Technology isn't explicit in this article, but it is ever-present in regards to this author's re-thinking of the classic book report. Instead of "same old, same old", this article suggests that students should be remixing the information they gather from books and recreating it in different ways - 21st century skills!!!
"Below, we present some alternatives to that classic classroom assignment, the book report. All of our ideas are inspired by The New York Times in some way, either because we've adapted an interesting format, or because we were inspired by an article, review, essay, interview or multimedia feature."
Well spotted, Ms. Laura. Schools like this really do take some leap of faith. Even parents/students/administrators/teachers who really believe in the ideals must realize that the students do not exist in a vacuum and that if/when their kids take the SATs, apply to college, etc., they are buying into the system that they are trying to reject/amend earlier in the students life.
he acquisition of Wireless Generation is News Corp's first major foray into the education industry since it hired New York City Education Chancellor Joel Klein earlier this month. The New York City School System is a client of Wireless Generation.
Education in the U.S. is a $500 billion sector “waiting desperately to be transformed by big breakthroughs that extend the reach of great teaching,” said Murdoch in a statement, and Wireless Generation is at the “forefront” of individualized, tech-based learning.
'Quest to Learn' is a New York City public middle and high school, supporting collaborative student-led learning:
"Quest to Learn has used research in game-based learning to create a rigorous and engaging collaborative learning space where students feel safe taking risks and using their successes and failures to create and apply new knowledge."
"Nurturing social and emotional learning (SEL) and 21st century skills like inventiveness, risk taking and collaboration."
""No one's got the model that's going to work yet," said James Grimmelmann, a New York Law School professor who specializes in computer and Internet law. "I expect all the current ventures to fail, because the expectations are too high. People think something will catch on like wildfire. But more likely, it's maybe a decade later that somebody figures out how to do it and make money." "
I've always wondered what drives VC investments in ed tech firms. Today, Union Square Ventures, a New York-based VC firm, began sharing its internal market research. Scroll down and click on "online education" to see what's caught their attention in the sector. It's very interesting to consider what is included--and excluded!
Interesting blog responding to NYT/LIndstrom article "You Love Your iPhone, Literally" which attempts to use Neuroscience to make claims about "addictive dependence on emerging technology objects such as the iPhone. Relevant given next week's Turkle video
Elite Universities, like Stanford University, are putting their brand and prestige behind online education and offering diplomas to 30 seniors from "Standford Online High School." Harold O. Levy, a former New York City schools chancellor and founder of Kaplan's online master's of education program, believes Stanford's involvement in this sector could be a watershed.
Though it is only 5 years old and Stanford officials are still unsure whether it really compares to a brick and mortar school, the cache of Stanford's name could certainly do a lot to elevate the reputation of online programs. I think it is especially interesting that most students are from remote areas where it is impossible to get a comparable education at a similar private school because of location.
In Asia, such a march of tests for young children was regarded as normal, and not evil or particularly anxiety provoking.
Professor Cizek, who started his career as a second-grade teacher, said the prevailing philosophy of offering young children unconditional praise and support was probably not the best prescription for successful education. “What’s best for kids is frequent testing, where even if they do badly, they can get help and improve and have the satisfaction of doing better,” he said. “Kids don’t get self-esteem by people just telling them they are wonderful.”
A mother from New York who raised young children in China argues that the high-pressure testing that made them "feel bad" about themselves at the time was a good thing in the long run.
And for both Microsoft and Google, securing agreements from states and school districts is important, not just to boost their customer base, but to establish that base with young students, who will grow up learning and working with a particular set of technology tools, becoming perhaps, loyal Microsoft or Google users.
New York classroom where curriculum is entirely in video games. The program is called "Quest to Learn". Students learn math, english and other core subjects by playing multi user video games. The games are designed by learning games designers and are focused on problem solving.
The New York TImes continues their efforts to get an explanation from the Department of Education of NY on their reasons behind the cell phone ban. It seems that the district is not budging on their policy and is so far unwilling to listen to educators vouching for phones as useful learning tools.