Edina Digital Age Learning

In this session, Aimee Bissonette  focused on aspects of cloud computing for school districts. Her slides can be found here . She asked how many districts were using it, and most said they were, and that most were free. Many were Apps for Education districts. After discussing the attributes of cloud computing, why schools are interested in using it, and how it works, she focused on the implications. The disadvantage to free services include, "It might not be there tomorrow," Advertising, and "It might not be free anymore!" How much leverage do you have regarding terms of service when something is free? She pointed out benefits, but also raised concerns regarding privacy, security, data integrity, intellectual property, etc. The student data that you collect and store involve many laws, FERPA, FCRA, HIPAA, etc. E-Discovery It is important to understand how data is stored in the vendor's system, and how you can access it Free services typically have limite...

The "Official" opening to Educon 2.1 featured a panel discussion on "the purpose of school" at the Franklin Institute. Panel Members included: Joel Arquillos -Executive Director of 826LA (Writing workshops) -his boss has now started “ Once upon a School ”, a program paring classroom teachers with adult community members. Dr. Molefi Asante -Professor, African American Studies, Temple University (1st African American Studies program in U.S.) Kendall Crolius -Founding Partner, The Sulevia Group, also affiliated w/Heifer International Jeff Han -Founder, Perceptive Pixel and inventor of the Multi-Touch Screen (iPhone users were genuflecting in his presence!) Prakash Nair -Co-Founder, Fielding Nair International- Archetects and Change Agents for Education Dr. Steven Squyres -Principal Investigator, Mars Exploration Rover Mission Diane Castelbuono Deputy Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education PA Department of Education Moderator-Frederic Bertley -Vice Pres...