Stimulus funding news and teacher appreciation

All kinds of issues and questions are fielded here at the Scholastic Library.  A lot of questions have been asked about the federal economic stimulus plan and its impact on education, and subsequently on Scholastic.  So it's a topic we follow closely.  Here are a few of the items we shared with the staff this week.

The stimulus funds have begun flowing to the states.  With that, the states are faced with some issues.  States vexed by stimulus challenges from Stateline.org looks at how states are preparing to comply with the data gathering requirements among other challenges.  The story includes several charts as well as links to related articles.

Alabama legislature wraps up education budget from the Charleston Daily Mail is an example of several articles we saw this week on how the states are finishing their education budgets, taking into account the stimulus funding.  “Senate budget committee Chairman Hank Sanders, D-Selma, said federal stimulus funds made the difference in having drastic cuts and layoffs because of the recession or saving jobs and programs.”  Another example is Schools budget drops for the first time from the Idaho Statesman.  For Idaho, stimulus funds helped but cutbacks were still necessary.  “The total allocation is $48.7 million, 3.2 percent less than the public schools received last year. It is the first time since the state began keeping detailed records that the public schools will receive less money than they did the year before.”  And in Arkansas, School districts eyeing ways to spend federal stimulus funds (Northwest Arkansas Times).  Technology, after-school programs and professional development are just a few of the ideas being considered.  Legislature spares Florida public schools from the worst, from the Miami Herald, reports on how the stimulus funding helped the state maintain education budgets.  “Credit for the reprieve goes to more than $2 billion in stimulus money, which lawmakers infused into the pre-K-12 budget (though, technically the application is pending).”

And while many states are using the funding to prevent layoffs and cutbacks, a large chunk of the funding is earmarked for technology improvements.  Stimulus aims to help close digital divide from eSchool News Online reports that some $7 billion dollars will be devoted to help schools and communities “expand broadband services to underserved areas, improve broadband access for public safety agencies, stimulate the economy, and create jobs.”

School Library Journal has scheduled a webcast for May 19 at 3:30 to discuss stimulus funding for libraries.  Stimulate this Library! Accessing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding will provide school librarians with suggestions on how to bring funding to their libraries.  And Capstone Publishers, a library market publisher, held a similar webcast according to Capstone teaches how to get stimulus funding (Publishers Weekly).  “Librarians were encouraged to ‘gather the facts’ and were directed to studies documenting a connection between library investment and improved test scores.”

This is teacher appreciation week.  And you can nominate your favorite teacher to attend the 2010 National Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy.  The Scholastic Library does not provide endorsements.  But we heard about this and thought some of our readers might want to check it out.

And just for fun.  Back in the olden days, computers made a lot of noise.  And some clever computer geek has put together this rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody using old computer equipment.  Too young to have heard of Queen?  You’ll never know what you missed.  Enjoy. 

Interesting education articles this week

As we review many web sites, newspapers and magazines, we often select web sites or articles for the newsletter that we think may be relevant to Scholastic's businesses.  These are the ones we chose for this week.

In the U.K., the Telegraph reports Revealed: new teaching methods that are producing

dramatic results.  New techniques such as “spaced learning” are showing signs of real

success.  The school day consists of “short sharp lessons … interspersed with an entirely

different activity and repeated at regular intervals.” 

The Newark Star-Ledger had an interesting story online, In recession, more parents ‘slowly’

spend quality time with their kids.  “Slow parenting,” a movement that began about five

years ago aims to slow “the pace of family life and scal[e] back on material items.”  A lot

more parents are adopting this concept even though many of them have never heard of it.

Christopher Dawson writes an interesting blog for ZDNet.   He

recently posted Summer reading…the data don’t lie.  Dawson, a teacher in Massachusetts, looked

at the numbers and saw that many students suffered from the “summer slide.” “Summer

break…can be disastrous without reading exposure, especially for the younger kids.” He

offers a couple of suggestions for alleviating the problem.

For some students, raising self-esteem can mean increases in achievement, according to Task

to aid self-esteem lifts grades for some (New York Times).  “Some seventh graders who were

struggling in class did significantly better after performing a series of brief

confidence-building writing exercises, and the improvements continued through eighth grade,”

according to a study from Columbia and Yale Universities.

