The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science.
Albert Einstein

Ethics in the Digital Age

If it is inherently more interesting to think than to copy, why do students plagiarize, buy term papers and shortcut assignments? These small and large deceptions signal the desperate need to shift away from the industrial model of school and toward communities of learning -locally and globally. Students, like all citizens, may require the context of community for knowing what to do and why it is right. For students to care about learning, tasks have to be relevant, challenging and interesting. Teachers need to make sure assignments are worthwhile and explain why they have value."Why is this worth doing?" When teachers and students can answer this question, they both value original thinking so cheating becomes irrelevant, and digital voices are heard.

Thinking Over Technology: Mindware for Meeting the Standards

We can make the most of technology only when we think about what it can do for us, not what we must do for it. We need to use technology for research, problem solving, skill-building, communicating and presenting our ideas. With these goals "in mind," our mind's eye guides us to make technology an extension of ourselves, not unwieldy tools we must constantly bend to our purposes.

Problem Based Learning

A fuzzy situation invites questions and discussion from students. Then their questions lead them to research and reflect. With clear expectations and an authentic audience, they will pursue their own questions in a rigorous way. Check out this guide to learning PBL. Try out the PBL Builder. Check out PBL Resources page.

Earth Systems Science: Online Graduate Courses Using Powerful Instructional Models
In order to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, science educators have begun teaching Earth as a system -- combining earth, life and physical sciences. To support this curriculum shift, a team from NASA Classroom of the Future created online graduate courses for K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 teachers. Read about the design and results of these courses that are now being replicated by more than 20 universities.