Free Education for All

Category — Teaching and Learning

Top American High Schools - Several Charter Schools Among the Mix

It has been roughly two weeks since Newsweek Magazine offered its annual list of the top public high schools in America. As soon as the list was published, charter school proponents began using the compilation as justification for furthering the charter school movement.
It seems that 10 charter schools made the top 100 Newsweek list. With [...]

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June 1, 2008   1 Comment
Equal Opportunity, Public Policy, Teaching and Learning

Successful Phoenix Mars Landing Offers Educational Opportunities for Students

As another school year winds down those teachers with some time left in the school year have a golden opportunity to infuse real world excitement into what can often be a mundane end of the year countdown. With the successful landing of the NASA Mars Phoenix Lander spacecraft on Sunday, teachers have an incredible educational [...]

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May 26, 2008   1 Comment
Multimedia Content, Teaching and Learning, Technology

The Netherlands - A Proper Emphasis on Vocational Education

Today we wrap up our four-part series on education in the Netherlands with a final look at the vocational training track available to students. Whereas in America we continue to try and force feed students of all abilities and interests through a high school program that is almost entirely academic-based, the Dutch school system has [...]

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May 14, 2008   6 Comments
Equal Opportunity, Public Policy, Teaching and Learning

Dutch Secondary School Options - A Model for the US?

In the third of our four part series discussing education in the Netherlands we take a look at the secondary school options available to students. In using the term options, we do not mean strictly a choice of which type of programming to attend. Instead, the option is determined by school performance at the elementary [...]

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May 12, 2008   4 Comments
Equal Opportunity, Public Policy, Teaching and Learning

Education in the Netherlands- Testing, Tracking, and Results

When looking at the Dutch school system, there are some glaring differences between what takes place in the Netherlands and what takes place in America. However, while many educators have taken a look at high performing Finland for ideas, it should be noted that in the Netherlands the socioeconomic diversity is more in line with [...]

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May 9, 2008   3 Comments
Equal Opportunity, Public Policy, Teaching and Learning

Education in the Netherlands - Another High Performing Country

A short time ago we took a brief look at Finland, the highest scoring country on the 2006 PISA Exams (Programme for International Student Assessment). The tiny country demonstrated extraordinary results taking the top spot in science, the number two slot in Reading (only trailing Korea), and the number two slot in Mathematics (trailing [...]

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May 6, 2008   5 Comments
Equal Opportunity, General, Public Policy, Teaching and Learning

In the News - Free Comic Book Day

Our good friend Chris Wilson over at “The Graphic Classroom” has some information about this Saturday’s “Free Comic Book Day (FCBD).” The program began six years ago and the give away is designed to promote comics among those who are not yet comic readers.
According to Wilson, thousands of comic book stores throughout the [...]

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April 30, 2008   No Comments
Multimedia Content, Teaching and Learning

Technology in the Classroom - The Role of the Principal

In our continued quest to bring our readers information about the use of technology in the classroom, today we talk with David Sherman, the principal of South Park Elementary School in Deerfield, Illinois, about the role the school leader can play in classroom technology use. Sherman began his career 21 years ago teaching fifth [...]

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April 28, 2008   3 Comments
Multimedia Content, Teaching and Learning, Technology

Improving Teacher Instructional Practice - New Technology Delivers

When we first became aware of the iWalkthough technology being utilized by several Maine school districts, we were intrigued by the possibilities of the device. There were two initial aspects that caught our eye.
First, we were impressed with the practical application of the PDA mobile technology. The device clearly represents another step into the [...]

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April 20, 2008   1 Comment
Teaching and Learning, Technology

iWalkThrough Technology - An Interview with David Ruff of the Great Schools Partnership

Today we offer an interview with David Ruff of the Great School Partnership, a nonprofit organization supporting the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute, regarding the development of the iWalkthrough™ system. The Partnership “works to redesign and strengthen public and private education to improve the quality of learning for all students” and to help [...]

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April 18, 2008   No Comments
Teaching and Learning, Technology