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Tell me what you’ve learned.  When I told my students this the next day, they were shocked, but so excited. During the exam I kept hearing, “I really love this exam.”  How many times do you hear that as a teacher?

They loved the Khan Academy video, and reverse instruction learning.  They found the illustrations easy to understand, and the format challenging.  And most of all, they love the independence.

This is a student who struggles in a traditional classroom, and experiences limited success. And she doesn’t think she’s smart. But the truth is, she is.  She gets Biology.

True innovative thinkers will land upon a project and see it to it’s completion. They may have dozens of ideas in their head or paper, but there are single-minded about one or two specific projects.

that they never give up. Even when they’ve failed or fallen to their lost point, they get back up and try again.

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?

t’s a signal that the kinds of learning experiences that are gained through making can be recognized and valued in education, as they should be. It also serves as a reminder that the kind of informal learning that happens outside of school is important, and should be considered alongside achievements in formal education.

“We love it when students pursue their passions outside of class,” said Dr. Wendell, “and making is a fantastic example of that.”

T]he essence of what colleges want is for students to be engaged in whatever they are doing. We don’t want students who do things because they have to, or because they think it will look good on their résumé. We want students to do things because they find true enjoyment and personal growth from them. That’s the way that young people — and, for that matter, old people and middle-aged people — thrive.

new methods to measure skills like critical thinking, creativity, and persistence.

"A lot of important stuff happens when playing games," Ms. Shute said. "You're just doing. You're in the process."

"Wouldn't it be lovely to actually pass along the log files of what students did in order to look at their scientific-inquiry skills?"

“I click and something happens,” he says, explaining that, by comparison, reading a book or doing homework is less exciting. “I guess it goes back to the immediate gratification thing.”

Then comes another car. And it's going 10 miles per hour. That's the public education system. Schools are supposed to be preparing kids for the business world of tomorrow, to take jobs, to make our economy functional. The schools are changing, if anything, at 10 miles per hour. So, how do you match an economy that requires 100 miles per hour with an institution like public education? A system that changes, if at all, at 10 miles per hour?

I meet teachers who are good and well intentioned and smart, but they can't try new things, because there are too many rules.

You need to find out what each student loves.

First, he or she is up to date with technology, not only in the educational arena, but across the board.

Second, your knowledge broker must be able to have the interest in finding resources for any class content.

Third, and perhaps most important, the knowledge broker must be able to transfer his/her knowledge to a teacher - who is most likely not all that excited about technology or at best a bit skeptical - in a calm, jargon-free style.

Wherever you are as a person and as a professional, you are still a teacher. It’s a high calling that we’ve gone after. Whenever and wherever you are, seek to model the best of your professional and personal self. Keep a sense of professional distance.

Certainly, care and love and concern for the young people in our work is paramount. But it does mean be intentional and purposeful about the ways that you present yourself, wherever you may happen to be.

For the same reason that I set boundaries in my face to face interactions with students, I maintain some sense of professional separation in online spaces.