The Only Real Legacy a Superintendent Leaves

by | Dec 29, 2011 | Connected Leadership, Making The Shift, Voices

Knowing that in just a few years after departure, no one will remember the current administrator, their programs, or their philosophy, one has to wonder what a superintendent can do to have a legacy? There is only one thing: Build a school. That’s right, a new school. Much like a President’s Supreme Court nomination, the building of a school will be the only nearly-permanent legacy that will have any truly lasting consequence.

Coming Soon to a Global Learning Network Near You: Instant Translation

by | Nov 14, 2011 | Global Communities of Inquiry, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices, Web Tools That Deepen Learning

Mix evolving translation technologies, both visual and audio, and then combine them into a program like Facetime or Skype. Suddenly, you have people from anywhere in the world being able to carry on conversations with anyone else in the world. Language will no longer be a limiting factor when people in different cultures and language communities want to share information or go deeper into true collaboration.

Is Your School or Classroom a Comfortable Place to Learn?

by | Aug 31, 2011 | Student Life, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices

Prakash Nair asked the audience if THEY’d tried out a student chair lately and wondered if any adult would be willing to sit in such a seat for eight hours at a time? Most in the audience laughed at his question, but it was the laughter of recognition. No way. Why, asked Nair, do the adults get the comfortable chairs, but the kids don’t? Adult chairs are padded. Adult chairs roll. Adult chairs might even have the cool mesh that keeps backs and legs from getting all sweaty. But the learners? Unyielding polypropylene.