A recent study by scholars at the London School of Economics has revived the argument over using mobile technology in schools, and whether students should be allowed to use their own devices. The study found that schools that banned cell phones had a 6% stronger test score improvement than schoolsRead More

The week of December 8-12, 2014 marked Computer Science Education Week. Millions of students around the US and the globe participated in the non-profit organization Code.org’s Hour of Code, teaching kids about the basics of coding in a 60-minute introductory course. Schools that participated in the event around the countryRead More

When you see buzz about education technology – like our recent feature on President Obama’s ConnectED Initiative – do you find yourself wondering why it matters? Do students really need laptops or tablets? And are agenda apps and digital textbooks really necessary? If you feel this way, you’re certainly not aloneRead More

This week, students in classrooms throughout America – including many right here in Houston – will be answering the challenge to complete an “Hour of Code” as part of Computer Science Education Week, an annual event championing computer science in K-12. Given the ascendance of computer science as an industry,Read More

To most of us who aren’t computer scientists, programming seems like a daunting prospect. We know that our computers, tablets, and phones could not function without vast quantities of code, but we couldn’t write that code ourselves – we couldn’t even make sense of it if we read it. WithRead More

It’s been a big week for President Obama with the announcement of his executive action on immigration. This hot-button new policy and the buzz surrounding it have eclipsed many other national policy issues for the moment, so you may not have heard much about what else the President has beenRead More

Parents of toddlers and pre-kindergarten kids: do you let your kids watch TV? And what about using iPads? In the media-driven world of the 21st century, many children grow up with digital screens. These media are so ubiquitous – and, indeed, so useful for keeping children occupied – that itRead More

Perhaps the biggest trend in K-12 ed tech right now is the movement toward providing students with tablets and/or laptops for use in their schoolwork. Many of Houston’s best private schools provide this technology for their students, and under HISD’s PowerUp Initiative, Windows laptops will be made available on aRead More

In a day and age when tablets like the iPad are increasingly being adopted as educational tools, digital textbooks and homework portal apps are part of daily life for many students. But what about work and productivity apps? More than 200 programs are categorized as productivity apps in the AppRead More

After teaching a Geometry class for socially “plugged-in” ninth graders this summer and spending a few weekends with my smart-phone-using teenage brother, all I can think about is, “Which apps are they using?” and “Do they use their phones this much in school?” A survey conducted by The Pew ResearchRead More

Founded in 1926, John H. Reagan High School, named after a 19th century politician, is one of Houston’s oldest high schools.  Located in the Houston Heights, Reagan serves 9th-12th grade students as HISD’s Magnet School of Computer Technology and is currently an International Baccalaureate Candidate School. John H. Reagan HighRead More