Digital Learning Now
EdTech
10 Things I’d Do Right Now as a High School Principal
At the Moorseville edtech conference (#Connection12 on Twitter) this week a Midwest high school principal serving about 700 students asked me for some advice on the shift to digital learning. Borrowing from advice to superintendents, here's 10 things I'd do right now as a high school principal.
Personalized Learning
Building the Digital Learning Superhighway
Next month there will be a lot of U.S. students holding an iPad looking at a spinning wheel. Cheaper devices, powerful apps, successful school models, and preparation for online assessments is boosting student access to technology. But in most places, the pipes won't be ready for all the traffic.
Personalized Learning
TheraWeb Meets Students’ Individual Learning Needs
By: Jaclyn Norton. Special education departments in schools throughout the country - namely in rural communities - experience a struggle betweenproviding immediate on-location support to students, while combating challenges that inhibit these counseling resources. Factors such as budget cuts, client distance, and shortage of counselors hinder students access to this specialized support, creating a significant demand for therapy in schools.
Personalized Learning
DIY: Finding a Co-Founder
I hadn't given much thought to the challenge of finding co-founders until Jessica Alter announced the education version of FounderDating, a partnership with Teach For America. We profiled the effort to match up interested and talented edupreneurs on Getting Smart last week and I called Jessica to learn more about what problem she was trying to solve.
EdTech
We Need to Develop Expert Screen Readers
Isn’t it odd that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for reading does not introduce electronic reading until fifth grade? Since children increasingly read from screens on computers, eReaders like iPods or Kindles, and smartphones, shouldn’t they learn to read from day one on the very media they have comfortably used since they were toddlers?
EdTech
Infographic: Are You Going BYOD?
As another school year begins many leaders will again question whether or not to implement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) or Technology (BYOT) policy in their classrooms. The infographic below highlights many of the pros and cons to letting students use personal devices in the classrooms.
Personalized Learning
Project RED Paves the Digital Learning Path
Tom Greaves is an edtech expert, especially school laptop programs. He has visiting more than 400 and surveyed about 1000. Project RED, housed at One to One Institute, is the first major study to considered two important issues: the impact of technology on student achievement and the financial impact of technology on budgets.
Personalized Learning
10 Strategies to Take Advantage of Productive Edtech Turbulence
Governor Bob Wise, Alliance for Excellent Education, opened the Moorsevilleedtech conference (#Connection12 on Twitter) this week by suggesting that, like a bumpy tailwind, we're experiencing productive turbulence including adoption of real college/career ready standards, waivers from federal requirements that come with new demands, and online assessment starting in 2014-2015. Add what's likely to be a decade of constrained budgets in most states and you have a leadership challenge.
Personalized Learning
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.
Personalized Learning
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.