June 29th, 2009
In Wired magazine (June 2009, UK edition) there is a good list of sites for finding online education. It is becoming more and more obvious that information is available for free and that is extending even to higher education. For the industrious and curious soul there are plenty of ways to keep informed without paying now astronimical university fees.
ocw.it.edu is the “source that sparked the open courseware movement”. When the Massaschusetts Institute of Technology starts putting its professors online for free others start to listen (and learn).
academicearth.org hosts thousands of video lections from top scholars around the world.
owercommonns.org is a “major hub” for Open Educational Resources for Brittish institions and the Genome Reserarch Instititue in the US.
steeple.org.uk hosts podcasts from many top British institutions including Oxford and Cambridge.
royalsociety.tv is the host of its science lectures.
And please don’t forget the most recognized of all, ted.com, where you can hear and see lectures from some of the top new thinkers around the world.
June 22nd, 2009
Classroom 2.0 is a social network site educators interested in utilizing the new technology in the classroom. Again, I couldn’t imagine the amount of information on the web about alternative schooling, digital competence etc. before I started looking. One new site after the other is out there for the person looking to explore and learn. Visit classroom 2.0, one good example of how to get support for innovation.
June 22nd, 2009
The George Lucas Educational Foundation is called Edutopia. They try to share what works in public education and it sure looks like they are doiing an interesting job of gathering relevant information and spreading information via webinars, bloggs, videos and their very own magazine. They have information about everthing from digital learning to autism to programs that support the arts. There is link information, conference information and ways to help people keep in touch. Check it out.
June 5th, 2009
From Marielle Westlund I received the following two links I wish to pass on. One from a very interesting sounding school in Brooklyn, New York. I hope it works as well as it sounds. It is, of course, hard to know just form a website. One must trust second hand information, but I find visiting a school is not always as uplifting as reading about it. Sorry, but true. I hope this is a great place, however. Read about the Brooklyn Free School here.
Marielle also sent a link to the Singapore government. The school system in Singapore has made dramatic improvements that also seem to go hand in hand with the mental health of its citizens. Here’s a link to the government page. Same case here – who knows without seeing and visiting, but we seem to have been hearing positive things about the schools in Singapore from several sources.
June 5th, 2009
Yesterday I had the priviledge of listening to Gordon Neufeld, a reknowned Canadian child psychologist. Gordon Neufeld is author of the book. Hold On To Your Kids – Why Parents Need to Matter More than Peers. I must say it was one of the best lectures and course days I’ve participated in in the last ten years. Full of passion, important theory, excellent models and practical ideas Neufeld explains his perspective on parent-child relationships and teacher-student relationships.
Relation matters is the theme. “One cannot teach to the mind without first reaching the heart.” Today’s children are very separated from adults, parents and relatives. More and more they grow up with peers and that leads to insecurity, uncertainty and victimization. More and more teachers say that more and more children are becoming unteachable. We have more funding, better buildings, more technology, more testing and clearer curriculums, but still schooling is not working like it used to.
I will not delve into Gordon’s many explanaitions here. Please do check out his website where you can also order his book and many DVDs and check out his distance courses. www.gordonneufeld.com. Leave it say that the teacher is wise to take the time and effort to establish a positive relationship, to “collect”, “bridge” and “be a matchmaker” to other adults. It is advice well taken in a time when children and teenagers needs adults more and more but get less of them.
June 2nd, 2009
Chaos pilots is a Danish alternative educational project that is getting more international attention. You will find their description of goals and methods on their website here. Key words are
Sustainability
Cultural diversity
Social innovation
There is a definite connection to entrepreneurial learning.
From their website: The ambition is to be co-creators of a global agenda concerning ”next generation business and social innovation” by creating, testing, displaying and unfolding great ideas, products, services and learning. An agenda and a movement pushed forward by the six values of the KaosPilots.12 cities have initially been chosen aas a potential home base for these learning, exploration and entrepreneurial spaces: San Fransisco, Toronto, Berlin, Istanbul, Moscow, Shanghai, Cape Town, Buenos Aires, Bangalore, Welington, Hanoi and Tokyo
These ”Showrooms” will vary in form and content, but will contain educational programs, incubator environments, different comåpanies and NGO’s, technologies and social and cultural venues.
June 2nd, 2009
Jonas Himmelstrand is an international consultant based in Sweden who publishes a bi-weekly newsletter about personal growth, alternative orgnizations and alternative learning methods – among other things. You can get information about the Strategies to learn and grow – the newsletter the www.stratletter.com.
June 2nd, 2009
Please discover the work of the British consultant and author, Mike Pegg. He is, in my mind, a world class mentor and practical thinker about organizational development and personal growth. Always insightful, to the point and creative, Mike helps leaders and business rethink their purpose, meaning and approaches to developing the best in their people and their businesses.
You will enjoy his blog, book and thoughts via www.strengthsacademy.com.
June 2nd, 2009
http://www.hyperisland.se
Hyper Island is getting a lot of attention in Sweden and around the globe for its unique attempt to redefine approaches to digital skill training. It’s a post secondary program collaborating with the business world and helping students not only learn relevant skills but also connect and work with business. At least students don’t seem to have a problem getting jobs afterwards and the instructional methods seem to work.
June 2nd, 2009
www.21stcenturyskills.org
Here’s a wide initiative to redefine the purpose, themes, skills and approaches used today in education. Thank goodness. I am not sure of the agenda. Lots of corporations and the government seem involved, but here’s a site with lots of informaton, invitations to conferences and that helps us rethink schooling.