At the same time, and possibly connected in some way, “More challenging middle-school math

classes and increased access to advanced courses in predominantly black urban high schools

may be the key to closing the racial academic achievement gap,” according to a study from

the University of Illinois (Middle-school math classes are key to closing racial academic

achievement gap – Science Daily).  “Being in a classroom where the expectations are higher,

the course work is more rigorous, and the climate is more academic has huge effects on

student effort.”

And just for fun -- there are several very cool short videos with slow motion images on Vimeo.  The link we’ve provided is to our favorite.   After the dart hitting the dartboard and the pom pom hitting the ground, there’s a spectacular video of a cube of jello.  It’s like a jellyfish.  And you can see every move because the picture is so clear.  Enjoy!  

Education News

Every week we review hundreds of articles that come in through online newsletters.  We select those that we think are either most relevant to our business or would have some interest for Scholastic staff.  It's often a difficult decision as there are so many relevant and interesting articles in newspapers, magazines and on the blogs.

Ed Week recently ran a story as part of its special issue, Technology Counts 2009, Research shows evolving picture of e-education.  “Research shows that virtual schooling can be as good as, or better than, classes taught in person in brick-and-mortar schools,” according to the article.  But virtual schooling also has specific issues to deal with, one of which is that “the courses tend to draw students at the extremes of the academic spectrum—advanced, highly motivated students looking for academic acceleration, and students who are struggling in regular classrooms.”

A new study out of the University of Pennsylvania has found that Visual learners convert words to pictures in the brain and vice versa (Science Daily).  The authors of the study believe these results may help in tailoring reading instruction for students.

A survey of teachers in Britain found that three quarters of teachers believed children should be at least five before starting school.  (Call to start school at age six – BBC)  The teachers had several other thoughts as well, including a lack of playtime and too much emphasis on testing.

Publishers Weekly profiled Gary Shapiro, a teacher in Salinas, CA, who uses comic books to teach reading (Superman, super teacher: using comics to teach reading).  As a kid, Shapiro had trouble learning to read and found comics helped him.  He applies his experience to his students. 

Interesting education reports released this week

We can't include every report we see in our weekly newsletter at the Scholastic Library.  So we select 2 or 3, or sometimes 4, that we think are the most interesting or relevant to what we do here at Scholastic.  These are the ones we picked this week.

The Education Trust has published Education Watch: National Report.  It provides a general

overview of achievement, attainment and other factors normalized for the U.S.  There are also

individual state reports.  “This national report and every individual ‘Education Watch State

Report’ show how well schools are serving different groups of young people.”

The National Institute for Early Education Research has released The State of Preschool 2008.

 It finds that the recession has either stalled pre-kindergarten funding or reversed it in

some states.  Despite an increase in state spending over the past few years, federal spending

for public programs like Head Start had decreased.  But now many states are cutting funding

as well.  The good news is the money in the stimulus plan that’s designated for pre-k

programs.  For a review of the study’s findings, see Recession stalls state-financed

pre-kindergarten, but federal money may help from the New York Times.

Learning Teams: Creating What’s Next is a report from the National Commission on Teaching and

America’s Future.  The report warns that “more than half the nation's teachers are Baby

Boomers ages 50 and older and eligible for retirement over the next decade.”  It encourages

retention efforts and mentoring of new teachers.  For more on the report, including a map

with statistics on where the retirement issue could be a real problem, see USA Today’s

article A ’tsunami’ of Boomer teacher retirements is on the horizon.  

And the State Educational Technology Directors Association has released its sixth annual

Enhancing Education through Technology report called Focus on Technology Integration in

America's Schools.  It “identifies programs that effectively integrate technology to create

robust subject-matter content, innovative curricula, ongoing professional development, and

diagnostic assessments to facilitate individualized instruction.”  Report profiles states'

ed-tech successes from eSchool News Online reviews the findings.

And just for fun, the video on this is a bit grainy.  But you’ll still enjoy this dancing dog. 

Educating through music

At the Scholastic Library, we see so many articles and web sites on all kinds of tools and techniques to help kids learn.  We recently saw two items (one a web site, the other a study) about using music to educate.  We thought we'd share them.

