When a teacher assigns homework, she makes some big assumptions about students’ home lives. Do they have the requisite supplies? A quiet place to study? Supportive parents or guardians who will motivate them to work? Knowledgable guardians who can assist with challenging problems? But even these questions have significant assumptions underlying them. Do students have
Homework is a Social Justice Issue Read More »
Net Neutrality (Again). 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: Net Neutrality Read More »
As a school leader and classroom teacher at Sandvika School outside of Oslo, I am writing this from a Norwegian perspective. Norway has the resources to do well in the field of technology. Many school districts have invested heavily in hardware and software, and for some years now all high school students have had computers,
Moving Schools Forward: A European Perspective Read More »
As I was blissfully wandering through yet another educational technology exhibition recently, albeit BETT in London, the largest in the world, I was wondering if we are really aware of who or what has the most influence on our edtech buying decisions. In the midst of the millions of dollars spent displaying technology ‘kit’ at
Putting the EdTech Cart Before the Horse Read More »
Once again, students’ technology usage is prompting panic. This time, the scare involves anonymous messaging apps. This past week alone, the following headlines crossed my desk: “Do your kids Yik Yak? Time for a chat.” “The Folly of Banning Yik Yak on School Campuses.” “A New Faculty Challenge: Fending Off Abuse on Yik Yak.” “Investigating
Anonymous Messaging Apps on Campus Read More »
Let’s start with an uncomfortable statistical truth: In the United States, at least, today’s schools are failing our students. While graduation rates may be at historic highs (Layton, 2014), almost 60 percent of the students in our high schools are disengaged (Busteed, 2013). Boredom is the driving force behind the decision to drop out –
Doing Work That Matters Read More »
Disneyland and the Measles. 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
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
“The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility.” ~ bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress Digital pedagogy is not equivalent to teachers using digital tools. Rather, digital pedagogy demands that we think critically about our tools, and demands that we reflect actively upon our own practice. So, digital pedagogy means not just drinking
Learning is Not a Mechanism Read More »
Bruce and I had the great fun of spending the day at Educon in Philly on Saturday, and we sat in on a great session led by David Jakes and Kristen Swanson on “Rethinking the Purpose, Process, and Promise of Professional Learning.” (You can watch some of the stream from the session on YouTube.) At
Learner First, Modern Second Read More »
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein I spend much of my free time with 3 year-old twins, and the questions that spill out of them are awe-inspiring. The sheer volume, the pivots they make in reasoning, the deepening of complexity all leave me
Funding for Online Training Companies. 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
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
How do feel about giving your students an unfair advantage? I’m intrigued by the idea because while on the one hand it undermines the moral imperative of an education for all, on the other it strikes at the very heart of what underpins so much of our lives, competition. While most of us would hold
How Do You Feel About an Unfair Advantage? Read More »
Another week, another story of parents under investigation for letting their kids play outside without supervision. Ten year-old Rafi and six-year-old Dvora Meitiv had been allowed by their parents to walk around their Silver Springs, Maryland neighborhood. But recently, as they walked the two blocks to a nearby park, someone called the police and Child
Raising (and Educating) “Free Range Kids” Read More »
Obama’s Education Policy Proposals. 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
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
The pioneers of the American west moved into a wilderness they didn’t understand, building their homes with new materials and wrangling a landscape full of promise and peril. From their efforts sprang the infrastructure to create communities and towns and cities. They laid the groundwork for the great migration west so that others needn’t be
The Benefits of Coding for the Whole Learner Read More »
