According to an article in eSchool News, academics have a “wait and see” attitude towards the Google Book Settlement.
They feel that Google Book Search won’t be of much use to undergraduate studies, especially during the first two years of college. The corpus of book will be primarily of use to researchers.
They also express disappointment that foreign books have been removed from the settlement, and won’t set policies for campus libraries until all the legal challenges are over.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
CEO's Back Obama's Educational Initiatives
As we enter into the Thanksgiving holiday one idea I'm thankful for is the increased interest by the Obama administration on education. I think it is too early to do a victory lap, but there are encouraging signs.
Jeffrey Burt for eWeek, wrote an article on former Intel CEO Craig Barrett and current Xerox CEO Ursula Burns being are part of a group that will push forward the Obama administration’s effort to improve science and math education in the United States. In addition, the public-private partnership will look to grow an interest in the subjects among U.S. students. Group members said the effort is important to help keep the United States competitive in the global economy.
Among the other founders are Glen Britt, chairman, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable; Antonio Perez, chairman and CEO of Eastman Kodak; and Sally Ride, CEO of Sally Ride Science and the first American woman in space. Also helping with the funding is the Carnegie Corp.
The group is looking to build a coalition of businesses, philanthropists, educators, governors and the public to push for better STEM education, and will form an advisory board comprising business leaders.
"At Intel, we have seen what young people can do with math and science when they are inspired and well-taught,” Barrett said in a statement. “It is up to all of us to stimulate that interest and provide teachers who can guide and nurture students in these critical subjects.”
The non-profit organization will look to gather the necessary resources that will help drive math and science education. It also will look to take advantage of new technologies and social networks to bring teachers together with STEM professionals and help push STEM education and careers.
Businesses increasingly are looking for employees who are strong in the math and sciences, according to the group, which will put a greater onus on young people entering the work force to have these skills. Xerox’s Burns said the time is right for this strategy.
"President Obama's initiative is not only the right thing for the young people of our country, but essential to maintaining America's leadership position in the global economy," she said in a statement.
Having top corporate executives working with the administration will bridge education and the tomorrow's workforce.
Jeffrey Burt for eWeek, wrote an article on former Intel CEO Craig Barrett and current Xerox CEO Ursula Burns being are part of a group that will push forward the Obama administration’s effort to improve science and math education in the United States. In addition, the public-private partnership will look to grow an interest in the subjects among U.S. students. Group members said the effort is important to help keep the United States competitive in the global economy.
Among the other founders are Glen Britt, chairman, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable; Antonio Perez, chairman and CEO of Eastman Kodak; and Sally Ride, CEO of Sally Ride Science and the first American woman in space. Also helping with the funding is the Carnegie Corp.
The group is looking to build a coalition of businesses, philanthropists, educators, governors and the public to push for better STEM education, and will form an advisory board comprising business leaders.
"At Intel, we have seen what young people can do with math and science when they are inspired and well-taught,” Barrett said in a statement. “It is up to all of us to stimulate that interest and provide teachers who can guide and nurture students in these critical subjects.”
The non-profit organization will look to gather the necessary resources that will help drive math and science education. It also will look to take advantage of new technologies and social networks to bring teachers together with STEM professionals and help push STEM education and careers.
Businesses increasingly are looking for employees who are strong in the math and sciences, according to the group, which will put a greater onus on young people entering the work force to have these skills. Xerox’s Burns said the time is right for this strategy.
"President Obama's initiative is not only the right thing for the young people of our country, but essential to maintaining America's leadership position in the global economy," she said in a statement.
Having top corporate executives working with the administration will bridge education and the tomorrow's workforce.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Obama Unveils STEM Campaign
President Obama on Monday unveiled a campaign intended to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education among children – an effort that includes about $260 million in financial support from companies like Time Warner Cable, Discovery Communications, Sony, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
While the funding and commitments will come from private industry, the most public demonstration of the Obama administration's commitment will be an annual national science fair where student winners of national science, technology, and robotics competitions can showcase their projects at the White House.
"Reaffirming and strengthening America's role as the world's engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation is essential to meeting the challenges of this century," Obama said during a press conference at the White House. "That's why I am committed to making the improvement of STEM education over the next decade a national priority."
The president's goal for STEM education include: increasing STEM literacy and critical thinking; improving the quality of math and science teaching to help close the gap between the U.S. and other countries; and expanding STEM education and career opportunities for under-represented groups like women and minorities.
While the funding and commitments will come from private industry, the most public demonstration of the Obama administration's commitment will be an annual national science fair where student winners of national science, technology, and robotics competitions can showcase their projects at the White House.
"Reaffirming and strengthening America's role as the world's engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation is essential to meeting the challenges of this century," Obama said during a press conference at the White House. "That's why I am committed to making the improvement of STEM education over the next decade a national priority."
The president's goal for STEM education include: increasing STEM literacy and critical thinking; improving the quality of math and science teaching to help close the gap between the U.S. and other countries; and expanding STEM education and career opportunities for under-represented groups like women and minorities.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thirty-two percent increase in UC student fees
The resession hasn't only hit employees but future employees as well. The UC regents just approved a 32 percent increase for student fees outlined in an Associated Press article.
As hundreds of students demonstrated outside, University of California leaders on Thursday voted to approve a 32 percent hike in undergraduate fees, arguing the increase is crucial because of the state's budget crisis.
The UC Board of Regents, meeting at UCLA, approved a two-phase increase that will boost the average undergraduate fee $2,500 by next fall. That would bring the average annual cost to about $10,300 — a threefold increase in a decade.
After a series of deep cuts in state aid, and with state government facing a nearly $21 billion budget gap over the next year and a half, regents said there was no option to higher fees.
