The EdGate Observer 

Connecting Publishers With What Works!

November 2014correlation.edgate.com   
Greetings everyone,

In this month's newsletter, we focus on the most recent education news pertaining to Career Technical Education (Hot Topic), EdGate's Curriculum Matrix (Client Solution), Socrates Method (Teaching Trends), Offering Custom Development Work (EdGate Services) and following up with new additions to the EdGate Standards Repository (Standards Update).  

 

As always, EdGate is your source for staying current with new developments in education and the impact of educational standards.

 

Regards,

 

Sandra Schugren,
EdGate General Manager

 

Client Solution 
EdGate's Curriculum Matrix: Is your organization looking for another sales channel?

 

As more and more teachers gravitate toward using open educational resources (OER) for cost-saving reasons, EdGate's Curriculum Matrix has become extremely relevant in the K-12 landscape. Many of EdGate's OER publishing clients have opted in to the Curriculum Matrix, however, did you know that fee-based publishers can also opt in?

 

How does it work?

  • Publisher's standards-aligned items can be added to the Matrix;
  • End users can then find aligned items via search through the Matrix;
  • If the end user is interested in purchasing content they locate, they will be routed to the publishers site to purchase directly.

Edgate's Curriculum Matrix provides access to thousands of OER lessons, assessments, and resources for students.  All of these materials have been aligned to standards and curricular concepts by EdGate's correlation team.

 

For more information on the Curriculum Matrix, visit: http://curriculummatrix.com or contact your sales contact or project manager at EdGate.

 

Gina Faulk
Sales and Marketing Manager 

 

Hot Topic 
Career Technical Education 

  

Career Technical Education (CTE) standards have recently captured the attention of publishers around the country, and for good reason.

 

The NASDCTEc and ACTE conducted a state-by-state review of CTE-related policies enacted in 2013. The results showed that across all 50 states and Washington D.C., a few trends emerged, the most common which was activity surrounding funding.  To support new and existing CTE initiatives, a handful of states such as California, Alabama, and New York focused on competitive grants while others such as Arkansas and Massachusetts looked more towards capital investments. Some states such as Georgia and Arizona worked to make adjustments to the state's funding formula.

 

In addition to funding, the review also revealed that several states reorganized their state agencies or clarified regulatory authority for CTE, launched statewide task forces or councils to coordinate efforts to increase participation in CTE, and some made significant changes to graduation requirements.

 

With a handful of states that have already implemented their CTE standards and several more on board for implementation in 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017, it is easy to understand the push for publishers to create content for educators which meet these state requirements.

 

As a leader in the industry, EdGate is committed to staying ahead of this growing trend by aggressively monitoring and managing the acquisition of these standards in our repository. Whether your need is for standards licensing or for correlation of your content to CTE, we can support you in your efforts!

 

If you are interested in CTE or other standards, please contact one of our representatives and they will be happy to assist you.  For more details on this review, please visit State Policies Impacting CTE 

 

Tracy_OlstadTracy Olstad
Account Manager

Teaching Trends 

Socrates - One of 50 Greats Seen as Influencing our 21st Century Classrooms  

 

Socrates is one of 50 great teachers being looked at this year for their influence in many 21st century classrooms.  Socrates is captured in many writings by Plato.  He describes the Socratic Method as a one of hypothesis and elimination.  Achievement gained only by turning a question into the answer and then asking questions until the answer is refined into the truth or discredited.  According to teachers, this approach can be turned into an intellectual coaching tool for every student.

 

Teachers are using the Socratic Method to encourage students to use dialogue based critical inquiry to develop skills needed to listen to each other and develop positions based on refined details that support their opinion.  Using an open seating plan, this is described as a "classroom jousting" of ideas that elicits open dialogue and teaches students to articulate their views by supporting them with facts.  This is a method that is proving to promote life-long open communication and critical thinking skills by allowing students to invest in their ideas and beliefs and that of their peers.

 

Teachers using the Socratic Method view today's society as fast paced and lacking in a setting for students to own their thoughts and opinions.  They further state that this tool helps students slow down the need for immediate answers and allows time for open discussion that elicits deep thought.  All life skills that these teachers believe are essential in promoting characteristics of active learners.  You can follow NPR this year as they work their way through 50 of the greatest teachers and see how they are being used as role models in the classroom and as a primary source for establishing classroom curriculum and school methodology.

