:: The 4th Era ::

It's a rough time for Time Magazine. Take the cover article in this month's Town and Country Magazine: 'Empire of Excess. The Insane Egos and Extreme Expense

What about all of the knowledge and information acquired by an organization and its employees in the normal course of business? Should this information be shared?

. . Read, think, learn and share over Social Media… Security is everyone's responsibility! We are ALL responsible for the Internet's future! . ===> "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only t...

The Digital Youth Care Network is a network of European organisations offering online counselling for young people in difficult life situations.

Recently, I participated in two excellent Twitter chats on the #21stedchat hashtag. The first was about Assessing 21st Century Competencies and the second explored Marks and Grades in the 21st Cent...

This is downright spooky. It's an interactive infographic all about why your brain craves infographics. Food for thought!

  1. What are the most profound effects that digital bombardment has on children? How is this changing the way educators need to teach in today’s classrooms? The central issue is that kids tod...

The central issue is that kids today look pretty much the same as we did growing up, which belies the fact that on inside they are completely different.

Because of digital bombardment and their pervasive exposure to digital technology—exposure that primarily happens outside of school hours—our kids’ brains are literally being “rewired” on an ongoing basis. Their brains are constantly adapting to accommodate all the technology they spend so much time surrounded by.

They are what Canadian futurist Don Tapscott calls “screenagers”—the first generation that has grown up with a computer mouse and the assumption that images on a screen are to be interacted with. These technologies are their new learning tools and also are something to project their very identity onto – what writer Marc Prensky calls “digital natives.”

Over and above the annual Summit, WISE is an international initiative and platform for a multitude of established and new educational actors to collaborate proactively all year round.

Ever wanted to build your own online school? A new Wordpress plugin called Sensei by WooThemes might be a good place to start.

Here at Educon yesterday, I had the chance to learn a bit more about design thinking from David Jakes. David's central point was that schools and teachers often get stuck in a "Yeah, but..." mindset when thinking about change.

Of course, we'd have to work to take active steps to redefine almost everything about our schools if a culture of "Do" is really going to be possible. 

===> Grading will need to change -- from a focus on content mastery to a focus on demonstration of an ability to apply content in novel situations <===

By Med Kharbach

"I want to share with you some of the articles I have curated and read about creativity, a topic of much relevance to us in education. I have collected these articles probably over a period of 6 or 7 months but they are some of the best reads you can find online and I enjoyed reading every single line of them. You can bookmark them too and read them when you have time. Enjoy."

European Commission - Press Release - European Commission Press release Brussels, 19 November 2012

The teaching of IT, entrepreneurial and citizenship skills is fundamental for preparing young people for today's job market, but, in general, schools are still paying insufficient attention to these transversal skills compared with basic skills in literacy, mathematics and science, according to a new European Commission report. Part of the problem is rooted in difficulties with assessment.

===> For example, only 11 European countries (Belgium Flemish community, Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Finland) have standardised procedures to assess citizenship skills, which aim to develop critical thinking and active participation in school and society. <===

Such testing does not exist at all for entrepreneurship and IT skills in any of the 31 countries which took part in the survey (27 EU Member States, Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Turkey). The report also outlines progress in teaching six of the eight key competences defined at EU level for lifelong learning in knowledge, skills and attitudes.

“It is only by equipping children and young people with the necessary skills, including transversal skills, that we will ensure that the European Union will have the means to remain competitive and to seize the opportunities of the knowledge economy,” said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

"This study shows us where there is room for improvement and, most importantly, what we need to do to create more opportunities for our youth.

===> Rethinking education, a policy initiative that I will launch tomorrow, will outline concrete proposals for doing this." <===

Read more, a MUST:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1224_en.htm?locale=en

[Sounds a lot like a considerable portion of US educational policy...education for economic dominance. Will the West unite against the East? -JL]