Teachers and Principals Get Engaged

Monday, 13 August 2012 00:00

Approximately 180 teachers, school principals and education advocates assembled at the U.S. Department of Education’s headquarters on Friday, August 3, 2012 to discuss the importance of transforming the education profession. Several topics were discussed here, including a new initiative called the RESPECT Project. In addition, there were several suggestions that were considered by the attendees.

Grading Teachers on Student Achievement

Monday, 06 August 2012 00:00

On June 28th, Pennsylvania legislation sponsored by Rep. Ryan Aument (R., Lancaster) was approved by the state House that would count student performance as 50 percent of teacher evaluations. There are several measures of student performance that will be evaluated, including graduation rates, attendance, and state and local test scores. The other 50 percent will come from classroom evaluations, which will include planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities.

Boot Camp for Standardized Testing?

Thursday, 08 March 2012 00:00

The entire junior class of students attending Southern Lehigh High School in PA have been enrolled in a PSSA Boot Camp in order to boost their scores on the upcoming PSSAs. The motivating factor behind this idea was the significant increase in benchmarks for these tests this year. However, this Boot Camp focuses less on PSSA content, and more on how the test is structured and scored.

Christopher Tully Named Great American Teach-Off Finalist

Tuesday, 06 March 2012 16:39

The Great American Teach-Off is a contest sponsored by the online community GOOD and University of Phoenix with a goal of showcasing the best and brightest in America’s classrooms. I recently had the great pleasure of being nominated to take part in The Great American Teach-Off because of my innovative teaching style. Hundreds of teachers nationwide were nominated, and I was selected as one of only ten finalists chosen by a panel of partnering organizations.

Digital Textbook Challenge

Thursday, 02 February 2012 00:00

On February 1, 2012, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski issued a challenge to both schools and companies to provide digital textbooks for students within five years. In a time when digital technology is becoming a major factor in society, it seems only fitting that it should also be embraced by the world of education. The implementation of digital books in the classroom is one way to ensure that students are learning in an interactive format, with the ability to be constantly updated with the most recent information.

Apple Technology’s Impact on Education

Thursday, 26 January 2012 00:00

This infographic, created by OnlineEducation.net, illustrates the impact of Apple technology on the current U.S. educational system. Statistics show that technology alone can dramatically improve the educational environment for students, by keeping them more engaged. So with the introduction of iBooks 2, iBooks Author and the new iTunes U, Apple may have cornered the market on developing educational resources that improve student learning.

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