After spending over 30 years in the publishing industry, I’ve collaborated in the development and production of thousands of published works. I’ve worked with authors, editors, designers, illustrators, proofreaders, production artists, translators, reviewers—hundreds of people who contributed to the accuracy and quality of each book or digital offering. We followed procedures to ensure content was accurate and errors were eliminated, relying on the [...]
A recent New York Times article discussed a growing movement in which colleges and universities are putting lectures and course materials online for anyone in the world to access. Lectures by professors from Yale, MIT, and UC Berkeley, among others, are available on sites such as YouTube and iTunes for no cost as part of the "open educational resources" movement. Though originally intended as [...]
I didn't grow up in Massachusetts, so when I began tutoring elementary and high school students after I moved here three years ago, I didn't understand why the number one thing on their mind was the MCAS test. The MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) tests are so important to these students because not only do they take these tests every year from third [...]
Today, the word 'college' is almost synonymous with the word 'online.' You can apply to college online, register for classes online, read textbooks online, and even take classes online. So it’s not really that surprising that many colleges are beginning to recruit students online. Gone are the days of college fairs in high school gyms, where recruiters speak to a handful of overwhelmed [...]
It should be no surprise that many new technologies are making inroads into schools and classrooms. Most every school has computers and SMART Boards, and many teachers receive answers to tests from students via hand-held wireless devices. Apple's iPad has been making its way into schools since it was released, but there seems to be a recent surge of these devices and their [...]
While government agencies and school administrators focus on standards, AYP, accountability, and other urgent issues in education, an oft-overlooked segment of students is receiving some welcome attention. The proposed federal budget for 2010 has assigned $50 million to be used for dropout prevention. The stimulus package includes $3.5 billion to help turn around low-performing schools, and presumably a portion of that will also be [...]
It looks as though the movement to adopt the Common Core Standards is gaining momentum. These standards, drawn up by state school chiefs and released this spring, will provide a set of Math and Language Arts objectives that will bring consistency to what our children are taught across the country. Pushing for these national standards will also discourage states from "weakening" their standards [...]
Back in the 1960's, linguist Noam Chomsky developed a theory called "Critical Period Hypothesis." Chomsky stated that the time before puberty is the easiest time for children to learn world languages. Once children go through the puberty stage it's more difficult to learn another language. Furthermore, Chomsky explains that while a child is going through puberty, his/her brain is more able to absorb [...]