New England Schools Win $5M Grant to Develop Personalized High Schools
More than 1,300 applicants applied for the Investing in Innovation (i3) Program of the U.S. Department of Education and 30 will receive funding. Among them, The New England Network for Personalization and Performance (NENPP) received a $5 million grant to redesign and innovate a high school that prepares and motivates students for postsecondary success.
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
Many people argue that entrepreneurship cannot be taught. They point to college dropouts like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and insist that the ability to break out on one’s own is intrinsic. It isn’t something that you can teach, develop, or hone through experience. It’s natural.
MIND Launches ST Math Touch for Tablets to Help Students Learn Math Visually
Paul Blair at MIND Research Institute tells Advocacy Partner Getting Smart about its new ST Math Touch for tablet computers. ST Math helps students learn math concepts with visual-spatial reasoning. Research has shown that ST Math improves math comprehension and understanding.
New Classrooms Innovation Partners Announces Plans to Personalize the Classroom
New Classrooms Innovation Partners (New Classrooms), a non-profit intended to help schools implement effective adaptive and personalized learning models, announced its launch today.
NewSchools Announces Early-Stage EdTech Fund to Accelerate Student Achievement
ewSchools Venture Fund today announced the creation of an Education Technology Seed Fund, a new initiative to invest in entrepreneurs developing education technology tools, applications, content, and services that will significantly improve education opportunities for children from low-income communities.
Key Predictions for the K-12 Education Sector in 2012
As William Gibson has noted, “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” Innovative districts facing the challenges of the “new normal” will increasingly step forward to adopt some of the most promising edtech innovations of the last few years, turning early stage proofs of concept into large-scale solutions that hold promise for helping teachers be more efficient with every child.
Why Three Districts Chose Chromebooks Over Tablets
The Richland 2, Leyden, and Council Bluffs school districts think of students as producers not consumers. They think Chromebooks provide the perfect platform for writing, producing, collaborating, and learning and are implementing 1:1 programs this fall.
Review: The Networked Teacher
The Networked Teacher: How New Teachers Build Social Networks for Professional Support by Kira J. Baker-Doyle evaluates the ways online social networks are reshaping culture around personal learning networks and digital learning networks among educators today. Baker-Doyle delivers a strategic approach to utilize crowdsourcing to its fullest capabilities to deliver ongoing learning, answers, and advocacy for the classroom.
Q&A: How Can We Increase STEM Opportunities for Special Needs Students?
The upcoming ABC Family movie, "A Smile as Big as the Moon," brings teacher Mike Kersjes and Joe Layden's moving memoir about one special education class to life. Mr. Kersjes, a special education teacher for more than 10 years, shares the compelling story of how his class was the first group of special-ed students to attend Space Camp, a prestigious and competitive program at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
Carrots, Sticks & the Bully Pulpit
Carrots, Sticks & The Bully Pulpit reviews the federal role is largely discouraging for those of us interested in advancing educational equity and achievement. The was some consensus among the bipartisan authors that “federal policy makers have trouble holding a steady course amid all the interests and politics,” and that the “federal government lacks the authority and tools to effectively play an active role in school improvement.” On a more positive note, there was also some consensus that the feds had an important and doable role in promoting transparency and that the president and secretary had a valuable bully pulpit role.