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Edutopia
The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) is a nonprofit operating foundation that documents and disseminates information about exemplary programs in K-12 schools to help spread these practices nationwide. The foundation serves this mission through the creation of media: films, books, the magazine Edutopia, e-newsletters, CD-ROMs and DVDs.
What is “Edutopia”?
The word conjures up an ideal educational landscape, where students are motivated to learn and teachers are energized by the excitement of teaching. In these schools, parents and other professionals from the community — architects, artists, physicians, and writers, among others — contribute their expertise and resources. Technology is readily available and enables students, teachers, and administrators to seek knowledge and expertise beyond the school building. “Edutopia” is a vision of powerful teaching and learning.
The foundation uses the magazine Edutopia, its website and documentaries to celebrate the unsung heroes across our nation who are making “Edutopia” a reality. They have shown what can be done, often with the same number of resources as other schools and sometimes with fewer. The foundation recognizes that for these innovations to spread, educators and parents, as well as business and community leaders, must first see and understand them. The Documentary Gallery is a robust archive of short documentaries and expert interviews that allows visitors to visualize what these innovations look like — in the classroom and in the words of teachers and students. Detailed articles, research summaries, and links to hundreds of relevant websites, books, organizations, and publications are available to help schools and communities build on successes in education.
Edutopia highlights the following 13 topics which the foundation believes are critical elements in public education:
- Assessment Parent Involvement
- Business Partnerships Project-Based Learning
- Community Partnerships School-To-Career
- Digital Divide Teacher Preparation
- Emotional Intelligence Technology Integration
- Mentoring Technology Professional Development
- Ongoing Professional Development
To subscribe to the free Edutopia magazine, go to www.edutopia.org
