The following article comes from Robert Craven. Robert is an educator with a technology obsession. An educator for over 15 years now, Robert quickly realized the impact technology made on both his teaching and student learning; this discovery started him on his endless journey into the integration, development and practice of technology and curricular integration. Robert is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified Teacher, and was recognized as one of the 5 “Best of ISTE” presenters in 2007, 2009 and 2010. His work involves online learning, mobilelearning, professional development training and much more. Contact Robert on Twitter via @digitalroberto and via e-mail atcravenr@svusd.org or digitalroberto@gmail.com.

States that are seeking to limit the level of online interaction between teachers and students: 12.

California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia all have school boards that are updating or are revising their social media policies this fall. Many of these reviews come after parents have complained of inappropriate materials posted on personal pages of teaching professionals.

The following article comes from Melinda George. Melinda is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future’s (NCTAF). Contact Melinda at mgeorge@nctaf.org.

An algebra teacher, a biology teacher, a media specialist, an English teacher, a social studies teacher, and an engineer are sitting around a table… Sound like the beginning of a bad joke? Actually, it is a recipe for ensuring that every student is provided quality teaching in a school organized for success. Add in robust, targeted technology and you have a learning environment that engages students, professionalizes teaching, and brings about deeper learning for both students and teachers. This is what the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future’s (NCTAF) Learning Studios are all about. Learning Studios create a culture of collaboration among teachers across different disciplines with support and resources from community content experts. This purposeful collaboration inspires and engages students and brings positive results in student achievement.

Good afternoon. The Alliance brings you seasons greetings, holiday cheer, and education news. Enjoy!

A large focus for education reform experts has been minimizing the achievement gap that exists between White and Asian students and their non-White counterparts. Education Week reports on the existence of a different type of achievement gap often overlooked. According to new data, African-American students whose primary language is English perform worse on math and reading than Blacks who speak a different language at home.

Getting out of Washington, DC and into some schools is the best and likely one of the most important parts of a policy nerd’s job. I spent a day earlier this week doing just that in Minnesota. I visited three different high schools that part of the Minnesota-based EdVisions Schools network (www.edvisionsschools.org).

By way of history, EdVisions was started about 20 years ago by a small group of Minnesotans who were interested in developing a new type of education. As former educators from traditional education programs, the EdVisions team specifically looked at the things within a traditional education system that prevented students from being productive and engaged leaders in their own learning process.

The following blog post comes from Robyn Young, the school librarian at Avon High School and the Avon Advanced Learning Center in Avon, Indiana. She is a former Media Specialist of the Year in the State of Indiana and is a member of the Digital Learning Day Educator’s Working Group, which provides leadership on the Digital Learning Day toolkits and outreach development for teachers and administrators across the country. Contact Robyn at rryoung@avon-schools.org or on Twitter @ahsbooks. Read other blog posts from the Digital Learning Day Educator Working Group. Learn more about Digital Learning Day at http://www.digitallearningday.org.

Good Afternoon, it’s almost the weekend so hurry through your evening. But don’t rush through the latest in education news.

It looks like someone in the Department of Education needs to reassess their calculation skills. According to the New York Times, a new study by the Center for Educational Policy found that the Secretary of Education largely overstated the percent of schools nationwide that are failing under the No Child Left Behind act. While Secretary Arne Duncan initially reported 82 percent of schools are failing, it turns out that in reality, it is slightly above half of that- 48 percent.