTsOuCrKPVheOys , V I s I t W W W.t ec h l e a r n i n g .co m /au g 1 3

8

sITe We
lIke
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RAIL
SCAN

| M a r c h 2 014 | w w w . t e c h l e a r n i n g . c o m


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– Dr. Seuss

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NEwS ANd TRENdS

why we still
need liBrarians
In a recent report, Leading In and Beyond the Library,
by digital learning and technology consultants Mary
Ann Wolf and Rachel Jones, the following suggestions
were made for policymakers and boards of education:
* Envision the role of school librarians as extending
beyond the physical space of the library and being
more than the keepers of books and reference
materials and consider the critical knowledge and
skills that school librarians bring to the digital
learning transition.
* Consider how funding the role of the school
librarian is also supporting teachers, students, and
administrators in the digital learning transition.
* Recognize how the library and the technology within
the library are essential to providing students with access to the Internet and research
and learning guidance and to leveling the playing field for students without access to the
Internet or devices at home, especially outside of regular school hours.

This same report made the following suggestions for librarians:
* Share how the collaboration, professional development, and instruction provided by the
school librarian are integral to the digital learning transition.
* Continue learning to be leaders in the digital learning transition and experts who
can provide professional development, implement new tools and resources, and guide
teachers, students, and administrators.
* Lead and model the potential of the library itself as a hub of digital learning and
the connection to rich and diverse content, and create a makerspace designed and
positioned to meet the needs of students and teachers.

6

Considerations
for neW
learning spaCes

Steelcase recently released
the white paper, TechnologyEmpowered Learning: Six Spatial
Insights, which examined ways
that technological advances have
redefined the classroom and the
design of learning environments.
The report identified the
following six insights to help
educators consider spatial
responses to tech integration:
■ Person-to-person connections
remain essential for successful
learning.
■ Technology is supporting

richer face-to-face
interactions and higher-level
cognitive learning.
■ Integrating technology into
classrooms mandates flexibility
and activity-based spatial
planning.
■ Spatial boundaries are
loosening.
■ Spaces must be designed to
capture and stream information.
■ High-tech and low-tech will
coexist.
For more details, visit
techlearning.com/mar13

r e a d m o r e at t e c h l e a r n i n g .co m / m a r 1 3

resources
for dIgITal
lITeracy
Tree Octopus

Dog Island Free Forever spoof site

r e a d s h e l l e y t e r r e l l’ s co m p l e t e l I st at t ec h l e a r n i n g .co m / m a r 1 3

10

| M a r c h 2 014 | w w w . t e c h l e a r n i n g . c o m

Digital Literacies venn Diagram


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news and TRends

EvEnt Round-ups
The first two months of the year is a busy season for edtech events. From the TCEA to
BETT to FETC, Tech&Learning was on the scene. Here are some of the best bits.

Top 10 FETC 2014 Takeaways
By Jodi SamSinak

1

Every student has the right to ask, “Why are we doing this?” and
“How does this relate to my future?” if we can’t answer these
critical questions, it’s time to take a step back.

2
3

nothing lasts forever, except your social media posts. keep
teaching digital citizenship.

Every teacher needs to leave a digital footprint. our students
should have access to our content 24/7. This isn’t only for
students, but for our stakeholders as well.

4
5

Collaboration is critical. We’re no longer working in an
environment where we can choose to work alone.

Social media is not a bad word. in the past, education and social
media have not blended.  at FETC, presenters showed us that
they can and must go hand in hand.

6

7

Social media is great, but it’s also great to turn it off. Wherever you
are, be present. Set a time limit for yourself and your students.

kids aren’t just texting anymore. They’re taking pictures…in your
class! So why not let them take pictures and incorporate apps like
instagram into your curriculum? Before they write about the content,
ask them to storyboard it with digital imagery.

8

our schools are still the place where kids use technology the least. if
we’re preparing them for a tech future, then we better be preparing
them by using the tools that they’ll need for success in their future.

9

it’s not what i learned at FETC (or at any conference), it’s who i
connected with. Establishing, supporting, and growing your PLn
is important.

