:: The 4th Era ::

Teachers often wrestle with two big questions: How do people learn, and how can they do it better in a constantly evolving context?

A blog about digital leadership, pedagogy, learning, and transformative change in education.

Students can learn how to tackle real-world challenges when they engage in educational simulations--learn how one college is embracing the trend.

Teachers are using new apps to improve parent-teacher communication and, in some cases, bridge disconnects with ELL students.

"Schools face endless security concerns. Facial recognition software shouldn’t be one of them. There seems to be an onslaught of danger, and it’s coming from every direction: physical, emotional, and digital. School leaders and teachers want to look after students and take care of their needs. They recognize that safety must come first."

The future of work should be on the top of everyone’s mind as it is smacking us right now in the face. As I have previously written, we are in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution, where rampant innovation and exponential advances in technology are changing the societal landscape.

"Evolution, in its broadest sense, serves as a force to help humans move towards a better way of living given the current times or Zeitgeist.  It follows, then, that the education field should evolve as new opportunities and forces emerge and present themselves. But in general, this is not the case."

"Whether a principal, superintendent, head of technology, or head of curriculum, there is likely a gem of a resource among your staff who could push your Future Ready agenda forward. Long gone are the days when librarians were simply the “keeper of books,” and the administrators who have grown to realize this have found it much easier to accomplish their strategic vision by mobilizing this dedicated and knowledgeable part of their staff. Here’s how many are doing it."

"For many years, educators have used the SAMR model as a way to conceptualize technology integration. Districts and conferences alike have poured great amounts of money into training teachers to think about their planning through this lens."

"The popular lesson-sharing site Teachers Pay Teachers first landed on Jenny Kay Dupuis’ radar a little over a year ago. Friends and social media users began alerting her that images and material from one of her children’s books, “I Am Not a Number,” about a young Indigenous girl sent to a residential school in Canada and based on the experience of her grandmother, had made their way into paid lessons on the site that she had never seen before."

What can technology replace in the classroom? While it isn't enough to makeup for unengaging learning models, done well technology can change everything.

More and more schools are investing in technologies that scan social media posts, school assignments and even student emails for potential threats. Privacy experts say the trade-offs aren't worth it.

An education nonprofit published a list of the five conditions it believes are necessary for educational innovation to flourish.

"At 9:00 on a Tuesday morning, an elementary school principal received a phone call. The principal of the next-door elementary called to say that a shady character was on their campus and likely headed to the next one. The principal receiving the call met the unidentified person at a side door and escorted him to the office on the premise that he had to sign in. While pretended to look for the sign-in sheet, the staff invited him to sit in the lobby and wait. The intruder was enjoying a cup of coffee when the district police arrived."

Alexandra Lange's new book has insights on the influence of school and classroom design on children's learning throughout history.

"Technology can help transform learning. But as numerous studies have shown, more tech in the classroom doesn’t automatically equal better results. Most notably, OECD and Hattie have raised concerns that education spending does not equate to better outcomes. Effective learning and technology use each depend on systems and behaviors that are more complex than putting a device in someone’s hands."

A new, disturbing pattern has cropped back up that is reminiscent of some nasty behavior from the early days of Internet nefarious exploits: targeting schools and students and the innocent. Ransomw…