Digital Textbooks

This article, by Charlie Osborne with CNET,  is about a company call Kno that is teaming up with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to offer digital textbooks for $9.99.  The K-12 state specific books available through the app come with interactive features including automatic flash cards of key terms, a journal of student's notes, and links to relevant academic material including video.  Sounds like a great idea.  It's too bad that schools cannot pick up the tab.  I wonder how many lower socio-economic families will be willing or able to spend the $60.00 so their children won't have to lug a backpack filled with heavy books to school and back home.    

Blended Learning

Here is a link to a very recent (posted 7/16/2012) blog by C. M. Rubin.  She interviews two representatives from the Innosight Institute about blended learning.  They describe the term "blended learning" and its four different models.  The flex model seems intriguing.  Each student has his/her own "office" space (like a big business office full of cubicles) with his/her own computer and takes online classes.  There are break out rooms around the perimeter of the building where teachers can pull out small groups.  Supposedly, students become self-motivated to reach their goals.  The Innosight people say that the beauty of this system is that computers are able to do what computers do well.  Humans are freed up to do what humans do best.  Check out the link and let me know what you think.

Here is a video from Edutopia about a charter school in Houston, TX that is apparently having a lot of success.  They school has a longer school day and longer school year.  It looks like they have a young energetic staff that isn't micro-managed by the administration.  Also, they have two hours of planning time per day.  I taught in an elementary school near this location for several years, and can identify with the challenges this school faces.

Here is a LINK to an article about a new service where:

AP offers subscribers music through Audiosocket

The global news organization is going to offer licensing rights to original music provided by Audiosocket's platform, making it easier for users to add music to videos and other projects.

I heard about this app for iphone that can be used to record a student reading for a set amount of time.  I could use this when determining reading fluency for my special education students. Click here to download the free app.