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Unless we move with urgency, today's young people will be the first generation in American history to be less educated than their predecessors. Consider this a sobering wake-up call - and an urgent appeal for action now. ...4 of every 10 public college students are able to attend only part-time. Which means leaders have been making policy decisions about higher education absent critical information about 40 percent of the students, as if their success or failure was less important than that of "traditional" full-time students... Seventy-five percent of today's students are juggling some combination of families, jobs, and school while commuting to class; according to the U.S. Department of Education, only a quarter go full-time, attend residential colleges, and have most of their bills paid by their parents.... Part-time students rarely graduate.... Poor students and students of color struggle the most to graduate.... Students are taking too many credits and too much time to complete.... Remediation is broken, producing few students who ultimately graduate. ...The Big Idea: Time is the enemy of college completion.

Great blog post by Bill Ferriter (The Tempered Radical) on the five essential Twitter hashtags that will help ed leaders access quality content efficiently.

Good article illustrating the fluid definitions of race.

You are right, racial categories do tend to change based on the times as history shows us, but I'll point you to two articles in The Birmingham News which show a little more than just debate about rescinding parts of that bill. http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/09/federal_judge_throws_out_xxxx.html http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/11/immigration_law_amendments_in.html The fringe parts of this law are embarrassing to me as a native of Alabama, so I'd love to have our lawmakers' second thoughts on this seen as part of what's going on with this law.....Thanks, not meaning to nit-pick!

@Elaine, for some reason your message hasn't shown up and I wanted to make sure I responded. I absolutely agree with you that the there are plenty of wonderful Alabamans who are embarrassed by the fringe parts of the law and I certainly don't mean any disrespect by posting this article. In fact, I think this article actually points to the generosity of spirit and kindness I remember most about growing up in the south. I'm also glad to see that there's quite a bit of protest about the worst parts of this law and agree that the protests should also be part of the conversation so I'm including the links you sent me here: http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/09/federal_judge_throws_out_xxxx.html and http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/11/immigration_law_amendments_in.html The articles do report that quite a few legislators and many immigrant rights activists are advocating revisions to the law and I look forward to seeing the repeals. That said, the articles also note that the bulk "of the new law is in effect despite a federal court challenge to it brought by the U.S. Justice Department, church groups and state and national civil liberties groups " and a "federal judge [Blackburn] this afternoon again upheld most sections of Alabama's tough new immigration law." In short, the fight for repeals is just beginning. Once more, I stress that I do NOT mean to offend anyone; rather, I think it's important to discuss the circumstances under which such a restrictive law could be passed as well as the reactions that have mobilized in response to it. I think it's a wonderful "teaching moment" about politics, economics, civic engagement, global economy, etc. Sincerest regards.

"This year, my letter focuses on the catalytic role that measurement can play in reducing hunger, poverty, and disease. Setting goals and measuring progress are obviously not new ideas. But over the last year, I've really been struck by the impact this can have improving the lives of the poorest."

A Teacher in Florida by Jamee Cagle Miller 2009 Seminole County Teacher of the Year This poem has reached the office of a Senator and may be read at the next voting of the bill (if it gets back to the senate). It is in the hands of the Orlando Sentinal and could be published there. She wrote the words many of us want to shout out:-)

Bill Gaskins' blog on his reading list

A great collection of resources about government for kids. Topics include declaration of independance, constitution, bill of rights, and more! Content is even organized by grade level.

great info graphic on how a bill becomes a law

This is a great graphic for government classes and Constitution Day overview.

Billed as 'ridiculously easy file sharing' and I would agree. The drop and drag function makes it simple to use. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

shared by Bill Sias, May, 2008

Bill Tierney at USC got over a million bucks to modify his card game called Pathfinders to an online version so it can be played on Facebook. "The intended audience is students with low-income backgrounds who are not aware of their postsecondary options and who attend schools lacking strong college guidance counseling." Hope the players can cash in their winnings at a local casino and get real money to pay for college! That would be even better!

The popularity of online education is growing at a steady clip. Whether it's due to the weak economy, quality of online tools, or the price difference… online schools can't (and shouldn't) be ignored. Heck, Bill Gates thinks online education tools like Khan Academy are the wave of the future.

"Picturing the 1930s," a new educational web site created by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in collaboration with the University of Virginia, allows teachers and students to explore the 1930s through paintings, artist memorabilia, historical documents, newsreels, period photographs, music, and video. Using PrimaryAccess, a web-based teaching tool developed at the university's Curry Center for Technology and Teacher Education, visitors can select images, write text, and record narration in the style of a documentary filmmaker. They can then screen their video in a virtual theater. PrimaryAccess is the first online tool that allows students to combine their own text, historical images from primary sources, and audio narration to create short online documentary films linked to social studies standards of learning, said Glen Bull, co-director of the Curry Center. Since the first version was developed in collaboration with U.Va.'s Center for Digital History and piloted in a local elementary school in 2005, more than 9,000 users worldwide have created more than 20,000 short movies. In creating digital documentaries, students embed facts and events in a narrative context that can enhance their retention and understanding of the material, said Curry research scientist Bill Ferster, who developed the application with Bull. Besides increasing their knowledge about the period, "Picturing the 1930s" enhances students' visual literacy skills, Ferster noted, adding that PrimaryAccess "offers teachers another tool to bring history alive."

A highly accessible, easy to use online version full text transcript including the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Amendments with both sequential and subject indexes.

This Apple app bills itself as 'part toy, part chemistry experiment'. Connect augmented reality blocks to digitally mix/react chemicals together and view the information and visualisations. No fume cupboard necessary.