Education and Technology - Laptop Security Blog

One Laptop Per Child Initiative on Amazon

Related entries in Education and Technology

On November 17th, the One Laptop Per Child initiative will come to Amazon. The mission of OLPC is to make sure kids in the developing worlds are able to learn effectively on their own personal laptops, to that “they, their families and their communities can openly learn and learn about learning.”

In addition to making sure kids in developed countries have laptops, the OLPC Association focuses on designing, manufacturing and distributing laptops into the hands of children in lesser-developed countries. Of course, in order that the laptops can be used, the association focuses on getting government support to create programs so that children can not only own, but use, laptops.

The ability to support OLPC was previously restricted to the OLPC site - however, on November 17th, news has it that Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk will be participating in the Give 1 Get 1 program. Under this program, people can buy one of the XO laptops for themselves and donate the other to a child in a developing country - the starter price to give 1 and get 1 is just $199.

You can support the program as an individual or business, but you can also help in creating open source software and learning resources (info here). For future news, you can follow the One Laptop per Child initiative on Twitter or read the independent OLPCNews blog.

Posted by Arieanna | November 18, 2008 | 1 Comment

Tools for Teachers & Students

Related entries in Education and Technology

Sean Aune has put up a very useful piece on Mashable entitled “35 Tools for Teachers, Tutors and Students.” Great timing for an article like this with school so close around the corner again. The list of tools encompass sites and services for everything from learning management to social networking.

Head to Mashable for full descriptions of each service, but here are some that pop out for me:

  • Grading services like Engrade.com - a free gradebook & attendance chart that students, parents & administrators can also access. There are several services that do this, some free, and some with the ability for parents and teachers to message privately.
  • Learning platforms like Blackboard.com - an online learning platform for virtual course delivery and classroom instruction. Many of these allow for personalized learning opportunities, student progress monitoring, and the opportunity for parents to get involved. Some, like Blackboard, offer professional development for teachers. Also check out HaikuLS.com
  • Organization systems like Studeous.com - kind of like the learning platforms above, this helps teachers stay organized. Organize your classes, post homework, upload files, embed videos or podcasts, and more. You can create quizzes quickly, communicate easily with students with the chat feature, and even has events and club pages within the system.
  • Educational social networking sites like Classroom20.com - a site for teachers to connect socially, but also to share best practices. HotChalk is another site that is meant to connect students, teachers and parents. It has a big user base and many free learning resources.


Do you have favorite tools you use as a student or a teacher? If so, drop a comment!

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Posted by Arieanna | August 19, 2008 | 2 Comments

Technology Standards for Teachers

Related entries in Education and Technology

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has released the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) 2nd edition. This 2008 edition is updated from one released in 2000 and sets the bar for integration of technology into education.

While the 1st edition focused on concepts, knowledge and skills, the change in the technological landscape in the last 8 years has meant many changes. As such, the 2008 standard provides a framework for taking education into the digital age.

Examples of information in the 2008 NETS standard include:

  • engaging students with real-world issues using digital tools
  • model collaborative knowledge
  • use technology to enable students to pursue individual goals
  • let students actively manage their own learning
  • teach responsible social interactions with the use of technology
  • participate in global learning communities

Check out the 2008 standards here.

Hat tip to sjbrooks-young Tags: , , , ,

Posted by Arieanna | July 30, 2008 | 0 Comments

Data Security in Higher Education

Related entries in Education Security, Education and Technology

SC Magazine has published an article about data security and higher education, written by Josh Shaul of Application Security. The article examines the importance of balancing the need for the free exchange of information with data security risks. As Josh Shaul points out, enterprise security systems are not set up for university data systems and needs, which makes for unique challenges.

Recommendations for data security in higher education include:

  • Move towards a centralized IT policy - departmental IT policies make it impossible to be proactive with data security
  • Understand the culture & its risks - the demands for access to information by students, professors, administrators and more with few control policies is a culture issue that increases risks to inside breaches
  • Restrict access - given that so many people must have access to data, put all high-value data into a secure protected database - a centralized place with restricted access & tight controls. Monitor activity in real time.
  • Identify flaws in the system - look at unpatched systems, weak passwords, excessive user access & monitoring. Audit regularly.
  • Automate - use a system that automates security process and reports, freeing up IT time for more proactive security measures
  • Add real-time detection - have an alert system to deliver intrusion detection warnings in real time (in addition to real-time monitoring of user activity)

Many of these suggestions hold true in any industry, but understanding the culture of higher education and current IT policies, it’s clear that data security requires a fundamental overhaul for many institutions.

To learn how Absolute Software can help improve data security for higher education institutions, read here.

