Legos in some form or fashion have been in existence for close to 80 years. They have expanded from simple wood block toys, to stackable plastics, to moveable plastic pieces, to computer animation and television. More recently LEGO has expanded its LEGO Education Program to include an increased focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) from elementary through high school and expanded its Teacher Education Program. Since some of their STEM products include more advanced robotics they have become the foundation for many after school LEGO robotic programs.

Much attention has been given lately to the rise of BYOD programs and whether they are destined to work or fail. Proponents of BYOD like the programs as budgets keep dwindling, students already bring devices to school, and technology isn't getting cheaper. In a recent article in Tech & Learning magazine, the author explored strategies from three school districts in how they are addressing the issues. Certainly one of the issues is the availability of devices for all students. In one school district this was addressed by having the most affluent families provide devices for their children, middle-income families were given the option to purchase or lease devices at a prearranged, discounted price, and students from low-income families were given devices purchased by a Texas state bond program. To address usage, more access points were added to the wireless network, along with anchor mobility. The network recognizes if you are not on a district wireless device and routes you into tunneled Internet access at no extra cost. Security is also addressed in this manner since everything goes through their filtering and once students are online they are directed to the district's online learning portal.

In another district they decided to openly embrace the idea of students bringing their cell phones to school and created an open environment to support the initiative. Students are required to register their device's MAC address and complete a statement that they will comply with the AUP. Security is addressed in this district by keeping the wireless and wired networks separate which allows either or both to be shut down in an instance of a security threat.

At the lowest end of the implementation spectrum, one school district has given teachers the power to allow BYOD programs one classroom at a time, after consultation with colleagues and the building principal. In this particular district the device is not the key, but the support for the devices. The district is a Google Docs district and many of the students share devices. Essentially all a student needs is a browser and an open wifi. To see the complete article please go to:

http://www.techlearning.com/features/0039/schoolcio--byod-strategies/52179

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded grant money to two different organizations in the development of assessments scheduled to replace systems being utilized within current state and federal accountability standards. The new assessments are slated for release in 2014-2015. Makers of the assessments indicate they will feature complex, multipart tasks which will include technology integration such as executing electronic searches, solving applied math problems that require using modern tools such as statistical packages and dynamic graphing software and the assessments will require students to comprehend and analyze texts across all content areas at a higher level. Most students will complete the assessments on computers or other digital devices and receive the results within two weeks (Doorey, 2012).  

PARCC is one of the organizations that has been awarded grant money and has published its commitment to accessibility for all students. In part this will include built in supports that are not possible with paper-based tests.  They list, for example, that students will be able to control the size of the text in a question to meet their needs and students will have access to certain word processing tools to write their essays. PARCC states that while external accommodations may still be needed for some students to demonstrate what they know and can do, use of principles of Universal Design and the built-in supports will increase access to the greatest number of students taking the assessments. For more information on the PARCC assessments please visit:   

http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes#4

Doorey, N. A. (2012). Coming soon: A new generation of assessments. Educational Leadership, volume 70, 28-34.

• Established training strategies with teachers/therapists/parents, and/or primary caregivers.
• Advanced assessment processes for individuals who are severely disabled. 

• Perform seating assessment for task performance.
• Identify seating equipment needed for "postural management" vs. "postural control".
• Identify mobility and access treatment strategies.
• Apply and implement treatment strategies for mobility and access.
• Perform a task analysis of an activity as the student's seating/positioning needs change.