Thursday, September 30, 2010

Elevating the Education Reform Dialog, Live on Monday

Between the NBC "Education Nation" Summit, Waiting for Superman, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million gift to Newark city schools, there has been a lot of media attention focused on the topic of education reform. Unfortunately, much of it has excluded actual educators, let alone students. Furthermore, and perhaps as a consequence, the dialog has become divisive, blaming, and ultimately counter-productive.

FutureofEducation.com and Edutopia are collaborating this coming Monday on a two-hour live and interactive look at "Elevating the Education Reform Dialog"--an online discussion with special guests and specifically for educators,  to help move past the bashing and to engage in a constructive conversation about the best way forward.  Connection details are at the bottom of this post.

UPDATE (10/4/10) - Today's Schedule (click on "other" for other time zones):

2:00 pm Pacific / 5:00 pm Eastern (other) - Alfie Kohn
2:15 pm Pacific / 5:15 pm Eastern (other) - Diane Ravitch
2:30 pm Pacific / 5:30 pm Eastern (other) - Deborah Meier
2:45 pm Pacific / 5:45 pm Eastern (other) - Chris Lehmann
3:00 pm Pacific / 6:00 pm Eastern (other) - Gary Stager
3:15 pm Pacific / 6:15 pm Eastern (other) - Will Richardson
3:30 pm Pacific / 6:30 pm Eastern (other) - Julie Evans
3:45 pm Pacific / 6:45 pm Eastern (other) - Sir Ken Robinson
4:00 pm Pacific / 7:00 pm Eastern (other) - One hour "Open Forum" for educators and others to voice ideas and feelings about education reform.


Julie Evans is the CEO of the national education nonprofit organization, Project Tomorrow (www.tomorrow.org) whose mission is to ensure that today's students are well prepared to become tomorrow's leaders, innovators and engaged citizens of the world. Under her leadership, Project Tomorrow has emerged as a national leader promoting the use of innovative and research based science, math and technology resources in our K-12 schools to develop critical thinking, problem solving and creativity skills in students.

Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. The author of eleven books and scores of articles, he lectures at education conferences and universities as well as to parent groups and corporations.

Kohn's criticisms of competition and rewards have been widely discussed and debated, and he has been described in Time magazine as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores."

Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, a progressive science and technology high school in Philadelphia, PA. The Science Leadership Academy is an inquiry-driven, project-based, 1:1 laptop school that is considered to be one of the pioneers of the School 2.0 movement nationally and internationally. The school was recognized by Ladies Home Journal as one of the Ten Most Amazing Schools in the US, has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School in 2009 and 2010 and has been written about in many publications including Edutopia Magazine, EdWeek and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Deborah Meier has spent more than three decades working in public education as a teacher, principal, writer, advocate, and ranks among the most acclaimed leaders of the school reform movement in the U.S. Meier was born in New York City in 1931 and was educated at Antioch College and the University of Chicago. She began her teaching career in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia as an elementary and Head Start teacher, continually fascinated with why schools did not work well and what was needed to fix them.

Diane Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. In addition, she is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.  She shares a blog called Bridging Differences with Deborah Meier, hosted by Education Week. She also blogs for Politico.com/arena and the Huffington Post. Her articles have appeared in many newspapers and magazines.  From 1991 to 1993, she was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Will Richardson considers himself an "evangelist" for the use of Weblogs, RSS and related Internet technologies in classrooms and schools. Over the past six years he's had the chance to speak and work with thousands of educators from around the world on the merits of "The Read/Write Web." He was a classroom teacher for over 20 years who integrated these technologies into his curricula for over four years. In various Weblog projects, his students have collaborated with best-selling authors, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, and with students in classrooms from around the world.

Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He has worked with governments in Europe, Asia and the USA, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. In 1998, he led a national commission on creativity, education and the economy for the UK Government. ‘All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education’ (The Robinson Report) was published to wide acclaim in 1999.

Since 1982, Gary Stager, PhD, an internationally recognized educator, speaker and consultant, has helped learners of all ages on six continents embrace the power of computers as intellectual laboratories and vehicles for self-expression. He led professional development in the world's first laptop schools (1990), has designed online graduate school programs since the mid-90s, is a collaborator in the MIT Media Lab's Future of Learning Group and a member of the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's Learning Team. Mr. Stager's doctoral research involved the creation a high-tech alternative learning environment for incarcerated at-risk teens. Recent work includes teaching and mentoring some of Australia's "most troubled" public schools. Gary was Senior Editor of District Administration Magazine and Founding Editor of The Pulse: Education’s Place for Debate.

