We always get in this reflective mood at the end of the year, trying to put some form to what’s changed, both in our own practice and in the larger conversation about schools. Despite more traveling, more PLP work, and deeper on-the-ground conversations, it still feels as if traditional practice remains deeply ingrained and truly transformative change is rare.

We’ve been thinking a lot about how phones are disrupting schools and what it means when every student carries an Internet-connected device. The real issue isn’t just networks or hardware; it’s how curriculum must transform for anytime, anywhere learning with anyone in the world.

In a couple of weeks, both Tess and Tucker will be starting their first day at brand new schools, and we’re hoping their stories about school will change—from grades and homework to creating, learning, and sharing every day.

A look at how restrictive technology policies and low professional regard undermine teachers as learners and leaders, and a question about whether social web tools can help raise the perception of the teaching profession.

Reflecting on Tom Carroll’s 2000 article about reimagining schools, we consider what inquiry-driven, networked learning communities might look like, and how far educators still are from embracing the role of “expert learners” rather than traditional teachers.

Our professional focus has been shifting from classroom practice toward individual learning and helping educators see the potential of online spaces for their own growth first. Community building, not traditional training, is emerging as the core of meaningful professional development—continual, collaborative, and on the job.

A reflection on how tools like Diigo and emerging e-book platforms are transforming reading from a solitary act into a social, conversational experience, and what that means for new literacies.

A look at how Concord School, a special needs school in Victoria, used open source and homegrown social tools—blogging, photo sharing, bookmarking, and game-making—to document learning and prepare students for a global networked world.

A visit to Wooranna Park Primary School in Melbourne shows what it looks like when students truly drive the learning—from designing their own spaces and curriculum themes to running a parliament-style school government and creating original performances, all grounded in inquiry and a belief that learning is nonlinear and self-directed.

From the “Building the Compelling Case Department” comes this piece in the Harvard Graduate School of Education magazine Ed. about how students are already learning in social networks, why their emerging skills matter, and why educators must engage these tools themselves to help students use them to their full learning potential.