Philosophy of Education
Technology in the classroom can also increase the productivity of the teacher and make instruction flow much smoother! For productivity, the teacher can use technology to communicate with students, parents, other teachers, …
Jessica Chartrand - http://chartrj.edublogs.org

Sustainable Living Podcasts
One student used Voicethread to conduct an interview with a teacher in another district. The interesting thing is that the student and the teacher never met or spoke to each other live. Difficulties with schedules made it impossible to …
Betty’s Instructional Technology Blog - http://napolib.edublogs.org

Teachers trained in creativity
About 100 teachers from around the state gathered at the Cajundome Convention Center on Wednesday to play with origami, build clay sculptures and learn about podcasts.
theadvertiser.com - Local News - http://theadvertiser.com/

“School is profoundly broken”: Roger Schank’s visit to BYU
He showed us a video clip of his 7 month old grandson learning to crawl. He said that it encapsulated everything we needed to know about learning. In the video, young Max was placed on a carpet (the traction on the carpet created an …
(No Longer) Alone in a Library - http://kamccollum.wordpress.com

Leadership in Schools
By placing school climate as top of my leadership priority, I believe that my leadership style of dynamic supportive will contribute to a great school community. A dynamic supportive is a person that can take charge but does not always …
Curriculum and Teaching - http://earl2607.blogspot.com/

How to Teach Sustainability
At Lawrenceville I was hired to produce a strategic plan for how the school could address the large conceptual issue of sustainability, and specifically what sustainability means for schools. I think that “Education for Sustainability” …
Slow Food Blog - http://www.slowfoodblog.org

The Google Story: Inside the Hottest Business, Media, and Technology Success of Our Time By: David Vise & Mark Malseed

• A colleague of mine David Bill suggested this title to me last week during lunch. Looks like a great beach read.

The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures By: Dan Roam

• An Amazon generated suggestion that looked good. I will let you know what I think.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need By: Daniel H. Pink & Rob Ten Pas (Illustrator)

• Daniel Pink was one of the keynote speakers at NAIS in NYC this year. I read “A Whole New Mind” last summer and loved it, in fact my entire middle school faculty will be getting a copy of AWNM on Wednesday. During his keynote, he mentioned that he was in the process of finishing “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko” and that it was geared to students. Can’t wait for this one to come in.

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything By: Don Tapscott & Anthony D. Williams

• Another Amazon generated suggestion.

The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, Completely Updated and Revised By: Bill Kovach & Tom Rosenstiel

• This is one of the texts I will be using next year in my Journalism class, kudos to my English Department colleague Christina!

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success By: Carol Dweck

• Carol Dweck is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at NAIS in Chicago in 2009. I was fortunate enough to hear Pat Bassett, President of NAIS at The Principals’ Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education this past November. The book sounds fascinating and worth reading.

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) By: Garr Reynolds

• I am big fan of Garr Reynolds work. I have had a copy of this and poked through it periodically before I give a major presentation. A must have for anyone who communicates in front of groups and is looking for a way to declutter and simply the power of your message. Garr has written some in depth posts on both “The Back of the Napkin” and “Brain Rules” you should check them out.

A Short History of Nearly Everything By: Bill Bryson

• Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. I have heard good things about this book and I think it will be one of the first books I read.

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (Book & DVD) By: John Medina

• Again, my colleague Dave Bill suggested this one to me. Kudos Dave.

Photo Credit: chotda

Over 100 years later, the work on Kingsley Labs has begun, part of the scope of this project is to redesign and update our science facilities that they may once again be state of the art. Our labs will include fully integrated technology resources, AV, LCD, SmartBoard and a fleet of portable laptops for data collection. Lab benches are designed to allow groups of five students to work together as well as independently. Yet, many other classes at our school as well as other remain unchanged. Rows of desks or tables, the focus of the classroom is often directed toward the front of the room, blackboards remain popular at our school as I am sure they do at many others, technology is not yet fully integrated but requires a process of signing out etc. I am pleased to report that we are beginning a 1 to 1 pilot program in our Middle School with the hopes of a school wide implementation in the fall of 2009.

