• Dell to Help Develop 'School of the Future' in St. Louis

  Dell, St. Louis Public Schools and the University of Missouri-St. Louis have just announced plans to develop a technology-rich high school that will provide 100 ninth-graders with some of the most advanced classroom technology available. The school is scheduled to open in September. The three organizations will work together to transform the district’s Carnahan Middle School into an advanced learning facility complete with wireless technology, Dell notebooks, printers, and network servers, as well as other devices that allow students to develop the 21st century skills they'll need to be successful. The new school, deemed a "School of the Future" by the district, aims to improve student academic achievement; enhance the educational environment, including school-to-home communication; increase teacher productivity through anytime-anywhere instruction; improve administrative effectiveness; and provide a measurable return on the district's investment. In addition to helping design and implement the project, Dell will provide teachers with ongoing professional development on effective use of technology as approved by the district’s teachers, administrators, students, and parents.

  For the full story, visit
  http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp
  /pressoffice/en/2006/2006_03_10_stl_000?c=us&l=en&s=corp

• Michigan Virtual University Partners With Thinkronize

  As part of a new three-year agreement with Thinkronize, developer of netTrekker search products, Michigan Virtual University (MVU) will now provide Michigan educators with powerful online resources that aid instruction and stimulate learning. As part of an ongoing commitment to professional development and technology integration, the state’s educators will now have free access to more than 180,000 high-quality online educational resources that align with the Michigan state benchmarks from the netTrekker d.i. search engine. MVU was established to deliver online education and training opportunities in Michigan through the development of Michigan LearnPort (http://www.learnport.org), a professional development Web portal designed to help Michigan teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals access, manage, and track professional development. Additionally, netTrekker d.i. incorporates several key features that will help Michigan teachers address pressing issues in education, including an entire section of customized resources devoted to helping instruct English language learners.

  For the full story, visit http://thinkronize.com/press/PR/06_mar6.html

• Sagebrush Acquires Turtleback Books

  Sagebrush Corp. has acquired the assets of Demco Media's Turtleback Books binding and distribution business. The acquisition, which was finalized March 1, positions Sagebrush as one of the leading providers of prebound books to the education market. Sagebrush will bring to Turtleback customers the benefits of a full-service "book jobber," offering breadth and depth of title selection, as well as high-quality prebounds. Additionally, Sagebrush will make available to these customers online full-text reviews, a revolutionary way to match their book selection to state curriculum standards, and the support of an industry-leading collection development team. These services, when combined with Sagebrush’s award-winning software products, will help all Sagebrush and Turtleback customers efficiently and effectively manage their school libraries.

  For the full story, visit http://www.sagebrushcorp.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?NewsID=544

• Carnegie Learning Offers 500 Free Evaluations of New Bridge to Algebra Curriculum

  Carnegie Learning Inc. has announced the Carnegie Learning Bridge to Algebra Challenge, a five-week evaluation of the company's Cognitive Tutor algebra readiness curriculum for middle school and high school students preparing for algebra I. Bridge to Algebra is designed specifically for students whose past math performance indicates little chance of success in algebra I. The Bridge to Algebra Challenge is limited to the first 500 registrants and requires a simple online registration at http://www.carnegielearning.com/challenge. Each trial allows up to 30 students access to Carnegie Learning’s Bridge to Algebra software at no cost. Schools will receive customer support and access to Carnegie Learning technical support staff throughout the evaluation period. The Bridge to Algebra Challenge begins on April 24, 2006, and extends through the end of May. Participants may elect to have the software and implementation materials shipped to them in mid-April or they may begin their trial two weeks early if they preregister to download the Bridge to Algebra software on April 10.

  For the full story, visit http://www.carnegielearning.com/company_press_detail.cfm?pressreleaseID=79
  

• Alabama Legislature Passes Record $6 Billion Education Budget

  (From the Associated Press) The Alabama Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a record $6 billion education budget that will give school workers a pay raise and lengthen the school year by five days. The House voted 82-19 to approve changes made to the budget in the Senate and to send the spending plan to Gov. Bob Riley for his signature. The budget does not include provisions for the governor's income tax cut proposal that would raise the income level where poor Alabama residents begin paying income tax—from a lowest-in-the-nation $4,600 a year for a family of four, to $12,400 a year. … The budget doubles the amount of money being spent for technology in classrooms and increases spending at all levels of education. For public schools, it adds 180 physical education teachers, 180 special education teachers and more school nurses.

  For full details and forms, visit http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1141946058278090.xml&storylist=alabamanews
  

Educational software producer Lifetime Learning (http://www.lifetimelearning.com) is offering its self-contained, 111-lesson Lifetime Learning Library to schools for $179.99. The Lifetime Library is a comprehensive curriculum covering basic reading, writing, and math, providing hundreds of hours of multimedia instruction, including more than 35 hours of full-motion video. Every student receives the full benefit of the instruction because the courseware accommodates a range of learning styles and skill levels—from sixth grade to adult learners. All learners profit from flexible multimedia instruction with concepts accessible through video, audio, photographs, and the written word. In addition to being used in schools, the Lifetime Library is currently available in every Army learning center around the world.

Pearson Education (http://www.PearsonPASeries.com) has launched PASeries Writing, the newest addition to its PASeries (Progress Assessment Series) product line. Developed for students in grades 6-12, PASeries Writing provides online assessment and regular practice throughout the school year to measure student progress and improve writing performance. Using the Knowledge Analysis Technologies (KAT) engine for scientifically based automated scoring, PASeries Writing provides immediate online reporting and easy-to-understand visual feedback to connect classroom instruction to student achievement. Pricing: Varies.

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