October+30,+2012

=Worthy of Note: October 30, 2012=



In this issue ...
Webinars // Keeping Pace 2012 // Recommended Blog Vocational Education Charter Schools Kids in the Digital Age Are OERs Really Free? The Plan or the Device? Data Analytics Competency-Based Learning Online Courses and Degrees Blended, Online, and Mobile Learning Social Media Internet TV Resources Other Interests

Webinars
Creating an Evaluation Process for Online Faculty //SREB Educational Technology Cooperative // Ginger Durham, University System of Georgia Thursday, November 15, 10 a.m.

How to Create and Manage an Online Learning Program Step-by-Step //eSchool Media, Inc. // Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 Time: 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT Duration: 1 hour

Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: An Annual Review of Policy and Practice //iNACOL // This webinar tracks the latest in online and blended learning policy and practice developments across the country. Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern

//Keeping Pace 2012//
Keeping Pace with K-12 Online and Blended Learning 2012 is released!

// Amy Murin //, // Evergreen Education Group, Posted October 21 // On behalf of our 14 terrific sponsors, Evergreen is thrilled to announce the release of Keeping Pace with Online and Blended Learning: A Guide to Policy and Practice 2012<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> in conjunction with iNACOL’s Virtual School Symposium, being held this week in New Orleans.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Keeping Pace //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> strives to be a resource for K-12 online and blended learning practitioners and policy makers around the country. We work with programs, districts, LEAs, state agencies, and other online organizations in every state to bring you the most up-to-date information possible.

Read more about 2012 Keeping Pace here. For //Keeping Pace 2012//, we’ve made an effort to extend the value of the //Planning for Quality// section by adding a series of planning and implementation timelines that display key events in the development of an online/blended learning program. All the events are organized and color-coded to match the four focus areas. We chose to create timelines for three distinct scenarios:


 * 1) Developing an online or blended program using district courses and teaching – 18 month timeline
 * 2) Developing an online or blended program using provider-supplied courses and district teaching – 12 month timeline
 * 3) Developing an online or blended program using provider-supplied courses and teaching – 9 month timeline

Each timeline scenario begins with a strategic planning process and moves through implementation to the first day of online or blended classes. The timelines are intended to provide a starting point for planning and implementing your program and will vary based on your human resources, funding, facilities, and need. They were created, in part, to stress the importance of a thoughtful program development process that consistently considers key issues related to content, teaching, technology and operations.

// Report from iNACOL VSS Conference // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Recommendations Issued for Accurate Online Learning Metrics // Ian Quillen, Education Week, Digital Education, October 24, 2012 — ////<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">New Orleans // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">If online educators and policymakers are going to create accurate measurements to determine the effectiveness of full-time online learning programs, they'll need to find a way to quantify a student's performance against the academic goals he or she set when entering the online program, according to a new report published Tuesday.

The report, Measuring Quality From Inputs to Outcomes: Creating Student Learning Performance Metrics and Quality Assurance for Online Schools released by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, or iNACOL, here at its annual Virtual School Symposium, also suggests measuring individual student knowledge growth, regardless of the starting or finishing point, and refining data systems to more easily track students' progress as they transition to and from virtual programs.

Recommended Blog
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Of That: Education, Technology, Energy and Trust //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Brandt Reed // <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">His latest two blogs were //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Learning Maps, Common IDs and the Common Core //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> and //Feedback Loops for More Effective and Personalized Learning//. Both of these supported his presentations at the VSS Conference.Check out others.

Vocational Education
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">At Technology High School, Goal Isn’t to Finish in 4 Years //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Al Baker, New York Times, October 21, 2012 // Flakes of green paint are peeling from the third-floor windowsills. Some desks are patched with tape; others are etched with graffiti. The view across the street is of a row of boarded-up brownstones.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The building and its surroundings in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, may look run-down, but inside 150 Albany Avenue may sit the future of the country’s vocational education: The first 230 pupils of a new style of school that weaves high school and college curriculums into a six-year program tailored for a job in the technology industry.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">By 2017, the first wave of students of P-Tech — Pathways in Technology Early College High School — is expected to emerge with associate’s degrees in applied science in computer information systems or electromechanical engineering technology, following a course of studies developed in consultation with I.B.M.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">[|Recognizing Academic Achievement in Career/Technical Education: Conditions for Awarding Academic Credit for Career/Technical Courses] //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">SREB Publication, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This report details the merits and challenges involved in awarding academic credit to career/technical courses that embrace rigorous college-and career-readiness academic standards equivalent to those found in traditional academic courses.

