Mike Belcher, HP Education Segment Manager

How do we help students develop 21^st century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and innovation that employers’ value?  Is it enough to simply put more devices in students’ hands?

Will playing Plants vs. Zombies or Angry Birds help students be more innovative? Create information?  Work together in new ways?

It isn’t about “the stuff” we put in students hands… it’s about how we enable them to learn with it.

We must move the conversation from “what kind of devices do we need” to “how do we help improve student outcomes.”  When we know what and how we want to teach, then we can make really good decisions on the right infrastructure and technology.

Keys to successfully impacting student outcomes come back to a simple, though not necessarily easy, process:

• Assess: Get an accurate snapshot of instruction and outcomes
• Plan:  Develop a roadmap with measurable outcomes
• Prepare faculty:  New strategies that emphasize learning by doing through required and ongoing professional development

HP takes a holistic approach to supporting the long term needs of schools.  We start with understanding goals / obstacles, and then align resources and solutions that help address these needs.   HP’s Digital Learning Suite provides solutions and resources for :

• Preparation – planning and professional development
• Instruction – curriculum & learning tools
• Infrastructure – technology that fits your goals
• Accountability – benchmarks and measurements

Learn more about the Digital Learning Suite and download the Technology for Learning: A Guidebook for Change technology planning resource here.

Attend the Education Panel discussion on Thursday, October 20 at 3:45pm (Breakout Session Part 2) to learn more.

Jun Yamada, senior vice president and president, Qualcomm Japan

Do you believe in giving people second chances? We do. We also value education. That’s why Qualcomm, through our Wireless Reach™ initiative, is collaborating with Renaissance Academy, a private correspondence high school in Japan, on a pioneering project that leverages 3G technologies to help high school dropouts re-engage in learning and earn their diplomas.

If you’re a high school dropout in Japan, your prospects for finding a part-time job are slim. They’re even slimmer if you’re looking for a full-time job.

One challenge for educators is the lack of interest by some students in learning the traditional curriculum. In fact, an increasing number of students each year express their desire to study topics that are personally relevant or related to a potential profession. That’s where Renaissance Academy comes in. The Academy provides specialized and vocational training for aspiring professionals and a second chance for high school absentees and dropouts to complete their education and earn diplomas. They are now doing so by offering smartphone-based courses.

The 3G Smartphone x Digital Textbook project is providing 500 Snapdragon® processor-enabled smartphones, mobile educational content and 3G wireless connectivity services to Renaissance Academy students to demonstrate the effectiveness of smartphones and digital textbooks in learning.

Many Renaissance Academy students spend their day in professional training, working part-time jobs and are otherwise on the go, leaving little time for studying at home with textbooks. But with smartphones and digital textbooks in their pockets – tools which we believe will be the norm for learning in the near future – students can access educational content and resources through a 3G wireless network, download educational applications and take lessons or tests anytime, anywhere.

This project marks the Academy’s first offering of a smartphone-based course for credit. First up is an English language course. The Academy plans to add science and social studies to the smartphone-based curriculum.

The 3G Smartphone x Digital Textbook project is just one example of how Qualcomm’s Wireless Reach initiative creates new ways for people to communicate and learn. We believe that access to wireless technology can improve people’s lives, and we’re committed to exploring how mobile broadband can engage students in learning and give them a second chance to obtain a high school education and diploma – which are essential assets in life.

To learn more about Wireless Reach’s education initiatives click here.

Link to Press Release:

For more information on Renaissance Academy click here.

Kristin Atkins, Director, Wireless Reach, Qualcomm – Full Bio

As a great precursor to Wireless EdTech 2011 this October, the ISTE 2011 (International Society for Technology in Education) conference held this June was a massive gathering of the best and brightest in a variety of fields relating to education technology. Conferences such as these provide the perfect grounds for leaders, who would not otherwise cross paths, to meet and discover ways to collaborate on how to best integrate technology into the classroom environment. ISTE 2011 Conference Chair Dr. Leslie S. Conery summed it up nicely by saying, “When we unlock potential within ourselves, we can then provide the tools and inspiration to unlock curiosity and a love of learning in our students.” Continue reading →

