MindShift

Flickr:Flickingerbrad By Aran Levasseur Innovation is the currency of progress. In our world of seismic changes, innovation has become a holy grail that promises to shepherd us through these uncertain and challenging times. And there isn’t a more visible symbol of innovation than the iPad. It’s captured the hearts and minds of disparate subcultures and … Continue reading →

By Sarah Butrymowicz By Sarah Butrymowicz Surrounded by farmland and ranches, Colorado’s Edison School sits off an unpaved road, with tumbleweeds blowing across its dirt parking lot. As recently as a few years ago, many families relied on solar or wind power instead of electricity; today, many still haul home their water from wells. Principal … Continue reading →

By Frank Catalano Schools are moving from creamy to chunky — but not in relation to cafeteria peanut butter. The change in texture is happening with content. Instruction that was structured linearly, captured in books that were all-inclusive monoliths with a predetermined progression for a uniform, somewhat “creamy” consistency, is shifting to newer forms of … Continue reading →

By Frank Catalano The future of tablets in our schools may not be coming from Cupertino. Or even the U.S. Despite the craze around Apple’s iPad, it’s only been two years since the device was introduced, and that may not be enough time to separate fad from trend over the long term in education. And … Continue reading →

More about students relying on their own peer networks to help them source information: Students report relying on friends to get help and share resources, Ms. Morgan says, whereas their responses suggest “much less of a role” for “conventional authority figures.” They “don’t want to ask librarians or tutors in the study center or stuff … Continue reading →

By Frank Catalano Schools have been adopting iPads with lightning speed  — more than 1.5 million have already been distributed to students, a mere two years after the original iPad launch. But beyond Apple’s influence in education, the high-profile tablet appears to be the poster child for a different trend. Call it the consumerization of … Continue reading →