Blog

21st Century Skills: More than Just a Computer

There has been much talk lately in educational circles – at least  among the technologically-inclined – about “21st Century Skills.”  Some schools have added courses, tweaked curriculum, and redoubled their technology efforts in an attempt to provide students with the skills necessary for success in the 21st Century.  Sensing a shift in the ingredients for […]

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Screen-to-Screen: Is Online Learning the Future of Education?

In our increasingly connected world, we are often told of the values of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in providing a human face to the internet, in making the internet more social.  The internet has made it possible for us to keep in touch with far-away friends, collaborate with people from around the world, and locate […]

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You Are Failing Your Students

Much of the American educational system is about improving outcomes, often by focusing on results from some form of standardized test.  If students are found to be underperforming on some measure, school improvement plans, smaller class sizes, financial funding, and all manner of sundry interventions are thrown at the problem in order to correct it.  […]

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Professional Underdevelopment

For many schools and school districts, the concept of professional development very much follows the “sage on the stage” model.  An outside professional arrives at the school and dispenses invaluable wisdom, and teachers sit and absorb these immense thoughts.  Teachers are then expected to return to their classroom and transform these grand ideas into classroom […]

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Online Libraries: Are You Checked Out?

In 2009, Cushing Academy created a huge ruckus within the library community by announcing that it was eliminating the vast majority of its print collection and “going digital” with its collection.  Certain individuals and institutions praised the innovation.  Other groups protested Cushing’s folly.  Still others protested that this was the right decision, but too fast […]

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