Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Live and Interactive Interview with Daniel Coyle on "The Talent Code"

UPDATED - New Date


Date: 01 February 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 1am (next day) GMT
Location: In Elluminate at http://tr.im/futureofed
Use the URL above to enter the Elluminate room, which will be open 30 minutes before the session begins. If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can go to http://www.elluminate.com/support to ensure that your system is configured correctly.  A recording of the event will be able to be found at http://www.learncentral.org/node/51768 within a day of the show.

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.Join me for a live and interactive interview with Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code.

Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle visited nine of the world’s greatest talent hotbeds — tiny places that produce huge amounts of talent, from a small music camp in upstate New York to an elementary school in California to the baseball fields of the Caribbean.

He found that there’s a pattern common to all of them — certain methods of training, motivation, and coaching. This pattern, which has to do with the fundamental mechanisms through which the brain acquires skill, gives us a new way to think about talent — as well as new tools with which we can unlock our own talents and those of our kids.

Daniel Coyle is a contributing editor for Outside magazine and the author of three books, including the New York Times bestseller Lance Armstrong’s War. He has written for Sports Illustrated, The New York Times Magazine, and Play (including this March 2007 cover story which sparked The Talent Code), and is a two-time National Magazine Award finalist. Coyle lives with his wife, Jen, and their four children in Homer, Alaska.

Live Today at 2pm Pacific: Innosight on Hybrid Learning

Date: 26 January 2010
Time: 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 10pm GMT
Location: In Elluminate at http://tr.im/futureofed
Use the URL above to enter the Elluminate room, which will be open 30 minutes before the session begins. If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can go to http://www.elluminate.com/support to ensure that your system is configured correctly.  A recording of the event will be able to be found at http://www.learncentral.org/node/51752 within a day of the show.

Join me for another in the series of reports from the Innosight Institute, this time profiling a high school that serves primarily low-income students in Chicago with a hybrid model of learning—a fully online curriculum embedded in a physical school. The authors hope that this case study, "VOISE Academy: Pioneering a blended-learning model in a Chicago high school" will help to "open our eyes" to how online learning can work in a physical environment by studying hybrid models that provide clues about how to combine the best of both worlds for the betterment of students.

In our session, James Sloan, the co-author of the "VOISE" case study, will be joined by co-author Katherine Mackey and Innosight Executive Director Michael Horn to discuss this report. The Innosight Institute was founded by Clayton Christensen, professor and author of the best-selling books The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution.

Located in a poverty-stricken, crime-ridden neighborhood in Chicago, VOISE, which stands for Virtual Opportunities Inside a School Environment, melds a culture of high expectations and no excuses with an online, individualized learning model that allows students to learn at their own pace, progress to new material only after they have mastered a lesson, and receive rapid feedback on how they are doing so that their teachers can further individualize their lessons to meet their distinct needs. In only its second year of operations, VOISE has attracted national attention and has a freshman on-track rate that exceeds the Chicago Public Schools average.

Download the full case study here: http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InnosightInstitute/2bade61158/35789c1b28/6b1dad3b51

Use the URL near the top of this event to enter the Elluminate room, which will be open 30 minutes before the session begins. If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can go to http://www.elluminate.com/support to ensure that your system is configured correctly.


James Sloan was a Visiting Research Fellow in Innosight Institute’s Education Practice in 2009. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he graduated with highest honors. Sloan is employed currently as a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group.

Katherine Mackey is a Research Fellow in Innosight Institute’s Education Practice. Prior to joining Innosight Institute in September 2008, she was an eleventh-grade English teacher at Highland High School, a public high school in Utah. She worked previously as a designer at Houghton Mifflin Children’s Books. She is the co-author of a strategic five-year Academic Master Plan for Salt Lake Community College and has assisted with the formation and writing of professional development packets for the Utah State Office of Education. She has also worked as an intern for Senator Orrin G. Hatch for two summers.

Mackey holds a BA in English and French from Wellesley College and an MA in Education from Harvard University.


Michael B. Horn is the co-founder and Executive Director, Education of Innosight Institute, a not-for-profit think tank devoted to applying the theories of disruptive innovation to problems in the social sector. He is the coauthor of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns (McGraw-Hill: June 2008) with Harvard Business School Professor and bestselling author Clayton M. Christensen and Curtis W. Johnson, president of the Citistates Group. BusinessWeek named the book one of the 10 Best Innovation & Design Books of 2008, Strategy + Business awarded it the best human capital book of 2008, Newsweek named it as the 14th book on its list of “Fifty Books for Our Times,” and the National Chamber Foundation named it first among its 10 “Books that Drive the Debate 2009.”

