Videos to help you rethink education, learning, & school
Having children causes one to (re)think seriously about education and the role of school. Education obviously is the most powerful thing in the world. And yet the old Mark Twain chestnut — "I never let school get in the way of my education" — speaks to the core of my own thinking regarding education. I am not an expert in education by any means, but like almost everyone, I have strong ideas based on my personal experiences going through formal, mass schooling. Seth Godin on EducationIn this short interview, Seth Godin sums up the essence of the problem. Seth Godin on how schools teach kids to aim lowIn this short clip Seth Godin says something concerning the "lizard brain" and our fear of taking risks that reminded me of the world of live stand-up presentations in work or academia. RSA Animate - Changing Education ParadigmsThis is an RSA animation of Sir Ken Robinson's second talk at TED. Born to learnI love the simple animation and flow to this presentation on learning. Dr.
Looks Aren't Everything, but They Make College Acceptance Letters More Enticing
Over the past few weeks I have been meticulously checking my mail, both physical and digital, and so far I am extremely happy with the results. I have been accepted into all of my SUNYs (Stony, Geneseo, Binghamton and University at Buffalo) and still wait for the privates (Vassar and Wesleyan). As for CUNYs, I have been accepted into Hunter, Baruch, City College and Brooklyn. But, I have been accepted through regular decision and not into the Macaulay Honors program, which makes finances of greater importance. Now the colleges are waiting for my response. Decision time has come. I believed that this would be a very easy choice, that once the colleges were before me I would just know which I preferred most. Although flashy envelopes and welcoming e-mails seem to be an obvious advertising ploy by each college, I found that it does sway my decision. I know that the appearance of acceptance letters should not play a major role in my choice. Mr.
Questioning Toolkit
Essential Questions These are questions which touch our hearts and souls. They are central to our lives. They help to define what it means to be human. Most important thought during our lives will center on such essential questions. What does it mean to be a good friend? If we were to draw a cluster diagram of the Questioning Toolkit, Essential Questions would be at the center of all the other types of questions. All the other questions and questioning skills serve the purpose of "casting light upon" or illuminating Essential Questions. Most Essential Questions are interdisciplinary in nature. Essential Questions probe the deepest issues confronting us . . . complex and baffling matters which elude simple answers: Life - Death - Marriage - Identity - Purpose - Betrayal - Honor - Integrity - Courage - Temptation - Faith - Leadership - Addiction - Invention - Inspiration. Essential Questions are at the heart of the search for Truth. Essential Questions offer the organizing focus for a unit.
25 TED Talks Perfect For Classrooms
The 50 Best Sources of Free STEM Education Online 12.05K Views 0 Likes Colleges, universities, and other educational forums in your community can be excellent places to learn more about a variety of STEM topics, but there is also a wealth of educational material available on the web for those who prefer to learn at their own pace or take a more individual approach.
How Should We Test Students' College Educations?
Copyright © 2012 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. This is TALK OF THE NATION. Critics denounce the CLA as inaccurate and unfair. Later in the program, Dexter Filkins of The New Yorker with questions about the political culture in America's crucial Middle East ally, Turkey. JEFFREY STEEDLE: Thanks, Neal, it's great to be here. CONAN: And the CLA made news recently when results of some institutions showed little difference between freshmen and seniors, which suggested to some that four years of college education did not make a lot of difference. STEEDLE: That's true, Neal, though I think it's important to recognize that the generalizability of those results are limited by what the CLA measures. CONAN: And so obviously it's not testing for organic chemistry or mathematics. STEEDLE: Exactly. CONAN: So how are schools using it? STEEDLE: Schools are using the test really as a way to help them improve teaching and learning.
Cool Tools for Schools
9 Essential Skills Kids Should Learn, by Leo Babauta
Kids in today’s school system are not being prepared well for tomorrow’s world. As someone who went from the corporate world and then the government world to the ever-changing online world, I know how the world of yesterday is rapidly becoming irrelevant. I was trained in the newspaper industry, where we all believed we would be relevant forever — and I now believe will go the way of the horse and buggy. Unfortunately, I was educated in a school system that believed the world in which it existed would remain essentially the same, with minor changes in fashion. We were trained with a skill set that was based on what jobs were most in demand in the 1980s, not what might happen in the 2000s. And that kinda makes sense, given that no one could really know what life would be like 20 years from now. We had no idea what the world had in store for us. And here’s the thing: we still don’t. How then to prepare our kids for a world that is unpredictable, unknown? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Print
Cal State Plans to Freeze Enrollment
The California State University system, still reeling from drastic funding cuts, announced a bold plan to freeze enrollment next spring, according to a story in Monday’s Los Angeles Times. Under the proposal, the vast majority of the California State University system’s campuses will not accept new students in the spring of 2013, with exceptions being made for just a few hundred students transferring to certain campuses. A further 20,000 to 25,000 students could be turned away in the fall of 2013, part of a plan to trim enrollment by 3 percent if further funding cuts materialize, Cal State officials told reporters. “We need to keep some balance between the number of students we’re enrolling and serving and the resources we have,” Robert Turnage, Cal State’s assistant vice chancellor for budget, told the Times. The plan is a safeguard for the sprawling Cal State system, which was hit hard in the 2011-12 fiscal year, with $750 million in funding cuts.
Technology and Education | Box of Tricks