Innovative companies like Google, Apple, 3M, Starbucks, Toyota, IBM and General Electric are recognized for their ability to foster innovation and creativity. So what do they have in common? These companies are known for creating environments that cultivate and foster creativity, innovation, collaboration, new designs, and 21st century problem solving. I recently had the opportunity to hear Sir Ken Robinson speak. He was fantastic. Many I am sure have seen his presentation on TED on “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” and his speech at the NAIS Annual Conference in New York touched upon many of the same themes. One idea that really struck me was the analogy he drew between farming and teaching. He said that farmers know that they don’t actually get things to grow. What they do is create the right conditions and environment to get their crops to do what they will naturally and inherently do on their own. Farmers understand that what they are responsible for is creating the optimal conditions. Schools could learn a thing or two from farmers. Schools need to recognize that students have enormous potential and are capable of amazing things and if given the right environment and the proper conditions will rise to the occasion. However, if we continue to subject students to a early 20th century industrial model we will continue to do nothing more than stifle all but those at the top 15% of the class. Preparing our students must begin by rethinking our teaching and learning environments. By looking to innovative companies such as Google, Apple and 3M, we can adopt their workspace philosophy to reshape the nature of how we work with students and how teachers collaborate with one another.

So how will our schools catapult innovative teaching and learning in the 21st century?

A few suggestions:

1. Design rooms that are properly equipped and can function as flexible spaces to support different teaching modalities. Rooms should not focus on one method of teaching versus any other. Create rooms that are designed to meet different purposes.
2. Rethink traditional scheduling practices - Rooms should be signed out and used as they are needed by a group of students and their teacher. Rather than continue to schedule classes as we currently do, consider creating teaching clusters where groups of teachers have access to these different rooms when they most need them.
3. Create comfortable, well equipped and contemporary faculty work rooms. A teacher who has their own classroom finds it very easy to become isolated and close their door and teach. Making spaces available to teacher groups/teams where faculty can collaborate, obtain resources and materials, make phone calls and get snacks and good coffee, cold beverages and talk with one another can encourage colleagues to design and create innovative curriculum and teaching strategies with one another.

Civil Rights in the Digital Era

Yesterday, the Wired Campus, a regular education-technology feature at The Chronicle of Higher Ed, featured a short article by Josh Fischman called, “The Civil-Rights Era, Now on the Web.” The piece highlights the Civil Rights Digital …
Untitled - http://www.jessiedanielsphd.com/blog

Why We Need True Leadership in Education

The third and final form of education is leadership in education, or leadership education. Throughout history, it is these students who go on to become great leaders in government. It is also these same students who become great …
Mary’s School Blog - http://stayinschool.1collegesource.com

Do you know what Steve Jobs thinks about creativity?

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask a creative person how they did something, they may feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after awhile. …
Creative Something - http://www.creativesomething.net/

Culture of Creativity

If you are leading or managing a work team tasked with “being creative” the following are a few practices you can use to establish a creative working culture and get the ball rolling: 1. Try out and then modify; explore; test in reality …
The Fertile Unknown - http://creativeemergence.typepad.com/the_fertile_unknown/

When The Student Is Ready The Teacher Appears

Why in the world would someone like you be in a class on leadership taught by someone less than half your age and basically as green as tree moss about how to lead in tough times?” He didn’t hesitate. He took my arm and looked into my …
GOLDEN ZEN - http://goldenzen.wordpress.com

]]> http://antonioviva.com/2008/05/28/buzz-in-the-blogosphere-may-20th-through-29th/feed http://antonioviva.com/2008/05/22/go2web20-your-web-20-clearinghouse http://antonioviva.com/2008/05/22/go2web20-your-web-20-clearinghouse#comments Fri, 23 May 2008 01:25:32 +0000 Antonio http://antonioviva.com/?p=206

I use StumbleUpon to channel surf the web and I came across a great website that I think has enormous potential for educators. It is also mildly addictive. It’s called Go2Web2.0 and it has collected a directory of over 2400 web 2.0 applications since 2006. Below is a description from the website About page.

