HOW SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGED MY LIFE?

Social media has changed the lives of people around the world. The technology has changed people’s habits, expectation and lifestyles. Many popular social media have caused tremendous social, political and personal changes. The impacts from the presence of social media in our daily lives have been positive as well as negative.

As the year goes by, many things come in our lives. If I go back in my childhood time I see myself as a simple girl and contended of what I have. The time came that I’m already in high school and it’s also the time that my life change. That time also I received a new cell phone as a birthday gift from my cousin. Starting that time, I was always busy in texting. I always sleep late in the evening and wake up also late in the morning. Sometimes, I didn’t eat my snacks and lunch because I spend my allowance for my load. I didn’t study my lesson and I got a low score and grades. But because of cell phone I have many new friends and I can communicate my relatives in other places.

After a year, friendster, face book, instagram , twitter and many more social media become popular. Its makes me busy in chatting but its help me also easy for my study. I can also share my emotion to my friends and my relatives. It can help me also for gathering facts information about what are happening in our world.

Social media are useful and helpful in my study. Through this I can study in advance, I can get more information and I can pass my project on time. I can share my knowledge to others and leads me to happiness when I’m in sadness, boredom and loneliness. This continues create changes in my personal and social life.

I realize that it is important that I must know the limitation in using technology. It can help us if we use it in proper way. As of now, I use social media in proper way so that it can’t harm me and it can also help me to find my work easy and faster. I consider social media as part of my life and my study.   

SOCIAL MEDIA: Noon at Ngayon

Iba na talaga ang panahon ngayon kaysa noon,

Kung ang pag-uusapa’y tungkol sa komunikasyon,

Radio ang kinukuhaan ng impormasyon noon,

Telegrama  naman sa emerhensyang iparating doon.

Simpleng pamumuhay makikita sa mga tao,

Sa lahat ng bagay sila’y nakuntento,

Pero pagdating ng mga kagamitang moderno,

Simpleng buhay unti-unting nagbago.

Telebisyon ang pinagkukunan ng balita’t impormasyon ngayon,

Telepono ang ginagamit sa komunikasyon,

Ito’y nakatutulong sa mga tao,

Upang alamin ang pangyayari doon at dito.

Cellphone at computer, dumating naman,

Kaliwa’t kanan ito’y naging libangan,

Bata’t matanda may cellphone hinahawakan,

At ang iba nama’y nasa computeran.

Simpleng magsasaka may hawak na cellphone,

Text-text sakay sa likod ng kalabaw,

May sariling facebook para sa komunikasyon,

At dito na rin dinadaan ang panliligaw.

Sa facebook narin nagkaroon ng maraming kaibigan,

Dalaga’t binata dito narin nagkatuluyan,

Dito mo malalaman ang tunay na katauhan,

At makikita mo rin ang iba’t ibang larawan.

Saan man naroroon ang iyong mahal sa buhay,

Andyan ang skype na sayo ay nag-aalalay,

Tuloy parin ang inyong kasiyahan at lambingan,

Dahil kung kayo’y magkausap andyan sya sa iyong harapan.

Marami pang social media,

Na sa atin ay makapagbibigay saya,

Kaya kung ikaw ay may problema at nalulungkot,

Kunin ang computer at ika’y pumindot.

Hay naku! Iba na talaga ang buhay ngayon,

Larawan palang, nakarating ka na sa ibang nasyon,

Iba’t ibang lugar na iyong iniilusyon

Dala ng social media na dumating ngayon.

Pero ito lang ang masasabi ko,

Sa paggamit ng social media magdahan-dahan kayo,

Baka isa rin kayo sa mga maloko,

Tulad sa mga balitang naririnig nyo.

Social media ay hindi nakakasama,

Kung ito’y ginagamit lang sa tama,

Kaya sa aking  mga kababata,

Social media gamitin sa mga bagay na mahalaga.

Teachers Our Everyday Unsung Heroes

 BY: Cherry Ann Talha
       September 9,2015

A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning.

