Group items tagged

"Mathematics Awareness Month is held each year in April. Its goal is to increase public understanding of and appreciation for mathematics. Mathematics Awareness Month began in 1986 as Mathematics Awareness Week with a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan, who said in part: Despite the increasing importance of mathematics to the progress of our economy and society, enrollment in mathematics programs has been declining at all levels of the American educational system. Yet the application of mathematics is indispensable in such diverse fields as medicine, computer sciences, space exploration, the skilled trades, business, defense, and government. To help encourage the study and utilization of mathematics, it is appropriate that all Americans be reminded of the importance of this basic branch of science to our daily lives. In 1986 activities concentrated on national-level events, such as opening an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution on mathematics and hosting a Capitol Hill reception. Since that time the focus has shifted to activities at the local, state, and regional levels. Over the years, the general purpose has consistently been to increase the visibility of mathematics as a field of study and to communicate the power and intrigue in mathematics to a larger audience. In 1999, Mathematics Awareness Week became Mathematics Awareness Month. The JPBM gratefully acknowledges The Math Forum for hosting the Mathematics Awareness Month website until 2005."

"overview: Welcome to .toolbox, a fun online learning environment, where you will learn basic design concepts and how to apply them, as well as the fundamentals of creating Silverlight applications using the Expression Studio tools. .toolbox features two learning options: Courses and Tutorials. Courses: In .courses, two core learning paths are presented to you: Design Scenarios and Design Principles. Both begin with teaching basic techniques and build skills and knowledge incrementally. In Design Scenarios, designers and developers learn to create dynamically-rich Silverlight applications using Expression Studio. You will learn to add code-free functionality to designs by following step-by-step tutorials that illustrate how to create interactive user experiences. In Design Principles, you will learn fundamental design concepts (e.g., choosing the right colors and the right fonts) along with tips and techniques in how to apply them to your creations. Badges are earned and accumulated in both tracks upon successful completion of the evaluation found at the end of each level. The evaluation tests your knowledge by asking questions about each of the modules in that level. Follow either the Design Scenarios or Design Principles track to completion and achieve Star status."

"CALL (Campaign Alliance for Life long Learning) Category: Common Interest - Current Events: Why CALL? Why now? Rising charges and course cut backs have seen two million learners' places lost from further and adult education in England since 2005. Now groups representing students, staff and local communities have come together to campaign for the right of everyone to access to learning irrespective of class, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, asylum status or employment. We have founded CALL, the Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning because we believe that affordable access to the life changing opportunities provided by education is the hallmark of a civilised society. CALL is a non-party political alliance. The only qualification for joining is commitment to our six founding principles below. CALL believes our education system should provide: equality of access to high quality education for all learners (regardless of: class, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, asylum status or employment status), including a statutory right to learning in the workplace universal access to basic skills, ESOL and ICT courses and a first level three qualification regardless of age learner, teacher and community involvement in all levels of decision-making about their learning wherever it takes place learning for personal wellbeing and development and the maintenance of local authority adult education a path out of poverty and disadvantage including widening participation in higher education and the provision of a second chance later in life a stable, motivated and rewarded workforce of professional practitioners."

"About PracticePlanet You want an easy-to-use tool to prepare your students for high-stakes tests. Your students want learning that's fun. Everyone wants to see test scores soar. Give your students the PracticePlanet advantage! It's Online PracticePlanet's study strategy takes full advantage of the technology available via the Web. The program contains a comprehensive bank of test items. Management of data is precise yet simple. There are no messy print materials-and data is automatically aggregated electronically. It's Targeted PracticePlanet's pretests identify areas of strength and weakness; students practice the assigned concepts, posttests show his or her level of growth. PracticePlanet's reporting feature gives you real time student data to pinpoint areas needing additional work. It's Motivating and Fun A variety of media keeps PracticePlanet content engaging and interactive. Students are rewarded with motivating, fun games and receive immediate feedback and test results that help them stay focused. Students who use PracticePlanet at school or at home will explore a new world of success on standardized tests. Teachers who use PracticePlanet will appreciate its effectiveness and ease of use. Administrators will appreciate the improvement in test scores and Adequate Yearly Progress. Standards-based Assessment For the last number of years-and especially since the enactment of No Child Left Behind legislation-states have been held increasingly accountable for the academic achievement of the children who attend their public schools. Most states have undertaken the tasks of codifying their academic standards and correlating curriculum and instruction to those standards. Most states have also implemented criterion-referenced summative assessment programs that annually test their students' growth in skill and knowledge. Each state test is developed using selected critical standards from the state's published ac

"We at WatchKnow.org feel that potential geniuses are everywhere, from small, rural towns to giant, sophisticated cities. But their potential may go to waste if they are not given the right educational opportunities. We at WatchKnow.org want to help make these opportunities available to everyone. We believe that everyone is created equal, and we take the American Dream seriously. One of the best ways to make these ideals a reality for everyone is to offer free online educational material to our youth. This is the vision behind the non-profit WatchKnow.org. WatchKnow has indexed over 15,000 online educational videos for children, putting them into a directory of over 3,000 categories. The videos are available without any registration or fees to teachers in the classroom and to students at home 24/7. You can dive into our innovative directory or search by subject and age level. Video titles, descriptions, age level information, and ratings are all edited for usefulness. The site invites broad participation in a new kind of wiki system, guided by teachers. We have had a tremendously positive response from educators to the website."

