President's Message
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RESEARCHING RESEARCH
Bruce Dixon, President of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, holds that there is virtue in 1-to-1 schools and districts commissioning their own research. However he believes we need to move our thinking forward in these pursuits by placing the focus on breaking new ground. Click here to find out why.
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AALF Leadership: Executive Director's News and Thoughts
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TECHNOLOGY AND EXPECTATION
Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, shares her thoughts on how technology has shifted children's expectations and thinking; do schools meet these expectations? She points to attitudes around intellectual property as one example of these changes. Click here to read Susan's thoughts on the changing landscape of technology and expectations.
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1-to-1 Leadership and Learning
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OPEN SYSTEMS FOR BROADER CHANGE
 Walter Bender, executive director of Sugar Labs, discusses how the culture of open systems is the best way to bring about change in education. With open system software such as Sugar, the control and creation of knowledge shifts to the user, which has a massive effect on pedagogy. Click here to read more about Walter's thoughts on Sugar and the benefit of open systems.
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Polls and Results
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SURVEY SAYS
Does your school conduct research on your 1-to-1 initiative? Let us know by responding to a 10-second poll we have posted on our new site (scroll down the homepage).
We will share more survey and poll results in upcoming issues, so stay tuned!
Thank you for participating!
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Questions from the Community
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SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE
 If you have any experience or thoughts on the question below, please respond by following the link to the discussion boards!
If your school is conducting research around your 1-to-1 initiative, what type of research is it? How can you use your research to help develop innovative pedagogy?
Click here to share your expertise!
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. |
1-to-1 Teaching and Learning
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THE IMMUNE SYSTEM OF A SCHOOL: THE MYTH OF THE CONTAGIOUS TECHNOLOGY PRACTICIONER
 Joe Hofmeister, educational technology consultant, debunks the myth that technology integration is "contagious" in schools; schools have an immune system that resists such change. Click here to read his thoughts about this myth and what is to be done.
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| Coaches' Corner |
AALF COACHING
AALF coaches provide support for educators at all levels and, working either individually or in expert teams, coaches and consultants support educators and policy makers at every phase of their 1-to-1 initiative. This includes creating a vision, designing appropriate goals, translating plans into action, choosing the most effective technology tools and designing technology support, providing professional development opportunities, and using data to reflect on the effectiveness of their program.
Working with individual leaders and teams of educators, AALF coaches incorporate:
- 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.
For additional information regarding AALF coaching support, go to the Coaching and Mentoring Services page of our website, or contact Susan Einhorn at [email protected]
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Resources
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KLASCEMENT.eu: A PLACE FOR TEACHERS TO COLLABORATE
 KlasCement.eu is a website based out of Flanders, Belgium, where at the moment teachers and students training to be teachers are exchanging lessons, best practices, educational websites, software and multimedia. At the moment, The website has a section devoted to universally useful content aiming to have about 3000 learning objects out of 9 European countries in the near future, with American and Canadian content welcome! The universally useful learning objects portion of the website can be found here.
You can visit the entire portal in English (content is in Dutch) and even register yourself to view content here.
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Online Institute Announcements
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  ANNOUNCING NEW AALF ONLINE INSTITUTES
21 STEPS TO 21st CENTURY LEARNING ONLINE INSTITUTE- PLANNING
If you have decided to implement a 1-to-1
student laptop learning program in your school, start by participating
in the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation's 21 STEPS TO 21st CENTURY LEARNING Online Institute - PLANNING, a 5-week virtual institute for school leaders ready to start a 1-to-1 laptop program in their schools.
Laptop
programs are part of an international move towards personalized
learning, designed to increase independence and self-initiated learning
in students and extend their learning beyond the classroom. Institute
leader Bruce Dixon, international pioneer of 1-to-1 learning and
president of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, will take you
through the steps you should follow to successfully plan a student
laptop program and tailor the program to your vision and your school's
needs. Based on the experiences of thousands of laptop schools around
the world, the 21 STEPS TO 21st CENTURY LEARNING PLANNING steps range from vision and goal setting through to budgeting and communications. In the US/Canada: Weekly 1-hour sessions
will be held every Tuesday, starting March 30th and ending May 4th from
5 - 6 pm EDT/2 - 3pm PDT (US time).
(In Australia: These
weekly sessions will be held every Wednesday, starting March 31st and
ending May 5th, with the first session from 8-9 am EDT, and the
following sessions from 7-8am EST.)
Click here for more information or to register.
21 STEPS TO 21st CENTURY LEARNING ONLINE INSTITUTE- IMPLEMENTATION
If you have decided to implement a 1-to-1
student laptop learning program in your school, start by participating
in the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation's 21 STEPS TO 21st CENTURY LEARNING Online Institute - IMPLEMENTATION, a 5-week virtual institute for school leaders ready to implement a 1-to-1 laptop program in their schools.
