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DreamBox Expands Web-Based Math Learning Tool to Grade 5
11, Jan 2012
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DreamBox Learning has recently extended its web-based K-3 math teaching tool, DreamBox Learning Math, with additional lessons and an intermediate learning platform for students in grades 3-5.
DreamBox Learning Math is an adaptive learning platform that presents mathematical concepts as games with pirate or dinosaur themed animations to engage students in lessons. The tool assesses the ability of students as they solve problems and recommends specific lessons to prevent students from exposure to problems that are too easy or too difficult.
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10, Jan 2012
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A student writing an essay for their teacher may be tempted to plagiarize or leave facts unchecked. A new study shows that if you ask that same student to write something that will be posted on Wikipedia, he or she suddenly becomes determined to make the work as accurate as possible, and may actually do better research.
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On 10th Anniversary, a Look Back at ‘No Child’ Legacy
08, Jan 2012
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George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, which requires students at all U.S. public schools to meet certain math and reading benchmarks, went into effect nearly 10 years ago, on Jan. 8, 2002. Since then, NCLB has been a popular target for politicians, educators, and policy experts as it has become outdated. The legislation was supposed to be rewritten in 2007, but has merely been renewed by Congress for the past several years. Read More
President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have repeatedly attacked the law, going so far as to grant waivers from the law to states who submit alternative accountability plans. Congress took its first real stab at reforming the law in October 2011 as Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, of Iowa, and Republican Sen. Mike Enzi, of Wyoming, presented a comprehensive revision to No Child Behind. The Harkin-Enzi legislation looks to be one of Congress’s main focuses when it goes back into session later this month.
When It Comes to Accepting Evolution, Gut Feelings Trump Facts
08, Jan 2012
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For students to accept the theory of evolution, an intuitive “gut feeling” may be just as important as understanding the facts, according to a new study. Read More
In an analysis of the beliefs of biology teachers, researchers found that a quick intuitive notion of how right an idea feels was a powerful driver of whether or not students accepted evolution —often trumping factors such as knowledge level or religion.
“The whole idea behind acceptance of evolution has been the assumption that if people understood it — if they really knew it — they would see the logic and accept it,” said David Haury, co-author of the new study and associate professor of education at Ohio State University.
“But among all the scientific studies on the matter, the most consistent finding was inconsistency. One study would find a strong relationship between knowledge level and acceptance, and others would find no relationship. Some would find a strong relationship between religious identity and acceptance, and others would find less of a relationship.”
“So our notion was, there is clearly some factor that we’re not looking at,” he continued. “We’re assuming that people accept something or don’t accept it on a completely rational basis. Or, they’re part of a belief community that as a group accept or don’t accept. But the findings just made those simple answers untenable.”
Missed Naps Could Put Toddlers at Risk for Mood Disorders
07, Jan 2012
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Toddlers who miss daytime naps may be at increased risk for mood disorders later in life, a new study indicates.
Researchers looked at toddlers aged 30 months to 36 months and found that depriving them of a single daily nap resulted in more anxiety, lower levels of joy and interest, and reduced problem-solving abilities.
“Many young children today are not getting enough sleep, and for toddlers, daytime naps are one way of making sure their ‘sleep tanks’ are set to full each day,” study leader Monique LeBourgeois, an assistant professor in the integrative physiology department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said in a university news release.
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Brooklyn School Pilots iPads in 1-to-1 Initiative
06, Jan 2012
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Yeshivah of Flatbush (YOF) will soon use iPads for everyday learning. The 1-to-1 iPad initiative will start this fall at Yeshivah’s Joel Braverman High School and will expand to the YOF Elementary School after it establishes wireless access.
Over the last few years Brooklyn-based YOF has made educational technology in its classrooms a priority, so iPads are the next stage in its development. Rabbi Raymond Harari, head of school for Joel Braverman High School, talked to parents in a recent iPad orientation meeting about personal computing devices being “the norm” in the near future so the school should prepare students to make intelligent, constructive and responsible use of them.
“Smart Boards are now in every classroom; our library resources are increasingly available digitally; our teachers have created their own Web sites; and this is the next stage in our process,” Harari said.
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No Child Left Behind Waivers Leave Behind Students With Disabilities
05, Jan 2012
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What concerns the National Center for Learning Disabilities and other groups about the applications 11 states filed with the Education Department seeking waivers from the No Child Left Behind law? What they don’t say. In a letter to federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan this week, NCLD Executive Director James Wendorf writes that the department’s flexibility amounts to a trade off, with students with disabilities on the losing end of the swap. Read More
Many groups that advocate for students with disabilities, including NCLD, heralded the No Child Left Behind law for finally holding schools accountable for these students.
But with the waivers, “important reforms such as college and career ready standards, higher quality assessments … and a focus on sound teacher and principal evaluation systems are being driven by the department’s guidelines for states seeking flexibility. Unfortunately, these reforms are being exchanged for a significant departure from accountability for achievement by all schools and for all students,” he wrote.
Lots of Exercise May Boost Kids’ Grades
05, Jan 2012
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A Dutch review of prior research reveals that the more physically active school-aged children are, the better they fare in the classroom. Read More
Most of the studies in the review had been conducted in the United States, while one came out of Canada and the other out of South Africa.
The findings are published in the January issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
In South Carolina, Educators Want Special Education Reform
04, Jan 2012
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Charleston County school leaders want their special-education students to be able to earn a high school diploma, but making that happen will require changes beyond their control, and they’re asking for help. Read More
The state doesn’t have an alternative high school diploma for students with special needs, and it lacks multiple options for testing students with disabilities. Charleston educators already briefed the county’s legislative delegation on those problems, and they plan to make a formal proposal for needed changes after winter break.
They’ve also come up with some ideas they could implement in the district without state assistance, and they’re putting those into place.
Oregon Enlists the iPad to Assist Voters with Physical Disabilities
19, Dec 2011
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Oregon was the first state in the U.S. to trial the postal vote back in 1981 and ultimately the first to conduct a federal election primarily by postal-vote. This week, the State is trialing another electoral innovation by using iPads to make voting easier for individuals with physical disabilities. According to an Associated Press report Apple donated five of its tablets for use in the trial. As part of a special election triggered by the resignation of a U.S. Representative amid a sex scandal, tablet-equipped workers scoured five counties looking for residents who would otherwise have trouble voting through the traditional mail-in ballot. Under Federal law, election officials are required to make voting equipment available so that people with disabilities can have opportunity for access and participation in the voting process.