Explore New York City’s many dynamic and diverse neighborhoods, as well as historical monuments and museums. See how environments outside school can be a global learning platform. This experience—and the tools you’ll get—you can model this type of learning for your own students.

This pre-conference session, like the others, are filling up quickly. Register today ($70) to save your spot.

Download the free PGL Conference App. It includes all the latest information about the sessions, speakers, exhibitors, and special events. You can also create a schedule for yourself directly on the app.

Another important feature is the ability to create a profile and to use it as a networking tool. It works with Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook. If you don’t have (professional) accounts, sign up and we’ll show you how it works.

The mobile App is accessible on Apple, Android, and Blackberry mobile devices.

• Download iPhone and iPad app
• Download Android phone and tablet app
• Point your Blackberry browser here

Alternatively, search for the free download “2012 Asia Society” on your Android or Apple app marketplaces.

The more conference participants download apps, the more it will help us save paper and printing costs. If we see lots of downloads, we’ll cut down on paper programs. That’s great for our non-profit budget, and for the environment.

The PGL12 conference app was developed by Core-Apps.

We’ve gathered some of the best technology teachers to deliver keynotes, lead workshops, and model best digital teaching and learning practices.

We plan to put what we learn to practice right away. We will:

• Capture ideas collaboratively
• Raise questions for the speakers and/or for the other experts in the room
• Use mobile tools, like GPS or mapping, to learn about the world around us
• Explore the many ways QR codes can enlighten learning
• Document and produce ideas in multimedia format
• Connect in interesting ways to an online professional learning community
• Model digital teaching and learning

Those who consider themselves so-called digital immigrants will, as a result of this conference, become digital citizens. We hope you’ll join us.

We’ve invited some of the most experienced, prolific educators to work with you.

Marcia Tate is a world-renowned education expert and author of the bestselling book, Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies that Engage the Brain.  She will lead a hands-on workshop that will help you discover the power of brain – compatible teaching.

Lucy Gray is famously known for her work around educational technology, modernizing education, and global learning.  Learn from her how to maximize the use of teacher networks and technology for the global classroom.

Veronica Boix-Mansilla is the co-author of Educating for Global Competence (free download). Seamlessly integrate the tenets of global learning into your required curriculum and help identify the signifiers in student work that show the progress of a globally competent student.

The Experiential Learning session will provide opportunities to explore New York City’s many dynamic and diverse neighborhoods, historical monuments, and world-class museums. In this session you will learn how the world outside of the classroom can become a global learning platform. You will walk away with innovative and experiential teaching strategies that will transform your classroom into a global learning environment.

The June 2012 conference will focus on strands around innovations in teacher practice, exploring the global issues of today, technology and media integration, and assessing student work. The conference will also feature practical ways to connect global competence to the process of adopting the Common Core State Standards.

Pre-conference workshops take place on June 28, 9:15 – 12:15. The Experiential Learning happens from 1:30 – 5:00 on the same day.

Full program coming next week! Be sure to register before April 3 for early-bird savings.

Journalist and author Dan Rather will discuss his most recent investigative reporting on school systems around the world. In 2006 Rather founded the company News and Guts and became anchor and managing editor of HDNet’s Dan Rather Reports, which specializes in investigative journalism and international reporting. Here he hosts investigative stories including his view on education and innovation in countries such as Singapore and Finland.

Dan Rather interviews Linda Darling-Hammond in a segment titled, Teaching is Rocket Science.

Watch episode excerpts from Finnish First and Take a Lesson from Singapore.

Dan Rather is one of the most recognized and respected journalists in the world. He has covered virtually every major world event in the past 60 years. Come meet him at PGL12, and get a signed copy of his new book, Rather Outspoken.

Register today.

Here are some of the ideas we’re working on. These are subject to change—so please tell us what you think!

Investigate the World with Technology
Discover ways to search the Internet for global resources that goes far beyond simple Google keyword searches. This session will change the way you see the world.

Use Technology to Weigh Perspectives
There are many online tools that help students weigh perspectives. From polling and infographic tools, from foreign news outlets to digitized primary source objects, the Internet is a gateway to interesting and compelling perspectives worldwide.

Student Communication and Collaboration Beyond the Classroom
There are many tools and services that allow students to communicate and collaborate with experts and peers worldwide. Learn why your classroom should operate this way, and get hands-on experience on how easy it is.

Take Action with Technology!
Technology and project-based learning are a natural pairing. See how students can publish their findings in real-world ways, and reach out to audiences around the world. See how to create and publish two different types of culminating projects online.

Engage with Global Teacher Networks
Share your teaching ideas and techniques with the world! Use a range of technologies and tools for professional networking. We’ll show you how to get started, and some innovative and rewarding practices. We’ll cover how best to use social networks like Ning and Twitter, and how to take the next step with Web 2.0 tools, like blogging and publishing.

