Random musings. Half-finished (and quite possibly half-baked) thoughts.
Things that have caught my eye…

Interesting perspectives on the infamous software study

• "We now have educational software that is just as effective as live teachers"
• "The Education Dept. has missed an opportunity to truly analyze what works in education"
• "How
  can a technology that is transforming the way we acquire information
  throughout the economy – revolutionizing businesses from games to
  banking – fail to benefit education?"
• "The
  news media at large were gullible, incurious, and downright lazy …
  The ill effects of their sloth likely will undermine education efforts
  for years to come"

Are we infantilizing adolescents?

• Robert Epstein says yes, and we pay the price.

The digital Taliban?

• Harsh analogy, or spot on?

Attendance, technology, and placing blame

• Profs want to hold students ‘accountable’ too.

It’s all about the leadership …

• Wesley Fryer reminds us, yet again, of the importance of leadership when it comes to technology integration and implementation in K-12 schools. That’s why CASTLE exists and that’s why we keep banging the drum: pay attention to the leaders!

… but we have to give them some decision-making power

• NASSP highlights a recent study finding that principals have little autonomy in the things that matter most to them. Remember this before we start casting stones at principals? I wish this study had involved more than 33 principals…

Wiki wiki wa, wiki wa, wiki wiki wa

• Check out the WikiMatrix. I wish JotSpot was listed.

Halo

• The future of videoconferencing, not video gaming.

Unconscious racism

• The NBA referee study has gotten a lot of press, Harvard University’s Project Implicit not so much. Read the Washington Post’s excellent article on the project. Try it yourself. Implications for school hiring and/or discipline issues?

The way data-driven decision-making ought to be

• Kudos to the Montgomery County (MD) Schools.

Global challenge

• A cool example of students collaborating with others across the globe on matters of importance.

Accountability for teacher prep programs

• Louisiana paves the way?

Violence in schools

• If you were worried about violence in American schools, check out this UNESCO report.

A national platform for an anti-evolution Kansan?

• In the last 8 years, Kansas has twice had an anti-evolution state
  board of education and twice replaced it with a pro-evolution state
  board of education. The latest news from the whipsawed state is that
  one of the remaining anti-evolution board members is running unopposed for the presidency of the National Association of State Boards of Education.

When standards shift

• The St. Petersburg Times explains what happened in Florida when it got harder to pass the state test.

Annie has the final word

If we stop using the tools of the real world at the school door, then what does school have to do with the world of the student? [at the FPS Technology Focus Blog]