Three decades ago, Chinese cities began turning rural land into industrial parks to attract foreign investors. Today, a new kind of project is blooming in China’s countryside: the vocational education park.Cities around China are carving out tracts of land for school parks – dubbed “education factories” – designed to train hundreds of thousands of students.
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Hoping to offer more alternatives, particularly to low-income students considering substandard for-profit colleges, the Education Department is unveiling a pilot program on Wednesday to allow students to use federal loans and grants for nontraditional education like boot camp software coding programs and MOOCs, or massive open online courses.
Place a 30cm ruler on top of one finger from each hand. What happens when you bring your fingers together?Can archaeology prove or disprove the Bible?Two tricky questions of the sort asked at interviews for Oxford University places, which are being published by the university ahead of the application deadline for 2016 entry on Wednesday.
A small cut in the pupil-teacher ratio and the creation of 2,260 additional teaching posts are the key education measures of Budget 2016.The Department of Education and Skills is to receive an extra €144 million next year, bringing its budget to €8.5 billion.From next September, the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level will fall from 28:1 to 27:1. This will require about 300 extra teaching posts. Some 810 mainstream teaching posts are also being created to address demographic demand.
The Internet is a hub where virtually everything can be a commodity, and students with Web access have entry to a wealth of information. That same principle now applies to teachers.Some argue that education is a learning tool that should be free nationwide, yet some teachers are starting to cash in on the same classroom lessons they teach, with help from an online education resource called TeachersPayTeachers.com (TpT).
When we think of education technology, we often imagine large-scale impact and reach. But it’s not that straightforward.Stacked amidst temporary shelters, tents and thatched huts in Burundi’s Kavumu refugee camp are a pile of bright blue, green and yellow boxes. Stowed away in these 800 kg metal palette-size boxes are countless ideas to educate, entertain and foster creativity among refugees. The self-contained watertight boxes are packed with e-readers, tablets, cameras, e-books, paperbacks, board games and e-learning tools to offer educational and training opportunities to refugee children and adults and prepare them to reintegrate the world. In less than 20 minutes, the boxes are unfolded into interactive media centres with tables and chairs.
When the Obama administration agreed to erase the federal loan debt of some former students at Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit school that filed for bankruptcy in the face of charges of widespread fraud, education officials promised to “protect students from abusive colleges and safeguard the interests of taxpayers.”
Many of you know Patrick Larkin from Connected Principals fame. Larkin took time to discuss many of his experiences in education and the career path that took him from classroom teacher to Assistant Superintendent. Check out Larkin’s latest op-ed, in EdWeek, about the number of learning opportunities October has for everyone in education including Connected Educator Month.Patrick Larkin is the Burlington Public Schools Assistant Superintendent for Learning. Prior to this position, Larkin served 15 years as a building level administrator at the high school level. In 2012, in recognition of his exemplary use of digital tools as a school leader, he was recognized as one of three national Digital Principal Award winners by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). As the Burlington High School Principal, Patrick led his school in the transition to a 1:1 environment for the 2011-2012 school year and became one of the first schools in …
Can 4-year-olds learn what they need to know for kindergarten by sitting in front of a computer for 15 minutes a day?Utah is betting they can. This year, more than 6,600 children across the state are learning by logging on to laptops at home in a taxpayer-funded online preschool program that is unlike any other.
More than half of the world’s countries have failed to achieve gender parity in education for girls in primary and secondary schools, according to a new U.N. report.
The former CEO of Chicago Public Schools will plead guilty corruption charges following a federal investigation into a $20 million no-bid contract.Barbara Byrd-Bennett was indicted Thursday, nearly four months after she resigned amid an investigation into the contract between the district and SUPES Academy, a training academy where she once worked as a consultant
The ups and downs of gentrification have been chronicled thoroughly, but one of its consequences hasn’t been widely addressed: the effect on neighborhood schools when a critical mass of well-educated, well-off people move in. Gentrification usually brings some benefits with it to a neighborhood, such as more attention from the city—as Spike Lee noted, suddenly the trash gets picked up! But does an influx of children from wealthier families make a positive difference to local public schools?
Something I recommend in my work with schools and districts is to leverage social media to their advantage as a professional development tool. When I ask a group of educators how many are using Twitter, either personally or professionally, I am frequently saddened by the lack of hands I see raised. Many teachers think of Twitter as something with no value in the education realm. After all, how much content can you receive in 140 characters. Just the opposite is true. Twitter might be the strongest professional development tool available – and it’s free!The secret to getting the most out of Twitter as an educator lies in knowing how to use hashtags (#) – those things we used to call the number signs last century. I would recommend educators new to Twitter do a few things to begin getting the most out of this great resource.First, if you don’t already …
This summer I had the honor of attending an event that brought together educators and industry leaders involved in improving the state of STEM education in the U.S. During a panel discussion, I was asked whether I was encouraged or discouraged by where we are today in terms of diversity in STEM education. I am definitely encouraged, but we still have far to go to achieve equity in STEM education for minorities who have been historically underrepresented in STEM fields.
More than half of teachers in England (53%) are thinking of quitting in the next two years, a survey has suggested.The survey, conducted by the National Union of Teachers, found 61% of those wanting to leave blamed workload and 57% desired a better work/life balance.