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Here is a challenge to my fellow fellows...let's continue to move our work forward by sharing it beyond the #VTed borders. "The 2013 WISE Awards Submission period now open until March 31, 2013 The 2013 WISE Awards will celebrate six innovative educational projects for their positive contribution within a community or society. WISE seeks to share best practices world over and inspire others to spark change in education. The WISE Awards thus highlight today's most innovative solutions and approaches that are addressing educational challenges confronting the world at large. Project holders from any region, educational sector or level are encouraged to submit applications which demonstrate the quality and impact of their activities in accordance with the criteria.  Whether you are involved in a project that provides access to quality education, creates new opportunities for lifelong learning or develops innovative educational technologies, WISE invites you to apply for the 2013 WISE Awards."

Education for Sustainability - A Public Lecture/Learning Series - Spring 2012" ...questions addressed in this lecture series seek to: clarify what we know about educational approaches to learning that can move people to authentically embrace sustainability (what is "education for sustainability"), share best practices and new approaches to engaging with the values and substance of sustainability (updates from the field), and provide opportunities for practitioners and educators to evaluate, integrate, and create new approaches to education for sustainability (learning next steps)."

Series ScheduleFeb 2: Lecture: A conversation with Bill McKibben about educational priorities in the 21st CenturyFeb 9: Panel: New concepts in engaged education for sustainability (Poleman, Kolan, Nordstrom)Feb 16: Lecture: Greg SmithFeb 23: Lecture: Taylor RickettsMar 1: Workshop: Understanding major themes in Education for SustainabilityMar 15: Panel: Student Voices on SustainabilityMar 22: Lecture: TBAMar 29: Lecture: Environmental Contamination (Paul Ligon and Jill Kauffman Johnson)(Tentative) Apr 5: Workshop: Practices that work - concepts and experiences(Tentative) Apr 12: Panel: Spreading Sustainability - A Programmatic Model (UVM Sustainability Fellows)Apr 19: Lecture: Tentative Debra RoweApr 26: Workshop: Sustainability futures - Ideas and collaborations

"Lately, there has been more discussion over what is meant by a world class education system. Last week the US Department of Education put out its white paper on international education strategy entitled, Succeeding Globally Through International Education and Engagement, and in 2012 several books on the topic were published. ... I thought I would synthesize the key concepts of these books in order to formulate policy design principles for Vermont as we begin to think about transforming our current educational system into a world class system."

"Mind, Brain, and Education is the first in a nine paper series from JFF called Students at the Center.  Like all of JFF's work, the series focuses on helping students from all backgrounds graduate ready for post secondary education and the 21st century knowledge economy."

"Sometimes you need to convince colleagues to think about using educational technology in their lessons, or to identify where in their scheme of work they could incorporate it. This list is a starting point: you may find one or two points that would "resonate" with your co-worker, and grab his or her attention."

"If we are to solve for creativity in education, we need a common language that defines what creativity in education means-a set of common values, subjects, and metrics that we can all agree on."

Sharing, and sharing online specifically, is not in addition to the work of being an educator. It is the work." Ewan Mcintosh

"For those who share this common commitment (and really, who among us does not?),there is, I am arguing, a moral responsibility, a strong one, to share our educational initiatives and innovations: to summarize them, share their key elements, show examples of them in practice, and, at best, reflect upon their successes and lack thereof."

"This is also an essential element of educational leadership. Leadership is showing the way to others and making it easier for them to follow, it is empowering others to benefit from your example, take inspiration, and improve upon your advances- to stand on your shoulders."

Dr. Yong Zhao is an internationally known scholar, author, and speaker. His works focus on the implications of globalization and technology on education. He has designed schools that cultivate global competence ... and founded research and development institutions to explore innovative education models.

Dr. Yong Zhao is someone that each of us should learn more about and learn more from.He is also my recommendation for our 2013 conference keynote speaker.

Interesting and short bit of writing that hits on my personal beliefs about where the majority of transformational focus should be...simply supporting good teaching.

"Education reform needs a face lift -- one that includes higher standards for entry into the profession and mentor teachers assisting those needing to improve."

Agree about the necessity to pursue improved educational outcomes, yet as with other professions (i.e. doctors & lawyers) 50% finish in the lower half of their class. As with all things educational funding is the sacred cow and asking for higher standards of entry, while a worthy goal, would ultimately fall on the sword of budgets.

