Infinite Thinking Machine

Howard Rheingold Presents "Howard's Brainstorms!" Part 2

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:32:00 PST

Part of the Conversations.net interview series.

Join us this Thursday as Howard Rheingold continues "Howard's Brainstorm," the second in a monthly series of interactive discussions in Elluminate on technology, culture, and education.

Learn more about the eclectic Howard Rheingold at http://www.rheingold.com/howard/ and join us for a fun discussion! The topic will be "Thinking about Thinking Tools." Howard will briefly summarize some of the foundational documents in this area, recap via screensharing and TheBrain, and then facilitate a discussion inviting questions from the community online.?

Date: Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

Howard Rheingold is the author of:
Tools for Thought http://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/ The Virtual Community http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/ Smart Mobs http://www.smartmobs.com Was: editor of Whole Earth Review http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Earth_Review editor of The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog http://www.well.com/user/hlr/mwecintro.html founding executive editor of Hotwired http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HotWired founder of Electric Minds http://www.rheingold.com/electricminds/html/ Non-resident Fellow, Annenberg Center for Communication, USC, 2007 http://www.annenberg.edu/info/rheingold.php Visiting Professor, De Montfort University, UK Has taught: Participatory Media and Collective Action (UC Berkeley, SIMS, Fall 2005, 2006, 2007 ) http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/participatory_media_and_collective_action/participatory_media_and_collective_action.cfm http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/programs/courses/296a-pmca Virtual Community/Social Media (Stanford, Fall 2007, 2008; UC Berkeley, Spring 2008, 2009) http://socialmediaclassroom.com/vircom09
Toward a Literacy of Cooperation (Stanford, Winter, 2005)
Digital Journalism (Stanford University Winter, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 )
http://socialmediaclassroom.com/digitaljournalism09

Current projects:
Social Media Classroom http://socialmediaclassroom.com
The Cooperation Project http://www.cooperationcommons.org
Participatory Media Literacy https://www.socialtext.net/medialiteracy/
HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation grantee http://tinyurl.com/yqjsmr

Recent Videos:
21st century literacies 40 min video http://blip.tv/file/2373937
JD Lasica's 6 min video interview with me, same subject: http://bit.ly/eFqeI

(photographer credit: Robin Good)

PBS & CR 2.0: Helping Kids Understand Viruses and Vaccinations with Sid the Science Kid

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:16:00 PST

Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Location: In Elluminate. http://tinyurl.com/pbscr20 If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can make sure your computer is configured correctly to enter the room by going to http://www.elluminate.com/support.

PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 are hosting a free webinar for educators on Tuesday, November 17th at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern to share information about a currently airing episode of Sid the Science Kid that helps children better understand the science behind germs, viruses and vaccines, and learn good prevention techniques such as as sneezing into an elbow, effective hand washing, and disinfecting common household surfaces to prevent germs from spreading.

During the webinar, health and early childhood education experts will share ideas on how educators can help kids better understand viruses and vaccinations and support healthy habits in school.

Episode Description: Sid is hearing a lot of talk about how to stay healthy, which leads him to ask lots of questions about what can make a person sick and what he can do to keep from getting sick. In the special episode "Getting a shot: You Can Do It!," Sid and his friends learn the basic science behind germs, viruses and vaccines. When it's vaccination day at Sid's school, Sid and his friends are a little apprehensive about getting a shot. Thankfully, a very special nurse will be giving the kids their vaccination — Sid's Grandma! Grandma, Teacher Susie, Mom and Dad all do their part to make vaccination day a learning experience filled with music, games and lots of laughs.

For more information on this episode of Sid the Science Kid, visit http://www.pbs.org/parents/sid/vaccination.html. You can also print a certificate to share with a child who has just received a vaccination.

About Our November 17th Guest Speakers

Moisés Román
Moisés Román appears regularly on the PBS child care information series Los Niños en su Casa as Imagination and Creativity Expert. He is also the educational advisor for PBS children's series "Sid the Science Kid," produced by The Jim Henson Company and KCET. Román is a renowned advocate of child care and early childhood education. Currently serving as the Diversity in Action Chair for the California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC) he appears at national, state and local conferences, presenting a variety of topics such as Men in Education and Early Literacy.

Cyrus Rangan M.D.
Cyrus Rangan M.D. FAAP ACMT graduated from Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1995. He went on to do his clinical residency in General Pediatrics at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, graduating in 1998. He then completed a fellowship in Medical Toxicology at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center in 2000. He is board-certified in both Pediatrics and Medical Toxicology. Dr. Rangan is Director of the Toxics Epidemiology Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Public Health. He investigates community reports of environmentally related illnesses or disease clusters and provides expert consultation and education to hospitals and other impacted professionals about medical issues in toxicology, hazardous materials, epidemiology, and environmental health.

Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:51:12 PST

Cross-posted from www.SteveHargadon.com and part of the FutureofEducation.com interview series.

Date: Thurday, November 12th, 2009
Time: 5:00m Pacific / 8:00pm Eastern / 1:00am GMT next day (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

Join Steve Hargadon as he talks with Larry Cuban, Emeritus Professor of Education at Stanford University, and the author of the 2001 book “Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom.” His blog is at http://larrycuban.wordpress.com/about/, and a previous interview Steve did with him is documented at http://www.stevehargadon.com/2006/09/interview-with-larry-cuban-author-of.html.

In his own words: "I am a former high school social studies teacher (14 years), district superintendent (7 years) and university professor (20 years). I have published op-ed pieces, scholarly articles and books on classroom teaching, history of school reform, how policy gets translated into practice, and teacher and student use of technologies in K-12 and college.

"My most recent research projects have been a study of school reform in Austin (TX) 1954-2009 and of a large comprehensive high school in Mapleton (CO) being converted into several small ones between 2001-2009. The Austin book, As Good As It Gets, will come out early 2010. The Mapleton study was done with Gary Lichtenstein, Arthur Evenchik, Martin Tombari, and Kristen Pozzoboni and will be published in 2010 with the title Against the Odds.

"Currently, I am studying a high school where teachers and students have had 1:1 laptops for the past four years."

Richard Halverson and Allan Collins - Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:51:51 PST

Cross-posted from www.SteveHargadon.com and part of the FutureofEducation.com interview series.

Date: Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Time: 5:00m Pacific / 8:00pm Eastern / 1:00am GMT next day (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

Join Steve Hargadon as he talks with Richard Halverson and Allan Collins about their recently published Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America. In their book they argue that the knowledge revolution has transformed our jobs, our homes, our lives, and therefore must also transform our schools. Much like after the school-reform movement of the industrial revolution, our society is again poised at the edge of radical change. They offer a vision for the future of American education that goes well beyond the walls of the classroom to include online social networks, distance learning with anytime, anywhere access, digital home schooling models, video-game learning environments, and more.

