August 2009 - Posts

Governor Schwarzenegger  recently released his "Free Digital  Textbook Initiative Report" with a goal of providing California students, teachers and parents access to free digital high school textbooks.  The free digital textbook initiative is supposed to take California’s schools into the 21st century has taken step forward, but it is questionable how many schools will be able to take advantage of this effort unless significant mindset changes take place. 

Yesterday CETPA (California Education Technology Professionals Association) held a conference that included a demonstration of Orange County school children of all ages eagerly and effectively using netbooks to conduct everyday school work.  The demonstration was followed by remarks from California Secretary of Education Glen Thomas who talked about  the need for California to embrace technology stating that it "is the key to reforming the education system.  That equity  equals access to content and that every child across the state and every socio-economic level deserves to benefit from all that digital textbooks and technology have to offer.  

Educators, technology experts (including Dells own Snow White and Robyn Nirken) as well as school board members rounded out the day by participating on panels that included discussion regarding how best to introduce and advance the use  of technology in the classroom.  Robyn discussed how  we need to view our education system as  an Eco-system, how we don't need to replace  textbooks, but need to consider "re-engineering" the system with textbooks possibly playing a different role for kids in the classroom.   key message that kids today are surrounded by technology and that it can be an effective tool in getting more information, and timely information, to kids in a format that they are excited about using.  She talked about the need for education solutions to be affordable, easy to use and secure - qualifications that  netbooks and digital content can easily fulfill when used appropriately and presented by teachers and parents that have been trained and prepared.  That training being one of the key components that Robyn cited as being key to a successful use  of technology in  the  classroom. 

Snow echoed and agreed with Robyn's comments but added that not only are kids wired differently today with regard to what stimulates them and assists them in learning, but that kids today are entering the classroom with individual needs, and different learning styles.  She added that including technology to the classroom give teachers one more - and very effective - tool in their effort to personalize and effectively address the differing needs found in today's classroom.  . 

Perhaps the day was best summed up by William Habermehl, Orange County superintendent of schools who said “Digital textbooks will enhance the quality of education, we  need to get out of the old schedules and get in the 21st century.”

Several months after the passage of the massive fiscal stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), there remains several questions about the specifics.  See my previous post about the NCSL annual conference where it was a major topic of discussion.  To help policy makers and anyone who's interested, Dell recently updated the Economic Stimulus Learning Center.  The site allows users to access specific topics such as Education or Health Care.  Visit the site and let us know what you think.

We joined about 4,000 state legislators, staff and interested groups at the weeklong National Conference of State Legislators annual conference in Philadelphia.  This year's conference focused on the stimulus or America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) efforts and general state of the economy. Additional panel discussions and keynote presentations covered multiple topics, including one by Bill Gates on education reform. 

Many legislators lamented the fact that even though the federal stimulus money was starting to flow, it was, in the words of one legislator, only "keeping the lights on."  There was very little talk about new programs or new initiatives. 

Despite the less than optimistic tone of the conference, we talked to a number of legislators about education, the environment and health care.  Most wanted to know more about how Dell is helping in these areas.  Dell's ARRA resources are located on Economic Stimulus Learning Center site. 

Next week Dell will have a presence in Philadelphia for the annual National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) meeting. The event brings together legislators and staff from all 50 states, several territories and federal officials to discuss a wide range of issues.  The conference is the largest gathering of state legislators of the year and is spread over six days. 

This year a good chunk of time will be spent on the economic and fiscal status of states.  In particular, there are several panels and discussions about how the federal stimulus has affected states.  As the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers stated in their latest Fiscal Review, "the 50 states are facing one of the worst fiscal periods in decades."    It will be interesting to hear and learn about the ideas that are discussed and shared for closing the budget gaps.  In addition, education and health care will be discussed.  Look for posts from the team next week.