Disrupting Class uses the theories of disruptive innovation to identify the root causes of schools’ struggles and suggests a path forward to customize an education for every child in the way she learns. Horn has been a featured keynote speaker at many conferences including the Virtual School Symposium and Microsoft’s School of the Future World Summit.

Prior to this, Horn worked at America Online during its aol.com re-launch, and before that he served as David Gergen’s research assistant, where he tracked and wrote about politics and public policy. Horn has written articles for numerous publications, including Education Week, Forbes, the Boston Globe, and U.S. News & World Report. In addition, he has contributed research for Charles Ellis’ book, Joe Wilson and the Creation of Xerox (Wiley, 2006) and Barbara Kellerman’s Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters (Harvard Business School Press, 2004).

Horn earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB from Yale University, where he graduated with distinction in History.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Mark Bauerlein Live Interview -- The Dumbest Generation

When: 21 Jan 2010
Time: 5:00pm Pacific (US) / 8:00pm Eastern (US) / 1:00am (Next Day) GMT
Duration:  1 hour
Event Pagehttp://www.learncentral.org/node/49725
Direct Elluminate Session URL: http://tr.im/futureofed
The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support.  The session will be recorded and the recording links will be posted here within a day of the event.

Join me this Wednesday for a live and interactive Future of Education interview of Mark Bauerlein, author of The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future.

Mark is Professor of English at Emory University, and has recently served as Director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts. He is the author of The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future, as well as several scholarly studies of American literature, history, and philosophy. His commentaries and reviews have appeared in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, TLS, The Weekly Standard, and Chronicle of Higher Education.

Dave Edyburn Live Interview Wednesday--Universal Design for Learning (CUE Series)

When: 20 Jan 2010
Time: 5:00pm Pacific (US) / 8:00pm Eastern (US) / 1:00am (Next Day) GMT
Duration:  1 hour
Event Pagehttp://www.learncentral.org/node/49718
Direct Elluminate Session URL: http://tr.im/futureofed
The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support.  The session will be recorded and the recording links will be posted here within a day of the event.

This Wednesday, Mike Lawrence and I interview Dave L. Edyburn, Ph.D., on Universal Design for Learning. This is the first of a series of Webinars organized by Computer-Using Educators (CUE) in advance of their 2010 Conference, March 4 - 6 in Palm Springs, California. (More information at CUE.org.) Dr. Edyburn will be a "Spotlight Speaker" at the conference.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is viewed as a promising service delivery model for helping students with disabilities achieve high academic standards in inclusive classrooms. Dr. Edyburn will introduce practical approaches to planning for diverse learners and will discuss specific strategies and resources, including:

Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning
http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

National Center on Universal Design for Learning
http://www.udlcenter.org/

Free Technology Toolkit for UDL in All Classrooms
http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/

Dave L. Edyburn, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Exceptional Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Edyburn's teaching and research interests focus on the use of technology to enhance teaching, learning, and performance. He has authored over 150 articles and book chapters on the use of technology in special education. His work spans the 36-page booklet, What Every Teacher Should Know About Assistive Technology (2003, Allyn & Bacon) to the 900-page Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice (2005, Knowledge by Design). His work represents a variety of contributions to theory, research, and practice. He is the current President-elect of the Special Education Technology Special Interest Group (SETSIG) in the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) as well as a past president of the Technology and Media (TAM) Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). He is a frequent conference presenter and national workshop leader.

Mike Lawrence has been impacting education as a Teacher, Speaker, Technology Coordinator and Director for more than fifteen years. He is a respected presenter at national conferences and events and was honored to be named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2003. He also assisted in the development and launch of both the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) and the Google Teacher Academy programs. Mike is an author and editor and can often be found at his local coffee house on his laptop. He currently serves as Executive Director of Computer-Using Educators, supporting its California-based membership by advancing student achievement through technology on a national level. Each year, thousands of educators attend CUE’s conference events, making it the premier Educational Technology association of the Western US.

