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"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. Seven-Part Blog Series One of the major ways we are organizing the work of the PLC is a framework we created, "7 Steps for Becoming a 21st Century School or District." For the next two months I will be sharing with you our seven-step framework in greater detail, as well as some suggestions for how you can implement some of these ideas in your own school or district. "

Great ideas from students about how they feel on education. Who's listening? These ideas come from the video (also posted to this group).

A series from Education Week on school reform. Will need to login to see the whole article (sign up is free)

"For more than a decade now we have heard that the high-stakes testing obsession in K-12 education that began with the enactment of No Child Left Behind 11 years ago has resulted in high school graduates who don't think as analytically or as broadly as they should because so much emphasis has been placed on passing standardized tests. Here, an award-winning high school teacher who just retired, Kenneth Bernstein, warns college professors what they are up against"

Don Knezek, CEO of ISTE, shares, "After a decade at the helm of a vibrant and increasingly international association, I'm more convinced than ever that we must move our education system into the digital age. How else can we prepare our children with the skills and literacies they'll need to thrive in school, work, and civic life? That's what we want for them, isn't it? Then let's get started."

""Speak Up provides incredibly relevant data regarding trends in educational technology and how K-12 kids learn best. We share the data with our school board, community, district leaders, principals, tech leaders, and teachers in order to help inform instruction and guide budget decisions.""

"ISTE is proud to introduce the white paper, Technology, Coaching, and Community: Power Partners for Improved Professional Development in Primary and Secondary Education."

"Learning needs to be more personalized. We all know this. But rarely does anyone describe a practical way actually to accomplish that goal. This presentation will delineate not only how we can (and will) do it, but will up the stakes, arguing that learning could be measured (gasp!) outside of educational institutions, with learners free to gobble up knowledge as they roam the Internet following their changing interests."

"Roger Cook, Superintendent of Taylor County Schools in Kentucky, is, simply put, leadership in action. Mr. Cook has brought dynamic change to the district, starting from day one. During his first year as Superintendent, Mr. Cook transformed Taylor County Schools into a performance-based educational system, challenged teachers and students to meet 21st century expectations with rigor and relevance, and spearheaded the effort to fund new, much-needed facilities. For eight years, the district and school leadership have worked to create a culture of anytime anywhere learning and have had zero dropouts for the last six years. So we interviewed Roger Cook along with Troy Benningfield, Director of Instruction, and Susan Kilby, Assistant Superintendent to find out more about their district to share with you. "

"The conventional wisdom in education is that any school reform--be it curriculum, instruction, assessment, or teacher professionalism--is most likely to take hold in schools that have strong leadership. The same holds true for technology. Any educator will tell you the most successful implementation of technology programs takes place in schools where the principal sees him or herself as a technology leader. "

Students speak out about what they want to see in schools. This is the full video.

"K12IT.org is a great place to connect with other IT professionals who work in educational settings. If you want to extend this online experience into real life, an annual conference in southeastern Pennsylvania makes that possible. Tech Talk Live takes place April 26-27, 2011 in Lancaster, PA"