eSchool News launches Digital & Mobile Learning Guide

We are excited to bring you the latest in the eSchool News Guides series. eSchool News Guides are full of resources, tips, trends, and insights from industry experts on a variety of topics that are essential to the classroom, school, and district.

The November Guide, the eSchool News Digital & Mobile Learning Guide, offers expert insight on the reasons digital and mobile learning support students’ academic achievement and build the skills they’ll carry with them into the global economy. In the guide, we take a look at the various factors present in successful digital and mobile learning initiatives. Plus, we’re giving you tips to incorporate more digital resources into your instruction.

Have you dreamed of using more digital tools and resources in your district’s classrooms, but don’t know where to look for those resources? In the eSchool News Digital & Mobile Learning Guide, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most popular digital learning apps and websites. Do you want educators throughout your district to understand just how much digital equity impacts students? We explore this issue, which is vital to digital and mobile learning.…Read More

7 things supporting broadband best practices

State leadership can have a powerful impact on broadband best practices in K-12 schools–and a new report highlights success stories and strong policies supporting broadband connectivity.

State K-12 Broadband Leadership: Driving Connectivity, Access and Student Success, the new report from SETDA, highlights how state leaders are instrumental in advocating for policies and policy decisions that focus on broadband networks, bandwidth capacity, Wi-Fi implementation, and off campus access for low-income families.

“In order to provide personalized learning experiences for students to best prepare them for college and careers, and to compete in a global economy, all schools need access to reliable, high-speed broadband,” says SETDA’s incoming Executive Director, Candice Dodson. “No two states approach broadband implementation the same, however, state leadership is essential to the process in implementing high speed broadband for all.”…Read More

Plan to stem dropout rate stirs controversy

Only about 70 percent of high school freshmen go on to graduate, the White House says.
Only about 70 percent of high school freshmen go on to graduate, the White House says.

The Obama administration is offering a $900 million carrot to the nation’s school systems to tackle what many view as an abysmal dropout rate that threatens America’s ability to compete in the new global economy. But it’s the “stick” portion of the administration’s plan that has rankled many educators.

Districts would get the money only if they agree to one of four plans to dramatically change or even shut down their worst performing schools. One of these plans involves firing the principal and at least half of the staff members at a struggling school—a turnaround plan that captured national attention when it was tried by the Central Falls, R.I., school system last week.

President Obama took aim at the nation’s school dropout epidemic in a March 1 speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. During the event—which was sponsored by the America’s Promise Alliance, a youth-oriented organization founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell and his wife, Alma—Obama noted the economic impact that dropouts have on America’s ability to compete.…Read More

Solving the STEM Education Crisis

beakersresizedAs technology becomes an integral part of the workplace, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills are no longer just “good skills” to have; they are increasingly important to a 21st-century education.

Training students for success in the STEM disciplines also is necessary if the U.S. is to remain globally competitive; recent results from the Program for International Student Assessment suggested the top-performing U.S. high school students were bested by students from at least 20 other nations in math and science.

Attracting students to the STEM disciplines is the first hurdle, and retaining student interest in these areas is the second. Solving the STEM education crisis won’t be easy—but with the generous support of Learning.com, we’ve compiled this collection of stories from our archives, along with other resources, to help you answer this challenge in your own schools.…Read More