Digital Learning & Technology

Stories from the Field: U.S. Department of Education hires Massachusetts educator as first-ever adviser to expand access to open digital resources in schools

The Office of Digital Learning (ODL) is committed to sharing with the field new developments in the Commonwealth's schools and districts related to digital, blended, and virtual learning. This is one of a series of stories that ODL will share to promote innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing among Massachusetts educators.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the hiring of the first ever open education adviser to lead a national effort to expand schools' access to high-quality, openly-licensed learning resources. School technology expert Andrew Marcinek will serve in the Office of Educational Technology (OET) and focus on helping both K-12 and higher education connect with teaching, learning and research resources in the public domain that are freely available to anyone over the web. He will work with tool providers and developers, district and state leaders, and educators. Open educational resources are an important element of an infrastructure for learning and ranges from podcasts to digital libraries to textbooks and games. View the full press release from OET Marcinek has worked on education technology and digital transitions in school districts in both Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Marcinek was a key member of Burlington High School's 1:1 implementation team and the first teacher in the Burlington High School Student Help Desk. View Burlington Public Schools Assistant Superintendent for Learning Patrick Larkin's blog post on Marcinek

Last Updated: October 28, 2015