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Interesting question: Should schools test teachers for technology proficiency before hiring them?

YES! And I think they should have to submit a writing example, too. The first time they say something like, "He don't.." or use the wrong form of 'their/they're/there' or worse, use 'your' instead of 'you're' or 'to' instead of 'too' end of interview.

Behind the rhetoric and politics, education is about the outcomes it achieves for its learners. More than being about the nuances of technology, learning space design, curriculum structures and pedagogical practices schools should have effective answers to questions that focus on what they hope to achieve for their learners. How we answer this question should then dictate the measures we utilise to achieve these goals and it is to these ends that we must apply our efforts.

Happy mothers day 2016 quotes

"The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA ) is an internationally standardised assessment that was jointly developed by participating countries and administered to 15-year-olds in schools. PISA assesses how far students near the end of compulsory education have acquired some of the knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in society" (¶1, retrieved 2011.04.15).

Formative assessments are, by definition, assessments that are used constantly to determine student mastery. They are a tool that can be used to reshape teaching. In order to use formative assessment correctly, an educator must first understand both his/her curriculum and what the state/school district expects a student to know at the end of the course.

This is a fascinating study and infographic by the folks over at engineeringdegree.net. They drilled down into some recent studies to unearth some startling data. It focuses on the fact that studies have shown that girls are smarter than boys in many of the STEM subjects but most girls don't end up pursuing careers in those fields.

While it is nice to have administrative support for new technology purchases, a "technology purchasing frenzy" is simply NOT the correct response to the realization that our schools are not doing enough to prepare students for their futures. This is really about changing adult perspectives and adult behaviors to create student-centered classrooms that exemplify research-based best practices around learning. It's not about buying the latest, greatest, and most expensive tech toys on the market. Expensive tech in the hands of educators who haven't made changes to their behaviors and instructional practice are no better than the good old chalk board, pencil, and paper. Even worse, expensive tech that the teachers see no use for will end up just collecting dust in a storage room.