Inspired by Jackson 4th Graders’ Common Sense

Yesterday, someone sent me an email about Warren T. Jackson’s 4th Grade Class led by Ms. Campbell. In part of the email, Ms. Campbell explains, Earlier this year, my students were inspired by the Apple Education Summit and its introduction of interactive, digital textbooks on the iPad. In class we tied what we learned about [...]

Read Full Post »

CHANGEd: What if we designed title sequences for our courses and our schools? 60-60-60 #49

I love the art and science of storytelling. I am not the storyteller that I one day will be, but I am committed to practicing. Last night, I wandered onto Jason Kottke’s The art of film and TV title design. His post made me think – What would the title sequence look like for the [...]

Read Full Post »

CHANGEd: What if school could look more like Caine’s Arcade? 60-60-60 #38

What if school could be more play-based, more project-based, more passion-based? What if school could look more like Caine’s Arcade? [WATCH the 10 minutes! You won't regret it.] A boy, a dad, and a stranger share the roles of “teacher” and “student.” There’s math, engineering, communications, design, sociology, social media, economics, marketing, ethics,… [Many thanks [...]

Read Full Post »

CHANGEd: What if we offered courses in News and Studio Hall? 60-60-60 #15

Most schools offer “History,” and many provide “Study Hall.” What if we offered “News?” Various points of entry for current events and modern journalism could be explored. By nature, the topic is transdisciplinary and PBL-rich. I can imagine weaving in every discipline. In “Studio Hall,” learners of all ages could use time to create, not [...]

Read Full Post »

New creation: culinary, jazz-fusion luminescence in teaching – PLCs as surgical-musical-chefs

Working to understand better the functions and processes of PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) – this is a constant pursuit and area of deep investigation and learning for me. I am coming to believe, more and more, that high-functioning PLCs are like some hybrid-cross consisting of the following parts: chefs, surgical teams, and jazz musicians. The [...]

Read Full Post »