One of our favorite sites is Exploratorium.  And they’ve added another great page.  This one is the Science of Music.  Through online exhibits, videos and other activities, kids can learn about music and its scientific basis.  One of the best exhibitions is the explanation of singing in the shower. 

And a study in the journal Psychology in Music contends that Music education can help children improve reading skills.   The study’s authors, from Long Island University, found that “the music-learning group had significantly better vocabulary and verbal sequencing scores than did the non-music-learning control group.”

Recent education reports

Each week, the Scholastic Library chooses a few interesting reports to include in our internal email  newsletter.  We can't include every report we see.  So we pick two or three that we think will be of value to our staff.  The following reports made the cut this week.

Education Week has posted the 2009 edition of Technology Counts, focusing on virtual learning.  (Note: you may not be able to access all sections of this report without a subscription.  You'll need to register for the free content as well.)  According to the overview article, Research shows evolving picture of e-education, “Online classes may be a relatively young instructional practice for K-12 schools, but experts already generally agree on one point: Research shows that virtual schooling can be as good as, or better than, classes taught in person in brick-and-mortar schools.”

Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-8 Countries: 2009 is a report from the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics).  “Twenty-seven indicators are organized in five sections: (1) population and school enrollment; (2) academic performance (including subsections for reading, mathematics, and science); (3) context for learning; (4) expenditure for education; and (5) education returns: educational attainment and income.”

The Horizon Report: 2009 K-12 Edition is a study from the New Media Consortium.  It “identifies and describes six emerging technologies that will have a huge impact on K-12 education within the next one to five years.”  These include:  “collaborative environments and online communication tools, mobile devices and cloud computing, smart objects and the personal web.”

Weekly Web Finds -- March 12, 2009

Education & the Economy

As the states get ready for the infusion of funds for the stimulus, the federal government is sending a message, U.S. to nation’s schools: spend fast, keep receipts   (New York Times).   “’Spend funds quickly to save and create jobs,’ a five-page guidance document sent to the education officials said. It also urged educators to use the money in the stimulus package, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in ways that ‘improve school achievement through school improvement and reform.’ It also warned them to keep records of expenditures.”

And Ed Week included more detail on the guidelines in Ed. Dept. outlines conditions for stimulus use.  “States won’t get all of their stabilization money at once. Instead, 67 percent—or about $32 billion—will go out within two weeks of a state’s submission of its application.”

The Education Department posted a press release with specific information on the guidelines.  “ARRA funds must be used to improve student achievement. To receive the first round of state stabilization funds, states must commit to meet ARRA requirements, including making progress on four key education reforms, sharing required baseline data, and meeting record-keeping and transparency requirements. To receive the second round of funding, they must provide evidence and plans for progress on these assurances.” 

USA Today looks at how the stimulus can impact schools environmentally.  Schools could turn green from stimulus money reports on Arkansas and other states and their plans to use the stimulus money for green renovations.  “’It just makes sense that, if you're going to renovate a building, you might as well renovate it in a way that will save you money in the long run,’ said Dale Ellis, a spokesman for the Arkansas Board of Higher Education.”

The Washington Times looks at whether the stimulus is too little, too late for some districts.  School budget cuts threaten gains reports that many schools will still face severe cuts despite the stimulus aid and that this will impact any positive achievement gains made.

Science Stuff

The National Science Foundation has created Classroom Resources, a resource for teachers, parents and students in the sciences, mathematics and engineering areas.  Much of the material comes from the National Science Digital Library and is created by universities, museums and professional organizations.  It allows browsing by subject area and includes links to useful sites.  Each subject area contains an overview from the National Science Foundation which can be found at the bottom of each subject area’s page. 

The Dynamic Earth is a cool interactive site from the Museum of Natural History.  It’s split into four areas: gems and minerals, plate tectonics and volcanoes, the solar system, and rocks and mining. 

As part of its Digital Gallery, the New York Public Library has posted Pictures of Science: 700 Years of Scientific and Medical Illustration.  “Hundreds of images from the thirteenth through the early twentieth century, in the fields of astronomy, chemistry, geology, mathematics, medicine, and physics, as represented by manuscript illuminations, engravings, lithographs, and photographs.”  Remember, you may need to check for copyright before using any of these images.

