Statistics for February 2013

This entry is being posted back-dated.

As has become the pattern it seems, a quick statistics entry this month.  This past month there were 3,986 visitors to this blog – a decrease of about 1200-1300 from January and about the same as December, but about a third of the traffic from February  2012.

The top ten entries that folks visited in the past 30 days were:

1. Guest Blogger: Examining Accelerated Christian Education
2. News from the NEPC: 2012 Bunkum Awards!!!
3. Questions About The School Of Tomorrow
4. KEYNOTE PROFILE: Dr. Susan C. Aldridge, President, University Of Maryland University College (UMUC)
5. KEYNOTE: Dr. Susan C. Aldridge, President, University of Maryland University College (UMUC) – TITLE: From the Sidelines to the Mainstream:
6. Reengineering the Case for E-Education
7. Problem With Cyber Charter Schools – PA & NJ Edition
8. Instructional Technology Dissertation Topics
9. Online-Teaching Standards
10. Announcing Project 24 Webinar Series

About a third of the visits came from search engines – which may account for the variety of entries above from a wide range of time periods.  They searched for:

1. dr susan aldridge
2. susan aldridge
3. susan c aldridge
4. generational differences
5. dr susan c aldridge
6. kat von d tattoos
7. minecraft projects
8. run for your wife premiere
9. virtuaql schools statistcs
10. make up

This odd list of search terms may also explain some of the drop off in traffic.

Finally, the statistics from my old blogsite (which still generates some traffic).

Plugged In | 02.28.13 | (powered by iNACOL)

And more news from the neo-liberals to finish the day…

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PLUGGED IN  (February 28, 2013) powered by iNACOL… Upcoming Events… 2DAY   Re-Engineering for Competency Education: IT Design Considerations (register) 03.01   Moving to Mastery: A Nat’l Policy Forum on Competency Education (register) 03.04   SXSWedu, Austin, TX   Do you know someone who should be reading Plugged In? Please share the following link and ask them to subscribe: http://inacol.org/plugged-in – Thank you! New Releases…  CompetencyWorks  Necessary for Success: Building Mastery of World-Class Skills – A State Policymakers Guide to Competency Education ( link) K-12 News… Bill to incentivize year-round school, blended learning clears committee Deseret News | Salt Lake City, UT More schools may consider implementing a year-round schedule or blended learning in classrooms if a bill advanced Wednesday by the Senate Education Committee becomes law. SB79, sponsored by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, would create a student-centered learning pilot program to incentivize (read) Policy Changes Needed for Shift to Competency-Based Education Model THE Journal Schools need to move away from the current factory model based on seat-time credit requirements and toward a new competency-based learning model that supports mastery-based, student-centered, personalized learning environments, according to CompetencyWorks and the International ( read) New Online Education in Pasco KVEW-TV | Kennewick, WA Less than a month after its launch, 25 students have already enrolled in the Pasco School District’s new online education program. Called the Pasco Academy of Learning, or, iPAL, it is currently available to middle and high school students as an alternative to attending classes on campus. The school (read) Montgomery Flex Charter School will not appeal Montgomery News | Fort Washington, PA The educational consultant who made two failed attempts at launching Montgomery Flex Charter School within the North Penn School District said he will not appeal. Tim Sager said the potential cost of the appeal was the main factor in his decision. When appealing, the first step is to gather 1,000 (read) Senate approves online charter school moratorium Associated Press (NM) New Mexico would impose a temporary moratorium on new fully online charter schools under a proposal approved by the Senate. The measure by Republican Sen. Gay Kernan of Hobbs calls for a one-year moratorium to allow a study of virtual charter schools to assess their effects on students and public (read) St. Mary’s curriculum going digital starting next school year Daily Item | Lynn, MA Backpacks at St. Mary’s High School will get a whole lot lighter come fall, when the school ditches textbooks and goes digital. “Starting in September for 2013/2014 every student will be required to provide their own e-reader device or tablet computer, such as an iPad, as part of the school’s Digital (read) Teachers reveal wide usage of digital tools – and wide disparities among lower and higher income schools Digital Book World A new report released by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that though digital tools are widely used throughout U.S. schools, teachers who serve the lowest income students have more difficulty using digital tools effectively. “Digital technologies have become essential instructional (read) New Orleans education technology startup Kickboard lands $2 million in investments BayouBuzz The New Orleans educational technology startup Kickboard, which runs an Internet-based service for teachers to track data on student performance, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $2 million in early-stage investments from a pair of venture capital firms. More than 200 schools nationwide use (read) K12 Inc. Adds More than 110 School District Partners to Recently Introduced Online Homebound Education and Alternative Learning (HEAL) Program Press Release K12 Inc., the nation’s leading provider of technology-powered individualized education solutions for students in pre-kindergarten through high school, today announced that since August 2012 it has signed new agreements to provide its Homebound Education and Alternative Learning (HEAL) program to more (read) Florida Virtual School and gWhiz Gamify meStudying Mobile iOS App Press Release Mobile educational app developer gWhiz, has teamed up with Florida Virtual School® (FLVS®), the leader in Kindergarten-12 grade online education, to redesign its popular meStudying® educational app series for iTunes. By combining the content from previously separate apps into one, users who download (read) Higher Ed… Learning curve steep for schools with online courses Washington Times | Washington, DC Louis Bloomfield is accustomed to speaking to classrooms of 25 or 30 students, but now he is preparing a syllabus for a crowd so massive that it wouldn’t be out of place at a Justin Bieber concert. The University of Virginia physics professor has jumped head-first into the brave new world of Massive Open Online (read) Harvard Names Online Education Leadership Harvard Magazine | Cambridge, MA The University has populated some of the administrative and faculty committees that oversee and manage HarvardX (the University’s operating entity for its online initiative) and Harvard’s relationship with edX, the joint venture with MIT to which Harvard has committed significant resources to develop online learning (read) ‘Flipped classroom’ model embraced at Elon University The Pendulum | Elon, NC Students are saying goodbye to traditional homework as “flipped classrooms” attract national attention. Flipped classrooms refer to a growing number of teachers who digitally record their lessons and assign them as homework. In class the next day, the teacher uses time to help students work through (read) The MOOC-Averse Technology U. Inside Higher Ed While other universities move quickly to offer courses online for free, Carnegie Mellon University is instead starting for-profit efforts designed to capture segments of the education market. Provost Mark Kamlet said the university is looking for a “financially sustainable” way to expand its reach. So far, that means a (read) Best of the Blogs… Can Student-Driven Learning Happen Under Common Core? Mind/Shift Ensuring the Going is Good CompetencyWorks What is Blended Learning As Defined by Teachers Education Elements Teachers Report ‘Major Impact’ of Internet on Learning Digital Education Eight Implementation Challenges and Solutions Vander Ark on Innovation Find out more about iNACOL and our mission on: Stay connected:

