March 2007

New Tech Standards ... Plus Funding in Jeopardy

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has created a new draft of its National Education Technology Standards (NETS) and is currently asking educators for feedback on this document.

The first NETS for students were created in 1998 and are now a part of the educational standards of 45 states. According to ISTE’s Don Knezek, the standards were more than ready for an overhaul. "The standards' age, the globalization of education, new developments in technology, and changing demographics of learners," he said, "were all good indicators that the standards should be updated."

These factors have brought about a significant change in emphasis in the new draft of the technology standards. Knezek explained that the draft moves away from the original’s focus on mere "competency with [technology] tools" toward higher level skills, particularly those "required in a digital world to produce and innovate" using technology.

To learn more about the new NETS draft standards, and to see how you can contribute to them, visit the ISTE website.

In related news, President Bush recently presented his budget for the 2008 fiscal year, and once again, proposed to eliminate the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) block-grant program. Bush has made similar proposals in each of the past three years, but in each instance Congress has saved the program. Nonetheless, funding for EETT has shown a steep decline during this period, from $700 million in FY 2004 to $273 million in FY 2006. "President Bush's decision to eliminate funding for EETT fails to meet the needs of America's students," said ISTE's Knezek. "I simply cannot understand how this decision squares with the administration's stated goal of ensuring that our nation's students can compete globally and effectively in math and science."

 

Dance Dance West Virginia

In the light of some compelling recent research, West Virginia, the state with the highest childhood obesity rate in the U.S., has announced plans to bring the video/dance game "Dance Dance Revolution" to all of its public schools.

The research that made the case for "Dance Dance Revolution" (DDR) was conducted by West Virginia University and the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency. The results of the study showed that regular game play with DDR significantly improved the health of overweight children. According to the researchers, while not all of the children in the study actually lost weight, the vast majority did at least maintain their weight and showed substantial improvement in their aerobic capacity, blood vessel function and overall fitness.

Another important finding of the study was that DDR helped kids' attitudes toward exercise and their own self-esteem. "Most of our subjects had historically felt awkward about participating in gym and physical activity at school," said WVU’s Emily Murphy. "After the program, they demonstrated a new sense of confidence and desired to maintain their new-found skills."

West Virginia is currently providing DDR equipment, training PE teachers to use it and promoting DDR clubs in all of the state’s schools.

Gamers Down Under

A new study about video gaming in Australia has shown women and seniors to be the fastest growing demographic groups among gamers and indicated that gaming has become "an increasingly social activity," particularly among parents and children.

The report, issued by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA), found that about 41% of Australian gamers are female and that 8% of all gamers are seniors (defined in the study as over 60 years old). The average Australian gamer is presently about 28 years old, but based on current trends, the researchers hypothesized that by 2014 the average Australian gamer will likely be 42 years old.

Also confounding previous stereotypes, the study revealed gaming to be very much a social activity. Two-thirds of gamers said that others in their household also play games, and 56% usually play their games with others in the same room. This number increased when the researchers looked at parents and children, as a full 77% of Australian parents now play video games with their children.

Furthermore, the vast majority of Australian parents now see video gaming as a very positive activity for their kids: 73% believe that video games teach their children about technology and 68% feel that video games help their children with math skills. "Parents are increasingly playing computer and video games themselves and with their children," said IEAA CEO Chris Hanlon. "They value the skills kids learn through interactive games and can see the benefits both socially and educationally."

To learn more about this study, visit the IEAA website.

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