This Week’s Reports

Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success is a brief from the Education Public Interest Center.  It contends that school success and reducing the achievement gap may not be possible if certain outside forces are not addressed.  These include:  (1) low birth-weight and non-genetic prenatal influences on children; (2) inadequate medical, dental, and vision care, often a result of inadequate or no medical insurance; (3) food insecurity; (4) environmental pollutants; (5) family relations and family stress; and (6) neighborhood characteristics.”

The Department of Education has issued Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2006-07 (Fiscal Year 2007).  It contains “basic revenue and expenditure data, by state, for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2006-07. It contains state-level data on revenues by source and expenditures by function, including expenditures per pupil.”

Newsworthy

Montana is working on legislation to offer online learning to all the state’s students, according to House backs K-12 distance learning (Billings Gazette).  Supporters claim “with many children in the state living in areas where districts can afford to offer only limited class choices, distance learning could be the only way to ensure all Montana kids have access to a quality education.”  Opponents however criticized creating a new program during tough economic times.

Proof of Anaheim math teacher’s skill is in students’ test scores is a story in the Los Angeles Times.  Sam Calavitta teaches an Advanced Placement calculus class at Fairmount Preparatory Academy.  His unusual teaching methods have paid off big time.  “All 81 of his students aced the college-level test, earning an average score of 4.79 out of 5. Sixty-nine of the students earned a perfect 5.”

A less hopeful story appeared on MSNBC.com.  ‘Tidal wave’ of homeless students hits schools describes the difficulties schools around the country are facing due to the rising number of homeless children in their classrooms.  “Research shows that the turmoil of homelessness often hinders children’s ability to socialize and learn. Many are plagued by hunger, exhaustion, abuse and insecurity. They have a hard time performing at grade level and are about 50 percent less likely to graduate from high school than their peers.”

Food, Glorious Food

The Food Timeline follows the development of edibles from the very beginnings of mankind.  Each item listed on the timeline is linked to a greater explanation of the foodstuff and its importance over time.  Of course, by the time you get to deep fried Coke-a-Cola and Kool Aid Pickles, you may start to wonder.  But the list is quite complete and includes such favorites as Eskimo Pies (1920), Mallomars (1913), and A1 Steak Sauce (1824).  There are also many links to recipes for some of the items profiled. 

Middle School Literacy

Kids who are struggling with reading need all the help we can give them.  Teacher’s Domain has created a web site to do just that.  Inspiring Middle School Literacy is designed to engage kids in grades 5-8.  The activities are self-paced and focus on science and history.  “Each activity addresses a range of specific literacy strategies. All 15 activities promote monitoring comprehension, synthesizing, asking questions, developing vocabulary, connecting prior knowledge to new learning, and developing a topic in writing.” 

St. Patrick’s Day Fun

Next Tuesday, March 17, is St. Patrick’s Day.  So to begin warming up for this important event, check out this Irish dancer, with a twist.  And we had to get animals in here somewhere; so enjoy these photos of pets wearing the Green.   YouTube alert, twice!  Enjoy.  

Weekly Web Finds -- March 5, 2009

Education & the Economy

According to the Idaho Statesman, Stimulus may not keep Idaho school budget intact.  The

state’s schools superintendent has indicated that he plans to use some of the stimulus money

to replenish the schools’ “rainy day fund”.  This would mean that some cuts still would need

to be made.  But they might not be quite as severe as initially thought.  In Arkansas,

education officials are looking at the recently jobless as potential teachers.  State seeks

teachers among newly jobless (Arkansas Democrat Gazette) reports that “staff members are

working to tap into the pool of displaced workers who have degrees and experience in

engineering, computer programming, graphic design and other fields to fill teaching jobs -

particularly teaching jobs in the high-demand subjects of mathematics, life sciences,

physical sciences, foreign languages, speech, art and music.”

The Education Department has created a page on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

It provides a fact sheet, state allocation info and more specifics on where the money from

the stimulus package will go. 

History Stuff

1989 was a pivotal year.  It was the year the Berlin Wall came down, signaling the end of the

Communist era.  The Center for History and New Media has posted Making the History of 1989. 

Dozens of primary sources, including documents, images and videos are available.  There are

interviews with scholars, suggested lesson plans and case studies.