Charter Schools
A Georgia Charter Schools Amendment will appear on the November 6, 2012 ballot in Georgia as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment. The measure gives the state legislature the right to create special schools.

The official ballot text reads as follows:

// Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities? // YES NO

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Georgia Fights to Keep Public School Options Open For Parents & Students //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Alisa Hug, Getting Smart, October 17, 2012 // <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">(PRO) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> In Georgia, a state that has often been a leader in the public charter school movement, we are facing a severe and lasting setback to all of the progress our state has made. On November 6, Georgia voters will have the option to vote “Yes” for Constitutional Amendment One, allowing the state more authority to create and oversee charter schools. It will also establish a commission to hear appeals when school boards and superintendents deny charter school applications. Even in a state like Georgia where many support the promise and success of public charter schools, there are still areas where opponents are fighting to maintain the status quo and the power and paychecks that come with it.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Charter-school amendment not about charter schools //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Jay Bookman, Atlanta Journal Constitution, // //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">September 17, 2012 // (CON) Parental involvement is good. Empowering parents is good. And charter schools have a legitimate, even important role to play in education in Georgia, which is why local school districts already have the power to create them, and why they continue to use that power. However, it’s one thing to embrace charter schools as an educational option. It is something else entirely to claim that creation of a new centralized state charter commission — a commission that is appointed, not elected, that has the capacity to spend hundreds of millions of tax dollars, and that is not answerable to voters — somehow moves power closer to the people. It does exactly the opposite.

By design, it strips local voters, local parents and local officials of authority over charter schools and places it in the hands of those controlled by state politicians.

Whatever the outcome, this will have nationwide implications. Here are two more articles that appeared in the October 29 edition of the //Atlanta Journal Constitution.// (CON) Issue is not about charters, but who controls them (PRO) Passage will spur competition, engage parents

As Charter Schools Grow, Policy-Makers Need Answers // SREB Report, May 24, 2012 // This SREB report, calls for states to enforce oversight and regular review and to build rigorous ways to measure student performance.

Kids in the Digital Age
Top 25 iPad Apps for Kids Catherine Sharick //, // // Time Tech, September 4, 2012 // From classic e-reads like //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The Monster at the End of This Book // to parent-approved e-mail for toddlers to games that keep children busy while they wait, TIME.com picks the top apps for kids that will keep them entertained — and informed — even after the dog days of summer end.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Common Sense Media: Making Sense of the Learning App Explosion //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Tom Vander Ark, Getting Smart, October 16, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Common Sense Media aims to provide “trustworthy information to parents and teens about technology and media.” Founder and CEO Jim Styer has been working on this mission for 20 years. He’s the author of a new book, Talking Back to Facebook: A Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age, a look at how digital media affects the development of young children.

Common Sense Media <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">We exist because our nation's children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families or in school, which profoundly impacts their social, emotional, and physical development. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.

National Association for the Education of Young Children Technology and Young Children <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8 <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">A joint position statement issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at Saint Vincent College Read summary of key messages: @http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/12_KeyMessages_Technology.pdf

Are OERs Really Free?
Open Education: What Can K-12 Learn from Higher Ed. // Katie Ash, Education Week, Digital Education, October 18, 2012 // OERs may be free to use, but they are "free like a puppy," meaning there are other costs associated, such as professional development to help train teachers and infrastructure needed to access the resources.

While OER provides many benefits to both students and teachers—providing learning materials for free, allowing teachers to remix and personalize curricula, and increasing student motivation and engagement, to name a few—there is much left to be hashed out, such as how those who create these materials should be compensated, how to fund the "hidden costs" of OER, and how to create a welcoming atmosphere for OERs. It's clear that this movement has progressed faster in higher education than it has in K-12, but many of the OER experts here believe there is a role for both K-12 and postsecondary institutions to play in conjunction with each other that can ultimately push the conversation for both sectors forward.