He began his educational career teaching high school English, often writing his own English elective courses to engage students typically disinterested in the core subject (Science Fiction Literature, anyone?). As a Technology Coordinator, he led delivery of all hands-on technology professional development, including Principal Training Programs for Southern California administrators, as well as the Student Technology Showcase and Technology Proficiency programs.

Mike’s humor and background as a teacher inform all of his presentations, making them accessible to educators of all levels and curricular areas. He lives with his wife Julie, son Jay, and daughter Kellen in Southern California.

Yong Zhao Live Interview Tomorrow: Catching Up or Leading the Way

When: 19 Jan 2010
Time: 5:00pm Pacific (US) / 8:00pm Eastern (US) / 1:00am (Next Day) GMT
Duration:  1 hour
Event Page: http://www.learncentral.org/node/49710
Direct Elluminate Session URL: http://tr.im/futureofed
Yong Zhao Web Page: http://zhao.educ.msu.edu/

Tomorrow, January 19th, I interview Yong Zhao, University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University on his book Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization.  This is part of the Future of Education interview series, is  live and interactive session, and has an audience Q and A at the end.

Yong Zhao is University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also serves as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, executive director of the Confucius Institute, as well as the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence. He is a fellow of the International Academy for Education.

His research interests include computer gaming and education, diffusion of innovations, teacher adoption of technology, computer-assisted language learning, and globalization and education.

Zhao has extensive international experiences. He has consulted with government and educational agencies and spoken on educational issues in many countries on six continents. His current work focuses on designing 21st Century Schools in the context of globalization and the digital revolution.

Zhao was born in China’s Sichuan Province. He received his B.A. in English Language Education from Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages in Chongqing, China in 1986. After teaching English in China for six years, he came to Linfield College as a visiting scholar in 1992. He then began his graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993. He received his A.M. in Education in 1994 and Ph.D. in 1996. He joined the faculty at MSU in 1996 after working as the Language Center Coordinator at Willamette University and a language specialist at Hamilton College.

The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support.

The session will be recorded and the recording links will be posted here within a day of the event.

Monday, January 11, 2010

January PBS/Classroom 2.0 Interactive Webinar: Middle Level STEM Education with "Design Squad," "Fetch!," and "DragonflyTV"

Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 1am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Location: In Elluminate. http://tinyurl.com/pbscr20 If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can make sure your computer is configured correctly to enter the room by going to http://www.elluminate.com/support.

PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 are hosting a free interactive webinar for educators on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 with producers from Design Squad, Fetch!, and DragonflyTV share resources and practical applications for introducing and reinforcing science and engineering concepts in the upper elementary and middle school classroom.

About These Shows:

Design Squad: This reality series for students in grades 5-8 returned for its third season with a fresh cast of contestants eager to take raw materials, transform them into workable solutions, and take on design challenges for real-world clients hungry for clever ideas from a new generation of innovators. With a focus on engineering skills, Design Squad aims to increase students' knowledge of engineering and the design process, improve the public image of engineering, and encourage further exploration.

Fetch! with Ruff RuffmanFetch!: Part game show, part reality TV, and part spoof, FETCH! features real kids, real challenges, real science, and an unreal host named Ruff Ruffman, FETCH! mixes live-action with animation and breaks the mold with its educational and comical take on America's newest television genre. Targeting six- to ten-year olds, it is spontaneous, unscripted, and full of twists. FETCH! shows that reality programs can help kids learn how to tackle problems, overcome fears, brainstorm, and collaborate.

DragonflyTV: With science by kids, for kids, DragonflyTV showcases science experiments performed by kids ages 7-12 as they explore topics in earth & space, living things, body & brain, matter & motion, and technology & innovation. The show and its Website also offer a special series on Nanotechnology and video interviews with professionals across the science and engineering fields.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Learning Styles Theory Versus Sustained Hard Work

After interviewing cognitive psychologist Dan Willingham recently on his book Why Don't Students Like School, I went back and re-read his very thorough chapter entitled "Why Should I Adjust My Teaching for Different Types of Learners?"  I was struck by his assertion that children "are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn."

eSchool news today reported on a study commissioned by Psychological Science in the Public Interest, and called "Learning Styles:  Concepts and Evidence."  How's this for a zinger?

