Leadership

Content that enables educators, edleaders, organizations and families to increase capacity, apply a growth mindset and implement what’s next in learning on behalf of those entrusted to them.

Ed Policy

Utah Digital Learning Summit: Blending Learning, Penguins & Dopamine

There would be more and better education options in this country if every state had a Robyn Bagley. She sat on the board of two online schools and is working on a blended high school. She was instrumental in the development and passage of SB65, the nation’s most innovative online learning bill. Bagley’s Parents for Choice in Education and Digital Learning Now! (DLN) co-hosted a summit in Utah this morning bringing together local and national experts in online and blended learning.

Leadership

Good Work: Building a Community Leadership Pipeline

Advancing Leadership brings together emerging leaders “for in-depth examination of key community components, intensive leadership training and a chance to work with over 100 local change agents.” My daughter Caroline (who runs Getting Smart) is participating in the program this year. She’ll join about 600 alumni are making Federal Way a better place to live, learn, work, and play.

Leadership

Staff Picks: Learning Design, Digital Education

Tom Picks “The Learning Design Opportunity of Our Time” Tom says, “Blended learning opens such interesting opportunities to combine learner-centered anywhere/anytime learning with clear common standards for college/career readiness.” Karen Picks “The Flipped Classroom Turns Around  An At Risk, Failing School” Karen says, “Stories like this which give real…

Leadership

A New Approach to Developing Educational Leaders

Anyone thinking about building the pipeline of educational system heads has a new opportunity set. The explosion of anywhere/anytime learning resources suggests it's time to rethink the institutional time-bound cohort model of leadership development (as discussed in the " Learning Design Opportunity of our Time ").

Leadership

World Teachers’ Day

Today Getting Smart is excited to celebrate World Teachers’ Day. We are firm believers that even as technology increases and classrooms as we know them transform, teachers will remain the most significant change agent in student success. “On this day, we call for teachers to receive supportive…

Leadership

It’s All About Culture at Acton Academy

From the moment you arrive at Acton Academy in Austin, Texas you can tell this school is different. Culture oozes from every ounce of the staff and students. By 8:00am students are lining up to run into their classrooms even though school does not start until 8:30am.

Leadership

Good Work with a Loudspeaker

The Harlem and Williamsburg (Brooklyn) film festivals featured a trio of TEACHED shorts from Loudspeaker Films. Kelly Amis is former TFA teacher with serious edreform credentials now using film to build support for transformation and education equality.

Leadership

When Teachers Strike Nobody Wins

It seems everyone has an opinion about the teacher strike currently taking place in Chicago. I do too, but it’s not about who’s to blame. There’s plenty of that to go around. What I do know is that regardless of how this strike ends, nobody will have won.

Leadership

Microsoft Launches Global Initiatives to Create Opportunities for 300M Youth

Microsoft Corp. today announced a new global initiative,Microsoft YouthSpark, that aims to create opportunities for 300 million youth in more than 100 countries during the next three years. This companywide initiative includes citizenship and other company programs — both new and enhanced — that empower youth to imagine and realize their full potential by connecting them with greater opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship.

Leadership

How to Tell a True Inspirational Story

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about inspiration. It’s a bit like thinking about falling in love --- hard to get a handle on, but what’s not to like? Still, I’ve been trying to tease out what inspiration is exactly, especially for those of us in the education racket in 2012. My husband, Larry Kahn, and I will lead a workshop for PLP Live! in Philadelphia on September 28th. Our task is to marshal inspirational stories to help those who want to integrate 21st century learning in schools translate the words of wisdom from the likes of John Sealy Brown and Suzie Boss into the right stuff for their schools back home.