As a school law instructor and tenured associate professor of educational leadership, I perhaps have a different view of tenure than most P-12 teachers. As we look to what the future of tenure may be, I believe that it’s important to recognize a few key issues that will shape the......

Five Reasons Why I Love Incheon International AirportBy Catherine Bodry I'm back in the Naver Cyber Cafe at Incheon Airport, outside of Seoul, Korea. I don't know what the worlds most wired country is, but this is certainly the most wired place I've ever been. I walked through one of the gadget shops here at the airport and it was pretty much what you'd see at Best Buy, except shinier and smaller. They don't have iPads yet, but they've got some pretty cool looking web appliances. Even my cell phones 3G Internet access is fast, at least as fast as my Time Warner Internet at home. My plan was to spend some time this morning at the hotel enjoying surreal browsing speeds, but there was a fee, and my initial calculation was $89.44 USD for the first hour. I'm pretty sure that was wrong, but it's pretty good here at the cyber cafe. A learning commons area adjacent to the school library. All of the furniture was on wheels ? even the bookcases. I'm pretty sure this was Concordia School in Shanghai It's been a great week of working with educators at International schools from Asia and the Middle East. This is where I get pushed the most. It's an interesting paradox, where you have educators who, for a variety of reasons (not the least of which is a sentiment that leads them to an ex-pat lifestyle), are naturally creative, innovative, and adventurous risk takers. Then, on the other hand, they teach students from families who have been successful and probably consider the traditional, academically rigorous, possibly Ivy League education that they enjoyed at least a big part of the reason why ? and they naturally want the same for their children. This conflict came out most clearly, as I read through and commented on the backchannel I had running during my keynote at the EARCOS middle school principals event. It pushed me a lot to re-examine aspects of my message. Still, many of these schools grow and innovate....

Bill MacKenty - Educational Technologist probably doesn't even know me but he has endeared himself to me for responding to my student, Trent, a student on the NetGenEducation project seeking answers. You can read Trent's question and Bill's answer over on Bill's blog, but I wanted to say thank you to Bill for responding and for taking the time to answer. He didn't know Trent was a student or that his teacher happened to blog - he just shows his all-around niceness and kindness by responding so professionally to Trent. These are the kinds of people I like to work with - those who do what is good and right without anyone looking. I'd also like to make a point that many of us are contacted by people and we know not who they are, but we should do our best to respond as best we can just because it is in the ethic and responsibility of sharing. My Dad always said, "You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats children and animals - those he has no benefit from being kind to." And Bill, whether you are the self proclaimed chief zucchini or just a really smart dude, thank you for taking the time to give such a great answer about educational gaming. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License....

Vicarious Learning: Developing Cultural Literacy Through Global Collaboration | Radio TICALHere is the podcast I recorded at TICAL in Arkansas with Rowland Baker about vicarious learning and global collaboration. We had a great conversation and I love the example he shares from "close encounters" that makes so much sense!tags: education, learning, flatclassroom, inthenews, edu_trendsCANVAS in Scotland: Students Display Artwork in Open Sim | RezzableMore work in OpenSim - displaying virtual artwork in a museum. CANVAS (Children's Art at the National Virtual Arena of Scotland) is a place where this is happening now in OpenSim.tags: education, learning, opensimPosted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License....

My take on the Stanford charter school situation is below. Punchline: This is sad in some powerful ways, it's not funny. But the New York Times story demands a bit more discussion. (Plus it buries the lede?check out the Shalvey quote) In the story Linda Darling Hammond points out that the Stanford school takes all kids. Sure, [...]...

