Teacher use of technology report

A national research report claims that more teachers are digitally inclined.
* 76% of k12 educators used digital media (up from 69% in 2008).
* 80% of k12 teachers who use digital media in the classroom are frequent or regular users.
* 72% of k12 teachers increasingly stream/download content from the Internet.
Grunwald Associates. (2010). Digitally inclined. Washington, DC: PBS Education.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/_files/pdf/annual-pbs-survey-report.pdf

Online learning study

The U. S. Department of Education's conducted a meta-analysis of over 1000 empirically-based practices in online learning from 1996 to 2008. Major findings include:
* Blended and online conditions result in similar learning performance.
* Video and online quizzes do not impact student learning.
* Learning is enhanced when learners can control their interaction with media, and reflect.
* Group guidance is not as effective and individual guidance.
US Dept. of Education. (2010). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning.
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html

Youth media use study

"A national survey found that with technology allowing nearly 24-hour media access as children and teens go about their daily lives, the amount of time young people spend with entertainment media has risen dramatically, especially among minority youth. Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time 'media multitasking' (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours. This study is the third in a series of large-scale, nationally representative surveys by the Foundation about young people's media use. It includes data from all three waves of the study (1999, 2004, and 2009), and is among the largest and most comprehensive publicly available sources of information about media use among American youth." Kaiser Family Foundation. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds. http://www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm

Online safety report

This FTC report examined the incidence of sexually and violently explicit content in online virtual worlds, its accessibility to minors and the prevention measures virtual world operators have in place.
Federal Trade Commission. (2009). Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks. Washington, DC: Author.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt038.shtm

AASL School libraries count report

AASL is sponsoring a longitudinal survey that will provide data on the health of the nation's school library media programs. The annual survey is open to media centers at all schools teaching at the primary and secondary levels. The first survey was conducted in 2007, with annual results posted each year. Most of the questions are tracking questions, though each year the survey includes a short series of topical questions. In 2009 the topical questions were about approaches to teaching English Language Learners (ELL) in school library media programs.
AASL. (2009). School libraries count. Chicago: AASL.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/researchandstatistics/slcsurvey/slcsurvey.cfm

European media literacy report.

This study covers the 27 EU Member States. It offers a comprehensive view of the concept of media literacy and an understanding of how media literacy levels in Europe should be assessed.
EAVI. (2009). Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels in Europe.
http://www.eavi.eu

Workforce and education report

This report offers many stimuli for reflecting on the relationships about the poor/high
quality in education/training and the quality of less/more skilled
workforce. World class education for world class economy is based on
the combination of several skills and competencies (p.6) which
contribute to build up imagination, creativity, vision.
New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. (2009). Though Choices or Though Times.
http://skillscommission.org/pdf/exec_sum/ToughChoices_EXECSUM.pdf

Technology and learning research

This updated Cisco commissioned report on the impact of technology on student learning incorporate Web 2.0 participatory cultures of communication, collaboration, and interactivity and summaries of the latest research finds in educational technology.
Lemke, C., Coughlin, E., & Reifsneider, D. (2009). Technology in schools: What the research says: An update. Culver City, CA: Commissioned by Cisco. http://tinyurl.com/yfcyor8

Public library services report

This brief identifies important changes public libraries have made to address patron needs in an increasingly Internet-centric environment and explores service differences in urban and rural communities. A comparison of more than 11 years of Public Library Survey data suggests that service changes in U.S. public libraries are having an impact on visitation and circulation, as record numbers of people now use public libraries nationwide.
Several findings from the surveyinclude:
* The availability of Internet terminals in public libraries rose sharply between 2000 and 2007, increasing by 90 percent on a per capita basis. This dramatic increase is one example of the way U.S. public libraries are expanding their range of services to meet patron demand.
* Between 1997 and 2007, per capita visits to public libraries increased nationwide by 19 percent. During the same period per capita circulation increased by 12 percent. This growth in demand for library services occurred even as people increasingly turned to the Internet to meet other information needs.
* The study identified very different trajectories between urban and rural communities for select service trends, highlighting the importance of local context for identifying patron needs and improving services.

