There seems to be much interest recently on divining the successful intersection between gaming and learning. The noteworthy primer on the subject comes from Jane McGonigal’s compelling book Reality is Broken . I had the pleasure of meeting Jane this...

Ok, maybe yes, but how about if this was scheduled first thing Monday morning following a long Thanksgiving Break? Well, as they say, that’s how they roll at High Tech High. Last week I had a fun opportunity to visit High Tech High School in...

The Microsoft Partners in Learning 2011 Global Forum wrapped-up last week with a bang. A lovely Gala Awards dinner in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. A fitting venue to conclude an energizing week with educators from around the world. The...

The fourth and final day of the Partners in Learning 2011 Global Forum is nearing its end. We will go on tonight to the Gala Awards Dinner at the National Portrait Gallery and 18 educators will receive Global Innovative Educators Awards. The week has...

This morning Sec. of Education Arne Duncan stopped by the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum today to make a joint announcement with Microsoft about the migration of the U.S. Dept. of Ed teach.gov web resource to Microsoft, which will lead a...

Today, 12 U.S. educators, along with 103 educators from across the globe meet in Washington, DC for the 7th annual Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum. The Partners in Learning Global Forum is a celebration of innovative teaching practices and...

Can you think of a job or profession that is done alone? No co-workers to consult, no team responsible for contributing different pieces of a project, no meetings (well, maybe that might be okay ; ) It’s hard to come up with many. Artist? Author? (at...

Defining and setting goals is a difficult process. Setting life goals and attempting to answer that big question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is perhaps one of the most challenging of all. Attempting to answer this depends on our stage...

At first this project made my head hurt. Okay, that’s not quite fair, but I had to read Lou Zulli’s application to the Partners in Learning 2011 US Innovative Education Forum twice before I really realized, or maybe believed, that kids were...

I met Kelli Etheredge just over three years ago. She was selected to attend the Partners in Learning 2009 US Innovative Education Forum and was there showcasing her work as a literature teacher and teaching & learning lead at St. Paul’s Episcopal...

I have been blogging a lot recently on how teachers who are making projects real-world and authentic are achieving amazing outcomes (see salmon fishing in Alaska and student entrepreneurs ). We see plenty of words tossed around to describe the teaching...

Fishing and land use are two critical issues for the state of Alaska. It may not come as a huge surprise that these issues are frequent topics of discussion in Jason Arthur’s class. Jason teaches at Highland Tech High School in Anchorage. It might...

As many of you might recall there was a fair amount of blogging activity around the Partners in Learning 2011 U.S. Innovative Education Forum we hosted in July. The event brought together just over 100 educators from across the country to showcase and...

Kicking off this weekend is the second annual NBC News 2011 Education Nation Summit on education aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities faced in this country. The intent is for this initiative to act as a catalyst toward sparking meaningful...

This is a guest post from Margaret Noble a Media Arts educator from High Tech High in San Diego, CA. Margaret who had the opportunity to participate in the Microsoft Partners in Learning Middle East & Africa Innovative Education Forum and collaborate...

This is the first of a couple of guest posts from two U.S. educators who had a rare opportunity to attend the Microsoft Partners in Learning Innovative Education Forum for the Middle East & Africa hosted in Aqada, Jordan last month. Here’s a dispatch...

On Friday evening we wrapped-up the Partners in Learning 2011 U.S. Innovative Education Forum (IEF) with the Gala Awards dinner on a fittingly stunning evening in Seattle. All 100 teachers gathered to celebrate, relax and reflect on an incredible 2+ days...

We just wrapped-up the project exhibitions piece of the Partners in Learning 2011 U.S. Innovative Education Forum ! 100 educators, representing 25 different states and nearly every K-12 grade level and subject (checkout the Photosynth of the exhibition...

The 2011 U.S. Innovative Education Forum is happening this week in Redmond, WA. 100 top educators from 25 different states arrived in Seattle today. We have a busy 2+ days ahead and 10 projects from this group will go on to represent the United States...

I have been blogging quite a bit on this big event and we have 100 top innovative K-12 educators on our Redmond campus this week for the Partners in Learning 2011 U.S. Innovative Education Forum. Educators will exhibit projects that creatively use technology...

Over the past two years or so in working with a diverse set of educators, digital storytelling, or some derivative thereof, continues to be one of the primary uses of technology in classrooms across all grades levels. Though we can argue about what the...

A curated multimedia exhibition entitled, “Illuminated Mathematics” produced by 12th graders may not be what you’d expect to see high school seniors working on. But at High Tech High (San Diego, CA) they are certainly taking a fresh approach to math and...

I suppose this will not come as much of a surprise, especially for those teaching middle and high school, but the typical 9th grader isn’t often too concerned about global issues. While inspiring action (in anything) can be quite challenging except for...

This post could apply beyond teens as it really is about: how does someone put their best foot forward when looking for a job in highly competitive marketplace. Given the economic environment we’ve seen in the past few years this certainly is a...

Today, we are excited and humbled by the many applications we received for the 2011 U.S. Partners in Learning Innovative Education Forum (IEF). Below are the finalists selected in Round 2 for this year’s forum that will be hosted on Microsoft’s...