Modern tools, technology aid students with dyslexia
Valley Star
08/11/12
Harlingen CISD is addressing dyslexia students and how My Reading Coach software is being utilized to assist the district in meeting these challenges.
Meet the District Rolling Out 25,000 iPads and iPods
THE Journal
07/11/12
Some districts talk about incorporating technology, others consider testing a BYOD pilot, and many call bringing a few tablet computers into the classroom a technology advancement of 21st century proportions. Then there’s the McAllen Independent School District (TX), which is gearing up to bring technology–namely, mobile devices–to every single child, teacher, and administrator, and into every aspect of its curriculum.
Education Department to Study ELLs with Disabilities
Education Week
07/11/12
Challenges related to identifying English-language learners who have disabilities and providing appropriate services for them are about to become the subject of a U.S. Department of Education “exploratory” study.
How Should Students with Learning Disabilities Be Identified?
Education Week
05/25/12
The combination of a surge in the use of response to intervention and a lack of consensus about how much of a role cognitive assessment should play in an evaluation prompted the National Center for Learning Disabilities this month to issue a new set of guidelines on its view of how students with specific learning disabilities should be identified.
Use Technology to Upend Traditional Classrooms
Education Week
05/23/12
The most impressive technology-rich classrooms don’t look like classrooms. Instead, they look like creative businesses on deadline—like advertising agencies pulling together a big campaign, architectural firms drawing up blueprints, or software companies developing new programs.
In Education, Technology Changes Everything and Nothing
The Huffington Post
05/23/12
A technological revolution is happening in the world of education; it is changing schools for the better. But, it will never change the definition of and need for great teaching. That is what attendees of The Atlantic’s second annualTechnologies in Education forum learned and discussed Tuesday.
Educators Who Use Technology on Their Own are More Likely to Support Ed Tech
eSchool News
05/25/12
If there’s one thing different generations can agree on, it’s that technology isn’t like Justin Bieber: Nearly everyone loves their smart phone—but you have to be a child of the late 90s to really love Bieber. Highlighting this bit of cultural knowledge is a new report that reveals it’s not just students who love using 21st-century technology; it’s many of the adults in education, too—and the adults are translating this love into classroom practice.
How Summer Increases the Achievement Gap
The Hechinger Report
Much of the discussion about the wide discrepancies in educational achievement between poor and affluent students is focused on what schools and teachers should be doing to close it. But researchers are gathering more evidence suggesting that summer—when students are typically out of contact with their schools and teachers—is one of the root causes of the gap.
Preschool Helps Reading of Kids with Non-English-Speaking Parents
Herald Times
05/07/12
Children whose parents speak very little or no English can substantially improve their reading skills by taking part in a preschool education program, according to a study released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Common Standards Ignite Debate Over Prereading
Education Week
04/25/12
Sparked by the Common Core State Standards, teachers and literacy experts are arguing about the role of a time-honored pillar of English/language arts instruction: classroom activities designed to help students understand what they are about to read.
Students Want Personalized Learning, Mobile Technology
eSchool News
04/26/12
More and more students own mobile devices, including tablets, and indicate a strong desire to use those personal learning tools in school to increase collaboration and access to resources, according to the annual Speak Up Survey, which is facilitated by Project Tomorrow. This year’s survey, “Mapping a Personalized Learning Journey: K-12 Students and Parents Connect the Dots with Digital Learning,” explores how students want to take control of their learning and the tools they use to learn. It includes parent and administrator input on issues such as personal technology use in schools, online learning, and top technologies.
States Move Slowly Toward Digital Textbooks
eSchool News
04/25/12
Despite enthusiasm for digital textbooks at the national level, states have been slow to get on board. But the movement is gaining strength.
Strategies for Meeting All Students’ Needs
Education Week
04/24/12
Whether you’re a special education teacher or not, you likely teach students who are on the autism spectrum or who have learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety disorders, or emotional disabilities. Differentiating instruction for such students can be challenging. But as an urban middle school teacher with more than 30 years of experience, I’ve identified some strategies that increase the chances that we’re meeting all students’ needs on a daily basis.
Valley School District Makes a Digital Leap in Technology
My San Antonio
04/09/12
As the McAllen Independent School District’s approximately 27,000 students and teachers receive and adapt to their devices over the upcoming months, the increasingly converging worlds of education and technology will be watching. The district, in a largely poor region on the Mexican border, is either on the educational cutting edge or it’s taking a rash gamble on gadgets with no track record of preparing students to enter a tech-savvy market.
The Future of Education: Tablets or Textbooks?
Mobiledia
04/04/12
The federal government, book publishers and the technology industry are considering a large-scale effort to push tablets into public schools, raising questions about hidden costs to implement such a program.
Parents, Educators, Want More From Assessment
eSchool News
04/04/12
Thanks to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, K-12 educators are spending more time than ever before on testing their students’ skills—but is all this testing doing any good?
National Leaders Brainstorm for Digital Learning
eSchool News
03/30/12
In a move that could be considered encouraging for advocates of digital learning, leaders from the Education Department (ED), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the textbook and broadband industry met March 29 on Capitol Hill to discuss how companies can better serve schools and districts with digital textbooks.
Common Core: Nobody Said it Was Going to Be Easy
The Washington Post
04/03/12
As debate rings out on nearly every policy question, we are consistently seeing gridlock win out over progress. In this political climate, it is no small feat that 44 states have chosen to hold their students to the same set of high quality academic standards embodied in the Common Core State Standards.
Struggling Young Readers Like Kindles
Scientific American
03/29/12
Kindles, Nooks and other e-readers catch flack for threatening the future of printed books. But reading itself may get a boost from the devices. For example, a study of struggling students found that the kids felt better about reading after a course in which they used Amazon Kindles.
iPad and iPod Apps Open up World For Special-Needs Students
eSchool News
03/23/12
Special educators throughout the region say the iPod and the newer, larger iPad tablet are becoming important tools in teaching and communicating with their students.
Momentum Builds for Dual-Language Learning
Education Week
03/23/12
In a preschool class at Gardner Academy, a public elementary school near downtown San Jose, teacher Rosemary Zavala sketched a tree as she fired off questions about what plants need to grow. “¿Qué necesitan las plantas?” she asked her 4-year-old charges in Spanish.
Texas Schools Cope as Classes Expand and Staffs Shrink
The Texas Tribune
03/16/12
Texas Education Agency data for the 2011-12 school year show that the number of elementary classes exceeding the 22-student cap has soared to 8,479 from 2,238 last school year.
How to Bring Teachers Up to Speed with Technology
THE Journal
03/14/12
It’s not enough to fill K-12 classrooms with technology and hope that teachers will embrace the new tools and integrate them into their daily lessons. In fact, if there’s one thing that districts have learned during this information age it’s this: Without adequate support and motivation educators will retreat to their old ways of teaching.
Early Reading Skills are Focus in More Than 100 Cities
Education Week
03/14/12
More than 100 cities, towns, and counties have pledged to improve literacy among their youngest citizens as part of a national campaign called the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.
