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Ed-tech Advice to Other States from Maine

Nine years ago, Maine was the first state in the nation to have a 1-to-1 laptop program in its schools. Today, Maine continues to lead the technology innovation into schools and has even hired technology integrators to assist with moving the schools forward.

Jeff Mao, who is the Director of Learning Technology for the state of Maine's Education Department, had some reflections on their progress and advice for other states on how to implement technology so heavily into schools.

Mao found the biggest challenge for his state of Maine and its school district to be the human element, meaning teacher training, leadership and the simple notion of change. "Anything that has such a significant change in the way you can do business, I think that's just hard for any large organization," said Mao.

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 The 2011 JP Institute for Excellence in Education

Featuring:  

Dr. Anita Archer

Delivering our keynote, hosting an interactive Q&A, and hosting a session dedicated to providing writing instruction to struggling students.

Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams

Discussing the development of the Common Core State Standards and providing guidance on how to make them work in YOUR school.

Sheila Byrd-Carmichael

Leading three distinct sessions for using curriculum maps to effectively implement the Common Core State Standards in primary, intermediate, and secondary settings.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE 2011 INSTITUTE GUIDE AND RESERVE YOUR SEAT AT THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE OF THE YEAR!  

Should Education Be Treated Like a Business?  

Read the article, then click the link at the bottom to join the discussion in the RSN Forums!

After a recent article by Sean Rosenblatt was published through eSchoolNews.com, the debate was sparked:

Some people feel schools could learn a lot from business. Others believe businesses and schools have different missions and characteristics at their core and thus should not be compared.

Rosenblatt's opinion is that despite the popular school of thought saying government (including public education) should be run more like a business, "government institutions exist for a different purpose than businesses, and they should operate by a different set of rules."

Some readers agreed with Rosenblatt, and others didn't. The vote is split! Said one reader, "business and education go hand in hand."

And what is your opinion, as a member of the education community? What would change about education if it were considered a business? Or do you already consider education as a business?

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"I learned many important things learned that I will forever hold in my mind!"

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