                                                                                                          - Brad Henry

         Everyday in every door of each room we pass by, we see them teaching the young minds. Everyday we hear them talking , giving pieces of advises, teaching us to be a better person and develop emotionally, mentally and socially.They taught us the right direction, taught us what is right from what is wrong, taught us how beautiful life is. Teacher are everyday unsung heroes of our lives.

SOURCE: http://thepoc.net/index.php/noynoying-teachers-pay/

        What could be in school without a teacher ? There would be no student as well. That in fact, students are not able to go to school to learn what they are suppose to learn....There will be ignorance.....

        Teacher play a big and important role in our community as well as in our lives. They molded us through their loving and caring hands. Love us like more than anything else. Teachers are a lot walking encyclopedia. They are like a stepping stone that when we fall they are there to let us stand up and learn that life is not easy ,not a fantasy, instead a reality. Life is a game, sometimes you win and sometimes you loose.

SOURCE: http://m.timeslive.co.za/?articleId=6778766

        When we look deeply in their hearts,we will see how beautiful their heart is.they are in this world not only to teach us but to care and to love us. They are here, to teach us how to read, not only words but others feelings towards us,how write ,to write the things we could not say.

        When we see an image of Superman, Spider man and other fictional heroes,we remember an expression, " Ooh my hero or  " You're my savior.  But the question is, Did we ever think that this words  will spoken to the teacher? Teacher are marginalized sector of our society but touch millions of inspiration.

        According to , Christopher Reeve, “ A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. Teacher are the backbone of our community. They consider their student as a bank where they can deposit their knowledge and wisdom as their precious treasure.

       We give value to our teachers because without them we are not here what we are today. We SALUTE you TEACHERS, You are Our Everyday Unsung Heroes.

10 Major Technology Trends in Education

We have a first look at the results from the latest Speak Up survey, which polled hundreds of thousands of teachers, students, administrators, parents and community members about technology trends in education.

By Chris Riedel

02/03/14

According to the latest data, video for homework is on the rise; mobile computing is "beyond the tipping point"; and most kids don't use traditional computers to connect to the Internet at home. Those are just three of the major trends revealed in the 2013 Speak Up Survey from Project Tomorrow, which CEO Julie Evans revealed at the FETC 2014 conference last week.

The 2013 results represent more than 400,000 surveys from 9,000 schools and 2,700 districts across the country. Respondents included 325,279 students, 32,151 teachers and librarians, 39,986 parents, 4,530 district administrators and, new to this year’s survey, 1,346 community members.

1. Personal Access to Mobile Devices

According to the 2013 results, students overwhelmingly have access to personal mobile devices. “If there was any doubt in our mind that we were beyond the tipping point in terms of kids carrying a computer in their pocket, backpack or purse,” she said, “we’re there.”

Specifically, said Evans, 89 percent of high schools students have access to Internet-connected smart phones, while 50 percent of students in grades 3 through 5 have access to the same type of devices. High school student access to tablets tops out at 50 percent and laptops come in at 60 percent. In addition to personal access, the survey found about a third of students have access to a device (typically laptops or tablets) in their school.

2. Internet Connectivity

For Evans, this was an interesting set of  statistics showing the ways students generally connect to the Internet when at home. According to the study, 64 percent of students surveyed identify 3G- or 4G-enabled devices as their primary means of connecting to the Internet, with another 23 percent saying they connect through an Internet-enabled TV or Wii console. When asked why traditional broadband access wasn’t their primary means of connectivity, students said there was less contention for access with other members of the family through these non-traditional devices.

3. Use of Video for Classwork and Homework

Video is another tool that has been on the rise in recent years. While her presentation focused on students, Evans noted that 46 percent of teachers are using video in in the classroom.

One-third of students are accessing video online — through their own initiative — to help with their homework. Evans called this the “Khan Academy effect.” Additionally, 23 percent of students are accessing video created by their teachers.

