Andy Newell, Managing Director at IRIS Connect, joined Dr. Berger to discuss the company’s new offices, expansion in the U.S. and how they help teachers take control of their own development. IRIS Connect has a long history of integrating technology into schools and districts helping to facilitate professional growth and most importantly through trust and teacher-controlled mechanisms. Using IRIS Connect, one can record lessons using easy to use video technology, reflect on their videos privately, share with colleagues, and collaborate with the IRIS Connect global community of teachers, any time anywhere.By enabling PD experiences at every stage of the Joyce and Showers framework IRIS Connect enables the personalized, contextualized interactions shown to make a real difference to teaching and learning. Learn more below:A Giant Leap for Teacher Collaboration   

by Lauren CameraAfter weeks of letting it languish in the legislative queue, the U.S. Senate this week is slated to begin debating a proposed bipartisan overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—the first such Senate debate since 2001, when Congress last updated the law in its current iteration, the No Child Left Behind Act.Read the rest of the story at Education Week.

Photo Credit: Claude Truong-Ngocby The Associated PressNobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai wants world leaders to spend more money, on top of their earlier promises, to secure 12 years of free primary and secondary education for all children across the world.Read the rest of the story at ABC News.

Photo Credit: VOAby Alan BlinderAnonymous donors have given more than $3 million to establish a scholarship fund for people affiliated with the church in Charleston, S.C., where nine people were killed last month, city officials said on Thursday.Read the rest of the story at The NY Times.

Photo Credit: The World Councilby Fredreka SchoutenA nonprofit education group founded by Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush disclosed a full list of its donors Wednesday, a day after Bush released more than three decades of tax returns.Read the rest of the story at USA Today.

Photo Credit: Milei.vencelWASHINGTON, June 30, 2015—The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $315 million in two credits for Vietnam to support the government’s agriculture restructuring plan and help with the revision of a new education curriculum.Read the rest of the story at the World Bank website.

Photo Credit: National Cancer InstituteBy T. Keung Hui and Bruce SiceloffRALEIGH, N.C. – At least one-third of North Carolina’s school systems are suspending their driver’s education programs this summer until they learn whether they’ll receive any state money to help pay for the classes.Read the rest of the story at The News & Observer. 

Photo Credit: Susan AdamsOne Stanford student thought “paid vacation” meant that her boss would pay for all her travel and leisure activities. Another didn’t know there was such a thing as a water bill, and a third threatened to call the police and report the work study office because it was letting the government withhold money from her paycheck.Read the rest of the story at Forbes.

by Richard D. KahlenbergTeacher tenure rights, first established more than a century ago, are under unprecedented attack. Tenure—which was enacted to protect students’ education and those who provide it—is under assault from coast to coast, in state legislatures, in state courtrooms, and in the media.In June 2014, in the case of Vergara v. California, a state court judge struck down teacher tenure and seniority laws as a violation of the state’s constitution.* Former CNN and NBC journalist Campbell Brown has championed a copycat case, Wright v. New York, challenging the Empire State’s tenure law (which was consolidated with another New York case challenging tenure, Davids v. New York). Similar cases are reportedly in the works in several other states.Read the rest of the story at AFT.

Photo Credit: Ludovic Bertronby Meg Bernhard and Mary Ellen McIntireThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. What will the effect be on higher education?Read the rest of the story at The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Photo Credit: Brad FlickingerNevada is the new frontier for school choice, with a big opportunity to succeed or fail.by Nat MalkusEarlier this month, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill establishing educational savings accounts in Nevada, creating an unprecedented state-wide opportunity for school choice. Nevada public school students will be eligible for accounts of more than $5,000 to spend on education expenses, including private schools.Read the rest of the story at U.S. News.

Photo Credit: CDCby Scott NeumanThe California Assembly has joined the state Senate in voting to approve a controversial bill requiring all children attending school to be vaccinated against measles and other common, preventable illnesses — effectively eliminating so-called “personal belief exemptions” that allowed parents to opt out.Read the rest of the story at NPR. 

Photo Credit: Patrickneilby Goldie BlumenstykThe U.S. Department of Education has retreated from its controversial plan to create a giant college-ratings system, top officials revealed on Wednesday. Read the rest of the story at The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The controversial regulation evaluates career-oriented programs on student outcomes.by Allie BidwellThe Department of Education’s controversial gainful employment rule is set to take effect next month, after a judge on Tuesday ruled against the for-profit college organization trying to block its implementation. Read the story at U.S. News and World Report.

Photo Credit:  www.leanforward.comby Keith KruegerDon’t forget these keys of mobile implementationsWhy are some mobile learning implementations successful while others struggle? It seems struggling districts are missing at least one of a handful of ingredients that successful districts have in common. When it comes to mobile learning success, leaving out just one key ingredient can ruin an otherwise perfect recipe.Read the rest of the story at eSchool News.