An interview with the founder and chairman of Edutopia and The George Lucas Educational Foundation on how visual language should be an integrated part of teaching and learning literacy.

Disney Parody explanation of Copyright Law and Fair Use

Sean Buvala, takes you on a quick journey into storytelling tips and learning! Use his method to learn a new story.

1. Decide on the story you want to tell.
2. Hand write an outline of the story, episode by episode.
3. Using your own words and the outline you made in #2, write out the complete story by hand or create a storyboard as shown in the video.
4. Use the tool you made in #3 to practice your story aloud and by yourself.
5. Cut out parts of the story that slow the story down.
6. Repeat the story with the new parts and pieces. Don't memorize. See the action in your head.
7. Tell your story to a trusted friend or associate. Ask for *genuine* advice.
8. Add more emotion to your story.
9. Tell your story to an audience. Be confident!

You've just learned your brand-new story. For even more coaching on storytelling, visit http://www.storytelling101.com

Nancy Duarte argues that its the dark threads in the tapestry of our life that make it the most visually rich.

Nancy Duarte shares her tips for telling a great story.

Story has played a significant role in all cultures put its adoption into professional cultures has been painfully slow. It's easier to present a report instead of a well-crafted presentation. 

From the "I have a dream" speech to Steve Jobs’ iPhone launch, all great presentations have a common architecture. At TEDxEast (November, 2011), Nancy Duarte draws lessons in this Ted Talk on how to make a powerful call-to-action.

Looking for ways your students can search for images on an internet-safe site? Well, look no more--simply access www.onekey.com and let the search begin. Powered by Google and monitored continuously, this website provides a venue for your elementary students to search beyond clip art and incorporate visually rich text into their next project. Try it out before you create a desktop shortcut on a classroom computer or laptop--I promise you wont' be disappointed--happy, safe surfing.

Sheila@ Concordia University Chicago

By now, you've likely heard of Apple's announcement earlier this past week of the new tools available for creating digital textbooks for deploying on the iPad. If you missed the announcement, you can watch it here online or download it from iTunes here to view on your mobile device.

Here's one of the videos shown during the presentation summarizing Apple's intent to impact K12 education with this new digital textbook initiative.

What is your reaction to Apple's announcement? Do you feel that this initiative truly will revolutionize K12 education? Why or why not? What impact do you think this announcement might have on your district or school, short term and long term?

On an even bigger scale, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on how Apple's emphasis on the next generation of digital textbooks ties in with the development of visual literacy skills. Will there be a "digital divide" between those students and schools that have access to digital books and those who do not? What about the "non-Apple" schools, teachers, and students?

Leave a comment with your reaction to Apple's news this week. I look forward to any thoughts you might have!

~ Dr. J