And while we’re talking about the Center for History and New Media, we also want to point out

another site they have called World History Matters.  It’s a portal to all kinds of sources

on world history designed for the high school student.  Again, you’ll find a wealth of

information including primary source materials.

This Week’s Reports

The Census has issued the most recent School Enrollment tables.  Data is current to October

2007.  There are eight tables in all, breaking enrollment down in a variety of ways.  Tables

are available in Excel and CSV formats.  The Census has also released the tables for the 2006

A Child’s Day: Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being.  Tables include fun time, reading

time, mealtime, television rules, and other indicators of a child’s life.  Again, tables are

available in Excel and CSV formats.

Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First

Graders in 39 Schools is a new report from the Department of Education’s Institute of

Education Sciences.  “The four curricula are Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math

Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. First-grade math

achievement was significantly higher in schools randomly assigned to Math Expressions or

Saxon Math than in those schools assigned to Investigations in Number, Data, and Space or to

Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics.”   Education Week reported on the findings in

Study finds edge for certain early-math programs.  Subscription may be required to access the fulltext.

Newsworthy

Study says most 1st grade classes not high quality, a story in Ed Week, reports on the

findings of the education school at the University of Virginia.  Schools were judged on

multiple criteria including instruction and social and emotional climate.  “Only 23 percent

of classrooms could be judged to be of “high quality” in both their instructional practices

and social and emotional climate,” researchers found.  The study, written up in the

Elementary School Journal, is available online for $10.00.

The Graphic Novel Reporter conducted a roundtable on the subject of Graphic Novels in Today’s

Libraries.  When asked about how graphic novels are perceived, one librarian responded, “Kids

who had previously only used the library as a drop-in babysitting/computer service are now

relaxing on the couches reading. Girls are devouring manga that is age-appropriate and

mothers are discovering that comics actually improve reading skills.”

The results of another study were discussed in Hand gestures help math skills, study

concludes (School Library Journal).  This study, from the University of Chicago, found that

“we may be able to lay the foundation for new knowledge just by telling learners how to move

their hands.”

There has been a lot of discussion of 21st-century skills in the press and even here in the

Weekly Web Finds.  Now “a group of researchers, historians, and policymakers from across the

political spectrum are raising a red flag about the agenda as embodied by the Tucson,

Ariz.-based Partnership for 21st Century Skills, or P21, the leading advocacy group for

21st-century skills,” according to Backers of 21st-century skills take flak from Education

Week.  It’s an interesting read.  USA Today also covered this story in What to learn: core knowledge or

21st century skills?

Tech Stuff

The West Virginia Gazette reported on the use of handheld devices in math classes (Count on

it: handheld device ‘inspires’ math students at Hoover).  Teachers are using “the Nspire,

which looks like a thick calculator, [but] is more like a computer. It easily bests

calculators, or graphing calculators for that matter.”

Friendly Baby

No animals this week.  Just a cute baby singing about friendship.  YouTube alert!  Enjoy! 

Weekly Web Finds -- Feb. 26, 2009

Education & the Economy

A representative article about the stimulus aid for education is Stimulus: $1.1B to Minnesota schools from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  Although the states will need the infusion of funds, many people are warning about the money is for a short period of time and can’t be counted on in the long run.

In California, where the legislature just completed a difficult and painful budget deal, the San Francisco Chronicle reports Budget takes $8.2 billion from K-12 classes.  Even with the infusion of money from the stimulus, “budgets for dozens of programs - from standardized testing to classes for English learners - will be slashed by more than 15 percent this year, and by nearly 20 percent next year.”

Rush to pump out stimulus cash highlights disparities in funding is an article in Ed Week.  Because existing formulas were used to determine funding, some contend, “some states and districts are likely to benefit disproportionately from the two-year flood of new federal money.”

Education Week has created the Schools & Stimulus page.  You’ll find complete coverage of the impact of the stimulus package on education, including news, videos and articles from other papers.  A subscription may be necessary to view some of the content on this page.

