Report Recommends Training, Funding, Flexibility for NY Online Learning

 A recent report from the New York State Online Learning Advisory Council suggests that the use of online and blended learning programs can boost course offerings for students who live in rural areas while at the same time allowing for a transformation of face-to-face instruction, as long as state-level supports such as professional development for teachers and training for pre-service teachers are in place.created in 2014, the 11-member council was asked to make recommendations regarding the delivery of online and blended learning courses to school districts across the state.  The report states that students today are creating online identities and it is up to schools to offer support and guidance on how best to maneuver these online lives.

“… teacher led education that utilizes technology with Intranet/Internet based tools and resources as a delivery method for instruction, research, assessment, and communication. It may be synchronous (in real time) or asynchronous (separated by time) and accessed from multiple settings (in school and/or out of school buildings). Online learning can be fully online, with all instructions taking place through Internet, or online elements can be combined with face–to–face interactions in what is known as blended learning.”

The report discovered that the majority of schools in the state need to increase their offerings of online learning experiences and work to create a digital transformation with online learning tools in the classrooms.the council found most schools that were successful with online learning had system-wide planning between administrators and teachers, in addition to school-wide communication between students, teachers, and administrators.recommendations made by the council to increase success with online and blended learning include the implementation of professional development programs in an effort to increase instructional skills; offering waivers for regulations as a way to make implementation of online learning programs easier; creating a team of leaders at the New York State Education Department that will focus on online learning and educational technology; and combining online and blended training with the curriculum for pre-service teachers.

The council suggested a need for professional development grants.  It says $100 million should be offered in grants that would support multi-year professional development grants to aid in planning and implementation to increase the development of instructional skills pertaining to the use of online tools, as well as for online course availability and capacity.in addition, the council would like to see an increase in staff members trained in education technology throughout New York, saying that not enough staff members in the state have expertise in the area compared to other states.  They suggest that a Chief Digital Officer is placed to lead education technology decisions for the state, as well as a standing committee to make recommendations to the Commissioner concerning online learning programs, with 50% of that committee coming from a rotating pool of PK-12 and higher education.

Andre Agassi Joins Board for Ed Tech Company Square Panda

Square Panda teaches pre-kindergarten age children how to spell using a tablet and a tray with eight squares into which users insert block-like letters. Its software tracks student progress and gradually increases the difficulty. The package is currently priced at $99 for its release in April after three years of development, writes Marco della Cava of USA Today. Right now only an iOS version is available, but an Android release is scheduled for later this year.both Agassi and Square Panda’s founder Tom Boeckle struggled in school and are now using their influence to improve the American education system, reports Taylor Soper of Geek Wire.

It’s always been the ideal of education to customize the educational experience to the learning style per child. Economically, that’s never been feasible, except for the very, very rich to have one-on-one tutoring systems. But with technology today and the ability to understand a child through actual engagement, we can now have adaptive software that approaches this ideal. That’s really what Square Panda is about.agassi’s involvement in education began in 1994 with the establishment of the Agassi Foundation for Education. In 2001, he founded a college preparatory academy in Las Vegas, his hometown. According to George Anders of Forbes, the school provides tuition-free education for at-risk children. Since then he has helped start 50 other charter schools.

“I regretted that we didn’t start in pre-K. It turns out that nine out of ten dropouts were unsuccessful readers at an early age.”he receives hundreds of pitches from educational start-ups each year, and according to Daniel Rothenberg of the Las Vegas Sun, turns down 99% of them. Square Panda, however, was different.he decided to get involved with Square Panda after visiting a Las Vegas preschool where children were using iPads with the company’s software.

His investment in the company is not only a “double-digit stake” but also an investment of time. 

It’s easy to write a check. What’s harder is to give time. … I look for ways to open doors.

In an interview, Agassi spoke of his changing focus to earlier stages of childhood development, joking:it’s too bad that Square Panda doesn’t show up in the hallways in maternity wards.

I’m learning to read with it as we speak.agassi himself quit school at age 14 due to academic frustrations in addition to the decision to focus on his sport.in his autobiography, Open, Agassi wrote 

I like books but feel over-matched by them. I have a steel-trap memory, but trouble concentrating. I need things explained twice, three times.agassi and Butler announced their partnership at the Consumer Electronics Show in the Bellagio Hotel and Casino.

