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Suzie Boss, journalist
Suzie Boss writes about the power of teaching and learning to improve lives and transform communities. Coauthor of Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age, she draws inspiration and insight from educators who push the boundaries of the traditional classroom. Previously an editor and writer for the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, she was also the lead writer for Intel's Innovation Odyssey, a daily online feature about effective uses of classroom technology from around the globe. She serves on the board of Springboard Innovation, a nonprofit organization that teaches both youth and adults how to be effective social entrepreneurs and improve their own communities with innovative, sustainable solutions.
Subscribe to this blogger's RSS feedInspiring Young Leaders: Girls Take the Challenge
By Suzie Boss
9/30/08
Before she attended a summer leadership event sponsored by Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., Allie, a sixteen-year-old from Pasadena, California, says she had heard both of these words: social and entrepreneur. "But," she adds, "I had never put them together before." Now, after taking part in the Girl Scouts Challenge and Change program, she feels inspired to become a social entrepreneur herself.
Hungry for Solutions: Can the Youth Fix the Future?
By Suzie Boss
9/11/08On a recent late summer morning in Portland, Oregon, I walked past the downtown farmers' market, where vendors were setting up their lush displays of fruits and vegetables. Food was on my mind, but for a different reason. I was on my way to a forum for young people about how they could help fight world hunger.
Global Connections: Storytelling Builds Bridges Between Cultures
By Suzie Boss
8/13/08I first met Greg Tuke a decade ago when he was running a program called Powerful Schools. The nonprofit organization was working to strengthen schools serving some of the lowest-income and most culturally diverse neighborhoods in Seattle.
Global Learning: Connecting the World with ePals
By Suzie Boss
7/21/08When teachers talk about how much they and their students gain by connecting with learners in other parts of the world, their enthusiasm is downright contagious. Yet for all the promise of learning across distances, these wonderful flat-world projects still seem to be the exception rather than the norm.
Becoming Citizens: A Stint in Student Government Can Shape One's Future
By Suzie Boss
7/2/08When Ashraf Ghani talks about world events, his words carry the weight of experience: After twenty-three years of exile from his native Afghanistan, he returned after the fall of the Taliban to serve as finance minister for the transitional government. A veteran of the World Bank and recently on the short list of finalists to head the United Nations, he continues working to rebuild societies torn asunder.
Cinema vs. Cyberbullies: Using Filmmaking to Fight Online Harassment
By Suzie Boss
6/17/08When Debbie Heimowitz talks about cyberbullying at school assemblies or presents training events for teachers, she speaks with authority. She knows the statistics. She understands the potential for real harm if bullies use the anonymity of technology to gang up on their victims.
Stronger Together: Make Project Planning a Collaborative Practice
By Suzie Boss
5/7/08Moving from traditional teaching to project learning takes effort: You have to be willing to rethink everything, from classroom management to homework expectations to assessment strategies. And if you're the only one in the building who is teaching this way, it can get a little lonely.
Pictures Worth More Than 1,000 Words: Online Classroom Displays
By Suzie Boss
4/10/08If your classroom is like most, you probably use every square inch of available space. I love to step into learning spaces that feel like museums of living history. Ceilings, walls, and tables are covered with artifacts showing evidence of student understanding. Many teachers put up exhibits to reinforce everything from the big ideas of a discipline to classroom-management strategies. But how often do you step back and take a thoughtful look at what's on display?
Constant Communication: Tools for Global Change
By Suzie Boss
4/2/08Around the world, some 3.5 billion people now carry a mobile phone. Members of societies both rich and poor now think it's normal to be in constant communication. It's the kind of trend that prompts the question "What good could we be doing with all those mobile minutes?"
Open Professional Development: Learning in the World Classroom
By Suzie Boss
3/14/08Darren Draper, a technology specialist in Utah's Jordan School District, was getting ready to offer a professional-development course last fall about using social software in the classroom. Rather than a traditional sit-and-get workshop, he envisioned a more interactive experience in which teachers would use blogs, wikis, and the other Web 2.0 tools they would be learning about.
