Global Communities

Occupy Wall Street and US Education: The BIG point America misses with regard to the Finnish system: Equity! An old article but brings up some interesting aspects of edu-reform...it's actually going to take societal reform...oops my left wing is showing again!

This seems right up the Early Adopters alley. It appeaars the fundamental concepts of this course are what Dan Pink would classify as "High Concept". The score regarding the astounding volume of what has been written, staff developed, and high dollar conferenced over the past two decades regarding technology integration seems to be a solid D. We focus our time, talent, and treasure on hardware, connectivity, applications, and platforms and mostly loose sight of THE question: To what end? What I see in my experience is still very much a knowledge acquisition based, "covering the curriculum" approach. I see it in my own practice even as I claim rebellion from it! Why? Pressure from every aspect of the edu-enterprise: from high stakes testing to pedagogy by bus schedule, to campus administration initiatives. No matter the innovative gift wrap, the message is the same: Cover the material and pass the test! Streamlining efforts in terms of curriculum don't streamline anything - they just rearrange chairs on the same size deck. "Every Second Counts" but we aren't going to change a single thing. Do not even consider the shape, size or capacity of the Edu-Plate, just keep piling new initiatives on top of the old and wonder why increases in nutritional value are static....Perhaps this course might allow us to take a real hard look at practice to get to the point, the end, the goal of creating critical thinking deep learners.I hope you'll join me!

The place to go for the cardboard challenge

Daniel Pink asks what drives us. Sir Ken Robinson asks us to inspire creativity in our students. The latest in education is asking us to teach our students to create their own questions, do their own research, and form their own conclusions with their learning. Why?

Date: Saturday, May 18, 2013 Time: 9:00a m Pacific/10:00am Mountain/ 11:00am Central/12:00pm Eastern Location: Blackboard Collaborate (Formerly Elluminate) About Genius Hour "Genius Hour is a precious time, loved by all my students. It is when they are allowed to develop their own inquiry question about whatever it is that they want to explore," so says Gallit Zvi (@gallit_z), one of our presenters.

One of the BIG Genius Hour 4's project

Every modern school should have at least 4 things in technology or take off the modern and just call yourself a school: a STEM Lab. If you want to make it STEAM - Science Technology Engineering, Arts, and Math, then go right ahead! You've still got STEM and you can't have technology without the arts.

We are a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. We envision a future where the top universities are educating not only thousands of students, but millions. Our technology enables the best professors to teach tens or hundreds of thousands of students.

If kids can access information from sources other than school, and if school is no longer the only place where information lives, what, then happens to the role of this institution? "Our whole reason for showing up for school has changed, but infrastructure has stayed behind," said Diana Laufenberg, who taught history at the progressive public school Science Leadership Academy for many years.

By Thom Markham As Common Core State Standards are incorporated from school to school across the country, educators are discussing their value. It may seem that educators are arguing over whether the CCSS will roll out as a substitute No Child Left Behind curriculum or as an innovative guide to encourage inquiry rather than rote learning.

Cool Stuff!

Interesting viewpoint about how we look at educational priorities. It appears the Finnish example has focused on social equity as the basis for its success. A far cry from how we approach education.

This is basically another "attack" on the way education is "done". I love the sarcastic approach to the prep for the "real world" that is the dominant excuse for rule following. This article reflects why I think the whole notion of "grades" and a "grade book" must be re-examined if we are to really shift instructional practice toward genuine and authentic student learning.