An easier question to answer may be, “What do winning states have in common?”

A wiki document recently released by International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) provides the answer with a synopsis of each winning state’s plan and a link to the full applications of each of the winners and the nine runners-up.

What you’ll find when browsing these documents is that each state that walked away a winner has big plans to expand online and blended learning opportunities for not only students, but as a component of teacher professional development.

Another common thread is the shedding of “seat time” as a gauge for learning and replacing this less than optimal model for a mastery-based assessment framework. In many of these applications, emphasis on using online learning options for students in need of AP or elective courses also seems to be a priority.

While the financial pay-offs for the winning states is obvious, the real winners will be the teachers and students in these states. With an increasing number of options for K-12 learning and more professional growth opportunities for teachers, we may finally see the reform of an education system that needs a facelift.

Education technology may finally be taking root in classrooms across America and offering states the opportunity to make educational reform a reality with online curriculum that is adaptable for a diverse range of learners.

Does your school offer fully online or blended learning options for students or professional development for teachers? Which do you believe is the most effective?

According to Scott Hagy, the principal,

We decided to start our own program, giving us a chance to save money and provide the same curriculum to students online that they’d learn in class.

Twelve student enrolled in the program, each with a different reason for choosing this online alternative. This will save the district $100,000.

Read the full story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Keystone’s decision reflects a growing trend toward online learning. ODYSSEYWARE offers an easy-to-integrate, comprehensive curriculum with both core and elective courses that meet the learning needs of a diverse mix of students.

What options do you offer your students who want an alternative to yesterday’s classroom?

AP Calculus is a challenging full-year course with a focus on high-level math skills, conceptual understanding, and the use of technology. This course covers the essential elements necessary for students to successfully prepare for College Board AP testing. In order to excel in this course, students should have previously completed two years of algebra, one year of geometry, and one year of pre-calculus (that includes trigonometry).

AP US History emphasizes movements and events that helped shape the United States from 1492 through 1877. This study of America provides a rich cultural foundation for today’s students, covering the history of our country from many angles with an exploration of economics, politics, art, societal factors, religion, music, literature, and more.

These classes are demanding and require off-computer materials including textbooks and a graphing calculator. In addition, unlike most ODYSSEYWARE courses, teachers must provide a higher level of support and attention and will be required to do more offline grading.

In addition to new courses, exciting new user-friendly features have been incorporated into ODYSSEYWARE, including a variety of background themes, enhanced navigation, split-screen browsing and more.

We’re excited about these enriching additions to our curriculum and our online learning environment, as we feel they help you better meets the needs of your individual students. That’s what ODYSSEYWARE is all about.

Even very young children have worries and feel stress to some degree. It is the result of expectations, perceived or real, placed on them from outside sources, and their ability to meet these expectations. Stress can affect learning outcomes, social development, and can lead to problems in a child’s adult life if not acknowledged and resolved.

The results of a survey conducted by KidsHealth^® KidsPoll can give us some insights. When asked, kids said their biggest sources of stress are the following:

• Grades, school, and homework – 36%

• Family – 32%

• Friends, peers, gossip, and teasing – 21%.

According to this poll,

About 25% of the kids surveyed said that when they are upset, they take it out on themselves, either by banging their heads against something, hitting or biting themselves, or doing something else to hurt themselves. These kids also were more likely to have other unhealthy coping strategies, such as eating, losing their tempers, and keeping problems to themselves.

But for some kids, feelings of stress, frustration, helplessness, hurt, or anger can be overwhelming. Without the tools to deal with their stress, they may react in harmful ways that don’t get to the source of the problem.

In many cases, teachers spend more hours a day with children than many of the parents. They are in a unique position to identify children who may be feeling an oppressive amount of stress. The following are some symptoms* that are experienced by children who are feeling stress:

1. Physical – headaches, stomach aches, vomiting, wetting

2. Emotional – fear, irritability, sadness

3. Behavioral – crying, nervous tics, losing temper

4. Interactions with others – withdrawing, teasing and bullying, extreme shyness

What can you do, as a teacher, to help your students cope with stress?*

1. Help your students talk about what’s bothering them. Offer each child a few minutes of one-on-one time each day to talk about their feelings.