4. Mobile Devices for Schoolwork

According to the 2013 results, students are leveraging mobile devices both to be more efficient in their day-to-day tasks and to transform their own learning processes.Sixty percent of students are using mobile devices for anytime research, 43 percent for educational games and 40 percent for collaboration with their peers. Thirty-three percent of students surveyed use mobile devices for reminders and alerts related to their academic lives, 24 percent for taking photos of their assignments, and 18 percent for in-class polling.Surprisingly, said Evans, 12 percent of the students responding said they use mobile devices to text questions to their instructors while in the classroom. “I do wonder,” she added, “how many of the teachers are responding to those texts.”

5. Using Different Tools for Different Tasks

Evans admitted, with the proliferation of so many tools, it isn’t surprising students are designing “best-fit” solutions for their very specific needs.Rather than using one or even a few platforms for various tasks, students are increasingly savvy about taking advantage of the benefits of the tools available.“We find them using video, social media and cell phones for communications; they use e-readers for reading texts and articles; they write, take notes and do research on laptops. But,” she paused, “where does that leave tablets?”

According to Evans, tablets were the second or third choice device for completing many of the academic tasks students are faced with.

“They like the devices,” she noted, “but they are more focused on using the right tool for the task at hand,” and many times tablets don’t seem to fit.

6. Paying Attention to the Digital Footprint

Digital footprint was a new research area for the 2013 survey and, according to Evans, showed some interesting results. Sixty-four percent of high school students responding admitted to being careful about the things they post online; 39 percent said they advise friends about the content they post, with 32 percent saying they stopped interacting with friends who post inappropriate content online. Finally, 44 percent of high school students said they believe a positive digital profile is an important part of their future.

7. An increased Interest in Online Learning

This year’s Speak Up found that students who have not taken an online course are increasingly interested in the opportunity, citing a desire to have more control over their learning and believing that they will get more support from an online teacher.

Math was the subject student were most interested in taking online, with Foreign language coming in second and science a distant third.

8. Gaming is Growing, and the Gender Gap is Closed

Another interesting area for Evans was student gaming. This year’s results showed 60 percent of students using laptops as a gaming device. Cell phones and game consoles tied with 54 percent use, while tablets clocked in at 44 percent.Of particular note is students’ interest in taking gaming technology and applying it to learning difficult concepts, as well as their interest in using games as a way to explore career opportunities. Evans also noted no gender difference in students’ interest in games, with younger girls actually showing more gaming activity than their male counterparts.

9. Social Media in Schools

Another set of questions revolved around the place of social media in the school. When showing the data for text messaging, networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and chat rooms, it was clear the the student expectations for the use of these technologies far outpaced those of administrators, teachers and parents. Administrators scored the highest among the non-student groups represented.

According to Evans, the data identify “a clear disconnect in terms of the value proposition” of these tools. “Today’s students,” she added, “are looking at social media not as a separate thing that you do occasionally but as a pervasive part of the way they are living their lives outside of school — one they want to connect with their lives inside the classroom.”

10. What Devices Belong in 'The Ultimate School?'

The final piece of data Evans shared focused on students’ ranking of the relative importance of devices in their classroom experience. Fifty-six percent of students said laptops were most important; 51 percent chose digital readers; and 48 percent selected tablets.

“This is still an evolving area,” said Evans and one She said Project Tomorrow plans to keep and eye on in the coming years. Something of interest, she added, that may not come as a surprise is that 62 percent of students want to bring their own devices.

Full results of the 2013 Speak Up will be released to survey participants Feb. 5 and will be released publicly April 8 when Evans shares the report with Congress.

SOURCE :http://thejournal.com/Articles/2014/02/03/10-Major-Technology-Trends-in-Education.aspx?Page=1

2015's Top Education Technology Trends

By Kristen Hicks on May 13, 2015@atxcopywriter

Editor’s note: This piece was originally written by Katie Lepi and ran on February 28th, 2014. A lot has changed since then, so we’ve had author Kristen Hicks update this piece with the latest techniques and innovations.

Image via Flickr by Alan Levine

Each year, the New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE release the NMC Horizon Report, which looks at the technology most likely to shape education in the next five years. The 2015 report highlights a number of key changes that educators, those at the higher education level in particular, should be aware of.