Date: Monday, October 4, 2010
Time: 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 9pm GMT (international times here)
Duration: 2 hours
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event and Recording Page:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/106358
Hashtag:  #elev8ed

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Thursday Interview: High Tech High with Ben Daley

Join me Thursday, September 30th, for a live and interactive FutureofEducation.com interview with Ben Daley, the chief operating officer and chief academic officer for High Tech High.

Date: Thursday, September 30th, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event and Recording Pagehttp://www.learncentral.org/event/102287


Ben Daley is the chief operating officer and chief academic officer for High Tech High. He acts as an advisor to fifteen high school students and teaches and advises students in the HTH Graduate School of Education. Ben joined High Tech High to teach physics as a founding faculty member in fall 2000.  He was the second director of High Tech High Original Recipe.

A New Hampshire native, Ben wisely moved to San Diego, CA at the first opportunity. As a student at Haverford College, Ben majored in physics and was credentialed in secondary physics and math. After graduation, he traveled to the Philippines and taught science and math at an international school in Manila. Upon his return to the U.S., he taught physics and AP physics at the Madeira School, a girls boarding school in suburban Washington, D.C. He then moved to California to coach basketball and to teach physics at Pomona and Pitzer Colleges. He earned an M.A. in science education at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

High Tech High began in 2000 as a single charter high school launched by a coalition of San Diego business leaders and educators. It has evolved into an integrated network of schools spanning grades K-12, housing a comprehensive teacher certification program and a new, innovative Graduate School of Education.

High Tech High’s mission is to develop and support innovative public schools where all students develop the academic, workplace, and citizenship skills for postsecondary success.

"At HTH, we believe that change in schooling happens, not incrementally by adding programs, but by generating holistic designs that enable new ways of teaching and learning. We believe that even the language we use to describe schooling needs to change. School reformers need to develop—and commit to—simple, elegant language that speaks to the deep purpose of schools: to prepare all students for entry into the world of work and citizenship in a democratic society."

Monday, September 27, 2010

The History of School Reform, Live with Paul E. Peterson from Harvard

Join me Tuesday, September 28th, for a live and interactive FutureofEducation.com interview with Paul E. Peterson, author of Saving Schools:  From Horace Mann to Virtual Learningthe Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government, Harvard University, and the Director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance.  This is a particularly timely interview, as we'll let Professor Peterson describe the "unintended consquences" of mission-drive school reformers of the past, and discuss what may be a "new era" in American education.

Date: Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Time: 4pm Pacific / 7pm Eastern / 11pm GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event and Recording Pagehttp://www.learncentral.org/node/102285

Paul E. Peterson is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and Director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and Editor-In-Chief of Education Next, a journal of opinion and research.

Peterson is a former director of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and of the Governmental Studies Program at the Brookings Institution. He received his Ph. D. in political science from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education, and has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the German Marshall Foundation, and the Center for Study in the Behavioral Sciences.

He is the author of the book,
Saving Schools: From Horace Mann to Virtual Learning (Harvard University Press, 2010). He is also the author or editor of numerous other publications.  Four of his books have received major awards from the American Political Science Association. Most recently, he was awarded the Martha Derthick Best Book Award for The Price of Federalism. The award is presented to the author of a book published at least ten years ago that has made a lasting contribution to the study of federalism and intergovernmental relations.

Peterson is a member of the independent review panel advising the Department of Education’s evaluation of the No Child Left Behind law and a member of the Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force of K-12 Education at Stanford University. The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center reported that Peterson’s studies on school choice and vouchers were among the country’s most influential studies of education policy.


Saving Schools: From Horace Mann to Virtual LearningSaving Schools traces the story of the rise, decline, and potential resurrection of American public schools through the lives and ideas of six mission-driven reformers: Horace Mann, John Dewey, Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Shanker, William Bennett, and James Coleman. Yet schools did not become the efficient, egalitarian, and high-quality educational institutions these reformers envisioned. Indeed, the unintended consequences of their legacies shaped today’s flawed educational system, in which political control of stagnant American schools has shifted away from families and communities to larger, more centralized entities—initially to bigger districts and eventually to control by states, courts, and the federal government.

