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A s I watched this year’s crop of college freshmen descend on campus, buried in smartphones, earbuds in, heads down, I started thinking about how different their life experience has been from those of generations past. A lot has changed over the years. Let’s take a look at the world in which these 18-year-olds have grown up.For students in the Class of 2019:The Internet has always been here.They’ve never known a world without mobile phones.They weren’t even born when Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl last played in the same band.Wi-fi is expected, everywhere. (I’m waiting for a student to tell me it’s guaranteed in the Constitution.)The Internet has always had its own awards show, the Webbys.They’ve always been able to go online to get CNN.They’ve never known a world without Harry Potter.Hybrids have always been an option for car buyers.In spite of their obsession with coffee, “Java” has always referred to a computer programming language.Netflix has always been around. So has Amazon.They were only preschoolers when the attacks of 9/11 happened.They have no idea what you’re talking about when you refer to the white Ford Bronco or the Unabomber.Do you think any of my smartphone-obsessed students would believe that on my college dorm hall, there was one payphone available for 50 students? Or that the only way to take a picture was with a camera?Are you feeling old yet?The opinions expressed here are solely those of Donna Krache.  

M ark Claypool, President and CEO of ChanceLight Behavioral Health and Education, took time to discuss his efforts to improve public-private partnerships (PPP) in the education sector. Claypool recently co-authored We’re In This Together: Public-Private Partnerships in Special and At-Risk-Education. A social worker and education administrator, Claypool grew frustrated by decreasing resources for children with learning differences, so in 1999 he founded ChanceLight™ Behavioral Health & Education, formerly known as Educational Services of America (ESA). Under his leadership, the company has grown from a start-up to nearly $130 million in annual revenue, and today, ChanceLight is the nation’s leading provider of behavior therapy and alternative and special education programs for children and young adults. Claypool, along with nearly 900 participants, including some 250 global education companies was in New York for the BMO Capital Markets 15th Annual Back to School Education Conference. Dr. Berger, in collaboration with MindRocket Media Group and edCircuit captured views from business leaders to investors taking a look behind the scenes of investment in education and technology.

K aren Mahon, Ed.D joined Dr. Berger to discuss educational apps and lessons for the industry. Mahon is the founder of Balefire Labs that has reviewed nearly 5,000 apps in education. Balefire Labs utilizes a research-based set of criteria to review apps in the areas of instructional and usability design. Karen L. Mahon Ed.D is an Educational Psychologist and Instructional Designer with more than 15 years’ experience in education technology. Mahon was Principal Investigator and Research Scientist at Praxis, Inc., a Waltham (MA) ed tech startup that produced instructional software for children with severe and profound disabilities. While at Praxis, Mahon successfully generated National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research grants totaling close to $4M.Other previous appointments have included Global Senior Manager of Learning Sciences at Mimio Interactive Teaching Technologies and Research Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas. Karen received her Ed.D. and M.A. in Educational Psychology from West Virginia University, her Product Management Certificate from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego.  

Photo credit: BuzzfarmersBy Chris BerdikFacing some of America’s biggest education challenges, Benjamin Castleman thinks small. In his new book, The 160-Character Solution: How Text Messaging and Other Behavioral Strategies can Improve Education, the University of Virginia education professor argues that the humble text message can boost student achievement, improve study habits and help students stay on track in the transition from high school to college.Read the rest of the story at The Hechinger Report.

By Sean Coughlan, Education CorrespondentInvesting heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils’ performance, says a global study from the OECD.Read the rest of the story at BBC News. 

Photo credit: Christopher Webbby The Takeaway’s T.J. RaphaelA dozen parents and community activists in Chicago are on hunger strike over by a proposal from Chicago’s public schools to turn their community high school into an arts magnet. Read and listen to the story at WBEZ.org.

by Debbie Cafazzo and Melissa SantosA week after the state Supreme Court declared Washington’s charter schools unconstitutional, the outlook for salvaging the voter-approved system of privately run, publicly funded schools is unclear.Read the rest of the story at The News Tribune.

Photo credit: futurescienceleaders.orgby Karen KaplanAmericans get a D in science.So says the Pew Research Center, which issued a report Thursday on the state of the nation’s knowledge regarding some basic scientific facts.Read the rest of the story in the L.A. Times.

Photo credit: WoodleywonderworksSchool children have to carry a heavy load of notebooks, supplies and textbooks, resulting in a bulky backpack that can affect their posture and cause chronic pain. The American Chiropractic Association recommends that a child’s backpack should weigh less than 10 percent of the child’s body weight, so here are some things you can do to lighten the load.Read the rest of the story on The Literacy Site Blog.