More than half of Florida school districts lack social media policies for teachers

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…

5 Things We Learned From An International Study On Technology In Schools

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…

Key senators question Florida education commissioner’s stance on technology funding

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…

Florida schools on track to receive Digital Classrooms money despite veto

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…

Dunbar High School Students Tops in State at Microsoft Office Competition

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…