Afternoon announcements: Digital Learning Day gets record number of participants

The Seattle teacher boycott against issuing a computerized standardized test may come to a screeching half if the educators behind it face sanctions. The boycott is for the Measures of Academy Progress exam that many believe to be severely flawed. Washington Post

A series of across-the-board spending cuts that will go begin on March 1 has many in the Capitol up in arms, including the President. President Obama is asking Congress to hold off on cuts that would impact federal education spending, among other things. Politics K-12

A new Gallup survey shows that the majority of Americans believe a post-secondary degree is essential for a successful future and financial and job security. Gallup Politics

Local Washington ABC 7 channel visited the Alliance’s Digital Learning Day yesterday held at the Newseum. Over 250 educators, policy makers and influencers, and supporters attended the second annual event. ABC 7

It’s better to be safe than sorry, the saying goes. Is the same true when it comes to seeming education “miracles?” We may not always be able to trust positive jumps in statistics, test scores, etc. Los Angeles Times Read Entire Post

Digital Learning Day 2013: Archived Video, Chats, and More #DLDay

Miss today's Digital Learning Day Digital Town Hall? Because we like to strike while the iron is hot--and while #DLDay is trending on Twitter--we've posted the complete archived video from the town hall below.

If you missed any of the three live chats we held today, you can read the transcripts at http://www.all4ed.org/chat.

And if you missed Gov. Wise's big announcement about "Project 24," and how more than 250 school districts have already signed up to participate, you can read all about it here: http://www.all4ed.org/press_room/press_releases/02062013.

Finally, while you're here, we'd love it if you would use the comments section at the bottom of this post to tell us how you celebrated Digital Learning Day, what you took away from it, or any feedback you'd like to offer. Thank you to EVERYONE for making today such a huge success!

Click on the player below to access the video from the Digital Learning Day Digital Town Hall:

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U.S. Representative Jared Polis: Harnessing the Power of Technology Can Change the Outcomes of an Entire Community

The following blog post comes from U.S. Representative Jared Polis (D-CO), who serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and represents Colorado's second congressional district.

As a strong supporter of using the latest technology to help teachers teach and students achieve, I appreciate this opportunity to share my thoughts on the occasion of the second annual Digital Learning Day.

 

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Digital Learning Day lessons in action: Video commercials, online research models, and collaborating with Russian schools

Calling all Educators!

To help educators celebrate Digital Learning Day, the Alliance for Excellent Education is pleased to offer Digital Learning: Lessons in Action, which incorporate multiple strategies with digital learning, such as collaboration, personalized learning, project-based learning, flipped classrooms, virtual access to experts, and simulations.

We encourage you try one of these lessons and blog about it as we lead up to Digital Learning Day. Join the tens of thousands of educators who will tailor these lessons for use in their classrooms on Digital Learning Day and beyond. Try a lesson now!

Today’s lessons are:

Front Pages to Landing Pages: How do you bring history to life for students—and spur them to action? Students learn how to translate knowledge into action by creating and curating research papers on a 20th century American history topic into engaging websites.

Video Introduction   Lesson Plan

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Collaborate with Russian School: Students in Virginia collaborate with students in Russia to learn about culture focusing on similarities and differences in how a school in Russia compares with our school.

Video Introduction    Lesson Plan   Video from Russian Students   Storyboard    Outline

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Thirty Second Propaganda: Students will work in groups to produce a short, persuasive video commercial to advance a political viewpoint on a controversial social issue.

Video Introduction   Lesson Plan  Supplemental Materials

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“I declare!”  Founding Fathers Sound Off on Contemporary Issues: Students use the Online Research Models (ORM’s) to engage in sustained research and critical thinking in order to answer the Essential Question: How would a Founding Father respond to a contemporary American issue?  

Video Introduction     Lesson Plan   Lesson Introduction

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Afternoon announcements: Minnesota superintendent champions ELL reforms

Digital Learning Day is a mere two days away. In anticipation, here are three websites that high school teachers should try in 2013. High School Notes

The U.S. Department of Education recently issued a progress report on the Race to the Top competition. The majority of winners seem to be struggling to implement teacher – and principal- evaluation systems, and building and upgrading digital infrastructure. Politics K-12

Higher education has long been an incentive for joining active military duty, but what is that experience like? New York Times

Opponents of the Common Core State Standards, now adopted in 46 states, are targeting their lobbying and media campaigns in Colorado, Idaho, and Indiana. All three states have adopted the standards. Education Week

A Minnesota Superintendent is focusing her efforts on reforming programs for English Language Learners. A Chilean native, the matter is close to her heart. Education Week

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Digital Learning Day lessons in action: Newton's law, astronomy, and combining like terms

Calling all Educators!

To help educators celebrate Digital Learning Day, the Alliance for Excellent Education is pleased to offer Digital Learning: Lessons in Action, which incorporate multiple strategies with digital learning, such as collaboration, personalized learning, project-based learning, flipped classrooms, virtual access to experts, and simulations.

We encourage you try one of these lessons and blog about it as we lead up to Digital Learning Day. Join the tens of thousands of educators who will tailor these lessons for use in their classrooms on Digital Learning Day and beyond. Try a lesson now!

