News that Breaks the Mould
An
infographic released by StudyBlue
reinforced the belief that if you make
studying more convenient for students,
they’ll study more. The infographic
showed that students who use their mobile
devices as study tools are better prepared
for class. First, students who use the
StudyBlue mobile app spend an additional 40
minutes studying every week compared to
students who only use the website. In
addition, mobile users study earlier in the
day and cram less at night. They are also
twice as likely to study between 6 a.m. and
8 a.m. as their non-mobile peers. Finally,
mobile studiers are nearly three times more
likely to track their progress by scoring
their study sessions. Read more…
The Smithsonian
is offering “Shout,”
a multidimensional resource to expand and
enrich science curriculum. This year’s
series, “Water Matters,” kicks off Feb. 7
and 8 with the first of three
interdisciplinary webinars: “Water
Questions: When We Want to Learn More.”
During the webinar series, participants will
have the opportunity to hear from and
interact with Smithsonian scientists and
researchers, and connect with other
educators around the world. Along with the
webinars, educators participating in Shout
will also have access to comprehensive
lesson-planning materials and hands-on
activities, including a new badging program.
Online
registration is available. Read more…
The E-rate filing window for 2012 opened in
January, and applicants have until March 20
at 11:59 p.m. to submit funding requests for
the upcoming year. Requests for funding will
likely exceed the amount of money available,
however, since the demand for E-rate
assistance has steadily outpaced supply in
recent years. In fact, demand has increased
by 108 percent since 1998 while funding
levels remain stagnant. In response, Funds For
Learning CEO John Harrington
penned an open letter to the FCC requesting
that the commission increase available
funding in the E-rate program to match need.
E-rate stakeholders and supporters can sign
the
online petition before it’s delivered
to the FCC. Read more…
In honor of Digital Learning Day, Kaplan K12
is offering free math and reading e-books
through Kaplan
Kids Smart Track, a customized
online learning program for students in
kindergarten through 8th grade. This
curriculum preview will be available to
parents, guidance counselors, and educators
for free on Feb. 1, 2012. The Kaplan Kids
Smart Track is a program that drives
academic progress and student achievement. Read more…
Shmoop
unveiled new AP
Test Prep resources covering human
geography, environmental science and
European history. First, the Shmoop guide to AP Human Geography helps students explore
the intricacies of people, culture,
economics and politics of varying regions.
For AP Environmental Science, the online
learning guide from Shmoop explores key
topics featured on the AP exam while
preparing students for the exam’s length and
format. Lastly, the online course in AP European History provides an 11-unit
guide to the pivotal events that reshaped
European history. With these three
additions, Shmoop now offers Test Prep
resources for 14 of the most popular AP
exams. Read more…
Online
privacy and security is a top concern in
today's school environments. Students and
teachers alike are constantly barraged with
threats of cyberbullying, sexting, hackers
and similar issues. To help schools combat
these threats, Gaggle,
the leading provider of safe and secure
communication and collaboration tools for
schools, will offer the Human Monitoring
Service (HMS) in its basic subscription.
Gaggle's HMS team monitors all activity
within the Gaggle environment, flagging
inappropriate posts, security threats and
other potentially harmful activity. The HMS
team can alert teachers and administrators
as appropriate, allowing teachers to
intervene positively on behalf of students.
Read more…
FundingFactory®,
the nation’s largest
fundraising-by-recycling program for schools
and nonprofits, is sponsoring the “Just Ask”
Campaign, to encourage business
participation in community recycling
projects and heighten awareness about
electronic waste. FundingFactory reports
that program participants collectively
generated more than $1.3 million in funding,
and diverted over 3.2 millions pounds of
e-waste from becoming landfill in 2011. To
participate, anyone can pledge at
www.FundingFactory.com/Disney. Upon
pledging, contributors will be automatically
entered to win a vacation for themselves and
$500 for the FundingFactory participant of
their choice. The randomly drawn winner will
be announced in March and will receive a
Walt Disney World Resort vacation for four
in Orlando. Read more…
With many states requiring Algebra I to
graduate high school, algebra has become one
of the gateway courses to school and career
success. Yet upwards of 60 to 70 percent of
students struggle with algebra or fail to
pass state-mandated proficiency exams. Algebra City
from PCI Education
is a new blended intervention program that
focuses on the 28 most common algebraic
misconceptions. Research shows that many
students misunderstand the concepts,
procedures and representations needed to
master and pass Algebra I. This intervention
program from PCI Education aims to keep
students on track by using pinpoint
assessment to identify where a student is
struggling conceptually and providing
multiple approaches to correcting the
misconception. Read more…
Time To Know, a complete online teaching and learning
solution for one-to-one computing
classrooms, earned an honorable mention in
eSchool Media Readers Choice Awards for its
Digital Teaching Platform. The annual awards
program honors technology products that are
making a difference in education. The
eSchool Media Readers Choice Awards are
chosen by readers and visitors of eSchool
News, eCampus News and eClassroom News. Read more…
Studies show that timely feedback is one of the most
positive influences on student
achievement. GradeCam recently announced a free formative application that
automates test scoring and provides
teachers with immediate feedback on the
learning in progress in their
classrooms. GradeCam works
through a teacher’s existing in-class web
or document camera and the
Internet to quickly grade multiple-choice
tests at no cost. Teachers swipe a completed
test under the camera and within
seconds GradeCam delivers the
student’s name, score, questions
missed, and an item analysis. Educators who
take advantage of this free tool
to make lesson-planning
decisions can improve the quality
of their day-to-day instruction. Read more…
The Education Division of the Software
& Information Industry Association
(SIIA) presents the ninth annual Ed Tech
Industry Summit (ETIS) in San Francisco, May
7-9. This year, the conference will focus on
bridging the gap between K-12 and
post-secondary education through a series of
speakers, networking opportunities, a new
Game Lab, and awards programs. Panel
presenter topics vary, and may include
sessions on gaming in education, mobile
learning, e-textbooks, cloud computing,
global education, and more. ETIS will be
held at the Palace Hotel in the heart of San
Francisco. Read
more…
Looking towards the future of education, CoSN
recently released its 2012-2015 strategic
plan, coinciding with its 20th anniversary.
The plan builds upon the previous work of
CoSN, and reflects their commitment to the
continued progress, growth and success of
the association, and its members. The CoSN
board identified five external goals for the
next four years, focusing on closing the
technology access gap, increasing CTO
skills, building system-wide support for
technology, advocating for education
technology, and expanding state capacity. Read more…