"In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. During the 1990's a new group of cognitive psychologist, lead by Lorin Anderson (a former student of Bloom's), updated the taxonomy reflecting relevance to 21st century work. The graphic is a representation of the NEW verbage associated with the long familiar Bloom's Taxonomy. Note the change from Nouns to Verbs to describe the different levels of the taxonomy."

"The Modern Scholar is a new series of recorded college-level courses presented in lecture-style format. Taught by some of our nation's most respected professors and scholars, Modern Scholar courses offer actual college subjects spanning the academic disciplines. From the natural sciences to religious studies, from politics to world history, this unique series offers courses in the subjects that fascinate you. Best of all, these easy-to-use courses make learning an enjoyable experience and allow you to progress at your own pace. When listening to each Modern Scholar course you'll feel like you're right there in the lecture hall, learning from distinguished professors (many of them also best-selling authors) selected from among America's top colleges and universities. These intellectual giants guide you through the course material and help you to gain a deeper, richer understanding of the subject-making you at once more knowledgeable and better versed in material at the very cornerstone of cultural significance.

"The 3DVIA mission is empower anyone, at any skill level, to create and publish professional quality, lifelike 3D applications and experiences. We do this by providing an integrated suite of 3D software and 3D authoring tools, a large marketplace of 3D models and 3D content and a growing community of 3D professionals all in one place here at 3DVIA.com."

"From books for unit plans to recommendations for an individual student, Teacher Book Wizard makes it easier than ever to make and customize book lists."

"Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) is a partnership among participating automotive manufacturers, participating dealerships, and select secondary automotive programs. It's designed to encourage young people to consider satisfying careers in retail automotive service, and prepare them for entry-level career positions or advanced studies in automotive technology. Through its dealership and school partners, AYES strives to enhance the public image of dealerships and dealership careers, build local partnerships between dealerships and high quality schools, and foster positive working environments in dealerships. Dealerships today are in competition for qualified employees, not only among themselves, but also among restaurants, mass marketers, other retail outlets and other professions. Dealerships need to reach out to young people and their parents to explain the challenge and rewards of pursuing a retail automotive career. AYES is helping in this effort by providing "how to" ideas and support materials on conducting dealership tours for educators and youngsters, offering "job shadowing" opportunities, and taking part in "career days" and "career fairs" at local schools."

"Newseum Blends High-Tech With Historical: The Newseum - a 250,000-square-foot museum of news - offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits. The Newseum is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., on America's Main Street between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and adjacent to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall. The exterior's unique architectural features include a 74-foot-high marble engraving of the First Amendment and an immense front wall of glass through which passers-by can watch the museum fulfill its mission of providing a forum where the media and the public can gain a better understanding of each other. The Newseum features seven levels of galleries, theaters, retail spaces and visitor services. It offers a unique environment that takes museumgoers behind the scenes to experience how and why news is made. Visitors will come away with a better understanding of news and the important role it plays in all of our lives," said Newseum Executive Director and Senior Vice President Joe Urschel. "The new Newseum is educational, inspirational and a whole lot of fun.""

"We are a community dedicated to quality mathematics instruction at the adult level. We support each other, we encourage collaboration and leadership, and we influence policy and practice in adult math instruction."

"Excerpt from the Covenant with Black America Without question, education is the key to progress and prosperity in the United States today. Whether fair or not, educational opportunity and academic achievement are directly tied to the social divisions associated with race, ethnicity, gender, first language, and social class. The level and quality of educational attainment either open the doors to opportunity or close them. Education starts at home, in neighborhoods, and in communities. Reading to children, creating time and space for homework, and demonstrating-through words and deeds-that education is important are the key first building blocks for high educational achievement. While schools are responsible for what children are taught, reinforcement at home is essential. As members of the black community, we must take responsibility for educating all our children-whether ours by birth or otherwise-to uplift our people as a whole. - excerpt from Edmund W. Gordon's essay in the Covenant with Black America"

"In2Books was created in 1997 to enhance the intellectually stimulating work available to students in low-income neighborhoods. A basic tenet of In2Books is that all children are capable of deep learning. Children cannot fully develop their learning potential without challenging learning experiences. In2Books promotes ambitious literacy learning in grades 2-5 by having students engage in authentic reading and writing experiences with adult pen pals. The pen pal experience is complemented by the classroom study of genre and genre-related literacy. From its inception, In2Books has focused especially on under-resourced neighborhood where many students come from low-income, culturally diverse backgrounds. The thought-provoking In2Books curriculum includes carefully-chosen, high quality diverse books and research-proven teaching strategies. The strategies are aligned to grade-level literacy standards and science, social studies, and language arts instruction."

