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"The Managing Complex Change model puts language to that which makes some schools successful while others struggle. The model looks at five components necessary to create a desired environment. These include vision, skills, incentives, resources, action plan. If any one piece is missing the model indicates results schools will experience including change, confusion, anxiety, gradual change, frustration, and a false start. When thinking of successful schools such as Science Leadership Academy, The MET, The Island School, The iSchool, you will find they have all those components in place. On the other hand, when I hear teachers lamenting about their school failures, the model brings clarity to the fact that one or more of these components are missing. Below is the chart that lays this out. Following the chart, I'll take a look at what each missing component might look like in a school environment. As you read, consider which, if any are components, are missing at your school. save image Lack of Vision = Confusion When I hear exasperated teachers spinning their wheels, working so hard to get ready for all the various mandates and requirements, but never feeling a sense of accomplishment, it is clear there is not a tangible school vision that has been communicated. In some cases this is because what is being imposed does or can not reconcile with what the school wanted for their vision. Skill Deficit = Anxiety My heart goes out to those with a skill deficit. They are required to implement a curriculum they are not trained in using or being evaluated via measures with which they are not familiar. Or…they are put into a position they were not trained for or prepared to embrace. Social media provides a great medium for helping these teachers get up to speed, but when the outreach occurs, the anxiety is abundantly clear. Lack of Incentives = Gradual Change It is not unusual for innovative educators to feel like and be perceived as misfits. Islands onto their own

"So many of us are trying to create passionate reading environments, we are doing all the things the experts tell us to do, and yet, something just isn't clicking. Some kids are reading sure, but they would probably be reading any way, others though, not so much. Our passionate reading environments are just not working for all of our kids. When I moved from 5th to 7th I knew I would be up against a challenge, after all, I had seen the slow decline of reading in my 5th graders and was pretty sure it would continue as they got older. And I was right, by 7th graders some of my students are not just disliking books, some really hate reading. And they are vocal about it! So what have I done to continue to create passionate reading environments? Here are a few ideas…"

"Go into any office today and you'll notice that 1:1 does not exist. To operate effectively in today's workplace, at the very least, a 2:1 environment, with a computer and a phone, is required. It's likely that there are one or two other devices in use as well. This is the world for which we have to prepare today's students. Not only is it beneficial to support students with their success in school environments that look like real-life environments, it is also beneficial to schools."

"The U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act defines the concept of the Least Restrictive Environment as the opportunity for a student with a disability to be "provided with supplementary aids and services necessary to achieve educational goals if placed in a setting with non-disabled peers." (Daniel R.r. v. State Bd. of Educ., 874 F.2d 1036, 1050, 5th Cir.1989) This concept of providing students with "supplementary aids and services necessary to achieve educational goals" could be applied to all students. By leveraging the capabilities of mobile devices, teachers can support their students in creating a personalized learning environment with the least number of barriers. "

"So what qualities would a teacher possess in a constructionist environment and how would these superheroes behave? Thank you to FabLearn Fellows Mark Schreiber and Erin Riley for their feedback for this post. They are quoted below from our small group meeting on April 7th. Here is a list of top five qualities and behaviors to keep in your tool kit for fostering a constructionist learning environment."

"At the Kensington Library making a learning environment that is accessible, friendly, and interactive has been the most effective way of reaching the most "difficult" children. When school is over and children flock to the library, the last thing they want is to sit still and be told what to do. For some, art activities and creativity come naturally but for others beginning a project is just another task to do in a day full of instruction. I think it is important to provide these children with a space where learning is just part of the environment. On of our first additions to the Kensington's Maker space was an interactive velcro wall where children design, build, and re-build a marble slide made from cardboard paper towel rolls and plastic bottles. Children often enter the Maker Space and start tinkering with the wall with out even thinking about it.  A wall of tools has also helped to inspire projects. The visibility of the tools can be a great motivation for a child to learn to hammer, use an electric drill, or a needle and thread."

HotChalk is a learning environment for K-12 teachers, students and parents that includes a learning management system (LMS), a rich library of teacher-contributed lesson plans, premium digital content like NBC News video, and professional development for teachers in a Web-based environment. Available through any Internet browser, the HotChalk Learning Environment is an easy to use system and brings teachers, students and parents together to improve education.

What is the Technology Integration Matrix? The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal directed (i.e., reflective), authentic, and collaborative (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. Together, the five levels of technology integration and the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments create a matrix of 25 cells as illustrated below.

