AAL HEADLINES
Here are a selection of recent AAL news stories we think will interest you!
We post the most up-to-date 1:1 news on our website. Check back frequently!
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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 (jspencer@aalf.org). 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 service@aalf.org
WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU!
We're currently looking for new 1:1 coaches to join the AALF team! If you're interested, please click here, and be sure to send a resume, describing any coaching and other relevant experience. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to write us by clicking here!
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SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE
What online collaboration tools or sites do you use when working with your PLC (Professional Learning Community)? EdWeb.net, GoogleDocs, Edmodo, others?
We're looking to compile a list of our readers' recommendations, so please send them here!
Thanks!
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HAVE YOUR SAY
How frequently do you use online assessments?
Let us know by responding to our 10-second poll!
Thanks for participating!
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FUTURE FRIENDLY SCHOOLS-- GET INVOLVED!
Our friends at TakingITGlobal have recently launched Future Friendly Schools, a global network and certification recognizing schools' commitment to inclusive, responsible, and globally relevant education. The program was designed through a global consultation, with more than 4,000 school leaders, educators, and students playing a role in designing the indicators.
Click here to learn more about the program!
AALF will select one school to receive a 3000$ scholarship to be applied toward a one-year membership to the TIG and Future Friendly Schools community. Be sure to click here to learn more and sign up by April 30th to be eligible for the scholarship competition.
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JOIN OUR EDWEB COMMUNITY!
Come join AALF's EdWeb community - just another way for our AALF members to connect with one another, share stories, ask questions, and generally support each other on this learning journey. We'd love to have you join!
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The Foundation thanks all its partners for their ongoing support.
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Welcome to the April edition of the AALF newsletter!
Once again we're pleased to bring you this edition of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Report.
This month, Bruce Dixon, President of AALF, shares a discussion-provoking activity from AALF's 21 Steps to 21st Century Learning framework that will help you articulate and clarify your school and district's vision for 1:1 and anytime, anywhere learning. In a new editorial by AALF Executive Director, Susan Einhorn, we read how the landscape of work, research in science and the humanities, and even the arts is changing because of technology and the implications this has for schools. Michael Valentine shares an update on the Hale@Home program at Hale School in Perth, Australia. Researcher Cathy Cavanaugh writes about a cloud-based action research tool, ARTI, and New Zealand educator Steve Martin discusses how an innovative framework, the SOLO taxonomy, provides a framework for creating more personalized learning opportunities for students.
As always, you'll find some of our regular features: Have Your Say, Share Your Expertise, and Conversation Starting Points featuring a quote from Neil Postman, as well as a list of upcoming Events that may be of particular interest to AAL 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 Spencer
AALF Communications
jspencer@aalf.org
Be sure to follow us on:
 
And check out our Scoop.it page!
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A SHORT TEST OF VISION
 In this editorial, Bruce Dixon, President of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, describes how a simple yet powerful envisioning exercise provides interesting (and, sometimes, surprising) results.
Click here to find out what Bruce discovered.
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(COMPUTATIONALLY) RETHINKING THE CURRICULUM
 Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation shares a number of fascinating examples of how disciplines as diverse as biology and fashion are being reinterpreted through the lens of computational thinking and why this matters to schools. Click here to read Susan's thoughts!
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We're offering a 2nd SESSION!
We've Got Laptops, Now What?! Foundations for Success
Are you a teacher, instructional or technology coach, or administrator new to 1:1 teaching and learning? Are you moving to a school with a 1:1 program or is your school introducing 1:1 in the coming year?
Are you wondering where to start?
START HERE -
AALF's online course We've Got Laptops, Now What?! Foundations for Success
This new online course is designed for new or soon-to-be 1:1 middle school or secondary school educators who are asking:
- What are the common foundations implemented in highly effective 1:1 classrooms?
- Why are these foundations effective?
- What are my next steps in designing and implementing these foundations?
This is NOT a software how-to course or an introduction to basic technology. In We've Got Laptops, Now What? Foundations for Success, you'll learn how to backwards map the vital classroom foundations, principles, and teaching strategies that lead to well implemented and effective 1:1 learning.
The course will run from April 24- May 22, 2014.
Course participants will meet for four 75 minute sessions starting at 11am EDT/ 8am PDT (15:00 GMT)
Hurry! Registration closes soon!