CREDO Report Shows Online Charter Students Behind Peers

Online charter school students are underperforming compared to their peers, a Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) study reveals. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools responded to the findings by calling for the closing of underperforming virtual charter schools.data from 17 states and the District of Columbia revealed that online students have attended math and reading classes less often than their brick-and-mortar peers, which negatively affects their academic performance. More specifically, the researchers discovered that at the national level, students have 72 days fewer days in learning to read and 180 days fewer in learning math.

In Ohio, students missed on average 144 days of math education and 79 of learning to read. In Michigan, things were slightly better, with no difference between traditional and digital students in terms of reading days missed. However, in math, digital learners lagged behind their peers.for online charter schools in Texas, Florida and Louisiana, the academic growth for virtual learners was substantially lower in relation to their brick-and-mortar peers. For the Michigan Virtual Charter Academy, results were poor with the Academy performing worse than 97% of Michigan’s schools. For the school year 2012-2013, 200 online charter schools offered learning opportunities to about 200,000 students.

The study, which aimed to identify the impact of online learning on academic performance combined data from school leader surveys, student-level data, and state policy data. The authors concluded:

“Current online charter schools may be a good fit for some students, but the evidence suggests that online charters don’t serve very well the relatively atypical set of students that currently attend these schools, much less the general population.”the analysts emphasized that academic gains from attending online charter schools are rare.reactions to the comprehensive study were mixed. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools was alarmed by the findings. The nonprofit organization’s CEO, Nina Rees, said in a press release issued by the nonprofit:

“We firmly believe that individual charter public schools that are failing their students should be closed. This is an essential piece of the charter public school model in which schools are given more flexibility to innovate in exchange for a higher level of accountability for student achievement.”

Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, said that although there’s a place for online virtual education in the country, the results are unacceptable, the Detroit Free Press reports.the CREDO analysts recommend in their report that oversight policies are strengthened to improve student achievement. They also call for states to assess online program efficiency before allowing the launch or expansion of online programs to serve more students.commenting on the researchers’ conclusions, 74Million.org says the method employed for the study’s purposes in which the attendance of online charter schools was juxtaposed to that of demographic- and performance-related traditional classroom students is controversial.

AAP Advises Action Plans for Kids WIth Prolonged Seizures

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has announced that doctors should work together with school administrators to develop individualized action plans for treatment of students with epilepsy who have prolonged seizures, says Molly Walker, writing for Med Page Today.in its first clinical report on the topic, the AAP said that the action plans should contain the medication the child will need, who will be responsible for giving the child the medication, and when and how to seek additional emergency medical care. The report’s authors were Adam L. Hartman, MD, and Cynthia Di Laura Devore, MD, of the AAP’s Section on Neurology and Council on School Health, who published in the journal Pediatrics.

It is possible that principals and other providers will have to step in to administer the rescue medication if there are issues that prevent the school nurse from being able to do so. It may be necessary that other assisting personnel will require additional training.Dr. Hartman explained that the main purpose of this report was to make pediatricians and neurologists aware of the legal and logistical issues involved in creating individualized seizure action plans for a school setting.

“Not all schools have nursing staff readily available in the school building, let alone in the school transportation or school activity settings,” he wrote in an e-mail to MedPage Today. “Legal liability for medical treatment also may vary between jurisdictions. Therefore, these seizure action plans are important so that students can participate safely in whatever programming the schools have to offer.”

The administration of the seizure rescue medication may be the essential part of the action plan. Although there are several medication options for students with epilepsy, the authors recommend medicines that are given bucally (orally) or through the nasal passage because they are the least restrictive choices.even these drugs have restrictions, however. If midazolam and lorazepam are administered bucally, the patient must not have profuse secretions or vomiting during the seizure. A crushed clonazepam tablet may be used, but special training could be required to avoid injury from the clenched teeth of the patient while administering the medication.

Another new route of administration is intranasally by using a premeasured syringe. This method would also require the provider to have additional training since this procedure is “relatively new.” Rectal diazepam gel is widely used for seizure rescue but requires the patient to be partially undressed. If the school nurse is unavailable, others could find administration of this method uncomfortable.additionally, providers must counsel school officials on any potential adverse effects of the medication and how to address them if they occur. Guidance must also be given regarding the logistics of a prolonged seizure, when to ask for medical advice, and concerns about any other complications.

“This paper is an effort to assist pediatricians, and possibly school districts, in designing advance planning to secure the safety of children and adolescents with epilepsy so they can participate in virtually all school activities to their full potential in a safe fashion.”

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act have been around for many years now, but there is still a lack of regularity of practices and laws among states and school districts. An example is that not every school has a school nurse who can perform the medical plans from a specified “clinic.”