A Message to Teachers from George Lucas

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Day filmmaker George Lucas shares his thoughts about the importance of education. In a blog post at Edutopia he shares, “There is no other job more important than education. It is the foundation of our democracy. By seizing on what’s working, and recreating those successes from one classroom to the next, we can make it better for everyone” (Source).

I encourage you to read the full post and consider George’s personal experiences in the classroom and recommendations for education as we move forward.

Suggested Reading: Education and the Future

Learning 2025: Forging Pathways to the Future

21 Things That Will Be Obsolete by 2020

Technology is a Game Changer for Learning

The Education Industry Needs to Wake Up to the Future

Future School Day: Self-Paced Learning, Creating, and Collaborating

Suggested Reading for 03/09/2010

Building a Better Teacher – NY Times

US DOE’s new National Educational Technology Plan – US DOE

TN DOE Prepares New Assessment – Tim Childers

I Don’t Think Blocking Networked Learning in Our Schools Is an Option – Darren Draper

Using Maps in an Elementary School Math Lesson – Richard Byrne

Use Drop.io’s Upload Widget to Collect Student Work – Richard Byrne

Free Apple Seminar for Educators

Reaching All Learners:
The event for forward-thinking education and IT leaders

Monday, February 8, 2010
9:00 AM – 2:30 PM
The University of Memphis, FedEx Institute of Technology

At this interactive event, you will have the opportunity to experience a digital learning environment first hand and see how Apple technologies can help you meet the diverse needs of today’s learners, including those with special education and language literacy needs.

Who Should Attend?
This event is designed to host leadership teams from your school district or private institution: Superintendents, Curriculum Supervisors, Board of Education members, Special Education Directors, Title I Directors, and Education Information Technology professionals.

Full details and registration is here.

Reply to Miguel Guhlin

THINKING OUT LOUD
Episode 006

Yesterday’s blog post by Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin) caused me to think…and that caused me to want to share and think out loud…and now I’d really like to know how others respond…so…please read Miguel’s brief post about the Google Teacher Academy application process, then view my reply below and share your response.

I’d definitely appreciate it. 🙂

Please share your text/audio/video reply in the Comments section of this post or respond to the corresponding Seesmic conversation (Think video-based Twitter).

21st Century Schools

Dr. Stephen Heppell‘s video about 21st century schools provokes you to consider what lies ahead. Wes Fryer states that this video “makes a strong case for blended learning where the learning connection between home and school is seamless.”

What Is Your Aim for Classrooms?

THINKING OUT LOUD
Episode 005

As many of us head into the classroom to begin another year of learning and fun it seems like a good time to consider our aims for classrooms.

Listen!

My Aim for Classrooms

What are your aims for classrooms?

Educational Reform – Bill Gates Addresses Legislators

The following is the text of Bill Gates’ remarks at the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Microsoft co-founder shares his ideas about “how federal stimulus money should be used to spark educational innovation, spread best practices and improve accountability” along with his belief that the “U.S. must improve its educational standing in the world by rewarding effective teaching and by developing better, universal measures of performance for students and teachers” (Source).