The May 2012 State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) report, "The Broadband Imperative: Recommendations to Address K-12 Education Infrastructure Needs," pushed educators and policy makers nationwide to increase high-speed broadband access in schools, with specific recommendations regarding access, funding, and policies…

"Hybrid schools" are schools that combine "face-to-face" education in a specific place with online instruction. In this article, the authors describe school models which offer a vision for what deeply integrated technology can mean for children's education, for the way schools are structured, and for the promise of greater…

Social networking and other technologies, if used judiciously, present the means to integrate 21st century skills into the classroom curriculum. But they also introduce challenges that educators must overcome. Increased concerns about plagiarism and access to technology can test educators' creativity and school resources. Air Academy High School,…

Of all the recent budget cuts made by the Eagle County, Colorado, school district--the loss of 89 staff jobs through attrition and layoffs, a 1.5 percent across-the-board pay cut, and the introduction of three furlough days--none sparked as much anger or faced the same scrutiny as the decision to cut three foreign-language teaching positions and…

A Colorado district develops a two-year program that gives teacher teams an opportunity to learn how to use digital tools in the classroom. Called the Digital Learning Collaborative, it is built on three things about professional learning: (1) Learning takes time; (2) Learning is a social process; and (3) Learning about technology should be…

Preparing students for the 21st century cannot be accomplished without a strong and sustained emphasis on all students' health and wellness. It no is longer acceptable to think of "gym class" and "hygiene lessons." Today's world has exploded with physical, mental, and social influences that affect not only learning in school,…

The Afterschool Alliance and MetLife Foundation are proud to celebrate a fifth round of the MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Awards. For the past five years, we have collaborated to highlight the work of quality afterschool programs that support children, families and communities across the nation. This compendium is a compilation of four…

By all accounts, the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) is a special school. It was the first public charter high school in Denver to become a one-to-one laptop school, thanks to a $1 million gift from Hewlett-Packard. Even though the school accepts applicants via a lottery system and its charter requires that 40% of its students come…

1:1 laptop programs, in which every student is provided with a personal computer to use during the school year, permit increased and routine use of powerful, user-friendly computer-based tools. Growing numbers of 1:1 programs are reshaping the roles of teachers and learners in science classrooms. At the Denver School of Science and Technology, a…

This document states the vision for technology in Colorado education, lists requirements for accomplishing this vision, and specifies instructional, administrative, and networking needs. The following goals are then outlined with specific objectives for each goal: (1) technology should support curriculum and learning; (2) technology planning…

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE), including Access Colorado Library and Information Network (ACLIN) and the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, provides state- level guidance and resources for Colorado's local school districts, local and regional libraries, and special populations. Technology is the enabler that offers basic,…