by Mark Keys
Motives for education can be fundamentally broken down into students taking an initial investment in hopes of high returns in the future. College students forego working now, and instead pay to educate themselves at traditional universities. This initial cost for investment has historically proven worthwhile to college graduates. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, those with a bachelor degree will earn $900,000 more than a high school graduate on average over the course of a lifetime (the gap widens to $1.3 million for a master’s degree).
by Bruce Friend
A recent policy brief by the National Educational Policy Center entitled, “Online K-12 Schooling in the U.S. – Uncertain Private Ventures in Need of Public Regulation” suggests that private organizations who have entered the space of online learning have benefited from, if not promoted, an unregulated and unaccountable system of educating students.
by Bruce Friend
My job allows me to travel around the country visiting different schools and speaking to teachers and students about their use of technology in the classroom.
What I hear and see concerns me.
by Bruce Friend
Accessing digital content has never been easier for educators. Could it be however that the abundance of digital content may inadvertently be an obstacle unto itself as it relates to the effort to find more engaging materials beyond textbooks for educators and students to use?
by Bruce Friend
Schools across the United States, indeed across the globe, face the challenge of providing access and support to their teachers on how to use current technologies to engage students and deliver instruction; as well as to engage and inform parents. Many home school parents face these same challenges.
by Bruce Friend
Tornados and floods have wreaked havoc across the United States this spring. Images of homes and schools destroyed and families uprooted from their communities are reminiscent of scenes from after Hurricane Katrina.
by Bruce Friend
Anyone involved in breaking away from the traditional methods of delivering education knows that obstacles and skeptics will emerge, often with the sole intent of preserving a system that they see as superior and meeting the needs of the masses. Certainly home school parents are well aware of such challenges.
by Bruce Friend
As an educator and parent of three girls who are of elementary and middle school age, I know firsthand how exciting and challenging it is to introduce them to new technologies that foster learning, sharing, and collaboration (Perhaps I should say how exciting it is when they introduce such technologies to me!).
by Bruce Friend
I was reading a homeschool blog web forum recently and came across a submission from a parent who is new to homeschooling and was seeking advice on what criteria to look for when selecting a curriculum for use with her student. While I have not homeschooled my children, her question made me the pause and think how I would answer that question as it relates to incorporating digital content
by Bruce Friend
The Foundation for Excellence in Education, started by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, works to improve schools by advocating for higher standards, using data systems to drive district- and school-level decision making, to incorporating technology and digital content as part of the teaching and learning process.
You may recall reading a previous blog submission in which I described how the Governor has compared today’s schools to milk; and that milk has actually had more innovation applied to it than many our school systems.
