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I find this fascinating. Here is a Twitter hashtag for end of period exams - they have challenges and share ideas and thoughts. 

Sue Waters' favorite activities from the student blogging challenges. Here are some ideas to get you started.

ePals and th Smithsonian are sponsoring their third Invent It challenge where students address real world problems with inventions. The projects are due on April 11. Sign up now and plan this authentic project into your classroom this spring.

Challenges for using hopscotch in the classroom by Wesley Fryer. This is a great app to use with ages 8 and up.

Interactive Science experiments and challenges for your class. The latest is how to make a mud battery.

The global film on the fly challenge. There was a challenge on March 14th - it is a mobile phone filmmaking contest.

So, want to join in the challenge - looks like a lot of fun!

"aroundtheworldwith80schools * Join this WikiJoin this Wiki * Recent ChangesRecent Changes * Manage WikiManage Wiki 1. Home 2. After Skype Calls 3. Curriculum Integration 4. During Skype Calls 5. Journey Around the World 6. Obectives & Standards 7. Preparing Skype Calls 8. Signing-Up 9. Skype Rituals 10. Technical Know How 11. Time Zones 12. Your 2BJourney 13. Your ASMadrid Journey 14. Your Journey edit navigation * home * pagesubmenu o Details and Tags o Print o PDF o Backlinks o Source o Delete o Rename o Redirect o Permissions o Lock * discussion (8) * history * notify me Details last edit Nov 6, 2009 3:14 pm by langwitches langwitches - 11 revisions hide details Tags * none * Type a tag name. Press comma or enter to add another. Cancel Protected I am Technology Integration Facilitator and 21st Century Learning Specialist from Jacksonvill e, Florida/ USA . I am taking on the challenge to connect my students and teachers with at least 80 schools in different countries and continents. We want to circle the globe. Will you connect with us via Skype to complete the challenge? All it takes is a 5-10 minute Skype call. Interested? Sign up for the project to be added to a growing list of over 200 interested teachers from around the world. around-world3.jpg"

A good in-depth article arguing that purposeful networking (easily done w/ web2.0 tools) should be a skill addressed in education.

The Schools We Need Presentation I'm in St. Louis, post presentation, and I'm pretty pleased with how it went. It's not easy for me to figure out how to talk to audiences that aren't made up of educators, because the question is always what is the balance between the universal ideas and the deep entry into pedagogy. Judging from the reaction, folks seemed to think that I struck a good balance today. I had a lot of people come up and tell me that I really challenged them to re-think their ideas about school design, and that's thrilling to me. A few folks asked me about strategies to get educators and facilities folks talking more, which is also really exciting.

Due to the ever changing nature of technology, educators must be lifelong learners to provide the most current methodology to captivate and educate their students. I think one of the reasons we become teachers is because we enjoy the fact that each day is different and we are willing to accept those challenges. That is why we can't become stale in our methods of facilitating learning in our classrooms.

The pace of technological change has challenged historical notions of what counts as knowledge. Dave Cormier describes an alternative to the traditional notion of knowledge. In place of the expert-centered pedagogical planning and publishing cycle, Cormier suggests a rhizomatic model of learning. In the rhizomatic model, knowledge is negotiated, and the learning experience is a social as well as a personal knowledge creation process with mutable goals and constantly negotiated premises. The rhizome metaphor, which represents a critical leap in coping with the loss of a canon against which to compare, judge, and value knowledge, may be particularly apt as a model for disciplines on the bleeding edge where the canon is fluid and knowledge is a moving target.

Maggie, no it's not. Learning is a change in long-term memory. These unsubstantiated ideas have led to a disastrous watering-down of standards in Western education. Evidence, not theories, must be the basis of educational practice.

"SEND: Supporting and enhancing the learning of children with a special educational need, or living with a disability, can be one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching. Yet, with rules, guidance and legislation also impacting on provisions that need to be met, ensuring that all students receive a good educational experience can be challenging to schools, teachers and leaders."

I can say without hesitation that all my traditional educational experiences combined, everything from grade school to grad school, have not taught me as much about learning and being a learner as blogging has. My ability to easily consume other people's ideas, share my own in return, and communicate with other educators around the world has led me to dozens of smart, passionate teachers from whom I learn every day. It's also led me to technologies and techniques that leverage this newfound network in ways that look nothing like what's happening in traditional classrooms.

What I've encountered most in dealing with colleagues is the fear and the notion that this is just another five to ten year fad in education. It is important first to help others understand CCSS are not a quick-fix or an answer. In some ways, CCSS take us back to what good teaching looks. Ultimately, aside from the budgetary concerns with implementation, perhaps the other greatest struggle here will be the state-level assessment of the CCSS. In order for states to get it right, there needs to adequate time devoted to determining adequate assessment, not drill-and-kill. Broad, interconnected, higher-order thinking cannot be bubbled-in. Period.

I love these thoughts about being a thought leader. I think also, this could be said of leaders in schools as well. "It's important that if you want to be a Thought Leader in your industry, you take the time to develop your thoughts and publish information that will educate, entertain and engage your readers. Think about the issues you've worked through yourself in the past with your business and talk about those. Share your challenges and how you struggled to get through them, but what you did eventually to achieve success. Or, sometimes even more enlightening, share your failures, and how you're working never to experience that particular failure again. An old Afghan proverb I heard on the radio last week said, "If you think you're leading, and no one's following, you're just going for a walk.""

As some friends and I have been talking on my Facebook fanpage about how much grading and planning we're doing over Winter break, Chris Fancher shared his wish for teachers on the page which relates. While I don't agree that kids are "{products" I do know that I have to spend quite a bit of extra time to have any hope of considering myself a good teacher. It is a thought provoking read challenging us to be more. WE're all getting so much out of Twitter (many of us are) and the off-time things we're doing and sharing, so you might want to think about it and read his post. Chris says: "My wish for 2013 is that the 2 or 3 teachers who read this go out and find someone on their campus who they can get together with outside of "normal" hours.  Then these same teachers need to get on twitter and find a group of teachers who is on twitter at times they are on and are willing to interact and help with plans and ideas.  Then these same teachers need to pick one day a week when they can devote to a twitter chat and start being an active participant. My wish is that every student has a teacher who is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they are receiving the best education available. "