Education Week’s
latest edition of Technology Counts 2013 focuses on building the digital district, which includes online
PD and improving data use. Several OTCD
standards were reflected in its pages:
- Linda Jurkowitz’s data graphics reflect many OTCD Package/Display standards of good design. For example, in the last 2 graphing sections, notice how she still manages to keep the wording of categories directly next to the bars graphing that graph them (rather than using a legend or key), even though the verbiage is extensive. Notice how she picked designs that lend themselves well to accommodating these wordy categories.
- The reference to rampant data use makes OTCD concepts all the more dire. For example, 85% of school districts either already offer data dashboards (67%) or else are in the process of implementing them (18%) (Center for Digital Education, National School Boards Association, & Converge Online, 2012; Vander Ark Davis, 2013). With so many districts already having access to such displays, it’s time for attention to shift from asking for such displays to asking for more from such displays.
- OTCD components such as Supplemental Documentation and Help System are based on a need for more immediate and accessible PD. Education Week’s Report reflected problems with current PD setups. Among both K-12 educators and post-secondary educators, one of the most critical gaps in educational technology is educators' access to online PD and related resources, with only 28% of school districts having such access (Software & Information Industry Association, 2012; Vander Ark Davis, 2013). Traditional training session approaches, such as 3-hours on a workday or 45 minutes after an exhausting day of teaching, aren't working; to truly integrate technology, teachers need access to immediate help wherever they are using technology (O'Hanlon, 2013).