"Our Mission: Through its network of more than 100 CEOs, Change the Equation pledges to create widespread literacy in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as an investment in our nation that empowers us all. Our Goals: Change the Equation works towards three critical goals: Great Teaching: Improve STEM teaching at all grade levels, with a larger and more diverse cadre of highly capable and inspirational STEM teachers. Inspired Learners: Inspire student appreciation and excitement for STEM programs and careers to increase success and achievement in school and opportunities for a collegiate education, especially among females and students of color. A Committed Nation: Achieve a sustained commitment to improving STEM education from business leaders, government officials, STEM educators and other stakeholders through innovation, communication, collaboration and data-based decision making.

"The mission of the International Association of Business Organizing (IABO) is to provide support, education and resources to business owners, business organizers, and administrative staff worldwide. We empower people and teach them how to create effective office organizing systems and behaviors that work for them and/or their team through our teleseminars, videos, online content, webinars and coaching programs. We help businesses streamline their workflow and empower new behaviours and levels of success professionally and personally. We help you grow your bottom line!"

"Jennifer Harris Edstrom , founder and principal consultant of Edstrom Educational Consulting, has a decade of assessment experience garnered from work with individual classrooms, state accountability programs, and national shelf products. After graduating from Wellesley College, she was certified to teach in the public school systems in Needham, Massachusetts, South Brunswick, New Jersey and Glencoe, Illinois. As a consultant for ETS, Ms. Edstrom was trained by Grant Wiggins's CLASS organization to author material for their Assessment Wizard program, a software program that assists teachers in developing authentic performance assessments. In 2002, Ms. Edstrom joined Riverside Publishing Company, where she oversaw the content development of high-stakes testing programs at all grade-levels and in all subject areas. Most notably, she worked closely with the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Assessment and Arts Supervisor for the State of Washington in researching, developing, and implementing their Goal 2 authentic performance assessments in the areas of Art, Music, Drama and Dance, now being used across the state at the elementary, middle and high school grades. Ms. Edstrom left Riverside Publishing to found Edstrom Educational Consulting in 2005. Through her leadership, EEC has grown a large client base that includes notable educational publishing divisions, including Riverside Publishing, Holt-McDougal, and CTB/McGraw-Hill. In her role as principal consultant, Ms. Edstrom has acted as an advisor in the best practices of assessment, as well as authored assessment materials of the highest quality with attention to specifications. She has instructed educators in both small and large-group settings with a focus on all aspects of assessment, from testing best practices, types of assessment and creation of rubrics."

"Turn Your IT Team into an IT Powerhouse Training and skills development are key indicators of IT team success. Make sure that the technology professionals you hire and supervise can take your organization to the next level. Learn how Microsoft Certification can help you optimize the use of Microsoft tools and solutions."

"Establish a set of vendor-independent and language-independent interface standards for drivers that provide plug-and-play control of astronomical instruments and related devices. Provide general requirements and guidance for quality and behavior of drivers. Promote the use of these standard drivers from any astronomy-related software. Ensure that drivers are usable from the widest possible variety of programs and languages, including Windows Active Script languages and Automation based tools. Promote (but not absolutely require) open-source implementations of the drivers. Promote scriptability of astronomy software without standardizing application level interfaces (which would inhibit innovation). Provide general requirements for quality and behavior of application scripting interfaces, aimed at making script writers' experiences consistent and robust."

"About the National Cyber Security Alliance NCSA's mission is to empower and support digital citizens to use the Internet G securely and safely, protecting themselves and the cyber infrastructure. NCSA, a 501 c (3) founded in 2001, is the pre-eminent public private partnership, working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), corporate sponsors(Symantec, CISCO, Microsoft, SAIC, EMC, McAfee), and nonprofit collaborators to promote cyber security awareness for home users, small and medium size businesses, and primary and secondary education. NSCA partners with DHS and the MS-ISAC as a primary driver of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, now in its sixth year. NCSAM (October) is a multi-faceted effort to disseminate security messages and information through grassroots, traditional and social media channels. In 2008, NCSA's efforts alone (not including partner activities) reached an estimated 29,000,000 people through media and other activities. Ultimately, NCSA measures its success to the degree by which cyber security has become second nature for all computer G users. NCSA seeks to raise awareness of cyber security to the level of other cultural messaging that is universally good for citizens-healthy eating, exercise, and safe driving-by teaching skills and judgment to build a national understanding about appropriate online tools and behavior. NSCA's public facing presence is its website www.staysafeonline.org."