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A mostrar mensagens de 2012

Best of 2012: The Five Most Extraordinary Things to Happen in Education | Education on GOOD

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Best of 2012: The Five Most Extraordinary Things to Happen in Education | Education on GOOD : "Best of 2012: The Five Most Extraordinary Things to Happen in Education" 'via Blog this'

What Do Teachers Think of Game-Based Learning?

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What Do Teachers Think of Game-Based Learning? : In recent years, game-based learning has received increased attention as a way to motivate students and engage them with the material. But what do teachers think of the trend? To find out, we conducted a survey of 309 K–12 classroom teachers from public, private and religious schools across the country. Here's what they had to say:

The 12 Most Popular Ways College Students Use Smartphones

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The 12 Most Popular Ways College Students Use Smartphones : College students love their smartphones. They use them in a myriad of ways and there’s the data to prove it. A new infographic visualizes the current state of smartphone usage by college students and it’s a sight to see. The infographic below from Online Degrees shows the 12 most popular ways students are using smartphones as well as the types of news they’re reading, and more. The standout statistic to me, though, is that nearly half of college students are using feature phones. In other words, not smartphones. You’d think from all the buzz around smartphones (Apple and Android sell a bajillion phones a second it seems) that there would be a higher number of smartphone users on campus. What stats most surprise you?

The Early Results Of An iPad Classroom Are In.

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My daily PLN reading seems to be full of stories about how to use iPads in the classroom. While this is certainly important information, I believe our Twitter feeds could use a few more stories about the positive impact the introduction of iPads are having in schools.  http://edudemic.com/2012/11/the-early-results-of-an-ipad-classroom-are-in/

How To Connect With Digitally Distracted Students

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Looking for a few simple ways to reach distracted students? This handy infographic is worth printing out and it’s cute to boot! Hey that rhymes! http://edudemic.com/2012/12/10-ways-to-effectively-reach-your-students/

21 Simple Ways To Motivate Your Students

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No matter the grade you teach, the school district you oversee, or the children you have in school, motivation is never an easy thing. From coaches to teachers, we all have to do it and it’s worth taking the time to figure out what works and what, well, doesn’t. http://edudemic.com/2012/12/21-simple-ways-to-motivate-your-students/

Blogs on Social and Emotional Learning | Edutopia

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Blogs on Social and Emotional Learning | Edutopia : Words fail. Our hearts are broken. Only deeds matter after tragedy takes away our children and the adults who teach and care for them. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. President Obama spoke to the nation about this morning's heartbreaking events. Below are resources we've gathered that may help you and your children in this wrenching time.

15 Lesson Plans For Making Students Better Online Researchers

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Below are 15 lesson plans courtesy of Google designed to make students better online researchers. They’re organized by difficulty and meant to help students (and everyone) become better online searchers. Check out the useful Lesson Plan Map  too to see how all these lessons fit together and what skills they teach. Worth a look! http://edudemic.com/2012/11/students-better-online-researchers/

3 Reasons Many High Schools Don’t Have Online Learning Components

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Most high schools in the United States offer some sort of media opportunity, but only about a third have an online component, according to a study co-written by a University of Kansas researcher. http://edudemic.com/2012/10/3-reasons-many-high-schools-dont-have-online-learning-components/

How Important Is Accountability In Your Classroom?

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School performance data is too often associated with failure, but it is a powerful tool that can improve teaching and outcomes for students. “Accountability” should be synonymous with opportunity – the opportunity to build a positive culture of performance in our schools. http://edudemic.com/2012/12/how-important-is-accountability-in-your-classroom/

How To Find A Classroom To Skype With

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Have you ever wanted to try out Skype in the classroom but didn’t know where to start? We’ve published  numerous guides filled with tips and tricks but there’s a glaring problem: how do you find a partner classroom to Skype with? http://edudemic.com/2012/12/how-to-find-a-classroom-to-skype-with/

The 4 Newest Ways To Make Education More Interactive

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Even for the most dedicated of students, books and lectures get boring. Keeping lessons fresh and challenging means keeping them interactive, and given it is almost 2013, incorporating this task is actually much easier than ignoring it. http://edudemic.com/2012/12/the-4-newest-ways-to-make-education-more-interactive/

