Personalizing history for more impactful student learning
Social studies teachers can help students personalize history by embracing individualized pathways and oral or local history projects
Top 10 ed-tech stories of 2009: No. 6
Although technically it was published in 2008, "Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns," by Clayton Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson, and Michael Horn,…
New programs aim to lure students into digital jobs
The country needs more cool nerds -- people who can use computing in ways that haven't even been thought of yet. And high schools are starting to do…
ED names student video contest winners
In the conclusion of the U.S. Department of Education's video contest, "I Am What I Learn," federal officials have named three winners out of hundreds of entries. While…
New Tennessee partnership to promote science, math
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen on Dec. 11 announced a partnership with the Battelle Memorial Institute to establish a network of math and science programs in Tennessee schools, reports…
Geographic software helps teach critical skills
Thanks to a new statewide license, all schools in Arkansas will have access to geographic information system (GIS) technology--software the Arkansas Department of Education (DOE) hopes will continue…
New programs help English-language learners
As educational opportunities in the United States attract the families of students from across the globe, the need for effective methods in educating English-language learners (ELLs) continues to…
Future cyber sleuths get an early start
Thirty-seven students at the Delaware County Technical School in Aston, Pa., are enrolled in a new network systems program that offers a concentration in the exploding field of…
Obama launches new STEM initiatives
President Barack Obama on Nov. 23 announced the launch of several nationwide programs to help motivate and inspire students to excel in science and math, including a grassroots…
Obama to honor young inventors at science fair
Aiming to boost the status of math and science education in the United States, President Barack Obama on Nov. 23 said he would convene a national science fair…
How to fix the STEM education ‘crisis’
According to experts ranging from White House advisors to leading education organizations, the state of math and science instruction in the United States is in crisis--and only a…
New 21st-century skills guide available
In yet another step toward helping schools and their students achieve 21st-century success, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) has released a new guide intended to help…
Danish pupils use web in exams
In Denmark, the government has taken the bold step of giving pupils full access to the internet during their final school-year exams, reports the BBC News.
Google co-founder wants more computers in schools
High school dropout Sergey Brin has a few ideas on how the U.S. education system should be improved. Not surprisingly for the guy who co-founded Google, where he…
Science, tech initiative targeting Mass. 6th-graders
A new nonprofit initiative will dispatch professionals from the worlds of science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM) to sixth-grade classrooms across Massachusetts in an effort to persuade students…
Military tries out virtual schooling: Students, classes will move together
Members of the military often move from base to base, forcing their school-age children to switch schools time and time again. Now, the Defense Department wants to make…
State’s technical high schools working to emphasize ‘green’ skills
All ninth-graders in Connecticut's 16 technical high schools are learning about solar energy, renewable energy, and energy conservation -- a first step in the schools' ongoing effort to…
Comcast, Discovery team up to extend learning
In a move that could help extend students' learning after school hours, the state of Indiana, Comcast Corp., and Discovery Education have teamed up to provide students with…
Engineering program’s huge expansion includes Milwaukee area schools
A project-based curriculum known as Project Lead the Way has seen widespread expansion across the U.S., including within the Milwaukee Public Schools, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Another step forward for common standards
In a move that could help states procure part of the $4.3 billion Race to the Top Fund, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief…
‘Schools of Distinction’ honored by Intel
In the spirit of innovation, education stakeholders gathered Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the six schools that were named Intel's Schools of Distinction for 2009. Located…
New program teaches students about 9/11
Schools in seven states will be trying a new curriculum this week that uses online videos and interactive lessons to teach middle and high school students about the…
Site spurs debate over required courses
Should American colleges and universities require students to take courses in certain core subjects considered important to a 21st-century education, such as science, economics, history, and foreign languages?…
Online program connects Idaho students with NASA scientists
Bright, advanced Idaho high school juniors now can compete to get into a new online science and math course offered in partnership with NASA, reports the Spokesman-Review --…
Wyoming PBS launches digital library
This fall, teachers and students in Wyoming will be able to use a newly launched PBS Digital Learning Library to supplement their instruction, reports the Billings Gazette.
The rise of digital textbooks
As schools shift to 21st century learning in a time of budget crunches, digital textbooks in classrooms are on the rise. To help educators and administrators efficiently implement…
Bill Gates: Better data mean better schools
The U.S. must improve its educational standing in the world by rewarding effective teaching and by developing better, universal measures of performance for students and teachers, Microsoft co-founder…
Trying to learn how learning works
Is our children learning? Bad grammar, but still a good question. Long before President George W. Bush posed his ungrammatical query on the 2000 campaign trail, debate simmered…
November: Drastically change ed-tech role
Author and longtime education technology advocate Alan November told educators and IT administrators last month that schools and colleges should reassess how they fund their ed-tech initiatives. Asking…
Software promotes a new way to learn math
This fall, researchers at the University of California-Irvine will implement an experimental program at 50 elementary schools in Orange County, Calif., that uses spatial reasoning to help teach…
46 states, D.C. plan to draft common education standards
Forty-six states and the District of Columbia have announced an effort to craft a single vision for what children should learn each year from kindergarten through high school…
Bonuses for struggling venture rile some
Ten employees of the University of Illinois's Global Campus were rewarded with performance bonuses while the online program struggled to attract and maintain students, according to reports that…
New iPod rules touch off heated debate
A new policy by the University of Missouri School of Journalism requiring incoming students to have an iPhone, iPod Touch, or similar device has touched off a heated…
Psst! Need the answer to No. 7? Click here.
As web sites like Cramster and SparkNotes are transforming the way undergraduates study, some are questioning whether they encourage cheating and undermine learning, reports the New York Times.
New York Times: Foresensic Science in Classrooms
Forensic science has grown into a popular choice for many students at New Rochelle High School in New York.
University teaches the keys to ‘viral video’