10

no app can replace a great teacher! Even at FETC, where i was
surrounded by Google Glass, Tobii eye mobile (eye tracking
mouse), sketchnoting, and other amazing apps, the overwhelming
takeaway is that no technology will ever replace us.

Jodi Samsinak, an iB English teacher at ozark High School in ozark,

missouri. Read Jodi’s full post at www.techlearning.com/mar14

12

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T&L CeLebraTes awards
of exCeLLenCe aT TCEA
a fine time was had by all at Tech&Learning’s awards of
Excellence reception, which is held every year in conjunction
with the Texas Computer Education association’s conference
in austin. more than 70 education technology products were
recognized as winners. Honored software, hardware, network,
and Web gear included innovative applications that break new
ground as well as those that added significant enhancements
to proven education tools. a panel of more than 30 educators,
who tested more than 150 entries, chose the winners. We look
forward to even more new great edtech coming out in 2014.


news and TRends

Center of exCellenCe in
learning opens at Science
LeaderShip academy
In January, Science Leadership Academy (SLA) and The Franklin
Institute in Philadelphia announced a partnership with Dell that will
make the school the first in the nation to deploy the Dell
Chromebook 11 as part of its new “Center of Excellence in
Learning.” This Center will go beyond a 1:1 Chromebook

deployment. Thanks to more than $620,000 in grant
money and education technology from Dell, the Center
will also enable SLA to share its well-known model of
inquiry-based learning with schools around the country
through real-time and online professional development
opportunities.
“The Center for Excellence at Science Leadership Academy is
going to involve a number of different things—not the least
of which is that we are moving our 1:1 program to the Dell
Chromebook,” says principal Chris Lehmann. “What differentiates

this grant is that it not only brings technology
to our school, but allows us to create the Center
of Excellence. This funding will allow us to invite
educators from all over the world to come see
what we do. The technology is used in service of
our inquiry-driven, project-based curriculum. This is a very specific
kind of teaching and learning, and our hope is that this partnership
will allow us to reach more educators and bring what we do at
SLA to other districts.”

Bett paneL: Measuring What Matters
At the recent BETT show, Tech & Learning decided to
take on the topic of “Measuring What Matters: Soft
Skills Made Visible” at a Learn Live panel discussion. The
panel included T&L U.K. advisor Terry Freedman of www.
ictineducation.org, as well as professors, teachers, and
consultants from the U.S. and England. The conversation
revealed some interesting observations.

■ Margaret Cox, a professor who has done a lot of
research on assessment, said, “It [is] crucial to build
in time and opportunities for students to reflect on
what they [have] learned. She also said, “It [is] crucial
to measure the right things,” and she pointed out that
students might have learned something completely
different than what you, as the teacher, had intended
for them to learn.

■ Paul Hutton, a consultant from England, spoke about the joy
of programming, and talked about the excitement that kids
experience when learning and technology come together:
“Skills like collaboration are not new at all, and our kids must
learn how to fail.”

■ Megan Power, a kindergarten teacher from the U.S., said,
“Youngsters must be taught to be thinkers, and these so-called
‘soft skills’ must be built into the curriculum.” She also
emphasized the need to provide children with opportunities to
solve problems rather than slavishly following a textbook.

■ Sacha van Straten, a high school teacher from England, asked:
“Why not use a Google Doc to capture a discussion and Google
Analytics to track the conversations that take place there?
Given that kids are learning socially, does assessment even
matter?”

■ Crispin Weston, a consultant from England, also questioned
our assessment practices: “Are we measuring performance or
capability? Examinations provide only a snapshot at a certain

point in time.”
Overall, each member of the panel made excellent points. And
while people may not have left with all the answers, at least they
knew that they were not the only ones asking the questions!

www.techlearning.com

| M a r c h 2 01 4 |

13


news and TRends

Conversations
from the
teCh forum
Livestream
arChive

Fcc Boss on
e-rate reForm
In his first blog post, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly recently posted the following
guideposts that he believes must be reflected in E-Rate reform:
■ E-Rate must not increase costs for consumers.
■ E-Rate must be refocused on broadband access.
■ E-Rate matching requirements must be made consistent with other federal programs.
■ E-Rate funding must leverage the private sector networks and services, not overbuild
them. 
■ E-Rate funding should provide schools with the flexibility to choose the speeds that

best meet their needs. 
■ E-Rate program administration must be revised.  
R e a d t h e f u l l b lo g at t e c h l e a r n i n g .co m / m a r 1 3

