Columnists

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   

I spent time speaking with Sari Factor, Edgenuity CEO, a leading voice in blended learning and educational leadership. Factor discusses the state of education, experiments with technology and new efforts to support schools. Dr. Berger: It seems districts are more willing to ask for help implementing technology.  Has this come from desperation or just experience over time with the good, bad and ugly of district-wide implementations?

Dr. Robyn Jackson, nationally accredited educator, ASCD author and CEO of Mindsteps discusses her experiences and how hard we should work in today’s educational landscape.

Author and educator David Greene talks about the state of education in the U.S.  Greene discusses several topics, including standardized testing, Common Core, the teaching profession and more.  Greene is a program consultant for WISE Services, a former teacher and coach for 38 years, the author of “Doing the Right Thing: A Teacher Speaks” and treasurer of the organization “Save Our Schools.” 

S al Khan, founder of the Khan Academy, took time to explore current educational challenges and strategies to consider. Khan also shares what it’s like to be “Sal Khan” and how we should all dream big. Khan Academy recently launched the You Can Learn Anything movement to help students develop a strong learning mindset and they have partnered with the College Board. Khan Academy is partnering with the College Board to provide free,

Student access to relevant information and news continues to expand with technology advancements. I had the opportunity to interview Matthew Gross, CEO and co-founder, of Newsela. The Newsela team brings students current events and news aligning with current standards expected in today’s classroom.

In this episode, Gordon Rogers, a veteran of startups in the field of digital education and learning management, discusses MOOCs and crediting.

David Greene shares that former NY Governor Cuomo’s education policies fly in the face of what experts cite as elements for successful schools.

Call it “No Child Left Behind-Lite,” but if it passes, The Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 would still pack enough calorie-rich standardized testing to weigh down what education should be. If you like the passive-aggressive nature of the federal government’s healthcare law, you’re going to love the latest proposed NCLB-revision bill in the Senate. If you like your test scores, you can keep your test scores, because the federal government doesn’t want them. In fact, under this bill, the federal government would still mandate yearly testing in grades 3-8 and once in high school, as it did under NCLB, but it won’t tell the states how to use the scores it collects. Under the old NCLB, schools were required to use these scores to meet AYP, or “adequate yearly progress,” or face sanctions as severe as eventual shutdown.