Peterson’s tales help to explain how nation building, progressive education, the civil rights movement, unionization, legalization, special education, bilingual teaching, accountability, vouchers, charters, and homeschooling have, each in a different way, set the stage for a new era in American education.

Now, under the impact of rising cost, coupled with the possibilities unleashed by technological innovation, schooling may be transformed through virtual learning. The result could be a personalized, customized system of education in which families have greater choice and control over their children’s education than at any time since our nation was founded.

This Week's Live, Interactive, and Free Elluminate Webinars

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive Webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile, or you can check the new event time converter on the event page. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. If you are looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, you'll now find a link on your calendar page or the calendar page of specific groups!

Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series, Spanish-language webinars from the Aula 2.0 Series, administrator-focused sessions from Admin 2.0, and student-oriented sessions from Students 2.0! We also hope you will consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

Monday, September 27th
  • 5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Teaching with Science Fiction Film: FUTURESTATES from ITVS,”
    with host Annelise Wunderlich. ITVS's Community Classroom program provides free film based resources for educators. We will introduce our new science fiction online film series, FUTURESTATES, and  language arts and science lesson plans. This is a great tool for educators looking for fresh, engaging film content for their classrooms.” 
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/104384
Tuesday, September 28th
  • 12pm PDT (US) / 3pm EDT (US) / 7pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Cyberchase Webinar,”
    with host Corey Nascenzi. Learn more about PBS's Cyberchase and the recent additions to many invaluable resources offered by PBS.”
    LearnCentral Link: 
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/100647
  • 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    FUTURE OF EDUCATION SERIES
    Steve Hargadon will interview Paul Peterson on “Saving Schools” as part of the  FutureofEducation.com series.
    LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/102285
  • 6pm PDT (US) / 9pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    AULA 2.0 SERIES
      
    “El rol del maestro frente al desarrollo de habilidades,” 
    con Tomas Chaskel. María Fernanda Castillo es Psicóloga de la Universidad Javeriana y Magister en Educación de La Universidad de Los Andes de Bogotá. Actualmente Coordina los años 1, 2 y 3 del Programa de Años Intermedios (PAI) en el Colegio Anglo Colombiano de Bogotá. Fue coordinadora del Departamento de Inglés del Colegio Tilatá, también en Bogotá, de 2006 - 2009. Ha sido maestra de ESL durante diez años y ha enseñado diferentes asignaturas en inglés como matemáticas, lectura, escritura y humanidades en diferentes grados escolares, desde Kinder hasta grado 7 mo.
    LearnCentral Link: 
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/102419
Wednesday, September 29th
  • 3pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 10pm GMT/UTC (intl times): You Think You Know Google Search Part 2: Other Google Search,” with host Rochelle Rodrigo. “We all do it, Google when we want to know something; however, do we really get the results we want? Come to this webinar to learn about the variety of alternative specialized Google search engines that exist: Images, Scholar, News, Blog, Books, and Government, to name a few. Even learn about making your own Custom search tool. We'll also talk about ways to incorporate specialized Google search engines into assignments to help students gain critical information literacies.
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/92760
  • 6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    MATH 2.0
    SERIES
    “GeoGebra Institute of Iran”
    with host Maria Droujkova. “During the event, we will look at how dynamic geometry software can improve geometry skills of students in guidance schools.”
    LearnCentral Link: 
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/96644
Thursday, September 30th
  • 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times): ELLUMINATI SERIES
    “Entertaining, Educating and Elluminating,”
    with host Shannon Autrey Forte. “In this Elluminate Live! session, you will be asked to act like medical students or young doctors and actively involved in solving a mystery clinical case under the guidance of Dr. Bei Zhang. During the session, Bei will present how she puts her teaching philosophy of “entertaining, educating and ‘Elluminating’ in action by creatively using the bells and whistles of Elluminate.” 
    LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/99846
  • 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Online Learning in Higher Education,”
    with host Barbara Lindsey. “Join us as we discuss principles & practices of online learning in higher ed w/online instructor Nicole McClure.”
    LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/102489
  • 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times)
    ADMIN 2.0 SERIES 