Top News - Study questions learning-style research
“The contrast between the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach within education and the lack of credible evidence for its utility is, in our opinion, striking and disturbing,” the researchers concluded. “If classification of students’ learning styles has practical utility, it remains to be demonstrated.”
This is a fascinating article that should produce some real dialog.  Here's some more from Dan Willingham to give context:
"Everyone can apprecaite that students differ from one another.  What can (or should) teachers do about that? ...Two basic methods have been suggested.  One approach is based on difference is cognitive style--that is, if one matches the method of instruction to the preferred cognitive style of the child, learning will be easier.  Unfortunately, no one has described a ste of styles for which there is good evidence.

"The second way that teachers might take advantage of differences among students is rooted in difference in abilities.  If a student is lacking in one cognitive ability, the hope would be that she could use a cognitive strength to make up for, or at least bolster, the cognitive weakness.  Unfortunately, there is good evidence that this sort of substitution is not possible.  To be clear, it's the substitution idea that is wrong:  students definitely do differ in their cognitive abilities..."  (pp. 125-6)
Dan's book is really worth reading. It's not a quick read, but it's hard to argue with his evidence-based approach and his somewhat stunningly simple conclusions. 

In this case, he argues that what really helps the student is background knowledge and (see chapter 8) sustained hard work.  Hmmm...

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Future of Education Interview with Alan Michel from Home, Inc. Tonight

Date: 7 Jan 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific (US) / 8pm Eastern (US) / 1am (Next Day) GMT (International link)
Elluminate Session URL: http://tr.im/futureofed or here
Event Page:  at LearnCentral.org


Tonight I interview Alan Michel, the Director, Co-Founder, and Board President of HOME, Inc., a media arts and education non–profit in Boston. Alan is currently running a media education program that reaches over 1,500 students in eleven schools in the Boston and Somerville Massachusetts school systems.

HOME, Inc. ("Here-in Our Motives Evolve") is a 30-year old, non-profit organization.  Their mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. They teach video production and media analysis to educators and youth to foster confident, creative, individuals with the ability to think for themselves.  Their programs help students develop creative media projects that foster teamwork and communication skills. HOME's media projects and programs focus on teacher and student collaboration and the ability to effectively evaluate media messages, in order to enhance critical thinking skills.  For HOME, the arts are a vital means of self-expression and a fundamental tool for stimulating lifelong learning.

Alan’s work in media and education includes the Get the Facts About AIDS campaign and prevention program in the Boston public Schools and other media projects.  As the Principal Investigator for the Media and Health Project with the Boston Public Schools funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts, Alan develop the curriculum for media literacy professional development and project based learning at 5 Boston Public Schools, spearheaded partner relations with community groups, government, arts, education and scientific institutions and organizations and developed access to local and national media and telecommunications opportunities regionally. Alan is currently running a media education program that reaches over 1,500 students in eleven schools in the Boston and Somerville Massachusetts school systems.

The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support.

Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

The Truth about 1:1 Laptop Programs

During a rousing FutureofEducation.com session lnight astwith Jeff Mao from Maine as the guest, the overall sentiment I took away about the Maine learning Technology Initiative (often known as their 1:1 laptop program) was captured in a chat messages stating that "educators have put off retirement due to this change - and a huge majority will now tell you they cannot teach without 1 to 1."  I heard similar things in Indiana with the "ubiquitous computing" efforts there (not laptops, but Linux thin clients), so I was definitely drinking the Kool-Aid.

Later in the evening, however, I read Larry Cuban's latest cogent missive.

A “Naked Truth” about Technologies in Schools? « Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
In “The End of Techno-Critique: The Naked Truth about 1:1 Laptop Initiatives and Educational Change,” Mark Weston and Alan Bain summarize the evidence and arguments of those who have questioned 1:1 laptops. Weston and Bain profile my writings as representative of the “Techno-Critique.” Except for a few critical points, I found their summary of my articles and books fair. Furthermore, their review of the evidence of laptop use and effects in Maine and Texas is far more damning than anything I have written.  [Emphasis mine]
It's worth reading the whole post, but let's just say it wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as the hour with Jeff had been.  I'm intrigued that there can be such a difference in perspectives.

This morning Sylvia Martinez announced the new 1:1 Schools group blog being organized by Scott McLeod.  With Sylvia being involved, I feel certain it will provide balanced perspectives.  I'll definitely be paying attention to this debate.