Florida School Boards Association
A majority of Florida’s school districts have no policy on the use of social media by teachers and other employees, increasing the potential for misuse and inappropriate teacher-student relationships online, according to an analysis conducted by a University of Florida educational leadership scholar. Doctoral candidate Jesse Gates found that only 32 of the state’s 68…
Sept. 18–Just because the cyber attack on Florida’s online exams was routed through 29,000 computers scattered across the globe and investigators closed the case without an arrest doesn’t mean it was a random assault. Disrupting the debut of new statewide tests last spring simply required a target Internet address and someone with cash — by…
Last week the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development released the results of a global study looking at the effect of technology on 15-year-olds test scores. The group oversees one of the most important international exams, so their research matters. And the research matters even more to Florida because state law requires schools spend half of their…
The chairman and vice chairman of the Florida Senate Education Appropriations committee have challenged education commissioner Pam Stewart’s plans to distribute $60 million in classroom technology funding without conducting an independent needs assessment. Gov. Rick Scott vetoed the $3 million study, saying it was duplicative of other plans. Within their budget bill, lawmakers had made the review a…
Information the Florida Department of Education recently sent to school district superintendents indicates that the state will distribute $60 million in Digital Classrooms improvement funds despite Gov. Rick Scott’s veto of a “gap analysis” that lawmakers had requested occur before the money is delivered. At least one lawmaker questioned whether the veto negatively affected the…
A $3 million veto by Gov. Rick Scott might become a $63 million budget cut that affects one of the governor’s celebrated priorities — improved technology for Florida’s schools. “We’re in a little bit of a pickle here,” said state Senate Education Committee Chairman John Legg, R-Trinity. “I have requested a definite clarification.” Legg has concerns…
Dunbar High School students have done it again! Because of their exceptionally high scores on Microsoft Office certification tests, students Bennett Hunter (11th grade), Tyler Millis (11th grade) and Ian Sexton (12th grade) have been named tops in the State of Florida in Microsoft PowerPoint 2013, Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Excel 2010, respectively. Competing…
In response to a previous study which made the case that online classes are not as effective at community colleges, the US Department of Education is funding a $1.6 million study concerning the effectiveness of virtual schooling in the state of Florida to take place over a three-year time span. A previous study presented at the…
TALLAHASSEE — Four years after championing a law that inadvertently made sexting an unenforceable crime in Florida, a state senator is pushing to close that loophole. The Legislature in 2011 set out to update out-of-date statutes to address minors who send nude photos to other minors. “Unfortunately it was not written in the proper posture,”…
When it comes to spending on classroom technology, the Florida Senate has led the charge in recent years. Senate Education Committee chairman John Legg has held symposiums and school tours, aimed at drumming up support for more money for digital instruction. The effort landed $40 million last year. But when the Senate’s education budget proposal…