Dot Learnt

As an organization working towards promoting global education for all, it is important to us to show support for our fellow global education advocates. So when we learned about the LitWorld Stand Up for Girls campaign, we decided to help spread the word.

LitWorld, an organization working towards achieving global literacy, asks you to Stand Up for Girls this 11th of October.

The campaign is an effort to gather global support for increasing female literacy rates. According to LitWorld, “523 million girls and women worldwide cannot read or write. Let us stand together to champion the right of all girls to be fierce, fearless and free.”

The campaign aims to educate women in the basic skills that will help them live full, prosperous and fun lives, from writing their names and farming their land to riding a subway and going to college.

To show your support, and to learn more about how you can be involved in the campaign, such as participating in the LitWorld Photo Contest or planning your own Stand Up for Girls event, visit litworld.org. You can also register to participate in Stand Up for Girls here.

Stand with us for female literacy!

- Mary

Global Books for Kids

Facebook

Twitter

Image available under CC License by Vinoth Chandar

Intro to Scratch from ScratchEd on Vimeo.

This past week, the Shelter Dubai and Bon Education invited Joichi Ito, the current head of the MIT Media Lab, to present a brief lecture to a crowd of entrepreneurs in Dubai. His presentation included a whirlwind tour of the Media Lab and the 300+ projects his team of professors and students were involved with. Alongside robotic limbs and collapsible cars, Mr. Ito introduced the audience to Scratch, a hand crafted computer program that is changing the way students are interacting with their digital world.

First introduced in 2008 and now reaching a global population of users, Scratch is a free, interactive programming language that uses a highly visual interface to make computer-programming skills accessible to all learners. (more…)

Time-lapse videos are a remarkably breathtaking, yet simple, use of technology. With a camera and a basic video-editing program, time-lapse representations can be created for, well, just about anything.

So how can time-lapse be used in the developing world?

Students in emerging markets are witnessing rapid growth on a near-daily basis. As cities, regions and countries launch into the global scene, infrastructure and lifestyles changes can transform the traditional landscape in a matter of months. Some worry that this rapid change is leading to a loss of culture and value structures in emerging populations. But time-lapse videos are a tool that can help to preserve local tradition and memory – while promoting digital literacy. (more…)

Bon Education CEO Anna Batchelder was a featured speaker this week on CISCO Systems’ getideas.org blog.

Anna responded to the question “how can we use social media in education?”

Anna discussed the intersection of education and technology in the UAE. She emphasized the importance of community in education, and the role that new technologies are able to play in growing and sustaining this community.

“Every nation is filled with exemplary and transformative education initiatives. Perhaps the greatest value of social media is that education decision makes, teachers, and learners around the world are able to unearth these gems, learn from them, and be inspired by them,” Anna said.

High Tech High, based in the United States, is an example of a school that promotes a community of learners. “Teachers are empowered to created and collaborated on multidisciplinary units and share their lessons learned and passion is evident in all aspects of the school community’s work,” Anna said.

Many exemplary learning communities can be found outside of the classroom, and educators would “benefit tremendously by studying and incorporating methodologies from non-traditional community and place-based education programs,” Anna said.

One transformative education initiative in the UAE is the after-school program Tawasul, where study environmental science while learning to scuba dive with master diver Ernst van der Poll. Students engage in environmental stewardship projects and document their learning using a social network blog, which also enable them to share photos, publish videos and geotag their dives. To catch a glimpse of the teenage participants enthusiasm, watch Tawasul’s recent TEDxDubai talk.

Anna offered this closing thought on transformational teaching and learning: “We often focus on finding the “right” solutions when it comes to school reform initiatives. Perhaps we should take a step back and focus more on asking the “right” questions that welcome new ideas and transformative thinking.”

-Mary

Bon Education Chief Education Officer Anna Batchelder joined Natasha Ridge, the Acting Director of Research at the Dubai School of Government, on Siobhan Live (Dubai Eye Radio) to discuss education in the UAE.

Anna and Natasha spoke with host Siobhan Leyden of the growing movement of UAE teachers who have begun embracing the use of technology in their instructional practice and the challenges and opportunities for growth that this movement is presenting.

Listen to the interview here:

Part 1:
Part 2:

Highlighting challenges such as infrastructure and digital safety, Anna and Natasha also speak about the positive results of a new blended (face-to-face + online) learning program (a collaboration between the Al Qasimi Foundation and Bon Education) in Ras al Khaimah that aims to improve teacher digital literacy and pedagogy skills.

What has been the result of the program?

