AALF Email Header
One-to-One 

The newsletter of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation

 

August 2013                                Volume 9, Issue 5                      

 

Join Our Mailing List
In This Issue
1:1 HEADLINES
SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE
1:1 EDITORIALS
NEW ONLINE PROGRAM
HAVE YOUR SAY
ANNOUNCEMENT
1:1 STUDY
STUDENT AGENCY & 1:1
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
READING
ONLINE TOOLS
LEARNING FROM OTHERS
1:1 EVENTS

We post the most up-to-date 1:1 news on our
website. Check back frequently!





RAISING MODERN LEARNERS  

Raising Modern LearnersRaising Modern Learners, a new website from Will Richardson and Bruce Dixon, is dedicated to the latest news and analysis on the topics parents need to track at this moment of huge change in the world: shifts in higher ed, the future of work, new technologies, rethinking learning and education.

Click here to learn more and follow the conversation!

 

 




CONTRIBUTING TO AALF

 

The AALF worldwide newsletter readership continues to grow. With this in mind, we would like to invite foundation members to contribute to the newsletter. We are currently looking for articles on the following themes:

 

Current Issues in 1:1 

Student Voice  

New Learning Spaces

Teaching Practices & 1:1

Learning Frameworks  

Research on 1:1 

Action Research on Innovative Practices (Teaching Practices, Professional Learning, Project-based Learning, etc.) 

  

If you have something you would like to contribute, please send a brief (50 word) article summary, along with your contact information, including your organization and title, to Justina Spencer ([email protected]). We look forward to hearing from you!  

 

 

 

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 1:1 initiative.

 

For additional information regarding AALF coaching support, go to the Coaching and Mentoring Services page of our website, or contact Karen Ward at [email protected]    


 

 

WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU! 

 

We're currently looking for new 1:1 coaches to join the AALF team! If you're interested, please send a resume, describing any coaching and other relevant experience. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to write us by clicking here!

 

 



SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE

Connected Students

Innova Primary School in Singapore is looking for a few U.S. schools to host a learning journey in November. They are in the pilot phase of their 1:1 program and are looking to learn from other 1:1 programs.

  

If you can help in any way, please click here and respond!

 

Thanks for sharing! 

 

 

 


































The Foundation thanks all its partners for their ongoing support.


 

Greetings!

 

Welcome to the August edition of the AALF newsletter!  

 

Once again we're pleased to bring you another edition of the AALF newsletter, One-to-One

  

This month, we have a new editorial by Bruce Dixon, President of AALF, who writes about how iPads encourage incrementalism. You'll also find an editorial by Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of AALF, who questions what form a school should take. In addition, you'll find an article by Nick Sauers who discusses student agency in 1:1 programs; as well as an article by Michael Valentine on the new online program, Hale  @Home, that is helping to ease the transition into a technology-rich environment for rural students; and an interview with Carolyn Thompson, teacher at McGehee School in Louisiana, concerning the community of scholars she is building in her classroom. Furthermore, we have a few announcements on new research regarding 1:1 programs in Europe, an exciting new program recently launched by TakingITGlobal, as well as a collection of our most popular articles from the past two years for your perusal. 
 

As always, you'll also find some of our regular features: Have Your Say and Share Your Expertise as well as a list of upcoming Events that may be of particular interest to 1:1 educators.

 

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

 

Enjoy!

 

Justina PictureJustina Spencer

AALF Communications

[email protected] 

 

 

 

Be sure to follow us on:

 

Follow us on Twitter   Like us on Facebook   

 

 

 

DUMBING US DOWN   

 
Dixon In this editorial, Bruce Dixon, President of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, argues that iPads encourage incrementalism in schools; they simply allow students to do the same things they have always done a little bit better. He asks: is this really the best we can do?

Click here to read Bruce's thoughts.


I USED TO THINK - SCHOOL AND OUR ASSUMPTIONS

Susan Picture

This month, Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, questions our assumptions on the form a school takes. If it were up to you to invent school today, what would it look like?     

 

Click here to read Susan's editorial and please add your comments in the comment section below!

  

 

 

HALE @HOME

Hale at Home Hale School in Perth, Australia, is an independent school for boys that spans grades 1-12. Many students at Hale attend as boarding students, having left their rural communities. In 2013, Hale took a step to ease the shift from rural educational settings to their vast, highly academic, technology-rich independent school. They have designed a program, known as Hale @home, where the boys enroll in a 1:1 Tablet program and undertake a weekly synchronous connection with the Hale @home teaching team while still living in their hometowns. 
 

 

Click here to learn more about Hale @Home!



 

 

MOOCs TO CHANGE K-12 EDUCATION
    
AALF conAdult 1:1 Learningsultant and Lehigh University education professor, Scott Garrigan, speaking at ISTE 2013, asserted that "the water has already begun trickling through the dike," concerning the introduction of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) in K-12 education. Click here to read Scott's opinion on the subject!
 

 

 

HAVE YOUR SAY

QuestionBoy

Does your school use online courses (such as MOOCs) as part of the curriculum?

 

Let us know by responding to our 10-second poll! 