One of the benefits of delivering a lot of speeches is the chance to watch others, and learn from them as well.Here are three things that I've learned and used along the way. I hope they serve you well: 1. Don't Let "The Facts" Speak for ThemselvesPeople can make facts and numbers mean almost anything. I think it was Mark Twain who noted, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Facts need interpretation, so interpret yours. And, be prepared to cite the source and how those facts were determined. 2. Use Two Kinds of NumbersExact numbers sound very credible: "The number of survey participants who said the company is communicating "very well" is 61.7 percent." The human mind processes that as "sounding exact" and, therefore, accurate.Rounded numbers offer the appearance of an estimation. "Almost two-thirds" is easier to remember than 61.7 percent.Which to use if you want the numbers to be credible and memorable?Both. Use the exact number first and round it off later when you refer to it in examples.3. Capitalize on the Legitimacy of the Printed Word.For some--actually about 75%--having something on paper makes it official and "real." Think about this: Even small business owners (smart ones) print fees, prices, terms, and conditions on their official stationery. When you quote something verbally it makes it subject to negotiation. Whether you're selling a concept, a motorcycle, or a holiday cruise, put it in a written form--even if it's a picture--that someone can see, touch, and hold. Make it real....

Have you ever wanted to know what goes on inside the mind of a campus recruiter? Here's your chance! Listen in on my conversation with Joy Schwartz, a former campus recruiter who is now a university career counselor. She'll share the inside scoop from the other side of the job fair booth, answering such questions as: What [...]...

"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system." --Dan Quayle, former U.S. Vice PresidentThat has nothing to do with anything here. I just hated to see it go to waste.______________________________________________________After spending the past week immersed in a team building project, I decided that re-visiting this article might just be helpful to our ATW readers. Also: please check out the note at the bottom of the page.______________________________________________________OK, it's clear: based on the comments from We Need Team Spirit (So I've Set Aside Thursday), we've all had some strange experiences with team building. (Some stranger than others).Organizational success depends on people working together to get "it" done. So the whole working together thing is--well, huge. In an era where we deify leaders, none of them can get anywhere without everyone else. If you're one of those people "in charge" of something, here's a tip:Every team meeting is team buildingIt is. The dynamics are like dinner at home with the family.Ever time you come together, the interactions lead to some degree of increased satisfaction and performance or a sense of disarray and dysfunction.The effectiveness of regularly-scheduled meetings is likely to impact the health of the group more than a "one-off" to get things back on track. (Although if you need to get back on track, do it).Here's a shopping list of what people are looking for:1. Clear sense of direction.In an era of misunderstood "participative management," people are seeking direction and clarity. That's the only way a group can understand and rally around a shared sense of purpose.This is a leadership issue. If you are the leader, continually check your own clarity compass. If people are running in ten different directions that means that you are, too. Focus.2. Talented colleagues.I don't know how you oper...

Google has launched the “Search Stories Video Creator,“ a quickie tool where you can create your own commercial for Google. Remember that nifty ad they ran during the Super Bowl. It looks just like that. Just insert seven search terms, select a soundtrack and the video will automagically get uploaded to YouTube.What a swell idea. They've got hard working people like you and me spending time spreading their message for free! But maybe we can turn the tables and use it to promote ourselves.Here's my Sunday morning crack at it......

Looking for a gift for your favorite college graduate this spring? Please consider my book, Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World. It's available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, the Kindle and ? I'm excited to report ? the iPad!!...

The New York Times Your Money section features consistently great advice from Ron Lieber and his team. (This team includes Carl Richards, who you may remember from his excellent blog Behavior Gap; Richards has shared a couple of guest posts here at GRS in the past.) Last week, Your Money featured an article from Tara Siegel Bernard in which the author explained how to self-diagnose your financial health. "We asked planners what they ask their clients during their annual financial physicals," Bernard writes. "Their questions can help you diagnose your financial situation." Here are the eight questions she recommends you ask yourself during your financial check-up: Is your net worth growing? Your net worth is the total of your assets minus your liabilities. (So, if you have $200,000 worth of stuff but owe $220,000, your net worth is -$20,000.) I don't see much value in knowing my net worth, and I don't track it, which seems like heresy [...]...