4 Educational Social Networks You’re Not Yet Using

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We’ve heard about  Learnist, Lore, Edmodo, and the many other educational social networks . But what else is out there? If you’re an early adopter or simply like being the ‘cool’ teacher in the lounge … then make sure you know about these relatively new offerings. http://edudemic.com/2012/12/educational-social-networks/

3 Ways One School Is Integrating Technology

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As we look ahead to 2013, educators are developing ways for their schools to adapt in our rapidly-changing technological world to ensure the best skill sets and success for their students. Beaver Country Day School , a leading, independent school for grades 6-12 just outside of Boston, lists the top 3 ways the school utilizes technology to improve student learning experiences. http://edudemic.com/2012/12/the-top-3-ways-schools-are-integrating-technology/

How To Know If You're Correctly Integrating Technology - Edudemic

How To Know If You're Correctly Integrating Technology - Edudemic : A common question that we hear from teachers about integrating technology into their classrooms is, “how do I know if I’m doing it right?” We love to hear this question because that tells us that the teacher is starting to analyze and evaluate how they are integrating technology and are looking for a way to gauge their effectiveness. We feel that the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) best addresses the question of “doing it right.” According to the  Arizona K-12 Center at Northern Arizona University , “the TIM is designed to assist schools and districts in evaluating the level of technology integration in classrooms and to provide teachers with models of how technology can be integrated throughout instruction in meaningful ways.” There is more than one version of the TIM but the one that we most commonly refer to with our staff was produced by the Arizona K12 Center at NAU.

Why educators, students and schools will want and love Windows 8 - Microsoft in Education blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

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Why educators, students and schools will want and love Windows 8 - Microsoft in Education blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs : At Microsoft, our commitment to education starts with students and teachers. After all, they innovate in education every day.  However, putting teachers and students first means partnering with schools to ensure the fast changing-world of technology is relevant and helpful to the instruction in the classroom. Accessing and utilizing digital content is on the rise around the world and many schools have already begun adopting 1-to-1 environments, whether schools are providing devices or students are bringing their own.  We envision modern learning experiences where each student will have a personal learning device because of the promise – and cost-effectiveness of going digital.   Learning is increasingly becoming unbound. It is independent of space and time, socio-economic barriers, and physical constraints. In fact, student and teachers ar...

What Schools Will Look Like In The Year 2020 - Edudemic

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What Schools Will Look Like In The Year 2020 - Edudemic : What does the school of the future look like? We’ve chatted with, at this point, hundreds of teachers online and they pretty much all agree that the school of the future will have no walls, be highly tech-infused, and available to more people than ever before. All good things, in my opinion.

For the Future Student, Higher Education Will Be Redefined | MindShift

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For the Future Student, Higher Education Will Be Redefined | MindShift : Not too far in the future, students may be faced with an entirely different set of choices than they do today. No longer might college  or  career straight after high school graduation be the two only and divergent paths in front of them. No longer may a four-to-six-year commitment to a highly esteemed institution be the fastest way to a fruitful career or a rich network. With online education quickly gaining momentum, the emergence of  massive open online courses (MOOCs)  is not only shaking up higher education to the core — its value, its status, its cost — the movement is also changing how  young people envision their education  and their future.

The History Of Education Timeline - Edudemic

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The History Of Education Timeline - Edudemic : We heard about an innovative new tool that’s perfect for anyone who wants to explore the history of education. From the first known school (in the year 2000 BC) to the Apple iPad and beyond, it’s all in this interactive history of education timeline. The new interactive timeline is available at  edhistory.com  and is worth checking out!

Why the Internet Is Making Us Smarter--in One Way - Forbes

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Why the Internet Is Making Us Smarter--in One Way - Forbes : Lots of commentators — like my old friend  Nicholas Carr , for example –  have bemoaned the rise of the Internet, and before that television, arguing that these evil distractions have shortened our attention spans and caused us to become digital idiots, capable of only the briefest moments of focus.  Email, too, has come in for its share of blame and experts have recommended that you schedule it, or ration it, or avoid it altogether. But all of this handwringing is missing the real point.  It’s not that we’re becoming dumber, it’s rather that the object of our focus has changed.  In one way, we’re actually getting smarter – much, much smarter. Here’s what’s going on.  Society – work, entertainment, and the arts – have been shifting from print to visual at a rapidly accelerating rate over the past half-century years.  In the past decade, with the rise of broadband and the Internet, ...

