With the radically changing technology landscape and evolution of e-readers, tablets and notebooks, the traditional city or county library has been forced to move beyond “checking-out books” to become a center of resource for entire communities. It has truly been exciting to see the transformations taking place.

To meet new resource demands, libraries have been increasingly making efforts to have state-of-the-art technology in place. The Maine State Library Network (MSLN), which works with 269 public libraries throughout Maine, has taken great strides to ensure it is keeping up with the times. Read More »

Tags: @MaineStLibrary, edchat, edtech, maine.gov, MaineREN, MSLN, NetworkMaine, video conference, videoconferencing

The Cisco Education Team always looks forward to ISTE, but especially so this year. In keeping with the theme of this year’s conference, we’re “Expanding Horizons” and taking a different approach. Instead of conducting demonstrations of our products and solutions for education in the exhibit hall, we’ll be hosting in-depth presentations in a dedicated room we’re calling the Cisco Connected Classroom.

Please join us at ISTE 2012 in room 24C on the Upper Level, to learn how schools like yours are leveraging technology to engage today’s students, improve academic performance, and enhance administrative efficiency.

We’ll be hosting a comprehensive line-up of professional development and learning sessions covering a range of education topics, including:

• How to Flip Your Classroom
• Leveraging Video for Virtual Field Trips
• Lecture Capture
• Mobile Collaboration
• Managing BYOD

Read More »

Tags: 21st century learning environment, Connected, edtech, education, flipped classroom, ISTE, ISTE12

Throughout its 106-year history, the University of Florida’s (UF) intercollegiate sports teams, commonly referred to as “Florida Gators,” have won 27 national team championships and Gator athletes have won 241 individual national championships.

According to an article in the Gainesville Times, UF is now extending its good fortune to a small group of Oakwood Elementary School students located 375 miles away from the university’s campus. Through video conferencing, the lucky group of students gets to spend around 30 minutes each week with its athlete mentors, including Gray Horn (track and field), Jeff Demps (track and field/football) and Tahnai Annis (soccer).  Read More »

Tags: edchat, edtech, education reform, TelePresence, video conference, videoconferencing

For some, the economic hard times began before the recession hit. McDowell County, an ex-coal mining county in West Virginia, has been in decline since the coal industry began pulling out in the 1960s.

What used to be a town of 120,000 is now barely 22,000 and the county has ranked last in education in the state for most of the past decade. But a new project launched in December is aiming to change all this.

Reconnecting McDowell is a comprehensive, long-term effort to make educational improvement in McDowell County. Under the leadership of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the West Virginia State Board of Education, more than 80 partners from businesses, non-profits, governments and labor have signed a covenant illustrating their commitment to solving McDowell’s hardships by providing services, money, products and/or expertise to schools and students and their families. Read More »

Tags: back to school, classroom technology, distance learning, edchat, edreform, edtech, videoconference

Cisco is fortunate to have a passionate and committed team that engages consistently with education leaders to support their efforts to transform education and to help ensure that all learners reach their full potential.  One of our communication platforms is the Cisco Education Blog, through which Cisco team members discuss the latest trends in educational technology as well as their personal insights and reflections on education. We also use the Education Blog to feature case studies that demonstrate how schools, colleges and universities are using the Cisco Connected Learning Experience to create 21st century learning environments all around the world.

That’s why we’re so pleased to be recognized by EdTech: Focus on Higher Education and included in “The Dean’s List: 50 Must-Read Higher Education Technology Blogs“.  Read More »

Tags: edtech, education, higher education, IT