Rich Halverson is an Associate Professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rich is a co-founder of the Games. Learning and Society Research Group and the Learning Sciences Program at UW-Madison, and has appointments in the Educational Psychology and Curriculum and Instruction Departments. Dr. Halverson holds a PhD in the Learning Sciences from the Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, as well as an MA in Philosophy from Northwestern. Raised in Manitowoc, WI he is a rabid Packers fan and fantasy sports enthusiast. More at http://www.education.wisc.edu/elpa/people/faculty/halverson.htm.

Allan Collins self-description: "I am retired now as Professor Emeritus of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. I’ve studied teaching and learning for over 30 years, and written extensively on related topics. From 1991 to 1994 I was Co-Director with Jan Hawkins of the US Department of Education’s Center for Technology in Education. I also served as a founding editor of the journal Cognitive Science and as first chair of the Cognitive Science Society. Recently I was chosen by French psychologists as one of 37 living scholars who have had the most impact on the field of psychology. I am best known in psychology for my work on semantic memory and plausible reasoning, in artificial intelligence for my work on reasoning and intelligent tutoring systems, and in education for his work on situated learning, inquiry teaching, epistemic forms and games, design research, and cognitive apprenticeship." More information at: http://allancollins.northwestern.edu/.

Henry Jenkins on the Popular and Participatory Culture

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:52:33 PST

Cross-posted from SteveHargadon.com and part of the Conversations.net interview series.

Date: Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 1am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

Steve Hargadon and you spend an interactive hour with Henry Jenkins in the Elluminate LIVE environment.

Henry Jenkins joins USC from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was Peter de Florez Professor in the Humanities. He directed MIT’s Comparative Media Studies graduate degree program from 1993-2009, setting an innovative research agenda during a time of fundamental change in communication, journalism and entertainment. As one of the first media scholars to chart the changing role of the audience in an environment of increasingly pervasive digital content, Jenkins has been at the forefront of understanding the effects of participatory media on society, politics and culture. His research gives key insights to the success of social-networking Web sites, networked computer games, online fan communities and other advocacy organizations, and emerging news media outlets.

Jenkins is recognized as a leading thinker in the effort to redefine the role of journalism in the digital age. Through parallels drawn between the consumption of pop culture and the processing of news information, he and his fellow researchers have identified new methods to encourage citizen engagement. Jenkins launched the Center for Future Civic Media at MIT to further explore these parallels.

Jenkins has also played a central role in demonstrating the importance of new media technologies in educational settings. At MIT, he led a consortium of educators and business leaders promoting the educational benefits of computer games, and oversaw a research group working to help teach 21st century literacy skills to high school students through documentary videos. He also has worked closely with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to shape a media literacy program designed to explore the effects of participatory media on young people, and reveal potential new pathways for education through emerging digital media.

His most recent book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, is recognized as a hallmark of recent research on the subject of transmedia storytelling. His other published works reflect the wide range of his research interests, touching on democracy and new media, the “wow factor” of popular culture, science-fiction fan communities and the early history of film comedy. Altogether, he has written or edited 13 books on media and popular culture. His new book project is Spreadable Media, which is being developed with Sam Ford and Joshua Green, in collaboration with the Convergence Culture Consortium. The Convergence Culture Consortium seeks to apply concepts of participatory culture, transmedia storytelling, moral economy, and spreadable media to address challenges confronting the contemporary media industry. The consortium is best known for running the Futures of Entertainment conference, which brings together researchers and industry leaders to discuss cutting edge trends impacting popular culture.

Henry Jenkins blogs regularly about fan studies, transmedia stories, media policy, and new media literacies, among other topics, at henryjenkins.org.

See much more (!) at http://www.henryjenkins.org/aboutme.html

NotSchool.net - a Proven Successful Alternative to Traditional Education

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:53:23 PST

Cross-posted from SteveHargadon.com and part of the FutureofEducation interview series.

Date: Monday, November 9th, 2009
Time: 10:00am Pacific / 1:00pm Eastern / 6:00pm GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

In this session we'll talk with the UK and US organizers of the NotSchool.net program, an online community which aims to engage teenagers who are out of school in the long term into learning. Between 500 and 700 young people are involved each year.

Notschool.net offers an alternative to traditional education for young people who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to engage with school or other complementary provisions such as home tutoring or specialist units. After almost 9 years and 5000 young people, Notschool.net is a full-time alternative provision; successfully demonstrating that young people for whom 'school does not fit' can renew their confidence in learning and gain a range of qualifications that recognize their progress.

Jean Johnson has worked in the education field for twenty five years, beginning her career teaching in East London schools working with difficult and disaffected teenagers. She began working with new technologies in 1993 and was one of the first teachers to pilot the use of the Internet in schools. She was part of the early developer group of schools for Oracle’s Think.com, contributing to the final design of the software. Since then she has been involved in a number of high profile online projects both in the UK and abroad; working with schools as far apart as Sweden, Finland, USA, India, Japan and New Zealand. Projects have included Web for Schools, The Virtual Classroom, Learning in the New Millennium and Schools Online. Her work within Europe was influential in developing a model for the use of the Internet in schools in the EU. In 1998 she was presented with an award as Teacher of the Year. Since 2000 she has led Notschool.net research project working in the field of social inclusion for disadvantaged youth, focussing particularly in the creative and innovative use of multimedia to develop learning. Jean has published a number of reports and papers including extensive work on Internet based accreditation and content delivery models. Jean has contributed to a number of TV and radio programmes. She has been described as the ‘pre-eminent expert internationally’ in the use of ICT to engage disaffected and excluded students.

Sometimes described as the technical brain behind Notschool.net, Jonny Dyer has worked on the project since 2000. He brought with him an extensive academic research experience, technological expertise and knowledge of alternative learning paradigms.

Beth Baker and Glen Taylor are with Inclusion US Inc. (IUS) a not for profit organization dedicated to engaging at risk youth in learning. To accomplish their mission, IUS has developed IUS Global Schools, based on the Inclusion Trust's "Not School" program in the United Kingdom. Currently, Beth is a Michigan Education Policy Fellows Program participant and Education Consultant at Wayne County RESA. While teaching 6th grade, she received a U.S Congressional Commendation, and was a Michigan STAR award recipient.

Bruce Umpstead is Director, Office of Educational Technology and Data Coordination, for the Michigan Department of Education.

Today Live: Innosight Report on Florida Virtual School with Katherine Mackey and Michael Horn

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:49:55 PST

Part of the FutureofEducation.com interview series.

