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"Google's policy of 20 percent time-giving employees plenty of free time work on whatever they want-is world famous for being the birthplace of innovative products- most famously, Gmail. But what would happen if schools gave students a similar amount of unstructured free time and allowed them to take control of their own learning? This spring Matthew Bebbington, a high school physical education teacher in the U.K., decided to find out. He organized a school-wide "Innovation Day" that let 80 students between the ages of 11-15 choose what and how to learn. B"

"A few weeks ago, we shared 11 sample BYOT policies to help you create your own. Unlike some learning tools, BYOT resources have to be diverse because of the inherently flexible nature of BYOT. What works for one school or district may not for another. Another challenge for educators looking for BYOT "stuff" is that what you're finding is likely scattered all over the internet. Which makes the handbook of BYOT "stuff" that convergemag.com created (and grabonlee is hosting) all the more helpful. In it you'll find 10 checklists for creating-or simply checking-your BYOT plan, covering the following topics."

"The integration of technology in learning is not new. In the 1980s, many schools had fancy calculators, Macintosh computers, and were even teaching students basic coding. This kind of integration often happened at the lesson or activity level, meaning that it was often surface-level, tacked-on, and perhaps a bit superficial. The power of technology is difficult to fully leverage without curriculum-level integration. This means choosing tools, platforms, and policies based on standards, assessment, and instruction. A side benefit to this approach is the possibility of teacher collaboration and "same-pageness.""

"nce again, I am amazed every time I talk to groups and find out so many educators have not used word clouds to their fullest extent with their students. Word clouds also provide an easy way for teachers who are just getting started using web technology in the classroom. I have tried to include a multitude of subject areas. These ideas include practices shared with me, various readings, and a lot of my own brainstorming. I know this will be an article you wish to share with others. In order to better understand some of the advanced uses I suggest you may wish to read my past post entitled, 12 Valuable Wordle Tips You Must Read.  One example of an advanced feature includes putting multiple words  together in a word cloud. If using Wordle, just put a tilde (~) between them. (Example (ice~cream~cone). While I call it advanced, it is also necessary to know in order to get the most out of word clouds in the classroom..Also, keep in mind that Tagxedo and Tagul are great alternatives to Wordle. Keep in mind that word clouds are a Web 2.0 tool. Make sure your students practice proper digital citizenship and privacy. You should also check your district AUP (Acceptable Use Policy). By the way… do you have an idea I have not listed? Then just take a moment and leave a comment or email me at mjgormans@gmail.com . I thank you in advance. Now, let's explore those word clouds!"

"BRISTOL, England-Any child in England who has turned 3 by Sept. 1 is guaranteed 15 hours a week of free childcare or preschool for 38 weeks a year, or 570 hours total, paid for by the national government. "We don't think of it as socialism at all," said the Oxford University professor Edward Melhuish, who studies child development and was instrumental in conducting the research that largely led to England's current policies. "We think of it as common sense.""

"This paper captures the evolution of the Mozilla Web Literacy Map to reach and meet the growing number of diverse audiences using the web. The paper represents the thinking, research findings, and next iteration of the Web Literacy Map that embraces 21st Century Skills (21C Skills) as key to leadership development. As technology becomes more ubiquitous, and more people come online, Mozilla continues to refine its strategies to support and champion the web as an open and public resource. To help people become good citizens of the web, Mozilla focuses on the following goals: 1) develop more educators, advocates, and community leaders who can leverage and advance the web as an open and public resource, and 2) impact policies and practices to ensure the web remains a healthy open and public resource for all. In order to accomplish this, we need to provide people with open access to the skills and know-how needed to use the web to improve their lives, careers, and organizations. Knowing how to read, write, and participate in the digital world has become the 4th basic foundational skill next to the three Rs-reading, writing, and arithmetic-in a rapidly evolving, networked world. Having these skills on the web expands access and opportunity for more people to learn anytime, anywhere, at any pace. Combined with 21C leadership Skills (i.e. critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, creativity, communication), these digital-age skills help us live and work in today's world. Whether you're a first time smartphone user, an educator, an experienced programmer, or an internet activist, the degree to which you can read, write, and participate on the web while producing, synthesizing, evaluating, and communicating information shapes what you can imagine-and what you can do. follows:"

"Staff meetings were something that I dreaded in my beginning years as a teacher. We would often spend the majority of our time together discussing rules and policies, and would debate, on end, things that are seemingly significant. Hours have been spent in schools talking about whether kids should wear hats or not in school. Really?"

""Imagine a classroom where everyone started off an academic year with an "A" grade, and in order to keep the grade, a pupil had to show continuous improvement throughout the year. In this classroom, the teacher would have to dock points from a pupil's assessment when his or her performance or achievement was inadequate, and pupils would work to maintain their high mark rather than to work up to it. How would this affect effort, expectations, performance, and assessment relative to current practice?" This is one of the questions we pose in our report Everyone Starts with an A, which explores the application of behavioural insight to educational policy and practice. Using research from behavioural science and our evolving understanding of human nature, we explore how effort, motivation, learning enjoyment, resilience, and overall performance at school can be influenced in ways not often traditionally recognised."

"I read Fareed Zakaria's work often. He's a great journalist for the Washington Post and a TV news anchor with his own show on CNN. I dug into a piece yesterday he wrote titled "Why America's Obsession with STEM Education is Dangerous". Unlike Zakaria's articles on foreign policy, which are insightful, thought-provoking, and in-depth, this article paints an innacurate and overly-simplified picture of what STEM education is and should be. Worse yet, his argument injects dangerously reductive rhetoric into the public debate on education, where we already see heightened emotion and political division. Maybe this type of reaction is what Zakaria is aiming for. He releases a new book today on this same topic called "In Defense of a Liberal Education". "

"Nearly two decades ago, a landmark study found that by age 3, the children of wealthier professionals have heard words millions more times than those of less educated parents, giving them a distinct advantage in school and suggesting the need for increased investment in prekindergarten programs. Now a follow-up study has found a language gap as early as 18 months, heightening the policy debate. "

"Just a few years ago, mobile devices were almost unheard of in classrooms. Over time, teachers and administrators have been experimenting with how to make mobile devices into powerful learning tools, and have come up with some strategies. A group of administrators from some of the first districts to pioneer Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and other forms of mobile learning are now sharing their experiences with those hustling to get on board. The Consortium of School Networking, a professional group for district leaders, is trying to make that knowledge more widely available through its Mobile Learning Initiative."

"The field of education bubbles over with controversies. It's not unusual for intelligent people of good will to disagree passionately about what should happen in schools. But there are certain precepts that aren't debatable, that just about anyone would have to acknowledge are true. While many such statements are banal, some are worth noticing because in our school practices and policies we tend to ignore the implications that follow from them. It's both intellectually interesting and practically important to explore such contradictions: If we all agree that a given principle is true, then why in the world do our schools still function as if it weren't? Here are 10 examples."

"With each presidency come new reforms and initiatives aimed at enhancing education. The new policies, programs, and funding lay the foundation for various innovations and trends to build momentum and transform the way we teach and learn. Before you go back to school, get the skinny on seven big disruptors in education. These seven transformative tools are part of the growing movement to get students creating and problem-solving with technology, which has been supported by the Obama administration's Educate to Innovate initiative."