    “How to Lead Your School in a Digital World as part of the Leading Digitally, The Admin2.0 Series,” 
    with Jason Borgen. “How has the 21st century changed the scope of leadership? This session will provide evidence and research regarding how students have changed more than ever before and how you, as a leader, need to develop your digital skills quickly to keep your school and district on top. This session will lead you in developing a vision based upon research and what other educators are saying is essential for today's schooling.”
    LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/101930
  • 5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    FUTURE OF EDUCATION SERIES
    Steve Hargadon will interview Ben Daley on High Tech High as part of the FutureofEducation.com series.
    LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/102287
Saturday, September 25th
  • 9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “K12 Online Conference Update,” 
    with hosts Kim Caise, Lorna Costantini and Peggy George.  Join the Classroom 2.0 LIVE co-hosts for a discussion with the K12 Online Conference Co-Conveners. 
    LearnCentral Link: 
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/104312

Monday, September 20, 2010

This Week's Live, Interactive, and Free Webinars from Elluminate

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive Webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. If you are looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, you'll now find a link on your calendar page or the calendar page of specific groups!

Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series, Spanish-language Webinars from the Aula 2.0 Series, and student-oriented sessions from Students 2.0! We also hope you will consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

Tuesday, September 21st
  • 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “PBS Franny's Feet Training,”
    with host Corey Nascenzi.Learn more about the science, social studies, language arts, & global awareness resources available from Franny's Feet!”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/85959
  • 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS 
    Selling To The C- Suite ,”
    with presenter Dr. Steve Bistritz.It's the goal of every salesperson: getting access to senior client executives - the C-Level decision makers responsible for approving top-dollar deals. Leaders at the highest corporate levels don’t always avoid sales pitches; in fact, they often welcome them, provided the salesperson approaches them the right way. But how? This seminar is intended for business-to-business salespeople, sales managers and sales executives interested in learning more about selling to the executive suite.”
    LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/100514 (registration in advance is required)
  • 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS 
    Learning In Today's World: Blending The Best Of Formal, Informal And Social Approaches- A New Blended Model,”
    with presenter Lance Dublin. Join Lance to learn the distinctions between formal, informal, formally-informal, and social learning, and the learning theory behind them. We will explore how then these can be applied in your organization and we will look at a new model for blending learning that moves beyond the linear either/or choice of formal - informal, and takes us into a third dimension driven by the new social media tools. 
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/node/102298 (registration in advance is required)
  • 5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “60-Second Video Contest,”
    with host Rushton Hurley. “Next Vista for Learning and CUE are doing a video contest, and you and your students can take part! Join this session to learn more.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/98418
Wednesday, September 22nd
  • 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS "
    Websites Speak Louder Than Words ,”
    with presenters Aaron Sloman and Ron Rogowski.Over the past decade, consumers have increasingly turned to digital media to get their news, connect with friends, and make sense of the world. As companies focus more on the Web, they need to differentiate themselves by going beyond just useful and usable experiences if they want to generate a lasting positive impression. Companies differentiate their digital experiences when they provide what users need, where they need it and in a way that establishes a brand personality. We call this “Intuitive Design.” Join these presenters for a discussion about intuitive design.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/node/102299 (registration in advance is required)
  • 3pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 10pm GMT/UTC (intl times): "
    You Think You Know Google Search Part 1: Googling,
    ” with host Rochelle Rodrigo. “We all do it, Google when we want to know something; however, do we really get the results we want? Come to this webinar to learn tips and tricks to harness the power of the Google search engine. We'll also talk about ways to incorporate advanced Google search strategies into assignments to help students gain critical information literacies.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/92758
  • 6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    MATH 2.0
    SERIES
    “Math 2.0 Weekly: Equalis”
    , with host Maria Droujkova. “During the event, we will discuss the new hub Equalis with its president Carmine 'MathMob' Napolitano.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/96641
  • 6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    CSLA Smackdown - Web2.0”
    , with host Marie Slim. Join this webinar for a Web2.0 Smackdown Ideas brainstorm and planning session.
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/99936 (2.5 hour session)
Thursday, September 23rd
  • 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Dual Exceptionality - Gifted Children & Learning Difficulties,”
    with presenters Margaret Keane and Anna Giblin.In this webinar Margaret Keane and Anna Giblin of Giftedkids.ie will explore this complex area and look at a range of learning difficulties which can be found amongst the gifted population, most specifically Aspergers, ADHD and Dyslexia.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/93109
  • 3:30pm PDT (US) / 6:30pm EDT (US) / 10:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    THE AUSTRALIA SERIES