As hundreds of students demonstrated outside, University of California leaders on Thursday voted to approve a 32 percent hike in undergraduate fees, arguing the increase is crucial because of the state's budget crisis.
The UC Board of Regents, meeting at UCLA, approved a two-phase increase that will boost the average undergraduate fee $2,500 by next fall. That would bring the average annual cost to about $10,300 — a threefold increase in a decade.
After a series of deep cuts in state aid, and with state government facing a nearly $21 billion budget gap over the next year and a half, regents said there was no option to higher fees.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Bridging Students and Faculty Expectations
Despite best intentions, today’s first-generation college students and their professors “misunderstand and ultimately fail one another” in the classroom, according to a new scholarly work on community college pedagogy.
The College Fear Factor, published last month by Harvard University Press, is based upon five years of observations of community college courses and interviews with students and professors by Rebecca Cox, professor of education at Seton Hall University. In her work, she tries to show how “traditional college culture” is a barrier to student success, particularly for disadvantaged students.
Read today's article in Inside Higher Ed
The College Fear Factor, published last month by Harvard University Press, is based upon five years of observations of community college courses and interviews with students and professors by Rebecca Cox, professor of education at Seton Hall University. In her work, she tries to show how “traditional college culture” is a barrier to student success, particularly for disadvantaged students.
Read today's article in Inside Higher Ed
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Texas Schools Moving to Online Teaching Content
The Star-Telegram reported yesterday Texas schools will be moving to online content over the traditional textbook.
Textbooks could be going the way of slide rules and Big Chief tablets within a few years in Texas classrooms.
State legislation passed in the spring could put up-to-the-minute instructional content at students’ fingertips — either online or in customized printed form — eliminating the mass-market hardback textbook.
The sea change could happen sooner rather than later, beginning as early as the 2010-11 school year.
"This is one of the few times we can do things cheaper, faster and better all at the same time," said the measure’s author, state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston.
The legislation is one of two bills passed this year that allow the Texas Education Agency to create its own repository of digital textbook content.
By switching to online content, schools could save money, customize materials to fit students’ needs and more easily integrate textbooks with video, software or other technology.
This month, the Texas Education Agency is taking the first step by calling for bids for online material from both traditional publishers and online content providers. Officials there expect to have the first open-source textbooks and other materials online for students next fall.
"We did have a publishers meeting last week, and spent three hours talking through the open-source and electronic textbook concepts with them," said Anita Givens of the TEA instructional materials division.
Read the full article by Shirley Jinkins
Textbooks could be going the way of slide rules and Big Chief tablets within a few years in Texas classrooms.
State legislation passed in the spring could put up-to-the-minute instructional content at students’ fingertips — either online or in customized printed form — eliminating the mass-market hardback textbook.
The sea change could happen sooner rather than later, beginning as early as the 2010-11 school year.
"This is one of the few times we can do things cheaper, faster and better all at the same time," said the measure’s author, state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston.
The legislation is one of two bills passed this year that allow the Texas Education Agency to create its own repository of digital textbook content.
By switching to online content, schools could save money, customize materials to fit students’ needs and more easily integrate textbooks with video, software or other technology.
This month, the Texas Education Agency is taking the first step by calling for bids for online material from both traditional publishers and online content providers. Officials there expect to have the first open-source textbooks and other materials online for students next fall.
"We did have a publishers meeting last week, and spent three hours talking through the open-source and electronic textbook concepts with them," said Anita Givens of the TEA instructional materials division.
Read the full article by Shirley Jinkins
Monday, November 16, 2009
Opposition for the New Education Bill
An article in today's Boston Globe by James Vaznis states the Massachusetts Association of Charter Public Schools could actually stifle the growth of charter schools. This is odd, considering the teacher's association is stating the opposite.
The Massachusetts Association of Charter Public Schools said today the bill could actually stifle the growth of charter schools because of changes made to the legislation last Friday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Those changes would pull first-year funding for all new charter schools from the state's general education fund known as Chapter 70 and would create a new budget line for those costs, which the association fears could make it more vulnerable to line-item budget cutting.
Another change made by the committee would require that the first three new charter schools approved each year to be located in a district that ranks in the bottom 10 percent in MCAS scores. Given that the state only approves two or three applications a year, the association said the requirement would make it virtually impossible to open new charter schools in other parts of the state.
The association also expressed concern about imposing quotas on the enrollment of students from certain demographic groups and replacing students who leave a charter school. The association said the language in the bill is so restrictive that it would discourage organizers from wanting to open new charters schools.
"These provisions would inhibit future charter growth, and restrain the ability of successful charters to continue to provide the educational and economic opportunities they have been providing for 15 years -- a key tenet of the education reform agenda," Marc Kenen, the association's executive director, said in a statement.
Read the bill
The Massachusetts Association of Charter Public Schools said today the bill could actually stifle the growth of charter schools because of changes made to the legislation last Friday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Those changes would pull first-year funding for all new charter schools from the state's general education fund known as Chapter 70 and would create a new budget line for those costs, which the association fears could make it more vulnerable to line-item budget cutting.
Another change made by the committee would require that the first three new charter schools approved each year to be located in a district that ranks in the bottom 10 percent in MCAS scores. Given that the state only approves two or three applications a year, the association said the requirement would make it virtually impossible to open new charter schools in other parts of the state.
The association also expressed concern about imposing quotas on the enrollment of students from certain demographic groups and replacing students who leave a charter school. The association said the language in the bill is so restrictive that it would discourage organizers from wanting to open new charters schools.
"These provisions would inhibit future charter growth, and restrain the ability of successful charters to continue to provide the educational and economic opportunities they have been providing for 15 years -- a key tenet of the education reform agenda," Marc Kenen, the association's executive director, said in a statement.
Read the bill
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