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Meet Luis. At 18, he has a mature appreciation for what technology can do. The son of Mexican immigrants, Luis sees technology as "a better way to connect with families, connect with friends, a better way to help me improve my studies and find out information and use it for the community, not just for myself."
Luis shares his story in Edutopia's Digital Generation Project, a rich collection of content that was just released this week. Ten youth portraits are the heart of the project (although we adults get plenty of opportunities to weigh in, too).
This content is freely available for you to reuse--on your blog or school website, in class, at a parent or staff meeting, or wherever else you might want to take the conversation about today's digital youth.

PBL Buzz

Wayne D'Orio's article ("The Power of Project Learning") in the May issue of Scholastic Administrator takes a good look at the current PBL landscape and pushes readers to consider why more educators aren't using this real-world approach. One theory: PBL may be too hard for teachers to tackle without support. In a Q&A at the end, Chris Lehmann of Science Leadership Academy explains how schoolwide systems (for everything from planning to assessment to technology integration) set the stage for project success at his Philadelphia school. No arguing with that, but I continue to be impressed by creative types like Terry Smith (also quoted) who are determined to make PBL work, despite the obstacles. Seems to be a mixed landscape at the moment, with some excellent schoolwide models and some islands of innovation.
I'd be eager to hear more reflections from PBL advocates. What helps you move forward with this approach? What gets in your way? What more can we do as a community to advocate for what you need to succeed?