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.
Getting Smart Opposes PIPA and SOPA
The Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House have the potential to censor the Web, pose harmful regulations on businesses, and hurt economic growth and innovation. Getting Smart stands with the millions of Internet users, entrepreneurs, businesses, human rights organizations, and professors who oppose PIPA and SOPA.
Good Work: Meeting Special Needs
Today I simply want to recognize and thank parents and teachers that work with students with special needs. Nature recently devoted a full issue to the subject of autism. There are some promising organizations attempting to meet special needs. But this blog is mostly a thank you card.
Staff Picks: Online Learning, Digital Learning Day
Tom picks "What Is the Newest Innovation In Online Learning?" while Karen picks "iLearn Project & Digital Learning Now! Host Wash. Online Learning Symposium." Sarah picks Digital Learning Day!
Good Work: The Politics of Superintending
Personalities and strategies are part of a superintendent search, but hiring a superintendent is most often a political decision. And what I came to understand is that the job is inherently about winning hearts, minds, and ultimately votes—it is all about politics.
Staff Picks: OER Debate, EdReform
Tom picks his article on "How EdTech Will Benefit Low Income Students" while Karen follows up with a similar discussion of OER with the article "Radical Openness in Educational Materials: The Next Step in Washington." Sarah highlights a guest blogger's post on Getting Smart that discusses the student-centered, subscription method to education.
Good Work: Gift Giving
Christmas is the gift giving day. Mission–related work is about giving gifts every day—contribution more than extraction. Gift giving, or mission-related work, is never easy and it’s never done--it responds to the most pressing needs in society. It is hard work, but gift-giving is the ultimate reward.
Staff Picks: Blended Learning, Smart Phones, EdReform, 21st-Century English
Tom picked blended learning as the topic of the year. Karen picks a review of the recent book Teaching Generation Text, which looks at the benefits of mobile learning in the classroom. Sarah picks Byron Sanders' response to the heated debate around Gene Marks' recent Forbes article, "If I Were a Poor Black Kid."
Good Work: Vacations
We all need a rhythm of renewal, emotional, spiritual, physical and intellectual renewal to remain positive and focused, not once a year, but every month, every week, every day. Build positive habits into each day, read, write, play, and reflect. Stay connected to the important people in your life. Go out of your way to met new ones. Watch the sun go down. Stay fresh, stay challenged, and stay excited. If your work does not fit when you try to put it all together, go do something else. Life’s too short not to enjoy what you do.
Staff Picks: Hawaii, Digital Classrooms, Free Schools
This week, Tom picks blended learning and Karen picks Hawaii's Race to the Top. Caroline picks an article digital classrooms. Sarah picks Approaching the Elephant.
Good Work: Love & Work
Erik Erikson recalled that Freud was once asked what he thought a normal person should be able to do well. The questioner probably expected a complicated, “deep” answer. But Freud simply said, “Lieben und arbeiten” (to love and to work). It pays to ponder on this simple formula; it grows deeper as you think about it.