EdTech 10: We Approve This Message…

Great week to be in our nation’s capitol with #EdReform leaders at the 2014 National Summit on Education Reform. Across town, President Obama and Secretary Duncan hosted an EdTech summit for superintendents where more than 100 superintendents pledged to make their districts #FutureReady.

More than 1,200 schools are pledging to connect their students with #FutureReady technology → http://t.co/AMLd17yW7B http://t.co/vc30JGirgE
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) November 20, 2014

Digital Developments

1. E-Rate Gets A Boost. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler (@TomWheelerFCC) announced his proposal to increase funding for the E-Rate program — by $1.5 billion!

#Internet4Schools got a huge boost this week from the @FCC who’s adding $1.5 billion in funding http://t.co/yQ3zSxYjE2#EdTech10 — Jennifer Aalgaard (@JenLAalgaard) November 18, 2014

2. Flexing Working Memory Muscles. Pearson Education (@Pearson) announced an update to it’s proven working memory training solution, Cogmed Working Memory Training.    

New tool for increasing information retention through building working memory released by @pearsonedhttp://t.co/f1daRgKBHQ#edtech10 — Megan Mead (@MegMarMe) November 19, 2014

Dollars & Deals

3. Chromebooks Taking Hold in Education. Chromebooks have expanded from less than 1% of the education market in 2012 to nearly 20% in 2013. Price and functionality has made Chromebooks a go-to tool for supporting digital conversion.

Chromebook Contracts in the #K12 Education Market over $78M in 2014 #edtech10 http://t.co/tkIMC281C3 via @Onvia — tyler (@post_west) November 13, 2014

4. More Funding for Higher Ed Enrollment Models. Uversity, the first to apply advanced predictive technology to existing enrollment models in the higher education market, announced securing additional funding from Learn Capital (where Tom is a partner) to bring their total funding to $11.4 million since 2007. 

Learn Capital joins @gatesfoundation in supporting @uversityinc to help recruit & retain college students http://t.co/biJclrBQOR #EdTech10 — tyler (@post_west) November 19, 2014

5. Online Marketplace Changes Hands. Curiosity.com (@Curiositydotcom), a consumer-centered online marketplace, announced it was spun out of Discovery Communications (@DiscoveryComm) to Beacon Solutions with venture funding of $6 million from four local investors.

.@Curiositydotcom changing hands from @DiscoveryComm to independent company, Beacon Solutions, Inc. http://t.co/wWYgUY8zJK #EdTech10 — Allison Brumley (@AllisonBrumley) November 19, 2014

6. Teaching Financial Literacy Through Gamification. At the Social Innovation Summit, MIND Research (@MIND_Research) Institute announced a $3.2 million gift from The PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. (@PwC_LLC) to improve youth financial literacy by developing game-based math instructional software.

$3.2 million gift to @MIND_Research from PwC Charitable Foundation to help improve youth financial literacy http://t.co/zEyb5mXnES #EdTech10 — Jessica Slusser (@Jess_Slusser) November 19, 2014

Teachers & Tech

7. Teaching High School Students New Tricks. Learning.com (@Learningdotcom) announced a new program, Project NextTech, to help high school students develop the technology, information, and media literacy skills they need for success in an increasingly digital world.  

New tool to help #highschool students gain #tech, info & media literacy skills from @Learningdotcom http://t.co/nDa3QGCOad #EdTech10 #edtech — Jennifer Aalgaard (@JenLAalgaard) November 19, 2014

Higher, Deeper, Further, Faster Learning

8. Guide to EdTech Math Tools. A study released by MindShift (@MindShiftKQED), The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning, explains key ideas in game-based learning, pedagogy, implementation, and assessment, makes sense of the available research and provides suggestions for practical use.    

Good to see quality studies done on #edtech #math tools – Research Shows Gain in ST Math Use http://t.co/RQdRaKtbu5 @MIND_Research #mathchat
— Megan Mead (@MegMarMe) November 14, 2014

Movers, Shakers & Ground-breakers

9. Calling All Content Developers. The K12 OER Collaborative (@K12OER), an initiative led by a group of 11 states with the goal of creating comprehensive, high-quality, open educational resources, is requesting proposals (RFP) to create open educational resources (OER) supporting K–12 mathematics and English language arts. Those interested must complete the “Letter of Intent” form here by January 9, 2015.

Calling all ed content developers! RFP for K12 #OER! Deadline Jan. 9! http://t.co/15eFsoiKWE @K12OER #EdTech10 #edtech
— Jennifer Aalgaard (@JenLAalgaard) November 19, 2014

10.Vote now. The Foundation for Excellence in Education (@ExcelinEd), opened public voting for parents, policymakers and other stakeholders to cast their vote in the My School Information Design Challenge (#SchoolInfo). With a total prize purse of up to $35,000, designers were asked to reimagine the report card into a user-friendly, 21st-century tool.

.@ExcelinEd #SchoolInfo challenge open for public voting! Help reimagine school report cards. Vote here http://t.co/pmoAaoMynT #edtech10
— Megan Mead (@MegMarMe) November 19, 2014

Learning.com, MIND Research Institute, Pearson, The Foundation for Excellence in Education and The Learning Accelerator are Getting Smart Advocacy partners.