 

 

We'll post the results in the upcoming newsletter! Thanks for participating! 

  
  

  
TakingITGlobal LAUNCHES FUTURE FRIENDLY SCHOOLS

future friendly schools We're excited to announce that TakingITGlobal has recently launched Future Friendly Schools, a new program designed to drive student engagement in learning. Future Friendly Schools
is a certification and network supporting schools in adopting the values of global citizenship, student voice and environmental stewardship, while integrating the approaches of immersive ICT use and project-based learning.

Here is what TakingITGlobal co-founder, Michael Furdyk, had to say about the program:

"We're building a community of schools committed to becoming living laboratories for innovation in teaching and learning, who are interested in collaborating with their peers to drive student engagement to new heights. The program is open to schools at all levels of development in these value areas, and will evolve each year with input from the community and our steering committee."

Interested schools can register to participate today at www.futurefriendlyschools.org, and will receive the certification guide for the program's first year in August 2013.


**Also, be sure to check out this recent video published by TakingITGlobal on the professional development work they've been doing with the Toronto District School Board.
  
  
  
WIDESPREAD STUDY ON 1:1 IN EUROPE

globeandlaptopsA new study developed by European Schoolnet (EUN) provides an overview and analysis of 1:1 initiatives in primary and secondary schools in Europe, in order to identify factors for successful implementation, and to present policy options for innovation in education. The study spans 31 recent 1:1 initiatives involving 47,000 schools and 17,500,000 students across 19 European countries. Click here and review its findings! 
  
  
  
MILD VS. WILD-- STUDENT AGENCY AND 1:1
 
cuthbert's collegeIn this article, 1-to-1schools.net blogger Nick Sauers shares some strategies that range from "mild" to "wild" for involving students in 1:1 planning. He argues that students should be a participant in the 1:1 planning process.

Click here to read Nick's take on student agency.  

 

 

BUILDING A CLASSROOM OF SCHOLARS

21 Steps New Logo  As part of the process of revising the 21 Steps to 21st Century Learning framework, Susan Einhorn, AALF Executive Director, visited Carolyn Thompson, teacher of History, Government, and Geography at McGehee School for Girls in New Orleans, Louisiana, and asked her how 1:1 technology has changed her teaching practices. She shared some powerful insights on the manner in which 1:1 allows educators to build a community of young scholars in their classrooms. 

 

Click here to learn more! 

 

**Also, be sure to check out our 21 Steps to 21st Century Learning video on Contemporary Learning featuring Carolyn! 

 

 

  

SUMMER READING

book stack We looked back through the archives of our One-to-One newsletters in order to bring you a list of the most popular articles from the past two years. Whether you're new to our community or not, we gathered these to assure you haven't missed a beat!

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

COME JOIN US ON SCOOP.IT!

scoop it Have you been following us? Come join the conversation! Scoop.it is an easy, visually appealing way to share pertinent ideas with followers who share common interests. Check out our Scoop.it page and see for yourself!

Here are some Scoop.it articles we've shared recently: 


Do you have any suggestions for Scoop.it topics to follow? Or suggestions of other curatorial sites? Click here and share them with the AALF community!  
 

 

CONVERSATION STARTING POINTS 

over shoulder
Get the conversation started with this month's quote from Alfie Kohn: 

"We are living through what future historians will surely describe as one of the darkest eras in American education -- a time when teachers, as well as the very idea of democratic public education, came under attack; when carrots and sticks tied to results on terrible tests were sold to the public as bold "reform"; when politicians who understand nothing about learning relied uncritically on corporate models and metaphors to set education policy; when the goal of schooling was as misconceived as the methods, framed not in terms of what children need but in terms of "global competitiveness" -- that is, how U.S. corporations can triumph over their counterparts in other countries.

There will come a time when people will look back at this era and ask, "How the hell could they have let this happen?""

 

Do you agree with Kohn? Join the conversation and let us know!

 

----------------------------------------------------------  

 

Do you have any particularly inspiring education quotes to share? Email us and we'll spread the word!

 

 

 


EVENTS

 

Calendar Events

Check Events on the AALF website regularly to keep up-to-date on other events of interest to the 1:1 community.  

 

August 23-24, 2013
The Homeschool Conference
This conference is geared toward those participating in or wanting to learn more about homeschooling, unschooling, free schools, democratic schools, and other forms of alternative education, and is also valuable for traditional educators looking to expand their scope and understanding of teaching and learning practices. 
   
SEPTEMBER 19-21, 2013 
The world's first massively open online conference for educators focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and more.

NOVEMBER 18-22, 2013 
Activities will include short talks called "ignite talks" given by invited presenters, followed by work time when attendees can network, plan future projects, and/or learn about various projects, tools, and initiatives.

February 26, 27, 28 and March 1, 2014

ASB Un-Plugged 

ASB Un-Plugged is an all-in-one learning opportunity for audiences ranging from classroom teachers to technology directors and coordinators, from principals, superintendents and business managers to tech support teams. As you and your colleagues consider building a 21st century teaching and learning environment, enjoy ASB Un-Plugged's learning and networking opportunities. Registration deadline is October 1, 2013.