At the Apple live education event today, the tech giant announced three major items: iBooks2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U. Here's a quick rundown. iTunes U offers full courses with video, documents, apps and book. Users can see a syllabus and follow assignments while teachers create posts and update tasks. Its integrated with iBooks notes. iBooks 2 (free) is Apple's attempt at "reinventing the textbook". Citing the iPad's already astounding impact on teachers and students (1.5 iPads in schools, over 20,000 apps used), the app enables you to "read in a text-heavy portrait or picture-biased landscape mode and there's also the option to have random pop-quizzes appear to keep you on your toes. Annotations is an integral part of the system: you can add stickies to individual pages and aggregate them into virtual 3 x 5-inch note-cards for revision during finals. You'll also get the same purchase, download and re-download rights you enjoy in the company's other stores." iBooks Author (free) allows you to start with a simple template and create an iBook with minimal tech know-how. Users will combine their templates, photos, presentations, widgets and videos using HTML5, JavaScript and publish to the iBookstore. Follow the conversation about Apple's announcements this morning and learn more about the new education-focused applications at Macworld, Slashgear, TechCrunch and Engadget. more ›

Republicans have controlled the Texas Senate since 1997, and the Senate Committee on Education has reflected that one party's vision of education in our state through budgeting and mandates for at least twelve years. With the end of the fall semester upon us and all our students receiving grades for their work in the classrooms, it seems appropriate to grade the Texas Legislature's performance, and by association the Texas Republican Party's performance, on education over the past twelve years. more ›

With cuts in education funding taking much of our public educational system out at the knee, Mann's guerilla approach to teaching a core subject just might be the remedy needed to help engage students struggling to keep up. more ›

While the previous school year was wrought with budget cuts, layoffs and the threat of school closures, this new year is starting out on a positive note. more ›

Kathy Augustine, a former deputy superintendent at Atlanta Public Schools, (the same system now embroiled in a national scandal over revelations of organized cheating facilitated and promoted by the school administrators) lasted only one day in her new job as superintendent of the DeSoto Independent School District. more ›

At the school board meeting on June 20th, superintendent Meria Carstarphen presented some preliminary TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) results. Two middle schools were discussed in depth -- Pearce and Garcia Middle Schools. Both are looking at an Academically Unacceptable rating for the next two years. more ›

UT-Austin and its five sister campuses hope to institute a new program that will shorten the amount of time for prospective undergraduates to earn their bachelor's degree and guarantee high-performing college entrants a spot in one of UT's medical schools.The hope is to link a medical education more closely with the medical field, as well as produce more Texas doctors. more ›

Gov. Rick Perry and the educational reforms he advocates are catching heat from his own alma mater, Texas A&M University. In a letter addressed to the A&M community, 22 "distinguished alumni" of the university criticized Perry as well as his major campaign contributor Jeff Sandefer, for their controversial views working to "fundamentally change how research universities in Texas fulfill their educational responsibilities." more ›

• So much for using the Rainy Day Fund. . .
• State Sen. Fraser files bill to regulate electric co-ops.
• Nuclear crisis in Japan may mean no expansion for South Texas Project's plant.

A large turn-out of educators, parents and even children is expected at today's demonstration. The march begins at 11am with a rally from 12-2 on the south steps of the Capitol. The goal is to alleviate the education budget crisis by convincing elected officials to use the "Rainy Day Fund" of $9.3 billion and sign the paperwork to receive the $830 million in federal funding. more ›

At Monday night's meeting Austin School Board members opted to not vote on a proposal that would offer financial incentives for teacher resignations. While this plan seems to have had some success in Dallas, AISD is in a unique position, having already informed teachers of their impending lay-off. Offering a pay-out to already RIF'd teachers opens up the potential for double-dipping (taking the incentive and applying for unemployment benefits as well) and could end up costing AISD more than it would save. And, by the way, RIF'd (laid off due to a Reduction in Force) is quite the euphemism for what is looking to be a teacher massacre here in Austin. more ›

• The infamous abortion sonogram bill has passed the Texas House and is on its way to the Senate.
• With all the brouhaha over school district budgets, you might like to see the rundown of salaries for Texas district superintendents.
• Over the weekend, the Texas Nationalists rallied for secession at the Capitol.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, Texas Republicans and Democrats are "dueling" over $830 million in education funding currently sitting at the federal Department of Education. more ›

• We may want to rethink how we’re planning on closing the budget gap in Texas. Cutting education programs is making us look bad to the rest of the country.
• Hello, patriarchy! We now have low-calorie Dr Pepper, with a slogan "Dr Pepper Ten: It's Not for Women." No word if a 12-pack comes with a sign for your treehouse reading “No girls allowed!”
• Album based on growing up in Houston’s suburb of The Woodlands wins an award from the New Music Express.

