Several people have asked me recently about building personal learning networks. They’ve seen the promise of networked learning. They understand that connecting and collaborating with other professionals on common goals and challenges can be beneficial for everyone. But how do you find those people? In my case, I took the slow road. I blogged. I read others’ blogs and commented on them. I listened to … Continue reading If You Come, They Will Build It
We love our paper. The experts have been predicting for decades that we are going paperless. The paperless office. The paperless school. The paperless bathroom. Okay, maybe not. But looking through this stack of papers brought home by my fifth grader, I can’t believe that we’re making any progress at all toward reducing our paper consumption. And one look at my desk would tell you … Continue reading Paper Love
As we’ve been discussing next generation learning, it has become increasingly clear that every student needs a device. I’m not sure yet what the specifics of that device are. I know it needs to be network-connected. I know that it has to be portable. I think it should be a content creation device and not just a content consumption device. But beyond that, I’m not … Continue reading Bring Your Own 1:1
In my school district this year, we’ve been talking a lot about next generation learning. We’re seeing a need for an increased focus on collaboration, communication, problem solving, and creativity. In our PLCs, we’re working collaboratively with our colleagues to improve our professional practices and make school relevant for our students. Students and staff alike are building personal learning networks, and the idea of an … Continue reading EdCamp Cleveland is Coming!
For the first time in recent memory, I didn’t present at the eTech Ohio Educational Technology Conference this year. Last summer, I decided to take a year off from conference presentations, and instead focus on some of the big questions surrounding the future of education. In the intervening months, I have done a lot of reading, participated in several online networks, and had countless conversations with smart … Continue reading Reflecting on #OETC12
It was February, 1990. I had been using the Internet for about four months. Usenet, a distributed messaging system, was all the rage. For the first time, I started to see the possibilities of connecting and communicating with other people who share similar interests. I weighed in on a discussion about the Blues Brothers band. Last week, twenty-two years later, I found that post online. It’s not … Continue reading Footprints
It’s 8:30 on a Saturday morning, and I’m sitting in a rapidly filling high school cafeteria in Philadelphia. As I look around, a see a few familiar faces, and even more familiar names. But for the most part, these are strangers. They’re not part of my world. They’re from urban schools. Charter schools. Parochial schools. Private schools. They’re teachers. Integration specialists. School leaders. Professors. Students. … Continue reading A Common Purpose
When I taught middle school, Grease was incredibly popular with the seventh and eighth graders. I remember discussing this with my colleagues. Why would a twenty year old movie, set twenty years before that, be so popular with the Gen-Yers? The best theory we could come up with was that it was the ideal, pop-culture vision of what high school was “supposed” to be. It … Continue reading A Community Effort
I learned early to play the “school game.” Do what is expected of you. Please the teacher. Don’t make trouble. Don’t ask questions. They will give you information. Then, they’ll ask you to give it back. If you follow the rules, you’ll be rewarded with a good grade. Good grades will get you into a good college, which will get you a good job. It’s … Continue reading 21st Century Workers
The two-week break in the #change11 MOOC has given me an opportunity to catch up a bit, and to reflect on the experience so far. It’s now sixteen weeks since the start of the course, which has included thirteen weeks of content, a week of introduction, and a two-week winter break. According to Stephen Downes, the course has 2,000 registered participants. The course web site … Continue reading What’s not to MOOC?
My superintendent was looking for an event to attend. He keeps hearing about iPads and 21st Century Skills and digital textbooks and iPads and 1:1 programs and social media and iPads and YouTube and Facebook and Twitter and iPads and he needed some context. He wanted some way to make sense of it all. I suggested the 21st Century Skills Summit earlier this month in … Continue reading The Death of 21st Century Skills
I started last week’s presentation on Google Docs with this xkcd cartoon. I’ve commented many times that my smartphone replaced more than half a dozen devices that I used to carry around with me. I no longer need a digital camera, digital video camera, mp3 player, navigation system, PDA, or wristwatch. I have access to the Internet all the time. But even if I didn’t, … Continue reading Analysis Paralysis
Taste of Tech 