Wednesday, July 24, 2013

#BLC13

Amazing thinking and learning going on at the Building Learning Communities Education Conference 2013 in Boston. I'll be following at #BLC13 to get in on some of that awesome pd. I have been blown away by the opportunities we have to take charge of our own professional learning through online resources!

So, Yong Zhao gave a keynote and this is some of the thinking it led to for me. Here's some of his thinking from "Catching Up or Leading the Way:

He believes that schools should offer a comprehensive, balanced curriculum that includes opportunities for students to explore and develop both left and right brain thinking. They should also help children develop a global awareness, an appreciation for differences, an understanding and an ability to interact with the digital world, and the knowledge to develop a healthy mind and body. Schools must also allow children to study what interests them, what they are passionate about, and what they are good at. 

I so agree that this is what we need to do in schools in our classrooms!

Another quote I read that was a popular tweet is, "Education - Make things that are meaningful to other people" by Dr. Zhao. I think this is so true because it gives our students a sense of purpose and a real audience!

I also loved this Design Thinking Process created by Tom Barrett, follow @tombarret.

I look forward to following the conversations at #BLC13