Studies of charter closure rates typically focus on year-to-year closures. While important for researchers, such studies provide little guidance to families seeking to understand the risk of enrolling their child in a charter school. That is because studies determining how many schools close each year provide no information on how long the school…

Combining the sophistication of modern communication technology with the simplicity of an unadorned mobile room, Portals are making it possible for people around the world to connect and recognize their shared humanity.

The mental health impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on PK-12 youth is likely an urgent and enduring concern, yet research on this topic is still emerging. To synthesize current knowledge, the researchers conducted a systematic review of empirical studies exploring the mental health impacts of COVID-19. Five themes emerged…

The ebook ecosystem has experienced many changes recently--having both positive and negative effects for the school library. On the positive side, many publishers have stopped seeing ebooks as the coming of the Apocalypse; instead, they are seeing that the publishing business survives and, indeed, flourishes. The different actors in this arena are…

This is a must-have resource for all K-12 teachers and administrators who want to really make the best use of available technologies. Written by Doug Johnson, an expert in educational technology, "The Classroom Teacher's Technology Survival Guide" is replete with practical tips teachers can easily use to engage their students and make their…

People dislike the Common Core for several different reasons, and so it is important to disaggregate the sources of opposition and to assess and then to dispel some of the myths that have built up around it. It also is important to understand the unusual political alliances that have emerged in opposition to Common Core implementation and how they…

The potential benefits of OER have led many European governments to implement policies supporting their creation and use. This chapter aims to put these OER policies in context, discussing their focus and scope and highlighting challenges and bottlenecks. On the basis of the analysis of the current state of the art, it is argued that one of main…

Google is more than a search engine--it offers many tools that give people the opportunity to work virtually from anywhere, with anyone, at any time they choose. And these tools are available to teachers and students for free. This book for K-12 educators explores the wide array of Google tools and shows how to use them in the classroom to foster…

"The NMC Horizon Report" series is the most visible outcome of the New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Project, an ongoing research effort established in 2002 that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within every sector of education in some 65…

Striving to meet a diverse community's learning needs, the Federal Way (Washington) Public Schools leverages technology to help students acquire world-class skills while reaching to achieve grade-level standards. A laptop-based learning program and a statewide Internet academy give students new learning options. (MLH)

Discusses student search tools for the World Wide Web and describes and compares seven that are appropriate for pre-kindergarten through secondary school. Highlights include access; age appropriateness; directories versus full search engines; filters; limits of some tools; and adult-oriented search tools that can be limited for students' access.…

In the ephemeral dot.com economy, numerous education portals (search engines) are emerging just as unsuccessful ones are terminating or trimming services. Ideally, portals offer an online school/home gateway and provide tailored content for parents, students, and teachers. However, quality, equity, reliability, and commercialism issues abound.…

Ethnographers have traditionally encountered problems in conducting qualitative research in elite settings. The powerful, in this case, the administrative and political elite in the United Kingdom, have considerable constitutional, legal, and cultural resources that enable them to deflect or channel any research in which they are the objects of…

Networking has always been regarded by librarians as an essential tool to facilitate the timely provision of information. Teacher librarians have often been vocal supporters of networking in theory, but in practice networking has been rather a failure. The first part of this paper provides a historical overview of the rationale for networking and…

Following a brief description of educational networking initiatives in Canada, this paper points out some barriers to the further expansion of electronic networking in K-12 classrooms. Disparities in existing infrastructure are described, and considerations about the need to maintain the relevance of educational tools to the learner environment…