Assistive Technology Creating New Opportunities For Disabled Students

Edutopia offered a post on some great ways in which technology is assisting those with various disabilities so that they can participate in music, online learning, and real campus life despite their challenges in movement and communication.
Cerebral palsy and other physical challenges are no longer barriers to education or work, thanks to technological advances [...]

Abolish the SAT? Let’s Render It Irrelevant Instead

This article in the New York Times talks about the increasing fuss over the role of SAT scores in college admissions.
What can I say about this issue? It’s hot, hot, HOT. And though some choose to focus on the test’s failure to predict college success or its inherent unfairness, that’s not really my [...]

Sherman Dorn and "Vi8gra For Ur Tests"

Sherman Dorn wrote this great piece on performance pay for teachers.
It’s not a revolutionary idea to pay people more if their work gets better results. I understand why “performance” has become such a dirty word when applied to educators, but seriously, we need to pay teachers extra if they get outstanding results, and pay [...]

MIT Physics Lecturer Becomes New iTunes U Rock Star

Who knew that physics could be so, well, COOL?
Now that Apple’s iTunes University makes it possible to listen to lectures without having to show up in class–and makes many lectures available for FREE to anyone who wants to listen–there have been some surprising stars emerging on the virtual lecture circuit.
And why not? There are plenty [...]

Mexican Curriculum Helps Oregon Students

More news from Oregon: some schools are using a Mexican curriculum to help English-learning students who speak Spanish.
And why not? If you’ve ever tried to learn new material in a language in which you’re not fluent, you know how helpful it would be to have some explanation along the way in your native [...]

Debate Over Virtual High Schools Heats Up

From Oregon to Pennsylvania, the debate over virtual high schools is heating up.
Students love having the flexibility and (ironically) personal attention they get from online classes. Teachers love teaching online courses from home.
Administrators? Well, they’re worried.
Every time a virtual school opens, students flock to online courses. Some want to [...]

Online Tutoring Options Abound–Why You Should Go Global

I’m a big fan of tutoring, and I recognize the value of connecting online with those who can help us learn.  So, I’m happy that tutoring sites like AskOnline are growing at an exponential rate.
Unlike online courses, online tutoring is student-specific–a tutor and a student work together, often across disciplines, so that the student gains [...]

Top Students Cheat By Using Adderall

Is using Adderall–the ADHD drug similar to Ritalin–a form of cheating among high school and college students?
If students are using a pharmaceutical prop to help them stay up to write a paper, take the SAT or ace that AP test, is this fair to those who choose to compete naturally?
The abuse of Adderall has become [...]

Education Blogger Cat Fight! Well, Not Really

Two of my favorite education bloggers are involved in a teensy tussle, and well, I think it’s cute.
See, former Senate education staffer and journalist Alexander Russo, who regularly serves up a steaming heap of edu-stories on his This Week In Education blog, offered a compliment to the guy who blogs (don’t know his name) at [...]

Blue Man Group’s New Preschool Goes Way Beyond Finger Painting

The Blue Man Group has started a preschool in New York City.
Yes, the Blue Man Creativity Center (it will be called a school after it gets accredited) is now open to kids ages two through four, and it’s sure to capture the imagination of the tykes who attend–and their parents.
If you thought fingerpainting and play-doh [...]