Category: High School Redesign

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Meme Alert: School 2.0

In addition to the “Google in Education” and “Video Games” in education trends I saw in the 1212 posts I skimmed and read this morning, I also noted a resurgence of the School 2.0 or School Restructuring meme. Doug Belshaw (who I seem to link to disproportionately often here) asksIs this the future of schools? in reference to an article about an innovative new school being built in Australia.

Meanwhile, Will Richardson (and others) report that the School 2.0 conversation started by the US Department of Education at the NECC conference in July continues. In fact, the plans we saw at the conference are finally available online – and on paper by request. Visit School 2.0 – Join the Conversation to see what the educational technology leaders in this country have in mind. Naturally, there are many Web 2.0 (and ubiquitous computing – and networking) technologies involved, as well as some innovative organizational changes. Again, this is an exciting trend to see.

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Is Your Firm Ready for the Millennials?

Is Your Firm Ready for the Millennials? (Via elearnspace.)

a positive article expressing “what’s right” with learners now entering the workforce/higher education system (the focus is not on the technological proficiency of millenials…but their social makeup). Millennials, according to cited research, are personable, committed, team-workers. Are we, as educators, able to adjust to needs of these learners? To what degree should we as educators adjust our approaches…and to what degree should we expect Millenials to adjust? (via Jay Stone)

I refer to this site in anticipation of the upcoming Orange County High School summit at which my colleagues and I are presenting on Educational Technologies. The summit is focused on the book Millennials Rising: The next generation, which is cited in this article.

Some of the conclusions of the article were surprising to me. For instance, after all of my research into how the gamer generation is better at taking risks than, say, the boomers, this article suggests that millennial’s risk aversion will be higher… and their justification for this claim seemed reasonable: “this group, which has had such a structured life so far, may have difficulties if they run into situations that are less structured and ambiguous than their life experiences have been thus far. ‘They don’t do very well in situations of ambiguity.'” I have no doubt this is a very complex generation. I also, of course, have no doubt they’re gonna do fine, but have their own neuroses… which is not to say we can’t try to do the best we can with them. That’s “with them,” not “for them.”