Denise Fawcett Facey

As virtually everyone knows, the ubiquitous website, Facebook, dominates the social networking world, with millions of people logging in throughout the day to keep abreast of their friends’ (and strangers’) lives. Now a group of faculty from the University of Arizona has devised a project incorporating Facebook into a self-teaching program for grades 6-12.

Called “Teach Ourselves,” this program is designed to (more…)

While incidences of cheating may not actually be more numerous than in times past, the means by which students do it are. Indeed, with technology offering so many new ways to cheat, teachers have had to become much more savvy in discerning this activity. For example, despite the prohibition against the use of cell phones in most schools, we know that students still bring them to school. But I recently read about at least one student who used his cell to cheat by taking photos of answer sheets inadvertently left on the teacher’s desk. Other students have used the internet (once again via cell phone) to get answers to test questions. And still others text message answers to friends. (more…)

You already knew that the average kid is far more advanced in modern technology than most adults, didn’t you? But, did you know that even without any prompting from a teacher, three- and four-year-olds can navigate an iPod and learn a multitude of skills quite easily? The mental picture alone makes me smile and that it’s a true story makes it even better. (more…)

Who would have thought that technology and jewelry would mate to produce a means for keeping up with schoolwork? That’s exactly what has happened with a new bracelet, which when plugged into the USB port of a computer, downloads information from a teacher’s Smart Board, which students can then upload to their home computers. (more…)

Remember when clocks were not digital, telephones were not mobile and laptop computers were unknown? That’s a bygone era that no one under thirty even knows about. Now it seems that people will someday ask, “Remember when writing didn’t require a keyboard?” as penmanship is increasingly removed from classrooms in favor of 21st century technology. (more…)

Everything old really is new again. In keeping with the trend in recent years toward returning to schools of only one gender, four schools in different parts of the country are working together to put a new twist on this idea. Beginning next month, these schools (Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland; Harpeth Hall in Nashville, Tennessee; Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut; and Laurel School in Shaker Heights, Ohio) will now offer online courses for girls only. (more…)

As frustrating and intrusive as technology can sometimes be, I have to acknowledge its usefulness as a teaching tool. In rapidly increasing numbers, students and teachers around the globe are connecting with peers via the internet, providing education that books cannot begin to offer. (more…)

With the advent of numerous social networking websites, this issue was bound to arise: are these websites useful educational tools or a dangerous intermingling of personal and professional lives? (more…)