Date: Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Time: 2:30pm Pacific / 5:30pm Eastern / 10:30pm GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

In this live and interactive interview with Michael Horn and Katherine Mackey of Innosight Institute we discuss their recently released education case study that details the rise of the Florida Virtual School. From its humble origins in a $200,000 grant and 77 students in 1998, the Florida Virtual School has grown exponentially to serve over 70,000 students in over 154,000 enrollments in the most recent school year thanks to a series of policy and design decisions. Michael Horn writes: "As we seek to understand the power of disruption to transform the education system into a more student-centric one, understanding Florida Virtual School's disruptive growth and drawing the right lessons from it are vital."

Download the full case study here: http://www.innosightinstitute.org/media-room/publications/education-publications/florida-virtual-school/

Michael B. Horn is the co-founder and Executive Director, Education of Innosight Institute, a not-for-profit think tank devoted to applying the theories of disruptive innovation to problems in the social sector. He is the coauthor of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns (McGraw-Hill: June 2008) with Harvard Business School Professor and bestselling author Clayton M. Christensen and Curtis W. Johnson, president of the Citistates Group. BusinessWeek named the book one of the 10 Best Innovation & Design Books of 2008, Strategy + Business awarded it the best human capital book of 2008, Newsweek named it as the 14th book on its list of “Fifty Books for Our Times,” and the National Chamber Foundation named it first among its 10 “Books that Drive the Debate 2009.”

Disrupting Class uses the theories of disruptive innovation to identify the root causes of schools’ struggles and suggests a path forward to customize an education for every child in the way she learns. Horn has been a featured keynote speaker at many conferences including the Virtual School Symposium and Microsoft’s School of the Future World Summit.

Prior to this, Horn worked at America Online during its aol.com re-launch, and before that he served as David Gergen’s research assistant, where he tracked and wrote about politics and public policy. Horn has written articles for numerous publications, including Education Week, Forbes, the Boston Globe, and U.S. News & World Report. In addition, he has contributed research for Charles Ellis’ book, Joe Wilson and the Creation of Xerox (Wiley, 2006) and Barbara Kellerman’s Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters (Harvard Business School Press, 2004).

Horn earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB from Yale University, where he graduated with distinction in History.

Katherine Mackey is a Research Fellow in Innosight Institute’s Education Practice. Prior to joining Innosight Institute in September 2008, she was an eleventh-grade English teacher at Highland High School, a public high school in Utah. She worked previously as a designer at Houghton Mifflin Children’s Books. She is the co-author of a strategic five-year Academic Master Plan for Salt Lake Community College and has assisted with the formation and writing of professional development packets for the Utah State Office of Education. She has also worked as an intern for Senator Orrin G. Hatch for two summers.

Mackey holds a BA in English and French from Wellesley College and an MA in Education from Harvard University.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]]

Education Summit @Google

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:45:48 PDT

As I've mentioned in a previous post, Google is co-sponsoring an education summit along with the Joan Ganz Cooney Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and Commonsense Media. An interesting blend of business, technology, and education leaders will be discussing their work on Tuesday, October 27, and Wednesday, October 28, at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California.

You, too, can participate. Get involved in the following ways:

1) Read blog posts of some of the attendees and presenters. Leave some comments!

2) Ask burning questions via a tool called Google Moderator.

3) Sign up to watch the web cast here and here.

4) Follow conference happenings on Twitter.

I've also compiled a Twitter list of people who will be in attendance at this event. Send me a direct message (d elemenous) if you will be there, and I'll add you as well !

"Educate the Fear Out of Them"

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:16:12 PDT

Thank you, Cheri Toledo, for this phrase.

In Google Wave, several educators have been discussing the fact that all the great tools and learning environments that we regularly explore are blocked in many districts.

This blog post by Ewan McIntosh also has me thinking:

http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2009/10/why-backward-socialnetworkbanning-education-authorities-are-wrong.html

I think we need a significant repository of schools where Web 2.0 technologies are welcomed and used in a safe and thoughtful manner. These stories would serve to educate districts out there who are grappling with implementation and safety issues.

I was part of a team that created such a space last summer as part of an Apple Distinguished Educator project last summer. This online network was created for the purpose cited above, but I also think that we need a simple directory of schools as well. So I am also creating a Google doc form for this purpose: http://tinyurl.com/web20inK12institutions

Please fill out this form or pass it on to someone who might want to share their information. All fields are optional. To see the results, visit http://tinyurl.com/web20inK12institutionsresults.

It's time to embrace innovation and networked learning, people!

Google Teacher Academy in Washington, DC

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:25:11 PDT

The next Google Teacher Academy (GTA) has been announced! I've said this several times before, but I’m thrilled to be involved with this project - and to share it with you here on this blog. As with all previous GTA events, tech savvy educators and professional developers in the local area can apply to participate in the special full-day workshop. And as with the last four events, the application process is also open to anyone, including educators out of the area, out of the state, or even out of the country (with the understanding that Google doesn’t cover travel or lodging). In other words, any of you who feel you meet the criteria for application are invited to apply!

Below is the official announcement and invitation to apply:

Google Teacher Academy - DC

Washington, DC

December 9, 2009

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Applications Due: November 9, 2009

http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html

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We are pleased to announce that the next Google Teacher Academy will be hosted in Washington DC on Wednesday, December 9, 2009. Outstanding and innovative educators from around the world are encouraged to apply.

The Google Teacher Academy is a FREE professional development experience designed to help K-12 educators get the most from innovative technologies. The GTA is an intensive, one-day event (8:30 am -7:30 pm) where participants get hands-on experience with Google's free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, collaborate with exceptional educators, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, GTA participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local region.

50 outstanding educators from around the world will be selected to attend the GTA based on their passion for teaching, their experience as leaders, and their use of technology in K-12 settings. Each applicant is required to produce and submit an original one-minute video on either of the following topics: "Motivation and Learning" or "Classroom Innovation." Applications for the event in Washington, DC are due on Monday, November 9, 2009. Participants must provide their own travel, and if necessary, their own lodging.

Learn more about the program and the application at: http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html

The GTAs have been a wonderful experience for everyone involved, with 97% of all attendees rating the GTA as "outstanding."

Here are a few quotes from GTA participants:

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"The academy was everything I hoped for and more! I can't wait to plan out ways to use the tools we learned about, to share my experiences with my colleagues and to re-connect with the other academy participants!"

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"The focus on innovation in education, and not just about the tools, was right on target."

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"I appreciate the opportunity to be connected to a group of educators that are passionate about preparing students for the 21st century. I feel inspired and able to meet the challenges that lie ahead!"

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"Until now, I had never attended a conference where I was so engaged and loving every minute of it."

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"This was easily the most important professional development experience I have ever had as an educator. World-class tools demonstrated by world-class people at a world-class facility. THANK YOU!"

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"I love [the Google Certified Teacher community] for the ideas and inspiration that comes flowing to and from it...folks share professional development strategies (technology or otherwise) that have worked. It's nice to have a variety of ways to assist others and having that variety also provides spice for those of us responsible for doing the providing."

