It is known that every learner is unique and that one-size-fits-all instruction does not work for most. How can a classroom environment be created that gives each learner voice and choice? The co-founders of Personalize Learning, LLC, offer a detailed six-step approach. This article provides the background on what is and what is not Personalized…

MOOCs--massive open online courses--are all the rage these days, with hundreds of thousands of participants signing up and investors plunking down millions to get a piece of the pie. Why is there so much excitement about this new disruptive form of online learning, and how does this model apply to professional learning for teachers? Traditional…

The U.S. military has long understood the value of immersive simulations in education. Before the Navy entrusts a ship to a crew, crew members must first practice and demonstrate their competency in a fully immersive, simulated environment. Why not teach students in the same way? K-12 educators in Pennsylvania, USA, recently did just that when…

Educators recognize that they need to create new learning and teaching environments where the curriculum and instructional tools reflect today's world. Schools are full of students who want to engage, socialize, communicate, create, and collaborate in meaningful ways that reflect the world in which they live. How can education re-create…

One of the larger shifts in education is evaluating teacher knowledge acquisition to determine if it is effectively changing the way teachers learn, teach, and bring about student improvement. In the effort to do this, teachers often spend much time on administrative duties, such as documenting what classes or workshops they have taken, and this…

Just as participation in social networking has grown, so has media coverage of inappropriate activity online. Teacher-student relationships and cyberbullying are just a few of the stories that seem to make the news on a regular basis. For educators, this is particularly troubling, considering how few students know what is appropriate when using…

Think teachers can post what they want on their own time? Think again. Many have lost their jobs over social networking gaffes in recent years. In this article, the author shares what he has learned about how school districts cope with teachers and online social networking sites, and offers recommendations to teachers who want to have an online…

The iPad holds amazing potential for classroom use. Just a few--or even only one--is enough to get results. Having a class set promotes traditional, whole-class instruction, but fewer iPads facilitate individualized and tailored instruction. In this article, the author discusses the potential of the iPad and suggests ways to put the iPad to use in…

Good learning experiences ask students to investigate and make sense of the world. While there are many ways to do this, K-12 curriculum has traditionally skewed toward reading and writing to interpret and express students' sense-making. But there is another way. Infographics represent data and ideas visually, in pictures, engaging more parts of…

Design thinking is about using design to improve the human experience. It combines collaboration, systems thinking, and a balance of creative and analytical habits. It also fuels what the students want for themselves: making an impact on the real world in real time and having adults take their passions seriously. The process essentially comes down…

Integrating digital age technology into an industrial age educational system is hard enough. Imagine introducing ed tech to a 450-year-old Jesuit educational paradigm. Find out how to seamlessly combine the NETS with a centuries-old framework to create an effective ed tech strategic plan. This article describes how the author successfully…

All schools can benefit from giving students the option of online learning, but for many rural schools, online learning is a lifeline. In the past two years, Lane Education Service District in Oregon, USA, has developed online resources for 14 Lane County school districts, which vary in size from 170 students to as many as 17,000. Many of the…

Schools everywhere are facing a difficult conundrum. Parents and the government continue to ask them to educate more children at higher standards with less time and less money. On top of that, students must master a whole new set of skills--digital age skills--if they are to succeed. What's a school to do? This article presents strategies and…

Boy culture is out of sync with school culture. There are several reasons for this, including zero tolerance policies that are too often taken to extremes, the lack of male teachers, and the compression of the curriculum. What's more, boy culture is not socially accepted, and boys quickly come to feel that they are not good at school. For many…

In a 2011 segment on CNN "Headline News," Doug Levin, CEO of the State Educational Technology Director's Association, asserted that the shift to Common Core State Standards, the prevalence of open content, and the rapid increase in the availability of mobile technology will soon make paper textbooks a thing of the past in U.S. schools. He predicts…