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"Unfortunately, unchecked and unfocused use of technology can result in students disconnecting from the "why" of learning and from the real-time relationships that are key to their development and success. Alternatively, high-quality integration of technology has the potential to not only prepare young people for their futures, but also to enhance and expand learning and connectedness. Join our guests as they discuss specific ways you can overcome barriers to connecting digital learners and lead your school community in meaningful technology integration. You'll hear from: * Heidi Hayes Jacobs, author of Curriculum 21: Essential Education in a Changing World, founder and president of Curriculum Designers Inc., and executive director of the Curriculum Mapping Institute; * Juliette Mersiowsky, instructional designer and instructor of education and technology at Germanna Community College in Virginia; and * Ena Bentley Wood, technology integration specialist with Arlington (Va.) Public Schools. How does your school and community meaningfully connect digital learners to their peers, teachers, and communities; to rich and challenging learning; and to their futures?"

"Last summer, as I was winding down my eight years as president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, I went around the country and met with 30 superintendents, asking them, "What can I do to support your efforts to implement 21st century education in your district?" Together we came up with the idea of creating a professional learning community (PLC) of education leaders committed to 21st century education. A team of us liked the idea so much that earlier this year we launched EdLeader21, a community of education leaders committed to building critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity into their educational system. "

"The WNY Young Writers' Studio is a community where teachers and young people come together to discover what good writing is, how to create it, and how to inspire others to do the same. Students of all ability levels will enjoy a variety of engaging activities designed to help them define their writing interests and discover their own unique voices."

Siliva continually gleans text or created paraphrases from Curriculum 21, by Heidi Hayes Jacobs et al.

Excellent resource for staying up with current (and archived) technology-oriented teaching and learning focuses

"The creation and maintenance of the Math Wiki by our Middle Schoolers was the perfect platform to expose students to an array of design tools to create tutorials for their classmates and other math students around the world."

"Alejandra Quaglia The world in which my students are growing up is changing very quickly. With smartphones, video games, wikis, blogs, texting, and e-mails as an integral part of their lives, students are multitaskers, fast-paced, and highly collaborative. Over the last 10 years, I've found that I can no longer apply teaching methods that were developed before the rise of technology. My students got bored, and they didn't pay much attention to highly structured textbook lessons. As a language arts teacher in the bilingual St. Andrew's Scots School in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I was determined to change my education approach to help prepare my students for our changing world."

Great video that represents the essence of Project-based Learning ... If a school/district is currently traditional in that the disciplines are seen/taught separate or occasionally blended, why not have teachers from various disciplines work collegially to create one interdisciplinary PBL Unit per semester as an curriculum upgrade. The PBL Units can be housed in a separate "course" in the mapping system.

"Students increasingly are taking education into their own hands with personal technology experiences, a trend with important implications for schools"