Square Root Day

Ron Gordon is a teacher in California.  He’s a math teacher.  He thought it would be cool to celebrate certain dates that had mathematical implications.  So he created Square Root Day.  This day doesn’t come around all that often.  The most recent one was 02/02/04.  And the next one is 03/03/09.  So get ready to party.  He celebrates Odd Day, too.  And one’s coming up in May.  Read more about Ron in In honor of all things odd.

Tech Stuff

A study in the U.K. has concluded that texting “could be having a positive impact on reading development,” according to Texting ‘improves language skill’ from the BBC.  It “found no evidence of a detrimental effect of text speak on conventional spelling.”

The first Mobile Learning Conference was held in Washington, D.C., last week.  Presenters believe that the use of mobile devices like smartphones can help raise student achievement.  Conference explores benefits of mobile learning from eSchool News Online reports on several pilot projects going on around the country as well as future possible uses of cellphones, pdas, laptops and netbook computers.

Two stories this week are Google related.  The first, from the New York Times, is Exploring a ‘deep web’ that Google can’t grasp.  Search engines like Google can only search down into a site so far.  Research is being conducted to retrieve more of the hidden stuff on the Web.  This will have huge implications for searchers, search engines and business.

And Forbes.com explored the dilemma Google faces as a search engine and as an advertising medium in Goggle gives and takes away.  “Since Google is both the cause and solution to the problem of spammy Web data, users have little choice but to hope it continues to have the resources and inclination to stay one step ahead of that which it set in motion.”

This Week’s Reports

The new MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Past, Present and Future has just been released.  This 25th anniversary edition looks at teachers’ outlooks and perspectives on the profession.  Generally, teachers are more optimistic now than they were 25 years ago.  But “Despite the generally positive trajectory of teachers’ responses over the years, however, MetLife’s data does also underscore persistent disparities among schools and mounting challenges facing the country’s public education system,” particularly for teachers in urban and secondary schools.  Read more about the results in Report: teachers see progress over past 25 years (Ed Week).

Our next site is report related.  It’s the Bunkum Awards from the Education and Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  This group has recognized certain reports with Bunkum Awards because it deemed the reports seriously flawed or poorly researched.  Some of the reports earning this dubious distinction are reports we’ve featured in the InfoUpdate.  This year’s awards included the Charles Murray Prize for Identifying who Shouldn’t Be Educated, the Rose Colored Blinders Award, and the Maybe It’ll Be True if We Say It One More Time Award.

The Department of Education has released Second Evaluation of the Improving Literacy through School Libraries Program.  The program’s purpose is to improve literacy skills through better access to current materials, technology and experienced staff.  The findings showed that although school libraries involved in the program expanded services and showed increased student usage, “No definitive statement can be made based on these data as to whether LSL was associated with improved test scores.”

Newsworthy

Microsoft explores educational link to video games, a story from the Associated Press on Yahoo! News, looks at “whether video games — and not just software specifically designed to be educational — can draw students into math, science and technology-based programs.”  It has established the Games for Learning Institute to study the situation.

And in the same vein, Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada, “is hoping that cutting-edge video game technology can be used to sink students deep into what they're learning,” according to Alberta university takes academic cue from video games (The Globe and Mail).  The school is developing courses using gaming technology and plans to expand its offerings.

The New York Times Health section this week carried an article called The 3 R’s? A fourth is crucial, too: recess.  A new study, published in Pediatrics, shows that children who have recess of more than 15 minutes a day were better behaved.  But over 30% of students have little or no recess at all according to the study.

History Stuff

March is Women’s History Month.  And the Census Bureau has released its Facts for Features for the observance.  Some interesting demographic information available here.

Swallowing goldfish, cramming into a phone booth (yes, there used to be actual phone booths) and other weird fads can be found at Crazyfads.  For each decade, there’s a list of the fads of the era.  Unfortunately, there isn’t much more information.  A shame, really.  It would be great if there were more information for some of these fads, like what does a quiff hairdo look like. 

Baby Animals

Sick of cute animals?  You have no heart.  Here are more from ZooBorns.  From aardvarks to zebras, there are pictures of baby animals from zoos around the world.  Even the armadillos are cute.  Enjoy!  And thanks to Cindy in Corporate Marketing for passing this along to us. 

Weekly Web Finds -- Feb. 19, 2009

Education & the Economy

We’re going to move away from the Bad News/Good News format for this section.  Going forward,

we’ll continue to identify some interesting articles about the impact of the economy on

education and we’ll also look closely at the implementation of the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act.

