Philadelphia Virtual Academy
School District of PhiladelphiaPosts tagged ‘EdTech’
Cup of Love by Charnae Ramey
The very first submission into the Student Writing section is Charnae Ramey’s beautiful poem, “Cup of Love”. Cup of Love By: Charnae Ramey It is a family tradition Passed from year to year That we spend together And celebrate with cheer As the first snowflakes fall We hear mama’s voice call ‘’It’s time for hot…
Lunch and Learning Session at Rivera!
On Wednesday we had our very first Lunch and Learning Session at the Rivera drop-in learning center from 11am til 1pm. Students were given the opportunity to meet their classmates and interact with them in person, work together on assignments and discover some commonalities between each other. Oh yes, and pizza, we ate pizza! Keep…
PVA’s March Madness Tournament!
Philly Virtual’s Super Bowl Contest was a complete and utter success, so we’re bringing back the culture for March Madness! Sign-ups started yesterday and continue through Sunday, March 23rd. The TA’s are the team coaches just like the Super Bowl. Rules are as follows: Students earn points in classes from Monday, March 24th to Sunday…
Astrophysicists vs. Athletes
The average American boy or girl grows up idolizing their favorite, athlete, singer, or movie star (usually a fictional character, not the actual actor). Dean Karmen, the inventor of the Segway, argues, why not astrophysicists, biological chemists, and programmers? At SXSW, Karmen motioned that, “as professionals, as parents, as citizens, the technical community has to…
Learning vs. Teaching
We’ve been posting EdTech blogs each Wednesday for the past two months now. PVA has detailed M.O.O.C, big data, TED Talks, mobile connectivity to the classroom and much more. Today, we decided to see what other blogs were saying about education technology, or EdTech as many refer to it. We came across this incredible blog…
Windows XP to Cease Product Support April 8th
Businesses, nonprofits, and school districts using Windows XP are preparing for April 8th when Windows ceases product support on their XP software. Some of these organizations have already pre-ordered modern Windows software, others are moving onto Mac OS systems and others are simply relying on their malware software, continuing their use of XP until an…
Discovery’s Curiosity.com
An already prevalent figure in educational content, Discovery has adopted a new website configured specifically for those using M.O.O.C.s and those learning independently. With the tagline, “Never Stop Learning”, Discovery wants you to “Explore and be inspired. Discover thousands of the web’s best learning content here.” It offers everything from arts & crafts tips, to…
What Adults Can Learn from Kids
In light of yesterday’s Faculty Spotlight featuring Lee Patterson, we thought Adora Svitak’s TED Talk would be appropriate, as Ms. Patterson provided great insight as to what she learned from the students! [ted id=815]
The Future of EdTech Part 3: Big Data
Big data, a term the world is becoming more and more familiar with—and growing tired of just as quick. According to the ever-trusty free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, “Big data is the term for a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand database…
Philadelphia Education: Problems and Solutions
Philadelphia Magazine’s latest issue highlights the school district’s struggles and ways to fix it. An article by Patrick Kerkstra highlights 8 steps of action that can be taken now and hopefully turn Philadelphia urban education around, towards the light. Some noteworthy quotes from the article include: “Education remains the single best lever the city…