"Given the potential demonstrated by these new models, dismantling the walls that have separated CTE from more traditional programs leading to higher education should be a priority for educators and policymakers. Our goal should be to have all students graduate from high school ready for both college and careers, and be able to choose from a range of appealing higher education and labor market possibilities afterward."

With Act 77 Every school in Vermont has the opportunity (and needs) to consider the benefits of Career and Technical Education (CTE) for Every student.

Really a great post by Vermont Superintendent Dan French. In this he talks about educators from across districts and beyond "utilizing the collective wisdom of their peers." He sees a potential providing an opportunity for educators where "Curriculum development and professional development are 'open sourced' with best practices being identified, implemented, and evaluated much more quickly across a group of schools since teachers are no longer working in isolation within their own schools or districts." I can't imagine that there isn't a person among us that wouldn't agree with the concepts he puts forward here. I think we as a group already have the pieces in place to implement what he proposes. If we were to come together as a true PLC I think that we could not only greatly help with transformation in our individual schools, but could have a profound and powerful impact on education across Vermont.

"New York City is experimenting with new tools and tactics with its Innovation Zone, a devoted unit for trying out new approaches to learning and sharing best practices with like-minded educators." "Schools across the system are trying out different learning approaches, including blended learning, online courses and project-based teaching. As with the most lofty aspirations of educators, the iZone's goals are to personalize learning, provide real-world experience, change the ways staff and students view their roles and take advantage of the vast number of tools available to students and teachers."

If you don't have a Twitter account and you are in education...you NEED one.  I cannot tell you how many people have told me that it is the best and most personalized Professional Development that they have ever experienced...I'd agree.

"If examinations challenge learners to solve problems the way they are solved in real life today, the educational system will change for ever. It is a small policy change that is required. Allow the use of the internet and collaboration during an examination. If we did that to exams, the curriculum would have to be different. We would not need to emphasise facts or figures or dates. The curriculum would have to become questions that have strange and interesting answers. "Where did language come from?", "Why were the pyramids built?", "Is life on Earth sustainable?", "What is the purpose of theatre?" Questions that engage learners in a world of unknowns. Questions that will occupy their minds through their waking hours and sometimes their dreams. Teaching in an environment where the internet and discussion are allowed in exams would be different. The ability to find things out quickly and accurately would become the predominant skill. The ability to discriminate between alternatives, then put facts together to solve problems would be critical. AThat's a skill that future employers would admire immensely."

"We have a romantic attachment to skills from the past which are no longer relevant on a curriculum for today's children."

If you have not seen doctopus and Google docs used in conjunction with assessments you ought to check it out! It is so phenomenal that I cannot express how super fantastic a tool it will be for you.

LONDON - The global financial crisis has amplified the value of a good education, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. "The people who really paid the price for the financial crisis are those without baseline qualifications," Andreas Schleicher, the O.E.C.D.'s deputy director for education and skills, said last week at a London news conference.

"Ever since Finland, a nation of about 5.5 million that does not start formal education until age 7 and scorns homework and testing until well into the teenage years, scored at the top of a well-respected international test in 2001 in math, science and reading, it has been an object of fascination among American educators and policy makers."

"Critics say that Finland is an irrelevant laboratory for the United States. It has a tiny economy, a low poverty rate, a homogenous population - 5 percent are foreign-born -..." Perhaps irrelevant for the US as a whole, but what about for Vermont?

"Dr. Darling-Hammond said. 'Thirty years ago, Finland's education system was a mess. It was quite mediocre, very inequitable. It had a lot of features our system has: very top-down testing, extensive tracking, highly variable teachers, and they managed to reboot the whole system.' "

Long-term transformational change has four primary aspects: scale (the change affects all or most of the school), magnitude (the degree to which it challenges the status quo), duration (the change is incremental at first and then moves to exponential), and strategic importance (how ready the culture is for adapting to change). Yet schools will only see significant change when the change occurs first at the level of the individual educational leader- be that principal, superintendent, or teacher. Real change, transformational change happens when there is personal ownership of the new technologies and concepts. Today's new economy is all about human capital, which starts with the educators in a school and then extends outward to all members of the school community.

Principles for Managing Change 1. People before Things (or test scores) 2. Start at the Top 3. Everyone is a Player in the Change Game 4. Garner Buy-in 5. Can't Give Away What You Do Not Own 6. Communicate and Often 7. Know Your Culture and Predict Possible Impact 8. Expect the Unexpected 9. As the Individual Grows so Will the Collective Wisdom of the Community