Students Solving Real-World Design Problems - Teaching Now - Education Week Teacher

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Students Solving Real-World Design Problems - Teaching Now - Education Week Teacher : Last month, the Chicago Architecture Foundation launched  DiscoverDesign.org , a free Web-based learning tool aimed at getting students excited about architecture. According to the website, it "empowers teens to gain architectural skills, learn green design principles, engage in problem solving, and connect to an online community of their peers, their teachers and design professionals around the world." The site lists various design projects with step-by-step guides to help students develop and implement their ideas. Students can choose to design anything from a new school locker to a new technology wing for a school. Once their projects are complete, students can upload their work to the site and receive feedback and comments from teachers, architects, design professionals, and other students. This month, the foundation announced that they will be conducting a national  design competit...

The Flipped Classroom: Turning the Traditional Classroom on its Head

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The Flipped Classroom: Turning the Traditional Classroom on its Head : The Flipped Classroom Infographic A new method of teaching is turning the traditional classroom on its head.

Indian Government, Tech. Firm Collaborate on Tablet for Education

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After launching what was dubbed the  "world's cheapest tablet"  by the Indian media last year, the national government and a technology company recently released an upgraded model of the low-cost device. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/marketplacek12/2012/11/tech-company_launches_low-cost_tablet_device_for_indian_students.html 

Can the Digital Generation Do Anything Right?

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Last week, the news media,  including   Education Week , wrote about a new study from the Pew Research Center surveying 2,000 teachers on how their students do research in the digital world. Many of those teachers, 77 percent, believed digital tools have an overall positive impact on research, but 87 percent said the tools were a distraction causing short attention spans. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/marketplacek12/2012/11/can_the_digital_generation_do_anything_right.html

We All Support the Teacher

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I have noticed a fair amount of vitriol spewing from the education blogosphere (and whatever other forms of media still exist today, if any) in the past few months, most of which has centered on the idea of technology (led for the most part by an energetic private sector) infiltrating the classroom (and to be fair, I can't say  I've helped the matter ). http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/reimagining/2012/11/we_all_support_the_teacher.html

Karen Cator Stepping Down as U.S. Ed-Tech Chief

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Karen Cator, a vocal advocate for the use of technology in education and a familiar face at virtually every major ed-tech conference or event in the past four years, told Education Week  in an email today that she will be stepping down in 2013 from her post as the director of educational technology for the U.S. Department of Education. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2012/11/karen_cator_stepping_down_as_h.html

Teacher Quality: Investing in What Matters

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Spurred by awards of federal funding under the Race to the Top competition, many states are adopting teacher-evaluation systems with student achievement as the ultimate goal. This drive to create robust evaluation systems places far too much emphasis on inspecting and testing. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/14/12zimmerman_ep.h32.html?tkn=OVUFB8utN2qafSl3KysfRgoh8hkbz0omJ9gZ&cmp=clp-edweek

Teacher-Leadership Degree Programs Aim to Fill Career Gaps

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Four years ago, Donald Chouinard, a veteran English teacher at Fort Kent Community High School in Maine, was promoted to his district's curriculum-coordinator position. He appreciated the rise in status his move to an administrative job conferred, but he soon felt that something was lacking. "I really, really missed the classroom," he recalled recently. http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/10/17/tl_degree_program.html

Preparing Students for the Real World

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Regardless of whether we are the Teacher of Record (TOR) or their scores on the high stakes test will affect our HEDI score, these students need us every single day that they walk into our classrooms and into our schools . http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/11/preparing_students_for_the_real_world.html

Putting Brands to Work for Public Schools

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Public education budgets have always been tight, but today we find ourselves in uncharted territory. Looking back to 2008, when the country slipped into the Great Recession, no aspect of the economy has escaped unscathed. One of the hardest-hit areas has been education, since deep losses in the housing sector sent shock waves that decimated state and local budgets and, consequently, school budgets as well. In many places, schools' rainy-day funds have run dry. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/07/11freeman.h32.html

