$1M in prizes for environmental videos
This year, in partnership with the National PTA, the contest challenges 6th-12th grade teachers and their students to answer “How can science or math help improve the environment…
Month: September 2012
Awards for reading and technology
The IRA Award for Technology and Reading honors educators in grades K–12 who are making an outstanding and innovative contribution to the use of technology in reading education.…
Awards of $1K for youth-led projects
These grants are available for youth-led service-learning projects that combat childhood obesity through walking, running, or hiking programs. UnitedHealth HEROES projects will engage young people in performing meaningful…
Gates Foundation supports college readiness apps
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is awarding upwards of $100,000 to developers who propose apps and online tools that ... Read more
Opinion: Jeb Bush speech best on education
Whiteboard Advisors, a consulting firm that specializes in school policy, recently conducted one of its monthly surveys of 50 to 75 anonymous political and policy "insiders," including current…
The 5 most educated countries in the world
The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development recently released its Education at a Glance 2012 report, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
Traditional or charter schools? Actually, they help each other, study says
Charter schools are not a silver bullet for education reform, a new report says, but applying the best practices from some charter schools to low-performing public schools may…
U.S. is tightening web privacy rule to shield young
Federal regulators are about to take the biggest steps in more than a decade to protect children online, the New York Times reports.
Computers seen as ‘unfunded mandate’ as online testing looms
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Review: Anti-union movie ‘Won’t Back Down’ is a step backward
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12 things you need to know about the economy and education
A paper for The Hamilton Project analyzes the associations between education and various outcomes, highlighting a dozen economic facts on the state of education in America, with a…
High school in less than four years?
In Arizona, hundreds of high school students are now being offered the opportunity to graduate after their sophomore year — as long as they prove their academic mettle,…
Non-profit PTA sues for-profit rival PTO Today
The nonprofit PTA sued a for-profit rival on Wednesday, accusing it of denigrating the established group in a bid to siphon off members — a dispute that highlights…
Two high school teachers may be better than one
Two heads are better than one, or so the saying goes. But in a high school classroom, are two teachers better than one? Asks U.S. News.
Google reportedly set to blow open the tablet market later this year with $99 Nexus tablet
Google and its hardware partner ASUS are reportedly planning to launch a new $99 Nexus tablet this year that could open up the tablet market to a massive…
‘Embodied learning’ blends lessons with student-computer interaction
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New paper proposes ed-tech evaluation system
In a new paper, two researchers have proposed to create a new third-party ratings system for educational technology products, which would help link ed-tech buyers and sellers and…
Online game lets students slash, tax their way to balanced budget
University of Maryland (UM) College Park students last week finagled with federal spending and deficit reduction so that, at the very worst, they could delay economic Armageddon in…
How to have assessment without testing—and without losing valuable instructional time
Most educators can agree that frequent progress monitoring is critical to achieving a data-driven culture. However, under my direction at Cahuenga Elementary School in Los Angeles, we employed…
Watch: Town rallies around girl pranked for homecoming
A small town in Michigan is rallying behind a teenage girl who had thoughts of killing herself after students at her high school elected her to the homecoming…
Four Calif. high school students arrested over claims of sex abuse during hazing
Four Los Angeles-area high school students have been arrested in an investigation into complaints that varsity soccer players sexually abused younger team members in hazing rituals that victims…
Seven free resources for teaching about the election
The 2012 presidential election is drawing near, and educators across the country are using campaign efforts as a chance to teach students about the democratic process, the major…
Texas administrators can paddle students of either sex
Like many schools in Texas, “spare the rod and spoil the child” might be considered the motto at Springtown High School, the Washington Post reports.
Romney says he won’t gut teachers’ power to strike
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said Tuesday he would not stop teachers from being able to strike. President Barack Obama accused Romney of engaging in "teacher bashing," the…
Immigrant requests strain consulates, schools
Schools in Yakima, Wash., are taking nearly a month to deliver transcripts to former students, the Associated Press reports.
Bill Nye warns: Creation beliefs threaten U.S. science
The man known to a generation of Americans as "The Science Guy" is condemning efforts by some Christian groups to cast doubts on evolution—as well as lawmakers who…
Einstein’s brain is now an interactive iPad app
The brain that revolutionized physics now can be downloaded as an app for $9.99.
Five-year-olds put to the test as kindergarten exams gain steam
With school in full swing across the United States, the littlest students are getting used to the blocks table and the dress-up corner - and that staple of…
Military leaders point to schools in U.S. fat fight
Former U.S military leaders have identified a latent threat to the potential for a leaner, more agile fighting force: the school vending machine, the Chicago Tribune reports.
SAT scores edge down; ACT now more popular exam
Average national scores on two of the three sections of the SAT college entrance exam edged down for the high school class of 2012, which was the first…
Barnes & Noble to launch video service for Nook
Barnes & Noble Inc said on Tuesday it was launching a video streaming and download service this autumn for its Nook eBooks and device business, Reuters reports.
SETDA urges shift to digital instruction
Everyone remembers lugging a 20-pound textbook. But should today’s students still have to consult hefty—and often outdated—printed texts? And should states and districts still pay for resources that…
D.C. sets bar for firing teachers over performance
Tough new teacher evaluations led to a strike this month in Chicago, but in the District of Columbia, such evaluations are "business as usual."
Candidates: Where I stand on education
When voters go to the polls on Nov. 6, they’ll choose from among presidential candidates who have very different views on the major issues affecting America, including education.
iPads (and tablets) in K12 – When will we get it together?
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of talking with John Martellaro over at the Mac Observer, says Christopher Dawson for ZDNet Education.
What do teachers deserve? In Idaho, referendum may offer answer
In the struggle to fix the nation’s public schools, the old red-state, blue-state idea is looking as dated as Dick and Jane, the New York Times reports.
Morning-after pills available at 13 NYC schools
The New York City Department of Education is making the morning-after-pill available to high school girls at 13 public schools, the Associated Press reports.
Prominent women scientists start mentorship program for girls
There’s a burgeoning trend in education to encourage girls in their pursuits of STEM-related careers, TakePart reports. Science, technology, engineering and math are fields that are typically dominated…
Opinion: How schools (even great ones) fail kids with ADHD
here’s a group of students struggling through school rd to navigate that gets little attention in the media or in the debate about how to fix schools: Children…
Countless reforms, but few results
By emphasizing choice, accountability, and teacher quality, instead of simply throwing more money at challenges that have long since proven themselves unresponsive to increased spending, we can build…