Education IT News For VARs — October 22, 2014
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In news this week, a learning management system is locking horns with one of its clients in legal battle, developers compete for $20 million in Gates Foundation funding, and Stanford’s president talks technology. Also, a recent case study demonstrates how one school district developed a technology training program for teachers.
Number Of Students Accessing System Leads To Legal Battle
According to Inside Higher Ed, Learning Technology Partners, a learning management system provider, is suing one of its clients, the University of the Incarnate Word, a private Catholic college in San Antonio, TX, for breach of contract. The suit alleges that the university allowed more students access to their system than the contract provided. The university is countersuing for charging “exorbitant fees” for a “malfunctioning product.”
7 Courseware Developers Vie for $20 Million In Gates Foundation Funding
This article from Education Dive examines the seven finalists that are in competition for $20 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Finalists are required to develop online courseware to provide support for low-income students enrolled in lower level courses with high student populations. The finalists include Acrobatiq, Cerego, CogBooks, Lumen Learning, Open Stax College, Smart Sparrow, and Open Learning Initiative.
Stanford President Talks Technology, College Ratings
This article from the Washington Post highlights Stanford University’s President John L. Hennessy as he looks to the future of higher education. Among Hennessy’s talking points is the future of technology. He asserts that although there is a role for MOOCs (massive open online courses) “both as a tool to educate educators and as the primary access method for student who have few other choices,” he warns that they will not be the future of U.S. higher ed. MOOCs, he said “are only a small portion of a much larger change: the more aggressive use of online technologies.”
How Indian Lakes Streamlined Ed-Tech Professional Development
This white paper discusses how one local school district in Ohio found a way to streamline its education of teachers using digital tools such as Google Apps, Chromebooks, and iPad, thus allowing them to close the technology chasm between educators and students. This case study shows how Ohio’s Indian Lakes Local School District and Grovo partnered to establish a training program that resulted in deeper knowledge of fundamental concepts, integration of new concepts into teaching, and higher training completion rates. The white paper is available here.
Education IT Talking Points
According to the New York Daily News, critics are raising questions about the ethics surrounding a new one-year contract between the New York City Department of Education and New Classrooms, a non-profit started by former department official Joel Rose. The contract, valued at $420,750, is on top of the $9 million the city already spent in private grants for Rose to develop “The School of One,” leading some to argue that Rose is trying to sell back a program that he created while an administrative officer for the NYC Department of Education. New Classrooms and the NYC Department of Education are denying any wrongdoing occurred with the contract.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Education IT Resource Center.