Eclectic Technology

I recently saw an article in eSchool news outlining the "Ten Skills Every Student Should Learn" According to the article, they are:
Read
Type
Write
Communicate effectively, and with respeect...

But what about "attributes that help kids at any level." These are skills I think kids need to learn as soon as possible, at whatever age or grade that happens. Most will be gradual, requiring parental, educational, and community support. These may take the entire village:

1. Learn to be flexible...

2. Learn to see differences as opportunities.
Check out the article for the full list.

Social media provides us with incredible opportunities to choose the way we want to develop professionally. You can choose the topic, the medium, and who you want to learn from. Moreover, online professional development is packed with various types of multimedia experiences, such as webinars, virtual learning environments, discussion forums, live video, podcasts, web 2.0 creation tools, and more. The experience is usually dynamic and motivating because you are learning with others around the world! Check out this article for 20+ free Professional Development Opportunities for 2012.

Yesterday, Cynthia Germanotta and her daughter Lady Gaga launched their new initiative to empower youth: the Born This Way Foundation. The Foundation wants to create a kinder, braver world so that youth can be the change-agents that we all need them to be. For youth to be empowered, the Foundation recognizes that 1) youth need to be safe; 2) youth need to have skills; and 3) youth need to have opportunities.

This post provides access to five documents that are now available for public feedback: "What You Must Know to Help Combat Youth Bullying, Meanness, and Cruelty", "Bullying Prevention 101 for Schools: Dos and Don'ts" and three additional articles. To access Born This Way go to http://bornthiswayfoundation.org/