'Soft Skills' Pushed as Part of College Readiness

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To make it in college, students need to be up for the academic rigor. But that's not all. They also must be able to manage their own time, get along with roommates, and deal with setbacks. Resiliency and grit, along with the ability to communicate and advocate, are all crucial life skills. Yet, experts say, many teenagers lack them, and that's hurting college-completion rates. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/14/12softskills_ep.h32.html?tkn=SVPFFNFaKqESIfZtFx0pKc%2Bsvl8zPauJioZe&cmp=clp-edweek

Project-based learning assessment tool launched

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CTB/McGraw-Hill  has today announced the launch of the  Acuity® Performance Task System , a new performance assessment authoring system and item bank, which enables teachers to  evaluate project-based learning  across multiple subjects using research-based assessment methods.  http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=5068

How I learned a language in 22 hours

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He's never been good with languages, so can Joshua Foer really hope to learn Lingala in a day? http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/nov/09/learn-language-in-three-months

Google's Open Course Builder: A Giant Leap into 21st-Century Online Learning

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Google is the most powerful nonhuman teacher ever known to actual humans. Implicitly and ceaselessly, Google performs  formative assessments  by collecting the following data: the content, genre and media that interests you most; when and for how long you access your external cloud brain; what your hobbies and routines are; with whom you work and communicate; who will get your November vote; and whether you prefer  invigorating clean mint or enamel renewal  toothpaste.  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/googles-open-course-builder-todd-finley

When Students Do The Teaching

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Not every teacher gets to hear these words: the process of making "this video gave me a better understanding of how teachers teacher, so when I am faced with a math problem that I don't understand I can break it down and teach it to myself." This quote came from a ninth-grade student at the culmination of the Upside Down Academy  project. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-learning-students-teach-students-envision-schools

Before We Flip Classrooms, Let's Rethink What We're Flipping To

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We're hearing a lot of talk about education in these back-to-school days, but a few conversations rise above the din. One such is the chatter about " flipped classrooms ," 1  in which students listen to lectures at home and do homework at school.  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/rethinking-the-flipped-classroom-idit-harel-caperton

Blended Learning: Behind the Scenes

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It feels like we're on the precipice of a more common, universal implementation for blended learning, but for a while still, blended learning is still dependent on teachers knowing what to teach and how to teach it. It still feels still like a grassroots movement from key teachers who are looking ahead to the future. We know that being able to function online is a 21st-century skill, but for some teachers, it's still as futuristic as Logan's Run. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-learning-behind-scenes-heather-wolpert-gawron

Four Scary Good Ed Tech Sites

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I spent some time trying to come up with a really scary post for Halloween, but I decided I would stay positive instead and share some scary good sites on educational technology. Get it? Scary? Anyway, here are four tried and true sites I always turn to when I need help with a tech tool or when I'm looking for something new. Warning: the puns you are about to read are also terrifying. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/scary-good-ed-tech-sites-nicholas-provenzano 

Practical Tips for Mobile Learning in the PBL Classroom

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Given the number of technology tools being used by educators and students, it's no wonder that mobile technologies and mobile learning are being explored in various implementations. From data collection tools to mobile phones, students are learning at school and on their own. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/mobile-learning-in-pbl-classroom-andrew-miller

Teacher Experience and Expectations for the 1:1 Elementary Classroom

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In my last two posts, I detailed the iPad initiatives at Burlington High School. I talked about what we learned after a year of a 1:1 iPad environment and dispelled some myths surrounding iPads in education. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/one-to-one-elementary-classroom-andrew-marcinek

Grant Funding with Social Media

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Locating Grant Sources The first step in receiving grant funding is to locate potential opportunities. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/grant-funding-with-social-media-brian-dixon

Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferencing

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Last week I spent an afternoon coaching teachers on preparing for parent conferences. That same day, after work, I attended my son's fall parent-teacher conference. Given these different perspectives on this tradition, I figured I could share some thoughts for making these conferences meaningful and rewarding for all. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/parent-teacher-conference-tips-elena-aguilar

