Last week, I shared with you the news concerning the U.S. Department of Ed.’s release of the K-12 Common Standards for Reading and Math. These standards are to play a major role in Obama’s administration for education reform. The Department of Education has already tied federal money to states embracing the common standards. States vying for the Race to the Top program, for example, received 40 points (out of a possible 500) for participating in the consortium and taking steps to adopt the standards. The Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor’s Association (NGA) lead the formation of the K-12 standards. It has been announced that CCSSO and NGA will soon be starting on a set of standards for birth to 5 years old and would align with the K-12 ones. Hopefully, the new findings from the National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) and the National Research Council’s Early Math report will be a source for constructing these very important standards for Pre-K.

Findings of a new study illustrated that mobile apps are helping children’s vocabulary improve as much as 31%. The children in the study were three to seven years old and played “Martha Speaks." Nielsen published the results stating smart phone usage is 12% higher in households with children than other households. “Mobile apps can be a great learning tool in the hands of children.” Said Lesli Rotenerg, SVP, Children’s Media, PBS. “This research is important in helping to better understand and guide the development of new apps that improve the value of children’s screen time with significant educational outcomes.”

Source: EdNET News Alert, May 25, 2010