Apps that know what you want, before you do
In Hollywood, there are umbrella holders. Outside corner offices, there are people who know exactly how much cream to pour in the boss’s coffee. In British castles, royals…
Around the Web
News from around the web.
STEMPREP project empowers teen scientists
Dressed in lab coats and peering intently into microscopes, the teenage scientists are already gaining critical skills—skills that camp sponsors hope will one day translate into science, technology…
Hey, boss? I’ll be working from the, uh, park today
Google will cover the $600,000 cost of providing public wireless Internet to 31 San Francisco parks, plazas, and recreation centers, ReadWriteWeb reports.
School choice: Part of the solution to our broken education system
One of the most important things we do as a society is educate our kids, The Huffington Post reports.
Moving schooling forward: Next-Gen Grants possess promise
I’ve written a few times (here and here, for example) about the great work that the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) is doing to help schools push the…
Breaking the code for women programmers
In her new film She++: The Documentary, co-director Ellora Israni says, “We didn’t aspire to be nerds.” But she ended up as one—and is encouraging other women and…
Starting high school later may help sleepy teens
Quinn Cooney of Mill Creek, Wash., is excited about starting high school in September, but she's not looking forward to waking up at 5:30 a.m. to arrive on…
Under code, apps would disclose collection of data
Like food packages that display nutrition labels, some mobile apps could soon display information that allows consumers to decide at a glance whether the apps are good for…
How much time do school districts spend on standardized testing? This much.
Exactly how much standardized testing are school districts subjecting students to these days? A nearly staggering amount, according to a new analysis, The Washington Post reports.
Education leaders call for moratorium on testing
A number of education leaders are calling for a moratorium on annual student assessments until Maryland switches to tests that match a new curriculum being implemented in classrooms,…
In search of the benefit of homework
The debate about homework is growing heated in education circles. With more and more demands being placed on teachers, students, and educational leaders, homework can provide valuable practice…
Beyond design thinking in education and research
What the heck is ‘design thinking?’ I can’t seem to find a concise definition, Forbes reports.
Watch: Chicago student slams school board for massive teacher layoffs
In less than two minutes, nine-year-old Chicago Public School student Asean Johnson on Wednesday unloaded a heartfelt plea to save teachers while excoriating the Board of Education that…
Obama budget threatens popular STEM education initiatives
Ayah Idris, 14, spent two weeks of her summer isolating strawberry DNA at a Seattle cancer research center, watching heart cells pulse in a dish and learning about…
New Common Core tests: Worth the price?
Now that both of the federally-funded consortia of states designing standardized tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards have released pricing data for each exam, states are…
Teacher fired after extinguishing classroom flames
When day care teacher Michelle Hammack briefly left her classroom to extinguish a nearby fire, she probably did not expect her actions to lead to her own firing,…
Children of immigrants start life better off than U.S.-born children
Children of Latino immigrants begin life with a substantial advantage over the children of U.S.-born Hispanics, faring better across areas such as education, health and economics, says a…
Google serves 25 percent of North American internet traffic
Everyone knows Google is big, Wired.com reports.
Congress’ chance to help students get 21st century skills
The Huffington Post reports that at the local level, it has become increasingly clear that as states, districts, and schools are raising standards and increasing their focus on…
Classroom technology: Turning our kids into nerds
In this infographic from MyScienceAcademy.org, you will find a detailed look at perceptions about the problems and possibilities of technology in the classroom.
Why our nation needs common standards
Shane Cockrell’s father was in the military, and the family moved a lot when he was growing up, reports The Hechinger Report.
Poll: Parents don’t support many education policy changes
Most parents with children in public schools do not support recent changes in education policy, from closing low-performing schools to shifting public dollars to charter schools to private…
From the moon to your face: one rocket scientist’s thoughts on Glass
I picked up my Glass on Thursday, and as I was taking the train back to my parents' house in Boston I noticed the Moon out the window,…
Tucson-area districts increasingly move to convert schools to charters
Arizona has seen an unprecedented surge in school districts wanting to convert some of their schools to charters, raising concerns over whether districts are unfairly using the law…
Surviving middle school–again
About a year ago, I sat in the auditorium at South Orange Middle School in suburban New Jersey and listened to the cheerful principal prepare the incoming sixth-grade…
These iPad apps help students turn the page on book publishing
Many parents fear that iPads and other touchscreen devices will discourage kids from picking up, reading, and enjoying actual books, the Huffington Post reports.
The amazing way teachers are helping their undocumented students
At International High School in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood, teachers always told their immigrant students to work hard, apply to college and receive scholarships, the Huffington Post reports.
Online courses can help high school students cut college costs
Enrolling in an online college course can have a variety of benefits for high school students, U.S. News reports.
Florida’s change to school rating system called ‘scam’
Last year, Florida gave a new standardized writing test to students in various grades and the scores were awful, the Washington Post reports.
Obama threatens veto of House GOP ‘No Child Left Behind’ update
President Obama is threatening to veto a House bill to update the No Child Left Behind education law, The Hill reports.
Virtual education: New face of schooling
It’s always been a tough time for parents when they have to decide what education they should chose for their children; education that is both right and appealing…
State Rep. pens controversial letter to teachers
Washington State Rep. Liz Pike (R-Camas) sparked controversy last month when she posted an open letter to teachers on her Facebook page, the Huffington Post reports.
Why every teacher should join Twitter
Are you on Twitter? You should be, says Jordan Catapano for TeachHub.com.
‘Stand Your Ground’ group pushes privatization of public education
The group that pushed “Stand Your Ground” laws in Florida and other states has been mighty busy working to get laws passed in the area of school reform…
Missouri is encouraging gun-safety courses for first-graders
In between learning how to read and perform simple addition, some Missouri first-graders may soon also be taught gun safety, the Huffington Post reports.
State: School grades aren’t accurate
Florida's public school grades, highly anticipated by parents as a way to measure quality, are no longer an accurate barometer of how well or how poorly a school…
Infographic: Ed-tech cheat sheet
Keeping up with all of the latest trends in technology can be quite exhausting, says LearnDash.
Microsoft delivers native Outlook Web App clients for iPhone, iPad
New, free Microsoft Outlook Web App clients for iPhone and iPad are available in the Apple App Store. The catch: Users need an Office 365 subscription that includes…
7 things educators want to tell Bill Gates
Just five years after leaving the day-to-day operations of Microsoft, Bill Gates has become a major player in education policy -- and some teachers are not pleased, the…
Study: Most states don’t score well on financial literacy
Given the extraordinary amount of debt that Americans wallow in daily, you’d think that teaching financial literacy in school and at home would be a priority, the Washington…