A “Genius Hour.” “20% Time.” “An Hour of Code.” These ideas suggest that students should be allotted time during the school week to follow their own interests. But it this really a substantive or sustainable change?
It’s Gonna Take More Than a “Genius Hour” Read More »
On rare occasion, usually when I’m struggling with a bout of insomnia or boredom, I’ll hop on Twitter and take part in a “chat,” a usually unfollowable, fast-stream of 140-character observations and opinions from dozens (if not hundreds) of people that requires it’s own literacy and mindset to make even a modicum of sense at.
There’s Really Only One Way to “Raise Student Engagement” Read More »
2015 is finally here, and with the new year comes an opportunity to build new habits and enact positive change in our schools, classrooms and communities. To celebrate, we’ve pulled together 14 of our best pieces from 2014 into one free ebook/pdf. (See the list below.) These pieces, by a variety of different EML authors, are
Free eBook: 14 Great Posts from EML in 2014 Read More »
US Midterm Elections. Each week, Educating Modern Learners will pick one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and help 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 »
We talk a lot about data and privacy. But how do we take concrete steps to actually address these important issues? Funnymonkey’s Bill Fitzgerald offers a guide for education technology — school leaders, teachers, parents, and students — about the questions we need to ask about the software schools demand students use.
Taking Inventory of the Ed-Tech Schools Use Read More »
October was “Connected Educator Month.” In the US, it was also National Bullying Prevention Month. And in the midst of all of this was “Gamergate.” How do we reconcile the possibilities and the dangers of online connections? How do we, as Bud Hunt asks here, shine a light into some of the dark corners of
What We Don’t Talk about When We Talk about Connectedness Read More »
To administrate or lead, that is the question. As we start to identify the essential components of a modern learning environment, our use of language becomes even more important in describing our meanings and intentions. Too often in the past, critical ideas have been marginalised, and their meaning appropriated beyond recognition, leaving only a shadow
To Administrate or To Lead Read More »
“Gainful Employment.” Each week, Educating Modern Learners will pick one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and help 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 run).
What You Should Know This Week Read More »
With increasing adoption of computer technologies, schools must do a better job addressing two important issues: privacy and security. Here, education security advocate Jessy Irwin offers some first steps in learning about security. And this isn’t just a lesson for students — it’s for teachers and school leaders and parents as well.
How to Teach Computer Security Skills Read More »
It appears as though Los Angeles Unified School District’s disastrous iPad initiative is moving into its next phase. Can new leadership in the district get it right this time?
Leadership Changes at LAUSD: What’s Next for Its iPad Initiative? Read More »
“Leadership is a choice. It’s the choice not to do nothing.” ~Seth Godin, Tribes There are many others I’m sure, but two particular articles published in the last couple of weeks ought to have educational leaders thinking deeply about their work. The first is an essay in Wired magazine by Harvard Professor David Edwards who
Changes to the Twitter Timeline. Each week, Educating Modern Learners will pick one interesting current event – whether it’s news about education, technology, politics, business, science, or culture – and help 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 »
There’s so much hype about education products and services, many of these claiming to have scientific research to back them up. Perhaps the best example of this is the “brain training” industry, which presents itself as scientific fact. Not so fast, said a group of psychology and neuroscience professors this week, as they issued a
Separating Education Research from Marketing Read More »
Ethics and educational technology — we don’t talk a lot about the two together, but perhaps it’s time we do. We can’t simply assume that ed-tech is good or progressive, for starters. Nor can we ignore the growing political and economic power of the ed-tech industry. Although comparisons between medicine and education aren’t always that
A Hippocratic Oath for Ed-Tech Read More »
Few topics will get a group of educators engaged more than asking them for their thoughts on the role of curriculum in our schools today. At one end are those who carry a firm belief about the innateness or permanence of certain knowledge, which they believe should be taught to all children. These are people
The Folly of Curriculum as Political Football Read More »