Laptop
programs are part of an international move towards personalized
learning, designed to increase independence and self-initiated learning
in students and extend their learning beyond the classroom. Institute
leader Bruce Dixon, international pioneer of 1-to-1 learning and
president of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, will take you
through the steps you should follow to successfully implement a student
laptop program and tailor the program to your vision and your school's
needs. Based on the experiences of thousands of laptop schools around
the world, the 21 STEPS TO 21st CENTURY LEARNING IMPLEMENTATION steps range from building pedagogical capacity through policy decisions and deployment. In the US/Canada: Weekly 1-hour sessions will be held every Tuesday, starting May 4th and ending June 8th, from 4 - 5 pm ET/1 - 2pm PT (US time).
(For
participants in Australia, times for these same sessions would be:
Every Wednesday, starting May 5th and ending June 9th, from 6-7 am EST)
Click here for more information or to register.
AALF NEXT STEPS INSTITUTES
WE'VE GOT LAPTOPS NOW WHAT?!
So your school has just begun its laptop
program. Now what? Where do you start and how do you begin to use
laptops in your classroom? Join veteran 1-to-1 teacher and teacher
coach Karen Ward and the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation as we
help you answer the question "We've Got Laptops - Now What?" - a
4-session virtual course for middle school and high school educators in
laptop schools.
Designed for beginning laptop teachers and school
leaders, this online course provides participants with essential
frameworks to organize, manage and design the learning and teaching
culture for 1-to-1 classes, reflecting many of the best practices of
highly effective 1-to-1 classrooms. In the US/Canada: Twice weekly
1-hour sessions will be held on Tuesday and Thursday, starting April
13th and ending April 22nd from 7 - 8 pm ET/4 - 5pm PT (US/CAN time).
In Australia:
Twice weekly 1-hour sessions will be held on Wednesday and Friday
mornings, starting April 14th and ending April 23rd, from 9-10 am ET.
Click here for more information or to register.
LAPTOPS + EL STUDENTS = A WINNING COMBINATION
The laptop is a powerful tool for supporting EL students as they develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. This online institute focuses on the best practices of effective 1-to-1 teachers - practices that support EL students in their learning and achievement. It will be led by Karen Ward, experienced laptop teacher and coach for AALF, Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute (CVELI) at California State University Fresno, and Springboard Schools, a California non-profit educational organization. In this online course, you will:
- Learn about 1-to-1 pedagogy and accompanying practices that result in highly effective instruction for EL students.
- Examine 1-to-1 teachers' best practice models that ensure success.
- Apply the tools provided during the session to your work.
- Apply what you learn to answering the following questions:
- How will 1-to-1 affect my EL student achievement? What changes should I make?
- What types of EL student engagement activities work best for 1-to-1 classes?
- How can I design lessons and student engagement activities that will build my EL student English language skills and understanding?
In the US/Canada: Four one hour sessions, to be held on Tuesday and Thursday starting May 11th and ending May 20th, from 5-6pm ET/2-3pm PT.
In Australia: Four one hour sessions, to be held on Wednesday and Friday starting May 12th and ending May 21st, from 7-8am EST.
Click here for more information or to register.
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Conferences, Institutes, Academies and Events |
UPCOMING EVENTS
Check Events
on the AALF website regularly to learn of other events at which AALF leaders will be speaking or leading workshops. We look forward to seeing you there! JANUARY 29-31, 2010
Educon 2.2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
FEBRUARY 25-27, 2010
ASB Un-Plugged: International One-to-One Learning Conference, Mumbai, India.
Organized in collaboration with the Anytime Anywhere Learning
Foundation (AALF), the Near East/South Asia Center of Overseas Schools
(NESA), and The Laptop Institute. AALF will be hosting a "21 Steps for 21st Century Learning Workshop" on February 24, 2010.
MARCH 30- MAY 4, 2010
21 Steps to 21st Century Learning- Planning
APRIL 13- 22, 2010
Next Steps Institute- We've Got Laptops Now What?! MAY 4- JUNE 8, 2010
21 Steps to 21st Century Learning- Implementation MAY 11- 20, 2010
Next Steps Institute- Laptops + EL Students= Winning Combination MAY 14-15, 2010
Evolving Schools for a Whole New Mind, Munich, Germany
JULY 18-20, 2010
Lausanne Laptop Institute, Memphis, Tennesse
Do you have an upcoming 1-to-1 event you would like to share with other newsletter readers? Contact Justina Spencer for information on posting these events.
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| AALF Worldwide Networking |
CONTRIBUTING TO AALF
Our AALF worldwide newsletter readership continues to grow. In the past year our foundation enrollment and readers have grown to over 2,500 members. This is exciting news and certainly provides evidence about the relevance of 1-to-1 learning across continents! As our audience and support continues to grow, we are anxious to provide timely and relevant information regarding 1-to-1 learning and schools around the world. With this in mind, I would like to invite foundation members to get involved with the production of this monthly publication. There are several ways you can contribute to this important work:
- 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 ([email protected] or 425.223.3763) if you are interested in any of these opportunities. | |