----------------------------------------

Feel free to send any questions to gteachers@gmail.com - and please spread the word to anyone who may be interested in joining us.

We're looking forward to another great event!

The GTA Team
gteachers@gmail.com

Google Teacher Academy - DC

Washington, DC

December 9, 2009

--------------------------------------------------------

Applications Due: November 9, 2009

http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html

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I hope to see some of you in DC! Also, we hope to be announcing additional events and additional locations in 2010, so stay tuned.

SRI on Tapped In, Educational Social Networking, and the Future

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:11:14 PDT

Part of the Future of Education interactive interview series.

Date: Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tinyurl.com/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.
Event Page: http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/sri-on-tapped-in-educational

Judi Fusco and Patti Schank from the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) join us to talk about the Tapped In network, educational social networking, and the future of electronic communities in education:

1. What is the difference between community and social networking?
2. What does community brings to the learning process (e.g., Communities of Practice and how that guided their work in Tapped In)? What are examples of successes and what have different organizations/small groups have achieved?
3. Ho do we create community in online situations?
4. How do we understand what the community gives to the participants?

Dr. Judith Fusco is a research scientist in SRI International's Center for Technology in Learning, and specializes in researching and developing online communities, technologies, and resources. Since 1998, she has directed the community development of TAPPED IN, an online community for teacher professional development. While developing the community, she has worked with master teachers from all over the world; and organizations like, NCREL, PBS, Pepperdine University, and Los Angeles County Office of Education. She has helped grow Tapped In from 300 teachers to over 20,000 and has helped many organizations learn to work online.

Dr. Fusco's research on the community involves examining social and technical supports necessary for online community, individual and group readiness, investigating models for online professional development, understanding the nature of local K-12 education communities of practice, generally analyzing and applying social network analysis (SNA) techniques to quantitative data gathered in the community. In addition, she is part of the OERL (Online Evaluation Research Library) team. She is co-leading the evaluation of the OERL web site and working with professors to investigate how OERL might be used in graduate level evaluation courses.

Before coming to SRI International, she worked at Apple Computer, Inc. leading the community development of Convomania, on an online community for kids who are sick or have a disability. The community of Convomania ended in January of 1998, so Dr. Fusco, Teresa Middleton (CTL alum) and others formed the online community PatchWorx, a 501c3 non-profit organization for kids who are sick or have a disability.

For more, see http://ctl.sri.com/people/displayPerson.jsp?Nick=jfusco

Patricia Schank is a cognitive and computer scientist at SRI's Center for Technology in Learning. Her current research interests are human computer interaction (HCI), social computing, computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL), and computer supported cooperative work (CSCW). Working with teams of developers and researchers, she applies a range of design and engineering processes (interface design, prototyping, user testing, architecture specification, and implementation) and research methodologies to develop and analyze innovative socio-technical environments. Dr. Schank has a Ph.D. in education (emphasis in cognition and learning) and an M.S. in computer science (emphasis in artificial intelligence) from the University of California at Berkeley, where her dissertation work focused on modeling and aiding scientific reasoning through an integration of theory-based cognitive simulations, experimental studies, and instructional curricula.

For more, see http://ctl.sri.com/people/displayPerson.jsp?Nick=schank

[Cross-posted from http://www.SteveHargadon.com]

Esther Wojcicki on Creative Commons and Open Education

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:50:57 PDT

A FutureofEducation.com interview.

Date: Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tinyurl.com/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.
Event Page: http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/esther-wojcicki-on-creative

Esther Wojcicki has been a Journalism/English teacher at Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California for the past 25 years where she built the journalism program from a small group of 20 students in 1985 to the largest high school journalism program in the nation winning major national and international recognition. Her program is an example of the effectiveness of Project Based Learning and using journalism as a tool to get students engaged in critical thinking skills, writing skills, and Web 2.0 skills. She is working to help other schools adopt similar programs. The program includes 400 students, four journalism teachers, and five award-winning journalism electives including a newspaper (The Campanile) , a news magazine, (Verde), an online site (http://voice.paly.net), daily television (InFocus), and a sports magazine, (Viking). The publications have won Gold and Silver Crowns from Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the aceMaker Award and the Hall of Fame Award from National Scholastic Press, and best in nation from Time Magazine in 2003. The website was honored with two Webby Awards in 2005.

Esther is Chair of the Board of Creative Commons and a strong advocate of Open Education Resources and Creative Commons licensing. She is a 2009 MacArthur Foundation Research Award receipient on the Student Journalism 2.0 project (http://sj.creativecommons.org/). She has won multiple awards including California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2002 California Teacher of the Year, and 2009 Columbia University Scholastic Press Association Gold Key Award. She is a consultant for both the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Hewlett Foundation and a blogger for HuffingtonPost.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Howard Rheingold Presents "Thinking Tools" on Howard's Brainstorms!

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:34:24 PDT

Join us as Howard Rheingold starts a series in Elluminate called "Howard's Brainstorms!" He'll spend an interactive hour with you discussing education, literacies, and anything else on his mind!

The topic for the show this Thursday evening: "Thinking Tools: PersonalBrain, Devonthink, Social Bookmarking, Outlining, Visualization, and More."

Date: Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tinyurl.com/convnet. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.
Direct show page: http://www.conversations.net/forum/topics/howard-rheingold-presents

Howard Rheingold is the author of:
Tools for Thought http://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/ The Virtual Community http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/ Smart Mobs http://www.smartmobs.com Was: editor of Whole Earth Review http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Earth_Review
editor of The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog http://www.well.com/user/hlr/mwecintro.html
founding executive editor of Hotwired http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HotWired
founder of Electric Minds http://www.rheingold.com/electricminds/html/
Non-resident Fellow, Annenberg Center for Communication, USC, 2007 http://www.annenberg.edu/info/rheingold.php
Visiting Professor, De Montfort University, UK

Has taught:
Participatory Media and Collective Action (UC Berkeley, SIMS, Fall
2005, 2006, 2007 ) http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/participatory_media_and_collective_action/participatory_media_and_collective_action.cfm
http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/programs/courses/296a-pmca
Virtual Community/Social Media (Stanford, Fall 2007, 2008; UC Berkeley,
Spring 2008, 2009) http://socialmediaclassroom.com/vircom09
Toward a Literacy of Cooperation (Stanford, Winter, 2005)
Digital Journalism (Stanford University Winter, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 )
http://socialmediaclassroom.com/digitaljournalism09

Current projects:
Social Media Classroom http://socialmediaclassroom.com
The Cooperation Project http://www.cooperationcommons.org
Participatory Media Literacy https://www.socialtext.net/medialiteracy/
HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation grantee http://tinyurl.com/yqjsmr

Recent Videos:
21st century literacies 40 min video http://blip.tv/file/2373937
JD Lasica's 6 min video interview with me, same subject: http://bit.ly/eFqeI

(photographer credit: Robin Good)

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Free Classroom 2.0 Workshop - Vancouver 24 October 09

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:00:34 PDT

I'll be speaking at the CUEBC conference in Vancouver later this month, and staying an extra day to run a free Classroom 2.0 workshop for teachers on Saturday, October 24th, from 8:30am - 2:30pm. If you're in the area, you are most welcome to sign up and attend! (The workshop will actually be in Surrey, BC.)

