Tales of a Technology Omnivore

The Baltimore Sun has a spotlight article on how data driven teaching is effecting change in their neck of the woods. Data driven instruction promises to improve teaching by giving teachers detailed information about a student’s weaknesses so that instruction can be tailored to meet their needs. It also gives principals a way to discover when a teacher needs professional development in an area of weakness (if for example they show trends that indicate a weakness in a topic). In NYC we’re still waiting for the working roll-out of ARIS, our new multi-billion dollar system designed by IBM to give us instructional data. What I didn’t know is that Hillary Clinton, our NY Senator, is sponsoring a bill called the Better Data Act of 2007 which will support the development of a statewide system to track student progress over time in order to enhance and improve teaching. What a great idea!  But is it the answer?

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