When I'm speaking publicly, I often start by reflecting on the good fortune I have in being exposed to the enormous range of experiences, expertise and wisdom that comes from working across the diverse range of cultures that I'm exposed to in my travels.

Having now worked with government and policy leaders, and educators across more than 40 countries over the past 10 years, I'm taken not only by those distinct things that separate one culture from the other, but even more so by those things we share. Of all those common ideas and ideals, one that I find most interesting is the widely spread mythology and misunderstandings around teachers' enthusiasm for using computers, and their readiness to adopt new practice to do so. 

 Click here to read more about Bruce's thoughts on the 'secret art of the possible.'

Visit Room 1 in my school during the first period of a typical day, and you will find small groups of students working on their laptops in clusters. Some of the group members might be tweaking their group website, created with social software, which has been designed to promote a needy school in Nepal. Another group member might be editing their audio file that will soon be uploaded to become a podcast about news in Nepal, and then embedded into their site. A few of the students are collaborating on a Google doc brainstorming educational content soon to be created and uploaded onto an XO machine to be sent off to Nepal or Africa. 

AALF asked Will Richardson, author of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools, as well as the highly ranked and read Edublog Weblogged, to list the top ten books he'd recommend to our AALF community. In no particular order, here's what he said:

Click here to read the rest of Will's List.

Do you have a top ten list of books you'd like to recommend? Let us know! We will be including book lists from other educators in upcoming issues, so stay tuned!

You can follow Will on Twitter: willrich45

I believe Benjamin Bloom would have loved living, exploring and teaching in a world that includes Web 2.0 because he was known as a man of great talents, including having a nose for what is significant (Wikipedia, Bloom's Theories).  Web 2.0 is significant in that it has changed some very basics about the world in which we live, including the world of education. I have found that aligning Web 2.0 resources with research based Best Practices and Bloom's Taxonomy- Learning in Action has expanded my pedagogical understanding and empowered students to learn more indepth and to 'show and share' this deeper understanding more successfully in more unique ways.

Sylvia also shared with us her list of the top ten books she'd recommend to members of the AALF community. In no particular order, here's what she said:

Click here to read the rest of Sylvia's List.

Sylvia Martinez, President of Generation Yes, is a veteran of interactive entertainment and educational software industries. She has been a featured speaker at national education technology conferences in areas ranging from the use of the Internet in schools, Web 2.0 technologies, student leadership, project-based and inquiry-based learning with technology and gender issues in science, math, engineering and technology (STEM) education. You can follow Sylvia on Twitter: smartinez

Kobus Van Wyk, the Director of Khanya, a project of the Western Cape Education Department, South Africa, informs us that teachers in South Africa soon will be offered a subsidy to purchase a laptop. Because very few teachers are familiar with laptops and technology in the classroom, there is concern that teachers will not take up the offer. One initiative to assist teachers is the development of a book, Laptops for teachers - 101 questions and answers, containing questions teachers may have and answers based on other teachers' experiences. As part of his research for this book, Mr. Van Wyk has posted these questions and answers on his blog that can be found here.

Mr. Van Wyk is looking for teachers from around the world to provide feedback about the appropriateness and usefulness of the questions and answers. If you can help, please go to his blog and give him some feedback.

• Face-to-face and additional communication sessions
• Online learning opportunities
• The use of Web 2.0 online collaborative communication tools such as blogs and wikis
• Professional development support with AALF associates who are currently working in highly effective 1-to-1 schools.

Here, Karen Ward responds to the theme of last month's newsletter: Partnerships.

If we wait for a perfect time or opportunity to form a partnership it may never happen. Although there are various reasons or excuses for this, it serves our purpose more so today to examine the positive outcomes from partnerships.

Some years ago a friend of mine taught me that a ship's deck has partners included in the design. These are heavy timbers, called 'partners', which provide strength to support the mast of the ship. These partners also provide support to one another. I think there are several important connections we can make between a sailing ship and partnering, and specifically the opportunity in AALF coaching partnerships. Envision...

* the body of your sailboat as the vision and goals of your 1-to-1 program
* the mast as the strategies or what you will do to achieve your goals, and
* the partners (or timbers) as the various actions or how you will act upon the strategies.
These actions come from both internal and external partners; they help provide the support to your 'mast' as your 1-to-1 ship moves forward.
 
As you build this image in your mind you can also envision the positive outcomes for students, educators, school, and community.  For the remainder of this article I would like to address the last bullet included above. 
 
The aim of AALF coaching is to provide support to educators at every stage of their program.  Like the partners in a ship, AALF coaches act as external partners in supporting educators in their challenging work. We all know that two or more experts (or partners) working together will better address the 1-to-1 educational needs of a school because partnerships bring together bright, knowledgeable, and experienced people.  Connect the AALF coaching aim and the partnering setting described above and you can imagine the powerful possibilities.
 