About Go2Web20.net

Pure Facts:

• A directory of web 2.0 applications and services
• Born around mid 2006
• 2415 logos as of Thursday, May 22, 2008
• As a visitor, you are probably active in the web 2.0 community and you are one of those labeled as ‘early adopters’. Are you?
• Thousands of visitors every day
• There’s a higher chance that you’ve been here before than that this is your 1st visit here
• Converges both Flash and AJAX technologies

The site does a nice job of organizing the sites via a tag menu and in many ways, I think it has a good user interface; each site/application listed is posted using the site’s logo. A few sites I happened to discover.

• Coffenatic - A place for coffee drinkers to unite, share and exchange their love of coffee.
• Dailylife - A new way to explore the world.
• Planetaki which allows you read all the websites you like in a single page. Think of it as a custom digital and virtual newspaper with the sections you want, front and center.

Orli Yakuel is one of the directory managers and I encourage you to consider checking out her blog. She does a fantastic job of giving a detailed overview of these resources. Wondering if anyone has other unique finds out there?

Photo Credit: Stabilo Boss’ photostream

1. Unplug and refocus: If you are anything like me, your email is open all day and the little red light that indicates you have a voice mail message never seems to disappear. I am fortunate that our school has a beautiful, large green quad that is flanked by benches that enjoy shade from mature trees. 10 minutes on the bench, watching students play frisbee or listening to the sounds of campus mid-day give both the mind and the body a chance to recharge and refocus.
2. Don’t skip lunch: I have experienced mindful eating practice while attending a retreat for educators at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. The exercise involves eating in silence without speaking to anyone around you and using that time for mindful contemplation. Being fully present and aware of the moment. I often find my schedule dictating my ability to take 30 minutes to eat lunch. Make the time to allow yourself opportunities slow down and experience the moment of eating a healthy lunch or conversing with a colleague about something other than work.
3. Step away from your desk: It is often the case that if you are like me and your office door is open that you will experience several impromptu and informal visits from members of your school community. Rather than sitting behind your desk and falling to the temptation of looking at email or glancing at the work you were doing, step away and find a neutral spot to be fully present in the moment. Focus on the person’s question and allow for the exchange to be authentic.
4. Keep a journal: This blog serves as an opportunity for me to reflect and write about those things that are important to me. Keep track of your day by keeping a journal or notebook with you that allows you reflect and focus on stressful events, exchanges or conversations as they occur. The result is an archive of both the good and not so good experiences that make up the quality of your work experience.
5. Make time for yourself: Find the joy and pleasure in small activities that would otherwise seem burdensome. For me, spending time in my garden or outside with the dogs and my son allows for the endless to do list to seem a little less pressing and results in putting things into perspective. Go for a walk. Drive home in a different direction and take note of what you see. The pace of the day should not remove opportunities for oneself, but rather should be woven into it.

Photo Credit: darkmatter

Noneducation Majors Find Teaching Appealing
RedOrbit, TX - May 16, 2008
Recruits often have no prior education experience or course work. They get five weeks of intensive training the summer before they start teaching, …

Anne Benedict: Defining Quality Leadership
According to Vince Lombardi, leaders aren’t born, they are made. Smart corporations recognize at least some element of truth in this, and set out to cultivate this specific talent in their teams with the help of experts like Anne …

Do the math: We’re lacking
Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA - May 16, 2008
But a strong national curriculum would be only half the battle; the other challenge is creating a teaching force capable of teaching to those higher …

Universities push global education
Columbus Dispatch, OH - May 17, 2008
Ohio’s higher-education chancellor, Eric D. Fingerhut, wants the statewide number of study-abroad students to grow 10 percent a year. …

Blueprints for a green school
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - May 17, 2008
High Tech High, which operates eight charter schools in the region, is known for personalized learning, using hands-on projects to engage students. …

WorldWide Telescope goes online
International Science Grid This Week, Switzerland - May 14, 2008
Microsoft Research says it is releasing WorldWide Telescope as a free resource to the astronomy and education communities with the hope that it will inspire …

