How far should schools go to filter the Internet? Some say schools are overestimating how much Internet content to filter to comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act and E-Rate. Daniel Vomastek, director of information and technology systems for Portage Public Schools in Michigan, said his office receives more requests to unblock sites than to filter them -- "by a ratio of 10 to 1." Vomastek said, "It really depends on school culture and the community in which you're based." EdTech magazine (Spring 2013)  | Ready for NGSS? Download our free whitepaper. Learning science requires a systematic order of steps to achieve understanding and reach solid conclusions. The scientific method is difficult to learn and to teach. Download our free white paper "Understanding Concepts: Implications for Science Teaching" to learn how NEW MimioScience lessons address the challenge. | | Baltimore school seeks to bridge technology gap with iPads A survey of students at City Springs Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore found that about 44% of seventh- and eighth-grade students have access at home to the Internet and computers. The school launched a pilot program this school year in which students in kindergarten, as well as seventh- and eighth-grade, were given iPads. So far, students say the devices have made classes more interesting and helped them learn. WMAR-TV (Baltimore) (4/1)
Australian students test the iPad's educational value Three kindergarten classrooms in Queensland, Australia, are participating in a yearlong study to determine whether the iPad can improve achievement in literacy and math, as well as whether the devices help develop students' creativity. "There have been past studies examining young children's use of iPads and smart phone technology but this is the first to link the use with literacy and numeracy through creative applications," said Sandra Gattenhof, associate professor at Queensland University of Technology School of Media, Entertainment, and Creative Arts. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (4/2) Other News  |
Poetry Mentor Texts shows you how to leverage students' natural love of poetry to strengthen reading as well as writing. Each chapter features 5 mentor poems that focus on student-friendly forms such as the list poem, acrostic poem, and poem for two voices. Student samples and mini-lessons help translate the ideas into your classroom. Click here now to preview the entire book! |
 | Educators are urged to use technology to personalize education Educators who are effectively using classroom technology allow students to do things that would be more difficult the old-fashioned way -- such as to move at their own pace, choose among learning activities and select activities driven by their personal interests, said Richard Culatta, acting director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology. "What you should be asking is, 'What are you doing with technology that you couldn't do before?," asked Culatta, speaking Monday at the Early Education and Technology for Children conference in Salt Lake City. The Deseret News (Salt Lake City) (4/2) | Cost to implement value-added evaluations varies A midsize school district with about 50 schools could spend more than $1 million in the first year of implementing a new teacher-evaluation system, according to a recent analysis. Education reporter Stephen Sawchuk writes in this blog post that the Value-Added Research Center at University of Wisconsin-Madison's Wisconsin Center for Education Research evaluated the cost of three approaches to value-added assessments and found that the cost of implementation is likely to vary based on how the value-added systems are established and the size of the district. Education Week/Teacher Beat blog (4/1) | How blogging benefits students -- even those in kindergarten Sharon E. Davison, a kindergarten teacher at Allen Brook School in Williston, Vt., has been using blogging to teach her students for about four years. The effects have been overwhelmingly positive, Davison writes in this blog post, helping students build relationships, receive feedback and learn about digital citizenship. Davison writes that her students also are eager to share their blogs, helping them learn how to write for an audience and develop their self-esteem. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education (4/2)
| How will MOOCs affect higher education? The most resilient universities will find ways to incorporate and take advantage of massive open online courses, Mike Lenox writes in this commentary. Lenox, who teaches a MOOC through the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, suggests that successful universities will emphasize the benefits of residency while still leveraging technology to maximize online offerings. "I suspect that will we see the retrenchment and growth of a group of elite differentiated players who compete globally for the best students," he writes. Forbes (3/29) |  | Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose." -- Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th U.S. president | | Please contact one of our specialists for advertising opportunities, editorial inquiries, job placements, or any other questions. | | Publisher, Education Group: Joe Riddle P: 202.407.7857 ext. 228 | | | | |
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