6 Important Trends in Education Technology

A number of experts weighed in on the six technology trends that are making the biggest impact on education. If you read the report itself, you’ll see not only a description of what the trend is (which we’ve summarized below), but also a few examples of institutions or organizations that have already embraced it.

1.    The Need to Develop Cultures of Innovation

The world is changing and higher education must change with it. Many schools have recognized this fact and are working to change how things are done in order to better accommodate new tech and to encourage innovation. Some universities are borrowing ideas from the business world, and are adopting processes that resemble an agile startup model, which makes incorporating change as you go easier.

Likewise, a number of universities have already embraced the idea that technology itself can and should be treated as a catalyst for improving how learning works. A fairly widespread example is the growing adoption of BYOD programs. Why not turn the tools everyone is already using into a means for making your courses better?

A culture of innovation not only embraces the new technology and ideas re-shaping education, but also adapts to the changing ideas about what’s most valuable in the world outside of higher education. Policies that emphasize the high-level skills increasingly valued in the business world – creativity, risk-taking, collaboration, entrepreneurship – help make higher education both more meaningful to students in the moment, and more valuable to them in the future.

2.    Increasing Collaboration Between Institutions

The number and importance of educational consortia is growing. Technology is one of the catalysts of this on two very different levels:

a.     Tech is expensive, but also increasingly important.

Schools can’t just opt out of using technology, but with budgetary concerns and complaints about tuition already a huge issue for educators at all levels, purchasing the tech needed is a challenge. This is especially so considering that “the tech needed” has a frustrating tendency to change within a couple of years (or less).

Consortia make it possible for colleges to band together and demand more affordable and sustainable tech solutions. One university alone has limited power, but many universities negotiating as one can make a difference in how tech deals work.

b.    Schools can share data and content.

Technology makes it possible for a college to make a large number of lesson plans available to anyone who might benefit from them. It allows colleges to cull the large amounts of data they’ve each collected to gain greater insights from it all. We’ll address this one further in #4, but the takeaway here is that tech makes collaboration and sharing between institutions and their students possible on a large scale that benefits everyone.

3.    Possibilities of Assessment and Measurement

Tech brings with it an increased access to data. Colleges can now collect extensive and detailed data on how students are learning, what teaching methods work the best, and which kinds of education and career paths lead to the greatest success. Basically, from day one of a student’s educational experience through their life after graduation, they’re producing a huge quantity of data that can be put toward improving the individual experience of students, as well as how higher education works as a whole.

Data is playing a key role in adaptive learning, which empowers students to better understand their progress and take more control over their learning. Additionally, adaptive learning gives teachers insights into how students are doing and what they need most.  It can also help drive more informed curriculum decisions designed to help students perform better. Data-driven learning and assessment is becoming a big and influential field in the higher education space.

4.    Proliferation of Open Educational Resources

As mentioned earlier, technology makes it easier than ever for colleges or professors to make resources freely available to anyone they may benefit. Many educators are happy to jump on the bandwagon. The number of open educational resources (OER) available to anyone willing to do some digging to find them is growing.

• OER can refer to any type of digital content, including:
• Courses
• Course materials
• Textbooks
• Research articles
• Presentations
• Videos
• Tests
• Software

The movement to make more information free goes beyond just insisting that there be no cost to students. It extends to encouraging that the resources be free from any ownership and usage rights.

While the cost of higher education remains one of the most consistently debated topics in the industry, making use of creative commons resources and open textbooks could be the key to bringing costs down in at least one area of higher ed. OER repositories and search tools already exist, but they could still use some work and are likely to improve if the trend continues in years to come.

5.    Increase in Blended Learning

Online learning is growing at a rapid pace. As the report points out, one in ten students were taking courses exclusively online already by 2012, and even more were taking at least some of their classes online. The shift to online learning has been heavily aided by tech improvements in fields like learning analytics, adaptive learning, and asynchronous and synchronous tools.

But blended learning may be the even bigger innovation to come of the shift to online learning, as it combine the benefits of the technology of online learning with the accessibility of working with teachers face-to-face. Access to more online resources in whatever format students learn from best, accessible wherever and whenever they want, enables better learning outside of the classroom. Add to that a greater availability of teachers once in the classroom and you have a powerful tool that provides students with the best of both worlds.