The Plan or the Device?
Wrong Focus: Teacher Centered Classrooms and Technology // Ryan Bretag, blog, October 14, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">There is a buzz around me these days about how EdTech is failing to live up to its promise fueled primarily by the In Classrooms of Future, Stagnant Scores.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">What is surprising to most when they share this piece with me or ask me my opinion about the failures of EdTech is my response. For the most part, I agree that it is failing but that failure has more to do with us than with the technology.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Why? Read more….
 * 1) We continue to focus on the value of EdTech by what the teachers do with it NOT what the students do with it.
 * 2) We continue to focus on the value of EdTech by what happens to high stakes, standardized test scores.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Wireless experts: Time to move beyond the device // Meris Stansbury, eSchool News, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">October 18, 2012 // <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Panelists at the Wireless Reach Initiative said educators need to focus on policy, funding, infrastructure, professional development, and content.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In Digital Textbook Transition, Device Availability is Just the Beginning //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Ki Mae Heussner, Gigaom, October 22, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In the past year, leading technology companies have made big strides in bringing tablet computers into classrooms across the country. But while the availability of new devices is certainly critical, the successful transition to digital textbooks relies on many interconnected factors.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">With many of these challenges, it’s up to the schools, districts and states, not industry players, to figure out solutions. But the SETDA’s Fletcher said that in addition to providing devices, there is another key role that companies like Apple and Amazon play.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“These are folks who want to show schools what can be, not just respond to the customer,” he said. “That kind of partnership is crucial in helping to make these kinds of changes in educational technology.”

Data Analytics
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Best Practices in Data Management, Reporting, and Analytics for Education //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">eSchool News, White Paper, July 26, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This whitepaper describes 10 best practices for making the most of data analytics — from the perspective of SAS education customers. Learn how analytics is empowering teachers and administrators to drive improvement....

Big Data //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">John Waters, Campus Technology, October 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The October issue of //Campus Technology// is devoted to Big Data. In the first installment of a two-part series, CT explains Big Data and its potential for improving student learning and success. Read about it here <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">.

Competency-Based Learning
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Competency-Based College: A Special Report //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">SkilledUp Staff, October 24, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Of the countless innovations in higher education brought about by technology, the competency-based model may well be the most important. By graduating students only when they demonstrate competence in their field — and ignoring the number of hours they spend in class or the number of figures they can memorize for a test, the method’s advocates go straight to the core of the problem with higher ed – schools don’t really measure learning, or useful learning, anyway.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This article references Penetrating the Fog: Analytics in Learning and Education by Phillip D. Long and George Siemens.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Competency-Based Schools Embrace Digital Learning //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Katie Ash, Education Week, Digital Directions, October 15, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Tom Rooney sees competency-based education—supported by digital learning tools—as the path to building a better school district. The superintendent of the 4,200-student Lindsay Unified School District in California, Rooney set in motion this school year a plan to move to a system in which students progress not on the basis of their age or a set school calendar, but by demonstrating proficiency on learning objectives.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The move to competency-based education—also known as proficiency-, standards-, and performance-based education—by Lindsay Unified and other districts will likely give them a head start in preparing for the new demands of the Common Core State Standards, experts point out, and in their ability to use technology more effectively to personalize learning.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">A ‘Disruptive’ Look at Competency-Based Education: How the Innovative Use of Technology Will Transform the College Experience //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Louis Soares, Center for American Progress, June 7, 2012 // The first section of this brief provides a short primer on competency-based education in postsecondary education.

Mozilla’s Open Badges Initiative and MITx—the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s cutting-edge initiative offering free, high-quality college courses online—have put a public spotlight on alternative ways to deliver postsecondary education that not only document whether a student has achieved a level of competence but also validate the learning that’s occurred. These two innovative education models differ from traditional education by focusing strictly on the demonstration of competency regardless of how long it took a student to gain that competency. MITx, for its part, is introducing these new methods into the well-heeled community of world-class universities, while the Open Badges Initiative is at the frontier of documenting and validating learning that happens anywhere and at any time. Both initiatives point the way to a future where education can be high quality and personalized yet so affordable that it’s accessible to millions of additional learners.

The question, of course, is whether these innovative learning initiatives and others like them can truly disrupt the current model of postsecondary education—a model that relies on time-based measures to structure and fund learning experiences.

