In September, the University of Maryland jumped on the Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) bandwagon, inking an agreement with Coursera to provide the fledgling startup with five online courses. When the first UMD course went live in January, the university joined more than 30 other leading schools that are offering courses for free as part of the…

In many ways, specialized computer labs are the black holes of IT organizations. Budgets, equipment, employees--even space itself--are sucked in. Given a choice, many IT shops would engage warp drive and escape their gravitational pull forever. While Captain Kirk might have looked to Scotty for a fix to the problem, colleges and universities are…

The Internet is creating exciting opportunities for universities and their stakeholders. Universities are experimenting with different modes of education. E-learning is one such mode, where students can learn from any place at any time, as long as they have an Internet connection. A course management system (CMS) facilitates e-learning, making it…

The purpose of this article is to describe lessons learned from studying the leadership in eight award-winning secondary schools and districts that were recognized for successfully leveraging technology as part of their efforts for school improvement. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and document analysis in schools and…

Faced with rising demand for information about early childhood programs, states need to find tools and strategies to monitor the progress of and to identify high-quality early childhood programs. In response, REL Mid-Atlantic convened a regional workgroup for state personnel who work with the systems containing early childhood data. The workgroup…

The Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) is a group of people interested in small college computing issues. It is a blend of people from all over the country who use computers in their teaching, academic support, and administrative support functions. ASCUE has a strong tradition of bringing its members together to pool their…

When it comes to building and maintaining a cutting-edge infrastructure on a limited budget, nobody knows more about the pain points, challenges, and workarounds than the IT professionals tasked with overseeing campus IT. In a recent roundtable discussion with "Campus Technology" contributing writer Charlene O'Hanlon, four IT…

Wireless connectivity in schools is all the rage, and many school systems have at least gotten their feet wet with a wireless lab or a few portable laptop carts. But Bijaya Devkota, the chief information officer of Charles County Public Schools, has done what many school systems only dream of--implemented universal wireless access throughout his…

There have been many articles written about the variety of ways faculty and students define eportfolios, collect artifacts, write reflections, and use finished eportfolios. However, little has been written about the dynamic process of adopting electronic portfolios in schools of education. This study employs cross-case analysis to investigate…

This report describes the plan for educational technology in Maryland from 1999-2003. The first section introduces the mission of technology in Maryland. Vision and strategy are discussed in the second section, and a summary of technology research is provided in the third section. The fourth section lists guiding principles and outlines…

Reviews a laptop computer technology program that has been in effect for nearly four years in a middle school in Bethesda, Maryland. Topics include initial opposition from parents; benefits to teachers, students, and learning; copyright issues; problems with plagiarism; accessibility; accountability; and email issues. (LRW)

Describes how parent volunteers assisted in implementing the educational technology plan of public schools in Howard County, Maryland. Discusses involvement in the planning; assistance in the library media center; training; help in labs and classrooms; and assistance in technology-related staff training. (AEF)

This document is a reference tool for the Maryland Community Colleges Technology Council (MCCTC). It contains a summary of MCCTC's creation and reviews its general initiatives to form a statewide technology affinity group, administer a technology needs assessment survey, and develop a statewide community college technology plan and funding…