Digital Directions - Winter 2013 - (Page 4)

Education Week DIGITAL DIRECTIONS PRESIDENT & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VIRGINIA B. EDWARDS EXECUTIVE EDITOR KEVIN C. BUSHWELLER DEPUTY EDITOR SEAN CAVANAGH DEPUTY DESIGN DIRECTOR Design Lead, Digital Directions GINA TOMKO DESIGN DIRECTOR LAURA BAKER ASSISTANT DESIGN DIRECTOR VANESSA SOLIS DESIGNERS SUMITA BANNERJEE, LINDA H. JURKOWITZ SENIOR WRITER MICHELLE R. DAVIS STAFF WRITER KATIE ASH EDITORIAL INTERN MIKE BOCK CONTRIBUTING WRITER ROBIN FLANIGAN DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY CHARLES BORST PHOTO EDITOR CHRISTOPHER POWERS DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION JO ARNONE MANAGER, ADVERTISING OPERATIONS CASEY SHELLENBERGER MANAGING EDITOR, edweek.org KATHLEEN KENNEDY MANZO ONLINE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, edweek.org CHERI HUNG CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER FOR DIGITAL OPERATIONS PAUL HYLAND PUBLISHER & GENERAL MANAGER MICHELE J. GIVENS CONTROLLER JILL N. WHITLEY DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, edweek.org JEFF RUPP MANAGER, ADVERTISING OPERATIONS SHANE STEINFELD DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT/MARKETING STEFANIE HEMMINGSON ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, SALES AND MARKETING SEAN HERDMAN DIRECTOR, ADVERTISING BEN DELANEY-WINN (781) 538-6076 SENIOR REGIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER SHARON MAKOWKA (815) 436-5149 EDITOR’S NOTE Ed-Tech Leadership At a Critical Time Current, future challenges grow increasingly complex A recent story in Education Week posed the question: “Is Education Facing a ‘Tech Bubble’?” The article, by Digital Directions Senior Writer Michelle R. Davis, speculates that educational technology companies and entrepreneurs may face the risk of a market meltdown, similar to the massive boom-and-bust that rocked the technology market in the late 1990s. “People say this is different [from the dot-com boom], but it’s not that different,” one analyst told Michelle. Other analysts, however, caution against such pessimistic perspectives, saying there is much more efficient use of resources than there was in the ’90s. What all analysts agree on is that it is vital for today’s ed-tech money to flow to smart companies and ideas that can have a significant impact on school improvement. Questions about the possibility of an ed-tech bubble bursting are emerging at a critical time for K-12 leaders. Schools across the country are scrambling to prepare for the technological demands of the Common Core State Standards and their accompanying online assessments. Educators are searching for products, services, and approaches to help them do a better job personalizing learning for students. And schools are trying to help students develop the technological skills they need to succeed in college and the workplace. That is why ed-tech leadership is arguably more important than ever. The K-12 system needs leaders who understand how to tackle these challenges and who will educate K-12 industry investors and ed-tech company officials about what types of products and services schools need most. Smart leaders are the ones most likely to identify good players and bad players in the marketplace, helping to reduce the prospect of a bubble bursting, which would leave schools with fewer high-quality products and services to choose from. In the cover story for this issue (“Movers & Shakers,” Page 26), Michelle examines the philosophies and tactics of several district ed-tech leaders, and points to research showing that high-caliber leadership is essential to better use of technology in schools. Leadership always matters, but that is especially so at this moment in time. n REGIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGERS GUY BLUMBERG (917) 747-1351 JULIE FAGAN (301) 502-4300 JOSH FORD (301) 280-3203 Kevin C. Bushweller kbushweller@epe.org http://www.edweek.org http://www.edweek.org http://www.edweek.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Directions - Winter 2013

Digital Directions - Winter 2013
Contents
Editor’s Note
DD Site Visit
Bits & Bytes
Digital Storytelling
Online Courses Turn on Gaming
Reading in the Age of Digital Devices
Movers & Shakers
State, Federal Leadership Seen as Key to Innovation
Open-Source Opportunities
BYOD Boundaries
E-Cloud Forecast
Digital Shift
Security

Digital Directions - Winter 2013

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