Here are three ways AALF coaching can provide support and strength to your 1-to-1 learning program:
 
Professional development

What makes some professional development activities more effective than others?  First, educators within a school identify a focus for their learning and the continued development of the school as a whole based on their goals, strategies, and actions.  Generally, leadership then identifies someone, often-times an outside partner, who can provide insight, training, and an effective way of thinking and talking about their work.  Lastly, that partner continues to provide limited support over a period of time as the school implements what they have learned and as they evolve their understanding.  Effective professional development should be supported by reliable research and should provide tools for educators to use as they implement what they learn.  For example, research tells us that 1-to-1 students are more engaged in the writing process through extensive writing, correcting and editing, that they learn more because they are more engaged in reading, writing, communicating, and analysis of information and text.  These outcomes are very desirable, but how does a staff translate these research findings into instructional actions that align with their ship (above), and how can an entire staff build their 1-to-1 pedagogical understanding and culture so that they can share instructional strategies and student learning activities with one another?
 
AALF coaches work alongside educators on campus to design effective research-based professional development that will meet the needs of the school.  They then provide ongoing support as educators translate what they have learned into action.  Here is an example of tools that AALF coaches employ (NOTE: This tool is 'housed' at my Ning Education site titled: "What are the Best Practices of Effective 1-to-1 Classes?" You may be required to join this free educator resource before you can access the tool or connected discussion).
 
Thinking partners

In this role AALF coaches assist in the thinking and performance of individuals and groups regarding effective 1-to-1 implementation.  This collaboration and teamwork invariably includes asking wise questions and looking for the right answers. Questions like:

* What is our vision for 1-to-1 learning and what do we believe it will do to meet our educational goals?
* How will we know we are being successful with our 1-to-1 implementation-what evidence will we use to measure levels of success>? How will these measures empower us to know our next steps with regards to professional development?
* What does an effective 1-to-1 deployment look like? What are our next steps in planning our deployment?
* What should 1-to-1 teachers and students be doing each day in class? What tools can we provide for teachers to understand the changes they must make in their pedagogy and instruction?
 
Coaches are involved in AALF events, like the upcoming online 21 Steps to 21st Century Learning Institute.  The items on the agenda provide a view of the breadth of support both institutes and coaches can provide. (NOTE: This document can be found at the AALF Ning site titled: "1-to-1 Leadership Groups" You will be required to join this free educator resource before you can access the tool or connected discussion).
 
Consultants

In a consultant role coaches provide information on both the how and why of 1-to-1 practices and implementation.  They act as a knowledge/information resource and liaison to other resources.  They deliver technical knowledge and examples while providing guidance for planning, implementation, and monitoring.  They provide tools and processes appropriate for the schools need.  They make strategic recommendations related to vision, planning, implementation, and monitoring.  They work as partners so you can achieve your 1-to-1 goals and vision.
 
And so,....

If we wait for a perfect time or opportunity to form a partnership it may never happen.  However, just as the mast of a ship profits from the support of the ships partners, so do educators, students, and community profit from the support of partnership work.
 
Karen Ward acts as the AALF Manager of Communications and Consulting/Coaching.  You can reach her at kward@aalf.org or (425) 223-3753.

INTERESTING NEWS OUT OF ILLINOIS

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy announces the start-up of cool.hub.imsa. Cool.hub.imsa will connect learners of all ages and give them tools to explore their big "What if" questions, develop their ideas and innovate together, without needing traditional organizational structures. Through a combination of physical and virtual meeting spaces, cool.hub.imsa will provide opportunities for collaboration and resources that accelerate research, rapid prototyping and program development.

For more information about this initiative, visit the cool.hub.imsa blog.

Join Macarthur Genius Deborah Meier; legendary educator and author of 40 books Herbert Kohl; digital imaging and photography expert Lesa Snider King; author/animator/illustrator Peter Reynolds; Dr. Gary Stager and a stellar faculty at the Constructing Modern Knowledge 2009 summer institute, July 13-16, 2009 in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.

Constructing Modern Knowledge provides a rich learning environment in which educators have the time, resources and inspiration to learn via the creation of personally meaningful technology projects while interacting with some of the wisest educators of our time. Social events include an institute dinner and reception at the legendary FableVision Studios before a big night out in Boston.

Constructing Modern Knowledge respects the budgets of schools and educators by keeping registration costs affordable and by offering team discounts. The institute is appropriate for all K-12 educators, administrators and teacher educators.

Learn more about Constructing Modern Knowledge, the professional learning event of the year at www.constructingmodernknowledge.com

Are you implementing a 1-to-1 laptop program and struggling with a specific issue? Do you have questions about policies, communicating with parents or the community, AUPs, professional development, or any other issues that you are facing in implementing anytime, anywhere learning in your school or district?

If your answer to that question is yes, let the AALF community help. Send your questions to AALF, and we'll post them both in our newsletter and on the AALF web site.  Although we may not be able to post all your questions, we'll try to post as many as we can.

• Get involved with a RTA group (Research-to-Action); these groups will continue to contribute to the '1-to-1 Leadership and Learning' column which explores 'best pedagogical practices'
• Volunteer your school to be a '1-to-1 Global Storybook Spotlight School'; this column provides an in depth look at 1-to-1 schools from the perspective of leaders, teachers, and students
• Volunteer to submit an article to an upcoming issue of the AALF newsletter.
• Volunteer your unique suggestions; suggest columns or ideas you think would benefit 1-to-1 educators around the world

Please contact Susan Einhorn (seinhorn@aalf.org or 425.223.3763) if you are interested in any of these opportunities.