Institute of Museum and Library Services. (2010). Service Trends in U.S.
Public Libraries, 1997-2007. Washington, DC: Author.
http://www.imls.gov/pdf/Brief2010_01.pdf

Libraries and megasites report

Based on data from more than 120 academic, special and public libraries, this report discusses how libraries use and relate to the mega-internet sites such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, MySpace, eBay, Amazon, and others. In many ways the mega-sites have transformed library management, fostering change in information literacy education, library marketing and public relations, cataloging, digitization, collection management and other aspects of librarianship. Library patrons often learn their initial information searching skills from the internet sites, as well as their formative information gathering experiences, creating a set of experiences and expectations that they bring to the library. This report provides hard data on exactly how libraries are dealing with the emerging internet giants, how they are adopting, negotiating, repelling, embracing and in every way developing strategies to provide the best possible information services to their clientele.
Primary Research Group. (2008). Libraries and the mega Internet sites. Dublin: Research and Markets.
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/b0e708/libraries_the_megainternet_sites ($$)

Quality Counts national education report

Education Week's annual report highlights the current national debate on academic standards. Among the feature stories are U.S. common standards, math progress assessment, standards implementation, and "state of the states" statistics.
Education Week. (2010). Quality Counts 2010: Fresh Course, Swift Current.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2010/01/14/index.html?roi=echo4-7639694084-6525610-1511e2a04671368f962d753d94035a62&

ALA libraries report

Fairly dramatic changes in U.S. library funding, services and staffing have occurred in the last 18 months. According to a new report prepared by ALA, libraries of all types are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn while managing sky-high use. The report presents U.S. economic trends (2009), and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries across several library measures, including expenditures, staffing and services. The report also highlights trends in services provided to libraries by library cooperatives and consortia."

American Library Association. (2009). The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009. Chicago: ALA.

http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/january2010/outlook_ors.cfm

Adolescent literacy report

With a vision of "Literacy for all!," the Carnegie Foundation discusses the importance and essential value of creating a 'culture of literacy'. Nevertheless, the report focuses just on basic literacy -- learning to read and write and mastering these essential skills. The report covers this complex issue that demands and deserves attention at the highest level. The authors address the impact and implications of not addressing this issue now -- undereducated adults who can't compete or even participate in the 21st century workforce and contribute to the economy.
Carnegie Report. (2009). Time to Act. New York. http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/PDF/tta_Main.pdf

Teacher quality research

Good teachers improve performance of peers
The talents of great teachers appear to have a positive effect on their peers, according to North Carolina's report. Researchers looked at 11 years of state school data and found results suggesting that high-performing teachers' abilities not only resulted in better student performance in their classroom but in others at the same grade level. "If it's true that teachers are learning from their peers, and the effects are not small, then we want to make sure that any incentive system we put in place is going to be fostering that and not preventing it," said a co-author of the study.
Jackson, C., & Bruegmann, E. (2009). Teaching students and teaching each other: The importance of peer learning. Cambridge: National Bureau of Educational Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w15202.pdf

National library status report

There's some very interesting info in the document about the state of school libraries in the US, including staff. And, when compared to the prior SASS report, should shed some important light on the health of the profession. The report contains information broken down by grade, school type, school size, school location, and SES level. Researchers can apply to NCES to receive access to the entire data set.
National Center for Educational Statistics
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009322

Female math anxiety research

Women teachers could be passing their math anxiety on to girls, according to University of Chicago researchers who surveyed the attitudes of female first- and second-grade teachers about math. Researchers found that girls with teachers who were uneasy about the subject were more likely to believe that boys were better than girls at math. Female students who believed the stereotype scored lower than other students on math tests, the study found.
Sian Beilock & Susan Levine. Female Teachers' Math Anxiety Affects Girls' Math Achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

National school libraries report

AASL's 2009 national survey of school libraries has been published. A special emphasis was placed on questions about teaching to ELLs. Main findings were that libraries increased hours and collections, but their budgets didn't.
AASL. (2010). School Libraries Count. Chicago: ALA.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/researchandstatistics/slcsurvey/slcsurvey.cfm