In This Issue
Education News
Resources for School Library Media Specialists
Grants & Awards
Professional Development
Education News
School Leaders Agree That Assessing 21st-Century Skills Should Be a Top Priority for the New Administration
According to the more than 500 school leaders that responded to a survey issued by the National School Boards Association, more than 50 percent surveyed agreed that finding ways to assess 21st-century learning skills should top the list of education technology priorities for the next Administration and Congress. School districts noted that their biggest challenge is funding for technology, closely followed by integrating technology into the classroom.
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Study Shows That Teens Use of Social Media Is Not a Bad Thing
Results from the most extensive U.S. study on teens and their use of digital media show that America's youth are developing important social and technical skills online – often in ways adults do not understand or value. Released by the American Anthropological Association, the study was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's $50-million digital media and learning initiative <digitallearning.macfound.org>, which is exploring how digital media are changing how young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life.
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USDOE Releases Final Report on Student Reading Comprehension
On November 19, the Secretary of the USDOE announced the release of the "Reading First Impact Study: Final Report." This report, a follow-up to April's interim study, presents an additional year of data (from 2006-07) on student reading comprehension and classroom instruction in 248 schools (125 Reading First schools and 123 non-Reading First schools) and information on the impact of the program on first-grade students' decoding skills. While the report found no statistically significant difference in reading comprehension, Reading First had a significant impact on students' decoding, phonics, and fluency skills – three of the five basic components of reading.
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Report Shows That States Make Impressive Gains in Building Longitudinal Data Systems
The Data Quality Campaign, a national effort to encourage and support state improvement on the collection, availability, and use of educational data to improve student achievement, has released "Measuring What Matters: Creating Longitudinal Data Systems to Improve Student Achievement." This survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia finds that 6 states have all 10 elements of a comprehensive data system that can track student progress from preschool through college, and 48 states have at least half the elements. States report that it's not a lack of technological know-how that keeps them from doing this work, but the lack of political will and resources to implement the elements and change the culture around data use.
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Share Your Ideas, Thoughts, and Dreams about K-12 Education
The annual Speak Up survey gives K-12 students, teachers, administrators, and parents the opportunity to share their viewpoints about key educational issues. Each year, findings are summarized and shared with national and state policy makers. This year, Speak Up 2008 will be open to students, teachers, administrators, and parents until Friday, December 19, 2008. A Spanish version of the survey will be available starting November 4.
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Arizona Joins AASL as a P21 Advocate for 21st-Century Skills in Education
Arizona became the 10th 21st Century Skills Leadership State by joining the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), the nation’s leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st-century skills into education. In becoming a Leadership State, Arizona has committed to embedding 21st-century skills in five critical areas: standards, assessments, professional development, teacher preparation, and youth development.
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SETDA Releases Report on Effective Ways to Empower Teachers
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) released the fourth paper in the Class of 2020: Action Plan for Education series, Empowering Teachers: A Professional and Collaborative Approach today. The paper examines approaches such as technology coaches, curriculum cadres, and collaborative school reform teams that have proven to effectively change teacher behavior and increase student achievement.
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Resources for School Library Media Specialists
P21 Offers Map to Help Infuse 21st-Century Skills into English Education
Earlier this month, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) released the 21st Century Skills and English Map. The map offers a new framework that provides educators with teacher-created models of how 21st-century skills can be infused into English classes. The map – which demonstrates how the integration of 21st-century skills into English curriculum supports teaching and learning and prepares students to become effective and productive citizens in the 21st century – highlights the critical connections between English and 21st-century skills.
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Web site Offers Students the Opportunity to Write Stories with Other Students from around the World
A new site, Reading Planet, by Reading is Fundamental offers students a variety of options to make reading fun. The site gives kids the opportunity to print a monthly calendar with reading activities for each day of the month in the "Activity Lab;" the opportunity to review books in the "Express Yourself" section; games to build reading and language comprehension in the "Game Station"; and read-along stories with illustrations in the "Book Zone." After a free registration, members also have the opportunity to write story threads with other members from around the world.
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USDOE Issues White Paper about Technology
The Secretary of the USDOE has issued a new white paper about technology, "Harnessing Innovation to Support Student Success: Using Technology to Personalize Education." The paper gives the "lessons learned" from three roundtable discussions with representatives from across the education and technology landscape, from teachers to executives, and a roundtable discussion with students. Participants identified five key areas where federal, state, and local governments can better collaborate: (1) online learning and virtual schools; (2) transforming data into knowledge and action; (3) broadband connectivity; (4) research efficacy and impact; and (5) school leadership and professional preparation.
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USDOE Offers English Language Training Web Site for Adults
USDOE's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) officially launched USA Learns, a Web site providing the approximately 11 million adults who have low levels of English proficiency with accessible and free English language training. Upon entering the site, users can choose directions in either English or Spanish and then pick which level they need: beginner or immediate.
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Grants & Awards
AASL Offers More Than $45,000 through 2009 Awards
In 2009 AASL will offer more than $45,000 in awards to AASL members. AASL's nine awards recognize excellence and showcase best practices in the school library media field in categories that include research, collaboration, leadership, and innovation. The awards include the AASL Collaborative School Library Media Award, the AASL Research Grant, the ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant, the Distinguished Service Award, the Distinguished School Administrator Award, the Frances Henne Award, the Information Technology Pathfinder Award, the Innovative Reading Grant, the Intellectual Freedom Award, and the National School Library Media Program of the Year (NSLMPY) Award.
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Gain National Recognition for Your Program
Cable's Leaders in Learning Awards program is a national initiative recognizing quality learning programs created by educators, administrators, public officials, and community leaders at all levels, in all disciplines, and in all kinds of learning settings. Winners receive a $3,000 cash prize, an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, in June 2009, and the opportunity to visit with members of Congress to talk about their award-winning program. The deadline for entries in this year's program is Wednesday, December 17, 2008.
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Professional Development
AASL Offers School Library Advocacy Premidwinter Institute
At the ALA 2009 Midwinter Meeting, AASL will be offering a Premidwinter Institute, the School Library Advocacy Institute. Led by Deborah Levitov, the institute will be held Friday, January 23, in Denver, Colorado. The rate for AASL members is $189.
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Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Announces Summer Seminars for Teachers
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to announce the 2009 summer seminar schedule. School library media specialists with responsibility in American history are encouraged to attend one of the forty seminars available this year. Gilder Lehrman summer seminars are designed to strengthen participants' commitment to high-quality history teaching. Educators at every level and National Park Service interpreters are eligible. Held at institutions throughout the United States and Great Britain, these weeklong seminars provide intellectual stimulation and practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom. Seminars are limited to thirty participants by competitive application. Applications must be submitted online by February 15, 2009.
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