The printing press changed our relationship with knowledge and helped spark the Protestant Reformation, which one could say helped bring about the Enlightenment and all of those scientific advances (such as modern medicine) that we now take for granted. The Internet is once again changing our relationship with knowledge, whether we like it or not:
Why Curriculum Constrains Learning Read More »
At a time when we seem to be increasingly called upon to make ‘research-based’ decisions, it’s worthwhile to reflect on exactly what types of research we really value. As educators we are expected to have a natural affinity with research, even though that of course isn’t always the case. For me, I am passionate about
What Research do You Find Most Useful? Read More »
Do the stories that we tell about education technology demand we ask more questions? Do they prompt us to rethink what teaching and learning looks like? Or does education technology simply re-inscribe older stories, older practices? And do the stories that we tell about education technology, particularly when those stories are tinged with judgment, shame,
The Stories We Tell about Education Technology Read More »
At a time where there is so much talk about transforming our schools, maybe it’s time we transformed our ideas around change. In a recent McKinsey article, Gary Hammel argued that the reason 70% of large scale change initiatives fail lies in beliefs about who is responsible for launching change and how that change is
Are You Leading Change or Building a Platform for Change? Read More »
Finland’s Education Reforms. Each week, Educating Modern Learners picks one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and helps put it in context for school leaders, explaining why the news matters and how it might affect teaching and learning (in the short or in the long
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
“Create places that promote conditions of wonder and curiosity and that catalyze the imagination of children.” As a space designer for the past two years, I’ve spent a great deal of time in schools looking at spaces through a lens of both an educator and that of a designer. As you might expect, the physical
Making Learning Modern: Redesigning Classrooms Read More »
Two recent news articles from different parts of the world should have us thinking hard about the future of the teaching profession. First, from Australia, a report that there has been a 12% fall in applications to study teaching at that country’s universities this year. Greg Craven, the vice-chancellor at Australian Catholic University says, not
Urgent Memo: We’re Losing Teachers Read More »
Pearson, PARCC, and Social Media Monitoring. Each week, Educating Modern Learners picks one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and helps put it in context for school leaders, explaining why the news matters and how it might affect teaching and learning (in the short or
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
What changes in a world where anyone can publish to global audiences with just a few taps on a smartphone screen? Short answer: A lot. Just ask people in places like Ferguson, MO where cell phones have done more to document the unrest of the last few months than traditional news cameras. Or teens who have
Share This: Self-Publishing for Modern Schools Read More »
In the midst of the ongoing dialogue around modern learners and modern learning, I was wondering how far the conversations within your school community have reached. To what extent have you been able to engage parents and your wider community in the dialogue, and what has been their response? I think it would be fair
Who Knows About Modern Learning? Read More »
Last month, a story from New York’s PS 116 went viral: the school sent a note home to parents, explaining that it had stopped giving homework so that kids could do something else with their time after school – play, for starters. According to news reports, parents rebelled – some threatening to remove their children
Parents as Modern Learners Read More »
The Apple Watch. Each week, Educating Modern Learners picks one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and helps put it in context for school leaders, explaining why the news matters and how it might affect teaching and learning (in the short or in the long
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
The best part of my day is always second period, which is called “Spartan Time” in my school. That’s the thirty minutes set aside in our school’s schedule for students to participate in remediation or enrichment experiences offered by their teachers. While many of my peers use that time to get students who were absent
What Motivates Learners? Freedom. Read More »
One of my oft repeated lines in my presentations to teachers and leaders goes something like this: “This modern world of technology is not what you signed up for when you went into education.” By that I mean that most people who go into the profession have a very clear picture of what they’re getting themselves into.
Leading Through the Transition Read More »
We read a lot here at EML. A lot. We’re contstantly scanning a variety of blogs, RSS feeds, Twitter feeds, e-mail newsletters and more in an attempt to track the latest and most relevant thinking about the modern world and the modern learner. While our emphasis is on the learning, we’re also highly interested in
Five for the Future: Work Read More »