Julie Evans, Co-host of Wireless EdTech 2011 and CEO of Project Tomorrow – Full Bio

“I think going to school in 2015 will be someone using a mobile device to learn through online school classrooms.”  – 8^th grade student from New York

As we plan for the 2011 Wireless EdTech Conference, we are reminded that today’s students have already developed a very clear vision on the value of mobile learning in their lives. As part of Speak Up 2010, Project Tomorrow asked K-12 students nationwide to envision what “going to school” would be like in 2015. And many of those students see wireless devices as an essential component of that new ultimate school. Not much of a surprise when you consider the increased access and familiarity that students have to mobile devices today. As noted in the Speak Up 2010 National Results released in Washington, DC on April 1, for example, personal access to smartphones for students in grades 6-12 increased by 42 percent in just one year. In reality, with that kind of access, Continue reading →

Chris Dede, Co-host of Wireless EdTech 2011 and the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education – Full Bio

I am excited about October’s 2011 Wireless EdTech Conference in Washington, D.C. This conference offers a unique opportunity to share what we know about realizing an effective mobile wireless infrastructure for education. Complementing the “classic” resources of workstations, laptops, and wires with the emerging “ecology” of smartphones, e-readers, smartbooks, handheld gaming platforms and similar broadband devices is not a simple task. But accomplishing this “blended” infrastructure is vital to achieving in education the many benefits we have seen in other sectors of society, such as the transformation of knowledge work due to anyplace, anytime access. Continue reading →

Qualcomm CEO to Deliver Keynote Address and POLITICO Editor-in-Chief to Interview FCC Chairman

SAN DIEGO – October 20, 2010 – The Wireless Education Technology Conference advisory board and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), as part of its Wireless ReachTM initiative, today announced details regarding the Wireless EdTech Conference 2010. The conference, scheduled for October 29, 2010 at the Westin City Center in Washington, D.C., features more than 20 speakers and leaders in business, academia and government who will come together to address the use of mobile technology in advancing 21st century education. Continue reading →

I am excited about October’s Wireless EdTech Conference in Washington, D.C. This conference offers a unique opportunity to put the “puzzle” together of realizing an effective mobile wireless infrastructure for education. Complementing the “classic” resources of workstations, laptops, and wires with the emerging “ecology” of smartphones, e-readers, smartbooks, handheld gaming platforms and similar broadband devices is not a simple task. But accomplishing this “blended” infrastructure is vital to achieving in education the many benefits we have seen in other sectors of society, such as the transformation of knowledge work due to anyplace, anytime access.

The U.S. Department of Education’s 2010 National Educational Technology Plan delineates an exciting vision of learning, assessment and teaching transformed to meet the needs of 21st century society. The Technical Working Group for the plan discussed how to actualize this vision and saw ubiquitous mobile, wireless devices as a crucial part of the necessary conditions for success. Richly linking learning inside and outside of classrooms, building on the mobile Web that students find so exciting and involving parents, informal educators, and community members in aiding teachers are all important frontiers for 21st century education. Continue reading →

Michael Schmedlen, Director of Worldwide Education at Lenovo, interviews Marie Bjerede, Founder, e-Mergents on what to expect from Wireless EdTech 2010. One question is posted below, but you can read the entire interview on Lenovo’s Innovations in Education blog here: (Originally posted 8/31/10). Continue reading →

“The Smart Phone is like a teacher in my pocket.” – Project K-Nect Student

Irvine, Calif. — Students using “smartphones” as part of their academic classroom work in Onslow County, N.C., significantly outpaced other students — in the school district and across the state — on end-of-course exams in Algebra, Algebra II and Geometry, a new report reveals. The significant gains made by the students in math suggest that mobile devices, engaging content and subsequent changes in teaching strategies lead to substantial improvement in student achievement, the report states.

In a study of Project K-Nect, a pilot program examining the use of smartphones as a learning tool in schools, teachers and high school students in Onslow are utilizing the technology and digital content to supplement selected math courses. Implemented at three high schools located in economically challenged communities, the Project goals are to increase student achievement in math and close the digital divide. Continue reading →