EdTech 10: Map Is The Word

The key word for this weeks is “maps” – whether it’s mapping the way to college and career readiness, providing the latest mapping software to K-12 schools across the country or maybe just pulling out your road map to decide where you are going to visit during your summer vacation- we have all covered and much more in this week’s EdTech 10.

Blended Schools & Tools

1. How to Save Money & Expand Options. Building on the innovative Louisiana Course Choice model, a new paper written by four smart Stanford students in partnership with Digital Learning Now (@DigLearningNow) outlines a payment mechanism for courses to help spur successful student outcomes and forms the basis for effective state policy. This is a must-see framework for any state or district considering expanding access to part time online learning.

College Knowledge

2. Map to Success. Today, with Digital Learning Now (@DigLearningNow), Getting Smart releases the next #SmartSeries paper, “Core & More: Guiding and Personalizing College & Career Readiness.”  The paper outlines the 10 benefits students should experience from a distributed counseling and advisement program. Check out  the infographic for the paper- A College and Career Readiness GPS for Every Student.

Digital Developments

3. Nobody Left Behind. Education SuperHighway (@EdSuperhighway) and COSN (@CoSN) have come together to build a model for shaping a smarter E-Rate and build up wifi capacity so that all students have the internet speed and availability they need to learn in the 21st century.

4. Getting A New Look. Our friends at Digital Learning Now (@DigLearningNow) are getting a new look – they have released a new website, resources and many new features that will all help education leaders easily find ways to maximize the use of technology, including:

Be sure to Check out a  of the DLN Smart Series that Getting Smart has been proud to be a part of for the last two years on their new publications page.

Smart Cities

5. A Fresh Start. What if you could design implement a new statewide public education system that adapts quickly to the fluid expectations of society and enables learning to transcend time and place to ensure student success. That is what Amy Anderson (@berkanderson) and the Donnell-Kay Foundation (@donnellkay) is working towards with ReSchool Colorado, a multi year initiative working to create an new education system from scratch.
6. Growing Innovation. Joe Ableidinger (@Jableidinger), director of World Class Schools shared how innovative school models are paving the way for policy shifts in issues like seat time, student assessment, and educator evaluation. All will become more malleable as the implementation of new school models continue to provide promising alternatives in areas that lead to improved recruitment and retention of great teachers and student learning outcomes.
7. Meetups Covering the Map. Meetup and startup champ Chris Nyren has been Johnny Appleseed of EdTech Spurring & Supporting Entrepreneurship in Chicago, LA, Phoenix, and the Twin Cities.

Dollars & Deals

8. Maps for Schools! Billionaire Jack Dangermond’s Esri (@esri) pledges $1 billion towards bringing mapping software to America’s K-12 schools. Hopefully, the tool will help students learn “creative problem-solving” through hands-on projects. Pointing to the Get The Lead Out Project in Detroit as an example, Dangermond said, “It let kids to use analytics and come up with ideas for their own communities. The kids learned citizenship, science, problem-solving, and political involvement.”

STEM Gems

9. It’s Game Time. It’s time to join JiJi the Penguin for ST Math’s(@Mind_Research) Game-a-thon, a challenge for K-12 students across the country. Choose a math concept to build the game around, build any kind of game, from cardboard to computer game.  Video the game and submit for the chance to be featured at the 2014 Math Fair – At the Square Root of Fun, August 2, 2014 in Irvine, California.
10. Here’s One for the Teachers. Just a few days left to enter the “Teachability Dream STEM Classroom Contest” (@teachability) where teachers can win a dream STEM classroom worth $2,000 from Teachability by Pearson- an online environment for teachers to connect, discuss, learn and improve, wants to know what inspires STEM  teachers around the country! Create a Pinterest board titled “My Teachability Dream STEM Classroom” by this Saturday for the chance to win!
 
Digital Learning Now, Pearson, MIND Research and Education SuperHighway are Getting Smart Advocacy Partners.
 

Getting Smart Staff

The Getting Smart Staff believes in learning out loud and always being an advocate for things that we are excited about. As a result, we write a lot. Do you have a story we should cover? Email [email protected]

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