The On Education blog from U.S. News & World Report discusses How to spend $100 billion on

education.  “Several education observers have warned about the dangers of getting so much

money out to schools in a hurry. Duncan and Obama have promised to distribute the money in a

timely and transparent fashion.”  And Ed Week explored the difficulties of managing the funds

in Stimulus aid to schools a management challenge.  But this challenge isn’t just for the

states, but also for Ed chief, Arne Duncan.  And Duncan wants stimulus to transform schools

(eSchool News Online) looks at how he plans to do that.  “’It's also an opportunity to

redefine the federal role in education, something we're thinking a whole lot about,’ Duncan

said recently. ‘How can we move from being [about] compliance with bureaucracy to really the

engine of innovation and change?’"

The Education Commission of the States has a nice summary of the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act as it pertains to education spending.  Early Care & Education Provisions of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act from Zero to Three provides some good detail on

funding and possible uses of the funding for early childhood education.  There’s a very nice

table of how the funding breaks out and its availability.  The Center for Law & Public Policy

has posted Child Care and Development Block Grant Funding data.  The numbers are broken down

by state.   And if you’re really ambitious, you can read the entire conference report and

text of the Act. 

And the Obama administration has set up a web site, Recovery.gov, that citizens can search to

find out where the money is going.  The Wall Street Journal created a really nice, single

page breakdown of the entire stimulus package.

The Value of the Library

We almost never see a negative story about libraries, unless they’re being closed because of

budget cuts.  We do frequently see articles about how great libraries are.  Case in point is

In web age, library job gets update.  This is a wonderful look at the evolving world of “a

growing cadre of 21st-century multimedia specialists who help guide students through the

digital ocean of information that confronts them on a daily basis. These new librarians

believe that literacy includes, but also exceeds, books.”   

Kids Stuff

Zero to Three, a national nonprofit organization devoted to improving the lives of children,

has posted its Infant-Toddler Policy Agenda.  “Ensuring that babies have good health, strong

families, and positive early learning experiences will lay the foundation for success

throughout their lives.”  Policy priorities include child chare, developmental screening,

early head start, and physical health. 

Programs for Educators is a new site from Common Sense Media.  It’s designed to help schools

help parents.  There are videos, advice, and resources to help parents manage their kids’

exposure to media.  Teachers can register their schools and special kits are available.

5 Things you should know about kids & the Internet (HispanicAd.com) is a story about a survey

conducted by Mediamark Research & Intelligence.  The survey found, “For American kids ages

6-11, the Internet is much more of an entertainment platform than it is a venue for

communicating, with most of the entertainment occurring within the home.”

This Week’s Reports

The Department of Education released State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left

Behind Act, Volume VI – Targeting and Uses of Federal Education Funds.  “This report

describes how well federal funds are targeted to economically disadvantaged students, how

Title I targeting has changed over the past seven years, how districts have spent federal

funds, and the base of state and local resources to which federal funds are added.”

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation has just released The Accountability Illusion, a report that

looks at “whether schools [that] make AYP is as much a product of inconsistent and arcane

rules set by state education officials as of actual pupil achievement.”  The site provides

access to the parts of the report, including state reports and press materials.  For a

summary of the report’s findings, check out School success under “No Child Left Behind”

depends on location.

Newsworthy

Virtual field trips open doors for multimedia lessons, from Ed Week, looks at the growing

number of online excursions teachers and students can take.  Ball State University in Indiana

has created over 60 such field trips.   And each trip averages about 20,000 students.

The New York Times reports Industry makes pitch that Smartphones belong in classroom.  The CTIA, a

wireless industry trade group believes that Smartphones can be used in the classroom to enhance math

education.  Needless to say, there are many who dispute that idea.  And Ed Week reports Students turn

their cellphones on for classroom lessons.  “A growing number of teachers, carefully navigating district

policies and addressing their own concerns, are having students use their personal cellphones to make

podcasts, take field notes, and organize their schedules and homework.”

The Cat and the Printer

Cats don’t like technology.  Watch as this cat battles his own personal windmill, with as

little luck as Don Quixote.