Online Courses and Degrees
Online Courses Add Quality to Education (A Look at a MOOC) // Sam Soman, Technique Digest, October 5, 2012, Online Learning Update // I decided to try out a MOOC—partially to try and understand any and all hype behind these massive online courses—but primarily because Coursera is free to use, and to a college student on a budget, the word free is alluring. “Introduction to Mathematical Thinking” was the course, taught by a professor from Stanford who would send lengthy yet enlightening emails to the 60,000 plus students enlisted in the class in addition to posting forty-five minute lectures of class instruction two to three times per week. What I learned most from watching one lesson was not anything pertaining to the content of the video, but the quality of instruction in the subject matter to his viewers. The engaging behavior in which he was able to communicate to the audience was remarkable. Even though it was simply a one-way lecture, his communication skills effectively managed to keep my attention after a full day of classes.

How Can We Stop Cheating In Online Courses? // Kati Leip, edudemic, October 6, 2012 // While clearly not every student is trying hard to take the slacker route, it's worth noting that picking out the students trying to take this route gets a little more complicated when you move from taking classes in person to taking classes online.

Online Degrees Are the Future of Higher Education // Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, Journal Star.com, September 20, 2012 // As a teacher at a community college, I welcome the transformation in higher education that online technology brings. For my courses, I post handouts, useful links, research supplements and study guides online. I no longer accept printed papers, only document files uploaded to our course site. And I no longer administer tests in the classroom, but create them online, allowing students a larger window in which to complete them. Maximizing the online possibilities in my classroom optimizes my teaching in multiple ways.

Blended, Online and Mobile Learning
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Blended Learning: Behind the Scenes //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Heather Wolpert, Edutopia blog, October 22, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The author takes you behind the scenes of blended learning. What does it really take to be a blended learning teacher? She offers eight characteristics of the blended learning teacher.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Education Week E-Learning Series //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Education Week, October 23, 2012 (8 articles) // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">These special reports from the technology team at Education Week Digital Directions<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> aim to highlight the progress made in the e-learning arena, as well as the administrative, funding, and policy barriers that some experts say are slowing the growth of this form of education.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Evaluating What Works in Blended Learning <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Blended learning—the mix of virtual education and face-to-face instruction—is evolving quickly in schools across the country, generating a variety of different models. This special report, the second in an ongoing series on virtual education, examines several of those approaches and aims to identify what is working and where improvements are needed.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">One English/language arts teacher, Catlin Tucker, discusses her use of blended learning here.

Five-step Strategy for Student Success with Online Learning // Online Learning Insights, blog, September 28, 2012 // Students that are enthusiastic about online learning cite numerous reasons for preferring the virtual format, yet it’s flexibility that is extolled most often – the ability to study and learn on ‘my time’. Ironically, it is this convenience factor that can cause some online students to procrastinate, or worse fail to engage in the learning process at all, which often leads to students dropping out or performing poorly. As I’ve discussed in previous posts, a key factor to student success in the online environment is self-direction, the capability and willingness to direct one’s own education. Online students, more so than traditional students, need to be independent and take responsibility for their learning. Self-directed learning involves a specific skill set: organization, motivation, and a sense of confidence.

Pearson Doubles Down Online // Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed, October 17, 2012 // Pearson, which two years began tiptoeing into the market of helping colleges and universities take their academic programs online, jumped in with both feet Tuesday by purchasing EmbanetCompass, the biggest player in that space. The deal, which awaits regulatory approval, is worth $650 million, officials of the companies said.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Nonprofit Colleges Spark New Competition Online, Study Finds (Brand New Online Heavies) //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed, October 10, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Nonprofit colleges are moving into for-profits' turf online, study finds, sparking new competition based on price and brand.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">UC Online Faces Challenges in Era of Free Courses //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Alisha Azevedo, Chronicle, October 1, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Designed to revolutionize the University of California system, the venture now struggles to compete with the likes of Coursera and Udacity.

Colorado Study finds “No Significant Difference” in Online Science Courses // WCET Frontiers Blog // In September 2012, the Colorado Department of Higher Education released a comparison study of CCCS students who took science courses online versus in traditional classrooms, and then tracked those students who transferred into four-year institutions in Colorado. The data set included students enrolled in first year Biology, Chemistry, and Physics for majors. Data were pulled for academic years Fall 2007 to Fall 2009. The sample of CCCS students totaled 4,585 (2,395 taking science courses online and 2,190 taking traditional science courses in the classroom). The study examined cumulative GPA, cumulative credit hours, and science-only GPA.

