Photo credit: http://thenewpostliterate.blogspot.com/2009/01/dr-john-m-bennetts-solo-and.html In the PLPNetbooks community (Australia work) this blog post surfaced after my interview with Steve Hargadon on The Future of Education The Title of the post is the same as mine.. Why Are We Here? It follows: Ok … Now I’ve got your attention I’ve just finished listening to the lastest episode of the “Ed Tech Live” podcast in which Steve Hargadon interviewed our very own community leader Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach. This is a .

My daughter Grace (pictured above wearing the “optical Illusion” threadless) loves Threadless T-shirts. She always asks for them for Christmas. I recently got this email and thought I would share. Hi There, I wanted to let you know about a new program that is being hosted by Threadless which is a community-centered tee-shirt company based out of Chicago, IL called Threadless 101. The idea is this: students are given an assignment to create an original design for a tee-shirt-any and all specifications are up to the teacher!.

I had the opportunity recently to facilitate a group of business, education, political and community leaders in a discussion about developing a workforce ready group of graduates in the 21st Century. I was given the task of relaying the experience. I have decided to share with you to see if you agree or disagree with these leaders’ ideas and action steps and why. I encourage you to read and weigh in in the comment section below. I look forward to your responses. Executive Summary Newport News Public Schools is moving quickly to address.

My life has been a whirlwind of activity since NECC and I have found it hard to keep up with blogging. I don’t know why, but I feel guilty blogging when I have other deadlines looming. Do any of you experience that? Is it illogical? Should I blog anyway, much like we still get the day to day things done at work or home, even when we have extra tasks on our "to do" lists. Or should I put 100% of my attention toward the deadlines and follow Grandmas’ rule of "work before play"? I’d love to hear your take. D.

Man, I love this work! Connecting and collaborating is something that really comes natural for me. I am the social cognitive learning theory poster child and I am finding that others also relate well to learning while observing and collaborating with others. Working with others online on common goals in an effort to improve education has impacted my personal practice more than any other type of learning I have ever experienced. I believe it is largely due to the impact situated communities of practice and networks have on self-efficacy. The up.

I have been spending some time recently responding to a listserv discussion that has many brilliant, award winning teachers on it who are not sold on the idea that we really are going to have to change education to remain relevant; that *they* are going to have to change.  I thought I would share my most recent letter. One member writes-I’ve been waiting and wondering when someone would take up the thread that Mark began during our "Here Comes Everybody" discussion, wherein he talked about how the printing press put scrib.

While I obviously haven’t been blogging- I have been fast at it. I would say I have been busy, but Dean Shareski (our new convener for K12Online)  has taught me we are all busy and I am not suppose to talk about how busy I am, but rather just talk about what I have been up to lately. I keep a running "to-do" board above my desk. Lately, there have been too many "to-do" items to fit them all. My life is full of meaning, exciting and that word I am not suppose to say (whispering …busy). So busy in fact that I.

Hot off Net-Gold list via Sue Fraser Citing the growing demand from the public and the scientific community for access to research data, The Rockefeller University Press has revised its copyright policy to allow authors to retain the rights to work published in its three journals. The policy, which became effective May 1, applies to all three Rockefeller University Press journals: The Journal of Cell Biology, The Journal of Experimental Medicine and The Journal of General Physiology. The new policy allows authors to reuse their published work.

"Technology," computer pioneer Alan Kay once said, "is anything that was invented after you were born." Isn’t that the truth? If it has always been part of life as we know it, then it isn’t considered technology. For example, the ink pen was once considered technology and now it is just a common, everyday, writing utensil. There has been quite a buzz lately around a new gadget that was released this week- Kindle. Newsweek reports, "Jeff Bezos believes he can improve upon one of humankind’s most divine.

One of the things I love most about my background is the rich varied experiences I have had. Mentors along the way cautioned me that I needed to focus; that because I was engaging in such diverse fields (chasing my passions) and not narrowing my focus I was making myself less marketable. They were wrong. I have found by being interested in many aspects of education I have gained an expertise that is needed in a variety of arenas and as a result get to called upon to participate in a wide range of exciting tasks. Every so often I get asked to do.