Given how much I read, I wish I was more like my friend Rob who has the insane ability to remember just about everything he reads down to where it’s located on the paper or digital page he reads it on. Unfortunately for me, that’s not the case. It takes much longer for the patterns […]
The Most Important Skill for the Future: Being Human Read More »
I’m struggling. I know I don’t usually use this space to air my personal angst, at least not explicitly. When Bruce and I started this site and this column, we saw it as a place to push people’s thinking about education and learning, and to create a different narrative for the work that we do
How much of what we do every day is part of a routine, habit, or in some cases almost a ritual? I know that for most of us the getting out of bed, shower, teeth thing certainly is, but when it comes to our work the context of the question shifts, and maybe it’s a
Bells and Cells and other Big Fat Myths Read More »
Like many of you I’m sure, I enjoy reading Seth Godin. Maybe not as much as I like reading Sarason, Papert, and Frank Smith, but Godin’s thinking is often a sharp left turn from where I often find myself. I was reading some copy he posted on his AltMBA course site this past week: Welcome to the age
Looking at Technology Through a Learning Lens Read More »
It’s been interesting to observe over the last eight months or so a growing chorus of parents, authors, educators and even some policy makers begin to articulate their concern over the relevance of the current practices that we use in schools to “educate” our kids. While the arguments and discussions vary on the edges, it
I took a few days off to go camping in the Adirondacks with my son Tucker last week. It was a much needed respite, and despite that fact that we officially need a bigger tent (he’s 6′ 2″ now), we had a great time hiking, fishing, and tree adventuring (highly recommended.) I’m surprised, in fact,
The WTF Economy? (As in “What’s the Future?”) Read More »
Last week was ISTE, the largest gathering of technology educators annually in the United States. This was my eighth ISTE “experience,” and it’s hard for me to ignore the love/hate feeling I have for it. The best parts are, as always, the people. It’s a time to reconnect with friends from the early days of
Mary Meeker’s Internet Report. 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 Educators Need to Know About Today’s Internet Read More »
Of all of the changes that are taking place in the world right now, the one that I find most fascinating and daunting at the same time is the powerful shift that new technologies are bringing to the way we think about jobs and work, not just in the future but in the present as well. To
“The Rise of the Robots” Read More »
Testing in Texas. 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 »
Despite appearances to the contrary, technology and education have always gone hand-in-hand. After all, books, pencils, and paper are technological inventions. Before home computers were ubiquitous, schools housed rows of DOS computers that printed—quite loudly—to dot matrix printers. Before touch technology exploded in the consumer market with the smartphone, many schools were using interactive whiteboards.
What Qualifies as Transformative Technology in Education? Read More »
Ed-Tech and Accessibility. 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 »
One of my favorite thinker-writer-authors observing and reporting on the larger shifts around learning in the world right now is John Seely Brown. Without question, A New Culture of Learning is a must read for anyone interested in building a modern context for thinking about and discussing change in schools at the systems level. Where
The Changing Nature of Knowledge Read More »
Some interesting news on the credentialing front of late. As more and more employers (and others) move beyond the traditional degree as the sole marker of expertise or ability, and as the potential for informal, self-organized, powerful learning continues to explode, the ways in which people are beginning to accrue and communicate various skills and
Four For the Future: Credentialing Read More »
MOOCs for Credit. 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 »
