What Matters Now

Seth Godin just published a book called What Matters Now. In his new e-book, which is really more of a pamphlet, Godin and a number of other thinkers examine some important ideas that every educator must ponder and attempt to incorporate into his or her teaching.  These are concepts that will cross every industry and will prove to be invaluable for our students as we move into the second decade in the 21st century.

Download the free PDF here or read the book below.

The case for mobile phones in education

Mobile phones are ubiquitous.  Whether you like it or not, your students have them and are probably texting or on Facebook while in your class.  Some may see these tools as a massive problem for teachers but mobile phones are the one technology that has the most potential to improve education around the world.

There are many initiatives to improve educational opportunities for students.  Laptop programs have been extremely popular for the past few years.  While laptops provide access to information and offer the opportunity to engage the world, they are expensive and not every student can afford one.

Mobile phones, on the other hand, are less expensive and provide many of the same opportunities to extend the classroom for learning.  We need to find a way to provide quality education for all people around the world and at this point mobile phones are our best bet.

To support this argument, I have listed below a number of very useful blog posts, presentations, or websites that examine the power of mobile phones in the classroom.  At the end of the day, mobile phones will not change what we need to teach but they can improve how our students learn.

Post: Please turn on your cell phone

Presentation:  Cell Phones as Classroom Learning Tools

Website: Cell Phones in Learning

Wiki: Cell Phones in Learning

Wiki: K-12 Cell Phone Projects

Delicious: Articles on cell phones in education

Website: MoblieActive

Photo Credit: Quinn.Anya

What is TEDxNYED?

This week the TEDxNYED website went live and the application is now open to all educators or those interested in the future of education.

The TEDx event will be hosted in New York City on March 6, 2010.  But while you could view the website to learn about the event, I wanted to introduce TEDxNYED and explain what prompted its creation.

In the summer of 2009, I came across a tweet about TEDx.  TED is a brand that almost everyone instantly recognizes as a leader in helping to spread innovative and thoughtful ideas around the world.  Now with TEDx, individuals could host their own independent TED event.  When I perused the list of current TEDx events, I did not see any dedicated to education.  It is then when I decided to start this process.

I currently work in New York City at an independent school.  I knew an epicenter like New York City would be an ideal location to bring together some amazing minds to discuss education.  As an educator who is involved in studying the potential of technology in shaping the future of education, I wanted the event to be centered on how new media and technology is shaping our educational landscape.

I brought together a number of amazing technology leaders, educators, and TEDsters from around New York City to help lead this event.  This group has worked hard over the last five months to create an event that will bring the best and brightest minds in education, media, and technology together to reach educators, leaders, and those passionate about education.  Our hope is that our speakers will spread ideas and help decision makers and interested parties understand this undercurrent in education and take these ideas back to their schools or organizations and make valuable change to educational instruction, design and access.

While we still have a great deal of planning still to do, we at TEDxNYED are well on our way and look forward to hosting this event on March 6, 2010.  We see this a great way for us to spread ideas on the future education while providing an opportunity to network and meet some amazing people who are dedicated to improving education.

Follow TEDxNYED on Twitter and Facebook.