Image: darnok @morguefile ; Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by Arieanna | July 22, 2008 | 0 Comments

Teachers and Social Networking

Related entries in Education and Technology

We have talked a lot in the past about the benefits of social media in education. We’ve also talked about some of the risks of social media, in terms of cyberbullying. One thing we haven’t talked about, however, is the caution required when teachers (or public figures of any sort) engage in these social networks in their personal lives.

One thing to remember when going online is that it is not a private space. Even if you designate something to be private, you should consider that it may not stay that way. The BBC has written an article on this topic, which warns teachers to be wary about the dangers of putting personal information online.

Social networking between teachers and students is becoming a regular occurrence - as part of an aim to increase the learning experience. However, a teacher must be aware of which tools to use when working with students. It may be prudent, for example, to not connect with students directly via any social networking site.

Teachers in Scotland have been asked to adhere to a new code of conduct created by the General Teaching Council of Scotland. It asks teachers to be wary of online exchanges with students. Some fear teachers could land in situations with accusations that have ruined careers. Teachers should avoid situations where online relationships could form with students.

“In school there are guidelines to say don’t be in a classroom alone with a pupil, all doors should be open, and from that point of view we are covered.

“Online we are not and teachers should be wary of involvement with pupils, particularly through social networking sites.” - Gary McDonald, teacher at Balerno Community High School

Finding the balance between rapport and educational support with distance and formality has been difficult, and is only more complex now with the advent of these social networking tools. Codes of conduct can go far in helping to define what is, and what is not, appropriate behavior online, and how to deal with circumstances that may arise.

If you want to understand more about Social Networking, check out this great video by Commoncraft:

Posted by Arieanna | June 24, 2008 | 0 Comments

Nine Reasons for Technology in Education

Related entries in Education and Technology

John Page has put together a great article advocating for the use of technology in education. The article outlines nine reasons why to adopt technology in the classroom. As it stands, sometimes schools offer up laptops and other technologies for use in education but without a plan as to why they are doing so or how to use them. That leaves teachers with access to technology, but no visualization of how to use said technology.

So, how would education be better by using technology? Here are John’s 9 reasons:

  1. Expansion of time and place - students have limited access to teachers and only in the classroom, but unlimited access to the Internet (for class resources and the Internet at large)
  2. Depth of understanding - learning can become interactive, allowing students to play with simulations of a concept at any time
  3. Learning vs. Teaching - students can pull the necessary materials themselves, rather than learning being pushed on them
  4. New media for self-expression - making a presentation, a podcast, using photos, or running a blog are just some ideas
  5. Collaboration - students can work together on their homework, no matter where they are. Teachers can formalize this, teaching students how to collaborate better in the virtual world.
  6. Going Global - direct dialog and collaboration around the world can enhance the understanding of global cultures
  7. Individual pacing and sequence - students can set their own pace, and follow interests, allowing for customized learning without disrupting class flow
  8. Weight - a laptop is not as heavy as a bag of binders and text books
  9. Personal Productivity - to write, read, communicate, organize and schedule.

As John eloquently states at the end of this paper, “if education is about knowledge and intellectual skills, then information technology lies at the heart of it all.” Technology offers up a new way to learn, and will greatly expand the possibilities of education.

How have you seen, or how do you see, technology affecting education outside of these 9 ways?

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Posted by Arieanna | June 6, 2008 | 0 Comments

Technologies to Impact Education in 2008

Related entries in Education and Technology, Surveys & Reports

The New Media Consortium (NMC) has published the 2008 Horizon Report, the result of a project that annually charts emerging technologies for teaching, learning and creative expression.

The 2008 Horizon Report describes six emerging technologies or practices that will enter into mainstream educational use in the next 1-5 years. Some technologies are well on their way to mainstream adoption.

  1. Grassroots Video - to capture, edit and share video clips. The tools range from the cellphone to free easy-to-use editing software to video sharing sites such as YouTube. Application to news, tutorials for teaching, as well as outlets for creativity and digital knowledge
  2. Collaboration Webs - small, flexible tools to edit group documents, hold online meetings, share information and more. Many programs are open source, thus giving users tools to tailor their own requirements. Complimentary infrastructures make collaboration seamless.
  3. Mobile Broadband - phones with increased capabilities for mobile computing and web access
  4. Data Mashups - custom applications that combine data from different sources into a single tool, transforming how we understand and represent information. From data visualization (e.g. tag clouds) to understanding connections. Tools such as Google’s Mashup Editor and Yahoo! Pipes give people easy access to make their own mashup.
  5. Collective Intelligence - knowledge that emerges from large groups of people that emerges from data that has been made freely available to all. With the sharing of such “open data”, and tools to mine this unstructured data, new insights can emerge. Knowledge becomes participatory - to consume and to contribute. Examples: Wikipedia, search patterns, community tagging
  6. Social Operating Systems - social networking based around people, not around content. “Relationships are the currency of these systems…. [they] will change the way we search for, work with, and understand information by placing people at the center of the network. The first social operating system tools… understand who we know, how we know them, and how deep our relationships actually are. They can lead us to connections we would otherwise have missed.”

