A Salute to Some Special Educators

It's been a busy summer, and school will be starting before we know it. I've enjoyed some travel this summer to work with educators in fantastic Paducah, Kentucky, fabulous Upper St. Clair, PA, and awesome Newaygo County in Fremont, MI. I'm looking forward to my trip to Elyria, OH next month! And it looks like I will be making some international trips this year, as well - India, England and maybe others!

Additionally, I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to meet and work with some very dedicated educators from three residential schools attending our Summer Institute on the River Walk in San Antonio. We had teams from Girard College in Pennsylvania, from Boys Ranch ISD in Texas, and from Virginia Episcopal School! But let's not forget one incredible math teacher from Manitoba, Canada! It was one great week of building community, learning together and teaching each other, and creative collaboration! Thanks to all of you who were there for making July 12-16 a wonderful experience for me and everyone else!

Global Collaborative Classrooms Project - Join Today!

Join our new Global Collaborative Classrooms Project - Food and Culture!

This is not your typical pen-pal type of collaborative project. It's much more. Students will be engaged in authentic, meaningful and rigorous research focused on real-world issues from fitness, health and nutrition to cultural studies, environmental studies and social issues.

Your students will be collaborating with students from around the world. Our goal is to have students from every country on the planet participating!

Whether you have one class period a week to devote to the project or you want to make it a six-week unit or a full-year project, it's flexible enough for you to participate meaningfully. It's also a great project for an After School program!

The curriculum will be aligned to the United Nations Millennium Goals, to the United States White House Issues, and to national standards for the USA. We invite additional information on alignment to standards in other countries or to programs such as International Baccalaureate.

Students will develop critical 21st century skills such as collaboration, creativity, problem solving, adaptability, multicultural skills and this project provides them with a way to make the content of the curriculum relevant. Service learning and multiple literacies will be built in as well.

Register Today!

One Day on Earth

Be watching for more news about the One Day on Earth global collaborative project. This is one in which you should definitely have your students involved! They can become a part of living history.

Join the Wiki for 21st Century Schools

Please join us on the new Wiki for 21st Century Schools. This is another place where we can collaborate, design, create and share news. Join today!

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ARRL Field Day is June 26-27, 2010

Many educators do not think of "ham radio" as a 21st century tool. Often, it is the only form of communication possible when disaster strikes. Amateur radio plays a significant role in everything from disaster relief to weather reporting.

For the classroom, it is a wonderful way to engage students. They love talking to people around the world and even talking to the astronauts on the International Space Station!

Once a year the ARRL celebrates Field Day, and many student groups around the country participate.

ARRL Field Day is the largest on-the-air operating event in Amateur Radio. It draws tens of thousands to the airwaves each year. Everyone is welcome, hams and non-hams alike.

ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. Each year over 35,000 amateurs gather with their clubs, friends or simply by themselves to operate.

ARRL Field Day is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, most groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to see Amateur Radio demonstrated and learn how you can become an Amateur Radio Operator.

For many clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar. To locate a Field Day site near you, use the Field Day locator!

Also see our ARRL page for information on free teacher workshops, and on classroom applications. It is a great, and important, activity for after school and summer programs!

San Antonio Summer Institute

Our 2010 Summer Institute will be held in San Antonio this year, at the La Mansion del Rio, an Omni Hotel.

The River Walk alone is worth the trip. But you will love the professional development, and it will definitely prepare you to start the next school year better prepared and with a more 21st century, exciting unit than ever before.

July 12 & 13 - Media Literacy, an In-Depth Investigation.

July 14 - Greening the Classroom and the Curriculum

July 15 & 16 - Designing the 21st Century Classroom

Register today to join us in San Antonio!