Study RevealS PaRentS See
Room foR ImPRovement foR
educatIonal medIa

R e a d t h e co m p l e t e R e p o R t at t e c h l e a r n i n g .co m / m a r 1 3

14

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moodboaRd/ThinksTock

A national survey of parents of
children ages 2-10 by The Joan
Ganz Cooney Center finds that
more than half of parents believe
that learning from mobile devices
falls short compared to other
platforms. Other key findings
of the Learning at Home study
include:
* Two- to four-year-olds
spend more time per day on
educational media than any
other age group: 1 hour 16
minutes for ages 2-4, 50 minutes for ages 5-7, and 42 minutes for ages 8-10.

* Television continues to dominate, according to parents, with children spending
an average of 42 minutes a day with educational TV compared to 5 minutes with
educational content on mobile devices and computers.
* Even among those who use educational content on each platform weekly, learning
from mobile lags behind TV: 39 percent say their child has learned “a lot” about any
subject from mobile compared to 52 percent for TV.

1:1 & BYo tips

embracing

common core

open education
resources

S e e m o R e at
w w w. l i v e st r e a m .co m / t ec h l e a r n i n g


Classroom management now includes support for
Chromebooks and iOS/Android tablets
Monitor entire classroom - Remote control students - Block internet
Surveys - Send messages - Broadcast teacher’s screen - Class registration

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pRODuCtRevieWS
Tech & Learning EdITORS TAKE SOME NEw PROdUCTS FOR A TEST dRIvE

Digital PassPort:
Classroom EDition
www.digitalpassport.org/educator-registration ■ retail price: ipad & android app: $3.99

OVERALL RATING:
Digital Passport is
an essential app to use
when teaching students
the importance of
online cybersafety.

By David Kapuler

D

igital Passport for iOS and Android is an expansion of the
Web-based game that helps students in 3rd-5th grades
learn skills around being safe, smart, and responsible
online. Based on lessons from Common Sense Media’s
K-12 digital literacy and citizenship curriculum, Digital
Passport uses games and videos to address online safety
and security, cyberbullying, responsible cellphone use, safe searching,
and respecting creative work. Students learn and advance through
topic areas, collecting badges at their own pace, to ultimately earn
their digital passports.
Quality and Effectiveness: Not only is Digital Passport a
good mobile app for learning online safety skills, it’s perfect
for meeting CIPA needs. Because it is loaded onto their
mobile devices, students learn appropriate online behavior at
home and teachers can use it to flip their classrooms.

The app includes an educational portal that allows educators
to track and generate student reports to assess their learning
and helps schools
meet E-Rate and
CIPA requirements.

toP Features

•importance and Subject Matter: The
app focuses on online safety for
students, which is a requirement of
ciPa compliance.
•educational Portal: Digital Passport
allows educators to track student
progress and generate reports.
•innovative use of Technology:
The app combines videos and
animated characters to create a fun
environment for students to learn
essential skills.

Ease of Use:
Designed for kids
in 3rd-5th grades, Digital
Passport uses videos to explain
the different elements of
being a digitally responsible
student. There are five lessons
for each student to take
(communication, privacy,

bullying, safe Web surfing,
and creative credit). These

lessons are broken up into
three progressive stages to
ensure that the students
become more successful as
they complete each stage
and learn the corresponding
lesson. There is also a helpful
Web site and forum for parents
and educators looking for help
implementing Digital Passport
in their classrooms.
Creative Use of Technology: Digital Passport uses an inviting
combination of video and cartoon animations to teach cybersafety.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: This app should be
an essential tool for technology educators to use in their curricula. It’s
very easy to use, tracks student progress, and generates reports. Also,
Digital Passport qualifies for Apple’s Volume Purchasing Program,
which allows for big discounts when purchasing apps in bulk.

FOR MORE OF ThE LATEST PROdUCT RELEASES, vISIT US ONLINE AT Techlearning.coM.