  

Tammy Reid
Content Specialist 

In This Issue
Top Stories 

Education Department releases NCLB waiver renewal guidelines   

 

School districts can renew their No Child Left Behind waivers through the 2017-18 school year if they meet certain requirements, according to new guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education. Forty-three states and Washington, D.C., have waivers, many of which expire at the end of the year.

 

Free curriculum based on activist's memoir is under development

 

A free curriculum on human rights based on Nobel Peace Prize recipient and global women's education activist Malala Yousafzai's memoir is under development and aims to teach boys and girls about education. George Washington University, The Malala Fund and the publisher of the book "I Am Malala" soon will release an online college version and plan for the high-school version to launch next year.

 

Free online AP courses deput on edX Website

 

Rice University launched a free Advanced Placement Biology course that aims to bring college-level courses to high school students.

 

Google wastes no time refining Classroom, its app platform for education

 

Google has pushed out a set of enhancements for its Classroom app. Classroom is meant to be a tool that helps teachers with basic tasks, such as creating and organizing assignments, providing feedback and communicating with students.

 

Ebooks Take Hold in Schools

 

E-book usage is slowly growing among school libraries, with elementary schools showing the largest usage rates of one book for every three students, according to a report from the School Library Journal. Findings from the survey of 835 school libraries indicate that limited access to e-readers was the top reason schools are slow to adopt e-books, and iPads were the top devices used for reading.

Staff Highlight 

In this issue of the EdGate Observer, we would like to introduce a member of our Technical Development Team, Jeremy Ashcraft, Technical Manager.

  


 

Jeremy has been a part of the EdGate team since the summer of 2000. He serves as the senior technologist for EdGate/EDmin properties. With a Computer Science degree from Purdue University and previous experience in the Bio-Tech, Health Care, and Sales Incentive industries, Jeremy has been designing and building Internet-based solutions for over fifteen years. In his spare time, Jeremy coaches high school pole vaulting, contributes to various open source projects, and makes guest appearances on technology blogs and podcasts.

EdGate Services 
Offering Custom Development Work

 

Although EdGate is known primarily for our standards licensing and standards correlation work, did you know that we also offer custom development services?

 

Customization ranges from custom correlations for courses created for specific states to custom reports to provide the correlation data in a specific format. We also offer development in the implementation of the Client User Interfaces and help with creating content targeting specific needs. Our team of experts also provides assessment items, lesson plans, online activities, and taxonomies.

 

With over 200 years of combined educational experience in the K-12 market, EdGate is able to provide our clients with just what they were looking for.  So if you find yourselves in need of a service you are not sure we provide, please just ask your sales contact or project manager. We are happy to look into it and see what we can do!


To reach our Sales and Marketing Team, choose your contact below:

Tracy_OlstadLarry_Johnson
Gina Faulk 
Sales and Marketing Manager 
Tracy Olstad,  
Account Manager 
Larry Johnson
Client Relationship Manager

ljohnson@edgate.com 

Standards Update 

Updates to The EdGate Standards Repository include:
  • ACT College and Career Readiness Standards - Language Arts (2014)
  • Australian Curriculum (ACARA) - Arts Education (2014)
  • National Board Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) - Professional Development (2013)
  • Nevada - Health and PE (2014)
  • New Jersey - Health and PE (2014)
  • New South Wales - Language Arts (2014)
  • New York Alternate Assessment Standards (NYSSA) - Social Studies (2014)
  • Puerto Rico Department of Education (English version) - Language Arts (2014)
  • Scotland Advanced Higher Chemistry Specification (SQA) - Science (2014)
  • Scotland Higher Chemistry Specification (SQA) - Science (2014)
  • Scotland National 4 Chemistry Specification (SQA) - Science (2014)
  • Scotland National 5 Chemistry Specification (SQA) - Science (2014)
Kristie
Kristie McCarley

Standards and Operations Manager
About Us 

EdGate Correlation Services works with over 200 content providers to increase the value of their products in a rapidly expanding digital world. EdGate uses its patented technology and highly skilled staff to assure client success. Employing its nearly two decades of innovation experience, EdGate has proven learning platforms, robust metadata tools and comprehensive correlation services to serve every clients unique needs.
EdGate currently focuses on correlation consulting, content and metadata development and management, media segmentation and licensing of international educational standards. EdGate Correlation Services LLC is a division of EDmin, Inc., a learning management and instructional technology solutions company based in San Diego, California.

Stay Connected

Facebook   Twitter   LinkedIn   
EdGate Correlation Services 6626 Wagner Way Suite 200 Gig Harbor, WA 98335
http://correlation.edgate.com

Copyright � 2014. All Rights Reserved.