Student Engagement, Achievement, and Effective Teaching - A CEA Report

I rarely look at the Canadian context because, quite frankly, there is very little to look at. But a recent report by the Canadian Education Association (CEA) is definitely worth a read. What did you do in school today? is a CEA report which explores the relationships "among student engagement, achievement, and effective teaching". The report, a national initiative, is an attempt to look at one of the major challenges in education and provide some "Canadian" data on how best to take the next steps. The challenge?! -

Building a Fully Mobile Web Site - A Library's Experience

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A recent article in Reference Services Review (38.2, 2010) lays out a case in support of a fully mobile library web site. In fact, the article starts off with the position that “now” is definitely the time to develop a fully mobile web site.

Teachers' Personal E-Mails Not Public Records - US Case

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A very recent privacy case in Wisconsin will definitely have repercussions across the States, and worthwhile for us to take note in Canada; especially with the number of provinces which now have Freedom of Information and Protection of Privact Acts with teeth.

The "Millennial" Generation - New Pew Research Center Report

The Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next, are defined by Pew as "the American teens and twenty-somethings who are making the passage into adulthood at the start of a new millennium", and further described by Pew as "confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change". Well, sounds like a there's positive outlook for the socio-political health of the US?!?

Teaching, Technology, and New Teachers - A Few Myths. Report

Educators, Technology and 21st Century Skills: Dispelling Five Myths, a new study commissioned by The Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership, explores some of the common assumptions about recent teachers' college graduates, their greater technology-literate backgrounds, and how this translates into classroom teaching and activities.

The study found that despite being younger and more having a higher degree of computer literacy, these recent teaching school graduates are no more likely to use technology in the classroom than their more experienced, and perhaps less "digitally" literate, colleagues. This, in fact, is one of the five myths the study outlines - growing up technology-literate does not necessarily translate into being comfortable using technology as a teaching and learning tool.

Here's a list of the other 4 myths the report looks at and refutes:

• Only high-achieving students benefit from using technology;
  


• Given that students today are comfortable with technology, teachers’ use of technology is less important to student learning;
  


• Teachers and administrators have shared understandings about classroom technology use and 21st century skills;
  


• Teachers feel well prepared by their initial teacher preparation programs to effectively incorporate technology into classroom instruction and to foster 21st century skills.
  

The study is based on a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. K–12 teachers, principals and assistant principals, and well worth the read. How I wish we had reports like this about the Canadian experience.