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ARE YOU MAKING A

DIFFERENCE?
Tell us how you lead by using technology in education. Enter yourself, or a
colleague, in Tech & Learning’s 2014 Leader of the Year Program.
Tech & Learning is once again honoring K-12 educators who use technology in innovative
ways and whose ideas have made a significant impact on their school community and
beyond. We invite you to share your teaching, training, and managing success stories
with our judges. Winners will be profiled in T&L’s June Leadership issue, gain national
recognition -- and will be honored at a gala celebration at ISTE ‘14 in Atlanta!

CONTEST OPENS MARCH 1, 2014

Visit www.techlearning.com/section/LeaderOfTheYear to enter

sponsored by


PROdUCT REvIEwS

storystartEr CurriCulum PaCk
www.legoeducation.us/storystarter ■ retail price: $237.95 (Classroom pack)

By Kevin, Phineas, and Theodore Hogan

D

esigned for use in second through fifth grades,
LEGO Education StoryStarter is a handson learning tool that enhances students’
reading, writing, speaking, and listening
skills. One set contains enough elements
to equip up to five students with

everything they need to start constructing their
own stories.
Quality and Effectiveness: Have LEGO
bricks ever been cooler? The classic
building toy can now be part of everyday
classroom work and can even be tied to
standards, thanks to the StoryStarter
curriculum packages. The lesson plans, objectives, and rubrics
are meant to guide teachers toward building physical, mental, and
digital literacies, all while having fun. While not the perfect solution,
StoryStarter comes close to fulfilling the promise of gamification.
Ease of Use: You’d be hard pressed to find a kid who is not
comfortable with LEGO. The challenge comes with the additional
element of working with StoryStarter. Students are led into
conversation about creating characters and scenes and plots. They
then create scenes using the specialized LEGO pieces.

teachers would describe as the “LEGO Factor”—hundreds, if not
thousands, of tiny plastic pieces that will inevitably find the floor. The
Core set does come with a tub designed to store the various pieces but
our reviewers never seemed to get a handle on this concept.
Creative Use of Technology: StoryStarter effectively bridges the
tactile with the digital and creative fun with rigor and assessment.
Logging on to the software is simple and the basic tools are intuitive.
Our student reviewers took right to it, although they needed help
transferring and editing images and text. All curriculum material is
available as PDF and it is well written. The software is a true tool.
Students weren’t so much “playing on the computer” as “making
stories.”

Here’s where it gets tricky. Using a Web cam, digital camera, or smart
device, students can then take images of their creations and import
them into the software or application. Students
then turn into desktop publishers—using a variety
of graphic design tools, they are charged with
creating dialogue, editing images, and learning
•The huge popularity of Lego makes it an
obvious draw for students to engage with in
basic layout design. While this product is
class.
marketed for grades 2-5, we found our fifth-grade
reviewer more inclined to use the software, with
•The software tools are simple and intuitive,
making the bridge between physical and digital
the second grader more intent on just building
play seamless.
with LEGO bricks.

toP Features

Of course, we can’t deny what most parents and

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•The curriculum materials are well written and
easy to follow.

Suitability for Use in a School Environment:

How effective these projects could be depends
heavily upon class size and access to technology.
LEGO bricks are great but messy. And keeping
students on task could be a real challenge. The
lesson plans and rubrics are descriptive and
solid. As long as the teacher has a good grasp
on multimedia skills and a keen imagination,
StoryStarter should be a great addition to a
classroom.


Visit the

K-12 Blueprint Web Site!
The newly designed K-12 Blueprint website provides dynamic, just in time planning
resources for the busy ed-tech professional.
The K-12 Blueprint offers resources for
education leaders involved in planning and
implementing technology initiatives.
These include:
• Case studies from schools and districts
involved in one-to-one and other technologysupported initiatives.
• Practical tips from K-12 leaders and
practitioners.
• White papers, technology briefs and a
variety of helpful publications from Intel,
easily accessible in one place.
PLUS: Toolkits available now including:
• Bring Your Own Device (BYOD);
• Educational Technology Policy;

• Planning for Digital Content;
• ICT Program Evaluation;
• and Common Core Standards Evaluation.

