January 30, 2012
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The Gates Foundation has ponied up $76.5 million for a controversial student data tracking initiative that’s engaged Rupert Murdoch’s Wireless Generation to ‘build the open software that will allow states to access a shared, performance-driven marketplace of free and premium tools and content.’ If you live in CO, IL, NC, NY, MA, LA, GA, or DE, it’s coming soon to a public school near you.
(Full Story: Gates Paying Murdoch For System To Track U.S. Kids’ School Progress – Slashdot)
December 23, 2011
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So you’re saying that if plumbers or if IT designers or engineers, or writers, or presidents, performed at the level, at the objective level that New York City teachers did, we’d either get rid of all of them, or radically change the job?…
All the learning modalities -
Large live instruction, small live instruction, virtual live instruction (which we call virtual tutoring, colloquially) independent practice, small group collaboration and independent virtual instruction.
(Full Story: Freakonomics » How Is a Bad Radio Station Like Our Public-School System?)
December 23, 2011
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MIT today announced MITx which appears to be an open learning initiative. They describe it as “an online interactive learning platform” that will offer a portfolio of MIT courses.
(Full Story: Early Thoughts on MITx)
December 12, 2011
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We believe that there’s a lot more to class than lecture. Post links, videos, files. Start discussions. Write a blog post. Ask about an assignment. Classes are meant to be social, but they rarely are. We’re changing that.
(Full Story: Coursekit – simple way to manage your course and engage your students)
December 7, 2011
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“We wanted to create a simple, elegant LMS that covers 95% of instructors’ needs, like grading, file management, calendaring, submitting assignments, and emailing with the class,” says Joseph Cohen, 20, who left Wharton after his sophomore year when he scored $1 million in seed funding this past June to start Coursekit. “Blackboard covers 100%– that’s why it’s such a cluttered platform.”
(Full Story: The Ingenious Business Model Behind Coursekit, A Tumblr For Higher Education | Fast Company)
November 2, 2011
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a transition from cheaply churning out gaming videos in the style of Machinima.com to making educational iPad apps like Learn Guitar.
(Full Story: Mahalo Lays Off 25 Percent for Shift to Apps)
November 2, 2011
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A federal study, conducted a year earlier, examined ten leading software programs for teaching math, and concluded that they had no “statistically significant effects on test scores.”
(Full Story: Overselling educational software)
October 21, 2011
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On Monday, Grockit announced that it raised $7 million in venture capital, for a total of $24 million, from GSV Capital and NewSchools Venture Fund, which invests philanthropic donations in education businesses and nonprofit organizations.
(Full Story: Grockit Raises Money for Online Test Prep – NYTimes.com)
October 4, 2011
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Launchpad wants to bring toys into the digital age. The startup is building a suite of apps for the iPad that allow children to create, learn, and share their ideas through games — in an effort to become “the Lego of digital play”. Through its apps, the startup aims to bring classic toys (and toy makers) like Play-Doh, Crayola, and Erector Sets to the iPad, but with an educational backdrop that is standardized and meets national educational requirements.
(Full Story: Launchpad Toys Looks To Create The Next Generation Of Early Learning Toys)
September 29, 2011
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Parent company W3 Innovations was targeted with an FTC lawsuit on Friday; the settlement was announced Monday morning. In its complaint, the FTC alleges that W3 “collected, maintained, and/or disclosed personal information” entered into its various kid-targeted apps—for example, the complaint claims that the company collected and maintained a list of more than 30,000 e-mails as well as personal information from more than 300 Emily’s Girl World App users and 290 Emily’s Dress Up users.
(Full Story: iOS devs pay $50,000 for collecting children’s info in apps)