The report looks in detail at these six trends, as well as certain obstacles in the Education field towards their adoption and use. Examples are given for each trend and how it is or could be used in the learning environment. Further reading is provided for all trends. It’s a very interesting report at the technologies that will be impacting all our lives, and how those technologies can be used in the education sphere.

Download the 2008 Horizon Report here.

Via campus technology Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by Arieanna | February 29, 2008 | 0 Comments

MySpace Sequence of Privacy Issues

Related entries in Education Security, Education and Technology

MySpace is undergoing scrutiny for a series of recent security breaches and oversights. The sequence of events, as reported on Wired.com, is as follows:

  • January 15 reported - MySpace issues press release announcing new safety measures after a year of looking at safety issues on the site 
    • 49 states joined with MySpace to help eliminate online predators
    • MySpace profiles for those under age 16 will be set to private
  • January 17 reported - ‘private’ MySpace teen photos leaked  
    • A bug allowed anyone access to see photos of users with private profiles, including users under the age of 16
    • Photos made their way to message boards, including those of pedophiles
    • Knowledge of the bug, and how to exploit it, circulated on message boards for months
    • Websites were created to automatically exploit the bug for anyone who entered a Friend ID into a search field
    • This is not the first time a bug of this sort has exploited private photos
  • January 18 reported - MySpace fixed the bug  
    • No public acknowledgement of the bug or the fix
  • January 24 reported - more than half a million images from private MySpace profiles leaked to BitTorrent 
    • 17-gigabyte file of images lifted from MySpace profiles during the period of the access bug was uploaded to BitTorrent (peer-to-peer file sharing)

The appearance of the file on BitTorrent signals this as one of the largest privacy breaches MySpace has had so far. MySpace has yet to acknowledge this issue.

In 2006, MySpace had to react to privacy issues surrounding registered sex offenders using MySpace to prey on minors.

We used special software to expose hundreds of registered sex offenders with accounts on MySpace. That prompted the social network to run its own computerized search, which turned up at least 29,000 registered sex offenders.

Wired was partly responsible for triggering a year-long investigation into safety issues on MySpace - but this photo-hack was missed. A bug that should have been found through testing or online monitoring of MySpace privacy issues. The January 17 Wired.com story triggered the fix of this bug that either went unnoticed or was ignored by MySpace. However, the privacy concern has not gone away. That file has made its way online in a permanent way.

Particularly for youth, and their parents & teachers, it should be cautioned not to trust the privacy settings of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. If there is a photo or video you don’t want anyone to see, don’t put it online. Period.

Via CNet, Wired (1, 2, 3)Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by Arieanna | January 31, 2008 | 0 Comments

West Virginia to Integrate Technology into Lesson Plans

Related entries in Education and Technology

The West Virginia Department of Education has received a $48,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to provide training to teachers on how to use the free online education resources on Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org. The goal of the program is to impart 21st century learning skills to students.

The grant will be used for training and an awareness program. Educators across the State will receive training on how to use the free resources available to them - to make them comfortable integrating technology tools into their lesson plans. Thinkfinity.org is made up of 55,000 educational resources for all grades and was created in partnership with educational and literacy organizations across the US.

The program offers a range of resources for K-12 classes in eight academic disciplines. Materials include lesson plans, interactive tools and other materials to improve student achievement; the site also provides a professional development program.

“Teachers are often our unsung heroes” said B. Keith Fulton, president of Verizon West Virginia and a former member of the 21st Century Skills board. “They work many hours outside of the classroom to prepare the best possible lesson plans to engage their students. Through Thinkfinity.org, teachers can gain immediate access to quality educational resources to more efficiently develop their lesson plans, giving them more time to work directly with students.”

West Virginia has been a national leader in incorporating technology into the classroom. They were awarded by Education Week’s Technology Counts 2007 a grade of A for access to technology and a grade of A- for the use of technology.

Via webwire Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by Arieanna | November 23, 2007 | 0 Comments

Internet Safety Videos for Teachers

Related entries in Education and Technology

Internet Safety is an important topic for educators, and a number of resources are being developed to aid teachers.

A number of videos are being created around Internet Security, and these videos are being uploaded to sites such as YouTube or TeacherTube. Videos aid with visual learning and are great to engage students in dialogue.

Here are some great examples of Internet Safety Videos.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Arieanna | September 27, 2007 | 0 Comments
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