Check out the new and improved site today. If you like what you see, we invite
you to bookmark us, save and share your favorite Blueprint resources using the
site’s new virtual briefcase, and subscribe to our twice-monthly newsletter to
receive updates on what’s new.

www.k12blueprint.com
Follow us on Twitter @k12blueprint

BROUGHT
TO YOU BY:


PROdUCT REvIEwS

HotsEat CHassis EDustation
FligHt simulator
 ■ retail price: $3,395

By Frank Pileiro

H

otSeat’s Edustation flight simulator is a realistic and
full-featured flight simulator that is designed to
integrate into all areas of STEM education. It is
one of several models sold by the company. This

particular model is designed for middle and high
school students. It is self-contained and mobile so it
can be shared among teachers in a variety of subjects.
Quality and Effectiveness: The Edustation is well built and easily
moved. The controls are sturdy and when they are combined with
the large screen and headphones, it is easy to get a real-life flight
experience. The system is truly a plug-and-play model that gets you
up and running quickly. Everything is self-contained, so you just
need to plug it in, start up the computer, and open the software.
Ease of Use: The real power behind this product lies in the
software. It is powered by Lockheed Martin’s Prepare3D flight
software. The teacher can set the software so it can be tailored to a
variety of skill levels. You can save and load flights that allow you to start
in the air or on the ground. The hands-on controls give you everything
you need for flight and the onscreen cockpit is interactive and realistic.
Like any new skill, there is a learning curve, but the software can be
adjusted to accommodate an aspiring pilot up to the most seasoned
aviator. One thing I really liked is that you can turn off the crashing
mode so the plane just “bounces” off the ground and the user can
continue the flight.

toP Features
•The realism of its flight simulation technology allows for flying in a variety of
environments and locations.
•it touches on many areas of STeM education, which gives teachers the
flexibility to use it for a variety of topics and subjects.
•The product’s portability and ease of use allow it to be shared by more than one
classroom. This helps justify the cost for a single unit and reaches more students.

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OVERALL
RATING: HotSeat
Chassis Edustation
is a very innovative
use of flight simulator
technology that makes
it fun to learn more
about STEM
subjects.

Creative Use of Technology: The Edustation simulator is a very
innovative use of technology because of the realistic environments
teachers can create (e.g., weather, terrain, and location) to teach STEM
subjects at a variety of skill levels. Edustations can even be networked
together to allow students to fly in groups or formations. From small
planes to large commercial jets, there are a variety of aircraft to
challenge students. While in the “cockpit,” there are controls that allow
you to look around and change your views so you can get a real-life
experience. Students can actually learn how to fly with the Edustation.
HotSeat is also developing 30 STEM lab lessons for middle and high
school students. Each lesson will be aligned to the Common Core
standards and will be available in Fall 2014.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: The Edustation can
fit into a variety of curricular areas, especially math and science. The
unit is portable and easy to set up and run. The cost for a single unit
may be challenging for some districts, but its portability makes it easy
to share. The students will be motivated and standing in line to use it.

Dive de
at ISTE 2 ep
014
attend a —
worksho
p!
ke
Can’t ma ta?
n
it to Atla begins
tion
Registra for ISTE
March 6 remote
Live, our nce.
confere

Are you attending the
ed tech event of the year?
With innovative solutions for every educator, ISTE 2014 is the
world’s leading ed tech conference — and it’s coming to Atlanta,
Ga. Join thousands of educators Saturday, June 28, through
Tuesday, July 1, to discover the latest insights and develop the
skills to become a technology ambassador within your school
or district. You will:
Ř Take back new tools and immediately applicable information
to share with colleagues.
Ř %eneŵt from hundreds of hours of professional learning,
all in one place for one low price.

Program and schedule now available!
Head over to isteconference.org/program to view this year’s lineup
of fantastic sessions and keynotes. Dive deeper into your learning
experience with our workshops before and during the conference!

Register today!

