Posts by Guest Author
Personalized Learning
Technically Speaking: How Common are the Common Core?
How common are the CCSS really, and who is systematically tracking state-specific CCSS modifications and additions? Doug Levin asks important questions about the Common Core. How much variation in state-specific CCSS standards language can be tolerated at a technical level to ensure interoperability across states? What is the process for ongoing governance of CCSS implementation at the technical level?
Personalized Learning
Alliance President Bob Wise Addresses the Common Core Naysayers
Following up on Alliance Senior Fellow Robert Rothman's blog post from last week, Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, responds to individuals who are skeptical of the impact that the common core state standards will have on student achievement.
EdTech
Want to Prepare Your Kids for the Singularity? Read Jonathan Mugan’s The Curiosity Cycle
In the future your children won’t just be competing against other children, they’ll be pitted against robots and computers too. What’s a parent to do? Teach them about the best parts of being human: curiosity and creativity. Researcher Jonathan Mugan is bringing his specialty in machine learning to the nursery. His book, The Curiosity Cycle helps parents find simple ways of inspiring children to have the flexible thinking and boundless interest they’ll need to stay competitive in the 21st Century marketplace.
EdTech
ProProfs Training Creates Advanced Web-Based Courses
ProProfs launched ProProfs Training, a new tool aiming to make online training much easier for non-tech-savvy teachers and educators. ProProfs Training is a brand new web-based software that allows anyone to easily create advanced multi-media online courses.
EdTech
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.
Personalized Learning
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.
Personalized Learning
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.
EdTech
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.
Personalized Learning
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.
EdTech
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.