Education and Technology, News, Voices, and Resources

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 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:  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.

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.

Authors of the best-selling ASCD book Building Teachers’ Capacity for Success talk to Dr. Berger about why your effectiveness in the classroom is directly connected to your ability to self-reflect on your teaching practice and use the reflection process to get better at what you do. Pete Hall and Alisa Simeral discuss tools and strategies, from their latest book Teach, Reflect, Learn: Building Your Capacity for Success in the Classroom, to reveal deeper understandings of your practice and increase your power to make purposeful improvements. Their path forward includes:A short self-assessment to gauge your current self-reflective tendencies and provide a launching point for personal growth.Prompts and strategies to spur your development in the art and skill of self-reflection.Insights into the four stages that compose the continuum of self-reflection and how each stage contributes to your overall improvement.Goals and road maps for developing self-reflective tendencies, accuracy, and behavior.   

For decades, “reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic” were considered the most fundamental subjects in American K-12 schools. These days, in order to boost our nation’s global competitiveness, many schools and colleges are emphasizing STEM subjects—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—over the liberal and fine arts. The White House has even announced the goal of increasing by one million the number of students who receive undergraduate degrees in STEM subjects over the next decade.Read the rest of the story at Phys.org

by Rachel Crane, CNN(CNN) – Forty-thousand fans were chanting, screaming and cheering on their teams. The enthusiastic spectators had painted faces, were donning costumes, and no one was actually sitting in their seats — all were standing to get a better look at the action happening in the pens.No, I’m not describing a boxing match. I’m describing a robotics competition — rather THE robotics competitionRead the rest of the story at CNN.

Joshua Starr has taken a position as the new chief of a professional educators’ associationBy Andrew MetcalfThe former superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools is set to become the next CEO of an international association of educators.Read the rest of the story at Bethesda Magazine.See edCircuit’s March 2015 interview with Joshua Starr here.

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.