I will soon be going to Shanghai, China to oversee new Advanced Placement High Schools for Chinese students with aspirations for American universities. I will be working for Nacel/Open Door (http://www.nacel.org/). I will be living in Shanghai and partnering with the Shanghai ShangDe Experimental School(http://www.shangdejy.com/english/index.html). Shanghai is an amazing place: http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS316...&&q=shanghai+china&safe=strict&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1080&bih=503. I will continue to blog once I'm there about my experiences and the work we will be doing. After hiring the teachers, we will be going there on or about August 20th. Stay tuned to this blog and please get a Skype account so that we can communicate face-to-face. You can also reach me at steven.jordahl@gmail.com.

2.0 to Write

It's evident, with all the research that has been done, that Web 2.0 tools enhance students’ engagement in the classroom and increase achievement. Now imagine the impact that can be made in writing. Blogs, podcasts, wikis, and some incredibly fun software excite students, and while they write using these, their skills and creative thinking improves across all subjects.

I firmly believe that teachers that do this find a way to allow students to write for a large audience. Students write but they also start to recognize the challenges of having more people reading what they have produced. This engages the students, but it also challenges them to reach a new level of excitement and rigor.

Read this good article by by Maya T. Prabhu, Assistant Editor @ http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/07/18/technology-a-key-tool-in-writing-instruction/.

Be Connected

Educators often talk about how students are socially connected through Web 2.0 technologies, but I have seen a shift to more adults doing the same. In fact, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Skype, Google Chat and Docs and etc. are populated by adults looking to stay connected and see it as a fascinating way to be lifelong learners. Sure, laptops are probably the preferred way for most adults, and while mobile technologies are being more fully utilized by a younger generation to stay connected via the web, it won't be long and adults will catch on to this craze as well.

I consider how technology has increasingly outpaced the K-12 public school world. Students are asked to "power down" everyday as they entered the schools, while those of us in education continue to find creative ways to fund more computers and connectivity. We must figure out a way to keep pace with the "real" [global] world if we expect to produce lifelong, creative and innovative thinkers, achievers, problem solvers and doers. Let's tap into the mobile technlogies that are in the pockets of almost every high school student in the country.

I just read recently that 1 Billion people on the planet are connected to the web via mobile devices and within the next 5 years it will be 3 Billion. It sure would be a sad day come 5 years from now if we can't figure out a way to tap into that resource as a wonderful learning device. I will expect my own children to have opportunities to learn in classrooms where technology is fully integrated into the curriculum, and since this is so, I must make a commitment as an educational leader to allow for this to happen in my schools.

I may find myself thousands of miles away from family, but I will always be connected to them 24/7. I stay connected at a short distance with Facebook, Skype, Google and etc. Why would I not do the same from thousands of miles away? Now, imagine students interacting and collaborating on assignments as they work to be more creative and innovative with the outcomes of their projects. We no longer have to imagine it...it's already being done.