For Immediate Release From USDE!
The U.S. Department of Education yesterday released a new Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide
https://tech.ed.gov/publications/digital-l... a resource to help parents and guardians understand how digital tools can provide tailored learning opportunities, engage students with course materials, encourage creative expression, and enrich the educational experience.
"As technology continues to iterate and benefit every part of our lives, all students need more opportunities to leverage the potential of technology in education," said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. "We hope families can use the information we release today as many of them are relying on technology more so than ever before and are navigating learning from home."
Digital learning can help families and educators meet the specific needs of individual students, understand a child's progress, and connect families and students with resources in their school community and beyond. As an increasing number of school systems implement digital learning both inside and outside of the traditional classroom, this guide demystifies digital learning for parents and empowers them to be effective advocates for high-quality digital learning.
The Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide includes guidance and best practices for caregivers around topics including:
1. How to leverage flexibilities and innovations technology and digital tools provide, such as accessibility options, to meet the unique needs of every learner — including students with disabilities and English language learners.
2. Simple steps parents can take to keep their children safe online and foster safe online behavior, such as accessing security features on a child's device, keeping track of log-in information, and keeping children safe while videoconferencing. The guide also discusses the importance of digital citizenship and offers parents resources to help their child navigate online bullying or encounters with troubling content.
3. How a competency-based learning approach, which measures a student's knowledge of a subject rather than time spent on the subject, can harness technology for the benefit of students. Digital resources like online assessments, periodic check-ins, and more can update parents on their child's learning progress, and they can provide instructional flexibility in the event of a school disruption.
4. Easy-to-understand primers on major federal laws governing student privacy and safety, such as FERPA, IDEA, and COPPA.
The Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide was informed by the feedback and contributions of digital learning experts representing researchers, parents, educators, and school leaders, as well as Digital Promise and Learning Heroes. This publication is the first in a series that will ultimately provide digital learning knowledge and resources to educators and school leaders in addition to parents and students.
Learn more HERE!:
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-... and
https://tech.ed.gov/publications/digital-l... ******
U.S. Department of Education Announces Additional Funding For Earn-and-Learn Opportunities to Prepare Postsecondary Students for Career Success
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently announced additional funding for the Federal Work Study (FWS) Experimental Sites, an initiative which expands earn-and-learn opportunities for students by removing barriers to off-campus jobs, allowing students to work more hours, and permitting institutions to pay students for work-based learning such as apprenticeships, externships, and clinical rotations. Initiated in February 2020, the FWS Experimental Sites at 190 institutions have incentivized student work opportunities that provide not only a paycheck, but meaningful skills training that aligns with students’ future career goals.
This funding will be used both to supplement FWS wages and to create and grow Job Location and Development (JLD) programs. JLD programs provide critical support for institutions as they seek out employer partners, help students find jobs, and oversee the quality of the work opportunities. JLD programs serve FWS and non-FWS students alike.
“The expansion of earn-and-learn sites incentivizes employers and institutions to work together for the benefit of students. Students will earn much more than a paycheck – they will gain the skills and experiences needed to succeed in any career,” said Secretary DeVos. “That’s why we’re directing additional funds for students who need them the most. Breaking down silos between the classroom and the workplace is the right thing to do for students and for our economy.”
Because this experiment makes clear that FWS students may work more than 10 hours per week, low-income students at participating institutions will no longer need to decline their FWS award so that they can seek a job that provides more hours.
Additionally, the FWS Experimental Sites may pay students for the work they do, such as student teaching, externships, and clinical rotations, even if that work is a required part of their academic program. Low-income students at participating institutions are no longer forced to choose between completing their program’s requirements or earning wages.
The new FWS Experiment supplemental allocation formula directs funding to where it is needed most: institutions enrolling students from low-income backgrounds. These students will disproportionately benefit from placement in off-campus jobs that allow them to meet their earning needs while gaining a foothold in their future career. The prior supplemental allocation formula, set by Congress in the Higher Education Act, included a base guarantee and a fair share formula, neither of which emphasized the needs of low-income students at under-resourced institutions. The new formula accounts for the institution’s prior year FWS expenditures and provides more funding to institutions based on the number of Pell Grant recipients it serves.
For more information on the FWS experimental sites, click here:https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-additional-funding-earn-and-learn-opportunities-prepare-postsecondary-students-career-success?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term= and
https://experimentalsites.ed.gov/exp/pdf/F...
Posted By: agnes levine
Saturday, October 24th 2020 at 3:59PM
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