SMARTtech Top 10: Bringing You the Good Stuff

For a long time, we’ve been rounding up the news from every corner of the edtech market. Today, we’re serving up a new approach.
We know you’re busy. It’s a Saturday. You’ve got other things to do than to read every story headline out there. Afterall, that’s what Twitter’s for. So, we’re bringing a new solution.
We’re taking our scissors to our news clips and bringing you just — the good stuff. Here’s our 10 picks from the news we read throughout the week. Leave it to us to bring you what’s not just happening, but important.

Blended Schools & Tools

1. The U.S. Department of Education reported that hundreds of school districts applied for the $400 million Race to the Top District Competition.
2. The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation awarded a $500,000 grant to improve blended learning opportunities with MIND Research Institute’s ST Math in NYC.
3. A top trending Forbes article on social media this week by Innosight Institute Michael Horn asked, “Is the technology finally ready for blended learning?”
4. CompetencyWorks shared a new report by the Nellie Mae Foundation examining several issues of 10 schools participating in the Proficiency-based Pathways Project.

Digital Developments

5. The Alliance for Excellent Education released the report The Nation’s Schools Are Stepping Up to Higher Standards that identifies key challenges over the next two years and lays out a plan for developing a digital strategy to address these challenges. The report has an accompanying infographic and is part of a larger initiative that includes a new digital learning web portal.
6. Karen Cator, U.S. Edtech Chief, announced this week plans to step down from her position.

The Big “D”

7. The Data Quality Campaign released Data for Action 2012 – its annual state analysis of progress toward using data to improve student achievement.

Throw ‘Em a Bone

8. Chromatik, a modern way to learn, practice, and perform music, launched for Web and iPad.

Getting Smart Favorites From the Team

9. “Tales of a Closet Tweeter” by Susan Lucille Davis
10. “Why Haven’t Districts Adopted Blended Learning Faster?” by Tom Vander Ark