    Australia Elluminate Users,” with host Coach Carole. Join Coach Carole for this one day online conference.
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/99757
  • 4PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Kick Off the Year with VSTE,”
    with host Karen Richardson. Join this webinar to preview upcoming events from the Virginia Society for Technology in Eduction (VSTE). VSTE provides professional development events and access to online resources for educators.
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/98344
  • 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    EDUBLOGS SERIES

    “Edublogs Fine Focus - Going LIVE & PAPERLESS with GoogleDocs.”
    Join Jo Hart for a look at the many ways of using Googledocs. Ellena Bethea will focus on how she uses Google Spreadsheets, Google Drawings, and Google Forms to eliminate worksheets in the high school classroom, with an emphasis on high school science.
    Ellena is a fourth year high school chemistry teacher at a private school in Manhattan. Her focus is finding ways to use technology to enhance inquiry and learning in the classroom.

    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/101930
Saturday, September 25th
  • 9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Teacher Feature Webinar,”
    with hosts Kim Caise, Lorna Costantini and Peggy George. Join the Classroom 2.0 LIVE co-hosts for their first session in the monthly “Teacher Feature” series. Zoe Branigan-Pipe will be the first teacher featured and is a sixth grade teacher from Hamilton, Ontario in Canada.
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/node/102308

Friday, September 17, 2010

Live Tonight - Cleveland's Montessori High School and Museum Partnerships

Join me this evening for a live and interactive FutureofEducation.com interview with representatives of Montessori High School at University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio.   Since their founding in 2008, the school has quickly become an important partner with the museums and cultural institutions in their area.  The school provides a unique learning opportunity by combining experienced-based developmental learning with formal academic disciplines, partnering with University Circle Institutions as interdisciplinary resources.

I'll be conducting the interview live from Shanghai, China, where Alec Couros and I are "cohort leaders" of two groups at the Learning 2.010 conference who are focused on the theme of "Education in 2020."  Special thanks go to Laurie Heikkila who helped arrange this interview!

Date: Friday, September 17th, 2010
Time: 6:30pm Pacific / 9:30pm Eastern / 1:30am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 30 minutes
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event and Recording Pagehttp://www.learncentral.org/event/102123


From the school website:

Vision and Culture of Montessori High School

Montessori High School will combine experience-based and community-based developmental learning alongside the teaching of the formal academic disciplines utilizing the operational and programmatic functions of the partner University Circle institutions as interdisciplinary resources.

The overarching goals of the school are:

  • to build a community for belonging, utilizing "prepared environments" or "places" that support the concept of pedagogy of place. In the words of environmental educator David Orr, "Places are laboratories of diversity and complexity, mixing social functions and natural processes. A place has a human history and a geologic past; it is part of an ecosystem with a variety of microsystems, it is a landscape with particular flora and fauna.... A place ... can be understood only on its terms as a complex mosaic of phenomena and problems." (Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World);
  • to provide challenges that scientifically match skills, fostering choice, intrinsic motivation, engagement, and social and emotional development in accordance with the psychological needs of the high school student;
  • to find meaningful and real work in both rural and urban contexts;
  • to engage in experience- and land-based processes that inform students through the sciences and history about the positive relationship between the human-built and natural worlds;
  • to facilitate learning experiences where students seek contextual studies in the classroom arising from ongoing real-life problem solving and real-world focus;
  • to integrate students' academic work with self-expression, including music, drama, visual arts, poetry, and electronic visual expression;
  • to nurture character development through living together during periodic retreats and work experiences, including reflection on 1) the transcendent, 2) moral development based on experience, 3) passion for humanity-a sense of mission, 4) civility-a balance of freedom, limits, and social participation, and 5) solidarity and compassion;
  • to utilize a variety of teaching and evaluation methodologies, including didactic modes (lectures, visual aids, textbooks as resources), coaching modes (independent student exploration and study with teacher assisting on the sidelines), and seminar modes (active questioning and interpretation through discussion of primary readings as opposed to textbooks) integrated with all aspects of the curriculum;
  • to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect;
  • to recognize that high school students are particularly sensitive to social and cultural influences and are struggling to define themselves and their relationship to society;
  • to afford students the opportunity to participate in what Thomas Berry has called the "great work": an overarching perspective throughout a course of study that has unity and meaning from beginning to end, in this case from early childhood through adolescence; the great work will converge around the study of nature and society, and will focus on the three strands of knowledge that bring the student into contact with society or civilization: 1) the study of earth and living things as a whole (biological sciences), 2) studies related to human progress (physical sciences) and to the building of civilization as a whole, and 3) the history of humanity as a collective force (social studies and social sciences);
  • to give students an international perspective-to help them become informed about citizenship in the world through a series of formal courses of study, which are derived from the Montessori integrated knowledge approach to the whole of humanity and its great work for the future.

