T.H.E. Journal

Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco will join forces for a research and development project aimed at improving the overall effectiveness of assessments. According to information released by Intel Tuesday, the three will collaborate in an effort at “transforming global educational assessment and improving learning outcomes.”

The three unveiled their plans at the Learning and Technology World Forum in London “to develop new assessment approaches, methods and technologies for measuring the success of 21st-century teaching and learning in classrooms around the world.” The effort will be a formal project, headed up by a newly named executive director, Barry McGaw, who is also director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne and who has also served as director of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), where he was involved with OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The project will not focus on just one area of assessments but will cover several “key areas” of assessment methodologies and technologies, developing effective learning environments, and fostering the assessment of 21st century skills in students.

“Shrinking resources and market pressures mean that education can no longer be the sole responsibility of governments,” Executive Director McGaw said in a statement released today. “Building the future workforce will require a commitment from the private sector to partner with public institutions. Reforming assessment is essential to enabling any systemic change in education. And change on a global scale is required to equip students of today with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce of tomorrow. PISA’s international education assessments focus on key competencies in reading, mathematics and science. In PISA 2003, we took a step by adding an assessment of problem solving, but one limited to analogical reasoning. We hoped to add information and communications technology (ICT) competence in PISA 2006 but did not succeed. We all need now to work together to advance assessment practice.”

Andreas Schleicher, Head of Education Indicators and Analysis for OECD, said that technology-based assessments are crucial for the flexibility they allow in measuring education progress on a global scale.

“In the global economy, it is the world’s best performing education systems, not simply improvement by national standards, that have become the yardstick for educational success,” Schleicher said in a statement released Tuesday.

“That is why more and more countries measure the relative strengths and weaknesses of their education systems with OECD’s global PISA assessments. To do so effectively, it is crucially important that these assessments continue to evolve to reflect the skills that matter for individuals and economies. Technology-based assessments will be critical to this and the project brings together key partners that can help PISA make this happen.”

Similarly, the International Association of the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which administers the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), expressed support for the project and indicated the need for technology in assessments.

“IEA is committed to the greater integration of IT into all its assessments, especially TIMSS and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study,” said Seamus Hegarty, IEA chairman. “This reflects the changes in learning environments and the potential of technology to enhance the teaching and learning process. We look forward to working with the collaboration to achieve our common goals for young learners.”

A Webcast of the discussion of this topic at the Learning and Technology World Forum can be found here.

eSchool News

Last year, so-called “netbooks”–smaller, cheaper versions of laptop computers–made their way into the hands of countless students and educators. Now, concerns about the economy are driving a further increase in the number of netbooks available to schools.

Netbooks are computers that often cost less than $400, with small screens and keyboards that make them look Lilliputian next to laptops that seemed perfectly portable only a year ago.

These little computers introduced consumers to the idea that extreme portability could be combined with a low price, as long as people were willing to use the computer for getting online or connecting to a school’s network and not much more. Netbooks typically don’t include a DVD drive, the fastest microprocessor, or enough storage space to house endless amounts of photos and videos.

This year, because of the dismal economy and laptop buyers’ increasing comfort with these miniature computers, more netbooks are headed to store shelves. Some netbooks will keep their lower-than-a-cheap-PC price, but others will cost what bigger laptops do and include features such as touch screens and metal casings as companies look to keep the category’s momentum going.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week, Taiwan-based AsusTek Computer Inc.–which launched its $269 to $699 Eee PC netbooks in 2007–introduced a new one called the Eee PC Touch. It sports a nearly 9-inch touch screen that swivels or folds over so it can be used as a tablet-style PC. Asus expects the Touch to be available in March for $499 and plans to release a version with a 10-inch screen.

That size and price aren’t far from a regular laptop. A Dell Inspiron 1525 with a 15-inch screen and more powerful processor starts at $479 through the Round Rock, Texas-based company’s web site.

Jackie Hsu, Asus’ president of the Americas, said his company sold 5 million Eee PCs worldwide in 2008. He expects the market to grow this year because there are more product choices.

Indeed, larger computer makers such as Dell Inc., MSI Computer, Lenovo Group Ltd., Acer Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Co. are betting on netbooks as well. Several of them introduced upcoming models at this year’s CES.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP, the world’s No. 1 computer maker, showed an addition to its Mini netbook line, the Mini 2140, which is expected to be available this month for $499. Unlike the company’s $329 Mini 1000, the 2140 includes features like an aluminum case, keyboards coated to resist wear, and an accelerometer that can tell when the device is dropped and will instruct the hard drive to shut down.

Dell, the second-largest computer maker, unveiled a new netbook as well. And it is hoping to drive sales of an earlier model by temporarily cutting its price to $99. That includes a $350 rebate when buyers agree to pay for a two-year AT&T Inc. data plan that gives the computer internet access over the air.

Retailers have high hopes for netbooks in 2009, too, if Amazon.com is any indication. Between Black Friday and Christmas, eight of the top 10 best-selling laptops on the site were netbooks, said Amazon’s vice president of consumer electronics, Paul Ryder.

“I think the category will continue to do better than the standard laptop category. It’s still new, so I think it’s going to grow faster,” he said.

This could present a problem for computer makers, though.

Several of them hoped netbooks would not be a replacement for an out-of-date laptop, but a companion device that people take with them while on the go. For now, though, NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker thinks the bad economy will help netbook sales and cut into sales of larger laptops. People who ordinarily would have spent $600 on a laptop might trade down and spend less to buy a netbook instead.

“The end result is that I think these are more likely to be cannibalistic, at least in the early parts of 2009,” he said.

But in the long run, some analysts–Baker included–are skeptical about the netbook category’s life span. Baker believes netbooks could fade out next year and be replaced by even smaller devices that are also focused on getting their owners on the internet.

Gartner Inc. analyst Ken Dulaney said the category is “slowly evaporating” and points out that while the bad economy might make netbooks more appealing in the short term, they are unlikely to win over a broad swath of consumers who require bigger keyboards and more powerful performance found in bigger laptops.

“If your usage pattern really demands a notebook, you will be disappointed,” he said.