The dominance of computer labs in our schools is the result of a long struggle among teachers and technicians for control of precious computer resources. As technicians gain power and influence, this is expressed in the 'row on row of machines' installed in literally thousands of computer labs in schools around the world. While labs are in some ways, ideal for learning about technology or computer programming, they somehow seem ill equipped to assist teachers with a lesson on language arts, geography or for helping students conduct a scientific experiment. As a result, the huge investment in computers seems like so much wasted potential: labs are not influencing teaching in the ways we had hoped for, and in fact, their use may even be harmful to students. These observations are based on five years of experience as the director of a centre for educational technology at a leading Canadian university and, on the results of three international studies I conducted in Australia, Canada and Malaysia. A reversal of the current 'techno- trend' would mean teachers would reclaim computers for 'their own' classrooms, and relegate the idea of the computer lab to the scrap heap of history. As educators, we need to discard the 'once size fits all'strategy which computer labs imply about teachers' instructional needs. This is reinforced by the apparent failure of computers to transform teachers' practice despite significant investments in computer technologies. Some critics describe this as a 'management problem' as computer labs reinforce 'top down' ways of thinking about knowledge. Unfortunately, once such models are adopted, undesirable uses of technology--such as the computer lab--become entrenched in a bureaucratic mindset, limiting the effectiveness of these expensive tools to support teaching and learning.

The Aspiring Astronaut’s Guide to Getting Lost in Outer Space “Kellie is probably one of the best ambassadors for spaceflight in the 21st century that the industry could have.” —Lucy Hawking, author of George's Secret Key to the Universe and host of Audible's Lucy in the Sky. #1 New Release in Science & Math, Essays & Commentary and Astronautics & Space Flight Follow aerospace science professional Kellie Gerardi’s non-traditional path in the space industry as she guides and encourages anyone who has ever dreamed about stars, the solar system, and the galaxies in space. Ever wondered what it’s like to work in outer space? In this candid science memoir and career guide, Gerardi offers an inside look into the industry beginning to eclipse Silicon Valley. Whether you have a space science degree or are looking to learn about stars, Not Necessarily Rocket Science proves there’s room for anyone who is passionate about exploration. What it’s like to be a woman in space. With a space background and a mission to democratize access to space, this female astronaut candidate offers a front row seat to the final frontier. From her adventures training for Mars to testing spacesuits in microgravity, this unique handbook provides inspiration and guidance for aspiring astronauts everywhere. Look inside for answers to questions like: • Will there be beer on Mars? • Why do I need to do one-handed pushups in microgravity? • How can I possibly lose a fortune in outer space? If you’re looking for women in science gifts, astronomy books for adults, or NASA stories—or enjoyed, the Galaxy Girls book, or Letters from an Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson—then you’ll love Not Necessarily Rocket Science.

Teaching is tricky business. If it were as easy as rocket science, which we seem to have figured out, all students would be learning as fast as their individual brains would allow. This implies that they would learn at their own individual pace, which would cause the gaps between the faster learners and the slower learners to gradually increase. In short, we know a lot more about how to make a rocket than we know about how the human brain works. Unfortunately, our current set of reforms driven by the corporate/political complex gives the same tests to students each year based on their born on date regardless of their ability. It also expects teachers to close the gaps between slow and fast learners. One way to do this is to slow down the fast learners, which some schools do rather well. They can also take advantage of the ceiling effect. This results from the fact that students already scoring at or near the top have nowhere to go but down, while low scorers have lots of room for improvement. In other words, it's easier to improve if your last scores suck. After summarizing over 140 books and reading dozens of articles every day for my blog DrDougGreen.Com since my wife Denise died in 2009, I think I'm in a position to write a book that lives up to my lofty title. The big problem with education is its one-size-fits-all nature that you still find more often than not in our schools. It is way easier to expect all students to learn the same thing at the same time at the same pace than it is to differentiate the learning so as to make it customized for each student. The current reform movement forces schools to narrow the curriculum in favor of the tested subjects, math, and ELA. It has pushed increased instruction of these subjects into kindergarten and preschool that has resulted in less time spent on anything else including recess. It judges teachers based on test scores that are invalid for a number of reasons. Reform leaders also seem to think that we have a large

