According to this recent article in Newsweek, there's dwindling evidence that creative thinking is being cultivated in our schools.  Part of the problem occurs from the age-old thinking that creativity is limited to the domain of the arts.   Creativity is not soley represented by artistic expression, but taking ideas and generating new ideas with them.  This can be learned in any discipline.

Which areas of our

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posted July 14, 2010 | comments

Some of you have asked in the past about the difference between blogs, roundtables, and other Web 2.0 tools designed for dialogue and learning.  Linked in the video pane is a presentation by Christopher Long of Penn State University highlighting the educational benefit of weblogs, or blogs for short, as an instructional strategy.  Take a look.  Access to non-filtered content is neccesary.

posted April 8, 2010

As one of 48 states committed to the Common Core State Standards project, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is encouraging educators, professional organizations, and community members to review the first public draft of the Common Core State Standards for English/language arts and mathematics.

Once they are finalized, Wisconsin will review the standards with the likely intent to adopt.  Subsequent efforts will then take place to

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posted March 15, 2010 | comments
The recent discussion among education leaders nationwide to introduce, debate, and possibly adopt a common set of academic standards from kindergarten through twelfth grade marks an attempt to address what some have called the "proficiency illusion." In other words, low benchmark standards for measuring proficiency have created a false sense of achievement in school districts across many states. 

Wisconsin is not mentioned in the article (Mississippi … more »


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posted July 9, 2009 | comments

Observations and Anecdotes from the National Educational Computing Conference (June 29-July 1).

"The value of involving students in social networking remains directly tied to the scaffolding, skill building, and mentoring provided by teachrers. Just getting them online won't make a difference." ~Jamie McKenzie

According to McKenzie, much of what stifles progress in organizations is what's known as group think.  He defined it as:  the majority

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posted July 2, 2009
Reflections from the annual AWSA leadership conference at Monona Terrace,  June 17-19:

It’s people, not programs that make a difference in change initiatives.  Although many of us attend conferences to pick up a new tip or trick that will help us with a particular challenge, the fact remains that effective change is a result of a constant examining of our behaviors and attitudes against the … more »

posted June 20, 2009 | comments

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