Teachers to get high-tech boost

"It could have been just a research paper, leaving at least some students sighing and dragging their feet to the library. But Sonoma Valley High School librarian Nancy McEnery transformed a U.S. history assignment into a multi-dimensional adventure - a journey that could impact them long after class is over and the last textbook page is turned."

"The Sonoma Index-Tribune of Sonoma, Calif., reports on a local professional development course called "Earn While You Learn." The course helps K-12 teachers learn about technology so they can pass that knowledge on to students."

HFRP Out-of-School Time Conference Presentations: Learning What Works: An Evaluation Overview

"We have put a PowerPoint presentation from a recent workshop on evaluating after school programs on our website. The workshop is entitled 'Learning What Works: An Evaluation Overview' and was presented by Priscilla Little, Associate Director here at HFRP, at Beyond School Hours VIII, Foundations, Inc.'s annual conference, which took place in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month. Her presentation reveals how after school programs are collecting meaningful data and what they are finding. It also includes an overview of the 'shoestring approach' to evaluation for those who are short on time, money, and other resources."

Funding resource: Specific State Opportunities to Provide Academic Help to Children In Need

"Please find information from the Department of Labor on supplemental educational services grant opportunities, which may be relevant for your afterschool work. Specific states mentioned in this announcement are: Massachusetts, Missouri, California and Oregon."

MIT Team Working on a $100 Laptop

"Three of MIT’s technology gurus, Nicholas Negroponte, Seymour Papert and Joseph Jacobson, are promoting a plan to provide 100 million to 200 million laptop computers to schoolchildren in the developing world by the end of 2006. The trick will be making the laptops very cheap."

DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES OF INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE

"Over the past several years, education reformers have increasingly invested in the development of communities within schools as a central strategy to improve teaching and student learning. These communities come in various guises, including small schools, small learning communities, and teacher teams. Two assumptions about how these communities will enhance the quality of instruction underlie the push for these more intimate learning environments.... This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs, which draws on major research studies in Philadelphia and Cincinnati, examines the merit of these assumptions and the conditions under which communities of teachers can improve their instructional practices and bring about enhanced student learning."

Shortchanging Black History

"Black History Month is upon us, and some black educators question whether the well-meaning designation lets schools off the hook for the rest of the year. "Black history needs to be taught every day, not just during the shortest month of the year," says Vance Hopkins, head of a junior high academy in Duluth, Minnesota. "It is better to have a full month to have a larger focus so the students can see how things fit together," counters Ken Mularski, curriculum coordinator at Walter Payton College Prep High School, in Chicago. Read two stories on Black History Month: "Hopkins: Teach Black History Every Day," in the Budgeteer News and "Black History: Best Taught in February or All Year Long?" in the Christian Science Monitor."

Adapting Tools, Methods, Terminology to Cultural Context

As part of an EDC discussion about providing professional development around technology integration, YouthLearn associate Wendy Rivenburgh reflected on some of our recent work, especially on the DotEDU project in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

The YouthLearn team works both domestically and internationally to help educators integrate technology and project-based learning into their programs. We’ve developed training and resources that promote the use of technology as a tool for learning, not an end in itself....

$500M ed-tech grant slated for elimination

"President Bush on Feb. 7 released his 2006 budget proposal, asking Congress to cut more than $1 billion in total education spending and eliminate entirely the $500 million Enhancing Education Through Technology state block-grant program, the primary source of federal funding for school technology."

The Whole Child: A Framework for Education in the 21st Century

ASCD Infobrief: "Education leaders have long argued that education is about more than just academic learning -- it should also provide students with the skills to make moral and ethical decisions, help prepare them for active participation in a democracy, allow them to fully access and engage in the economy and live as responsible citizens within a community."

Corning Foundation Grants

"The Corning Inc. Foundation, established in 1952, develops and administers projects in support of educational, cultural, and community organizations. Over the years, the foundation has contributed more than $83 million through its grant programs. Each year, the foundation fulfills approximately 225 grants totaling some $2.25 million. Corning's areas of involvement have included community service programs for students, curriculum enrichment, student scholarships, facility improvement, and instructional technology projects for the classroom. The foundation also supports youth centers, YMCAs, and local chapters of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America. All requests for support must be made in writing."