ISTE, NEA Tackle Role of Feds in Education
What should the role of the federal government be in education? With the imminent exeunt of the Bush administration, the National Education Association (NEA) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), among others, have each begun developing their positions on the question in the hopes of influencing the next administration and Congress to embrace significant policy changes.
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State Agencies Bring K-12 Education Content to iTunes U
For more than a year now, Apple's iTunes U has served as a repository of educational multimedia content and resources. While these materials have always been accessible to K-12 educators, the focus of the content has been primarily on post-secondary education. But through a new initiative launched by several state education agencies, along with the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA), K-12 now has its own home within iTunes U.
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ISTE Releases NETS-T 2008 Framework
The expectations of students and the demands of the education community are changing radically in the 21st century. Necessarily, the role of the teacher is changing along with those. But what will that role be? The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is attempting to answer that question with the release this week of the long-anticipated update to its National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) framework.
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Digital Arts Alliance Gets Boost from NEA, FIE, E3
The Digital Arts Alliance, which promotes digital arts in K-12 education, is expanding its membership with the addition of three education-focused organizations, including the National Education Association (NEA) Foundation, the Foundation for Investor Education, and Employers For Education Excellence (E3). The Digital Arts Alliance also announced new initiatives for schools for the coming year.
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Follett Launches K-12 Content Delivery System
Follett Digital Resources (FDR) announced the launch of Follett Digital Classroom (FDC), a Web-based platform providing instructional content delivery to K-12 teachers, students, and parents
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Thinkronize Offers Hotmath Free on netTrekker d.i.
Educational content provider Thinkronize has announced that Hotmath will be available to subscribers of the company's search engine, netTrekker d.i., free of charge.
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Microsoft Expands SharePoint Learning Kit, Partners with Houghton for 'Learning Village'
At the NECC 2008 conference in Texas this week, Microsoft unveiled an addition to its SharePoint Learning Kit (SLK), a suite of tools deigned for helping developers build education solutions. The company also announced a partnership with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to launch the new Learning Village, a teaching and learning portal.
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Education Development Center Brings Open Source Math Curriculum to Curriki
Non-profit education research organization Education Development Center (EDC) is expanding the reach of its open source education tools. At the NECC 2008 conference this week, the firm announced it's partnering with Curriki to deliver K-12 open source curricula. Curriki is an online education community and repository for K-12 resources for teachers and students.
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Vernier Offers Free Software, Plays with Legos, Goes Green For Education
Data collection technology provider Vernier Software & Technology has announced several new offerings for the education market, including free Logger Lite and LabQuest Emulator software, a new NXT sensor adapter for Lego Mindstorms NXT robots, and free eco-friendly classroom activities.
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Wimba Classroom 5.2 Expands Classroom Capture Support, Adds MP3 Downloads
At the NECC 2008 conference in Texas this week, Wimba launched a new version of Wimba Classroom, the virtual classroom component of the company's Collaboration Suite. The new 5.2 release expands options for classroom capture and adds a variety of other functional and ease of use features.
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MIND Releases Game-based Algebra Intervention
MIND Research Institute launched a new algebra intervention program this week at the NECC 2008 conference in Texas. The new program, Algebra Readiness, is designed for middle and high school students and focuses on building foundational knowledge for Algebra I.
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Discovery Launches Multilingual Streaming Content
Discovery Education is expanding its streaming media service (Discovery Education streaming) to include content for English language learners, offering about 1,000 videos in 30 different languages. The company is showing off the service at this week's NECC 2008 conference.
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LearningStation Integrates LS Test Builder with netTrekker d.i.
Online education provider LearningStation, maker of LS Education Desktop, this week announced a new partnership with Thinkronize to bring its LS Test Builder to netTrekker d.i., the education-focused search engine that contains more than 180,000 educator resources.
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Ruckus Launches Smart WiFi, Gives Districts Access To Next-Gen Wireless Networking
Ruckus Wireless announced the launch of its Smart WiFi for the education market Monday. The company's ZoneFlex Smart WLAN combines 802.11n technology, adaptive beam steering, and SmartMesh networking.
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Spectrum K12 Debuts Response to Intervention Solution
At the NECC 2008 conference this week, Spectrum K12 School Solutions debuted a new software solution for managing individualized learning called Exceed/RTI ("response to intervention").
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Fourier Kicks Off Grant Program, Helps Provide Technology To Science Classrooms
Fourier Systems has announced it's launching the Computing Science Exploration Grant Program at NECC in San Antonio this week. Intended to help teachers acquire the technology necessary to provide successful, science-based classroom instruction, the program will provide a matching grant to a single recipient, and vouchers to three runners up.
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Teachscape XL Offers Modular, Customizable Professional Development Tools
Teachscape has announced the upcoming release of its Teachscape XL platform, delivering customizable professional development resources, online.
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LanSchool 7.1 Adds Keystroke Monitoring, USB Blocking
LanSchool Technologies, a developer of classroom management systems, has released a new version of its LanSchool 7 classroom management software. The new version, introduced this week at the NECC 2008 conference, adds USB limiting and keystroke monitoring capabilities.
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Dell Expands TechKnow Program, Re-Tools Curriculum To Provide Real-World Skills
Dell has announced the expansion of its Dell TechKnow program, providing an enhanced curriculum that is now applicable to students from middle school through college.
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2008 School Safety Index Self-Assessment Tool Goes Online
CDW Government (CDW-G) has posted its 2008 School Safety Index Self-Assessment Tool online. The tool, which debuted this week at the NECC 2008 conference in San Antonio, TX, allows schools to take a survey and score their safety based on results from other schools around the country.
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Manteca USD Adopts Digital Archiving System
Mimosa Systems announced this week that it has been selected by the Manteca Unified School District to provide its NearPoint content archiving solution to help the organization manage vital e-mail data.
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Florida Schools Upgrade Administrative Systems
School management system provider Skyward announced this week its administrative management software has been selected by St. Lucie County Public Schools and Okeechobee County Schools of Florida, making them the first districts in that state to implement the company's software.
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Pearson Unveils Assessment, Curriculum Tools at NECC
Pearson has launched two new products at NECC this week--End of Course Array and SuccessMaker--that provide content aligned with state standards, helping teachers meet core curriculum objectives and assess student achievement.
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New Jersey Districts Deploy Web-Based Student Information System
Seven school districts in New Jersey will be deploying a fully online student information system to track student records. The districts are adopting a hosted solution from OnCourse Systems for Education called OnCourse SIS.
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HotChalk, McGraw-Hill Expand Partnership for Rich Content
HotChalk announced this week that it's expanding its partnership with McGraw-Hill Education, combining teacher development tools and curriculum guides with McGraw-Hill video content, instructional content, and world language and science lesson plans for grades 6 through 12.
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