There are those who think of online courses as ‘less than’ their on-ground counterparts, but the sentiment does still lurk in many campuses. This study from Colorado chips away at those notions.

The Power and Possibility of Mobile Learning // Daniel Christian, evolllution, October 10,2012 // The author tackles such questions as: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Read more….
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">What will happen when a virtual tutor is unable to resolve or address the student’s issue to the student’s satisfaction?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Will the student be able to instantly access a human tutor – with the option of keeping the existing work/issue/problem visible to the human tutor?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">What types of analytics will be tracked and fed into one’s cloud-based learner profile?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">How will the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) situation affect what can occur in the face-to-face classroom?

Social Media
The Brief History of Social Media // UNC at Pembroke, NC; reported in Internet Scout Report // Once upon a time, if you wanted to learn something about someone you would have to ask face-to-face. Perhaps you could read about them in a newspaper or scan through an old school yearbook. Today, over 1 billion people use Facebook and their past, present, and future activities, likes, interests, and dislikes are available for widespread public consumption, consideration, and dissection. Facebook and other social networking sites can be immensely valuable, but the balancing act between preserving one's privacy and sharing information with others is delicate as well as problematic. This week, there was more concern raised about Facebook's privacy settings and there was widespread confusion among users. This Monday, Facebook announced another dispatch about their vast range of privacy controls. This came after a variety of online rumors that Facebook was scanning private messages between users to equate conversation with page "likes" and several other pieces of related scuttlebutt made the rounds as well. As with most stories involved with online interactions, this story is very much in flux even at the time of this writing.

Internet TV
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">No Need to Crowd In. We Can All Talk to Mom //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Anne Eisenberg, New York Times, October 20, 2012 // <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">People have long used webcams on their laptop and desktop computers to add live video to Internet calls. But the face-to-face chats often include grainy, low-resolution images and much crowding around the computer when the whole family wants to get in the picture.

Now wide-angle cameras that pop onto large-screen televisions are on the market; they capture high-definition video and a generous stretch of the living room sofa, too. Several devices, including the TV Cam HD ($199.99) from Logitech, are already on sale, with at least a half-dozen others expected in time for the holiday shopping season, said Richard Doherty, research director of the Envisioneering Group, a market research company in Seaford, N.Y.

Instructional and Technology Resources
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Library Of Congress Unveils Massive Common Core Resource Center //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Jeff Dunn, edudemic, October 27, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is here and teachers are trying to figure out how to best integrate it into their tried-and-true lessons. They’re struggling to integrate technology to best augment CCSS. They are in desperate need of classroom materials that they can trust.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Like a superhero, the U.S. Library of Congress has just swooped in and unveiled an enormous new (and free!) resource that’s all about the Common Core. It’s located at @http://www.loc.gov/teachers and worth checking out.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">K-12 Research-Based Curriculum //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Smithsonian Institution, National Sciences Resources Center // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The NSRC produces and disseminates research-based science education curriculum programs that should be used by school districts to construct effective K–12 instructional programs. All curricula developed or recommended by the NSRC are informed by research studies from the National Research Council of the National Academies about how students learn, and are produced using a rigorous research and development process.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Research-Based Curriculum is Essential __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Thinkfinity Resources //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Verizon Foundation // <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Verizon Foundation proudly partners with some of the country’s top educational organizations to provide you with the latest topics, tools and trends in education. Content Partner resources are aligned to state standards and the common core.

Links to all the following resources are featured on Thinkfinity Resources.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Arts Edge, Kennedy Center
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">EconEdLink, Council for Economic Education
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">National Geographic Education
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Illuminations, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">AAAS Science Netlinks
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Smithsonian’s History Explorer
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Wonderopolis, National Center for Family Literacy

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">National Art Education Association Resources <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Instructional Resources Gallery <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Museum Education Resources: 25 Places for Kids to Learn and Experiment with Art Art:21 Online Lesson Library ARTSEDGE <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">….And lots more

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Lesson Plans and Resources for Arts Integration // Doug Keely, Edutopia // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Dance in science, pop art in Spanish, or photography in math -- there’s no end to the ways arts can be integrated into other curricula. Educators from Bates Middle School, in Annapolis, Maryland, share arts-integrated lessons and resources that you can use in your school. Microsoft in Education, Teacher Resources.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Teaching guides, lesson plans and product how-tos //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Microsoft // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Teacher resources: Find lesson plans, free tools, training, and other information for teachers to make the best use of technology in the classroom.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Best of the Web: A Free Resource Featuring Websites and Activities for the Classroom //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Oklahoma Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center (CIMC) // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This popular resource for teachers and students entitled Best of the Web is in its 7th edition and features websites and activities for using the Internet in the classroom, divided by career cluster areas.

iPads In The Classroom //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Mehhna Chakrabarti, On Point, NPR, October 24, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Tablets computers—iPads and the rest—are moving into children’s classrooms and backpacks. How is that changing learning? Homework time?

