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While not everyone community is as forward thinking as Kalamazoo, Michigan (which gives every child in that community a free college education at a public university of their choice in Michigan), helping children from low income families apply for college is imperative. I love this article because it gives practical advice and discusses the issues as well as some creative approaches. I think that the least communities could do is fund college application fees for low income students... helping kids go to college is a start, but a very important one. From this AP Article from NBC Latino... "Yet, nationally, about half of high school graduates from families making below $18,300 enrolled in college in 2012 compared to about 80 percent of those whose families earned above $90,500, according to the College Board. In Washington, where Duarte lives, only 30 percent of high school graduates go to college - a lower percentage than the number who drop out of high school, despite the city having the highest level of college attainment in the nation, according to the College Board. Nearly all the students at Roosevelt qualify for free or reduced lunches. To help create a college-going culture, a bulletin board near the school's front doors features the names of seniors and the colleges they were accepted to. College acceptances are announced over the intercom."

Is there a link between air pollution and student performance in K-12 schools? That's what University of Michigan researchers said they hope to discover as they embark on a three-year research project to determine correlations between air quality and performance benchmarks like absenteeism, test scores, and dropout rates.

Describes MI's problems w/ adding serious wind power to the existing electrical grid. Calls for an improvement of transmission lines to be able to handle new energy sources.

" Kristy Cooper's insanely rigorous mixed methods study, Eliciting Engagement in the High School Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Teaching Practices, published in the April 2014 American Educational Research Journal, does an exceptional job of showing what works. Cooper, an award-winning researcher at Michigan State University with an MA and Ed.D from Harvard, examined the impact of three well-supported strategies that teachers employ to increase student engagement. As you read each summary below, try to guess which practice had the greatest impact." Todd Finley shares the three methods and asks which has the most impact: 1) Lively teaching, 2) Academic Rigor and 3) Connective Instruction. A fantastic must-read on student engagement that you'll want to email your staff.

"Warning: Surfing the internet in class is now linked to poorer test scores, even among the most intelligent and motivated of students. Michigan State University researchers studied laptop use in an introductory psychology course and found the average time spent browsing the web for non-class-related purposes was 37 minutes. Students spent the most time on social media, reading email, shopping for items such as clothes and watching videos."

"Children often seek answers from parents, friends and media to better understand their racial identity. Middle school boys who feel secure about their race during this ongoing information gathering will likely befriend diverse people, according to a new University of Michigan study."

This case study in Inside Higher Ed about Professor Mike Garver (Central Michigan University - Marketing) shows how this professor is giving lectures by no longer giving lectures. Interestingly, he talks about how Bloom's Taxonomy impacted his change in style. This article ALSO includes a video and I totally applaud the journal of higher ed for including a video. There are so many articles talking about a "great teacher" doing this or "great professor" doing that - SHOW ME. This article did just that. Applause to Inside higher ed and Steve Kolowich - give us more articles like this. If you're in higher ed or a teacher in high school - this is a great read. "It's a good way to, in his words, 'Put a movie in your mind,'

Just got this note from my friend Jeff Stanzler at U Michigan. This looks very cool and is a website dedicated to flipping physics, algebra, and calculus. Lots of great videos and resources. The note from Jeff to me about this site and his student: " I wanted to share the work of a former student of mine named Jon Palmer, a Physics teacher who has done some wonderfully creative work "flipping" his classroom. He's now devoting himself to making videos for free use by Physics teachers everywhere. Knowing you, I figured you might appreciate his work. Here's an intro video about his vision of the flipped classroom model. Here's a link to his you tube channel, with more goodies."

This request from Ernie Easter: "Hi Vicki - Margaret Lincoln, a librarian from Battle Creek, Michigan and a member of the Maine Holocaust Education Network Ning has posted a request for educators who use art in teaching about the Holocaust to submit curriculum ideas. The artist is a Holocaust survivor. Would you be willing to look at it and add it to your blog? The only thing I am unsure about at this point is the commercial aspect of it, if any."

Website that allows teachers, researchers, and students to save and share research easily. Has anyone tested this from Michigan State University.

New site for sharing research.

This New York Times article on the Open Content Alliance is an essential article for librarians and media specialists to read. It is also important for those following the fight for information and control of that information. In this case, the Open Content Alliance wants to make books that they scan available to any search engine while Microsoft and google are aggressively approaching libraries for exclusive access to their content. (which could be rescanned by another later, possibly.) Librarians and media specialists should understand this... when will people approach schools to scan annuals or student produced works? Maybe that is a while off, but for now, be aware that it is probably inevitable.

An overview of the Open Content Alliance versus Google and Microsoft battling to take control of the content housed in libraries.

A website supporting collaborative research at the highest academic levels. Run out of the University of Michigan this looks like a fascinating endeavor where one can network with other researchers.

"A new study co-authored by researchers at Michigan State University and Case Western Reserve University found that "growth mindset interventions," or programmes that teach students they can improve their intelligence with effort - and therefore improve grades and test scores - don't work for students in most circumstances."

Recent study found that if you explain "all aspects" of a toy, children are less likely to discover new uses. If you allow them to "play and experiment" they will discover new a creative uses. This should be taken into account in teaching.