Achieve 3000

Achieve 3000 is all about believing in students and reaching them at their own levels. It’s about making sure students believe in themselves and know that they can go on to the next level of learning. Achieve 3000’s products provide differentiated instruction in both literacy and science. In reading, individual student levels are determined and are continually assessed as students move through the program. Science instruction through eScience3000, a core science program, and The World of Biology, a supplemental curriculum for middle and high school students, are designed to help teachers “produce the forward-thinking scientific minds that will meet the demands of the 21^st century.” Case studies and implementation models are available on the Achieve3000 site.

Computer Learning Month

October is Computer Learning Month, but you don’t hear much about this, anymore.  It was established by the Computer Learning Foundation to help encourage use of technologies in schools in the 1980s and 1990s. There were competitions for all age students to acquaint them with what was possible with computers. Today, there are computers in most of our classrooms and many students bring their own laptops, smart phones, and notebook computers to school. While all classrooms may not have 3-D printers and the latest in interactive technologies, most have Internet connections and many teachers have integrated technologies into their courses. We are still far from knowing how computers and related technologies can best help our students prepare for the future, and our students, although they are proficient in many types of tech uses, often do not put technologies to use as a learning assistant. Besides, with the worlds of tech and IT changing rapidly, it might be a good idea to bring Computer Learning Month back into our schools to help us keep up with how our lives and student learning are changing.

Ed Week Teacher Online Book Club

Education Week offers a Bookclub for teachers. You can sign up for book discussions in areas of interest such as: Instructional Methods, Technology, Special or Gifted Education, Leadership, Mentoring/Coaching, Diversity, Curriculum, Educational Policy and School-Wide Improvement. Online Bookclub sessions are led by authors of books on “hot-button” topics. During the sessions, participants will have the opportunity to interact with others and with the author. The first featured book discussion (July 12-16) is: “The Hardest Questions Aren’t on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School”

(Nathan).  If you are interested, sign up now and get a chance to win a free book.