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Necessary for Success: A State Policymakers Guide to Competency Education (CompetencyWorks)

News from the neo-liberals…

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New iNACOL Report: State Policymakers Guide to K-12 Competency Education Latest CompetencyWorks paper examines move toward competency-based models A new report from CompetencyWorks and the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) outlines key policy changes necessary for U.S. schools to move away from restrictive seat-time credit requirements and toward a 21st century learning model based on a student’s demonstrated mastery of knowledge and skills. In Necessary for Success: Building Mastery of World-Class Skills – A State Policymakers Guide to Competency Education , authors Susan Patrick and Chris Sturgis highlight state-level progress in removing barriers to mastery-based, student-centered, personalized learning environments. Americans value an education that prepares students for global competitiveness, providing students with world-class knowledge and skills. In order for this to become reality, our schools must be designed around student learning, not around a factory-model limited by learning within confines of the one-size-fits-all bell system — where learning is the variable and massive achievement gaps persist. Susan Patrick, co-author and CEO of iNACOL said, “A growing number of states are already advancing toward a new system of competency-based education that rewards and recognizes that each and every child can learn and be held to high, rigorous standards. States and federal policy leaders must re-examine time-based accountability. We must recognize how new competency education systems support student-centered learning and empower educators with strategies for customizing instruction and enabling students to advance upon mastery of standards. State leadership and policy are the linchpin to competency education, and this report introduces the concepts and mechanisms necessary for successfully redesigning the approach to education innovation through developing policies and practices for a student-centered system.” An opportunity for state leaders to reflect upon the efforts of contemporaries around the country, Necessary for Success shares insights into re-engineering the policy and practices of our K-12 systems; introduces the main concepts behind competency-based learning; studies important initial steps taken by states in introducing this emerging model; and considers creating a culture of competency within state agencies. Co-author Chris Sturgis, Principal of MetisNet, said, “State education leadership, together with their district and school partners, are changing the nature of America’s education system. Necessary for Success captures the bold vision and creativity they are utilizing to transform the traditional time-based system to one in which equity and excellence go hand-in-hand to drive the re-engineering of education.” Necessary for Success highlights innovative education leaders in several areas of the country who, realizing that there is something inherently wrong with our current time-based system, are establishing advanced competency policy by redefining credits as competencies of what students know and can do; establishing proficiency-based diplomas and grading systems; providing credit flexibility to move away from seat-time; enabling waivers for innovative schools; and offering support for building systemic approaches to challenge the traditional time-based system of the Carnegie unit. To download a copy of Necessary for Success: Building Mastery of World-Class Skills – A State Policymakers Guide to Competency Education, please visit http://bit.ly/necessaryforsuccess. To learn more about competency-based education, please visit CompetencyWorks at http://competencyworks.org. Necessary for Success: Building Mastery of World-Class Skills – A State Policymakers Guide to Competency Education  was made possible with the generous support of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Donnell-Kay Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

