Teacher effectiveness debate: good schools attract good teachers

The ‘good teachers make all the difference’ research is now driving edu-investment.  The theory goes: make good teachers, schools get better.  I hold the opposite theory: good schools make good teachers.  Or, more specifically, get the employment bargain and job right, and you’ll attract and retain…

SmartTech Roundup

Learning Platforms The Gates Foundation finally launched a website with a little info on the Shared Learning Collaborative. Five states are expected to pilot something next year, but will it be a full personalized learning platform in the sky or a data warehouse?  Instructure, a Salt Lake…

Education Equality Day coverage from Close the Gap Rally

After a few drops of rain, inspiring student choirs and drum lines, Chancellor Joel Klein, NYC Public School & Education Equality Project Co-Founder kicked off a rally commemorating the 55th anniversary of Brown v Board.  Like DC Mayor Fenty that followed him, Klein called for parent support for…

Making Math Work: K-8 Blended Learning

A Getting Smart white paper that explores why and how K-8 math educators can address the prospects of blended learning to personalize learning for students.

Tom’s TEDx Video

Gov. Bob Wise: Bringing Content to the Classroom

Governor Bob Wise is speaking at the Arkansas Policy Foundation online learning forum. You can follow us on Twitter.

DIY: Amplify Your Impact With Social Media

You can extend your impact with social media. Schools, districts, networks, nonprofits, providers and startups, can leverage social media to efficiently communicate, effectively build brand awareness, and gathering feedback on customer experience.

Good Work in the Private Sector

US education needs more private capital and the horsepower of private enterprise to make the transition to personal digital learning. More broadly, we have an historic opportunity in this decade to extend quality secondary and tertiary education to every young person on the planet—certainly one of the most important milestones in human history—but that will take all three sectors working in collaboratively.

Good Work: Inhabited By a Question

For 35 years, Roger Weissberg has been inhabited by a question: How do schools, parents, and communities come together to promote positive behavioral outcomes in young people? CASEL launched the Collaborating Districts Initiative aimed at supporting district-wide SEL efforts in Anchorage, Austin, Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville, Oakland, Reno, and Sacramento. Each district is improving SEL leadership, strengthen instruction, and building a culture connections and continuous improvement.

Florida Poised to Retain Digital Learning Leadership

After the release of Digital Learning Now report in December, Florida lawmakers realized they had room for improvement. Now stakeholders in Florida are advocating for a comprehensive digital learning bill, SB 1620.