The sign-up and agenda links are at http://wiki.classroom20.com/Vancouver+Surrey+2009. More information on what to expect and how our workshops run is below.

Our Classroom 2.0 LIVE Workshops are hands-on workshops that focus on the use of Web 2.0 in education. They are intended to be much like the Web itself: free, open, engaging, participative, and highly collaborative.

The workshops are also designed to be highly practical, and beginners are especially invited and encouraged to attend--in fact, if you are a beginner, you are the reason we are holding these workshops! We promise you will have a lot of fun as you learn about these important technologies. Each workshop is a blend of presentations, facilitated discussions, and hands-on creation--with lots of time for "drilling down" by getting individual help and instruction.

More seasoned Web 2.0 users will also learn new things from each other, as well as helping to organize the events. In true Web 2.0 fashion, you get to help plan the sessions at your local workshop, and the schedule is designed to be flexible. Each is spearheaded by local organizers, but with support and encouragement from Classroom 2.0, and drawing heavily from the expertise of local educators using Web 2.0.

The workshops are free because of generous sponsorship from companies that share our driving belief: that Web 2.0 is going to have a dramatic and positive effect on education. Please learn more about them, and thank them for supporting this program if you have any contact with them.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]]

Computer Games as Educational Tools

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:31:00 PDT

(Cross-posted from SteveHargadon.com as part of my FutureofEducation.com interview series)

Date: Thursday, October 8th, 2009
Time: 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern / 10pm GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tinyurl.com/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

The Learning Games Network is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, whose mission is to develop and facilitate the use of computer games as educational tools. Its flagship project, ISLE, is an online gaming platform in which users will enter a virtual world and engage in activities and games that will help teach a new language. The development of the Interactive Social Language Education (ISLE) platform is an effort to create an international community of learners of all ages to explore and acquire second language skills through a wide variety of digital media channels that both create an immersive electronic learning experience and complement local informal and formal instruction. This builds upon the initial work of another Hewlett Open Educational Resources project, the Open Language Learning Initiative, which is currently undergoing testing in Chinese middle schools.

A consortium of partners, which includes the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Learning Games Network, The SuperGroup, FableVision, and MIT Education Arcade, is creating the web-based ISLE gaming platform as well as a series of initial games and activities to support Spanish-speaking English Language Learners in U.S. middle and high schools. This development is being pursued as part of an open strategy, which enables multiple developers and organizations to build on top of the platform.

The ISLE platform provides an underlying information architecture that allows games and activities to use vocabulary coded with multiple variables in its Global Learning Object database. With these objects tied to language-specific learning goals, data captured during game play can be used to measure student performance and generate assessment reports. Depending on learners’ achievement and scoring, the system can either raise the bar and introduce more difficult words and phrases or remediate by re-populating the games with the learning objects to reinforce the basics.

Jeff Applegate is the Learning Games Network's Outreach Coordinator. Jeff comes from an eclectic background, with dual degrees in Government and Theatre from Cornell University, and experience as an actor, database developer, writer, editor, and teacher. He comes from a family of educators, and has woven the thread through much of his other work experience. The Learning Games Network has proven to be an exciting focus for integrating a number of those passions and interests toward the end of enhancing kids' ability and desire to learn.

Alex Chisholm (Executive Producer, ISLE Platform) is a media research and development consultant who creates transmedia entertainment and educational properties. in recent years, he has developed and managed several projects with NBC Universal, including iCue with NBC News, and the online games for NBC Olympics. He serves as the Software and Video Gaming Judge for the National Parenting Publication Awards (NAPPA). Over the past 10 years, Chisholm has collaborated on research, product, and program development with Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Sony Pictures Imageworks, LeapFrog, NBC Universal, Children's Hospital Boston, and the Hewlett and MacArthur Foundations. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University. Chisholm is the Executive Director and a founding member of the Learning Games Network.

Scot Osterweil (Principal Investigator and Creative Director) directs and leads the design on a number of MIT Education Arcade projects, including Labyrinth, Caduceus, and iCue. Before coming to MIT, Scot was the Senior Designer at TERC, where he designed Zoombinis Island Odyssey, winner of the 2003 Bologna New Media Prize, and the latest game in the Zoombinis line of products (Riverdeep/TLC). Scot is the creator of the Zoombinis, and with Chris Hancock he co-designed the multi-award winning Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, and its first sequel, Zoombinis Mountain Rescue. Scot is the also the designer of the TERCworks games Switchback, and Yoiks!, the latter also with Chris Hancock. Other software design work includes InspireData (Inspiration Software) and its predecessors Tabletop, and Tabletop Jr. Previously, Scot worked in television production and theater. He is a graduate of Yale College. Osterweil is the treasurer and a founding member of the Learning Games Network.

Dennis Littky Talks About Big Picture Schools

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:24:00 PDT

(Cross-posted from SteveHargadon.com, as part of my FutureofEducation.com interview series.)

Date: Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tinyurl.com/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

Dennis Littky is the co-founder and co-director of Big Picture Learning and the Met Center in Providence. He is nationally known for his extensive work in secondary education in urban, suburban, and rural settings, spanning over 40 years. As an educator, Dennis has a reputation for working up against the edge of convention and out of the box, turning tradition on its head and delivering concrete results. Presently, Dennis’s focus is to expand the Big Picture Learning design to include college-level accreditation through College Unbound, where students will have the opportunity to earn a B.A. and advanced certifications through a critically challenging, real-world based, and entrepreneurial course of study.

Dr. Littky holds a double Ph.D. in psychology and education from the University of Michigan. His work as a principal at Thayer Junior/Senior High School in Winchester, N.H. as featured in an NBC movie, A Town Torn Apart based on the book Doc: The Story of Dennis Littky and His Fight for a Better School. In 2004, he (along with Samantha Grabelle) published a book about the Big Picture Learning design entitled The Big Picture: Education is Everyone’s Business, which went on to win the Association of Educational Publishers’ top award for nonfiction in 2005. In 2003, Dennis was recognized as a leader in the small schools movement and awarded the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education. Fast Company ranked Littky #4 among the top 50 Innovators of 2004, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation recently selected both Dennis and Elliot as part of the Daring Dozen – the Twenty Most Daring Educators in the World.