The best practices for blended learning are still being developed, but as more colleges experiment with it and track what works best, it can only get better.

6.    Redesigning Learning Spaces

If we’re bringing more tech into the classroom, the classroom must change to accommodate. The traditional model of a lecturer standing at the front of a classroom, talking to a room full of students seated in rows, ignores the possibilities of what tech can add to the equation.

Some colleges are experimenting with re-designing the classroom space to encourage the integration of technology and more collaboration between students. A common example of this is a classroom in which the lecture’s podium is moved to the center and surrounded by round tables for students that integrate a key piece of technology like an interactive whiteboard or a computer.

Other colleges are working to expand the idea to other spaces. Many libraries are being re-designed to enable more access to technology and comfortable learning spaces within them. Schools are adding more power outlets and comfortable seating to hallways and atriums so students can do their studying there.

Learning can happen anywhere, just as long as students have access to the right tools. A few tweaks to what the common spaces on college campuses look like can help take that idea further.

Still, while NMC report seeks to predict the tech trends that will influence education the most in the next five years, five years is a very long time in the tech world. These trends are all poised to change how the educational landscape looks, but may be taken over by newer technologies and the trends and issues they produce. We’re living in an exciting time for ed tech. The possibilities of new opportunities for schools and educators will only grow.

Source: http://www.edudemic.com/education-trends-keep-tech-front-center/

5 Education Tech Trends For 2015

 Education is being flipped on its head by technology. Teachers see the promise -- and the pitfalls.

This is an exciting time to be in education technology. The global spend on edtech in classrooms is on the rise, fueling a market that is projected to reach $19 billion by 2018, according to a market study released by Futuresource Consulting earlier this year. As blended learning environments evolve, administrators and teachers continue to celebrate the promise of digital learning and experience the pitfalls of underwhelming edtech tools. Below are five edtech trends and opportunities for developers of these tools to consider.

Technology for flipped-learning
The rationale behind the flipped class -- a form of blended learning in which students learn content online by watching video lectures, usually at home, and homework is done in class with teachers and students discussing and solving questions -- is to engage learners in and out of the classroom. The dynamic nature of this approach enables teachers to create effective and fun asynchronous and synchronous learning experiences.

Experts agree that passive learning with video doesn't boost student achievement. As flipped learning becomes more prevalent, the distribution tools and video streaming that are central to this approach must be optimized for interactivity. The stakes are higher than ever, with next-generation, cloud-based solutions displacing older learning management systems (LMS). Features such as powerful analytics that measure student responses and mobile learning capabilities will become the hallmarks of the best flipped classrooms.

Device agnostic learning
While videos and websites are basically ubiquitous across all devices, many apps are native, even exclusive, to one device or mobile operating system. The pain points caused by multiple standards, multiple screen sizes, and multiple operating systems are not sustainable.

Teachers and students shouldn't bear the burden of device management. Their priorities should be centered on learning. The most innovative edtech creators realize that the future is to develop device agnostic services. As more and more teachers integrate mobile learning, this flexibility will be a requirement.

                         (Source: Wesley Fryer)

Assistive technologies in the classroom
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for designers of software systems and technology products is to deliver a uniform experience to a large and diverse human population. Creators of edtech stand to benefit from ensuring that their products and services are designed to allow differently-abled students the same access to learning.

US federal accessibility standards pertaining to information technology, known as Section 508, should be a core design and development requirement, rather than an afterthought. A burgeoning industry continues to go beyond these baseline compliance standards, leading development of assistive technologies.

Earlier this month, world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking made headlines with his commentary about the role of assistive technologies that support him. The same Fortune article cited a Gartner report issued in late 2013, estimating that approximately 15% of the world's population could benefit directly from assistive technologies -- and the rest of us will also feel a positive impact from the innovation behind them. It's clear that assistive technologies, ranging from simple to complex, are playing an increasingly vital role in reducing barriers to learning for students with a variety of special needs and challenges.