"Insights and inspiration about achieving great success, from a self-made entrepreneur and scientist"--

Are you a good parent and what is the best way to raise your child? Are the tiger mums correct and do Australian children need more discipline and tougher expectations? There are no simple answers and there's no doubt that being a parent these days is no longer easy or straightforward. Some mums and dads are criticised for being helicopter parents and smothering their children in cotton wool. Other parents are criticised for giving their children too much freedom and failing to teach them civility and respect. New technologies like the internet, mobile phones and game boys, fears about stranger danger and being bullied at school and the ever increasing pressure to get the best academic results are all conspiring to make the job a lot harder. Educating your child: it's not rocket science provides an easy to read, comprehensive guide to being a good parent, with suggestions and advice proving that it's not rocket science and that every parent can succeed. As every parent knows, the most precious gift we can give our children is a good education and a sound footing to help them meet life's challenges. Dr Kevin Donnelly, author of Why Our Schools are Failing, Dumbing Down and Australia's Education Revolution, is one of Australia's leading education authors and commentators. He taught for 18 years in government and non-government schools.

Play dates, soccer practice, day care, political correctness, drudgery without facts, television, video games, constant supervision, endless distractions: these and other insidious trends in child rearing and education are now the hallmarks of childhood. As author Anthony Esolen demonstrates in this elegantly written, often wickedly funny book, almost everything we are doing to children now constricts their imaginations, usually to serve the ulterior motives of the constrictors. Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child takes square aim at these accelerating trends, in a bitingly witty style reminiscent of C. S. Lewis, while offering parents—and children—hopeful alternatives. Esolen shows how imagination is snuffed out at practically every turn: in the rearing of children almost exclusively indoors; in the flattening of love to sex education, and sex education to prurience and hygiene; in the loss of traditional childhood games; in the refusal to allow children to organize themselves into teams; in the effacing of the glorious differences between the sexes; in the dismissal of the power of memory, which creates the worst of all possible worlds in school—drudgery without even the merit of imparting facts; in the strict separation of the child’s world from the adult’s; and in the denial of the transcendent, which places a low ceiling on the child’s developing spirit and mind. But Esolen doesn’t stop at pointing out the problem; he offers clear solutions as well. With charming stories from his own boyhood and an assist from the master authors and thinkers of the Western tradition, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child is a welcome respite from the overwhelming banality of contemporary culture. Interwoven throughout this indispensable guide to child rearing is a rich tapestry of the literature, music, art, and thought that once enriched the lives of American children. Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child confronts contemporary trends in parenting and schooling by reclaiming lost traditions. This practical, insightful book is essential reading for any parent who cares about the paltry thing that childhood has become, and who wants to give a child something beyond the dull drone of today’s culture.

2024 SPE Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention It's Not Rocket Science - A Guide to the School Improvement Cycle: With Examples From New Zealand and Australian Schools presents an easy-to-read, practical guide to effectively leading school improvement. It walks leaders through each step of ‘The School Improvement Cycle’ developed by Bendikson and Meyer, providing case studies, examples, and helpful tools from primary and secondary schools for the implementation of each step. The book will support school leaders in implementing improvement cycles without making the classic mistakes of failing to develop measures of improvement and test change actions before scaling up. Schools and system leaders will benefit greatly from this practical guide, in which Bendikson and Meyer demonstrate that implementing improvement cycles is not a difficult process. While the book uses examples from Australian and New Zealand schools, the lessons that the book teaches can be applied to school leaders everywhere. The authors show how to make the complex work of improving student learning and outcomes at least somewhat simpler. They do this by describing and illustrating improvement steps that they have found to work in practice, providing examples from their work in schools to show the application of these ideas. If implemented properly, the cycles become “self-propelling,” thus reducing the cognitive load involved in planning how to improve. A range of evidence from international research and the authors’ own research and development work in schools explains the cycle and illustrate it. The book is entitled It’s Not Rocket Science because this is the common reaction from leaders once they understand the improvement cycle process. The book is perfect for a variety of courses in Education Leadership, Professional Development, and any other curriculum devoted to improving schools and student performance. Perfect for courses such as: Educational Leadership, Professional Development