Ed Leaders Meet in CA for NewSchools Venture Fund Summit
Education entrepreneurs, funders and leaders meet in San Francisco, Calif. May 1-2, 2012 for the NewSchools Venture Fund (NSVF) Aspen Institute Summit, produced in partnership with NBC News. The summit, which is invitation only, will feature more than 100 speakers, more than 20 session and new opportunities to connect with other attendees.
What I’m Seeing: Apps Reinventing Learning Experiences
There are apps that are reinventing the learning experiences. Here's a few examples of how video is revolutionizing teaching, how apps are making science more engaging, and how mobile technology helps students navigate higher ed.
Students Report On SOPA, PIPA & ACTA
Students at Blue Springs High School recently published a SchoolTube video reporting on the SOPA, PIPA and ACTA controversy that threatened the freedom of the Internet in an effort to stop piracy. The video uses popular word animation to supplement the audio around the current events. This video is a great example of student awareness about complex current events.
College Bound Data
Combining big data sets and building and utilizing new applications will likely take philanthropic support, some app developers, and some guys like Don Munce that have been around the block a few times. Some incentive engineering like a prize could help focus and accelerate progress that would boost college completion rates and improve connections with the labor market
Digital Choices Expand in MI Today
Senate Bill 619, which expands online learning for public charter schools and gives parents and students greater freedom to choose digital learning options, passed in Michigan today.
Smarter Balanced & PARCC Will Support Tablets for Testing
The Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) and the Partnership for Assessment Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) today issued future purchasing guidance designed to inform schools and districts on hardware and operating system specifications covering the vast majority of commercially available computers and tablets.
Fordham Launches New Digital Learning Volume for EdReform
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute today launched "Education Reform for the Digital Era," a new digital learning volume with papers in its Creating Sound Policy for Digital Learning series.
How Formative Assessment Supports Writing to Learn
One MIT prof thinks he can game one engine and the New York Times and NPR do stories on his anecdotal claims and miss the evidence of many large scientific studies including the study released this month. ASAP was designed to create evidence that supports the use of automated essay scoring to affordably incorporate more writing on their annual tests and avoid tests limited to multiple choice items. ASAP has provided sufficient evidence to support widespread use of automated scoring.
Infographic: How to Extend the Reach of Excellent Teachers
Did you know that only 25 percent of classes are taught by excellent teachers? We need to find ways to leverage great teachers and extend their talents to more students through the use of technology, new classroom models, and more.
Better Tests, More Writing, Deeper Learning
In a recent private vendor demonstration, nine testing companies showed that “Machine scoring engines did as well or better than the human graders,” as reported by Dr. Mark Shermis. In an open competition, top engines will share $100,000 prize purse to be awarded May 9 in Washington DC.