2. Provide time for physical activity. Try to build it into teaching time.

3. Encourage healthy eating.

4. Teach relaxation skills such as remembering and imagining pleasant situations or experiences.

5. Use gentle touch in an appropriate way. It’s a powerful stress reliever.

6. Teach your students that mistakes are okay and admit it when you make a mistake.

7. Be clear about rules and consequences. Always follow through but be sure you have the facts first.

8. Teach ways of handling difficult situations with talk and role play.

9. Tell or read stories to kids about dealing with stress.

10. Be a role model by handling your stress in a healthy way.

Competition for grades, popularity, and approval create stressful situations for kids at school and at home. Be sure you’re doing what you can to alleviate stress and support not only the academic success, but the well-being of every child in your classroom.

*Adapted from Taking Charge of Stress, Iowa State University Extension

Look up “notetaking applications” on Google, and you’ll find plenty of options to choose from – many of them can be used offline or connected to the Internet – and all of them are multifunction. Although we don’t endorse any particular application, some of the most popular include

• Evernote^®

• Ubernote

• Notefish

• Springnote

• Zoho Notebook

With notetaking applications, students can keep resources they need to complete a project, stay organized, or plan a presentation in one easy digital notebook. They can use it to simply jot down ideas or organize complete group projects that allow multi-person access. Not only can they save text files, but they can also record or save audio files, photos from their local computer or linked to the web, video files, and web links. These applications are also great for keeping to-do lists, reading lists, and reminders.

Since each student has his own preferences, he may prefer one application over another for a number of reasons, but notetaking with one of these easy-to-use and generally free applications provides a number of benefits, especially to those who are organizationally-challenged:

1. Organization – Instead of leafing through numerous pages of a paper notebook, students are able to keep notes, photos, audio and video clips associated with a particular topic or project in one place. No longer can your students say, “I know I wrote it down somewhere. 

2. Portable – Most notetaking applications can be accessed through mobile devices, allowing students to add ideas, photos, and new content to their notes from anywhere anytime. Get rid of the old excuse, “I didn’t have a pen.”

3. Network Storage – Since notes created with these software applications are stored online, hardware problems are seldom an issue. Students simply log on to an Internet connected computer to access their information. “I lost my notes because my hard drive fried,” is no longer a valid explanation.

4. Sharable – Notes can be shared with a group or can accommodate multiple users. This is a huge benefit when working on group projects and when collaborating with students who are geographically distant. “I couldn’t find anyone to take me to the group meeting,” will no longer be a reasonable reason for non-participation.

5. Familiar Interface – Students are able to type, drag and drop, clip, and copy or paste content for later access. “I just couldn’t figure it out. It was too complicated,” no longer applies.

Best of all, when you encourage your students to use notetaking software, you are teaching them to take greater responsibility for their own education and reinforcing 21st century skills to help them achieve academic success.

At ODYSSEYWARE, our online learning environment supports the development of digital skills while delivering rigorous and relevant content to students as they progress through lessons at their own pace. We encourage teachers to support their students in establishing efficient notetaking habits that last a lifetime.

As you become more familiar with each student’s personality, learning style, and motivators, you realize the importance of remembering that each is an individual. How can you possibly be optimally effective with so many different needs to be met?

You care about kids. That’s why you became a teacher. If you didn’t, reaching each student simply wouldn’t be important to you. While there are many suggestions from many experts for maintaining healthy student relationships throughout the school year, you many find the following easy-to-remember acronym helpful.

Show students you CARE!

• Communication

Clear communication is a two-way street. On one end, it’s important to be clear and concise when explaining lessons, rules, and expectations. When you communicate clearly, students have a roadmap for their own success. At the other end is listening. For many years, teachers have taken center stage communicating downward to the masses. When we listen, we may learn not only what our students are longing for academically, but what they are saying, hearing, thinking, and doing. You may be surprised at what you can learn from them.