Monday, September 13, 2010

This Week's Live, Interactive, and Free Webinars

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive Webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. If you are looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, you'll now find a link on your calendar page or the calendar page of specific groups.

Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series, Spanish-language Webinars from the Aula 2.0 Series, and student-oriented sessions from Students 2.0! We also hope you will consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

Monday, September 13th
  • 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    TL CAFE SERIES

    “Back to School Special: Making You & Your Library Indispensable,” 
    with host Gwyneth Jones.Back to School Special: Making You &Your Library Indispensable: A casual discussion to generate ideas on how to build school allies, support new teachers & become indispensable to admin and staff at the beginning of every school year.” 
    LearnCentral Link
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/91320
  • 8pm PDT (US) / 11pm EDT (US) / 3am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times): 
    MINI GEEK FEST

    "Mini-Geek Fest" Monthly Online Conversation-September, 2010," with co-hosts Peggy George and Kim ThomasDo you get excited and energized by talking with other educators about technology tools and resources? Do you often feel overwhelmed with all of the new tools and feel you don’t have time to keep up with everything? If you do, then the Mini-Geek Fest is here for you! No homework, no assignments, no cost—just an hour online, once a month to listen, share and discuss technology tools for your classroom, websites and more. Join co-hosts Kim Thomas and Peggy George in AzTEA Elluminate from the comfort of your own home. Professional Development credit (1 hour) will be available. The show is on the second Monday of each month from 8-9PM (Pacific). It's not a presentation or a tutorial, but a conversation--think of it like a "show and tell" where ALL participants can contribute. Shows will be recorded and archived so if you can't participate in the live sessions, you can listen to the recordings later. We look forward to an exciting and interesting conversation! Feel free to share this invitation with your "tech-loving" colleagues. Registration is NOT required so feel free to join us by clicking on the Elluminate link. You don't have to be from Arizona to participate--everyone is welcome! Space is limited to the first 50 participants.”
    LearnCentral Link
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/100204
  • 10:45pm PDT (US) / 1:45am EDT (next day) (US) / 5:45pm GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    AUSTRALIA SERIES

    “Tech Talk Tuesdays: iPods in Literacy and Creating Guided Reading Materials,” 
    with host Anne MirtschinLearn from Jenny Ashby how iPods can be used for writing, reading, speaking and listening in the daily literacy block. Find out how Jenny utilises the iPods in the Literacy block. Also Jenny will give a quick how to for recording your own guided reading material to use as an extra guided
    reading and thinking activity.”

    LearnCentral Link
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/98431
Tuesday, September 14th
  • 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS 

    “Social Media For Trainers: Enhancing And Extending Learning,” with presenter Jane Bozarth, Ph.D. This session will feature a discussion on supporting differentiated instruction and technology integration.
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/98018 (registration in advance is required)
Wednesday, September 15th
  • 3am PDT (US) / 6am EDT (US) / 10am GMT/UTC (intl times):
    AUSTRALIA SERIES

    eT@lking: Playing on the Internet," with host Anne MirtschinJess McCulloch, an early web2.0 innovator, will share some websites as well as 3-4 ideas for using each with students.  Participants will be asked to contribute an idea or two. Let's look with Jess at some of the following:-Four Square, PhotoSynth, some visual search engines - Search Cubed and Spezify, Woices, Viddix and maybe Cloud Canvas.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/98490
  • 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS SERIES