Apple’s unveiled the new iPad mini. Amazon’s upped its services for Kindle, too. Suddenly it seems tablet computers are everywhere. Including classrooms. School districts large and small are paying big money to put tablets in students’ backpacks.

The technology could be a powerful new teaching tool. Or, could they be a distraction from the focused work of real learning. Steve Jobs once said, “It’s not the customer’s job to know what they want.” But do we want tablets in schools?

Listen to this hour //On Point//: iPads, Kindles, and the challenges of the 21st century classroom. Listen to the thread. Click on Soundcloud and it will download the program to iTunes.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Also, this article back in January in EdWeek, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Apple and the iPad's Potential Game Changer for Education <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> offers comments on the future of Apple iPADs and ebooks.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The best apps for education on the move: Infographic //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Kevin Cummings, edgalaxy.com (Cool Stuff for Nerdy Teachers) blog // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Outlines some of the better apps available on the iPhone and iPad for mobile education.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Common Sense Media: Making Sense of the Learning App Explosion //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Tom Vander Ark, Getting Smart, October 16, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Common Sense Media aims to provide “trustworthy information to parents and teens about technology and media.” Founder and CEO Jim Styer has been working on this mission for 20 years. He’s the author of a new book, Talking Back to Facebook: A Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age, a look at how digital media affects the development of young children.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">10 Powerful Ways To Use Google In Education //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Jeff Dunn, edudemic, October 20, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Not only can educators and students use Google as a search engine, they can also utilize valuable educational resources. In fact, Google has an entire network dedicated to education – Google in Education.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The education section of Google is broken down into categories. For the purpose of this article, we’ll focus on resources for students and resources for educators.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The 20 Best Learning Management Systems //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Jeff Dunn, edudemic, October 27, 2012 // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">From Moodle to Edmodo to Inquisiq r3, there are a lot of tools you can use to manage, track, and deliver courses and training programs in your school. They’re called Learning Management Solutions (LMS) or sometimes Learning Management Systems. Either way, how do you pick which is the best? A new infographic from Capterra spells it out in simple stats. Here is a quick guide to learning management systems.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">SEPC State Education Policy Center State Education Policy Center (SEPC) is a database of state policies related to education and technology curated by the State Educational Technology Directors Association. Learn more.

Other Interests
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) is a state-led consortium working to develop next-generation assessments that accurately measure student progress toward college- and career-readiness. Smarter Balanced is one of two multistate consortia awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Education in 2010 to develop an assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> by the 2014-15 school year. Smarter Balanced provides monthly updates on the development of the Smarter Balanced assessment system and activities in member states. You can sign up….

5 School Technologies To Watch: Personalized Learning Is Here //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Jeremy Friedman, Forbes, October 22, 2012 // Jeremy Friedman //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> is founder and CEO of // Schoology //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">, a provider of classroom management software. // He writes about some of the top trends and market innovators leading the charge this coming year – attracting developers and investors along the way.

Kaplan Test Prep Survey Finds That College Admissions Officers’ Discovery of Online Material Damaging to Applicants Nearly Triples in a Year Press Release: The percentage of admissions officers who said they discovered something that negatively impacted an applicant’s chances of getting into the school has nearly tripled – from 12% last year to 35% this year.

Exploring the Dangers of the Education-Industrial Complex // Anthony Picciano, evolllution, October 10, 2012 // The following interview is with Anthony Picciano, the Executive Officer of the PhD Program in Urban Education at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. In this interview, he discusses the major issues the education-industrial complex presents for students, including the challenges it presents to completion, and shares a few ideas about how they can be overcome.

To put this in context, the education-industrial complex can be defined as networks of ideological and technophile and for-profit entities that seek to promote their beliefs, ideas, products and services in furtherance of their own goals and objectives.