Individualization Through Passion?

After reading the following blog post I am wondering if using prescribed curricula for ALL our kids is the way to go or should we choose curriculum based on our students' passions? If those pesky standardized tests are the only things making us feel the pressure to teach all our students the same things, whether they like them or are interested in them or not, is that reason enough to do it?

Here's the article and share your thoughts in the comments section of this post:

A well-educated public?

Sometimes a reader will ask a really good question, and I get to advance my own thoughts in the process of articulating an answer. Chris C. commented on Can Learning Be Joyful...

"How do you reconcile your ideas about allowing kids to pursue their own passions (which I agree with), with that grander idea of a well educated public?" (for the full comment, see the post.)

and here is my response (slightly edited for clarity):

Hi, Chris, thanks for "throwing me a bone" to chew on. The fastest answer is that right now, by pushing education at kids regardless of their interests, we are NOT getting an educated public.

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Collaborating with iPads

6 Ways Students Can Collaborate With iPads

The following post is written by Greg Kulowiec of EdTechTeacher.  Join EdTechTeacher at the iPad Summit in Atlanta on April 10-12.

The app store is loaded with options that allow students to create content on their iPads.  From comic strip creators to mind maps, video editing and publishing, screencasting & digital books, the options for individual student creation are expanding.

However, collaboration between students is often a critical component of any classroom activity or project and increasingly there are options available that allow for collaborative efforts across iPads.

Below are six ways to support collaboration between student iPads that cover the spectrum of creation options that range from text to digital storytelling to video creation.

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Creativity (Top of Bloom's)

Part 1… Creativity In The Digital Classroom… Over 40 Resources… Are They in Your School?">Part 1… Creativity In The Digital Classroom… Over 40 Resources… Are They in Your School?

I believe that creativity is necessary in today’s classroom. In fact, creativity is one of the important 4 C’s (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity) that make up part of the foundation of a 21st century education. The remaining foundation is of course another C (Significant Content). I believe that when you put all of these C’s together you get two more C’s which make up the “Common Core”. That involves another blog post you will see in the future… one more reason to sign up and follow this blog. I have divided some digital creativity resources into four different group and have have included them below. Today’s post will get us started with the first…. what can be downloaded for free to the classroom computer. Look for the other creativity tools in the coming days. You will discover over 40 free resources through out the series.

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Mistakes with iPad Implementation

5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make With iPads (And How To Correct Them)

Over the last few years K-12 schools and districts across the country have been investing heavily in iPads for classroom use. EdTechTeacher has been leading iPad professional development at many of these schools and we’ve seen firsthand how they approach iPad integration.

While we’ve witnessed many effective approaches to incorporating iPads successfully in the classroom, we’re struck by the common mistakes many schools are making with iPads, mistakes that are in some cases crippling the success of these initiatives. We’re sharing these common challenges with you, so your school doesn’t have to make them.

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Start with Learning

1:1 implementation

by Nick Sauers

This week I will have the oppor­tu­nity to work with a school that has imple­mented a pilot 1:1 pro­gram while simul­ta­ne­ously focus­ing on imple­ment­ing inquiry based instruc­tion.   Last year I had the oppor­tu­nity to work with a group of their teach­ers as they planned to make this change to their learn­ing envi­ron­ment.   Accord­ing to early reports, things have gone suc­cess­fully thus far.

Keep reading...

Tech Isn't Enough...

Why So Many Schools Remain Penitentiaries of Boredom

by Elizabeth English Head of School at The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles.

"It's harder to change a school than it is to move a graveyard." Or, as it's also been said, "It's harder to change a history course than it is to change history." I think we can all agree that our schools should be among our most dynamic and innovative institutions; but despite the endless talk about school reform, they remain among our most ossified.

Take a look at the typical American classroom, public or independent, urban or suburban, and what you will see looks very much like the classrooms of the 19th century. Yes, slates have been replaced (in most places) with digital tools, but the structure signals the musty past: teacher as authoritative source of knowledge, student as tabula rasa. Or take the structure of the school day itself, typically divided into seven 45 minute classes. Believe it or not, that schedule derives from Victorian factories where industrialist Frederick Taylor concluded that workers were most productive when they changed stations every 45 minutes.

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BYOD Resources

BYOD stands for Bring Your Own Device programs that schools are implementing to harness the power that kids carry around in their pockets. Read more here. Here are some ideas:

44 Smart Ways to Use Smartphones in Classroom

This article is by John Hardison, first published on gettingsmart.com : Part 1 : 44 Smart Ways to Use Smartphones in Class. John Hardison is a facilitator of learning in an interactive classroom called Studio 113 at East High School in Gainesville, GA where literature creatively comes to life on a stage with students as the stars. In the past 14 years at East Hall High School, Hardison has taught AP Language, American Literature, World Literature, and Applied Communications. This post provides many useful ideas and resources for practicing educators who likes to leverage the potential of smartphones in classrooms.

Continue reading this article here.

Great App Ideas

15 iPad Skills Every Teacher and Student should Have

iPad has made such a radical change in education with more and more school districts  adopting it as a learning tool inside the classroom. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning  has been helping teachers all along the way with reviews and tutorials on how to get started using iPad in education. We have reviewed more than 500 apps and we are planning to do more reviews this year.

Having accumulated a modest experience in dealing with educational iPad apps, we deem it important that we share with you some of the learning goals you should keep in mind when using iPad with your students. We have particularly associated sets of educational iPad apps with each learning goal to make it easier for you to achieve the targeted goal.

Check the learning goals below and share with us your feedback. Enjoy
Click here to see the great resources:
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/01/15-ipad-skills-students-must-have.html