The next time you’re sifting through your change purse to pay for your morning latte, consider this: reaching for a credit or debit card instead will save you time – and perhaps even some money. These days, you can pay with plastic pretty much anywhere – and the benefits are clear....

This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman. Bad money habits, like other bad habits, can be tough to break. Relying on willpower alone to stop cold turkey makes us long even more for the Stuff or the behavior that we've forbidden ourselves. The focus becomes solely on what we can't have, which sets us up for failure. We'll lapse, feel guilty, and the cycle repeats. Think about people who lose 70 pounds on a carb-free diet, only to regain the weight, and usually more. Another example is someone who shops and overspends because he feels depressed. He gets a temporary high when he acquires the new Stuff. Unfortunately, his depression will return and worsen when he starts to feel guilty for spending too much money on things he didn't really want or need. Maybe he'll vow to curb spending temporarily, but then the depression leads to shopping and spending again as he looks for that [...]...

Spent $450 at Ann Taylor yesterday after 4 hours trying on just about everything in the store. Why must every single top have some weird ruffle on it this season? Not only do they look ridiculous, in the rare cases they didn't, I just thought what that poor ruffle would look like after being through the wash once or twice. Or even hand wash. I don't like to do dry clean only for my tops.Showed my boyfriend my $350 worth of Theory purchases and while he liked my sweater jacket thing, he disliked the dress (I don't really like it either) so that's going back to the store. $150 return. Cha ching. As for the Ann Taylor stuff, I got a grey pencil skirt that fit nice (but may wrinkle too much... why must things wrinkle?), a pair of size 12 petite black pants that are a little bit too big (the 10s looked like i was going clubbing the way they hugged my ass, so I opted for the larger size), a kind of pretty navy blue shirt with short sleeves, and a pair of patent leather shoes that don't fit at all... they are going back to the store too. So my $450 trip will be a $300 trip and my $350 trip will be a $150 trip once I make all my returns.I'm forcing my boyfriend to come shopping with me tonight. I don't agree with his taste in everything, but he did help me go through some of my clothes in my closet last night, and we discovered that while I own a lot of "slutty" clothes as he likes to call them (I call them thin-strapped tank tops, not work appropriate) I don't have much when it comes to work wear. I'm throwing something together for today that I'm not 100% happy with. Really, the most important thing I need to get are shoes. I own one pair of shoes that will work for today but they're so worn out on the heal that they make me walk crooked. They were great while they lasted....

This is the first of several weekly reminders that Get Rich Slowly is currently running a video contest in which you could win $500 ? or a signed copy of Your Money: The Missing Manual. All you have to do is make a 2-minute video featuring either a personal-finance tip or your own financial success story and submit it by April 15th. Winners in each category will win $500. Ten runners-up will each receive a copy of my book. (And if you have a website, you're also eligible for a $500 prize in the bonus website category.) Entries are beginning to trickle in ? and I'm eager to see many more in the future. I love seeing what you folks come up with. For example, Jamison from Tech Tips for Parents just submitted his success story. I think it's pretty good: You can view all of the contest entries here. (There are just a few so far, so [...]...

WINNERS - PLUS NEW CONTEST Some time back, I blogged about the Take America to College contest. In the contest, nontraditional students up to age 30 were encouraged to send their stories and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

Motivation for the shy - you CAN ask that question. "I'm always available," one teacher said to our class. "My door is always open." But when I was younger, I was afraid to go to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

What is in this blog entry: Michelle Y. Talbert tells about some of her experiences as a nontraditional student at Cornell. Michelle doesn't know if she really fits in at first. She feels like she... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

Hi again, fellow nontraditional students. I recently wrote a posting here on the Nontraditional Student Blog about Computers and Nontraditional students. I talked about how hard it is sometimes... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

I am not smart enough. I just can't do the things others can do. Nobody likes me. I am ugly/stupid/ and unworthy. I will never be able to do what I want to do. I will never succeed at... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...