    Getting Recognition Right Through Education And Training," with presenter Roy Saunderson.  “How do you educate and train your managers to recognize and appreciate their people the right way? Giving meaningful and effective employee recognition is both an art and a science. The approach leaders take to educating and training this important skill will determine the impact recognition will have on creating meaningful workplaces, positive relationships and, of course, obtaining real results. This learning event is targeted to HR leaders, recognition practitioners and trainers/educators and will provide insights and practical steps for educating leaders, managers and employees on giving people “real recognition.”
    LearnCentral 
    Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/98019(registration in advance is required)
  • 6pm PDT (US) / 9pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    AULA 2.0 SERIES

    Saberes 2.0 - Utilizacion de las nuevas tecnologias de informacion & comunicacion para la resolucion,” con Thomas Chaskel. “Resumen de la iniciativa ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION LATINOAMERICA. Red social sin fines de lucro dedicada al estudio e investigacion de la aplicacion de las nuevas tecnologias de informacion & comunicacion a la resolucion de conflictos. Difundir el uso de las nuevas tecnologias entre los sectores de menores recursos de la sociedad, contribuir con acortar la brecha tecnologica.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/99758
  • 6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    MATH 2.0
    SERIES 
    “Math 2.0 Weekly: Math Circle Summer Institute”with host Maria Droujkova.  “Special guests, Robert and Ellen Kaplan, Amanda Serenevy, and Leo Goldmakher, will talk about the annual Math Circle Summer Institute.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/96639
  • 11pm PDT (US) / 2am EDT (US) (next day) / 6am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    AUSTRALIA SERIES

    “Elluminate Masterclass Series 4: advanced”
    with host Coach Carole. “If you have already attended a few Elluminate sessions and now feel ready to start planning how to present your own workshops etc in Elluminate, then this is the session for you. You'll learn how to blending virtual classrooms with your learning management systems; structure and deliver Elluminate training to others in your organisation; plan for, schedule and moderate small and large group meetings of teachers; and how to become a member of The Australia Series group – an Elluminate/LearnCentral initiative. Guest presenters will share their experiences with you.”
     LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/959966
Thursday, September 16th
  • 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS SERIES

    Communicate Effectively Using Persuasive Powerpoint Visuals," with presenter Dave ParadiResearch shows that visuals communicate more effectively than overloaded text and data slides. But how do you create persuasive visuals if you aren’t a graphic designer? This webinar will show you a five-step method for creating persuasive visuals that anyone can follow. You’ll see examples of how it has transformed real slides and be inspired to start creating and using your own persuasive PowerPoint visuals in your training and executivepresentations.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/98020 (registration in advance is required)
  • 5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “PBL and Information Literacy through Infographics”
    with presenter Jane Krauss. Join Jane Krauss, coauthor of Reinventing Project-Based Learning for a look into Infographics and how viewing and making them builds core knowledge and information literacy. This will be a very visual and lively session where you'll get to interpret compelling infographics and imagine setting up situations where your students create their own.”
    LearnCentral Link:
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/99151/
Saturday, September 11th
  • 9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Hosting a Virtual Conference in Moodle,” 
    with hosts Kim Caise, Lorna Costantini and Peggy GeorgeJoin the Classroom 2.0 LIVE co-hosts for a discussion with special guest Connie Swiderski about hosting a virtual conference in Moodle. 
    LearnCentral Link: 
    http://www.learncentral.org/node/100174

Monday, September 06, 2010

This Week's Live, Interactive, and Free Events in Elluminate

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive Webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. If you are looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, you'll now find a link on your calendar page or the calendar page of specific groups!

Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series, Spanish-language Webinars from the Aula 2.0 Series, and student-oriented sessions from Students 2.0! We also hope you will consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

Monday, September 6th
  • 10:45pm PDT (US) / 1:45am EDT (next day) (US) / 5:45pm GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times): AUSTRALIA SERIES
    “Tech Talk Tuesdays: Treasures of Classroom2.0 LIVE! - wonderful resources for classroom use,”
    with host Anne Mirtschin. “Are you looking for resources to use in your classroom? Do you want to learn about specific web2.0 tools? Would you like to hear from some of the web2.0 tools creators? Learn about exciting things happening in education? Then this is the session for you. Our special guest presenter this week is Peggy George from Arizona in USA. Peggy is one of the three co-organisers of the most popular online webinars available today – Classroom 2.0 LIVE!. Peggy has an amazing wealth of knowledge which she willingly shares with participants in our regular Tech Talk Tuesdays. In this session, Peggy will walk us through the amazing wealth of materials that can be found on the spaces within the classroom 2.0 LIVE! site. This includes the best resources, interesting content for classroom use and guest speakers who have engaged their audiences, recordings, links etc. Don’t miss this one!.”
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/97266
Tuesday, September 7th
  • 4:30pm PDT (US) / 6:30pm EDT (US) / 10:30am GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Supporting Differentiated Instruction and Technology Integration,”
    with Beverly Gallagher. This session will feature a discussion on supporting differentiated instruction and technology integration.
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/97966
  • 5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
    FUTURE OF EDUCATION SERIES
    Interview with Charles Fadel on, “21st Century Learning and STEM” as part of the Future of Education.com series.
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/95438
Wednesday, September 8th
  • 3am PDT (US) / 6am EDT (US) / 10am GMT/UTC (intl times): AUSTRALIA SERIES
    eT@lking: Websites I love to use: Share 'n Tell," with host Anne Mirtschin. “This session will be an informal sharing of discussions and favourite websites for both your classes and your own personal life. Can the personal sites be adapted for use in the classroom? Time to share and tell! The topics and conversations will be up to you.”
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/97346
  • 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times): ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS SERIES
    How To Make An Effective Presentation In 99 Seconds," with presenters Tracy Tagliati and Dr. Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan. “Fifteen years ago we discovered the cure for conference boredom: challenge presenters to make a point—a real point with useful content—in just 99 seconds.
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/9232/ (registration in advance is required)
  • 5:30pm PDT (US) / 8:30pm EDT (US) / 12:30am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times): Ripple conference presentation,” with host Cathy Moore. “How can you design activity-rich elearning that creates a measurable change in the world? One way is to use action mapping, a visual approach to instructional design. In this session, we'll use a structured mind map to identify the change you want to create and brainstorm the learning activities that will help create that change.”
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/90127
  • 6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times): MATH 2.0 SERIES 
    “Math 2.0 Weekly: NLVM”
    , with host Maria Droujkova. Special guest, Joel Duffin, will lead a conversation about National Library of Virtual Manipulatives and its growth..
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/96638
  • 11pm PDT (US) / 2am EDT (US) (next day) / 6am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times): AUSTRALIA SERIES
    “Elluminate Masterclass Series 4: advanced”
    , with host Coach Carole. “If you have already attended a few Elluminate sessions and now feel ready to start planning how to present your own workshops etc in Elluminate, then this is the session for you. 
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/95995
Thursday, September 9th
  • 1pm PDT (US) / 4pm EDT (US) / 8pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Inquiry, Literacy, and the Learning Cycle,” 
    with host Kimberly Lightle. Join presenters Jessica Fries-Gaither and Terry Shiverdecker for a webinar about science and literacy instruction in the elementary grades as the focus of a new series of web seminars for the 2010-2011 school year.
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/89903

  • 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    EDUBLOGS SERIES
    “Edublogs Fine Focus - Going LIVE & PAPERLESS with GoogleDocs.”
    Join Jo Hart for a "Fine Focus" session. This week Rachael Colley presents "Going LIVE & PAPERLESS with GoogleDocs". In this interactive session Rachael will demonstrate how she uses GoogleDocs with her students.
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/96064
Friday, September 10th
  • 8am PDT (US) / 11pm EDT (US) / 3pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Astronomický kroužek,”
    with host Jan Kubesa. “Internetový astronomický kroužek pro každého.”
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/97947
Saturday, September 11th
  • 9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
    “Global Education Conference,”
    with hosts Kim Caise, Lorna Costantini and Peggy George. Join the Classroom 2.0 LIVE co-hosts for a discussion with special guests Steve HargadonLucy Gray, and Julie Lindsay about the upcoming Global Education Conference in November 2010. Learn ways that you can participate or speak for this virtual conference.
    http://www.learncentral.org/event/95768/