“School improvement” has been the mantra of school leaders for generations. The story for educators who have been in the profession for more than about 10 years is familiar: An innovative new approach to education is presented as the panacea for finally realizing the schools that we want and that the described in our vision Read More
The idea of digital badges has been kicking around for a few years. The microcredentials are exactly what the names suggest: Badges are credentials; they are awarded when a learner has completed some experience that leads the awarder to believe the learners can do things now that they couldn’t do previously. Badges are micro-credentials; they Read More
“What is it weakest part of your online or blended course?” is a question I have posed to faculty who teach online. A synopsis of one of the most commonly encountered answers is: I’m afraid my students feel the same about my discussions as I do. They post and respond, and I tell them “say Read More
There is so many ideas about teaching and learning that are kicking around in the literature, the blogosphere, and the popular culture that some of them must be incorrect–we know this is true because many of these are contradictory. Let’s clarify that we are wrong about three of these… and these are three that are Read More
“Effective schools” is a nebulous term. We could define schools in which students earn top scores on standardized tests as effective; likewise, we could define schools in which students write cogent essays (or create paintings, music, and dance) expounding the evils of standardized tests as effective. In fact, these schools may not be exclusive; perhaps Read More
I walked past the books in the discount retailer I was visiting to purchase storage supplies for my wife’s home office. When she arrived at the section she needed, she noticed I was not with her. When I finally caught up with her, she noticed the book in my hands: Walter Isaacson’s 2014 The Innovators: Read More
George Veletsianos’s book Learning Online: The Student Experience is both very timely and ill-timed in the spring of 2020. We all now of the widespread and nearly-instantaneous move to remote teaching. Online teaching and learning is on our minds and urgent request for “how do I…?” are filling our inboxes. It seems a book (especially Read More
Schools can only be understood as multifaceted organizations, and the decisions that are made and the actions that are taken within them and the conclusions we draw about them only make sense if we are clear about how we are defining schools at the moment. Consider this incomplete list: Schools are political organizations. Public schools Read More
As information and computer technology (ICT) has become more deeply embedded in curriculum and instruction, technology planning has become an essential part of school leadership. School leaders are expected to take steps to ensure students use technology for diverse learning activities, so infrastructure must be installed and managed, and teachers must be trained in its Read More
Educators are beginning to show their true colors. As we move to remote teaching in the spring of 2020, teachers are preparing for “continuity.” According to the Oxford Dictionary (which was the first definition when I searched) continutity is “the unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over a period of time.” Of course, Read More