Scott’s keynote address sparked controversy and heated discussion. We’ve posted four brief, provocative excerpts, any one of which could be a springboard for a serious faculty or parent discussion group. The audio quality is less than we’d like, but you can follow Scott and easily get the gist of his remarks.
Bernie Trilling to kick off August 4
Bernie Trilling, co-author of 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times, will kick off our group design work on August 4. Bernie was global director of the Oracle Education Foundation, where he directed the development of education strategies, partnerships, and services for the Foundation and its ThinkQuest programs.
He has served as Board Member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Prior to joining the Oracle Education Foundation, Bernie was Director of the Technology In Education group at WestEd. August 4th participants will receive a complimentary copy of the book.
Scott McNealy to keynote
We’re excited to announce that Silicon Valley icon Scott McNealy has agreed to be our keynote speaker on August 3. A co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Scott went on to serve as Sun’s CEO and chairman of the board of directors. In his 28 years leading Sun, Scott gained a reputation for his foresight, candid comments, and self-deprecating sense of humor.
Since the completion of Oracle’s acquisition of Sun in 2010, Scott has busied himself with a number of projects. One to which he’s especially devoted is Curriki, an online environment created to support the development and free distribution of world-class educational materials to anyone who needs them. Scott founded Curriki at Sun in 2004, and it became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2006. He continues to serve on its board of directors.
Shifting the Paradigm
At Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) our vision is to transform Silicon Valley into a model for enhancing public education. Toward that end, will launch ShiftED—a vital movement to shift educational practice in Valley schools toward a new paradigm, one that truly takes full advantage of technology to improve teaching and learning.
ShiftED will:
- Pool the talent and expertise of teams of teachers and administrators in creative problem solving.
- Foster reflection and collaboration.
- Support teams to develop creative solutions to getting more value from the technology in their schools.