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"The American school year has been largely unchanged for decades, despite evolutions in culture, demographics, technology, and a wide range of other social and economic factors. In our increasingly global economy, this is starting to become a disadvantage, especially as students in many school districts are struggling to meet national standards and are simply unable to keep up with their international counterparts, many of whom spend many more hours in the classroom than they do. While there is no one magic solution to reforming schools, many districts around the nation have sought to level the playing field by adding more time to the school day or school year to more closely match those of other nations. While some changes have been more successful than others, what is clear is that the school year that worked for students decades ago simply isn't practical for today's students. Read on to find out some of the biggest reasons many are moving to extend or rearrange the school year for American students."

Upon becoming Principal of New Milford High School over three years ago, it was decided after a needs assessment that more resources and professional development had to go into the area of educational technology. I was fortunate enough to participate in two television shows that resulted in funds that normally don't just fall into the hands of a high school administrator. After researching and learning about how iPods and MacBooks were being utilized to engage learners, I quickly decided to purchase a mobile iPod learning lab.....

Lisa Nielsen is an educational administrator and permanently certified teacher with more than a decade's worth of experience working in educational innovation at the city, state, and national level. Working as an innovative educator in New York City, Ms. Nielsen was honored as Teacher of the Year and was her district's nominee for Technology Educator of the year. Ms. Nielsen has worked in various capacities in educational innovation at the NYC Department of Education and Teachers College, Columbia University including as manager of instructional technology professional development, literacy coach, instructional technology coach, teacher, librarian, and staff developer. She currently serves as Technology Innovation Manager for the NYC Department of Education. Ms. Nielsen is a Google Certified Teacher, International Edublogger, International EduTwitter, and creator of The Innovative Educator blog, website, learning network, and wiki. In addition to her blog (http://TheInnovativeEducator.blogspot.com), her work is published in "Learning and Leading," and "Tech & Learning," magazine as well as the following online media Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, Ed Reformer, and The Huffington Post. An outspoken and passionate advocate of innovative education Ms. Nielsen is also covered by local and national media for her views on "Passion (not data) Driven Learning," "Thinking Outside the Ban" and determining ways to harness the power of technology for instruction and providing a voice to educators and students. Her first book "Teaching Generation Text" is set for a fall 2011 release.

"The Computational Science Education Reference Desk (CSERD) is a Pathways portal of the National Science Digital Library and funded by the National Science Foundation. CSERD aims to help students learn about computational science and to help faculty and teachers incorporate it into the classroom. "

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has created this engaging virtual dinosaur dig.

You need to read this!! It impacts your future.

Teachers looking for ways to incorporate the Olympic Winter Games into their instruction have a new resource they can use: NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, has teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to produce a 16-part video series focusing on the science behind the games.

Teachers looking for ways to incorporate the Olympic Winter Games into their instruction have a new resource they can use: NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, has teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to produce a 16-part video series focusing on the science behind the games.

National Education Technology Plan 2010"

Facing shrinking enrollment and in danger of closing its doors, in 2007, the Newton (KS) School District reestablished Newton as a public charter school. Bolstered by Charter School Program funds from the U.S. Department of Education, the Walton 21st Century Rural Life Center became the first public school in the nation to completely incorporate agriculture into its elementary classrooms and curricula.

"Hopscotch allows kids to create their own games and animations. Kids unleash their creativity with this beautiful, easy-to-use visual programming language. Inspired by MIT's Scratch, the Hopscotch programming language works by dragging and dropping method blocks into scripts. When you're done with a script, press play to see your code in action! As you get more advanced, you can add more objects and use custom events, such as shaking and tilting the iPad, to run your code. Why coding? By the year 2020, there will be a projected 1.4 million computer jobs but only 400,000 CS students. Computer Science is among the highest paid college degrees and programming jobs are growing at 2x the national average. Many of the best coders fell in love with programming as kids at the age of 8, 10 and 12 years old. With Hopscotch, kids can build and perfect their own creations while while obtaining an understanding of the fundamentals of computer science. Learn more about us at http://www.gethopscotch.com and read our blog at http://blog.gethopscotch.com. "

