The Quality Teaching Blog
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Will ChromeOS Transform Classroom Computing?
There’s a lot of talk this week about Chromebooks and whether they will or will not change the way we use computers in everyday life. There are implications for PC repair, and if Chrome OS catches on, it could transform classroom computing. One real difference that Google brings to the fore with its newest innovation … Continue reading
Budget Ax Threatens Deep Cuts to NC Education System
For North Carolina educators, students and their parents, looming cuts to school funding pose an alarming threat. In a state that already ranks 46th in per pupil spending, the NC House budget unveiled this week would slash spending by almost 9 percent, more than a billion dollars, almost $500 per child. The numbers sound ominous, … Continue reading
Tough Choices, Challenging Times, Bold Leadership
Tough choices dominated the conversation as district and school administrators from across North Carolina gathered in Raleigh last week. For the first time, our organization co-sponsored the annual North Carolina Association of School Administrators Conference. Our CEO Dave Boliek addressed the opening session with a message very much in keeping with the conference theme of … Continue reading
Can Professional Development Have Lasting Impact?
A participant in one of our recent ExplorNet workshops on Multimedia and Webpage Design gave us a pleasant surprise when she told us she had a prior history with our programs. Gail Thompson teaches Business Education now at Raleigh’s Athens Drive High School. But back in 2006 and 2007, she was a teacher at Dillard … Continue reading
Modern Innovation, Modern Challenges
Much has been reported in recent months about the role the Internet now plays in world events. Facebook and Twitter are credited with helping protesters in Egypt and elsewhere organize their efforts and overthrow their governments. Every new use of technology brings a new set of challenges. As social networks and dissident websites take aim … Continue reading
Jerry Seinfeld and the Interactive Classroom
(RALEIGH) – What good is technology if it sits on a shelf? That’s been a persistent question for administrators juggling budgets and deciding whether interactive tools are worth the price. Amid budget cuts and belt tightening, no one wants to spend precious dollars on tools that aren’t effective. But instructional leaders are desperately looking for … Continue reading
Coaching that Connects
One-on-one teacher coaching plays an ever larger role in our efforts at The Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning. The reflective approach our expert coaches use has a two-fold benefit: it trains teachers to examine and improve their own classroom practices, and does so without putting them on the defensive.
Creative Solutions to Funding Challenges
As important as it is to provide professional development opportunities for teachers, that is becoming a bigger and bigger challenge for schools. That worry is a common theme among instructors from QTL’s District Partnerships. QTL instructors from several counties across North Carolina are gathering in Raleigh this week to hear about what’s new with our … Continue reading
Engaging History Project Makes the News
Finding ways to get elementary students interested in social studies and history can be a challenge, but it’s one that lends itself to creativity. A Franklin County teacher’s awesome “Famous North Carolinians” project is a case in point. A “Tar Heel Traveler” news crew from Raleigh’s WRAL visited Louisburg to watch as fourth graders dressed … Continue reading
Can Race to the Top Turn the Tide?
Ten years into the 21st Century, educators have been too slow to embrace the technology tools needed to help American students keep up. That’s the conclusion of the longtime educator in charge of implementing North Carolina’s Race to the Top grants. “Classrooms still look too much like they did when I went to school,” Dr. … Continue reading
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