"One of the most common criticisms leveled at teachers who do attempt to integrate technology into their classroom environment, is that this often results in a lot of 'faffing around' or time wasted while struggling to get the technology to work properly. To some extent I feel that this criticism is fair, but I don't think it's a criticism that should be leveled at teachers, but would be better directed at the people who control the way technology is layered onto the classroom environment, so lets look at that."

ne of the most common criticisms leveled at teachers who do attempt to integrate technology into their classroom environment, is that this often results in a lot of 'faffing around' or time wasted while struggling to get the technology to work properly. To some extent I feel that this criticism is fair, but I don't think it's a criticism that should be leveled at teachers, but would be better directed at the people who control the way technology is layered onto the classroom environment, so lets look at that.

If you are a parent, teacher, or other adult working with children, this blog aims to help you learn, as much as possible, about helping digital kids grow into thoughtful, collaborative, and savvy digital citizens. The blog's mission is to provide context for adults - defining and clarifying digital world issues, 21st Century learning challenges, and those virtual environments and devices that children take for granted. It's not really about technology anymore. Instead it's about lifelong learning, collaboration, problem solving, and flexibility. Media! Tech! Parenting! examines or reviews three or four items of digital news and information each week, surveying newspapers, blogs, research, and magazines, as well as the media, safety, and educational websites. Blog posts, as often as possible, provide links pointing readers toward the sites or publications covered in blog posts. I am Marti Weston, the principal blogger on Media!Tech!Parenting! In my professional life I focus on learning in a K-12 environment along with all the digital world issues that challenge teachers, students, and parents. With more than 30 years of teaching experience I also support parents by teaching three-five digital education classes, leading question and answer sessions, and maintaining current resources on the school's website. My professional work centers on four areas: Coaching teachers and helping them develop learning environments that are rich with 21st Century collaboration and problem solving. Helping students learn to use digital tools appropriately, understand their digital dossiers, and move - carefully - along the digital citizenship highway. Providing teachers, students and their parents added context that helps them evaluate media and learn more about how media affect their world, Offering parents information about the always changing, fast-paced virtual world and suggesting effective parenting skills and strategies that will help children grow into stro

"School or work environments are like home environments-it doesn't take long to figure out if you are in a happy, productive place or not. Last week I was in Oklahoma City for a meeting with our principal association when we were each asked to share at least one idea on building positive environments from each of our schools. It was so encouraging that I wanted to share them with you. Here are 20 ideas from 20 principals to inspire you to try something new in your school or organization:"

"The Classroom Evolved: Creating an Active Learning Environment"

Environment - Durban climate change conference 2011

"Wherever we are, we'd all like to think our classrooms are "intellectually active" places. Progressive learning (like our 21st Century Model, for example) environments. Highly effective and conducive to student-centered learning. But what does that mean? The reality is, there is no single answer because teaching and learning are awkward to consider as single events or individual "things." This is all a bunch of rhetoric until we put on our white coats and study it under a microscope, at which point abstractions like curiosity, authenticity, self-knowledge, and affection will be hard to pin down. So we put together one take on the characteristics of a highly effective classroom. They can act as a kind of criteria to measure your own against-see if you notice a pattern."

"Minecraft is a cultural phenomenon. The block-based exploration and crafting game was snapped up by Microsoft for $2.5 billion last year and has helped inspire competitors from giant toy companies like Lego. Even the government is interested in building on Minecraft's success: The Department of Education is helping fund a project known as "Eco" that looks a lot like Minecraft, except with a few added twists: There's a looming ecological disaster and players must band together to make a community -- agreeing on laws and living in harmony with the environment. If they fail, the world dies forever. Strange Loop Games, the company behind the game, describes it a "global survival game" and says failure results in "server-wide perma death.""

via Sandy Munnell What if you had effective and powerful learning assets when you leave the classroom or formal learning environments? What if you could access them using the various digital environments that are a part of your everyday life? What if you could do all that for free or less than the cost of single online course?

"25 Infographic Videos about the Environment"

"After two years of having iPads in our first grade classroom, I've found a few strategies that work to set up a successful and collaborative learning environment. We use our set of iPads to connect, create, share, and much more. However, without a few expectations and procedures our room would be chaos! So here are a few strategies for successful collaboration that can be applied to just about any technology in your classroom."

"There's a common misconception that the best way to encourage children's creativity is simply to get out of the way and let them be creative. Although it's certainly true that children are naturally curious and inquisitive, they need support to develop their creative capacities and reach their full creative potential. Supporting children's development is always a balancing act: how much structure, how much freedom; when to step in, when to step back; when to show, when to tell, when to ask, when to listen. In putting together this section, I decided to combine tips for parents and teachers, because I think the core issues for cultivating creativity are the same, whether you're in the home or in the classroom. The key challenge is not how to "teach creativity" to children, but rather how to create a fertile environment in which their creativity will take root, grow, and flourish."

"The students had to select an environment and then decide on an adaptation that would help them survive in the conditions of the environment, help the animal eat, or prevent the animal from being eaten. Students worked on paper first and then chose either Audioboo and recorded a podcast and added the picture, or worked on Educreations. "