• Authenticity

The mantra of the digital generation could easily be, “Get real.” With little interest in privacy, the self they show you in the classroom is the self you can find on their Facebook status, their website, and their Flickr photostream. They have little care for privacy and are quite okay being who they are on and offline. It stands to reason that they can easily see through any phony façade you present to them. Show your wisdom, wit, and your serious side. When you “get real,” you build trust, bring humor into the classroom, and your students know you care.

• Respect

Creating an environment of respect in your classroom provides your students a secure and positive space to learn. When students feel free to give their best idea without criticism and make mistakes without ridicule, their collaborative skills grow. Self-esteem, essential to lifelong achievement, is nurtured, and learning becomes exciting. Best of all, respect grows. Those who respect each other also begin to respect the space, belongings, and time of each other. They respect the school, the community, and finally the world they live in. Now that’s something worth learning.

• Experience

No matter how detailed your plans are, there are days when lessons get derailed. Be flexible and learn to accept these times as windows of opportunity for learning. When you are actually present in the classroom, you will experience the unexpected. This is where instruction meets practice. When you take information out of the book and make it a living, breathing experience, learning happens. In fact, it may be a fun to jet off course just because it feels like the right thing to do on a Wednesday. Don’t always be ruled by the lesson plan. Lead with your heart, and you will encourage a love of learning.

Throughout the year, you will face situations that challenge the relationships you have forged with your students. If you CARE, many of these situations will be more easily resolved, at-risk students become less risky, and you can rest assured that you have given them your best effort.

Digging a little deeper, it’s easy to understand why this should be at the top of every parent’s to-do list. Research indicates that sleep-deprived kids have a harder time learning, listening, concentrating and problem solving. It can also lead to inappropriate and even aggressive behavior. These are just the consequences of sleep deprivation as it relates to school. Inadequate or unhealthy sleep patterns can also contribute to bad skin and bad eating habits or eating disorders.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need about 9.25 hours of sleep per night, but experts say that only 20 percent of adolescents are getting their recommended daily requirement.

Unfortunately for teachers, this trend is unlikely to end. Teens have access to an increasing number of digital devices that can be sleep detractors when the lights go out. When you add a seven-hour school day, extracurricular activities, and homework to the mix, time for sleep is bound to suffer.

Another study from the National Sleep Foundation indicated that nine out of 10 parents believe their adolescent is getting enough sleep at least a few nights during the school week, leaving an “awareness gap” between parents and teens. This suggests that parents may not be much help in addressing the problem.

With all of this evidence that kids need more sleep, district administrators are being asked to consider pushing back school start times and creating new paradigm for the school day which would take sleep deprivation into consideration. Many schools are beginning to offer modules within high school health courses that explore the consequences of sleep deprivation.

Where does that leave the interested educator? In a rough spot, I’m afraid. First, it’s important to remember that the attention span of adult learners usually lapses after 15-20 minutes of listening to a speaker. Breaking up a lecture with an activity can bring back student focus. The more activity you provide, the greater your chances for success.

What can you do to keep them interested, awake, and learning? Engagement. It’s like caffeine for the classroom. Here are a few simple ways to keep tired students with you:

1. Stay relevant. The bigger the connection between student and content, the better the chance of keeping them interested.

2. Use humor. Not only does it help wake kids up, it also reduces some of the stress.

3. Use physical movement. This will get the blood pumping, increasing oxygen to the brain, and heighten the energy level.

4. Include small group activities. No more snoozing in the back of the class! Anonymity becomes impossible in small groups, especially when you give each member of the group a specific task to complete.

5. Introduce controversy. Then encourage a healthy discussion. When you ignite a little passion, energy follows.

6. Allow students to provide feedback to their peers. This fosters critical thinking and evaluation skills, encourages a little empathy, and keeps students’ eyes open.

7. Use technology they understand. With technology and digital media integrated into most every aspect of their world, students respond positively when learning materials are delivered digitally. Even tired students are able to stay engaged in their own learning when they’re connected.

And one more thing: Be sure you’re well rested when you enter the classroom. Physical and emotional wellness helps you cope with even the most unruly, tired students.

How big of a problem is the lack of sleep in your classroom? Has ODYSSEYWARE helped students stay engaged and awake? What do you do to help tired students? Share your ideas with other educators.