Web: http://www.bigpicture.org/

Friday 5: School Design

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:21:46 PDT

This week, school design is on my mind. I'm heading to New York next Wednesday to serve on a panel at the American Architectural Foundation’s summit entitled Schoolhouse 3.0: Designing Educational Facilities for 21st Century Technologies and Curriculums. The goal of this panel (which also includes Frank Kelly of the SHW Group, Tom Carroll of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, and Charles Fadel of Cisco Systems) is to set the stage for summit participants around the role of educational technology and school design. Infinite Thinking Machine founder and New Tech Network Director of Innovation and Design Chris Walsh will be keynoting this event. We'll be discussing the need for transformation in our schools, and future implications for school planning teams.

I anticipate that this will be an amazing learning experience; I appreciate good design and believe that it is a critical component to creating effective learning environments. I particularly think that schools serving at risk populations really need to focus on the impact of design on learning; good design is not something we should reserve for better resourced communities.

So, as I think about conversations that will take place next week, here are a few web sites that I will be consulting or referring to:

1. DesignShare

http://www.designshare.com/

2. Don't Just Rebuild Schools - Reinvent Them

http://www.fieldingnair.com/Press/Education_Week_Dont_Just_Rebuild_Schools_Reinvent_Them.pdf

A recent EdWeek article by DesignShare Managing Director Prakash Nair.

3. Design Matters

http://designmatters.art.uiuc.edu/

Not directly related to school design, this web site from the University of Illinois contains video lectures given by prominent people in the design field. Thanks for Doris Wells-Papanek for this link.

4. Schools Designed for Learning: The Denver School of Science and Technology

From the American Architectural Foundation's Great Schools by Design Initiative

http://www.archfoundation.org/aaf/gsbd/Video.Denver.Short.htm

This is an online exhibit from the group that is sponsoring the aforementioned summit.

5. Horizon Report 2009 K12 Edition

http://www.nmc.org/publications/2009-horizon-k12-report

I served on the advisory board for this report, and will be referencing it during our panel discussion. The report names future trends in educational technology; these trends will definitely impact future school design.

6. The Third Teacher

http://www.thethirdteacher.com/home/home-third-teacher

Via Christian Long

Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:03:03 PDT

I want to bring your attention to an exciting event that's happening at Google at the end of October. Google, the MacArthur Foundation, Common Sense Media, and the Joan Ganz Cooney Foundation are convening an education summit, calling for participants "to create and act upon a breakthrough strategy for scaling-up effective models of teaching and learning for children."

While the summit is open to invited guests, there will be plenty of opportunities for public participation as the event will be webcasted. People can also leave comments in the community blog, engage with participants via Twitter, and pose questions using Google Moderator. For details on this, please visit the link posted below.

I'll be present at this event along with fellow Google Certified Teachers Cheryl Davis and Kathleen Ferenz. I'm excited to learn from the many illustrious speakers scheduled to present, particularly keynoter Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children's Zone. I'm anticipating great conversations among participants and will share tidbits as appropriate. And, I have to admit, I'm really thrilled to have the opportunity to visit the Googleplex in Mountain View.

I've written a guest post for the Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age blog on transforming teacher practices; look for it to be posted here in the next few weeks. The results of an informal survey given to those in my personal learning network will be made available then.

For further information, including the agenda and web cast info, please visit: http://www.google.com/events/digitalage/.

in reference to: Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age (view on Google Sidewiki)

Friday 5: Cools Sites for You

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:05:37 PDT

I'm playing around with Google's Sidewiki tool again. This time, I'm leaving a comment on my personal blog using this new feature that's part of my Firefox browser. This might make a good way to crosspost my blog posts. I can post to a Blogger blog, Twitter, and Facebook with just a few clicks. I think you can only see the comments if you have Sidewiki installed and it's currently available for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

If you're using Sidewiki, share in the comments how you are planning on utilizing this new development from Google!

in reference to: High Techpectations: Friday 5: Cool Sites (view on Google Sidewiki)

Transforming Teaching and Learning

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:42:48 PDT

Share your story of how technology has changed your professional practices by taking this survey. What needs to change so that other educators understand the power of technology to enhance learning? What do our public policy leaders need to do in order to support empowered learning for teachers and students?

in reference to: Transforming Teaching and Learning (view on Google Sidewiki)

Criteria for moderating comments on a viral video

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:24:15 PDT

Two days ago, my nine year old daughter recorded a two minute video response to President Obama's September 8th speech to students and I posted it to YouTube. Since then, in a little over 48 hours, the video has been viewed over 70,000 times, received thousands of comments and ratings, and on the first day received "YouTube Honors" as a top education video in over twenty different countries. Neither my daughter or I anticipated this type of viral response to the video. I am thankful I chose to enable comment moderation at the time I published it, but this entire experience has raised some big issues with which I'm still grappling. Marco Torres talks about how our students today have the opportunity to share their ideas and publish on "the global stage." Although I've used that phrase previously and think it about it often, few experiences have driven home the reality of our new media landscape as forcefully as these experiences moderating YouTube comments on Sarah's video the past two days.

One of the first issues which immediately arose, after I realized the video was receiving thousands of views and hundreds of comments on Tuesday, was to decide on a personal criteria for comment moderation. Initially, I decided to remove comments which contained profanity or which were disparaging / demeaning to my daughter, Sarah. While I was tempted to just approve comments which were positive and supportive of Sarah, it is true that she made some factual errors in her video which commenters were quick to highlight. Commenters also criticized her delivery, speculated on whether she was reading a script, debated whether she was being brainwashed by her parents, wrote supportive comments for President Obama, and frequently lashed out against the President or one of our main political parties. I did not keep detailed statistics, but I'd estimate about 10% of submitted comments included profanity. A much smaller percentage, probably 1 - 2 percent, were personal attacks on Sarah that were vulgar, cruel, hateful, and sexually explicit. I estimate about 25 percent of all comments have been anger-filled comments directed at other commenters, our President, or particular political parties. About 25 percent have been very positive, supportive comments for Sarah, which she has found very encouraging as well as inspiring.

Being thrust into the role of moderating hundreds of YouTube video comments like this has been challenging. Not only has this consumed several hours of time over the past two days, since I've individually read each submitted comment and decided whether or not to approve or delete it, it's also been psychologically draining. This experience has been analogous to holding up a large mirror to our society in general. While there have been MANY submitted comments which were very supportive and edifying of Sarah, there have been an approximately equal number (which I have removed so they have not been made public) which were highly disparaging. That language, in fact, is likely too tactful to be accurate. Many comments have been filthy beyond imagining. It is difficult to understand how human beings could be so filled with hate and contempt for others that they would write such words of condemnation. By simply reading them, I felt defiled. Thankfully, my daughter has been spared the brunt of those nasty comments, but she did see some this morning on my computer which I had not yet moderated. This situation brought forth an acute and personal sense of how we want and need to protect our children from the sometimes cruel nature of the world, but at the same time need to prepare them to have tough skins and to be able to survive (eventually) independently in it. This experience has at times been agonizing, but it has also been very instructive.

