by Ann Michaelsen | Sep 20, 2011 | Creating Global Classrooms, Personal Learning Networks, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices
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.
by Shelley Wright | Sep 15, 2011 | Making The Shift, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
I have never had students work so hard to solve a problem and fail so badly. And that’s not unusual in science. For the first time in my teaching, I had meaningful conversations with my students about the high failure rate of real scientific experiments and the tenacity it takes to do scientific research. Failing isn’t a bad thing. It’s one experiment closer to finding the answer.
by Patti Grayson | Sep 13, 2011 | Local Professional Collaboration, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices, Web Tools That Deepen Learning
The Ning has connected our faculty in ways we never imagined. We wanted our teachers to connect and share, and share they did! As we got to know each other better, we began to feel a greater sense of community and common purpose. Our faculty can now easily collaborate on lesson plans and community service projects across divisions. They readily share ideas and resources. We now have a virtual community that parallels our physical community, and its powerful anytime-from-anywhere communications capabilities make us feel closer together than ever.
by M.E. Steele-Pierce | Sep 9, 2011 | Making The Shift, The Teaching Life, Voices
In an era when teaching as a profession is disparaged, even vilified, I say let there be more leaders who know the power of “Woot.†I don’t know about you, but I cannot remember a time I experienced a standing ovation with hoots and hollers for a central office meeting. Let’s have some of that Woot to lighten the psychological load of tightened budgets, restricted resources, and political heat. Joy, says a teacher on our staff who’s a certified Laughter Yoga instructor, is extremely therapeutic.
by Dolores Gende | Sep 6, 2011 | Less Teacher, More Student, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
I believe that every person is unique and every child can learn, but I recognize that students learn best when engaged — where expectations are appropriately challenging within an environment that is both safe and that contributes to the dignity and self-worth of all. I also believe that engagement depends on quality interactions resulting from connections that happen inside and outside of the classroom. Here are some of the Engagement+Connection ideas I plan to use this year.
by Shelley Wright | Sep 2, 2011 | Less Teacher, More Student, Student Life, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices
I wonder what effect our societies’ low expectations of adolescents has on their development? What does it do to one’s identity when often we give our teenagers so very few meaningful roles or real work to do? That the five hours they spend in classes a day often results in rote learning that is frequently memorized the night before an exam and then forgotten. What if instead, high school students spent five hours a day constructing an identity while responding creatively to their moment in history? What if they were told they can change the world now?
