Texas says ‘no’ to testing, seat time
The state that spurred the major expansion of standardized testing decades ago and became a model for No Child Left Behind is now saying “no” to copious amounts…
Month: June 2013
Are you ready to be a school principal?
Modeling excellence, building a team of dedicated educators, and instilling a sense of pride throughout the school community are all essential when it comes to establishing and maintaining…
New yearbook model is a win for students—and schools
TreeRing’s on-demand digital printing eliminates minimum yearbook orders, saving money for schools—while also allowing customization for each student.
L.A. school board OKs $30 million for Apple iPads
Apple Inc. won a $30-million contract Tuesday from the L.A. Unified School District, paving the way for the company to provide every student with an iPad in the…
Parents press for mobile tech in education
A new study of how parents perceive mobile learning and devices finds that many want schools to accelerate their use of mobile devices in the classroom, Information Week…
What is the future of technology in education?
A couple of weeks ago I was asked what I thought the future of technology in education was, The Guardian reports.
Republicans’ No Child Left Behind bill passes House committee, moving away from Bush’s vision
The Huffington Post reports that the House Education and the Workforce Committee on Wednesday passed the Student Success Act, chairman Rep. John Kline's (R-Minn.) rewrite of the No…
Report: Teacher preparation programs an ‘industry of mediocrity’
In a new report that’s already dividing the education community within hours of its release, findings based on eight years of research are supposedly able to rank U.S.…
How we created an app for our district—and why you should, too
When we discovered that more than 10 percent of our website traffic came directly from mobile devices, we decided it was time to go mobile.
U.S. News best high schools for science and tech, 2013
It's not every day that a politician, a beauty queen and a hip hop star champion the same cause, but don't tell that to President Barack Obama, reigning…
10 future-changing inventions ready to launch
Futurists: BetaLaunch, the World Future Society’s third annual innovation competition, will allow WorldFuture 2013 attendees to get a glimpse of the companies, start-ups, and inventions that are changing…
3D printer brings dexterity to children with no fingers
Richard Van As was working in his home near Johannesburg, South Africa, in May of 2011, when he lost control of his table saw, NPR reports.
Two Microsofts: Mulling an alternate reality
Thomas Penfield Jackson has died, and the former U.S. District court judge ruled in 2000 that Microsoft was a monopoly that should be broken up into two companies,…
Common Core practice tests now available online
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, one of two collections of states that are designing online tests aligned with the Common Core standards, has released online practice tests in…
Tips on preparing school data for the unexpected
While student safety remains schools’ top priority during threats of natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, school administrators and IT leaders must also ensure that they take…
Tech firms call for mandatory computer classes
The Boston Globe reports that executives from Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., and other leading firms want to require all Massachusetts public schools to teach computer science, so local…
Google exec to girls: Tech needs you
Dear Girls of the World, The technology industry needs you, CNN reports.
Toddlers and tablets: Way of the future?
Just 10 days out of the womb, Alex's mother, Beth Lehman-Brooks of Seattle, propped him up in front of an iPad for what she hoped was a good…
China now has the most powerful supercomputer in the world
China’s supercomputer is better than yours, VentureBeat reports.
Making the case for student-controlled devices
It's time to realize that we cannot, and should not, dictate the manner in which students learn. One area where the desire for control is clearly manifested is…
App of the week: Thesaurus Rex by Dictionary.com
A modernized thesaurus app that allows users to sort synonyms with new filters.
Study: Students perform well regardless of reading print or eBooks
NDTV reports that students do equally well on a test whether reading from a digital book or a printed one, a new study has found.
Tech, education leaders talk STEM challenges
Education and tech leaders lauded the Obama administration’s efforts to open the science, technology, engineering and math fields to more students — but said the resource challenges in…
Teacher fired over ex-husband’s ‘threatening and menacing’ behavior
An elementary school teacher fired by a private San Diego-area school following a domestic violence incident involving her ex-husband is speaking out about her ordeal, Yahoo News reports.
Missouri court liberates children trapped in failed schools
Speaking at the American Federation for Children conference in Washington, D.C. last month, Governor Mike Pence (R-IN) told the audience, "Fifty years ago we wouldn't let minorities into…
LEAD issues five digital learning recommendations
On the heels of President Obama’s ConnectED Initiative launch, the bipartisan Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission released a five-point blueprint outlining specific actions to accelerate the…
27 visual, sensory, and augmentative apps for autism
With the extremely large number of apps available for iPads, even those for autism are in abundance, and experts say it’s important to know which are most effective…
The best tweets of the week for education
Here are the education-related tweets that we found most enlightening, helpful, or interesting this week.
Are unpaid internships illegal?
Unpaid internships* are increasingly a fact of life for college students, The Washington Post reports.
Why I now think STEM jobs are cool
In 2012, I was brought onto the STEM team here in the Caruth Institute to work on the Cool Jobs initiative which launched last fall, STEM-Works Blog reports.
Sugata Mitra: Build a school in the cloud
Ted.com reports that onstage at TED2013, Sugata Mitra makes his bold TED Prize wish.
Return of the borg: How Twitter rebuilt Google’s secret weapon
John Wilkes says that joining Google was like swallowing the red pill in The Matrix, Wired.com reports.
Urging students to write in the age of Twitter, texting, and Facebook
In what could be considered the social media decade, there’s often a conundrum in today’s classrooms: Students need writing and critical thinking skills more than ever, but with…
Tablets in Dutch schools usher in a new era
Some of Robin Smorenberg’s students were shooting aliens on their iPads, The New York Times reports.
Opinion: Summer camp more beneficial than studying abroad, internships
When I was younger, I dreamt of spending my collegiate summer vacations abroad. I wanted to visit places like Spain, France and Italy (think Hilary Duff in The…
New app lets you photograph space from your iPad
Slooh, a company known for its helpful live feeds of awesome astronomical events, has just released a fun, free iPad app that gives regular folk command of robotic…
California to spend more to educate poor, non-English speakers
Public schools in California would receive significantly more money to educate students from disadvantaged backgrounds under a deal announced on Tuesday that would dramatically reshape public school funding…
Using a learning management system to meet digital content needs
As new learning technologies and digital tools appear in classrooms, educators may become overwhelmed as they try to integrate these ed-tech tools into their lessons. But they might…
IEPs shouldn’t just be about “Special Ed”
Four of my five children have been on an IEP (Individual Education Plan) at one point or another in their lives, Christopher Dawson reports for BigThink.com.
Teachers pose with their guns
December’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut jarred parents and teachers around Ohio, CNN reports.