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One-to-One
Volume 6, Issue 3
January, 2010
In This Issue
President's Message
AALF Leadership: Executive Director's News and Thoughts
1-to-1 Leadership and Learning
Survey Says
Share Your Expertise
1-to-1 Teaching and Learning
Coaches' Corner
Resources
Online Institute Announcements
Upcoming Conferences and Events
Quick Link
Join Our Mailing List!



Dear Colleague,

Welcome to the January edition of the AALF newsletter. In this month's issue we have an insightful editorial from AALF's President, Bruce Dixon, who focuses on researching research. Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of AALF, writes about how technology changes student expectations; we have an article by Joe Hofmeister on the immune systems of schools, as well as an article on the philosophy behind Sugar and open system software by Walter Bender. Also included in this month's newsletter are some of our regular features: Survey Says, and Share Your Expertise.

Click on the link at the end of each article to read it in its entirety on our website. You can comment or add your stories to any of these articles. We would love to hear from you!

Enjoy!
Institute Announcement
A+ gradeANNOUNCING NEW AALF ONLINE INSTITUTES!


NEXT STEPS INSTITUTES:

'We've Got Laptops- Now What?!
April 13- 22, 2010

Laptops + EL Students = A Winning Combination
May 11-20, 2010


21 STEPS to 21st CENTURY LEARNING ONLINE INSTITUTES:

Planning
March 30- May 4, 2010

Implementation
May 4- June 8, 2010


Click here for more information on any of the above AALF Institutes.


President's Message
RESEARCHING RESEARCH

Dixon

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.



AALF Leadership: Executive Director's News and Thoughts
TECHNOLOGY AND EXPECTATION

seinhorn

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.
1-to-1 Leadership and Learning
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.

Polls and Results
SURVEY SAYS
A  grade

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!

Questions from the Community
SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE 

A  grade 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
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM OF A SCHOOL: THE MYTH OF THE CONTAGIOUS TECHNOLOGY PRACTICIONER


A  gradeJoe 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.


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 seinhorn@aalf.org
Resources
KLASCEMENT.eu: A PLACE FOR TEACHERS TO COLLABORATE

A+ gradeKlasCement.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
Online Institute Announcements

A+ gradeforallANNOUNCING NEW AALF ONLINE INSTITUTES



PLAN21 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, internatio
nal 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.


IMPL21 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.


GotAALF 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.


WINLAPTOPS + 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.

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.

AALF Worldwide Networking
CONTRIBUTING TO AALF
A+ grade
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 (seinhorn@aalf.org or 425.223.3763) if you are interested in any of these opportunities.

The Foundation thanks all its partners for their ongoing support.