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three-year initiative to fund an instructional system and 24 online courses--a "complete, foundational system of instruction" to be developed by Pearson--covering K-12 English/language arts and K-10 math. One course will be provided for each grade level. Four of those courses--two in each subject area in the early to middle high school grade levels--will be contributed as free and open resources through Gates Foundation funding "with the intent of widening access and spurring innovation around the Common Core,"

the courses will be "designed to engage and motivate" students and will incorporate social networking, gaming, video, and simulation, coupled with assessment and teacher professional development, both online and blended.

Conning said the initial group of courses will be made available in 2013, "before the Common Core Standards are implemented." She also said the courses will be field-tested in a variety of districts beginning in the late fall with some individual units. The complete system of courses is expected to be completed in December 2013 and ready for the 2014-2015 school year,

The Common Core standards don’t just suggest novel technology use as a way to “engage students,” but rather requires learners to make complex decisions about how, when, and why to use technology–something educators must do as well.

With the Common Core, such use is now a matter of law.

An Internet-enabled device for every teacher and student in the country. Universal broadband access for homes and schools. Those, along with an embrace of cloud computing, openly-licensed educational materials and open source technologies are part of the new education technology recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education.

An Internet-enabled device for every teacher and student in the country. Universal broadband access for homes and schools. Those, along with an embrace of cloud computing, openly-licensed educational materials and open source technologies are part of the new education technology recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education.

The 124-page document lays out an ambitious agenda for transforming teaching and learning through technology. Much of the plan emphasizes "21st century learning," and competencies that, according to the Department of Education, include critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, and multimedia communication.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s the emphasis on cursive handwriting today that there was when I was in school,” said Lisa Donohoe, Shelby’s mom.

“We do have a curriculum for cursive handwriting as part of our SLEs (Student Learning Expectations),” said Mary Ellen Maske, executive administrator for elementary education for the Cedar Rapids school district.The district uses the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting curriculum, which introduces cursive handwriting in third grade, and practice in fourth and fifth grades.The goal is 10 to 15 minutes of cursive handwriting instruction each day

Iowa is among 42 states and the District of Columbia, to have adopted the Common Core State Standards for English, which omits cursive handwriting from the required curriculum.