tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67627403338870236742024-02-20T09:46:35.058-08:00Education and EfficacyWhat Works and What's Right in the World of EducationJoe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-64739094928916010952014-02-20T05:47:00.001-08:002014-02-20T05:49:10.892-08:00Home Schooling
I've thought a lot about home schooling during my career as an educator, and as my wife and I talk about having kids at some point. One of the first times I considered it from a professional lens was when I was traveling in Kenya in 2007 and I stayed with a missionary family in Kisumu, a small city on Lake Victoria. They had two sons aged eight and ten, and while they had enrolled them in an Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-92191829253093239912014-01-18T09:19:00.000-08:002014-01-18T09:20:45.347-08:00Greening Schools, Transforming Lives and Communities
I just watched this TED talk from Stephen Ritz, who started Green Bronx Machine while he was a classroom teacher in the Bronx. The talk is super inspiring and shows how finding one catalytic lever for positive change can spark deep holistic change in a school, community, and in the lives of kids who otherwise find so little meaning and opportunity in their surroundings.
I hope Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-9799958305505859742014-01-01T12:25:00.000-08:002014-01-01T12:26:00.411-08:00"The Unbalanced Trajectory of Human Life"
I offer you 2 learning objects to close out 2013 and launch into the future.
This post was motivated by a thought-provoking opinionator piece in NYT this Sunday. The author, Todd May, said:
"There is an assumption I would like to make here, one that I can’t verify but I think is uncontroversial. It is very unlikely that Edward Snowden will ever do anything nearly asJoe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-16150002234252674572013-10-02T17:57:00.005-07:002013-10-02T17:57:54.826-07:00Now Blogging at Intentional Games
Yesterday a commentary that I wrote called "Feeling Lost? Geographic Ignorance, and 11 Games and Apps That Can Help" was published on IntentionalGames.com. Check it out!
Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-6912919620206531342013-07-03T16:22:00.001-07:002013-07-03T16:22:18.844-07:00Gettysburg Anniversary, Independence Day
150 years ago the Battle of Gettysburg concluded with a resounding defeat for the Confederacy. An ancestor of mine died in that battle, and my family is honoring him this summer. My grandmother's cousin also just published a beautiful book of his letters and journals, I highly recommend picking it up, whether you teach or simply appreciate history and good writing:
http://Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-72081389107257452172013-06-28T08:10:00.000-07:002013-06-28T08:10:12.676-07:00The Future of This Blog
I love to write, to crystalize my thoughts, to share my research and observations, and hopefully to provide value to you, my audience. My interests are diverse and wide-ranging, though they generally all fall at the intersection of learning, innovation and social justice. In the past decade I've had fairly extensive experience with traveling, teaching, entrepreneurship, design, politics and Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-18074721864759993182013-06-27T06:17:00.003-07:002013-06-27T06:18:38.515-07:00Games for Change: One Week Later
I had the privilege of attending the Games for Change Festival last week and working for the Festival's social media team. I attended and live tweeted many of the talks and panels, and was struck with two common threads found across the most of the discourse: games as art, and games as business.
Games as Art
This idea was probably most clearly articulated in one of the last keynotes delivered Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-4800017504524678722013-05-29T08:02:00.000-07:002013-05-29T08:02:07.671-07:00Why Do We Read?
I read this article last week in the New Yorker, and I've already forgot some of the key details. It deals with the idea that when we read, we frequently forget not just those details, but before too long, even the main idea. It brings up questions about the value of reading, as well as the culture around reading.
Here's the article, it's called The Curse of Reading and Forgetting:
http://Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-51159249918425125862013-05-15T05:23:00.001-07:002013-05-15T05:23:41.868-07:00Obsession
Working
past midnight isn't uncommon when you're obsessed. When your thoughts
are consumed with a pressing challenge, sleep doesn't come easy, and the
pressure mounts each day the problem goes unsolved. When
you realize that you've stumbled on a huge pain point, with a
corresponding huge opportunity, you evaluate. Do I have the skills to do
something about this? Do I have the resources?Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-38872548203449189862013-05-01T21:05:00.001-07:002013-05-01T21:05:36.253-07:00Games for Change
If you're in NYC on June 17th-19th, you should try to come out to the annual Games for Change Festival. It's a really cool event where you can connect with tons of creative people and projects.
http://www.gamesforchange.org
Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-19129486567169903482013-04-17T10:32:00.000-07:002013-04-17T10:53:12.286-07:00History of the Contemporary Period, in 7 Paragraphs
Last month I published a short book called Bridge to the Future, which is available in electronic form on Amazonand Barnes and Noble. One of the book's chapters provides strategies for teaching and understanding the full expanse of world history. Since we are living it now, and since most global history teachers are in the midst of teaching it, I decided I would post my account of the "Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-67493647340476888192013-04-04T13:16:00.000-07:002013-04-04T13:16:01.740-07:00Vouchers and the Community School
Free market thinking suggests that the solution to poor school quality is school choice and competition. Align incentives, and schools will be forced to develop and promote their competitive advantage to earn students, and therefore, their right to exist and perhaps, grow.
