21st century skills
Why Students Need Practical Skills and How to Teach Them
If practical skills are so important, why are they hardly present in today’s curriculum? Many schools are doing their best, but with today’s emphasis on high stakes testing, practical skills do not receive the time and attention they deserve. This post explores some inspirational ideas.
Cheating 2.0: How to Fight Back Against ‘Contract Cheating’
By: Dennis Pierce. Essay-writing and homework completion services are proliferating across the web. We should be teaching our students that this "contract cheating" is not a victimless crime, that not all students are doing it, that it’s not harmless, and that it’s not okay.
Friday Five: Notes From The Frontier
Check out the first in our new series called "Friday Five". Learn about what we've been thinking and writing about this week, whats new, where our team's been and how you can contribute.
ImBlaze: Igniting Powerful Real-World Learning Experiences
There is a growing national momentum behind having students learn in contexts and at times outside of the traditional school day. This new tool from Big Picture Learning provides a valuable approach for managing these types of experiences.
Defining (and Driving) Collaboration
By: Jordan Lippman and Janine Perri. In today's world, both employers and educational institutions place a high value on soft skills that are transferable across professional, academic, and social situations. One of the most frequently cited skills is collaboration.
Curating a Portfolio of Student Pathways: Workspace Education
By: Robin Lake. I’ve been thinking about Workspace since I left and wondering what to make of it. It’s definitely different and meeting a need. Some families drive an hour to be there, and I can understand why.
7 Real-World Issues That Can Allow Students To Tackle Big Challenges
How can we creatively collaborate, critically think and communicate in ways that will make our world a better place to live? Letting our students practice thinking about and working on these seven big issues can present hundreds of relevant challenges that can be a big step toward that future.
A New Way to Start an EdTech Company
Enkidu, an Indian EdTech startup, could revolutionize the way we view business collaboration where time, trust and efficiency are of the utmost of importance in spite of long distances separating collaborators. It could also open up exciting new avenues for education.
3 Ways To Model Collaboration and Partnership in Schools and Classrooms
Our challenge as educators is whether we walk the walk. We ask our students to collaborate, or partner, but do we truly do it ourselves? How can educators model true collaboration and partnering to our students?
The Future of Education Includes Learning Outside of the Classroom
If students work tirelessly on academics in high school and college, they may experience shock when they try to find their way in the working world. We can make this transition easier by fostering these work skills outside of the classroom as early as possible.