Don't coast to the end of the semester, speed up... (81)

With things like Google Hangout, Facetime and Skype, learning and instruction shouldn't be limited to a learner's "zip code."

Check out this note LEGO sent to parents back in the 1970's... LEGO just might have been onto something.

Contemplate this... is our goal to help students have success IN school or life AFTER school? Those should coincide, right? Do they?

Check out all the versions that existed before the most recent version of Google Glass... this is why we should always try to be in a state of BETA.

Try a little "Moonshot thinking" in your class. Moonshot thinking is choosing to be bothered by the impossible... and thinking differently to make the impossible possible.

How does school compare to everyday life?

Here's a simple question and way to engage students in problem-based learning; "What bugs you?"

But, keep one critical point in mind when doing problem-based learning... if the kids don't care about the problem, then we won't get the desired effect.

This is a letter a student wrote to their teacher after some changes were made in regard to playing the 'game' of school:

With something to think about... (80)

Brave new world... (79)

Nearly 50% of occupations today will no longer exist in 2025. New jobs will require creative intelligence, social and emotional intelligence and ability to leverage artificial intelligence.

Workspaces with rows of desks will become completely redundant, not because they are not fit for purpose, but simply because that purpose no longer exists. Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/1kO6sF

1,000 U.S. hiring managers revealed that eight in 10 view creativity as important to success yet they find that the majority of students are unprepared for the workplace of tomorrow. Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/qSCn1I

Tier 1 skills needed to succeed:

Tier 2 skills needed to succeed:

Tier 3 skills needed to succeed:

Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/VxrLVs

Google determined that “G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless. ... "We found that they don’t predict anything." Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/wfDuvT

So, where does the Union R-XI school district fit in this brave new world?

Where will the students who will graduate from Union R-XI fit in this brave new world?

Preventative check-ups before the autopsy... (78)

Formative assessments are frequent, timely, specific, and informal in nature. They occur during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student learning. If nothing changes with instruction and student learning as a result of the formative assessment, then it wasn't a formative assessment. Formative assessments typically involve qualitative feedback (rather than final scores) and should most commonly be considered practice, thus any grade and/or feedback shouldn't be considered in a student's final grade. 

Formative assessments are the preventative check-ups at the doctor while the summative is the autopsy...

Check out this great article via Edutopia on efficient ways to check for understanding: http://goo.gl/19Lv6L