**Click here to read information on pricing, a detailed agenda for each session, information about course leader, Karen Ward, or to register. |
HALE@HOME REALIZES ITS VISION; AND BUILDS MOMENTUM FOR THE REVOLUTION
 In the July issue of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Report, we shared a story about an innovative online program Hale@Home, at the Hale School, an independent school for boys in Perth, Australia. In this article, Michael Valentine, Head of Online Learning, updates us on the program's progress, and how it has fostered a collaborative community at the school.
Click here to read the latest news about Hale@Home!
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ACTION RESEARCH FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION (ARTI): A System for Collaborative Professional Development and Assessment in Teaching
 Are you considering conducting action research in your classroom? According to Dr. Cathy Cavanaugh, the ARTI model, a cloud-based action research framework developed as part of a US federally funded K-12 project, is an innovative professional development tool that has helped shift practice. Click here to read more about ARTI! More on Action Research: In the December issue of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Report, we outline one suggested plan and timeline for implementing and learning from action research. Read more here.
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SOLO TAXONOMY
 What kind of progression is required to move from low-level thinking to higher order thinking? How can you appropriately challenge each student, who arrives in the classroom, a unique person with different forms of prior knowledge? In this article, Steve Martin, award-winning New Zealand educator and author of Using SOLO as a Framework for Teaching, describes how the SOLO Taxonomy aids this process and helps to create a common language of learning.
Click here to read about the SOLO Taxonomy!
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CONVERSATION STARTING POINTS
 Get the conversation started with this month's quote from Neil Postman in Teaching as a Subversive Activity:"In order to understand what kind of behaviors classrooms promote, one must become accustomed to observing what, in fact, students actually do in them. What students do in a classroom is what they learn (as Dewey would say), and what they learn to do is the classroom's message (as McLuhan would say). Now, what is it that students do in the classroom? Well, mostly they sit and listen to the teacher. Mostly, they are required to believe in authorities, or at least pretend to such belief when they take tests. Mostly they are required to remember. They are almost never required to make observations, formulate definitions, or perform any intellectual operations that go beyond repeating what someone else says is true. They are rarely encouraged to ask substantive questions, although they are permitted to ask about administrative and technical details. (How long should the paper be? Does spelling count? When is the assignment due?) It is practically unheard of for students to play any role in determining what problems are worth studying or what procedures of inquiry ought to be used. Examine the types of questions teachers ask in classrooms, and you will find that most of them are what might technically be called "convergent questions," but what might more simply be called "Guess what I am thinking " questions." *Do you agree? Do you think students are not encouraged enough to ask substantive questions in the classroom? What shifts are you making in your own classroom? What are the challenges? Watch the AALF 21 Steps to 21st Century Learning video entitled Explore Contemporary Learning. How does the learning experience for the students in the video compare to the experiences Postman describes? We'd love to hear what you think! 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!
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COME JOIN US ON 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:
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EVENTS 
Check Events on the AALF website regularly to keep up-to-date on other events of interest to the AAL community. AALF EVENT: April 24- May 22, 2014 Participants will learn how to backwards map the vital classroom foundations, principles, and strategies that lead to well implemented and effective 1-to-1 learning. May 1-2, 2014 2014 NSBA Minnetonka Technology Site Visit Experience firsthand how technology accelerates learning with an overview of all Minnetonka Schools and Technology Integration E-12. Explore technology in language immersion, early childhood, special education, and the arts. May 3, 2014 EdRev 2014 San Francisco, California A unique day of interaction among students, parents and educators, exploring ways to create new educational environments that fit the individual. Free for students and educators! June 27-July 1, 2014 ISTE 2014 Atlanta, Georgia Part idea incubator and part collaborative workspace, ISTE's conference and expo brings educators of all types and grade levels together to share discoveries and develop solutions for their greatest challenges-all while connecting to a global network of education resources. July 8-11, 2014 Constructing Modern Knowledge: Summer Educator Institute Manchester, New Hampshire Constructing Modern Knowledge, now in its 7th year, is a minds-on institute for educators committed to creativity, collaboration and computing. Participants have the opportunity to engage in intensive computer-rich project development with peers and a world-class faculty. |
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