A key facet of instructional leadership is addressing and closing the achievement gap. In Closing the Achievement Gap: A Vision for Changing Beliefs and Practices (2003), Belinda Williams identified four needs of students. 1. Access to challenging curriculum and instruction. Within the classroom, personalized instruction has increased in popularity. This allows you to customize instruction to the particular needs of individual students. MORE

To be successful in a knowledge economy, students will require the ability to complete non-routine tasks, solve unstructured problems, and employ technologies for communication, collaboration, and creation (Autor, & Price, 2013; Collet, Hine, & Plessis, 2015). Even if teachers and students have access to technology, they may lack the knowledge and experience to use it for creation, analysis, and synthesis (Reich, Willett, & Murnane, 2012). MORE

For Immediate Release: December 8, 2014 Contact: Amber Taylor, 703-201-4893 , amber@ taylored-communications.com Speak Up America Week Highlights Chance to Share Views on Technology and Learning Preliminary Data on 2014 Findings Released Every Day This Week; Prizes and Grants Available for Schools, Districts and Participants during Speak Up America Week, Dec. One of last year’s winners reported back, “I have been participating in the Speak Up survey ever since it started [in 2003]. MORE

Shane joined TechSmith in 2003 with over eight years of management and production experience in video and television. As a strong advocate of the flipped classroom model, Shane assists educators in implementing the use of technology in simple and practical ways both in and out of the classroom. Shane believes that technology has the ability to empower teachers to be more effective at facilitating the learning process and support students through differentiated instruction MORE

One of my very memorable failures was in 2003, when I went to Austin ISD to present to the technology team as the final step of a large purchase. But, when the technology fails and you can’t take a breath no matter how hard you try, it’s called a panic attack. We used the terms “Differentiated Instruction,” “Adaptive Learning Software,” “Individualized Instruction” and now, “Personalized Learning.” MORE

One of my very memorable failures was in 2003, when I went to Austin ISD to present to the technology team as the final step of a large purchase. But, when the technology fails and you can’t take a breath no matter how hard you try, it’s called a panic attack. We used the terms “Differentiated Instruction,” “Adaptive Learning Software,” “Individualized Instruction” and now, “Personalized Learning.” MORE

Under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Christine Johns, Utica Community Schools saw the lasting impact that using purposeful technology with fidelity can have on student achievement and engagement. Committed to transforming every K-2 classroom in her district, Dr. Johns worked with eSpark to ensure that teachers received the support and professional development they needed to successfully transition to student-centered learning and adjust to new technology. MORE