Archive: 2012
Leadership
Playing the Teacher Evaluation Game – A Race to Nowhere
For the past two years, the Department of Education, state departments of education and education foundations have proffered “teacher effectiveness” initiatives focused on evaluation systems, but none has truly moved the needle when it comes to closing the student achievement gap. Are evaluation systems the answer to poor academic achievement in the classroom?
EdTech
Braincandy: Healthy Food for Ill Conceived Minds
Even experienced teachers lack good resources for discovering and documenting the common scientific misconceptions held by learning minds. Braincandy.org, a nonprofit born from a Stanford research study, aims to change that.
Personalized Learning
DIY: Choosing Your Tax Status
DIY (do it yourself) is a weekly series about launching your own education enterprise. The series will focus on addressing the need for quality at scale. Topics will focus on the challenges of private enterprise, but most will have application for nonprofit leaders and school district administrators.
EdTech
Dream Lake Students Knighted as Math Learners
Patty Weisbach, Assistant Principal at Dream Lake Elementary, says she has countless stories about the ways that ST Math’s JiJi the penguin, created by MIND Research Institute, created a culture of success around math at her school. Yet, one story in particular stands out.
EdTech
What Money, Biking & Psychology Have In Common
Personal finance has a lot in common with riding a bike. Think back, how did you learn how to ride a bike? In my case, somebody told me what to do and how to move. However, that wasn't enough to really learn how to bike. I had to try, fall, stand up again, practice and eventually, I was able to hold the balance and biking became intuitive.
EdTech
News Corp. Unveils Amplify For K-12 Digital Innovation
New Corporation Education's Division today launched Amplify, a new business dedicated to reimagining K-12 education by creating digital products and services that empower students, teachers and parents in new ways, said Joel Klein, an executive vice president at News Corp.
Personalized Learning
Second $100k Hewlett Prize Takes on Short Answer Challenge
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is sponsoring the Automated Student Assessment Prize (ASAP) to improve the quality of student assessment in America and, as a result, increase the quantity and quality of student writing.
EdTech
60+ Top Articles On Blended Learning
Blended learning buzzed at conferences this year and across the education market. iNACOL, the leader in the blended learning space, created a new definition for the term. We've seen it in classrooms, heard it from teachers, and talked about it at Getting Smart. Featured in the articles below, Getting Smart highlights the new ideas and innovations surrounding blended learning.
EdTech
Integrating Computer Science Into Everyday Subjects
Information technology is the fastest growing field of our age and is predicted to remain so for decades to come. Unfortunately, computer science teaching is not keeping up. Increasingly, schools and colleges are teaching students how to use particular pieces of software, but neglecting to teach them about how computers actually work or how they are programmed.
Leadership
Good Work: Embracing Paradox
Most jobs today require you to think for yourself and the questions are getting tougher. Many jobs seem to be rich in paradox, two things that cannot both be true but must be. Paradox offers no easy answers for managers or organizations but it does guide learning.