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Two factors have given way to a shift in the focus of technology in the classroom. The need to cut state and district education budgets nationwide forces school administrators to find cheap yet effective ways to educate their students. Educators also realize that many students are already immersed in the technology slowly introduced in classes. By bringing technology into the classroom, teachers can hone in on methodology that students are familiar with, leading to more effective teaching strategies and better results.

These two factors are now ushering cloud computing into several classrooms across the United States, allowing teachers to use the technology for conducting lessons, performing student assessments, and developing homework plans in a virtual teaching space.

Subscriptions for cloud technology usually cost less than the purchase of software to facilitate a similar environment, and students and faculty alike usually adapt to the online approach much better than grappling with software installation and implementation.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing uses the Internet for much of the functionality that software installations traditionally offer. The term "cloud" refers to the Internet and is similar to the network diagrams used by phones and computers in the past.

Here is a list of cloud-based apps commonly used by public K-12 schools:

Google Workspace for Education
Includes tools like Google Classroom, Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Meet. It is widely used for collaboration and classroom management.

We worry that our children cannot keep up globally in important subjects like math and science, but what about money management? While financial training has not traditionally been a part of the "3 R's" of education, in a world of tough economic times, it has become an essential component of a sound education.

Subsequently, some public schools are implementing financial subjects as a part of their core curriculum, while non-profit organizations are working hard to provide resources to schools to help them in their efforts. Financial literacy is slowly but surely becoming an academic catchphrase for the 21^st century.

Why is financial literacy important?

answers that question as follows: "Financial literacy is important because it equips us with the knowledge and skills we need to manage money effectively. Without it, our financial decisions and the actions we take—or don’t take—lack a solid foundation for success. And this can have dire consequences:

• Nearly half of Americans don’t expect to have enough money to retire comfortably.
• Credit card debt has reached its highest point ever.
• Forty percent of Americans can’t afford a $400 emergency expense.
• Given the above statistics, it might not be surprising that nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t pass a basic test of financial literacy.

To explore the importance of financial literacy, we turned to personal finance experts working in colleges, high schools, and credit unions. Together, the populations they serve span a broad range of ages, incomes, and backgrounds. These educators witness first-hand the

While much of our culture minimizes fundamental differences between boys and girls, some schools embrace these disparities to create a more robust learning environment. All-girl public high schools may not be the norm in most school districts, but the existing schools appear to thrive. These schools cater to female students much differently than traditional co-ed classroom settings, and research indicates that the single-sex approach may have significant advantages.

Learning Differences by Gender

To understand the potential benefits of an all-female education, we must begin with an overview of the learning differences between genders. According to Scholastic, girls and boys enter school using parts of their brains quite differently. Girls use their left hemispheres in early grades to excel in writing, reading, and speaking. Right-hemisphere development helps girls tune in to the feelings of teachers and other students.

On the other hand, boys in the early years use their left hemispheres to recall important facts, while the right hemispheres are used for visual-spatial and visual-motor skills. This may, in part, explain why boys tend to excel in math, science, and geography in the early years, while girls perform better in basics like reading and writing. These generalizations do not always apply to all children, but they indicate essential strengths and weaknesses that tend to differ between the two genders.

When hormones start revving, they can also affect how girls perform in school. Michelle Russell, co-director of the Young Woman's Leadership Charter School in Chicago, told

Parents want to ensure their children obtain the best education possible, but few know how significantly their input can turn a campus into a top public school. There are numerous ways parents can get involved to raise the bar for the neighborhood school system. Consider these four ideas to help your schools achieve the quality you want for your children.

Parental Involvement in the Classroom

When parents enter the classroom, they obtain a better perspective of the teacher and students' challenges. Parental involvement encourages better communication between the teacher and parent and between the parent and child. According to a study by Henderson and Berla, the benefits of parental involvement to students include:

• Higher grades and test scores
• Better attendance
• More homework completed
• Improved attitudes
• Higher graduation rates

Benefits are not restricted to students, however. The school also benefits from parental involvement in the following ways:

• More support for teachers from families
• Improved teacher morale
• Higher student achievement
• Better reputation in the community

Parents also benefit from getting more involved in school business. By becoming involved, parents develop more confidence in the school and teachers. Moms and dads also become more confident in their parenting abilities and their children's potential for success.

In this TEDX Talk, Megan Olivia Hall discusses building robust relationships with teachers and parents.

Better Nutrition and Fitness

Obesity is becoming a national epidemic in the United States, and it is no longer just