R4November

"Know-how is where the difference lies"...Along w "so,what & "why-buy" (and not just with #Twitter Literacy) http://t.co/kiWzdDOgkU #edchat

"The Buck Institute for Education commissioned the cutting-edge advertising agency, Common Craft, to create a short animated video that explains in clear language the essential elements of Project Based Learning (PBL). This simple video makes the essential elements of PBL come alive and brings to light the 21st Century skills and competencies (collaboration, communication, critical thinking) that will enable K-12 students to be college and work-ready as well as effective members of their communities."

" Four Steps for Jumpstarting Global-Collaboration Projects"

Instead of painstakingly building local majorities, they attempted 2 compel entire populations. http://t.co/bWjeteFQYK #scalefail @sewilkie

"Everything you need to turn ordinary photos and video clips into rich videos."

"For more than a decade, Achieve3000® has supported the individuality and potential of every student by reaching them where they are to help them reach higher levels of reading and writing proficiency. Our fundamental belief is that literacy unlocks achievement, and that the key to improving literacy is differentiated instruction. Today, Achieve3000 is the leader in differentiated online instruction, serving more than one million students across the United States. In 2011, Inc. magazine included Achieve3000 on its annual 500/5000 list for the fifth consecutive year, the exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest growing private companies. Achieve provides the only web-based, differentiated instruction solutions designed to reach a school's entire student population - mainstream, English Language Learners, special needs, and gifted. In addition to KidBiz3000®, TeenBiz3000®, Empower3000™ and other literacy solutions, Achieve launched its first differentiated core curriculum solution, eScience3000™ in 2011, in partnership with National Geographic School Learning. Discover more about what makes Achieve3000 the leading force in differentiated learning solutions by clicking through the "About Us" items to the left. "

From the invention of the printing press to the telephone, the radio, and the Internet, the ways people collaborate change frequently, and the effects of those changes often reverberate through generations. In this video interview, Clay Shirky, author, New York University professor, and leading thinker on the impact of social media, explains the disruptive impact of technology on how people live and work-and on the economics of what we make and consume.

Thanks @QuantumSpigot @sewilkie for being top new followers in my community this week (insight via http://t.co/94CMOybEUW)

Mission: Club Academia strives to organize existing knowledge in ways that make learning easily accessible while simultaneously inspiring people to discover and innovate. Since its founding, Club Academia has provided supplemental instruction to students who are struggling with a particular concept and are looking for further explanation. We recognize that often fellow students can most easily help peers understand difficult classroom material. Starting with only four high schoolers uploading videos to a YouTube account, Club Academia has expanded nearly exponentially, currently with 17 video makers and over 500 videos on our website. With the help of the $20,000 Westly Prize grant, we are able to provide equipment for our video-makers and thus create a strong video base. As a result, we are able to expand into more schools and recruit more volunteers to make high-quality videos for our learners!

Fun Scratch Projects Today in STEM Class http://t.co/M5lMwX1kqz @wfryer

" Turn any book or document into a digital classroom. Subtext is a free iPad app that allows classroom groups to exchange ideas in the pages of digital texts. You can also layer in enrichment materials, assignments and quizzes-opening up almost limitless opportunities to engage students and foster analysis and writing skills. Watch video »"

I have downloaded the app and am looking forward to sharing with my students!

Region 4 registration code: Region4TX

"Newsela is free for students to explore a world of nonfiction and test their comprehension. Updated daily with real-world news from major publications, students can participate in conversation about the most urgent topics of our time, all while becoming stronger readers. "

"We're a global online learning community where educators collaborate, share resources and showcase accomplishments. Project Share is a collection of Web 2.0 tools and applications that provides high quality professional development in an interactive and engaging learning environment. Project Share leverages existing and new professional development resources for K-12 teachers across the state and builds professional learning communities where educators can collaborate and participate in online learning opportunities."

If PBL is to become a powerful, accepted model of instruction in the future, a vocabulary change may be in order - preferably to the term project based inquiry. It's time to not only address the flaws in PBL, but to reinvent it in a way that leads to deeper learning, creative inquiry, and a better fit with a collaborative world in which doing and knowing are one thing. Here are thoughts about five areas in which PBL needs to move forward.

"It starts with the conversation you direct in schools and it starts with the examples you set for kids," Mahoney said. "The kids are watching and they're making note of that.