The Top 10 edtech Stories I Would Like to See in 2009

Here it is, almost 5 PM on a Wednesday and I'm still in school getting work done, and it's not the work that I had planned on getting done. Oh, the jobs of being a part-time edtech integrator. I guess I have to find time somehow to reflect and grow in this position, but isn't it going against an earlier post of mine?

As I embarked through my 21st Century reading pile (I have a 20th Century reading pile that consists of magazines. This "pile" consists of tabs open in my browser) in preparation for the CFF Collaboration day tomorrow, I came across this list on eSchool News. It gives the headlines of
the top 10 edtech stories from 2008. And I am highly disappointed by the list.

First off, I do want to say that I have not yet read the articles that go along with the headlines, so this is just a reaction to each of them. With that said, why is this list so negative? As a school that has been part of the CFF initiative since it first began, I like to think along the lines of all the positives that edtech is bringing into our schools, chief among which are the opportunities we are providing our students to be better prepared for life after school. (On a side note, I think colleges and universities are falling further behind, as I held a twitter conversation with my CFF mentor last night about a FULL COURSE being offered on Microsoft Word. Really?)

Yet here is this list, and most of these headlines are negative. Well, with that said, I think I will take the time to edit the headlines into something much more positive. I think I will call them:

The Top 10 edtech Stories I Would Like to See in 2009

10. Students use cell-phone cameras to record and analyze photos of math being used in the real world.

9. JuicyCampus turned into a leading site to connect college students to worthy causes; changes name to Campus4ACause.

8. Students fight back against hackers, new technology for protection against identity theft developed .
7. Online video better enables teachers to reach students.

6. Cyber-bullying eliminated, students take back the web.

5. RIAA underscored by new 21CRAA (21st Century Recording Artists Association), collaboration with campuses on file sharing and growth of industry.

4. U.S. students get laptops aimed at children in all schools and countries.

3. With TV signals on the digital spectrum, free broadband internet offered throughout the U.S.

2. Industries invest more in schools, realizing the best way to save the economy is to educate everyone.

1. President Barack Obama's new education policy offers full funding from government.

What headlines would you like to see?