Student Spotlight: Shannon O’Conner
Hello! My name is Shannon O’Connor and I am proud to be a part of the September 2010 MAT@USC TESOL cohort. I grew up in a small town in the middle of Kansas and received my Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication Studies and Spanish from the University of Kansas. Teaching was never on my list of career choices, but I always knew that I wanted to help people and began working in the not for profit sector upon graduation. After moving around the country several times, I was relocated to Oklahoma City, OK.
Innovations for Student Success Working at ASU
With budget cuts, most state universities are just retrenching: raising tuition and reducing enrollment—anything to protect the current model. But the model is bankrupt—costs are spiraling out of control and outcomes are weak. ASU president Michael Crow speaks the language that every state university head should these days: There…
Research Shows Just How Connected Today’s Kids Are to Technology
K5 Learning Blog, a blog by the online math program K5 Learning that follows educational issues with advocacy for parent involvement, recently reported that a number of studies have highlighted how connected and digitally tuned in kids are today to technology. Check out the fun and interesting facts from the report!
Tom Vander Ark Talks Online and Blended Learning With ChoiceMedia.TV
Getting Smart blogger Tom Vander Ark spoke with Choice Media at the recent 2011 Excellence in Action Summit, hosted by the Foundation for Excellence in Education this October. In this short interview, Vander Ark discusses the challenges states face with policies that prohibit the development of effective online and blended learning models for students.
Uniting Online Learning and Self-Directed Learning – A New Relationship
The concept of self-directed learning has long fascinated researchers in the field of education for quite some time. Becoming a self-directed learner is found to be most important as we develop into adults. It is often cited as being one of the most important functions of education. However, research has shown that there needs to be a readiness for self-directed learning that comes with maturity.
Military Personnel Train With Advanced Games
What industry has refined the technique of learning to a level that no other sector has developed, possibly even including education itself? I'd venture to say it's the military. Our military has created models for learning that train its personnel on some of the most technical, detailed, and highly pressured tasks. One of its biggest training techniques is the use of games.
So, You Want to Be Governor? Here’s Your Platform
The 2012 campaign season is in full swing for national and statewide races. Gubernatorial candidates are raising money and shaping messages. Other than a few states where new drilling technology has unlocked a new round of oil drilling, most states are broke and it won’t change for years. …