Tag Archive for 'No Child Left Behind'

Schools and Program in the News – December 3, 2007

Published by Zornitsa Vodenska on December 3, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: formation of English Language Proficiency Collaboration and Research Consortium, MIT’s OpenCourseWare extended to secondary schools, presidential candidates’ views on education and technology, No Child Left Behind program receives theatrical commentary, Carnegie Mellon University’s digital library reaches 1.5 million books, Sacramento State’s podcast-only course, Texas Education Agency director loses job over Evolution vs. Creationism debate

Six state education agencies serving an estimated 320,000 English language learners have formed an independent English Language Proficiency Collaboration and Research Consortium (ELPCRC) to collaborate, provide unified representation, and undertake studies and research for the improvement of ELL testing and instruction. All six states implement CTB/McGraw-Hill’s LAS Links English language proficiency assessment for their statewide English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. — CNN

Five years after the initial pilot of MIT’s OpenCourseWare initiative, it’s now making its way into secondary education with the launch of “Highlights for High School,” which aims to bolster high school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education through free and open course materials, from complete curricula and syllabi to videos, lecture notes, and animations. — Campus Technology

In this post, Andy Carvin reports on some of the presidential candidates’ views on educational policy, technology, and the digital divide. — learning.now (a PBS blog)

poster - amep.org

Nilaja Sun’s one-woman play, “No Child,” tells a story about a visiting artist who tries to turn a class of unruly students at Malcolm X High School into “thespians” who put on a play about putting on a play. “No Child” takes on the federal No Child Left Behind law, and the play slaps the law across the face. Sun wrote the play on commission for the New York State Council on the Arts and the Epic Theatre Ensemble, a New York City nonprofit that advocates the idea that “plays are ideally suited for helping students explore the connection between politics and their personal lives.” — Boston Globe

Nearly a decade ago, computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University embarked on a project with an astonishingly lofty goal: digitize the published works of humankind and make them freely available online. The architects of the project said they have surpassed their latest target, having scanned more than 1.5 million books – many of them in Chinese – and are continuing to scan thousands more daily. — Times Leader News

Nick Burnett has eliminated live lectures in one of his presentational speaking classes this semester at Sacramento State. He gave all the lectures this summer in a studio, where they were recorded and launched onto iTunes. And in what Burnett believes is the first such large-scale experiment at California State University, Sacramento, 224 of his students will be able to hear him only by downloading his lectures onto their iPods or MP3 players. — Sacramento Bee

After 27 years as a science teacher and 9 years as the Texas Education Agency’s director of science, Christine Castillo Comer said she did not think she had to remain “neutral” about teaching the theory of evolution. Consequently, she lost her job. — New York Times

Schools and Programs in the News - November 12, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on November 12, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: One Laptop Per Child, Hoover City Schools in Alabama, PBS and Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s literacy initiative, No Child Left Behind, and LeTourneau’s Tyler Educational Site

India is the latest of the countries where the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) experiment has started. Children from the village of Khairat were given the opportunity to learn how to use the XO laptop. — Wiki News Reports 

Hoover City Schools in Alabama is expanding access to library services with the adoption of a centralized, Web-based system that allows students to search for and reserve books online and have them delivered to their desks the next day using Follett’s Destiny Library Manager. The district is also using the system to provide library enhancements, including providing previews of books. — T.H.E. Journal

In January PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will launch a five-year literacy initiative for preschoolers and young learners aimed at teachers, parents, and caregivers. Funded in part through a grant from the United States Department of Education, the multi-pronged initiative, dubbed “PBS Kids Raising Readers,” will include a wide range of new tools and media, including television series, Web content, professional development, and a preschool curriculum, designed to develop literacy skills in kids aged 2 to 8. — T.H.E. Journal

No Child Left Behind is up for reauthorization this year, giving supporters and opponents alike a chance to change the federal law. Bush signed the bill into law in January 2002. The law has become one of his most prominent domestic achievements. Bush has asked Congress to reauthorize the law, saying No Child Left Behind “is working for all kinds of children in all kinds of schools in every part of the country.” — The Durango Herald

