The New York TImes has published an article pointing to misplaced priorities by the Obama administration on education spending as evidenced by the research of Nobel prize winning economist James Heckman and others. While noting that the President has called for universal preschool education in his State of the Union Address, reporter Eduardo Porter writes about how the US has allocated significant funds for higher ed initiatives that will potentially…
A Bill of Rights and Principles for Learning in the Digital Age
January 24, 2013EdSurge discusses a Bill of Rights and Principles, newly developed by a group of people passionate about learning, serving today’s students, and using every available tool to respond better to the needs of students in a global, interactive, digitally connected world....
Digital Content: What Does the Future Hold for Education Systems?
January 23, 2013GETideas.org hosted this GooglePlus hangout on the future of digital content. The online discussion featured a panel of education experts, including Nicole Allen, affordable-textbooks advocate, Student PIRGS; Una Daly, communication college outreach director, OpenCourseWare Consortium; and Cable Green, director of global...
Explaining Inequalities in School Achievement: A Realist Analysis
January 22, 2013In Explaining Inequalities in School Achievement, author Roy Nash argues that a realist framework for the sociological explanation of educational group differences can, and must be, constructed. A move to such an explanatory framework will allow society to take into account the...
Education 3.0: Seven Steps to Better Schools
January 14, 2013In Education 3.0: Seven Steps to Better Schools, renowned educator and technology expert Jim Lengel provides a refreshing and hopeful picture of what schools should look like, including a groundbreaking seven-step process for envisioning and building them that draws on the...
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March 25, 2013Hanna Rosin of the Atlantic has published a fascinating piece detailing parental concerns and research around young children using technology. Entitled The Touch-Screen Generation, this article summarizes expert findings around the affects of television on children. Rosin also notes that this existing research may inform current practices around early childhood use of technology as there is little existing research on kids’ use of technologies such as iPads. Intertwined in this…
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March 11, 2013A new paper entitled Launching Successful Readers: the Role of ICT in Early-Grade Literacy Success has been published by the Joan Ganz Cooney Foundation. The intended audience is policy makers and educational technology developers. This intentionally brief report calls for interested parties to consider applying literacy research to addressing barriers to literacy growth and to the design of comprehensive literacy programs with the goal of avoiding the creation of more…
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March 4, 2013Here’s a plate of interesting food for thought from the PBS Newhour blog. In his interview with Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman, Paul Solman provides insight into the impact of early education and parenting on kids’ IQ scores and ultimately, on helping people develop their potential and impact the United States’ economic prospects. Solman refers to this interview from a few years ago in light of President Obama’s state of…
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January 3, 2013Creative teaching as well as teaching creativity are cutting edge issues in psychology today as recent academic and popular media coverage has shown. This volume expands on that interest with chapter authors drawn from interdisciplinary areas. It includes examples of creatively teaching across the education system, including preschool, K-12, undergraduate, and graduate level education. The variety of subjects covered by editors Mary Banks Gregerson, James C. Kaufman, and Heather T. Snyder include…
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December 18, 2012This document was written by a Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) task force composed of current and former U.S. chief state school officers, with input from the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) and the National Governors Association (NGA). The report is a call to action for chiefs and an invitation to colleagues–especially members of NASBE and NGA who contributed to this report–and those in educator preparation and…
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November 20, 2012Digital Decisions by Fran Simon and Karen N. Nemet explains how to choose the right technology tools for early-childhood education, taking into account the needs of the children, the context of the curriculum, and the resources available. The books is a no-nonsense, jargon-free guide that can help readers evaluate and integrate technology that brings real-life, hands-on, interactive activities to early-childhood classrooms.
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November 9, 2012Technology and Critical Literacy in Early Childhood by Vivian Maria Vasquez and Carol Branigan Felderma explores the intersection of technology and critical literacy, specifically addressing what ICTs afford critical literacy work with young children between ages three to eight. Inviting readers to enter classrooms where both technology and critical literacies are woven into childhood curricula and teaching, it brings together literacy, social studies, and science in critical and integrated ways. Real-world stories show the sights…
