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Growing use of digital media among educators could help in teaching 21st-century skills
By Maya T. Prabhu, Assistant Editor

Teachers are making significant progress in adopting digital media and using the internet for instruction, according to findings from a new survey released Jan. 5 by PBS.

The survey, "Digitally Inclined," aims to provide information about instructional needs and trends to education leaders, policy makers, and the media industry.The survey, compiled by education research group Grunwald Associates, includes data collected from pre-K educators for the first time. The annual survey has been conducted since 2002 to examine educators' media use.
According to "Digitally Inclined," 76 percent of K-12 educators said they use digital media in the classroom, up from 69 percent in 2008. Of those teachers, 80 percent are frequent or regular users, though digital media use is less common among pre-K educators, with only 33 percent reporting that they are frequent or regular users.
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Related link
PBS "Digitally Inclined" report (PDF)

Current Site of the Week

Feds roll out simpler financial-aid form

The new online version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will allow college applicants to skip series of questions that don't apply to them and includes help text and easily accessible instructions, changes designed to make it easier to apply for aid. The changes include allowing low-income students to bypass a series of questions about their families' financial assets--a technology known as "skip logic."
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Source: eSchool News