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Fred Haas' reflections are so very real when it comes to ambitious global collaborations. I had to laugh as he said about NetGenEd (last spring's project): "Without question it was a mildly harrowing but ultimately rewarding experience." The learning curve is TREMENDOUS but once you have it under your belt it is similar to your first year of teaching or boot camp for someone in the military. If you're wondering if this sort of thing is for you, take a read of Fred's very real reflections. Julie nor I NOR ANY global collaborator will ever say it is easy - if it is perhaps you're not having to be as engaged as perhaps you need to be. However, it is most rewarding!

Nice article at Edutopia by Thom Markam.My favorite quote about pbl is: "But its ultimate benefit is to help students think, learn, and operate in the new century by challenging them at deeper levels. That requires reversing the equation between skills and content: PBL is method for teaching students to find, process, understand, and share information, not a way to extend the industrial landscape of regurgitation and recall."

Excellent article about PBL

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.

"We must constantly remind ourselves that the ultimate purpose of evaluation is to have students become self evaluating. If students graduate from our schools still dependent upon others to tell them when they are adequate, good, or excellent, then we've missed the whole point of what education is about."    - Costa and Kallick (1992)

The general population is an eclectic mix of individuals. No two people are the same, and the challenges of one person will ultimately be outweighed by the challenges of another person. For those who fall outside the 'norms' of society, the challenges of everyday life are even more profound, unable to access the daily privileges that most people take for granted...

I read Joel Comm's book Twitter Power and it has been one of my longtime favorites on the topic. Here he talks brutally about the negatives of social media. I admit the topic caught my attention. I"ve just found that if I'm brutal about who I follow and make sure they're real educators, I'm usually pretty happy with my stream. I unfollow junk as soon as it is evident it is junk. Ultimately we all must guard who we follow or we might just find ourselves following the garbage truck.

World atlas is a site with simple data about the countries of the world. This from the creator of the site: "World Data Atlas is an ultimate source of world statistics on every country. It includes data on more than 2500 indicators. Topics cover Economics, Demographics, Health, Education, Energy and other socioeconomic information. "

"Teachers are quickly catching on and even surpassing students when it comes to embracing social media. What if you still have questions about the plethora of communication channels that exist for teachers to reach their students? Thankfully we are proud to share 'Tools For The 21st Century Teacher' by Michael Zimmer, a Technology Integration Specialist in Western Kentucky."

Guidance Counselor Alert: "The YES Competition was established in 2003 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the College Board to inspire talented high school students to apply epidemiological methods to the investigation of public health issues and, ultimately, encourage the brightest young minds to enter the field of public health. The Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition, the nation's leading public health competition for high school students, has opened the application process for its 2010-11 Competition. The online registration, guidelines and a new YES project guide are now available online at www.collegeboard.com/yes. The deadline for entries is 9 AM EST, February 1, 2011." I do wish that they would have multimedia as a part of this competition as some of the best competitions out there engage this medium. However, this is something that those going into health should look into.

Inside the 34 page eBook you will learn: * The history of Gmail and how it began * Why you should choose Gmail over another email provider * How to use Gmail, manage and organize your emails * Getting the most out of Gmail * Instructions on how to use Gmail with other email providers * Links to best Gmail tips and hacks. * Access Gmail on a mobile device * Gmail Buzz

At the heart of teaching critical and creative thought is the ability to ask the right questions to students. In turn, they need to be able answer in a way that demonstrates their ability to see the parallels and intersections; perceive linkages between historical moments, between the period and the art, between the circumstances then and now; to comprehend the relationship between "us" and "them", between "we" and "they," and, ultimately, whether dichotomies like "we" and "they" are useful-and, if so, how.

The metaphors of education systems speak volumes about what each system ultimately achieves. Ask any student to compare education or school to something completely different, and you'll likely get a list that looks like this: "School is a prison," "School is hell," "School is a babysitter," or "School is a machine." Sadly, many schools are run quite like this last example-students enter the machine, are shuffled through a number of arbitrary gears, are forcefully bent to fit those gears, move according to bells, and leave the machine knowing they'll be back the next day to repeat the process until they become the desired product of the machine.

Google Knol is turning into an excellent resource for both researchers and experts alike. It offers information consumers a platform for finding encyclopedia-like articles. Read on to learn how you can make the most of this useful new tool.

Op Ed Piece in LA times on change.

Op Ed Piece in LA times is representative of the call for innovation in schools. As with all change - you can be part of it or it can be imparted to you. Which would you rather have? The imperative to innovate is here -- and those who don't act will ultimately be the ones who lose. Unfortunately, kids aren't getting any younger -- older people will just hurt their career in a life that is already one of educational excellence -- children will never reach their potential. It is important - we cannot waste time where children are at stake. We don't waste time when it comes to our own and the travesty is that many don't see anything wrong with wasting the time of another parent's child.

Preparing to take the GMAT can be a nerve-racking experience, with hours spent memorizing vocabulary and practicing math problems. You can help give yourself an advantage for doing well on the GMAT by making use of the numerous resources that are out there.

have your students help build a dictionary

Collaborative writing and editing continues to move into the classroom. If the pundits didn't like wikipedia, what about a dictionary that students build for themselves? "The purpose of this project is to create a free, open simple dictionary for students to use. This dictionary will ultimately be published in a variety of formats and for multiple platforms.  To add to this project, find a word you'd like to write a definition for or click "Instant Karma" for a random word. Please consult the style guidelines for editorial information."