Schools in Brunswick, Georgia will soon begin testing a set of 60 brand new iPads to see if the devices can be successfully utilized by students and teachers to further their educational goals. Though studies in the last decade have shown little or no benefit to having laptops in the classroom, schools are looking to […]
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TechDirt: Judge Rules Demanding Students’ Facebook Password Violation of First Amendment Rights
After increasing reports of schools violating their students’ privacy by searching through their phones, facebook messages and other personal areas of the digital world, a judge has recently re-affirmed 20 years of decisions by ruling that requiring a student to give up their Facebook or email passwords is a violation of first amendment rights. A […]
SparkEd: Lowering the Drop-Out Rate in San Antonio
The city of San Antonio is building itself up as the “City of Innovation.” To get started, the city is focusing on building up their youth. New efforts spawning from the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce economic outlook conference are aimed at lowering San Antonio’s 27% high school drop-out rate (which is almost 20% […]
TED: Aaron Reedy Teaches Us How We Know About Evolution
Previously, we discussed Aaron Reedy’s innovative introduction of meaningful academic research into high school science classes. I thought it would be interesting to touch on another area of his expertise. Earlier this year, Reedy gave a TED talk about teaching high school students about evolution. More specifically, Reedy discussed his approach to teaching how we […]
Case Study: Innovative Education in Fall River, MA
We’ve mentioned in the past the importance of giving teachers flexibility to develop innovative coursework for their students. Today, we’ve got two examples of exactly that happening in Fall River, Massachusetts. The first is The Edmond Talbot Innovation School, which will present students in Fall River with career-based education in the areas of science, technology, […]
Hallway: How High School Students Are Innovating High School Business
Check out this awesome and empowering story via VentureBeat about Hallway, a homework helper site for high school students by high school students. Hallway was started by a 17-year-old student after his homework help groups on Facebook garnered hundreds of members. Sean McElrath, Hallway’s founder, realized a need in a market he understood intimately, and […]
Scientific American: Large Scale Research at High Schools
Aaron Reedy – along with a select few high schools across the nation – has done something previously thought impossible. His high school students have completed important, significant scientific research. In this article, Reedy talks about how he rebuilt his biology class from the ground up in order to do meaningful research, ultimately publishing a […]
Case Study: Innovative Education in Maine
This article showcases how innovative education in Maine will help fill the gap between the skills employers need and the skills those entering the workforce have. I think it’s interesting to note that even though this opinion piece discusses the unique situation facing Maine’s high schools and their students, you can draw parallels to the […]
WSJ: How Schools Can Teach Innovation
I stumbled upon this great article from the Wall Street Journal on how schools can teach innovation in order to educate the next Steve Jobs. Many high schools have it backwards – failure is often a source of punishment, not a source of feedback. The top take-home points: Allow students to learn from their mistakes. […]