While we have all been told the importance of changing our passwords, most of us don’t do it often enough. We log on to so many sites, that creating another new and strong password that we will have to commit to memory is just not appealing. Appealing or not, it is important to change your password regularly. The longer a password stays the same, the more likely it will be discovered by a malicious user who will then be able to wreak havoc in your life.

If you have changed your password, the next step is removing the old password that is stored in your web browser. Here’s how:

Firefox^® (2 and 3):

While you are on the Firefox Start Page, from the Tools drop down menu choose Options. Click on the Security tab at the top of the window and click the Saved Passwords button. This will bring up a window that shows all of the sites for which Firefox has saved your password. Find the ODYSSEYWARE site and user name on the list. Highlight it blue and click the Remove button. To finish up, click the Close button on the Saved Passwords window, then the OK button on the Options window.

Internet Explorer:

Unlike Firefox, Internet Explorer^® will not all you to remove only one stored password. This process will remove stored passwords for all websites.

IE 7: While Internet Explorer is open, from the Tools drop down menu choose Delete Browsing History. Click the Delete passwords… button, and then click Yes on the confirmation box. To finish up, click the Close button in the Delete Browsing History window.

IE8: While Internet Explorer is open, from the Tools drop down menu choose Delete Browsing History. Make sure Passwords is checked, then click the Delete button.

If you haven’t changed your password, take the time now to ensure your online security and remember to follow the simple steps listed above to remove old passwords from your stored list.

At this age, children are bursting with ideas and curiosity. With all the new words running around in their heads, they need a reason to use them. With this simple question, toddlers are trying to learn about their world, find their power, and figure out how to control their environment.

Luckily for parents, kids get beyond the “why” stage. Why becomes less important. Or does it?

According to a recent study published by the London Based Institute of Education, there are two main motivators of students: learning and performance. Students with a “learning orientation” – the drive to improve knowledge and competency – performed better academically. Those with a “performance orientation” didn’t do as well, showed less critical thinking prowess, and had a more difficult time with failure.

Unfortunately, when you take a close look at the majority of schools across America, you can’t help to notice that we expect our kids to be motivated by performance. If this study is right, we must acknowledge that perhaps we should expect lower academic performance as long as we continue to use this less motivating model for education.

In fact, many students admittedly don’t worry about standardized tests, as they are smart enough to know it has no effect on their prospects for graduation. They are smart enough to know it’s about “us,” not about them.

As it turns out, as our children grow and progress in their formal education, “why” is no less important than it was when they were little. They don’t get through the “why” stage; it just becomes less obvious. As it turns out, they are still trying to learn about their world, find their power, and figure out how to control their environment.

As long as we make education relevant to “why,” we will better serve the academic needs of learners, resulting in higher achievement.

You knew that, right? How can you do something about it?

This spread across the blogosphere as a rebellious reaction to the education establishment. Coined by Jim Groom, this powerful word brings me back to the 70s, when punk rock emerged in the guise of The Clash, The Ramones, and Dead Kennedys. These alternative bands took a sizeable slice of the rock and roll pie. Yet despite its grit and passion, it remained a small niche appealing only to a small group of dedicated fans. Meanwhile, mainstream rock remained. As predicted by Neil Young, “Rock and roll will never die.”

In the same way that punk rock was not about rock, but about culture, edupunk is not about education or technology, but about culture. It asks you not to be cool or trendy or the sake of being a geek, but to question the “experts” and follow your gut. It asks you to reach out to each student with whatever it takes to inspire him, whether or not it’s state-of-the-art.

If the music industry learned anything from the punk movement, it may be something like this. There are people on the fringe who need a different beat in order to hear the music, and there’s always room for new ideas, even if they don’t appeal to everyone.

Traditional education, like rock and roll, is here to stay, but it looks different today than it did 50 years ago. We’ve traded the Beatles for Nickelback. (Okay, that’s a stretch, but you get the idea.)

Traditional education must continue to evolve and incorporate some of the best ideas from the edupunk movement in order to remain relevant. We have to remember that education is about young people who count on us to guide them. We need to listen to them, hear their sound, and give them a way to learn that engages, inspires them, and supports their academic success.