Connect All Schools

What if we told you that during your lifetime, Google could create millions of custom maps...each one just for you? 

In the past, such a notion would have been unbelievable: a map was just a map, and you got the same one for New York City, whether you were searching for the Empire State Building or the coffee shop down the street. What if, instead, you had a map that’s unique to you, always adapting to the task you want to perform right this minute? 

This is what you will have with the introduction of the new Google Maps – a mapping experience that helps you find places you never would have thought to search for. ...

It started as a normal, fairly mundane school day......... Well connected teachers will  find there are many ways to learn, share and teach, teachable moments arise constantly and interruptions to ...

The May #globalclassroom chats were some of the liveliest and productive we’ve had in some time. With contributions from leading early childhood educators around the world, it is hard to sum up the true impact of these chats …I highly recommend exploring the archives for great links, resources, and ideas for integrarating global perspectives into the early years.

If you’ve never tried a Mystery Skype with your class, you should. It’s a highly engaging way to build important competencies in your students. A Mystery Skype is just a simple guessing game at first sight, but it’s really so much more. Two classrooms arrange to connect with each other using Skype, and then take turns asking yes/no questions to try to discover each other’s exact location. It’s a great way to make an initial connection that may lead to further collaborative learning projects.

Reflections on an innovative, pioneering conference -  the Flat Classroom Conference 2013 at Yokohama International School, Japan. The goal: To provide ‘flatclassroom’ experiences for both physical...

But, this project isn’t about my story. It never has been.

The Global Classroom Project is a testament to the power of community, and as such, is home to a world of stories.

Do you love telling stories? Do you want to become a social media superstar? You are in the right place! Join us LIVE each day from May 22-26, 2013 to learn basic videography, photography, storytelling, interviewing and social media skills. You can even submit the acitivies and film project that you create along with the rest of the workshop participants.

Follow us on Twitter- @yesprogramnews and Facebook!

What is the Regional Digital Storytelling Workshop?

In today's multimedia world, community organizing and development require a range of communication and media skills, reaching out to audiences over a variety of platforms. This training will not only allow participants to enhance and expand their technical and social media skills, but will also explore time-tested communication and storytelling techniques, focusing on creating accessible messages for both local and international audiences.

One thing is clear from practitioners and researchers alike: teacher PD is not simply an event, or a session, or a workshop. Nor does it fit neatly into buckets for how-to-guides, lesson planning, pedagogical tricks, and tech support. This is one taxonomy for thinking about specific needs, but it does not necessarily lead to improved teacher practice.

Professional development is a process. A habit-forming endeavor. An ongoing individual and institutional professional responsibility to seek, share, develop, and exchange the most needed and desired skill sets.

Cardinal students Skyped with kids in Uganda Wednesday morning.

Today, we're making it possible for you to go back in time and get a stunning historical perspective on the changes to the Earth’s surface over time. Working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NASA and TIME, we're releasing more than a quarter-century of images of Earth taken from space, compiled for the first time into an interactive time-lapse experience. We believe this is the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public. 

These small town girls dream about studying further and getting higher education. Most of my students want to study further. A few of them want to be English language teachers. Unfortunately, their environmental conditions and restrictions put on girls’ education because of the cultural norms do not allow that. When I was a young girl from a small town in Baluschistan, the most backward province of Pakistan with the lowest literacy rate, I went through these troubles too and have experienced the same. My family realized my love for education and moved to the big city Karachi so that I could go to a good school there and can make my own career. There I got the YES scholarship and went to the USA. When I got this amazing platform of the YES Alumni, I always wanted to bring education in the small towns of Pakistan for girls. So that other girls like me, could make their own identity and get their rights of education. This English tutoring helped me fulfill my dream. I am glad I could do something for Pakistan.  It was not much; I wish I could do more.

Today, on Teacher Appreciation Day, I want to send a word of thanks to a group of devoted individuals who, apart from my parents, have done the most to shape my life -- my teachers. ...

For more than twenty years, my educational foundation has joined forces with teachers, parents, students, administrators, and business and community leaders to illuminate the most innovative learning strategies to be found in K-12 classrooms across the country. Along the way, we've met thousands of unsung heroes: people from different backgrounds, working long hours with diverse student populations, aiming to make learning the most engaging, relevant process it can be. These educators know that today's students need to leave school possessing important skills for success -- how to find information, critically assess its accuracy, be adaptive, collaborate with others, and creatively solve problems.

I've interviewed hundreds of people over the last decade about how schools in the United States often choose to structure time. Most often, I pose the question to people in the places I visit, "Can you explain how the school day is structured, and why?"

I've found that many people working within schools are usually split into two camps of thought:

1) The schedule is fine just the way it is.

2) We definitely could do things differently . . . but never quite get around to it.

With the majority of students and parents I interview, however, I find they fall into the second category, that the traditional concept of what the "school day" is could use an overhaul.

On May 1, 2013, Ambassador Stephen G. McFarland, center, Embassy Kabul's Coordinating Director for Rule of Law and Law Enforcement (CDROLLE), watches as school boys perform a skit illustrating the dangers of drug abuse and the importance of living...