Photo Credit: pingnews.com

Olson states, there are very different schools of thought when addressing this issue. It raises some interesting questions regarding the definition of educational administration, the inability for many to perform the demanding tasks needed to fulfill the requirements of the job and seeks to find a dialogue which might lead to possible solutions. This argument provides educators an opportunity to critically analyze school administration and leadership from a variety of perspectives. One argument is that key administrators are coming under increasing fire to provide adequate results in student performance and achievement. This pressure is driven in large part, as it is in the state of Massachusetts and across many states nationwide, by academic standards and accountability. Many would argue that this form of top-down reform would require administrators and school leaders to become “instructional leaders” rather than simply building managers. Building management must therefore take a back seat, if schools are to become successful in training and educating today’s modern student. However, it is unclear how to precisely define the term “instructional leader”. There are those currently involved in education reform who believe that many of the problems faced by American schools will require solutions by the next generation of administrators.

Does the future of American education require that these leaders be educators in order to successfully do the job? Are we placing unreasonable expectations of administrators? Does the solution require that schools place a larger emphasis on business management? One thing is certain, public and private schools across the United States are seeking and actively recruiting candidates which can fulfill all these responsibilities. The modern day administrator needs to have the business and management knowledge of a corporate CEO, the savvy of a seasoned fund raiser and the experience of being a veteran educator. It is difficult to imagine effective leadership in our schools coming from someone who has never stepped foot in a classroom. Olson also places part of the blame on the preparation and leadership - training programs currently training administrators for the job. There are a portion of leading educators and policy makers that believe senior level administrators being “pumped out” of these training programs are lacking on-the-job experience as well as a deep knowledge and understanding of instruction. These leaders are not only going to be expected to do the job of “instructional leader”, but are going to face the reality of management. In my humble opinion, one this is for certain, the future success of American education will demand effective, innovative and visionary leadership in order to fully embrace and address the challenges of education in the 21st century

]]> http://antonioviva.com/2008/05/15/what-makes-a-leader/feed http://antonioviva.com/2008/05/13/can-we-really-reshape-the-world http://antonioviva.com/2008/05/13/can-we-really-reshape-the-world#comments Wed, 14 May 2008 01:19:04 +0000 Antonio http://antonioviva.com/?p=193 The concept is actually quite simple. Exercise your role as a global citizen by engaging in a collective conversation with some of the biggest thinkers in the world. Big Think is an online community designed to extend the conversation about important topics, global issues and creative ideas by connecting people who want to share their thoughts or ideas with one another. As the website introduction video states, “your idea lives and is shared with a global meeting of the minds.”

As educators, the ability to engage in an extended conversation on topics ranging from the arts, technology, politics, science, medicine, history and current events takes those lunch table conversations to a whole new level.

From Zen Lessons - The Art of Leadership

Lingyuan’s study of the Way and application of its principles was pure and sincere, rich in virtue. He had the air of the ancients. He was peaceful and serious, and spoke little. He was very much honored and respected by scholars and grandees. He once said,

“What people talk lightly and are careless of, the sage is careful with. In particular, to be the leader of a community and assist the process of enlightenment is impossible unless one’s action and understanding are in mutual harmony.”

“The essential thing is repeated self-examination and self-criticism, not letting thoughts of fame and profit sprout in the mind.”

“If there is anything not believed in among the directives of the teachings, anything the students do not obey, then one should withdraw to consider and cultivate virtue, waiting until a way comes.”

“I have never seen anyone who was personally upright whose community was not orderly. Truly in this lies the meaning of the saying ‘Looking upon the countenance of a virtuous person clears the people’s minds.’ “

In reading this passage this morning, I am struck by the simplicity of the message. As leaders, our actions and words must, to the best of our ability, be one. The difficulty in leading in such a manner requires that we take ample time to be self-reflective and if necessary critical when either our actions or words are not in harmony with one another.

Photo Credit: Today is a good day

The Pangea Day Mission & Purpose

Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film.

Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it’s easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.

The Pangea Day Event

Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person’s eyes. Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed here.

The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part.

What Will Happen After Pangea Day

People inspired by Pangea Day will have the opportunity to participate in community-building activities around the world. Through the live program, the Pangea Day web site, and self-organized local events, everyday people will be connected with extraordinary activists and organizations.