Important dates
Super early bird pricing
Ends March 31, 2014
Housing cancellation
deadline, no fee
April 10, 2014
Early bird pricing
Ends May 1, 2014

#iste2014 | isteconference.org


PROdUCT REvIEwS

aDobE CrEativE ClouD

www.adobe.com ■  retail price: pricing will differ from one institution to another based on its fTe count. for large-scale deployments in k-12 classrooms and computer labs, adobe
recommends that schools purchase Creative Cloud products under an adobe education enterprise agreement (eea).

By Carol S. Holzberg

i

n early summer 2013, Adobe revamped
its product line by converting its desktop
applications into a subscription-based online
experience known as Creative Cloud (CC). All
applications except for Acrobat were upgraded
or enhanced. Adobe introduced a new service
called Typekit, providing CC subscribers with
access to a growing library of high-quality fonts to
use in their Web projects. Adobe also unveiled a new
social community called Behance, where members
can show work in progress, get feedback, and share
resources for use with applications like InDesign
CC and Flash Professional CC.
Quality and Effectiveness: If you purchase a CC
product subscription, not only do you get a full
working application installed on your computer, it
also updates and upgrades each subscribed product
as it becomes available. The previous version of
Adobe’s Creative Suite 6 gave licensed users free
access only to “updates.” Upgrades containing new
features, were available for an additional fee.

OVERALL
RATING: Students
who work in
collaborative settings
with real-world, industry
standard applications such
Creative Use of Technology: Enhancement and

as Adobe Creative Cloud
new features make Creative Cloud products more
can integrate digital
versatile
than ever before. For example, Photoshop
media and technology
CC now features a shake reduction feature that helps
tools into every
project.
sharpen an image by reducing the blur from handheld

Ease of Use: Most Adobe products share a similar
look and feel, with common toolbars, drop-down menus,
commands, panels, keyboard shortcuts, and tools like the
eyedropper, smart guides, paste-in-place, and edit. Tools in one
program may appear in several others. This means there is an
increased comfort level and a decreased learning curve for users
exploring each of the applications.

toP Features
•Students work with the same industry standard tools that experts use.
•updates and upgrades are free and available upon release.
•creative activities produce output for mobile devices in addition to desktops,
laptops, and print publications.

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camera motion. InDesign features a QR Code creator (Quick

Response Code) that lets you create a graphic data code that can
link to a Web hyperlink, plain text, text message, email or business
card. It can also be resized, colored and edited without compromising
quality. Adobe Illustrator CC comes with a Touch Type tool for more
precise type manipulation of each letter in a text selection. There are
too many features and enhancements to mention them all in this brief
overview. Suffice it to say that the Adobe CC brush has touched all
tools except for Acrobat.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: School personnel
installing Adobe CC products on local computers should understand
that an Education Enterprise Agreement governs product installation
in new ways.


There’s a

Badge

For That

ILLUSTRATION BY BRENdAN LEACh

sponsored By


theRe’S a BaDGe
FOR that
By Richard Ferdig and Kristine Pytash

D

igital badges have captured the
imagination of many educators,
including those frustrated with
current assessment techniques
and practices. A more thorough
explanation and history of
digital badges is available through a report
released last August by the Alliance for
Excellent Education ( />pdf ) or through the Mozilla OpenBadges
project ( However,
a simple definition for a digital badge is
digital recognition for accomplishing a skill
or acquiring knowledge after completing an
activity (e.g., a course, module, or project).
In the world of digital badges, there are those
who create badges, those who attempt to
achieve badges, those who recognize badges,
and those who seek to know people who have
obtained certain badges. Digital badges have
arguably taken off in popularity given the
increase in massive open courses that are often
free and thus do not produce credits. In sum,
digital badges have become an important way
to demonstrate a shared understanding of
accomplished outcomes.
Though they may have capital in multiple
domains, digital badges are often new to teachers
and those who offer professional development.
However, there are at least three key areas where

digital badges have implications for teachers and
their continuing education.
1.–Digital Badges for Teacher
Professional Development. Teachers
and educators often preach the
importance of personalization
and individualization of
content for students. However,
professional development
experiences for teachers are

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| Ma r c h 2014 | w w w . t e c h l e a r n i n g . c o m

ILLUSTRATION BY BRENdAN LEACh


TRY

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