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"Importantly, our early indications suggest that the least effective method of reading may be the one society has been clinging to for centuries: reading on paper."

great poster/diagram of the writing process

"This toolkit contains the process and methods of design along with the Designer's Workbook, adapted specifically for the context of K-12 education. It offers new ways to be intentional and collaborative when designing, and empowers educators to create impactful solutions. At IDEO, we've been using similar processes, methods, and tools for years in tackling some dauntingly complex challenges. More often than not, we've experienced how Design Thinking helps to get to the next step. "

In 1970 the top three skills required by the Fortune 500 were the three Rs: reading, writing, and arithmetic. In 1999 the top three skills in demand were teamwork, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. We need schools that are developing these skills." That's why a new breed of educators, inspired by everything from the Internet to evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and AI, are inventing radical new ways for children to learn, grow, and thrive. To them, knowledge isn't a commodity that's delivered from teacher to student but something that emerges from the students' own curiosity-fueled exploration. Teachers provide prompts, not answers, and then they step aside so students can teach themselves and one another. They are creating ways for children to discover their passion-and uncovering a generation of geniuses in the process.

long article on creativity, innovation, and people who are dedicated to the process of coming up with ideas....

Literacy as we know it and teach it; is not enough. There is a new grammar and a new literacy that students must understand and embrace in order access to the information, inspiration, and opportunities the world and web hold. You are central to this change process. Our students need teachers, leaders, policy makers and community stakeholders to be actively involved in creating new visions and pathways for literacy, learning and living.

"In the Western understanding, students come to school with levels of innate intelligence and curiosity. Teachers try to further arouse that curiosity in specific subjects. There's a lot of active learning - going on field trips, building things. There's great emphasis on questioning authority, critical inquiry and sharing ideas in classroom discussion. In the Chinese understanding, there's less emphasis on innate curiosity or even on specific subject matter. Instead, the learning process itself is the crucial thing. The idea is to perfect the learning virtues in order to become, ultimately, a sage, which is equally a moral and intellectual state. These virtues include: sincerity (an authentic commitment to the task) as well as diligence, perseverance, concentration and respect for teachers. "

A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool The popularity of video games is not the enemy of education, but rather a model for best teaching strategies. Games insert players at their achievable challenge level and reward player effort and practice with acknowledgement of incremental goal progress, not just final product. The fuel for this process is the pleasure experience related to the release of dopamine.

Ten Surprising Truths about Video Games and Learning What we'd assumed about the importance of brain functions - following rules and logic and calculating - are no longer relevant. There's been a revolution in the learning sciences and the new theories say that human beings learn from experiences - that our brains can store every experience we've had, and that's what informs our learning process. Following that logic, he says, the best kind of learning comes as a result of well-designed experiences. Gee, who spoke at the Learning and the Brain Conference last week, used this theory to launch into research-validated reasons why video games are good for learning. Here are 10 truths, according to Gee."

Throughout my nine years in the classroom, I've been eager to test out possibilities for improving teaching and learning through technology use. It's a messy process. Back in February 2010, I broadcast my eagerness to use cell phones in the classroom inEducation Week. Then I changed my stance, arguing in May 2012 that too much social media and gimmicky technology application in the classroom could lead teachers to neglect teaching students substantial skills. Since then, I've tested out Edmodo and continued to explore. After years of experimentation and reflection, here's my current take on smart-and not-so-smart-ways to use technology in the classroom:

hHelping students learn how to learn: That's what most educators strive for, and that's the goal of inquiry learning. That skill transfers to other academic subject areas and even to the workplace where employers have consistently said that they want creative, innovative and adaptive thinkers. Inquiry learning is an integrated approach that includes kinds of learning: content, literacy, information literacy, learning how to learn, and social or collaborative skills. Students think about the choices they make throughout the process and the way they feel as they learn. Those observations are as important as the content they learn or the projects they create.

iRead is a group of teachers in Escondido Union School District dedicated to the idea that digital audio can be a powerful learning tool for all students. iRead will give you a chance to create meaningful, curriculum-centered audio projects with your students. Teachers are using digital audio tools (iPods, mics, Garageband, iTunes, Keynote, etc. and various accessories) to improve reading processes. Teachers meet on a monthly basis to exchange ideas and strategies. We started in 2006-07 by collecting data about fluency rates - this proved to be very promising.

Kids are growing up in a digital world. They connect, share, learn, explore, and play in way unimaginable just a  generation ago. This is the only world they know and their parents, teachers, political leaders and even the media  are all doing what they can to catch up. The emergence of social media, in all its extraordinary forms, is pushing the  boundaries of what we think of as private while giving us all, and our children, a platform to express ourselves anytime,  anywhere.  It can be an unnerving prospect to a parent or teacher to see their kids pack so much processing power in their  pockets. The media have played on these fears with screaming headlines and nightly news leads about cases of  online predators, pornography, cyberbullying and sexting. Some lawmakers have proposed online safety legislation  based on a single event, such as a suicide that had an online component to it. At least RQHVtate Dttorney  Jeneral suggested raising the age limit for kids accessing social media to 16 years.  While understandable, these reactions are not always helpful or healthy

Through the ©reativity on Film project, The Film Foundation hopes to create a respect and understanding among young people for the need to protect and preserve our cultural heritage, and enhance their appreciation of art and creation. The Film Foundation uses filmmaking as a point of departure to communicate to young people the important skills they will need to succeed in today's society-such as imagination, collaboration, communication, leadership, and responsibility. The key component of this project is the "Making Movies: A Guide for Young Filmmakers" production manual. Created with the assistance and expertise of 25 professional film artists and educators, this step-by-step production manual includes tips from experts, hands-on exercises, and an 8-week filming schedule-thereby explaining the filmmaking process from story concept to completed film.

"At Sammamish High School, our staff has dedicated our professional development to building expertise in the key elements of problem-based learning. Previous blog entries by my colleagues have given an overview of this process, as well as exploring how we include student voice and work with authentic problems. Another crucial element of successful problem-based learning is using authentic assessment throughout all stages of a unit to constantly evaluate and improve student learning. "

Action research is a process of deep inquiry into one's practices in service of moving towards an envisioned future, aligned with values. Action research is the systematic, reflective study of one's actions, and the effects of these actions, in a workplace context. As such, it involves deep inquiry into one's professional practice. The researchers examine their work and seek opportunities for improvement.

Coaching is a highly sophisticated form of reflective practice. When done well, it can transform a person's professional, and often personal, life, and provides many benefits to the employer in sustaining high performance and morale. The question is, however, whether it's the coaching itself that produces the results, or if it's down to an enlightened management team, which believes in people's development and so encourages coaching, which in turn produces results. When coaching is done badly, though, it has the power to decimate a person's sense of professional worth for years into the future and to incur substantial cost while returning no benefits, or worse, significant professional damage. Leadership can become cynical about the coaching process.  Money is wasted.  Time and attention are frittered away.  Ineffective coaching is counterproductive and should be stopped as soon as it is recognized.

If we value coaching, and we do, the question then becomes: "what are the elements of effective coaching that we can train, support, measure, and improve" - especially those that have the highest leverage for shifting those being coached perspectives and practices. The more I come to understand the power of coaching the more I appreciate that the best leaders see their primary role within an organisation as an influencer and coaching as the structure behind the myriad of interactions. I think an enlightened management team would not only be encouraging coaches but utilizing coaching strategies themselves on a regular basis.