Montessori and The Mouse By: Amy Dwyer & E. McCrae Harrison

From Fablevision ision.com

“It is estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.”

Students today are "native speakers" of digital language. "Digital Immigrant" instructors are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language. -Marc Prensky © 2001

Montessori Education “Montessori educational practice helps children develop creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and time- management skills, to contribute to society and the environment, and to become fulfilled persons in their particular time and place on Earth.”

National Education Standards for Students

1. Creativity and Innovation Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

“Education demands, then, only this: the utilization of the inner powers of the child for his own instruction.” Dr. Maria Montessori

2. Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

“A felicitous environment that guides the children and offers them the means to exercise their own faculties permits the teacher to absent herself temporarily. The creation of such an environment is already the realization of great progress.” Dr. Maria Montessori

3. Research and Information Fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

“We must support as much as possible the child's desires for activity; not wait on him, but educate him to be independent.” Dr. Maria Montessori

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

“It is my belief that the thing which we should cultivate in our teachers is more the spirit than the mechanical skill of the scientist; that is, the direction of the preparation should be toward the spirit rather than toward the mechanism.” Dr. Maria Montessori

5. Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

A political and cultural geography project included “stamped” passports. orkshop.org/CountryRe ports.html orkshop.org/CountryRe ports.html

“Education should no longer be mostly imparting of knowledge, but must take a new path, seeking the release of human potentialities.” Dr. Maria Montessori

6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.

“When the child goes out, it is the world itself that offers itself to him. Let us take the child out to show him real things instead of making objects which represent ideas and closing them up in cupboards.” Dr. Maria Montessori

skills-videohttp:// skills-video “Teachers are discovering the value of imparting media-literacy skills, from critical analysis of news programs, commercials, and films to basic design and video-production techniques.”

My Hero The My Hero project gives students the opportunity to write and share about a hero in their lives and to read about the heroes in others’ lives. Students are encouraged to think about character over celebrity.

i-SAFE Inc. is the worldwide leader in Internet safety education. Founded in 1998 and endorsed by the U.S. Congress, i-SAFE is a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting the online experiences of youth everywhere. i- SAFE incorporates classroom curriculum with dynamic community outreach to empower students, teachers, parents, law enforcement, and concerned adults to make the Internet a safer place. Please join us today in the fight to safeguard our children’s online experience.

International Education and Resource Network iEARN is a non-profit organization made up of over 30,000 schools and youth organizations in more than 130 countries. iEARN empowers teachers and young people to work together online using the Internet and other new communications technologies. Over 2,000,000 students each day are engaged in collaborative project work worldwide.

Daffodils and Tulips This iEARN project has students from around the world plant bulbs and then watch and wait for them to bloom. Measurements are gathered and compared by groups via the internet.

The Teddy Bear Project The Teddy Bear Project involves sending a bear to a partner class across the globe. The students write back and forth to tell and learn about culture.

YouthCaN Youth Connecting and Networking YouthCaN is a youth-run organization that uses technology to inspire, connect and educate people worldwide about environmental issues. YouthCaN unites environmentally active youth to exchange ideas about the environment and empower others to make a difference in their own communities.

* November - April The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts … it takes as little as 15 minutes on one day. roject_FeederWatch_s/42.htm

World Maths Day March 1, 2011 Can we beat last year's world record of 2 million students from 204 countries correctly answering 452,681,681 questions?

Peace “Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.” Dr. Maria Montessori

Light a Candle for Peace orld.blogspot.com/ orld.blogspot.com/ Schools around the world participate in this each year.

Light a Candle for Peace Light a candle for peace, Light a candle for love, Light a candle that shines, All the way around the world. Light a candle for me, Light a candle for you, That our wish for world peace, Will one day come true. Sing Peace Around the World, Sing Peace Around the World

Pennies for Peace oundation.org/penni esforpeacetoolkit/vi deos.html# oundation.org/penni esforpeacetoolkit/vi deos.html# orpeace.org/ orpeace.org/

from MIT

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Amy Dwyer Tech Coordinator Elementary Workshop Montessori School 502 N Pine Street Wilmington, DE