(more…)

Have you ever been perusing the Internet and come across a fantastic resource in your subject area for your students to use? How about a spot-on best practice tip to share with coworkers? Social media networks, whether you are networking with students, friends, or colleagues, are excellent venues for sharing content-area resources and best practices tips and ideas.

If you can’t wait to share the latest, greatest lesson plan, resource or tip that you’ve just found on the Internet, the new Flock Social Browser is the web browser for you.

The most unique – and useful – feature of Flock is a sidebar that maintains a running feed of all activities taking place on every social network you belong to (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Flickr and YouTube), and every blog or news feed that you follow. From the same sidebar, you can also post to the social network of your choosing without leaving you current page.

(more…)

2011 is right around the corner. Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? It’s the time of year when people decide they will finally do that one thing they’ve been meaning to do, whether its running a marathon, losing weight, getting your finances in order or just reading more. But the real challenge lies in keeping the resolution, not just making it.

So, how do you keep a New Years Resolution? Tell a friend. Even better, tell thousands of friends. Sharing your goals with others will help keep you motivated, and honest. And Social Networks are here to help.

For some of the most common New Years Resolutions, “Lose Weight / Exercise More,” “Control My Finances,” “Learn How to Cook,” and “Read More,” new Social Networks are ready to help.

(more…)

As the term was winding down in Oregon, I had the opportunity to interview Kevin Simpson , founder of the education consulting company Know.Do.Serve.Learn. I spoke with Kevin about his recent travels (Dubai! Bangkok! New York!), his philosophies on education – for kids and for adults – and his views on the role of social media in education.

Listen to the interview here:

Instead of creating a teacher-centered “Empire State of Mind” in the classroom (sorry, Jay-Z), Kevin wants to see a classroom with a “D-I State of Mind.”

“A Differentiated Instructions state of mind,” Kevin explains, “is where each and every day you take the data (prior knowledge, instructional needs, etc.) students bring to you and figure out how you are going to use that to teach them.”

And what is one thing that students young and old need? “It all comes down to the relationship,” Kevin says. “And listening, really listening.”

(more…)

“Rick, I just accepted your friend request. Now its official.”

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Classic film savants might recognize a similar version these lines from the 1942 film Casablanca.

I wonder, amid all the noise of technology, are we still able to form beautiful friendships like the one begun that night by the airstrip, or will we be lost in the fog? Will our digital connectivity help us or hinder us?

To answer these questions, Siobhan Leyden of Siobhan Live rounded up the usual suspects: Anna Batchelder, founder of Bon Education and organizer of the Open Diversity forum, and Gonan and Johan Premfors of The Coaches Training Institute and co-founders of Parentology. The quartet discussed the intersection of relationships and technology in education, in business, and in our daily lives, and shared ideas about the way forward.

Listen in as Anna, Gonan and Johan share their experience and philosophies surrounding education, relationships, innovation and technology with Siobhan Leyden on the November 16 broadcast of Siobhan Live on the Dubai Eye.

Open Diversity is a Dubai-based forum for discussing ideas, collaborating, brainstorming, networking, and sharing products and research aligned with key streams/themes. Current streams include Learning and Innovation (organized by Bon Education), as well as Social Entrepreneurship and the Environment (organized by Baraka Ventures).

At a recent Open Diversity Learning and Innovation event, Gonan and Johan Premfors (Leaders and Faculty, The Coaches Training Institute) lead a workshop on the role of coaching in schools and the workplace.

Mary Ames

@bon_education

Like what you read? Check us out on Facebook!

Image available under CC License by Terence S. Jones

Parent-Teacher Conference season is in full swing, and prideful parents, nervous students and (equally nervous!) teachers across the globe are gearing up for the showdown. Too frequently, however, the key players in Parent-Teacher Conferences are missing: the parents.

Detroit schools are trying to change this, with a proposal requiring truant parents to serve a detention – in the county jail.

In a story produced by NPR’s Talk of the Nation, host Jennifer Ludden speaks with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, National President of the Parent-Teacher Association Charles Saylors, and KIPP: Knowledge is Power Program founder Tracy McDaniel about the importance of parental involvement in their student’s education.

Listen to the full story here: Schools Working to Increase Parental Involvement

In a push to increase parent involvement in their children’s educational careers, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, is proposing that delinquent parents serve a time-out, this time in a jail cell.

Charles Saylor, National President of the Parent Teacher Association, supports Worthy in her efforts. “You have case study after case study that proves that when a parent or both parents are involved in a child’s educational experience, both at school and at home, the child’s more successful. And so what we’re trying to do is generate a conversation to get more parents engaged and in the school door,” said Saylor.

So, what can a school do to encourage parental involvement? Worthy, Saylor and McDaniel offer these suggestions:

(more…)