"Digital Learning Day is a national campaign that celebrates teachers and shines a spotlight on successful instructional practice and effective use of technology in classrooms across the country. The inaugural Digital Learning Day boasted tens of thousands of teachers representing nearly 2 million students. The second annual Digital Learning Day is gaining momentum with ongoing activities, ideas, and collaboration opportunities leading up to February 6, 2013. Join the wave of education champions who seek to engage students, celebrate and empower teachers, and create a healthy learning environment, personalized for every child. Participation is free and easy. Are YOU ready to change Teaching & Learning? "

Hey everyone, Please go to link and watch the boys' video, "We're Hungry and You Know It." Not perfect but they worked so hard on it ...and it' s pretty clever! I had absolutely nothing to do with it...Zachary and Tristen (8th graders) really ran the show and saw this project to completion. They need lots of views so share with your friends! I'm a little bit excited since this is our first iMovie attempt, AND the very first time I've ever posted to youtube! In case you weren't aware, our students have been working on a protest against the federally mandated reduction of calories in school lunches. They have been bringing sack lunches to school since August, have written letters to state representatives, emailed the White House, and have received recognition by mail, local news, and some national syndicates who have called the school and picked up the story. They'd like to keep the momentum of the movement going, so please help by spreading the word. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u748SRboxVc

"iSchool: a closer look at Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program email Does Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program represent the future of education? Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Just before 8 a.m. one recent Tuesday, Andy Caine wheeled a waist-high cart into his second-floor history classroom at Mira Costa High School, as the Beach Boys' "I Get Around" played faintly in the background. On the syllabus for the day: the First Amendment. As the first period bell rang, Caine unlocked the cart. "Come and get 'em," Caine said to his class of seniors, and stood behind his podium, on which he's pasted a sticker reading, "Think for yourself. Question Authority." The students put aside their pens and notebooks and lined up at the cart to pick up an unconventional tool that school districts across the nation have been implementing into classrooms. Each student grabbed an iPad and returned to his or her seat. Caine is one of 43 Manhattan Beach Unified School District teachers chosen to try the $500,000 iPad pilot program, which started last fall. At Mira Costa, two English, math, science and social studies teachers use iPads, along with eight science teachers at Manhattan Beach Middle School and 27 teachers of different grade levels at each elementary school. The district purchased 560 student iPads (32 gigabytes and costing around $700 each), in addition to iPads for pilot teachers and administrators. A quarter of the pilot costs are grant funded, while the district supports the rest. Later this year, the School Board will decide whether, and in what capacity, to continue the pilot. Caine and pilot teachers implement iPads into their curricula two to three times a week, a total of 30 to 90 minutes. "I would use them every day if I had the po

Partnership between college faculty, elementary teachers, and students.  Based on National Science Foundation 

"100 Milestone Documents print-friendly version The following is a list of 100 milestone documents, compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration, and drawn primarily from its nationwide holdings. The documents chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965."

"In September of this year, the White House launched the 'Digital Promise' initiative, a national center dedicated to improving the implementation of technology in schools all across the US. Though technology has advanced tremendously in the last 20 years, education has not kept pace with these innovations. The Digital Promise seeks to remedy this discrepancy, transforming the way we teach and learn in the process."

This photographer is a former student of mine!!

"This video features Taylor Mali, who is a slam poetry performer, and has been on seven National Poetry Slam teams. He is best known in the education world for his poem, "What Teachers Make," an inspirational reflection of his nine years teaching."

"Multiple measures of student performance, more school innovation among their suggestions From staff and wire reports Mar 3rd, 2010 Print this article Teachers also said administrative support, not more money, motivate them to succeed. Teachers say administrative support, not more money, will motivate them to succeed. In one of the largest national surveys of public school teachers, thousands of educators agreed that today's students aren't college-ready when they graduate from high school. Teachers' suggestions for solving this problem include clear, common standards; multiple measures of student performance; and greater innovation, including differentiated instruction and more use of digital resources."