Blog

Can a Common Core Approach Bridge the Gap for English Learners?

Is America’s school system equipped to appropriately challenge both native English speakers and English language learners (ELLs) alike? Statistics on United States student enrollment indicate that, in the 2011–12 school year, the number of ELLs in the public school system made up 9.1 percent of total students. Likewise, the number of ELLs grew by 53.2 percent from 1997–2008 [PDF link]. Furthermore, it is nationally projected that [...]

By Mallory Abreu|2018-11-08T10:08:56-05:00January 22nd, 2015|

Employee Spotlight: Meet Alyssa

In my younger days, I was a well-known library patron. It earned me certain privileges: I never needed to bring my library card, and I had my own box behind the checkout desk to store all of my interlibrary loan requests. Growing up, my parents encouraged me to explore my interests, hoping that by the time I began applying to colleges, I’d have a [...]

By Publishing Solutions Group|2018-11-09T10:36:11-05:00January 21st, 2015|

Power to the People: The Impact of Crowdfunding

When I first decided on the topic of the impact of crowdfunding websites, I had what I thought was the basic definition of the term crowdfunding: the process of inventors in various fields using a website to promote their creations in hopes of acquiring funds from potential consumers so as to develop the project on a greater scale. In an article titled “What is Crowdfunding and [...]

By Nick Persad|2018-11-08T10:16:27-05:00January 20th, 2015|

To Infinity and Beyond: The Mathematical Magic of Pixar Animation

From Toy Story to Finding Nemo to Up, no computer-generated imagery (CGI) production company has conquered the animated feature film industry quite like Pixar. Each film opens with the iconic Pixar lamp staking its place in the Pixar logo, usually to the delight of contented moviegoers. Pixar’s success owes much to the technical innovation behind the films that have dazzled the general public and won not only viewers’ [...]

By Eileen Neary|2018-11-08T10:19:17-05:00January 14th, 2015|

STEMinistas: Science Clubs Just Got a Whole Lot Techier

When I was in high school, the science club was like a dusty old chalkboard, largely forgotten and barely acknowledged, even by department faculty. And while writing lab reports and conducting investigations were enjoyable, it didn’t occur to me that I could have been performing experiments after school. But for others, this idea has occurred. The award-winning Science Club for Girls (SCFG) takes extracurricular activities to a [...]

By Lori Becker|2018-11-08T10:31:58-05:00January 12th, 2015|

Coming Out of Our Ears: OED’s Words of 2015

When I say dictionary, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of the stuffy, outdated tomes pushed into the back corners of a bookshelf in the local library. But did you know that dictionaries are constantly changing, adapting, and adding new words and phrases to their vast word lists? The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is one such publication. The OED makes regular quarterly updates to its dictionaries, [...]

By Shalen Lowell|2018-10-26T12:15:07-04:00January 9th, 2015|

Interactive Fiction: Redefining the Reader’s Role

Have you ever been reading a book and found yourself so engrossed in the plot that you want to reach in and become part of the story? With interactive fiction (IF) you can do just that. Part book and part game, interactive fiction uses an online book format that gives the reader a say in how plots develop. As people read these text [...]

By Lori Becker|2018-10-26T11:39:12-04:00January 8th, 2015|

A Page from the World of Rare Books

by Chris Hartman The scholarly treatment of rare books has undergone significant changes since the advent of the internet. Having spent over a decade working with rare books and other written materials, I have seen reference books evolve from an almost exclusively print-based medium to a virtual one. But the canon of standard references that rare book librarians, book collectors and dealers use [...]

By Publishing Solutions Group|2018-11-08T10:47:13-05:00January 5th, 2015|

Going Against the Grain: The Workshop School’s Unconventional Hands-On Education

Within the vast public school system in Philadelphia, an alternative kind of education rears its tiny head. This atypical school rebuilds the educational framework—literally. At the Workshop School, students are self-driven, becoming their own inspiration to achieve their goals through their own innovation. Taking on projects ranging from electric car design to soundproof recording studios; the Workshop School allows students to delve into the hands-on [...]

By Mallory Abreu|2018-11-08T10:54:33-05:00December 29th, 2014|

The Workshop School’s Unconventional Hands-On Education

Within the vast public school system in Philadelphia, an alternative kind of education rears its tiny head. This atypical school rebuilds the educational framework—literally. At the Workshop School, students are self-driven, becoming their own inspiration to achieve their goals through their own innovation. Taking on projects ranging from electric car design to soundproof recording studios; the Workshop School allows students to delve into the [...]

By Mallory Abreu|2018-10-26T16:11:01-04:00December 23rd, 2014|

Blog writing is a big part of our internship coursework. Staff writers drop in from time to time to chime in on industry trends, grammar and all things Boston.