Educator perceptions of district-mandated Edcamp unconferences

"Do I have to go?" "No, you GET to go!" For several years I have been exploring the Edcamp format and learning about Open Space Technology and unconference-style professional development. Personally, I believe there is tremendous potential for the format to build more robust professional networks, propagate ideas through an organization, and contribute to individual […]

Our Low-Budget Cardboard and Glue Makerspace Experience

Earlier in the year, some students were struggling when putting together a Chinese Dragon for a social studies presentation. They wanted to find a way to attach a large fabric sheet to a cardboard box in a way that allowed for adjustability and easy removal, but secure enough to hold everything in place for the […]

Why change? A short video on 21st Century Learning and Curriculum Innovation

The what's and why's of 21st Century Learning Pedagogical Frameworks Collaborative Learning Collaborative Learning - This web site offers an in-depth exploration of what collaboration is, how it works, how to implement it, and some resources for getting started. Ideas Into Action: Promoting Collaborative Learning Cultures - This PDF document explores the value of collaborative learning, […]

Early Human project evolution: project based, self regulation, understanding by, as told in design Microsoft Sway

The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge: An Executive Summary with Discussion Questions (PDF)

Those were the days: my great aunt's recollection of school in the 1920s

My Great Aunt Doris was a school teacher. She has long since left us, but she wrote a short booklet of family memories back in 1983. One of those recollections, titled, "School and Careers", always struck me as both funny and sad and I have always wanted to share the story with others. Here is […]

Do Edcamps do what they intend to do?

Do Edcamps work? How do we know Edcamps are effective? Do we even know what the goals are for an Edcamp? As a format for professional development, there is tremendous appeal for participants. Attendees invite others to a space and time to talk about issues that are important to them. How to organize one is […]

Self Regulating my own Study of Self-Regulation

Who has time not to self-regulate I have taken on a lot of obligations this term: three graduate courses for my Master's degree, organizing two Edcamps, teaching full-time, volunteering for our local community club fundraisers, and a research project. Add to that the expectations of contributing to the household, maintaining relationships and there is a […]

Speed Read: "Social Physics" by Alex Pentland

Pentland's Social Physics If you work with people, or know people, or are a people, then you should read this book. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18079689-social-physics Pentland, A. (2014). Social physics: How good ideas spread - The lessons from a new science. New York, NY: Penguin Press. For a good overview of what social physics is about, read Pentland's […]

Collaborative Learning & Inquiry: An illustrated introduction - cartoon style

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