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Social Justice Teacher Preparation Technology Integration Networked Learning Twitter Parents as Partners – Building Learning Networks Posted by Shannon Smith on 2/20/12 • Categorized as Best Educational Practices,Distributed Leadership,Parental Involvement,Twitter 5 "fist bump" cc by Mark H. Anbinder on flickr Many schools are beginning to use social media to send out information to parents. Examples include twitter feeds and facebook pages. These initial forays into social media are a first step. They provide parents and the community with greater access to information regarding the school and the learning happening within its walls. A key facet of school leadership is developing relationships, both within staff and also with families and the community. This relationship building must include seeking feedback and listening. Most of this work is done face to face, through school events or outreach programs and even through informal conversations in the hallways or at drop off or pick up time. We live in a time w

We are aware of how much we don't know: that we have yet to explore the full pedagogical potential of learning online, of how it can change the ways we teach, the ways we learn, and the ways we connect.  

As we begin to experiment with how novel technologies might change learning and teaching, powerful forces threaten to neuter or constrain technology, propping up outdated educational practices rather than unfolding transformative ones.

All too often, during such wrenching transitions, the voice of the learner gets muffled.

There's no one teaching them about the nuances involved in creating a positive online footprint.

if you’re not transparent or findable in that way—I can’t learn with you.

“Without sharing, there is no education.”

Have we really hit the tipping point with online communities and collaboration– true collaboration? Is deep collaboration (moving past talk and cooperation to appreciative and collective action ) so prevalent among education that we can call it “old hat”?

Shouldn’t we be trying to  understand what is happening in those spaces that were new only a few years ago, determining how to best use them to learn and help our students learn?

re people confusing talking to people online with deep, connected learning?

Each class has students divided into groups of four to five paired together to learn course material and create projects. Teachers work with the groups to create a more individualized learning experience and enhance comprehension.

"We aren't just adding technology for technology's sake here," he said. "It really is a culture change taking place. There's nothing traditional about the way our students are learning. We really focus on creating an environment where students can learn subjects in a way they can relate to and a way that interests them."

Since classes are now project-based, students are graded on a variety of skills, including content, oral communications and work ethic.

Put simply, project-based curriculum emphasizes learning through doing classroom projects that address a specific issue or challenge. Students typically carry out the projects in groups, and teachers guide them along

Tina Barseghian Editor of MindShift, a website about the future of learning Posted: January 7, 2011 02:48 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index Napa New Tech High: 5 Reasons This is the School of the Future Amazing Inspiring Funny Scary Hot Crazy Important Weird Read More: Computer Tech School , Education Technology , Napa New Tech High , New Tech High Napa , New Tech Network , New Technology High , School Computer , Tech School , Tech Schools , Education News share this story 11481122 Get Education Alerts Sign Up Submit this story digg reddit stumble What does the high school of the future look like? It's one that emphasizes useful, relevant skills that can be applied

At Napa New Tech, you'll hear very little lecturing and see few teacher-led activities. For this school, the decision to use project-based curriculum was based not only on what topics students should learn, but also what skills they should acquire in school.

1. Learning Centered - Everyone (adults, children) is a learner; learners have agency; emphasis on becoming a learner over becoming learned.

2. Questioning - Inquiry based; questions over answers

3. Authentic - School is real life; students and teachers do real work for real purposes.

Organizations maximize innovation if they embrace distributed leadership that truly amplifies opportunities for anyone in the organization to imagine, prototype, and build on new ideas. 

nnovative schools focus on teaching each individual user, not on the process of content transfer.  Differentiated learning, truly adapting the learning experience to the needs of the student-user, leveraged through the differentiated resources of the teacher-user, will be the tsunami of educational change in the next decade.

uccessfully innovating organizations make numerous bets, many of which are small, and some of which shoot for the moon.

GIVES EDUCATORS REAL-TIME PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Rather than waiting for school-sanctioned PD events and rather than having to locate experts on their own, Twitter gives educators access to a vast social network of other like-minded professionals. Questions posed to Twitter are often answered quickly, and special hashtags, such as #edchat, provide a forum for where teachers to address specific topics at scheduled times.

CREATES CUSTOMIZED PROFESSIONAL NETWORK: It isn’t just educators that are using Twitter to expand their access to experts. Twitter has become a key tool for creating personal learning networks, enabling anyone to build their own connections with other Twitter users, sharing learning resources and support. This support has been shown in several studies to help boost student achievement.

To take full advantage of that reality, the vast majority of classes will be inquiry-based, and they will be grounded in the social online tools like blogs and social bookmarks and others that more relevantly reflect their learning realities. And Lisa’s teachers will know what it’s like to learn for themselves in these global networks as well. It’s a journey of change coming to fruition.

“We have to do both.” We have to make sure our students “succeed” by the traditional measures, but we also have to make sure they have the skills and literacies to navigate the social, online learning spaces they are going to be inhabiting well into their adulthood. What choice do we have?

Are you in the process of enacting the changes that your students need that no one is asking for?

must engage in ongoing capacity-building; ideally including a combination of coaching, mentoring, support and training.

Not surprisingly, technology investments seldom produce maximal educational returns. To strengthen this weak link, any consideration of purpose-built technologies must benefit from including strong training, professional development, and ongoing professional learning components.