This morning I read an article titled New research just released on “School Principals and Social Networking in Education: Practices, Policies, and Realities in 2010”. The article is about research results regarding what principals thought about social networking in their school communities. To gather information researchers used a survey of school principals and an online discussion group of principals who were already using social networking. The results were surprising to me, most principals found value in using social networking in education listing the following as specific examples of benefits.

What is the value of social networking in education?

• Improve school wide communications
• A channel to communicate to an extended network of educators
• Students view learning as more collaborative
• Students see it as a connection to real-life learning
• Improves students motivation, engagement, and /or active involvement

With all of these benefits, what’s the hold up?

Schools are noted as some of the last hold outs to implement the use of social networking. Among the discussion group none of the principals had school or district policies in place for social networking that were sufficient. There are also concerns about safety, privacy, confidentiality, and a lack of information about how to make sure these sites are used appropriately at school.

I know this topic is controversial and people have their opinions on this subject, so let’s hear them. Let us know what you think about social networing in schools!

I read an article today by Erick W. Robelen called “Race to Top Winners Embed STEM Projects in Plans” in Education Week and also looked up some information about this program on the U.S. Department of Education website ed.gov, here are some of the things I found very interesting.

Many educators are waiting to hear wether  a third phase in the federal Race to the Top competition will be approved for an additional $1.35 billion, over $4 billion in federal funding has already been awarded to 11 states and the District of Columbia. 

Phase 2 winners were announced recently and this phase of the competition was pretty tough with many states scoring within a few points of each other. One of the distinguishing factors was the presence of STEM Projects embedded throughout states plans for reform. STEM- science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – education was a priority factor  when making the decisions of which states would be awarded the funds. There was a total of 500 points possible for applications and STEM plans could earn states 15 points if they addressed all three of the following areas throughout their applications;

• Offer a rigorous course of study in the STEM fields;
• Cooperate with industry experts, research centers, community partners, and others to “prepare and assist teachers in integrating STEM content across grades and disciplines, in promoting effective and relevant instruction, and in offering applied learning opportunities for students”; and
• Prepare more students for advanced study and careers in STEM, including by addressing the needs of traditionally underrepresented groups in those fields.

The states all came up with different ideas on how to incorporate STEM education into their schools and according to the U.S. Department of Education website ed.gov they plan on bringing all of the states together to implement reforms. To read all of the states applications, Peer Reviewers Comments, and scores visit the U.S. Department of Education website.

To read Erik W. Robelen’s full article in Education Week click here.

It’s that time of year again, school has started and around the country students and teachers are heading back to the classroom. At LearnKey we do a lot of work with school districts all over the country and thought educators might enjoy some blogs written for them. If you’re not a teacher don’t worry you can still read them too!

If your district does not use LearnKey training products here are some of the great benefits we have to offer. 

Our solution is a comprehensive, self-paced, anytime, anywhere training program that helps you:

• Get students industry certified
• Aggressively meet Perkins Grant standards
• Save time and energize lesson plans

If your school district does use LearnKey training, but you are not sure where to start…

Contact us now to: (your district or school has already purchased!)

1. Get your user name and password
2. Import your new students
3. Manage your account

 Call 1.800.865.0165 and get connected!

*We also have a Free Certification Poster to acknowledge student certifications achieved in your classroom. Reply here with the mailing address and school district you work for to receive your poster.

We’ve been having a lot a people inquiring about our production studio and what it’s like for the Experts when they come and film here at LearnKey. Of course every shoot is a little different from one another, but typically, here’s the layout…

Monday morning around 8:00 am the author usually arrives at our LK site in Salt Lake City, Utah. Once they meet the crew and get settled in a little, we go ahead and start with the wardrobe, hair and make up. Once an outfit that looks best with our set has been decided, the author is then turned over to the Director. The Director then does a screen test to ensure that all looks well from a visual standpoint. Then it’s time to discuss the curriculum of the specific course- which is where our Instructional Designer comes into play. The Author and the Instructional Designer review the course’s syllabus and all of the objectives that are going to be covered. Once this has been approved, it’s go time!

Here’s a fun little clip featuring our Word 2010 Expert Mandi Bergenfeld and her experience her at the LK studio!