The innovative classroom

I had a few conversations with KIPP administrators this week and can't help but be inspired by their dedication and ingenuity. I know they are in the thick of preparing for the start of the school year, and thought I would share a little bit of their inspiration.

President Obama defended his educational program at the 100th anniversary of the National Urban League on Thursday. His plan has come under recent attack from some minority and teacher groups. Teacher unions have objected to the program which places a significant emphasis on teacher evaluations. Minority groups have expressed concern over the extent to which a competition based plan will help black and Latino students. Obama framed the challenges facing education in the larger economic context. “Education is an economic issue, if not the economic issue of our time. It’s an economic issue,” he went on to say, “when the unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is almost double what it is for those who have. It’s an economic issue when eight in 10 new jobs will require workforce training or a higher education by the end of this decade. It’s an economic issue when we know countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow.”

This is a quick shout-out to my mom (Jane Hannaway) who had a letter to the editor published this week in the New York Times. She cited her research i n response to the article " A Chosen Few are Teaching For Americ a" by Michael Winerip. Go Mom! (Given that my mom represents 25% of my current readership and no doubt accounts for a significant number of my page views, I thought a shout-out was only appropriate. Know your audience. Shout-outs may be doled out to my other three readers over the next couple of days. Be warned.)

A group of scientists in Germany are working on using eye tracking technology to create an interactive reading experience. I thought this was kind of cool. To learn more about their project click here .

India unveiled a new tablet computing device priced at around $35. That price is expected to drop to around $10. One can only begin to imagine the impact that a $10 tablet device (if it really can deliver on its promised functionality) could have on educational access in the developing world. While some are skeptical , the announcement today does increase the pressure for cost-conscious computing.

Here is a link to a thread on Quara (Q&A site) that lists some interesting start-ups in the education space: www.quora.com/What-are-some-interesting-startups-in-the-education-space?__snids__=1676419,1548076,1676572 In other news, the number of people following my blog has increased three fold since yesterday. Now not only is my mother reading my post(s), but also two dear friends who I had dinner with last night have started following me. Hey, I'll take it.

Sesame Street was created to help prepare young children, especially children from low-income areas, for school. The show would help low SES students catch-up by giving them access to basic literacy and math skills. Or so it was intended. What actually ended up happening was something referred to by Attewell & Battle (1999) as the “Sesame Street Effect.” Low-income students did improve academically as a result of watching the program. Their rate of improvement, however, was significantly less than their higher SES peers. Thus instead of “catching-up,” lower SES students were left further behind. A technology intended to be an equalizer, ended up increasing the achievement gap. “The Sesame Street Effect” is in on the forefront of my mind when it comes to technological innovation in education. The problem was not the technology. Sesame Street was a brilliant concept that really did help kids learn. The issue was that higher SES and lower SES children engaged with the