The iPad and Education: How Tablet Computers Might Change the Classroom

When I was in seventh grade, one of my teachers assigned my class to write about what school might be like in the future. Calling upon my creativity, I dove into the assignment with gusto (open-ended writing assignments were my favorite). In my day-in-the-life narrative of a future middle school, students teleported to class, ate hot lunches served from a giant machine, and instead of textbooks, had their own personal, lightweight computers.

I didn’t know then that one of my ideas about the future might come sooner than I had realized. Today, Apple just announced their new iPad—a tablet computer they call their “most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device.” With the interface of an iPod Touch but the size of a laptop screen, it’s interesting to think what technology like the iPad might mean for schools and education.

Five Best Practices You Need to Know

If your students used Imagine Learning English in 2009, you already know the difference thirty minutes a day can make. Now we've got a few extra tips to help them excel even more. Start off the new year by trying these five best practices that are sure to help meet your best expectations.

Reassessing EL Assessments

Federal education leaders gathered with educators and assessment experts from around the country last month in Denver, Colorado, to reassess the way English learners are tested. In addition to mentioning Denver Public Schools' partnership with Imagine Learning, speakers gave recommendations for improving the assessment process. To read the entire 216-page transcript, click here. For a quick, more digestible overview, read on.

National Handwriting Day

Happy National Handwriting Day! It might not be an “official” national holiday, but people have been celebrating National Handwriting Day since 1977, when the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association established the holiday to “re-explore the purity and power of handwriting.”

National Handwriting Day is celebrated on January 23 in conjunction with the birthday of John Hancock, whose large, famous signature was the first to adorn the Declaration of Independence. It’s a wonderful day to celebrate and practice handwriting in your class—or to ponder the controversies regarding handwriting in schools today.