Many of the films and performances seen on Pangea Day will be made available on the Web and via mobile phone, alongside open forums for discussion and ideas for how to take social action.

A Pangea Day documentary will be created to catalyze future activities, and dozens of talented filmmakers will make strides in their careers.

History

In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize, an annual award granted at the TED Conference. She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish to change the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish. Watch Jehane Noujaim’s 2006 acceptance speech now.

What I find refreshing about this event is that it asks us to find a universal commonality through film, music and art. Organizers have created a variety of vehicles for people around the world to participate. Hosting or attending a local event, spreading the word through the blogosphere to simply watching. Consider participating in some way, even if it is just to curl up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and a cup of chai and watching for yourself.

Photo Credit: Noah Bulgaria

While the research is still out and many studies have confirmed mixed results with regards to gains in student achievement, as a teacher of writing, there is a clear indication that student performance in writing increases and improves when working in a one-to-one laptop program. An example of this could be taken from my Creative Writing class today. Students and I are exploring poetry as a multidimensional form of expression. Today, my budding, young writers were asked to bring in a set of poems that they would share with one another in small groups. The purpose was to reach each other’s poetry and then engage in a conversation on providing one another feedback. I provided the groups with a rubric/outline for the discussion points and feedback areas they could focus on. This happened with paper copies of drafts, circling the tables and students writing in paper notebooks.

Now imagine for a moment, 18 students take out laptops, upload their poems to a blog or wiki. They read through and provide comments, mashup, link, respond using technology like VoiceThread.

The potential is endless, the opportunities countless. We are hoping to take the plunge and move to a one-to-one next year in our Middle School. I will be sure to keep you posted.

My late teacher said that among those who serve as chief elders there are those who move people by enlightened virtue and those who make people obeidient by the power of authority. It is like the phoenix in flight, which all the animals like, or tigers and wolves stalking, which all the animals fear. As far as being moved and being obedient are concerned they are one, but the types are are as different from each other as the sky is from the earth.

I am inspired by and strive to learn from the phoenix.

Photo Credit: cobalt123

In managing affairs one must weigh the heavy and the light; when speaking out one must first think and reflect. Strive to accord with the middle way, do now allow bias. Hasty and careless actions seldom bring success. Even if you can get done in this way, after all you cannot complete anything totally.

When I was in the community of students, I fully witnessed benefit and harm. Only those of virtue moved people by the magnanimity. I hope those in the future who have willpower will practice this carefully. Only this will be of sublime benefit.

Lingyuan used to say, “Usually when people always dwell in inner reflection, they are able to clearly understand much, but when they get involved in things, running outside, then they oppose integration and lose the body of reality.”

If you really want to think of inheriting the responsibility of enlightened teachers, I direct you to future descendants to always examine and criticize yourselves.

How often do we take the time to do this? Reflect, examine and criticize ourselves? It seems that for many of us in leadership roles, the opposite holds true. Performance evaluations, grading student work, teacher evaluations. The opportunity to truly grow as a leader requires of us a commitment to spend time reflecting on our practice. Parker Palmer speaks of this extensively in his book, “The Courage to Teach” and yet how easy does it come to us? Understanding that our roles as leaders require the active responsibility of self reflection will only make us better in the art of leading. This year, as part of my teaching, I was required to go through a modified faculty evaluation process. The process asked me to spend time reflecting on my craft as a teacher, which, by default required that I reflect on my role as a leader as well. The process was refreshing and valuable to me. As are these Monday Morning Meditation posts. Enjoy your week!

From the LinkedIn website:

“Your professional relationships are key to your professional success.
Our mission is to help you be more effective in your daily work and open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships you already have.

This isn’t networking—it’s what networking should be.
Forget exchanging business cards with acquaintances that don’t know
your work, or trying to renew professional ties when you need a favor.”

What I find most helpful about LinkedIn is that is a great way to keep track of colleagues and new professional contacts you make at conferences, workshops and social settings.

Here is how it works:

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is an online network of more than 17 million
experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional
accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you.

Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections,
and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.

LinkedIn is free to join. They also offer paid accounts that give you more tools for finding and reaching the right people, whether or not they are in your network.