A Principal's Perspective: Getting The Most Out of Classroom iPads

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For the first two months of school, "When are the iPads going to be handed out?" was a continual mantra from students and teachers. But finally, when we were able to tell them a day, frustration turned into anticipation. Southside High School's goal was to efficiently assign an iPad to each ninth- and tenth-grader, without seriously impacting the regular instructional day. Boy, was that off target! http://www.edutopia.org/blog/principal-perspective-ipad-rollout-ben-johnson

Code Literacy: A 21st-Century Requirement

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Ask kids what Facebook is for, and they'll tell you it's there to help them make friends. And, on the surface anyway, that's what it looks like. Of course, anyone who has poked a bit deeper or thought a bit longer about it understands that people programming Facebook aren't sitting around wondering how to foster more enduring relationships for little Johnny, Janey and their friends, but rather how to monetize their social graphs -- the trail of data the site is busy accumulating about Johnny and Janey every second of the day and night. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/code-literacy-21st-century-requirement-douglas-rushkoff

Thank a Student

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http://www.edutopia.org/blog/thank-a-student-nicholas-provenzano It is the month of Thanksgiving, and everyone is getting excited about turkey and pumpkin pie. People are also considering the things they should be thankful for. Well, I think this is the perfect month for teachers to stop a student and thank him or her.

Education is a great British export industry

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9675113/Education-is-a-great-British-export-industry.html Britain's universities are world class and the launch of the new Council for the Defence of British Universities will help them remain so

Failing Public Schools: Should They Learn From Thriving Charters?

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What makes a  charter school  succeed and how exactly can we transfer these ideas to failing  public schools ? These questions are examined in  Roland G. Fryer 's widely talked about  report , “Learning From the Successes and Failures of Charter Schools.” Fryer is the CEO of  EdLabs  and an economics professor at Harvard University, the report was published as part of  The Hamilton Project  (the Brookings Institution). http://news.yahoo.com/failing-public-schools-learn-thriving-charters-234015660.html

Howard Fuller: One of the Most Powerful Educators in America

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Civil rights leader  Kenneth Clark  once said to  Howard Fuller , “Did my work even make a difference?” Like Clark, who was instrumental in the Supreme Court’s decision to desegregate schools in 1954, education advocate Howard Fuller has asked himself this same question. http://news.yahoo.com/howard-fuller-one-most-powerful-educators-america-231600761.html

Driven to distraction: How to help wired students learn to focus

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A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report surveyed 2,462 middle and high school Advanced Placement and national writing project teachers and concluded that: “Overwhelming majorities agree with the assertions that today’s digital technologies are creating an easily distracted generation with short attention spans, and today’s students are too ‘plugged in’ and need more time away from their digital technologies.” https://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/11/13/driven-to-distraction-how-to-help-wired-students-learn-to-focus/

Why allow ed-tech access? ‘We owe it to our students’

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Technology can be intimidating, and even frightening—but Eric Sheninger, principal of New Jersey’s New Milford High School (NMHS), says that educators must overcome their fear of putting technology into students’ hands. Through efforts to create a paperless environment, a bring-your-own-device initiative, and the use of social media, NMHS teachers and administrators are integrating technology into all aspects of the school day—and these efforts are paying off. For these reasons and others, we’ve chosen NMHS as our “eSchool of the Month” for November/December. https://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/11/12/why-allow-ed-tech-access-we-owe-it-to-our-students/

College credit for open online courses gains momentum

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The American Council on Education, a nonprofit organization that represents most of the nation’s college and university presidents, is preparing to weigh in on massive open online courses—MOOCs, for short—a new way of teaching and learning that has taken higher education by storm in recent months. https://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/11/13/college-credit-for-open-online-courses-gains-momentum/

Beyond the Textbook: Education and Technology Are Paving the Way for Startups to Educate Our Youth

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Back to school is just about over (for those of you that love buying new binders, not the Romney kind) but it's never time to stop learning and evolving. If you grew up in the era before iPads, iPods, iPhones, and laptops, you well know it's a completely different ball game now. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ash-kumra/education-tech-startups_b_2101575.html?utm_hp_ref=education-technology