This Week's Live, Interactive, and Free Webinars from Elluminate

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive Webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. If you are looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, you'll now find a link on your calendar page or the calendar page of specific groups!

Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series, Spanish-language Webinars from the Aula 2.0 Series, and student-oriented sessions from Students 2.0! We also hope you will consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

Tuesday, September 21st

• 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  “PBS Franny's Feet Training,” with host Corey Nascenzi. “Learn more about the science, social studies, language arts, & global awareness resources available from Franny's Feet!”
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/85959

• 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS “
  Selling To The C- Suite ,” with presenter Dr. Steve Bistritz. “It's the goal of every salesperson: getting access to senior client executives - the C-Level decision makers responsible for approving top-dollar deals. Leaders at the highest corporate levels don’t always avoid sales pitches; in fact, they often welcome them, provided the salesperson approaches them the right way. But how? This seminar is intended for business-to-business salespeople, sales managers and sales executives interested in learning more about selling to the executive suite.”
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/100514 (registration in advance is required)
  

• 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS “
  Learning In Today's World: Blending The Best Of Formal, Informal And Social Approaches- A New Blended Model,” with presenter Lance Dublin. Join Lance to learn the distinctions between formal, informal, formally-informal, and social learning, and the learning theory behind them. We will explore how then these can be applied in your organization and we will look at a new model for blending learning that moves beyond the linear either/or choice of formal - informal, and takes us into a third dimension driven by the new social media tools. 
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/102298 (registration in advance is required)
  

• 5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am GMT/UTC (intl times):
  “60-Second Video Contest,” with host Rushton Hurley. “Next Vista for Learning and CUE are doing a video contest, and you and your students can take part! Join this session to learn more.”
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/98418
  

Wednesday, September 22nd

• 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  ELLUMINATE LIVE EVENTS "
  Websites Speak Louder Than Words ,” with presenters Aaron Sloman and Ron Rogowski. “Over the past decade, consumers have increasingly turned to digital media to get their news, connect with friends, and make sense of the world. As companies focus more on the Web, they need to differentiate themselves by going beyond just useful and usable experiences if they want to generate a lasting positive impression. Companies differentiate their digital experiences when they provide what users need, where they need it and in a way that establishes a brand personality. We call this “Intuitive Design.” Join these presenters for a discussion about intuitive design.”
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/102299 (registration in advance is required)
  

• 3pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 10pm GMT/UTC (intl times): "
  You Think You Know Google Search Part 1: Googling,” with host Rochelle Rodrigo. “We all do it, Google when we want to know something; however, do we really get the results we want? Come to this webinar to learn tips and tricks to harness the power of the Google search engine. We'll also talk about ways to incorporate advanced Google search strategies into assignments to help students gain critical information literacies.”
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/92758

• 6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times):
  MATH 2.0 SERIES
  “Math 2.0 Weekly: Equalis”, with host Maria Droujkova. “During the event, we will discuss the new hub Equalis with its president Carmine 'MathMob' Napolitano.”
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/96641

• 6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1am GMT/UTC (next day) (intl times): “
  CSLA Smackdown - Web2.0”, with host Marie Slim. Join this webinar for a Web2.0 Smackdown Ideas brainstorm and planning session.
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/99936 (2.5 hour session)
  

Thursday, September 23rd

• 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  “Dual Exceptionality - Gifted Children & Learning Difficulties,” with presenters Margaret Keane and Anna Giblin. “In this webinar Margaret Keane and Anna Giblin of Giftedkids.ie will explore this complex area and look at a range of learning difficulties which can be found amongst the gifted population, most specifically Aspergers, ADHD and Dyslexia.”
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/93109
  

• 3:30pm PDT (US) / 6:30pm EDT (US) / 10:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  THE AUSTRALIA SERIES
  “Australia Elluminate Users,” with host Coach Carole. Join Coach Carole for this one day online conference.
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/99757
  

• 4PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  “Kick Off the Year with VSTE,” with host Karen Richardson. Join this webinar to preview upcoming events from the Virginia Society for Technology in Eduction (VSTE). VSTE provides professional development events and access to online resources for educators.
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/98344
  

