PBL World: June 18-22, 2012

I get asked a lot about where to learn about Project Based Learning. There are the usual learning sites like BIE and Leading PBL. Now there is an incredible opportunity coming soon: PBL World.

Join the Adventure @ www.pblworld.org/

Mine! by Shutta Crum (A) & Patrice Barton (I)

In a good picture book, the pictures are just as important for telling the story. It's what makes picture books one of the most difficult to write. In Mine, Shutta Crum, a veteran of picture books has done it again, along with Illustrator Patrice Barton. With one word, Shutta tells a story that young children will enjoy and can "read" to their adults. Barton effectively collaborates with Shutta's concept and creates high quality images that makes the story moving "along" with the core text.

While parents of young children will love this book because their child(ren) can take over the reading, authors are also winners with this book. Aspiring authors of picture books will find this book a seminal text for understanding how economy of words is critical to storytelling with pictures. Show don't tell is the guide to this story, and makes for interesting study of word choice to move forward an idea.

What some people don't realize is that the author constructs the story and how it arcs. They craft the concept and themes. The illustrator takes the text and concept to create the pictures to "show" the story. Not easy.

Picture books such as Mine! is a great tool to explicitly show aspiring authors that each word must have an important role in the story. Otherwise, delete. From the perspective of teaching writing styles, Mine! should take its place along with among others John Jakes, Maya Angelou, and Ernest Hemmingway.

Free Kindle Offer: Marketing Made Easy...for Learning?

I follow a couple of authors, particularly the Newbie's Guide to Publishing blog by JA Konrath. They are continually redefining book publishing and marketing. With the eBook industry opening huge doorways for people to publish their work direct to the public, the question should be asked, How can this work for learning?

The short answer is Authentic Product assessments. When students are producing papers or projects how might they be published for an authentic audience? Schools pay for or charge families to purchase books for a book in their hands. Ebooks significantly cut costs for families and increase profits for fundraising to schools. Class anthologies or student directed projects could lead to author experiences and chances to post reviews. Part of the publishing process, students could create marketing plans or schemes.

With that said, if you'd like a chance for a free Kindle and books from marketing savvy authors...Read on...

WIN A KINDLE FIRE IN THE BIG KINDLE BOOGIE

10 Free Kindle Fires, 75 free ebooks, $300 in gift cards, a $500 library donation! Entries for 10 free Kindle Fires are already underway at http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com and gift cards are bing randomly awarded on Twitter for those who tweet about the Big Kindle Boogie.

On Feb. 1-2, bestselling thriller authors J.A. Konrath, Blake Crouch, Scott Nicholson, Lee Goldberg, and Scott Nicholson are making 75 Kindle books free on Amazon. They are also making a $500 donation to the local library of one Kindle Fire winner. They are also releasing the five-book Ultimate Thriller Box Set for free during the event. Contest is international, no purchase necessary. You can also join the Facebook party at http://www.facebook.com/BigKindleBoogie.

Three easy ways to enter:

• Use the entry counters at http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com
• You can also enter manually by tweeting to be eligible for Kindle Fires and Amazon gift cards: 10 free Kindle Fires. 75 free ebooks. http://bit.ly/xWOoKN #bigkindleboogie RT to enter for a Fire!
• You can email bigkindleboogie@yahoo.com ONCE PER DAY with "Boogie entry" as subject line

Everything free, everything fun. Good luck!

Switch - a book that's game changing for how to guide the change process

The book, Switch: How to change things when change is hard by Chip and Dan Heath, removed a veil about being an effective change agent.

One analogy from Switch is that of an elephant and its rider. The rider directs the elephant along paths and tasks. It's the thinker through logic and analysis. But sometimes the elephant gets spooked. Filled with emotions, logic dissolves. The elephant stomps and/or storms where it wants--and the rider, no longer in control, must hold on for the ride.

Changing personal views and habits is a monumental challenge. Some people on a sinking ship will panic and stampede causing more danger, instead moving in an orderly fashion to stations for safety. Or they might stick their heads in the ground ignore warning signs--consider the near demise of the Big 3 automotive companies or it you want to gawk at a traffic accident in slow motion follow the publishing industries dinosaur-like thinking regarding ebooks. Others would rather die than change--see smokers.

One of the industries that leads in the challenge for change is Education. As data mounts of low student achievement, how can we continue to maintain "business as usual" when results do not meet demands of a global society?

Switch provided me great reflection on how to recognize and plan for effectively guiding change. How to get the elephant in step with the rider. Check out the book. Download free sample chapters (Kindle / BN). Take this first step. You won't be disappointed.

Differentiating Instruction through Project Based Learning

Recently I had the chance to talk about 2 of my favorite education topics for how best to meet the needs of ALL learners. I'll let the video stand for itself. If you find it useful or helpful, please go to YouTube to "like" it. Thank you. Additional resources are below the video.

Differentiated Instruction through Project Based Learning

Leading Project Based Learning: www.leadingpbl.org 

This site contains many resources around PBL, from tutorials (Modules), units designed and implemented by pre-k to grade 12 teachers, and many useable materials for designing, managing, and assessing project based learning units.

The Learning Classrooms: learningclassrooms.pbworks.com

This site is an online learning series for Differentiated Instruction (DI). Modules guide teachers through important thinking, reflections, and understandings about DI and ways to effectively implement.

Stirred, a thriller that also represents a "different" way of publishing

I had the opportunity to read the novel Stirred by J.A. Konrath and Blake Crouch. It's a great thriller that brings to culmination two series by these two exceptional authors.

View Stirred on Amazon

These authors are pioneers on what epublishing can be for the masses through 21st Century Skills. There are many traditional publishing organizations, as well as hybrid where 3rd parties handle your work for a fee. And then there are the kind of mad innovative minds of these authors who make a successful living tackling the process themselves and make it look easy. In many ways the process can be easy once explored and with a good guide. A Newbie's Guide to Publishing is a great place to start.

Steve Jobs - Living the life of our future

Wednesday, October 5, 2011, a man died but his visions and ideas remain. He gave a commencement speech in 2005 for Standford University that, listening to it on NPR, moved me deeply. A message of hope and promise, mixed with an American ideas of independence and collaboration, is a gift of wisdom for all ages, besides the new college graduates. A recent Washington Post shared the them of that speech: Steve Jobs: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

It's with honor that I introduce Steve Job's speech, given in 2005:


Speech link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

Stay hungry, stay foolish,...How do we help our students experience such a rich opportunity?