TRENDING  //  The Payoff of Going Paperless in K-12 Schools  //  Eliminate barriers to reading with government relief funding

Johns Hopkins

6 ways to connect with ELL parents

There’s no secret formula for parent engagement. And when English isn’t their first language, the obstacles seem more daunting. Connecting with ELL parents can help educators better support students—and there are some strategies to help.

According to Rick Castaneda, a training specialist at Rosetta Stone, the key is to develop a multi-step approach that gives parents several different opportunities to connect with the school and their children’s teachers while also making sure that the parent, no matter their language, feels like a key part of the decision-making process.

In his edWebinar, “Involve Parents for Greater English Learner Success,” Castaneda discussed six key areas of parental involvement, based on the work of Johns Hopkins professor Joyce L. Epstein, PhD, and how each one helps build a stronger relationship.…Read More

1 2

How Johns Hopkins has become a leader in social media use for admissions

Johns Hopkins has a competitive program for social media-savvy students.

Dean Tsouvalas, editor-in-chief of StudentAdvisor.com, recently interviewed Daniel Creasy, associate director of undergraduate admissions at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Johns Hopkins was ranked No. 1 on the Top 100 Social Media Colleges rankings released in fall 2011 and is recognized as a trailblazer in social media use among colleges.

This is the latest Q&A from StudentAdvisor, which has teamed up with eCampus News to share the latest social media strategies and trends in higher education in this monthly feature.

Here’s what Creasy had to say, including his philosophy that “more is better” when it comes to social networking platforms on campus.…Read More

1 2 3 4

Supporters of eBooks say they make readers less isolated, more social

Volumes have been written about technology’s ability to connect people. But burying one’s nose in a book has always been somewhat isolating, reports the Seattle Times—so what about a device that occupies the evolving intersection between? “Strangers constantly ask about it,” Michael Hughes, a communications associate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said of his iPad, which he uses to read a mix of novels and non-fiction. “It’s almost like having a new baby.” An iPad owner for four months, Hughes said people were much more likely to approach him now than when he toted a book. With the price of e- readers coming down, sales of the flyweight devices are rising. Last month, Amazon reported that so far this year, Kindle sales had tripled over last year’s. When Amazon cut Kindle’s price in June to $189 from $259, over the next month Amazon sold 180 eBooks for every 100 hardcovers. Social mores surrounding the act of reading alone in public might be changing along with the increased popularity of eBooks. Suddenly, the lone, unapproachable reader at the corner table seems less alone. Given that some eReaders can display books while connecting online, there’s a chance the erstwhile bookworm is already plugged into a conversation somewhere, said Paul Levinson, professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University…

Click here for the full story

…Read More