Edutopia Webinar: Education Nation

August 26, 2010:Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in Our Schools

Presenter: Milton Chen, senior fellow, The George Lucas Educational Foundation and Anthony Armstrong, a middle school teacher and member of the foundation's National Advisory Council

Host: Grace Rubenstein, senior producer, Edutopia

Audience: Ideal for educators who want a bird's-eye view of the leading edges of change in education, plus practical tips for how to bring some of these innovations to your classroom.

Description: We are living in a time ripe for powerful educational change. We have the tools, the passion, the political will and -- most importantly -- the shared belief that we can and must do better to help our children become creative, capable competitors and contributors in the world. In this session, Milton Chen, senior fellow of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, paints a picture of what this transformation could look like. Jumping off from his hot-off-the-presses book, Education Nation, he outlines six leading edges of innovation in our schools, ranging from where and when children learn to who their teachers are. And he points to real-world examples of the pioneering work being done on these educational frontiers.

Joining Milton is the impressively innovative Anthony Armstrong, a middle school teacher and member of the foundation's National Advisory Council, who uses free technology tools and rigorous discussions to challenge his students. Anthony shares his best practices and advice and shows what this new Education Nation looks like in a real classroom.

Webinar Resources

• Download the presentation (PowerPoint 2.1 MB).
• Download Anthony Armstrong's Tech-Teaching Tips (PDF 388 KB).
• Join the discussion: Ask a question you'd like to address to the webinar presenters, make a comment, or network with like-minded educators on this subject. Webinar host Grace Rubenstein and our presenters will check back regularly to answer questions, so please continue the lively discussion at our "Reform Starts Here" group.
• Follow Dr. Chen's blog on Education Innovation
• Some additional useful links mentioned in the presentation:
• The Digital Generation Project
• Education Takes on a Global Dimension at Chicago's Walter Payton College Prep
• Escondido Union School District iRead Project
• A New Day for Learning, Part Two: A Deeper Look into Four Full-Time-Learning Programs
• Engineering Success: Students Build Understanding at Seattle's Aviation High School
• GENERATION YES: Youth & Educators Succeeding - provides youth the opportunity to improve education through technology
• A school that's doing good tech-integration work with elementary age kids: Forest Lake Elementary in Columbia, SC
• A video (plus handy materials) explaining how a teacher in Anchorage, AK, teaches math as a social, collaborative activity
• Grace Rubenstein's blog about the tech director in Wisconsin who has decided to remove almost all internet filters in his district this year