Work on tests means cash for states

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan came to the Triangle on Sunday with a promise of $350 million for states to work on establishing national standardized tests that will allow students from around the country see how they stack up against each other and with their counterparts around the globe.

The states have taken a first step, with 46 states, including North Carolina, agreeing to develop standards in English and mathematics that all high school students should meet to make them ready for college and work. The states will also develop basic grade-by-grade and course-by-course standards.

Duncan spoke at a governors' meeting sponsored by the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.

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EPEC Announces Distribution Agreement with Bonnie’s Fitware

EPEC Announces Distribution Agreement with Bonnie’s Fitware
Alliance Means Increased Offerings for Physical Educators

LANSING, Mich. – EPEC (Exemplary Physical Education Curriculum) will partner with Bonnie’s Fitware
in order to provide additional physical education materials and products to teachers around the world.
The agreement for EPEC to immediately assume worldwide distribution responsibilities of the products
was announced today.

EPEC is an award winning standards-based physical education curriculum for grades K-12 which is
built around the NASPE (National Association for Sport and Physical Education) learning standards.

Bonnie’s Fitware Inc. was founded by Dr. Bonnie Mohnsen, and is a leader in providing the physical
education profession with state of the art technological instructional solutions and standards based
physical education curriculum.

“The decision to assume distribution of the Bonnie’s Fitware products was based on our fundamental
commitment to ensure quality standards-based physical education for the nation’s youth. We believe
that the best way to address the child obesity problem is to physically educate our youth, which will
lead to ahealthier nation,” said Dr. Glenna DeJong, EPEC’s vice president of educational programs.
“Bonnie’s products compliment and reinforce our EPEC products and will serve to assist us in meeting
the needs of the physical education community.”

EPEC will integrate the Bonnie’s Fitware products into its marketing and sales efforts and be prepared
to fulfill orders for the 2009-2010 school year. Bonnie’s Fitware Inc. will continue to offer selected
resource products, on-line instructional learning and conduct professional workshops. The organizations
have also agreed to co-promote both the EPEC and Bonnie’s Fitware product offerings.

Dr. Mohnsen is a nationally acclaimed author in the areas of physical education and technology, and
has conducted hundreds of workshops on the use of technology in effective physical education
instruction.

“EPEC has become the leader in the physical education community in providing standards-based
physical education. Their marketing and sales efforts have proven both effective and impressive,
” Dr. Mohnsen said. “This alliance will allow me to concentrate my efforts on the development of new
products in the area of technology and on-line instructional resources, while being assured that our
current products will be effectively offered to the physical education community.”

In 2002, EPEC received the award for Excellence in Prevention Research and Research Translation
in Chronic Disease from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Research done in
2005 by the CDC reported that students who were taught with EPEC increased their skills in the
measured motor skills over students taught using other curricula. In addition, students taught with
EPEC showed more knowledge of physical activity and greater motor-skill self-efficacy. For more
information about EPEC, visit www.EPEC4kids.com.

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Setting the Standard by Meeting the Standards

EPEC P.O. Box 27187 Lansing, MI 48909 Phone 877/464-3732 Fax 517/347/8145
www.EPEC4kids.com

Apple Announces New iPhone

Apple has introduced the iPhone 3G S, the latest and speediest version of the popular smartphone. The device boasts an improved camera, the ability to record video and a set of voice controls that enable users to upload all those videos directly to YouTube. Apple will offer the 3G S as 16G and 32G versions, priced at $199 and $299, respectively.

Check out this video on the iPhone 3G S: Video

Has the Time Come for National Standards?

At the initiative of state governors, education leaders and the Obama administration, fresh efforts are under way to jump-start a conversation about developing national standards for U.S. schools. The latest ASCD Infobrief examines how adopting national standards would help students moving to different areas or school systems, describes how Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has challenged states to raise standards and become models for the rest of the nation, shares states' opinions on the issue and highlights some concerns about further federal involvement in education. The brief also looks at what national standards could look like, and how we can turn the vision into reality.

Research to Assess Impact of Technology

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC - June 2, 2009 - Lenovo today announced the Global Education Research program, an initiative that will analyze and measure the impact of technology on students' educational experiences at various levels, ranging from first grade through higher education, both inside and outside the classroom.

The new initiative aims to gain a complete view of the role and impact of technology in all aspects of education. The program kicks off during Lenovo's 12th annual Think Tank education conference hosted this year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC on June 1-3.

Lenovo has created a network of education centers that will contribute the best practices in education from around the globe and across all disciplines, in and out of the traditional classroom. Initial program participants include the following centers:

University of North Carolina Center for Faculty Excellence, Chapel Hill, NC

Institute for International Leadership, Honolulu, HI

Tiger Woods Learning Center, Anaheim, CA


Lenovo is developing the Global Education Research Centers in partnership with Microsoft and Intel. For more information see www.lenovo.com.

Scientists Unveil ‘Thought-Controlled’ Smart Home System

06.01.2009 — Scientists in London are close to perfecting a smart home system that is controlled by the user's thoughts.

The Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) uses electrodes attached to the scalp that allow the user to turn lights off and on, change the channel on the TV or open a door "by just thinking about it," according to Science Daily.

g.tec, an Austrian medical engineering company, developed the (BCI) to assist the disabled. But it could have applications for the general population. g.tec teamed with several international universities to test the BCI technology in a smart home created in virtual reality. Check out the video below.

"[The virtual smart home] has a kitchen, bathroom, living room … everything a normal home would have," says g.tec CEO Christoph Guger. "People are able to move through [the virtual smart home] just by thinking about where they wanted to go."

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