As the city reels from Monday's announcement by AISD that they would be eliminating nearly 500 jobs, the Austin Neighborhood Council met Wednesday night to discuss the potential school closures. more ›

Last night the Austin School Board met to muddle over how best to deal with a troubled budget. Suggested cuts have included the possible closing of schools and laying-off about 536 staff. The school board refrained from slashing the budget for school librarians -- that $600,000 will have to be found elsewhere -- but did vote to eliminate 485 other positions, a majority of which are teachers. These cuts will go into effect next school year. AISD expects to use about $28 million from savings to aid the budget, with teachers' merit pay reduced and no performance bonus for Superintendent Carstarphen. Unfortunately, school closings aren't off the table . . . they will be discussed as that AISD task force meets tonight. [KUT] more ›

Austin can proudly claim the oldest continuously running public school in Texas... at the moment. Currently, and according to the recommendation of Dejong Richter (a facilities planning corporation ... and defense contractor), AISD is considering closing many schools, historic ol' Pease included. It has been claimed that Pease, an all transfer school, has no community, no neighborhood. It does. Austin is its neighborhood. Pease serves students from 27 Austin zip codes, from the highest and lowest socioeconomic brackets. The diversity at Pease is largely unheard of, anywhere. Maintaining excellence (Pease is rated exemplary) while serving such a diverse population proves Pease isn't just doing something right, it's doing a lot right. more ›

The Williamson County Sheriffs Office had received a bomb threat for Deerpark Middle School and Live Oak Elementary last night, but assumed it was a hoax. This morning, some students said they had heard word of the threat also, and authorities decided the situation might be serious. After noon, students were bussed to McNeil High's gymnasium for parents to pick up. Bomb sniffing dogs are currently checking out the campuses. Despite this, Round Rock ISD expects both schools to be in session tomorrow. [KUT News] more ›

The Austin Center for Design is holding a virtual open house via webcast from 6-7 pm on Thursday. Center director Jon Kolko will talk about this program, which teaches how to apply design thinking to cultural problems. more ›

Many members of the SBOE have expressly chosen this opportunity to skew history more to the right and have frequently questioned whether evolution, separation between church and state, institutions of racism, and Hispanic and Black leaders should be included in the curriculum. Board Member Don McLeroy, who recently lost his primary, has been one of the primary proponents that those in the fields of history and economics are “skewed too far to the left”. However, many others, in and out of Texas, are insisting that the newly amended state curriculum is skewed too far to the right. more ›

• $900 million government plan to stem “dropout crisis” unveiled
• President Obama: sooooo busted!
• SCOTUS to consider gun rights vs. states’ rights

United Way Capital Area and KLRU have joined forces for a three-part community strengthening film series that will feature that lovely and oft-skipped post-film activity: conversation. Beyond just building awareness around timely social issues, the Live United Film Series will bring in local guests and provide resources for taking action on the topic at hand. The series$mdash;which is free and open to the public—launches this Thursday and will zero in on Austin education with a screening of Academy Award-winning Sue Marx's It All Adds Up. more ›

• Never ending war.
• Inhofe on Franken: pot calling the kettle black.
• Just what America needs - less educated students.

Dell's new netbook is geared toward kids in the classroom with five vivid colors, a rubber casing, and 10.1-inch screen. more ›

Austin is the largest city in America without a planetarium. It's easy to see a spectacular spread of stars deep in the heart of West Texas, but local educators and city-bound stargazers have to make their way San Antonio (or Killeen!). more ›

• Governor Perry looks stimulus gift horse in mouth, sends it trotting back to Washington.
• Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cattle rustlers…because they’ll get caught!
• If this bill passes the Lege, UT could change motto to, “Come Early, Be Loud, Pack Heat.”

• Tornado watch for Travis County until 9pm
• 81st legislature passed its first bill (finally): Rep. Dawnna Dukes' film incentives bill.
• State Senate approves scaling back the top 10% rule.

• IMF says world economy will shrink this year.
• Obama to speak on education; won't touch No Child Left Behind.
• Merck to get bigger.

Today the State Board of Education approved changes in the state science curriculum, removing any language on the "weaknesses" of evolution. Yesterday the textbook commission had voted 8-7 to defeat (barely) a proposed amendment requiring that state biology textbooks retain the phrase "strengths and weaknesses" on the subject of evolution. Texas has used such language in science texts for the past decade. Today's Board of Education vote is only tentative; the official vote is in March, but will likely bear the same result. The vote in March will affect our state's curriculum for the next 10 years. [DMN] more ›

State Board of Education hears testimony today on proposed changes to science curriculum. Texas Lege deals with a tight budget. Girl Scout cookies go on sale today in our area. . . Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido says he "made a mistake" after being charged with drunk driving over the weekend (he is currently suspended from UT). Pedestrians hit by SUV this afternoon outside the courthouse. Results released from Army investigation into string of recent Houston recruiter suicides. Buried treasure (of a sort) found in Galveston during Ike cleanup. more ›