Posts by Guest Author
Webinar: Digital Learning Beyond School
It’s time to ensure that as teachers and schools find ways to use technology to advance learning, so do community organizations like Ys, libraries and cultural institutions that provide informal learning opportunities to millions of our least-advantaged kids.
PBL in Primary: Making Up the Rules
This year, I have been using PBL (passion or project-based learning) in my classroom. Although language arts and math have certainly been involved, I have mainly been using the outcomes of my science, social studies and health curriculum as the focal point of my backwards-by-design planning.
Support for Teachers: Simulated Classrooms, Online Networking and More
The key to ensuring all students graduate high school college and career ready is effective teaching. And the key to ensuring effective teaching for all students is effective professional development for educators. Professional development is the most powerful strategy that school systems have to help all educators acquire the knowledge and skills they need to effectively reach all students.
Can Your Cloud App Really Do Business Intelligence?
The cloud has been targeted as the next Big Thing in technology and organizations are migrating more and more of their data to the cloud. This migration is done for several reasons, not the least of which is the saving of expenses that would normally be allocated towards an on-premise infrastructure and operational costs. One federal institution, the General Services Administration (GSA), was so confident in their financial savings decision that they abandoned their entire internal email and collaboration system in favor of Google Apps.
School Technologist Proposes Student Technology Bill of Rights
School technology specialist Brad Flickinger's recently proposed a student technology bill of rights, which articulates the ways in which educators should regulate appropriate technology use with students. The bill essentially comes as a welcome sign to those involved in education to take a stand in spelling out what I believe - should already been a given.
The Green Schoolhouse Series – 21st century learning classrooms
It used to be educationally valuable to use Styrofoam balls to create a fairly basic representation of the solar system or to study simple earth science through a paper mache volcano craft project. Likewise, chalk and erasers were precious tools of the trade for teachers, while yellow number two pencils and plastic protractors were the standard of choice for students. Lunch hall dining used to consist of fast-food quality meals--but not anymore.
5 Cool Things About Online Education
Early in life, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. My mom and grandma were teachers, and I fully intended to join the ranks in a traditional classroom setting. I hadn’t heard of a virtual charter school before, but I’ve always been intrigued by technology, so I decided to check it out. After doing some research, I came to the realization that not only did I prefer it over substitute-teaching for a year but also that there actually wasn’t anything else I would rather do.
Could Teacher Evaluation Initiatives Power Down Technology-driven Innovation?
Teacher quality is arguably the largest policy shift in education today and will have a lasting impact on our public education system. Legislatures across the country are hammering out systems intended to improve, reward, and redistribute quality instruction – including teacher evaluation systems and systems to differentiate compensation.
Yes! A Productivity Agenda!
In a recent report (and a wave of blog posts) it is clear that Bruce Baker takes offense at the current discussion around improving productivity in public education.
Budget Cuts Leave Some Students Tongue-Tied
On Jan. 20 the Department of Education announced plans to cut $27 million in funding to foreign language programs around the country. The money comes from the now defunct Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP), which doled out three- or five-year grants to charter schools, school districts and states.