teachers
Personalized Learning
CIS: Meeting Kids Where They Are
CIS is the brainchild of youth advocate Bill Milliken, a man determined to improve the lives of all students, no matter what life challenges they face. Milliken wanted to bring community resources in to public schools where they could be accessible, coordinated and accountable.
EdTech
Webinar: How to Implement OER In Your Classroom
The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) will host a webinar on Thursday, February 16, guiding online teachers on how to implement open educational resources (OER) in the classroom.
EdTech
SmartTech Roundup: 2012 Predictions & Digital Reading
Wow, what a year: Google got social, Netflix screwed up, Kindle lit a fire, and Steve Jobs left us. Murdoch bought Wireless, Pearson bought Connections, America's Choice, and China-based Global Education and Technology. Venture and M&A activity doubled (deal & dollars) from 2009 to 2011. Now that we’ve wrapped up 2011, experts are looking to the horizon of 2012 with new predictions for what will shape the next year. See highlights of digital reading and eReaders.
Leadership
Staff Picks: OER Debate, EdReform
Tom picks his article on "How EdTech Will Benefit Low Income Students" while Karen follows up with a similar discussion of OER with the article "Radical Openness in Educational Materials: The Next Step in Washington." Sarah highlights a guest blogger's post on Getting Smart that discusses the student-centered, subscription method to education.
EdTech
Top 10 Stories in Education in 2011
After reflecting on the ed-tech space over the last year, I have aggregated the top 10 stories in education (technology). Where the pieces settle will be largely up to the oncoming year, but we think the following trends have the potential to hugely change the education landscape.
Personalized Learning
How EdTech Will Benefit Low Income Students
Digital learning won’t necessarily close the achievement gap between income groups, but it will lift the floor. More students will be more academically successful. Five years from now, a higher percentage of students will soon graduate from high school ready for college and careers. Most will have benefited from Common Core expectations. Some will have benefited from Race to the Top funded programs. Many will have benefited from these 10 reasons that digital learning will benefit low income students.
Personalized Learning
OER and the Achievement Gap
Justin Reich posted an interesting blog on his edtech site suggesting that Open Educational Resources will expand rather than contract the achievement gap. It caused a bit of an uproar. Where states and districts are proactive about extending learning opportunities, the preparation gap will narrow and that means more young people will have a shot at participating in the idea economy.
Leadership
Staff Picks: Blended Learning, Smart Phones, EdReform, 21st-Century English
Tom picked blended learning as the topic of the year. Karen picks a review of the recent book Teaching Generation Text, which looks at the benefits of mobile learning in the classroom. Sarah picks Byron Sanders' response to the heated debate around Gene Marks' recent Forbes article, "If I Were a Poor Black Kid."
EdTech
Review: Teaching Generation Text
Lisa Nielsen and Willyn Webb have spent the last few years experimenting teaching with cell phones and were thrilled with the results.
EdTech
Infographic: Open Courses for All
At Getting Smart, we've been contemplating the power of open education resources (OER) or open courseware (OCW) in education for several months. While the cost of K-20 education creeps up to new heights, OERs are sweeping across classrooms. Teachers can provide quality, free content to students with effective use of personal digital learning tools.