Whole-School Project Builds Pride

In rural Howe, Oklahoma, home to about 700 people, the school has long been the heart of the community. Students from pre-K through high school all congregate on the same campus. Now, thanks to the creative efforts of high school students and their teachers, the campus will be getting a facelift that should make local pride shine even brighter.

Project Lion Pride was a schoolwide immersion in project-based learning that engaged every student and teacher at Howe High during 10 weeks this spring. Although most students were new to PBL, they stepped up to the challenge of answering this highly relevant driving question: How can we make our school better? On the line was an offer of $1,000 to implement the top idea presented to a panel of judges...

Full article here:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/project-based-learning-whole-school-suzie-boss

The Modern Ascendance of The Superhero

Summertime is in full bloom. I'm going to take a week or two to divert my focus from education and examine other important issues - like super heroes. This tandem editorial from NYTimes takes a stab at the ascendance (and domination?) of the modern super hero movie. Very compelling.

"There is something paradoxical about the modern ascendance of the superhero: world domination is what these guys were born to fight, and here they are chasing after it in a fairly literal way."

Read on, true believers!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/movies/the-amazing-spider-man-and-the-modern-comic-book-movie.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw

"Realness" in PBL

Suzie Boss posts from PBL World, a global gathering of educators interested in project-based learning:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-world-conference-part-three-suzie-boss

The Middle School Conundrum

Do preteens and young teenagers fare better in K-8 schools or sectioned off in separate middle schools? NY Times presents a debate on the topic:

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/06/18/the-middle-school-conundrum/?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120619

Learning Like We Do In The World Beyond School

David Price of Learning Futures/Musical Futures (U.K.) reflects on his recent visit to High Tech High. Yours truly is mentioned!

Read his blog post below:
http://davidpriceblog.posterous.com/138848814

MakerBot in Education?

What are the applications for technology like this in the classroom?
http://www.makerbot.com/
http://www.thingiverse.com/

Considering Spectrums