Mobile learning
Mobile learning apps were everywhere in 2014. This next year, we expect more mobile learning platforms and apps to be available on iOS and Android, along with heightened expectations related to enhanced learning experiences and outcomes. At its best, mobile learning technology can drive collaboration and engage different types of individual learners and various groups of interconnected learners.

My company, WizIQ, is heavily focused on how such technologies enable sturdier scaffolding for student learning and broaden the virtual classroom experience. Features such as live participation, location-aware notification delivery, and ubiquitous access are paving the way for context-aware adaptive and personalized mobile learning systems -- functionality that has the potential to fuel lifelong learning in an unprecedented way.

Personalized blended learning
Customization is king and the array of edtech tools that can meet the needs of students in a personalized, meaningful, and timely manner based on best practices stand to rule. But first, a word of advice to all creators of edtech tools: Technology isn't the driver. Your strong belief in your innovation is secondary to the needs of students, teachers, and administrators.

Recognize that teachers are tasked with implementing, and often times, identifying, the best mix of digital learning tools for each student. Different approaches to learning, such as project-based learning, maker education, game-based learning, and more, will continue to be explored as part of personalized blended learning models. Accordingly, such innovations will push edtech vendors to deliver more than technology or content -- but will require them to demonstrate how their product or service improves learning outcomes.

SOURCE: http://www.informationweek.com/government/open-government/5-education-tech-trends-for-2015/a/d-id/1318396

Top 10 Education Trends to Watch in 2015 and Beyond

Posted: 12/19/2014 2:23 pm EST Updated: 02/18/2015 5:59 am EST

The winds of education change were gusty in 2014: declining and inequitable public funding, a new demographic future, advancing technology, rethinking accreditation, the credit hour and the needs of a tough job market. While most agree that our nation's economic health and capacity to innovate depends on a vastly improved education system, the "how to" is still unfolding. As you head off for holiday vacations, we've compiled 10 education trends to watch in 2015 and beyond. Some are existing trends and others are aspirational, challenging us to make 2015 a year of quantum education progress. 

1. The rise of the "data whisperers." Foundations want to know whether their grants are working, but they also want to continuously learn what works in education to advance America's economic and social mobility. That means continuously measuring and analyzing data with more sophistication and thoughtfulness. At a recent meeting of philanthropy's greatest thinkers, foundation leaders shared their metrics and impact strategies. They are noteworthy for the actionable information they provide and their commitment to getting better at getting better. For example, the Robin Hood Foundation, New York's largest poverty-fighting organization, uses 163 different formulas to help determine how much each grant will increase New Yorkers' future earning and income. One of New York's largest charter schools -- New Visions for Public Schools -- has a six-person data team that provides educators with tools and training to analyze student performance, diagnose problems and design solutions to that help students succeed. For the data whisperers, data aren't cold bits of information, but living, pulsing insights to act on to continuously improve. 

2. Accountability 2.0. The wave of Republican wins in the midterm elections means education accountability will be front and center on the political agenda at state and federal levels. The smartest elected leaders will adopt an Accountability 2.0 - identifying and calling out underperformance, and using the information to improve. This work to uncover what's going on behind the numbers will mean the difference between problem solving and paralysis.Accountability 2.0 won't be content to blame or punish. Accountability 2.0 will help answer: "What are we going to do about it?"

3. "Big data" right-sized. "Big data" is still all the rage, but we're becoming much more discerning and demanding evidence. Merriam Webster defines evidence as "1) something which shows that something else exists or is true. 2) a visible sign of something." When data qualifies as evidence, it can be a guide for making improvements that help students succeed. This is particularly the case when the evidence comes to us in time to act. Increasingly educators are realizing that we need the right data available at the right time to truly understand and meet students' needs.

Metrics like graduation and even persistence rates tell us about problems after it's too late to help students. We can do better by focusing on what matters: those metrics that are early indicators and predictors of success.