Democratic, humanitarian thinking suggests the solution to poor school quality requires investing in our public Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-60105468108724780102013-04-02T10:41:00.000-07:002013-04-02T10:41:29.124-07:00Grad School and Career Planning
Should I go to grad school? Do I need the credentials? The network? What do I need to learn for the rest of my career? Would I be better off teaching it to myself with free and inexpensive resources, or through a degree-granting program? Do only the top-10 schools justify the opportunity cost of losing out on two years of more work experience? What if the program is free? What if it's part-time?Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-91763655048700208502013-04-01T05:38:00.001-07:002013-04-01T05:38:42.538-07:00Trivia, Information and Meaningful Learning
I find it interesting the degree of consensus apparent in America's education discourse today. Much is said about how 21st century learning is all about creativity, critical thinking, curiosity and character. Everyone's growing interest, from Barack Obama on down, is in "STEM" (science, technology, engineering, math). While many private sector people are still excited about using data to Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-91121292783354132652013-03-30T12:28:00.000-07:002013-03-30T12:28:06.658-07:00Teachers Happy Despite Poor Work Environments
A recent article on Gallup.com reports that teachers have very high satisfaction rates in key areas when compared to other professions. Namely, their self-reported overall wellness is second only to physicians among 14 professions.
Unfortunately, teachers are unhappy with their workplace. Gallup reports:
Despite enjoying top marks in overall wellbeing, teachers rank toward the bottom (eighth Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-60868570677919429142013-03-22T09:34:00.001-07:002013-03-25T08:22:37.757-07:00The Future Teacher
I think a lot about the role of the teacher and how it really doesn't match up well to the needs of students or the structure of the ideal school. Teachers are asked to do so many different things with such diverse skill requirements that every teacher is weak in at least one critical area, even if he or she is amazing in other areas.
Think about it---if a teacher is a great lecturer, we Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-26126529973634025162012-05-29T13:48:00.002-07:002012-05-29T13:50:33.985-07:00The Role of RigorEarlier this month, the Huffington Post reported that "AP Exams Surge As Tools For High Schools Raising Standards." Having taught in a school where students were often placed in AP courses far beyond their demonstrated academic abilities, I am glad to see some reporting on the issue of who is, and should be, taking the AP.
Here is the familiar story of a disparity in AP achievement, in a Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-37635241481990629022012-05-14T07:20:00.000-07:002012-05-14T07:20:35.751-07:00The Next Step for Edtech
A disruptive product has such a strong impact on an industry that it renders obsolete the current market offerings. For example, the invention of the telephone disrupted the communications market and more recently the iPad disrupted the market for personal computers. Introducing innovations like these represents the pinnacle of success for startup businesses. For social Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-88645968555163289802012-04-17T07:03:00.001-07:002012-04-17T07:06:19.185-07:00Computer Science, Coding and the Future EconomyI have grown fond of saying "every company is a technology company." While we may tend to characterize different companies by the products they sell, the manufacturing, marketing, logistics, finance, security and corporate governance of any institution are now intimately connected to, and dependent on, technology.
What does that mean for our education system, and how we raise our kids? For Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-26952913039883763062012-04-16T08:34:00.000-07:002012-04-16T08:34:19.034-07:00Fate of Civilizations: Glory is Now Available for Pre-Order!The game-based learning program I have been working on since July, Fate of Civilizations, now has a project on Kickstarter. We are looking to crowd fund the first publication of the game Glory, which we will be ready to ship in September.
Gamers, teachers, parents and students: please pledge to help make Glory a reality for kids and gamers across the globe. Glory is fun and you learn while you Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-65535334227496288922012-04-12T16:41:00.000-07:002012-04-12T16:41:42.551-07:00Thinking about the FutureWhere do you think the United States, and the world, will be in 5 years? 20 years? 50 years? 2,000 years?
Thinking about the future is such an interesting, and yes, important exercise.
Yet while students often take some 8 years of required history courses, why don't we mandate the study of the future? Is it because we don't have concrete "material" as the focus of examination? Is it because we Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-20650111104817641192012-01-19T11:20:00.000-08:002012-01-19T14:41:58.574-08:00Why and How K-12 Students Should Buy and Sell Their Own Books (Even and Especially in Poor Schools)Schools are strapped for cash.
Textbooks and other resources are expensive to purchase and replace. Nobody is really held accountable for mismanaged books.
Students are protective of their own property (see what happens when you try to take their phones away).
Students are destructive or careless with school property (walk into any public school classroom and check the condition of the laptop Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-70371910093674349172012-01-11T08:55:00.000-08:002012-01-11T08:56:32.665-08:00Myth of Continents Commentary 1: Continents are Stupid (Just Look at Russia)(This is the first in a series of commentaries I am doing for the Teach for America private community of history and geography teachers. The series is on the book The Myth of Continents by Lewis and Wigen. I will be reposting each commentary here so it is available for the world at large.)
The Myth of Continents opens asking a seemingly simple set of questions. What is a continent? Why do speak Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-52068124840300209702012-01-06T08:03:00.000-08:002012-01-06T08:03:42.238-08:0012 Thoughts for 2012<!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762740333887023674.post-9693585173175030622011-04-30T14:58:00.000-07:002011-10-27T06:07:11.942-07:00Strengths FinderDo you have a language to talk about your strengths? I'm not talking about how you're a "hard worker" or "good with people." No, see, that's what everyone says. If you think about it, the traditional terms and expressions used to describe personal strengths rarely do them justice. You may be a hard worker sometimes, but aren't there times--perhaps in a spreadsheet, an email, or a whole project-Joe Ballouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03383550128532081581noreply@blogger.com0