• 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  EDUBLOGS SERIES
  “Edublogs Fine Focus - Going LIVE & PAPERLESS with GoogleDocs.” Join Jo Hart for a look at the many ways of using Googledocs. Ellena Bethea will focus on how she uses Google Spreadsheets, Google Drawings, and Google Forms to eliminate worksheets in the high school classroom, with an emphasis on high school science.
  Ellena is a fourth year high school chemistry teacher at a private school in Manhattan. Her focus is finding ways to use technology to enhance inquiry and learning in the classroom.
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/101930
  

Saturday, September 25th

• 9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
  “Teacher Feature Webinar,” with hosts Kim Caise, Lorna Costantini and Peggy George. Join the Classroom 2.0 LIVE co-hosts for their first session in the monthly “Teacher Feature” series. Zoe Branigan-Pipe will be the first teacher featured and is a sixth grade teacher from Hamilton, Ontario in Canada.
  LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/102308
  

Live Tonight - Cleveland's Montessori High School and Museum Partnerships

Join me this evening for a live and interactive FutureofEducation.com interview with representatives of Montessori High School at University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio.   Since their founding in 2008, the school has quickly become an important partner with the museums and cultural institutions in their area.  The school provides a unique learning opportunity by combining experienced-based developmental learning with formal academic disciplines, partnering with University Circle Institutions as interdisciplinary resources.

I'll be conducting the interview live from Shanghai, China, where Alec Couros and I are "cohort leaders" of two groups at the Learning 2.010 conference which are focused on the theme of "Education in 2020."  Special thanks go to Laurie Heikkila who helped arrange this interview!

Date: Friday, September 17th, 2010
Time: 6:30pm Pacific / 9:30pm Eastern / 1:30am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 30 minutes
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at 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. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event and Recording Page:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/102123

From the school website:

Vision and Culture of Montessori High School

Montessori High School will combine experience-based and community-based developmental learning alongside the teaching of the formal academic disciplines utilizing the operational and programmatic functions of the partner University Circle institutions as interdisciplinary resources.

The overarching goals of the school are:

• to build a community for belonging, utilizing "prepared environments" or "places" that support the concept of pedagogy of place. In the words of environmental educator David Orr, "Places are laboratories of diversity and complexity, mixing social functions and natural processes. A place has a human history and a geologic past; it is part of an ecosystem with a variety of microsystems, it is a landscape with particular flora and fauna.... A place ... can be understood only on its terms as a complex mosaic of phenomena and problems." (Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World);
• to provide challenges that scientifically match skills, fostering choice, intrinsic motivation, engagement, and social and emotional development in accordance with the psychological needs of the high school student;
• to find meaningful and real work in both rural and urban contexts;
• to engage in experience- and land-based processes that inform students through the sciences and history about the positive relationship between the human-built and natural worlds;
• to facilitate learning experiences where students seek contextual studies in the classroom arising from ongoing real-life problem solving and real-world focus;
• to integrate students' academic work with self-expression, including music, drama, visual arts, poetry, and electronic visual expression;
• to nurture character development through living together during periodic retreats and work experiences, including reflection on 1) the transcendent, 2) moral development based on experience, 3) passion for humanity-a sense of mission, 4) civility-a balance of freedom, limits, and social participation, and 5) solidarity and compassion;
• to utilize a variety of teaching and evaluation methodologies, including didactic modes (lectures, visual aids, textbooks as resources), coaching modes (independent student exploration and study with teacher assisting on the sidelines), and seminar modes (active questioning and interpretation through discussion of primary readings as opposed to textbooks) integrated with all aspects of the curriculum;
• to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect;
• to recognize that high school students are particularly sensitive to social and cultural influences and are struggling to define themselves and their relationship to society;
• to afford students the opportunity to participate in what Thomas Berry has called the "great work": an overarching perspective throughout a course of study that has unity and meaning from beginning to end, in this case from early childhood through adolescence; the great work will converge around the study of nature and society, and will focus on the three strands of knowledge that bring the student into contact with society or civilization: 1) the study of earth and living things as a whole (biological sciences), 2) studies related to human progress (physical sciences) and to the building of civilization as a whole, and 3) the history of humanity as a collective force (social studies and social sciences);
• to give students an international perspective-to help them become informed about citizenship in the world through a series of formal courses of study, which are derived from the Montessori integrated knowledge approach to the whole of humanity and its great work for the future.