Education Technology

Our friends at Operation: Social Santa have made tremendous strides in ensuring that every child has a joyful holiday season. Since their inception in 2010, they have raised over 7,000 toys, operating in 38 cities and organizing far-reaching social media campaigns to rouse communities to action.

Operation: Social Santa is one of many nationwide holiday drives, and each plays an important role in meeting the needs of underprivileged families across America. People choose to give to different places for different reasons: some chose based on location, others chose because an organization works for a cause that is …

This blog was originally published on Finding Common Ground at Education Week by Peter DeWitt on December 10, 2012 3:09 P.M.

As an elementary school teacher I was required to provide homework to students every night except for Fridays. During school vacations we were required, yes...required, to provide packets of math and ELA to students. Every vacation I gave my first graders packets of dittos that they had to complete before they returned. I was young, inexperienced and untenured. I cringe at the fact that I provided that experience to students at such a young age.

There were times when homework took longer than 20 minutes.

Yes, I asked all the right questions.

This week, we’ve collaborated with Operation: Social Santa to spread the word about the importance of giving during the holiday season, offer advice for starting a toy drive in your school or community, and celebrate the joy that comes from making sure children have something to be excited for.

We've interviewed the founder of Operation: Social Santa, Harrison Kratz, to talk to us about the importance of giving, and Makefield Element…

The National Association for Gifted Children defines gifted children as “those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude or competence in one or more domains.” While many public schools offer specific gifted and talented programs, a number of schools do not, especially in states where it is not mandated. Most teachers are likely to have the pleasure of teaching …

Special education is a rewarding field, helping students with special needs reach their goals and become as independent as possible. To be an effective educator, good communication must be maintained with all of the team members and the Individualized Education Plan(IEP) must be followed at all times. IEPs are essentially the blueprint for a student’s education, so creating one is not a process to be taken lightly. Since the IEP requires careful planning, considerations and a team-based approach, here is some information on how special education teachers can help develop truly individualized educati…

George Lucas’s sale of the Star Wars franchise to Disney has been making major headlines. Disney paid a whopping $4.05 billion for exclusive rights to Star Wars, and according to Business Week, Lucas is receiving approximately $2 billion in cash and $2 billion in D…