In Education, World Class Technology Use Begins with Personal Learning Networks

Last week I received this question in email: “Do we have any model schools in Norway that could inspire ministers of education and help them promote the use of ICT in their own countries? The examples given are expected to be ‘world class’.” My answer is, regretfully, no.Although Norway has world class equipment, both hardware and software, the way we use what we have is not world class. Traditional classrooms with traditional teachers and students are the norm. But I accept the challenge to create this model in my school.

PLP's Voices from the Learning Revolution: Our Easy Reference Index (Posts 30-65)

We launched our PLP group blog Voices from the Learning Revolution just six months ago, and we’ve now shared 65 wide-ranging articles and essays about the future of learning, written by teachers, librarians, IT specialists, principals, district leaders and consultants who are allied with our Powerful Learning Practice communities. Here’s a brief guide to our most recent 36 posts, and a link to our first guide published last May.

Tools, Not Toys – Becoming a Techy Teacher

At some point this past school year, I began to truly understand how to change my teaching. The big revelation: It’s NOT about technology. It’s about learning. If we are “integrating technology” just to bring computers (or interactive whiteboards, or cell phones) into the classroom, we’ve got it all wrong. Just using the equipment — or the web tools it allows us to access – isn’t going to lead us or our students to truly connected learning.

Dear American Friends: I Love Your ISTE!

There is in my opinion one great difference between Norwegian/Swedish educators and those in North America: the willingness to commit time to personal development outside the normal business/school hours. I had many collaborators who were willing to sponsor teachers to come over to Philadelphia this summer, but we ended up with a group of only nine. In Scandinavia, the last day of school for teachers is the 22nd of June and by the 23rd, they’ve vanished!

Turning Tweets into Narrative Tales

Ever wish Twitter provided a more coherent narrative? This tale of science adventure is being told both to underscore the value of Personal Learning Networks and to demo the power of Storify. Storify helps you assemble disparate tweets, pictures, retweets, responses to tweets and direct messages into one place — and one storyline. Add narration and extra information to the Twitter content, and you now have a chance to tell a tale and help others understand what happened.