4. Data privacy and the opportunity/cost equation. During the White House "College Opportunity" summit, Twitter was abuzz with calls for a federal "student unit record" system, which would allow for the collection of individual students' educational records throughout their education careers. The push reflects the tension between those impatient for more student outcome measures and protecting student privacy. Privacy concerns should never be taken lightly, but neither should the value good data used to improve and personalize student learning. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which are not bound by federal privacy rules, may help us find the balance between protecting privacy and leveraging the value and power of student data used to personalize and improve teaching.

5. The collaboration imperative. You can't force change top down and bottom up is too slow. It's a sticky wicket. Just ask Joel Klein and John Deasy, leaders of the nation's two largest school districts who faced a debilitating public backlash to proposed education reforms. To move faster, sometimes it pays to start slow. Those closest to the students should be asked to provide input in the design of the data-collection and -reporting tools used. Create regularly scheduled opportunities for teachers to gather and strategize about students who are struggling. Building trust and creating habits of collaboration might take some extra time, but it is worth the investment. 

6. College completion as a collective responsibility. You hear it all the time. Employers grumble about graduates not being prepared for jobs. College faculty blame high schools for sending them students who can't do college-level work. The signaling system about what is expected at each level of education is clearly broken, but repairs are underway. More education leaders are recognizing the imperative of K-12 and post-secondary faculty working together and aligning what is taught to improve student success in college and beyond. Both sets of educators realize they share the same students, just at different junctures in the education journey and the same responsibility for helping them improve. This is especially salient as Common Core State Standards move to full implementation in the majority of states.

7. Embracing our demographic future. For the first time, the overall number of Latino, African-American, and Asian students in public K-12 classrooms surpassed the number of non-Hispanic whites. This growing diversity is America's biggest competitive advantage, but only if we vastly improve the educational outcomes for this new and diverse majority of American students. California's community colleges, embracing this fact, are in the throes of developing "student equity plans." The plans outline areas where equal opportunity is available to disadvantaged populations. Each college develops specific benchmarks and actions to address disparities that are discovered. The plans are a key component of the state's "Student Success Initiative" to ensure that at least 250,000 additional students complete their two-year degrees or transfer by decreasing the amount of time they spend taking remedial courses.

8. Beyond labels. Data in context. A consortium designing assessments for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) released data projecting that more than half of students will fail to meet benchmarks tested in English/language arts and math. Poor performance on these tests should not be a surprise as most schools are still implementing curriculum and teaching practices aligned to the new standards. But we're far enough into the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and standardized testing era to know that labeling underperforming schools and poor test scores is not an effective improvement strategy. The reporting of results should provide educators, parents and the public with context about what is expected of students, why and where more work is needed to help students meet the new performance targets. California is leading the way in reporting test scores in ways that provide a fuller picture of what test scores mean (and don't). In a memorandum, the state board of education stressed that cut scores and achievement categories "should serve only as a starting point for discussion" about student achievement and "should not be interpreted as infallible predictors of students' futures." 

9. Supporting the troops with college credit. To help the largest influx of veterans since World War II successfully return to college and civilian life, more states are requiring colleges to give veterans credit for their experience and knowledge gained serving our country. The challenge and opportunity is figuring out how many credits military training and experience is worth. Engaging all levels of higher education and military leaders in evaluating degree paths yields major breakthroughs and creates clarity and consistency about what is taught on American college campuses and how it aligns with career and life success.

10. Failing and learning as a badge of honor. Among some Silicon Valley startups, entrepreneurs are openly sharing what went wrong with their ventures, when and how. In a recent New York Times article, the founder of FailForward said, "failing intelligently is an increasingly important skill." The key is using the information to learn and change. This could be a powerful idea in the education world, where methods fail all the time but stigma, a lack of courage or both keeps us from learning and changing.

Education should embrace the opportunity to learn what does and doesn't work in a more intentional way. As the Fordham Institute's Andy Smarick notes, too often reformers are so enamored with the "new," they fail to implement tried and proven methods. 

In the spirit of the season, working in the field of education is a gift. We are truly in the "opportunity making" business. A New Year is a great reminder of the powerful lift off education provides for each student. What are your observations and predictions for education in 2015 and beyond? Let's show 2015, we're ready for it.

SOURCE: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-c-phillips/top-10-education-trends-t_b_6345056.html