LeTourneau is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Most students follow a “blended” track by attending classes at LeTourneau’s Tyler Educational Site and also taking some courses online. This article profiles the institution and some of the students who have benefited from its flexible program. — Tyler Paper

Schools and Programs in the News - November 6, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on November 6, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Kent State University, RCET, eInstruction, No Child Left Behind, Oracle Education Foundation, Starpoint, virtual fieldtrips

Kent State University’s “Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology” provides a multimedia forum for the advancement of scholarly work on the effects of technology on teaching and learning. RCET is planning a special issue on Learning while Mobile for Spring 2008. The abstract deadline is Dec. 7. — Handheld Learning

eInstruction, the pioneer of applying student response technologies in the classroom so instructors can adapt to students’ needs in real-time and help them learn, today announced that Educational Underwriters (EdU) has awarded eInstruction’s Classroom Performance System (CPS) the Gold Standard for effectively meeting the current requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). — Market Wire

The Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) has launched its first 21st Century Learning Institute to help educators worldwide successfully integrate project learning and 21st Century learning skills into the classroom. — CNN

New York — Within the next two months, Starpoint teachers will be able to take their students on faraway trips without leaving their Mapleton Road campus. That’s because the district has tapped into a new program, called “Virtual Field Trip & Distance Learning Sites,” through the Orleans-Niagara Board of Cooperative Educational Services — Buffalo News

Online Teacher Training Course for NCLB to Launch in Louisiana

Published by Susan Smith Nash on September 22, 2007 in Programs and Research. 0 Comments

Louisiana will provide teachers with online (or face-to-face) training to prepare them to meet No Child Left Behind requirements and other standards-based education and assessment. The program has been developed by the Louisiana Department of Education and consists of five individual modules, the first of which will launch September 24, 2007.

The program is known as GLEEM, which is an acronym for Grade-Level Expectations Educational Model. The program was developed by the Louisiana Department of Education (http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/index.html), and is a statewide pilot initiative which, according to its website, is designed to do the following:

• Provide participants with a deeper understanding of the Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) and the state comprehensive curriculum.

• Enable participants to deepen their understanding of effective instructional practices by exploring research-based strategies and instructional resources.

• Broaden participants’ knowledge of standards, benchmarks, GLEs, and technology by applying them in the development of standards-based lessons and assessments.

• Explore the potential of learning communities as they relate to professional development and student learning through collaborative learning experiences.

GLEEM is offered to participants in the form of five learning modules which may be taken sequentially as a series, or standalone. Upon successful completion of each module, each of which requires approximately 2 weeks, if taken online, the student will receive credit for continuing education and professional development.

Module 1: An Introduction

Module 2: Effective Classroom Practices

Module 3: Enhancing a Standards-based Lesson Plan

Module 4: Effective Assessment Practices

Module 5: Making the GLE Connection

While the courses are offered face-to-face as well as via the internet, the online version provides individuals with an opportunity to develop a learning community. Participants may be K-12 teachers in Louisiana, or individuals who are interested in the following:

Obtaining a deeper understanding of the grade level expectations and Louisiana’s state comprehensive curriculum;
Increasing his/her understanding of effective instructional and assessment practices as they relate to the comprehensive curriculum; and
Obtaining a deeper knowledge of standards, benchmarks, GLEs, and instructional technology through applications in the development of standards-based lessons and assessments. (from the GLEEM website, http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/lcet/2162.html
The GLEEM program is impressive and it correlates well with the stated goals, vision, and mission of Paul Pastorek, Louisiana State Superintendent of Schools, who articulated his commitment to teacher development in his statement issued in July 2007. Louisiana continues to meet challenges in the post-Katrina era, and GLEEM to be an inspiration for all states facing change and challenges.

Posted by Susan Smith Nash