As the moderator of comments surrounding Sarah's video, I felt it would not be a good idea to remove / filter out every single critical comment. Not only was I concerned that only approving comments with a positive / supportive tone would invite direct contact and criticism of me via YouTube's mail service and possibly my own email, I also became aware of the open dialog into which I was cast as a controlling moderator. While my desire to protect my daughter from cruel and profane comments is difficult to question, what about a desire to only approve / permit comments with which I personally agreed? Would it be correct to make the video's comment forum into an echo chamber of support, devoid of critiques? I didn't think so, therefore I approved many comments which were not strictly positive or supportive of Sarah.

Looking back, I wonder if I should have filtered out all the comments in which a person made a personal attack on another commenter? Frequently, those types of exchanges build on each other. In the case of comments which have been critical of Sarah, like those who suggested a nine year old has no business watching a political speech or making comments about it, it has been good to see many people rise to Sarah's defense and the defense of young people more generally in being civic minded and active.

One of the most common themes commenters have addressed is Sarah's opening story, regarding a student in her class who declared he was "not allowed to watch the speech because we're Republicans." I definitely agree with those who take issue with a closed-minded approach like that, and I am proud of Sarah for being willing to share that story and bring it to light. While it can be depressing at times to hold a mirror up to our society, seeing the hate and ill-will which is there in the hearts of some, it also is valuable to hold a mirror up and reflect attitudes like this one which are unfortunately common. This is an important role of journalists in our society, and today we can all become citizen journalists. In this context, Sarah is serving as a storychaser, and I think the window into our schools, homes, and communities which she tried to open is important to consider.

Looking back, if I was to re-live the past forty-eight hours and again moderate all the comments being shared on this video, I think I would make one change: I'd remove all comments which included any type of personal attack on someone else, in addition to removing those with profanity and those disparaging to Sarah. I would again remove comments which were inflammatory, racist, and disparaging to our President -- not all of those which are critical, but certainly all those which step over a line of respect and disrespect.

These YouTube comment moderating experiences reflect how much individuals in our society want to discuss, to debate, and to be social. Many, many people want to be RECOGNIZED. As Michael Goldhaber noted in 1987, we live in an "attention economy." YouTube is many things to many people, but predominant among those is a space to seek and vie for attention, not only with shared videos but also with posted comments. Many comments are clearly written with an intent to provoke. The same can be said of some blog posts as well, I suppose, but this is even more common in the world of YouTube commenting. Whether good or bad, it seems to be a fact: We want recognition. I'm reminded of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who addressed "recognition" in the context of becoming a servant. Visit the homepage of the King Center to see these words and hear them in his own voice.

Is it dangerous and undesirable to garner worldwide attention via YouTube, even if it is fleeting, when you are nine years old? I have had some close acquaintances suggest that it is.

Is it amazing and positive for a nine year old to be able to share her perspectives and ideas with tens of thousands of people around our globe, all within the space of 48 hours? I'm inclined to think it is.

How would you establish a personal criteria for moderating comments submitted to a politically-charged viral video, like Sarah's? I could close off comments at any time to the video, but for now I'm keeping them open and still moderating. If you have suggestions and guidance for me, I'm all ears.

The global stage is here, and while we may not like everything we see and hear on it, it reflects our society as we are. Are we doing our best to help our children as well as ourselves to not only remain SAFE, but also thrive in this opportunity-rich environment? If not, it's time for us to BECOME the change we want to see, to quote another leader I deeply admire.

Cross posted to my blog, "Moving at the Speed of Creativity."

Open Source in K-12 -- Two Great Conference Opportunities

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:08:46 PDT

OK, here are two great opportunities around Open Source Software for K-12 that are coming up SOON!

1. The K-12 Open Minds Conference in Indiana, which had an uncertain future after changes in the Indiana Department of Ed, is BACK ON! Not only is it on, but the format is changing in some really GREAT ways.

First, the conference is now free. Really, free. No registration fee. :)

Second, Michigan City Area Schools are hosting the event (significantly contributing to the "fre part!). So join us on October 6th and 7th, 2009 in Michigan City (Indiana) for the third annual K-12 Open Minds Conference about Open Source in K-12 Education.

Third, the conference will now include both formal sessions and informal sessions--including conversations and gatherings around topics of interest in various areas of Open Source. So come to learn and/or present, and to share experiences and projects related to open technologies on a variety of topics such as teaching and learning, leadership, and technical issues.

Conference Website: http://k12openminds.org to register (presenters still wanted and very much encouraged!)

2. For the fourth year in a row, the 2010 Computer Using Educators (CUE) annual conference will have an Open Source Pavilion and formal speaker series. Yeah for CUE!

AND there is only 1 week left to submit a proposal to speak at CUE. We need great speaker proposals on Open Source in K-12 at this conference, so please consider submitting to present! Please submit online by next Friday, September 11th, at: http://www.cue.org/conference/present.

(Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com)

Global Awareness Panel September 10th

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:24:21 PDT

Part of the FutureofEducation.com interview series.

Date: Thursday, September 10th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 90 minutes
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tinyurl.com/futureofed.

Lucy Gray hosts a virtual panel on global awareness with an all-star line up (see below). The primary focus will be to highlight the work of many organizations including iEARN, ePals, and the Asia Society and to discuss the concept of global awareness in relation to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills' frame for 21st century learning. Post your pre-show questions below.

PANELISTS

Shari Albright

Bio: Shari Becker Albright serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Asia Society International Studies Schools Network, a national network of small, internationally-themed secondary schools dedicated to preparing college ready, globally competent citizens for the 21st century. Prior to joining the Asia Society, Shari served as the principal of a public, magnet school in the North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas – the International School of the Americas which was the recipient of the Goldman Sachs Prize in International Education.

URLs: http://www.asiasociety.org/education

Kim Cofino

Bio: Originally from the US, Kim has spent the last ten years teaching internationally, beginning in Munich, Germany, continuing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and currently in Bangkok, Thailand. An Apple Distinguished Educator, Kim regularly consults with other international schools interested in implementing 21st century learning, has been profiled on a number of educational websites and journals, and has spoken at conferences and professional development sessions throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. Her professional blog, Always Learning, is an invaluable resource for teachers seeking examples of authentic student engagement.

URLs: http://mscofino.edublogs.org

Westley Field

Bio: Westley is Managing Director of Skoolaborate, a global initiative, involving over 40 schools and community organisations, that uses a blended environment including online units and virtual worlds to produce engaging student learning experiences. In his day job, Westley is the MLC online learning director leading a 1 to 1 program that is recognized by many as one the best examples of blended learning world wide. Westley presents around the world on topics such as Making 1 to 1 work, Heuristics of implementing elearning, Second Life in Education, Educational Technology, Connecting Students in a Web 2.0 world and Leading in a Flat World.

