Education news nuggets

Guest Blogger / August 4, 2011

Now that we've reached the age of digital learning and the online university and racism is a thing of the past, is there any place in our society for cursive writing? It's good, though, to see that even academic elites can open up to new things.

-Joshua Pierson, Fordham Intern

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Education news nuggets

Meet the Ed Reform Idol contestants: Florida

The Education Gadfly / August 1, 2011

The following is a guest post from Patricia Levesque, Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida's Future, on why Florida should be considered the reformiest state at our Ed Reform Idol event next week. Contestants from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin will explain why they should be named the 2011 Ed Reform Idol winner throughout the week.

Don't forget to join us for Ed Reform Idol on August 11 at 8:30AM or watch the webcast live to see which state wins!

This year, Florida launched a new chapter of bold, transformational education reform. As our schools reorganize around the success of every student, the culture of reform in the Sunshine State continues to center on the simple premise that all students can learn. In 2011, Florida challenged the status quo once again and passed landmark teacher-quality legislation, the comprehensive Digital Learning Now Act, and expanded educational choice for families.

Florida's historic teacher-reform bill was our first victory of the year. This legislation recognizes teachers' critical roles in preparing students to excel beyond the classroom and modernizes the teaching profession to reward Florida's outstanding educators. The new bill:

• Ends tenure for new teachers and eliminates barriers to remove ineffective teachers;
• Bolsters educators' evaluations by making student learning data 50 percent of the evaluation and creating at least four meaningful levels of

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  Category: Digital Learning

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  Meet the Ed Reform Idol contestants: Florida

NEW Podcast: The bro-mance continues

The Education Gadfly / July 28, 2011

After his podcast sabbatical, Rick Hess is back?and he doesn't disappoint. After explaining his new Fordham paper on digital learning, he and Mike discuss the charter-voucher rivalry and what the debt ceiling means for education. (They share a few special moments, too.) Amber dissects philanthropic giving to teachers and teaching and Chri$ scolds Connecticut for its inequitable pension structure.

[powerpress]

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NEW Podcast: The bro-mance continues

Quality control in K-12 digital learning: Hess calls for humility

yes Michael J. Petrilli / July 27, 2011

Regardless of your views on the pros and cons of "digital learning" in K-12 education, it's hard to imagine that online instruction, educational games, embedded assessments, and the like won't have a major impact on our school system in the decades to come. But advocates and critics alike worry: How can we ensure quality in this brave new world? Especially when hundreds of millions of dollars of private capital are flowing into the sector from investors dreaming of making big profits?

Enter Frederick M. Hess (a.k.a. Rick, the wicked smart guy in shorts), with a groundbreaking contribution published today from Fordham, "Quality Control in K-12 Digital Learning: Three (Imperfect) Approaches." This working paper is the first in a series of six, generously underwritten by the Helen and Charles Schwab Foundation; the others will look at accountability, cost, personnel policies, and other key issues. [quote]

So what does Hess conclude? Does he hit upon a magic formula that will ensure that all digital instruction is top-notch and reasonably priced, that all children will be 100 percent engaged with their studies, and that there will be a chicken in every pot to boot? Of course not. In Hess's classic skeptical and brutally honest style, he explores the three main approaches to quality control?input regulation, outcomes accountability, and marketplace signal?and concludes that the best we can do is to thoughtfully

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Quality control in K-12 digital learning: Hess calls for humility