Student Chooses Online Learning to Succeed
For some kids, an online school is their school of choice. That was true for Emily Boucher, the 2012 valedictorian of the Wisconsin Virtual Academy. Her hometown newspaper recently called her, "Burlington's 'Other' Valedictorian."
It’s Not About the Machine, It’s About Heart
The Moorseville edtech conference (#Connection12 on Twitter) is an effort to share lessons from one of the best 1:1 programs in the country. This week, more than 400 teachers and administrators crammed the gym of Mooresville Intermediate School located about 20 miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina.
SMARTtech Roundup: Blends, Tabs, STEM, Common Core & More
Blended Schools & Tools Cool kit and course. BlendKit2012 has been announced – an open, online course focused on blended learning – from September 24 to October 29.The Blended Learning Toolkit was prepared by the UCF and the AASCU with funding from the NGLC. The Good,…
Then And Now: The Olympics and Education
By: Jaclyn Norton. Technique and technology is the driving force in the evolution of athletics and education. In the video below, Bob Wise, President of Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, journeys back to 1948 - the last London Olympics - to examine how America’s education system changed pace over the last sixty-four years.
Grad Nation’s Blends Boosts Grad Rates & Achievement
Grad Nation is a comprehensive effort to boost the nation's graduation rate from about 75 percent to 90 percent by 2020. Launched in May 2010, Grad Nation is a project of America's Promise. There are about 60 supporting sponsors and donors, one of them is Apex Learning, a digital high school curriculum provider based in Seattle.
Life Is Writing: 2 Apps for the Reluctant Writer
I can’t even begin to quantify how many times I have been blessed with the challenge of working with a reluctant writer. Taking natural writers to the next level is also a daunting task, but I will forever be grateful for those who stare at the paper with confusion and anxiety while hoping words will magically fill up the empty lines. Their apathy for writing shakes me to the core in such a way that leaves me scratching my hairless head and searching for any angle to prove how essential self-expression is to living. To me, life is writing.
5+ Ways to Use ThingLink for Teaching and Learning
As someone who is actively engaged in the never-ending search for free and user friendly digital tools, I was thrilled to discover ThingLink. I immediately fell in love with the tool because of its versatility and ease of use. Since discovering ThingLink, it has become one of my most frequently used tools with teachers and students throughout the school day, as well as for and professional development. I just can’t get enough of this tool!
Placement Exams: The Hidden Gateway
While many have focused on ACT and SAT, the tests that drive attendance at selectives (a small percentage of post secondary students), there has been little attention paid to placement exams—the real hurdle in the system for young adults that want to earn college credit. JFF just released a must read report, Where to Begin? The Evolving Role of Placement Exams.
Bloomboard Powers Improved Teacher Effectiveness in Colorado
The push for better teacher observation, evaluation and development started about the same time Jason Lange was finishing up a master's degree in education at Stanford. Jason could see there was a big opportunity for easy to use tools and personalized learning for teachers. Jason applied to be part of the first cohort of edtech incubator Imagine K12, and Palo Alto-based Bloomboard was born.
It’s Student in Action, Not Inaction
The natural state of children is “in motion.” They are not simply pictures, they are motion pictures. A classroom full of third graders is a lot like a pool of sharks, except scarier. We are all aware of this natural state of activity yet we’ve managed to take our adult cubical workspace and force it upon the classroom.