URLs: http://www.skoolaborate.com, http://www.westleyfield.com

Lucy Gray

Bio: Lucy is the founder of the Global Education Collaborative, an online community designed to connect educators and organizations while promoting global awareness. She is currently employed by the Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education at the University of Chicago as an education technology specialist. She is an Apple Distinguished Educator and Google Certified Teacher.

URLs: http://globaleducation.ning.com, http://lucygray.org

Carol Anne McGuire

Bio: Technology Integration Specialist, Apple Distinguished Educator, Discovery Star Educator, ISTE Teacher of the Year Carol Anne McGuire is an award-winning educator who began her career teaching blind and visually impaired students over 20 years ago. She is the founder and “Lead Rocker” of an international project called “Rock Our World.” ROW connects students on every continent to collaborate in music composition, filmmaking and meeting each other in live video conferences. Carol Anne has worked with companies such as Apple, Discovery, Disney, American Film Institute, Google and Will Smith.

Carol Anne Keynotes all over the world on topics such as Global Collaboration, Accessibility, Digital Storytelling, Podcasting, Technology in the Classroom and Movie Making for the Non-Techy Teacher!

URLs: www.rockourworld.org, http://rockourworld.ning.com, http://discoveryeducatorabroad.com/rockourworld

Diane Midness

Bio: Diane Midness is Director for Professional Development for iEARN USA. She is a former high school Media Specialist and Coordinating Teacher for Technology Integration and program coordinator for The University of North Carolina’s Center for International Understanding’s International School Partnerships through Technology.

URLs: http://us.iearn.org

Rita Oates

Bio: Rita is Vice President of Education Markets for ePals, a global collaborative community with more than 18 million users in 200 countries. Earlier in her career, she was director of ed tech in Miami-Dade Public Schools, the nation's fourth largest, serving students born in more than 120 countries. She won a FIPSE grant for ed tech professional development in the district. She has also been graduate program chair in Computer Education and Technology at Barry University, and earlier taught high school English and journalism in three schools in Kansas -- rural, urban and suburban. She was the Education Editor of the first online service in the U.S. with color and graphics, called VIEWTRON, in the 1980s. She has keynoted and given workshops at major ed tech conferences from coast to coast and has written ten books and more than 100 articles about ed tech and school reform. As a child, she lived in Costa Rica and attended a public girls' school in Spanish. Just before joining ePals, she helped create an ed tech plan for the public schools in the United Arab Emirates.

URLs: www.epals.com

Sharon Peters

Bio: Sharon Peters is the Director of Technology at Hebrew Academy in Montreal, Canada. She recently won ISTE's Online Learning Award for the Darfur Video Project. In 2008 and 2009, she led teams who facilitated ICT workshops with an NGO, Teachers Without Borders Canada, to educators in the townships of South Africa and rural Kenya. She has presented keynotes at conferences and workshops throughout North America about new media literacies and global collaborative projects. Her students have participated in several award-winning international web-based collaborative projects with classes around the world using technology to support the learning goals.

URLs: http://wearejustlearning.ca
http://twbcanada.ning.com/
http://take2videos.ning.com/

Julene Reed

Bio: Julene Reed is the Director of Academic Technology for St. George's Independent School in Memphis, TN. She is on the advisory boards of: Apple Distinguished Educators, Dr. Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, Polar Bears International, and the Tennessee Distance Learning Association.

Julene keynotes and leads workshops on Global Education, "Going Green," Web 2.0 for Education, Podcasting, Technology Integration, Digital Storytelling, Laptop Learning, Videoconferencing, 21st Century Teaching & Learning, and much more.

URLs: http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=16249

Michael Searson

Bio: Michael Searson is executive director of Kean University's School for Global Education & Innovation. He is chairperson of the Xi Hu Conference on 21st Century Learning, to be held in Hangzhou, China in November 2009. His work often connects local school districts with international partners. Searson is a vice president for the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education; a member of the Global Learn Asia Pacific Executive Committee; a member of the Apple Distinguished Educator Advisory Board; Curriki Hearst Faculty Fellow. Searson has authored or coauthored a number of grants focusing on the integration of technology into educational settings.

Educational Social Networking with Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:22:41 PDT

Part of the FutureofEducation.com interview series.

Date: Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tinyurl.com/futureofed.

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach is a 20-year educator who has been a classroom teacher, technology coach, charter school principal, district administrator, university instructor and digital learning consultant. Currently, she is in the dissertation phase of completing her doctorate in Educational Planning, Policy and Leadership at the College of William and Mary.

She is the owner and founder of 21st Century Collaborative, LLC, a digital learning consulting business through which she gives keynotes, workshops and supports nonprofits in their grant work. Find out more at ~~http://www.21stcenturycollaborative.com~~.

Through the Powerful Learning Practice Network which she co-founded with Will Richardson, she works with states, districts, and schools around the world to re-envision their learning cultures and communities. http://plpnetwork.com.

Additionally, she is the co-founder of the K12Online Conference, a free, annual global gathering of educators, hosted on the Web and packed with cutting-edge ideas. In 2008, K12Online attracted more than 100,000 participants world-wide. Find out more at http://k12onlineconference.org.

Sheryl is a published writer and regular presenter at state, national and international conferences speaking on topics of homelessness, teacher leadership, virtual community building, educational leadership and 21st Century reform.

Sheryl lives near the Atlantic Ocean and spends her spare time playing on the water with her four children.

Some Past Clients Include:

Alabama Best Practices Center
Belize Ministry of Education
Center for Teaching Quality
Center for Teacher Leadership
Miami-Dade Public Schools
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
National Education Association
Project Hope
Standford Research Institute
Telecommunications User Association of New Zealand
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research
Teachers for a New Era
Teacher Magazine
Virginia Community College System
Virginia Department of Education

Friday 5: Back to School 2009

infinitethinking@gmail.com (Infinite Thinking Machine) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:23:07 PDT

As a follow up to Lucie's great post, here's a quick list of links to support your back to school efforts. Share your best resources in the comments of this post!

US Census Press Releases

Check these amazing statistics!

U.S Fund for UNICEF - UNICEF USA - A back-to-school-tip

The purchase of a desk lamp at IKEA can help children around the world!

Scholastic's Back-to-School Planning Guide | Teaching Ideas to Start the Year

Lots of resources for all aspects of back-to-school time.

Mathwire.com | Back-to-School Activities

Very creative ideas for incorporating math into classroom activities. Make sure you check out the pictures of various morning math routines.

NEA - Top 20 Back-to-School Activities

Another great list of resources from the National Education Association.

NASA - Blast Back to School

NASA has a rich variety of projects, games and videos for classroom use.

Reading Rockets Back to School

Particularly good resources for parents.