This email was sent to: mkbarbour@gmail.com This email was sent by: North American Council for Online Learning dba International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) 1934 Old Gallows Road, Suite 350, Vienna, VA, 22182-4040, United States We respect your right to privacy – view our policy

EdITLib February Update: New Content Partners Added

More items from yesterday…

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EdITLib.org EdITLib – The Only Digital Library Dedicated to Education and Information Technology is a multimedia, peer-reviewed, international knowledge resource for researchers, educators, and libraries. Includes: 40,000+ articles and multimedia resources from 70,000+ authors with new content continuously added! Journal Articles                                                                                 Sponsored By: Conference Papers eBooks Recorded Keynote Talks Online Seminars Presentation Slides New EdITLib Content Partners: EdITLib highlights and archives journals & proceedings from publishers worldwide. Visit EdITLib for new content updates! British Journal of Educational Technology Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology ASCILITE Proceedings New Feedback Form. EdITLib welcomes all feedback to enhance your experience! Interested in becoming an EdITLib Content Partner? Contact here. COMING SOON: More Journals & Proceedings from AACE  &  Other Renowned International Publishers! With EdITLib, You Can: Gain immediate access to 25+ years of peer-reviewed, international publications! Keep current on the latest research and publications in the field Create course readings packs for classroom use Showcase your papers & receive global exposure! Receive Alerts when new papers match your search terms Subscribe or Recommend to Your Library Today! Subscribe here! STAY CONNECTED

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NZC Online Newsletter February 2013

And another from yesterday’s inbox…

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NZC Online Update – February 2013 Each month we bring you an email update with information, links, strategies, and school stories on New Zealand Curriculum Online, Key Competencies Online, Senior Secondary Teaching and Learning Guides, and the Secondary Portal.

New stories Foundations for curriculum decision making Keith Street School principal Clyde Piercy’s recently published sabbatical report explored the role of student voice in building ‘learning-focused’ relationships. Clyde used his sabbatical findings to plan a whole school approach to learning focused relationships. Students and their learning at the centre Rebecca Logan from Wellington East Girls’ College discusses how she centres her lessons around her students with group work and time for inquiry. This allows her to have conversations with them about how they are learning. The result is that the students are much more able to reflect on and grow their learning capacity.

New resources Follow a “Mars Mission” Students had a rare opportunity to follow a mock Mars Mission at the Mars Desert Research station in the Utah desert during February. You may have missed the mission, but the resources are still available.NZPF Magazines Missed a copy or want to share some of the articles with your staff? You can access copies of the New Zealand Principal’s Federation magazine available in PDF format from 2002 through to the current edition.Te reo Māori in English medium schools Tamara Bell discusses how teaching and learning te reo Māori can help raise achievement for Māori learners.

Research reports Mathematics in Years 4 to 8: Developing a Responsive Curriculum In this evaluation ERO used the mathematics learning area and associated standards to look at what schools were doing to raise the achievement of students in Years 4 to 8.

Key competencies Key competencies and effective pedagogy Sue McDowall and Rosemary Hipkins from NZCER provide some background and an introduction to the new key competencies and effective pedagogy tool

Secondary Exploring values and perspectives through social inquiry Changes have been made, and a new section added to the Geography senior secondary curriculum guide.Statements on points of view, values and perspectives Changes have been made, and a new section added to the Senior social studies curriculum guide.The NZ social science conference 2013 SocCon 2013 will be held at the Hamilton Girls’ High School Centre for Creativity and Performance in the centre of Hamilton City from the 15th to the 17th of July 2013.

Community engagement Supporting teachers with community engagement in the classroom Owairaka School has many initiatives to support their staff to understand and engage with the different cultures in their school community. Pamela King, Kauri Park School: Sabbatical report This report attempts to answer the question, “How might medium to high decile schools with a low percentage of Māori and Pasifika students successfully engage family and whānau in their children’s learning to help raise student achievement?”

Spread the word Please share this newsletter and encourage your colleagues to sign up for the updates.Want to be informed of new tools, resources, and stories as they are published? Join our FaceBook page for updates.

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