Today’s lessons are:

Newton's Laws - Students apply Newton’s Laws to new situations using digital tools.

Video Introduction  Lesson Plan

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Astronomy - Students will learn to identify features of the night sky and gain an understanding of how the sky’s motion is related to the motions of Earth and the observer’s latitude.

Video Introduction  Lesson Plan

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Combining Like Terms - Students will learn how to simplify algebraic expressions in preparation for solving multi-step equations and inequalities.

Video Introduction  Lesson Plan   Flip Class Video Homework  Powerpoint

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Digital Learning Day lessons in action: Digital DNA and touch & learn technology

Calling all Educators!

To help educators celebrate Digital Learning Day, the Alliance for Excellent Education is pleased to offer Digital Learning: Lessons in Action, which incorporate multiple strategies with digital learning, such as collaboration, personalized learning, project-based learning, flipped classrooms, virtual access to experts, and simulations.

We encourage you try one of these lessons and blog about it as we lead up to Digital Learning Day. Join the tens of thousands of educators who will tailor these lessons for use in their classrooms on Digital Learning Day and beyond. Try a lesson now!

Today’s lessons are:

Raving About The Raven with Touch and Learn Technologies - This is a snapshot of how we use twenty-first century tools for teaching and a sample of digital resources used to facilitate students' understanding of literary devices in Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.

Video Introduction   Lesson Plan

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Digital DNA - Students determine what their digital footprint looks like and discover tools that will help the student maintain the appropriate digital footprint in the future.

Video Introduction   Lesson Plan   Supplemental Materials

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Digital Learning Day Lessons in Action on The Hunger Games & Inquiry-Based Research Projects

Calling all Educators!

To help educators celebrate Digital Learning Day, the Alliance for Excellent Education is pleased to offer Digital Learning: Lessons in Action, which incorporate multiple strategies with digital learning, such as collaboration, personalized learning, project-based learning, flipped classrooms, virtual access to experts, and simulations.

We encourage you try one of these lessons and blog about it as we lead up to Digital Learning Day. Join the tens of thousands of educators who will tailor these lessons for use in their classrooms on Digital Learning Day and beyond. Read Entire Post

Lessons in action: Student book reviews blogging, visual book reports, and SAT comic strips

Calling all Educators!

To help educators celebrate Digital Learning Day, the Alliance for Excellent Education is pleased to offer Digital Learning: Lessons in Action, which incorporate multiple strategies with digital learning, such as collaboration, personalized learning, project-based learning, flipped classrooms, virtual access to experts, and simulations.

We encourage you try one of these lessons and blog about it as we lead up to Digital Learning Day. Join the tens of thousands of educators who will tailor these lessons for use in their classrooms on Digital Learning Day and beyond. Try a lesson now!

Today’s lessons are:

Successful Student Book Review Blogging - In order to promote independent reading and scaffold the language arts curriculum, students write and post book recommendations on their school-based book review blogs.

Video Introduction   Lesson Plan

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Visual Boook Report - Students will use primary source images or videos in order to create a book report/book trailer.

Video Introduction   Lesson Plan

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SAT Comic Strips - Students will utilize technology to create vocabulary comic strips in order to demonstrate their nuanced understanding of a selected vocabulary word. 

Video Introduction   Lesson Plan   Sample  Rubric   Virtual Gallery   Vocabulary Usage   Analyzing Stereotype

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Flipped Classrooms: The realization of 21st century digital learning?

The following guest blog post comes from Caroline McCullen, the Director of Education Initiatives at SAS Institute.

So here we are. After years of talking about how to prepare students for success in the 21st century, we are now more than a decade in. But we still struggle with the same old challenges in education: “How can we effectively integrate technology into the classroom?” and “How can we provide all teachers with quality digital resources?”

A more relevant concern might be, “Why do we still have classrooms in which students rarely use digital resources?” or “Why are we surprised that students lack motivation when many schools still use old modes of communication, adhere to policies that limit or prohibit access to Internet resources and use printed materials that are outdated before they ever leave the publisher?”  More importantly, where are resources and assistance for schools wishing to address these issues and move toward 21st century learning?
 
Digital Learning Day, launched by the Alliance for Excellent Education, is an exciting event where best practices in digital learning and effective policies meet. Educators will find vital support, best practices in digital education, sample legal policies, and other vital resources to help schools as they transform their environment into a 21st century learning organization.

The February 6th agenda includes exciting presentations and video conferences with teachers who use digital resources to enrich their classrooms. Participants will get straight talk from classroom teachers who work in digitally connected classrooms. The good news is that many of their resources and strategies are available at no cost to schools!

For example, for three years, math teacher Katie Gimbar has been using digital resources to “flip” her classroom at Durant Road Middle School in Wake County, NC. Here she explains why she “flipped” and how it all works. SAS® Curriculum Pathways® is one of the free resources Katie uses to engage students both in and out of the classroom. In this era of reduced budgets, her flipped classroom helps teachers leverage digital resources to increase precious instructional time. Read Entire Post