Experiential Learning Tools
Learn how to use online and mobile technologies to enhance your experiential learning expeditions. Use GPS and mapping, QR codes and Twitter, to engage your students, track their progress, and have them demonstrate their learning.

Plus, sessions on hybrid teaching, experiential learning that integrates digital tools, and one focused on mobile technologies. Throughout the conference, we will model how to connect ideas in effective ways.

He’ll make a case that innovation is the key driver to global competitiveness and a society’s well being. How schools nurture creativity and innovation is a big question. Dr. Wagner has some answers. He will introduce several case studies of young people who’ve got it—and unpack how those qualities develop, and how they can be taught. This is the topic of his new book, Creating Innovators, and we’ll be among the first to learn from it.

In case you missed it, here’s Dr. Wagner’s presentation from our 2009 conference.

What we are finding is countries recognize that education will be key to economic growth in a global knowledge and innovation-based economy. Another way to say it is that low educational performance exacts measurable economic costs. Rising economies throughout Asia are focusing on increasing graduation rates, raising achievement, making educational systems more equitable, and rethinking the skills needed for the 21st century.

This focus has led to dramatic gains in student achievement. In OECD rankings, the United States is now ranked at 26th (the average across the three PISA subject areas) in 2009. Eight of the top 10 high-achieving nations are in Asia. Countries aren’t just gaining on us in international comparisons, but they are graduating more high school students as well. By comparison, American schools have dropped from first to tenth in the world in the proportion of young adults with a high school degree or equivalent in 2006.

A critical element of high-performing school systems is that they not only benchmark the practices of other countries, but they systematically adapt and implement these practices within their own cultural and political contexts.

Mr. Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, in Singapore said it best:

“Education must suit our unique context. We must always be humble and we must always learn from the best in the world. But we must not simply copy what works elsewhere, or do what is fashionable, without bearing in mind our unique culture, context and circumstances, and what we have achieved. We should have the courage and confidence to do what we think is right, and evolve our system to what is best for us.”

These thought are at the forefront of our thinking as we plan the Partnership for Global Learning annual conference. American schools have a long tradition and great context for innovation and student achievement. We will learn how other nations are preparing for the global knowledge economy, but also celebrate our own successes.

With 45 states and the District of Columbia adopting the standards, there’s a lot of speculation on how it will all play out.

Asia Society has a long history of bringing some of the top education thinkers, innovators, and practitioners together to tackle the challenges—and more importantly, the opportunities—that face the education community. Our signature conference considers not only best practices in the academic disciplines, but also looks at interdisciplinary projects and out-of-school time—all with the vision of how to infuse global learning strategically into what educators already do. The reason? To ensure that our students are not only ready for college, but ready for the interconnected world beyond.

This year’s conference sessions will address innovative teaching practices, model technology and media integration, and a deeper look at exploring issues of global significance in the classroom as they relate to the tenets of Global Competence and the Common Core Standards for English language arts and mathematics.

The conference is seven months away (I hope you’re saving the dates: June 29-30 in New York City), but it’s not too early to understand what’s global about the Common Core. I invite you to read the analysis by CCSSO’s Margaret Reed Millar on the subject, and look at the global competence rubrics co-developed by CCSSO and Asia Society on the English language arts and math.

Are you a district or state policymaker or administrator? New Jersey Department of Education’s Cheri Quinlin generously shares agendas, presentations, and other tools to use during teacher professional development institutes. These tools were developed through a three-state partnership between New Jersey, Washington, and West Virginia.

Stay tuned for more!

U.S. President Barack Obama said at the APEC Summit opening, “No region will do more to shape our long-term economic future than the Asia Pacific region. …The United States is, and always will be, a Pacific nation. Many of our top trading partners are in this region. This is where we sell most of our exports…..” Indeed, already one in five American jobs are tied to international trade; it is a proportion that will only grow.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “A complete education in the 21st century must teach our children about their interdependent world, and it must prepare them to be good leaders and good global citizens.” Duncan delivered those remarks with no connection to APEC, but it also goes to the very heart of why APEC, and so many others, believe that global learning is crucial.

Learn more on the APEC wiki dedicated to international education and the globalized economy.  Halfway down the page, you’ll see a podcast interview where I explain global competence, and how schools around the world can use the concept to prepare for a global future.

There are many ways to get involved in global learning, as you’ll see on AsiaSociety.org and the IEW websites. One opportunity I’d like to call out is the Global Education Conference, which runs this week and is completely online, and completely free.

IEW, celebrated in many countries, is a time to recognize and celebrate teaching and learning about the world in an effort to build a more prosperous and peaceful future. APEC is a consortium of 21 Pacific Rim nations working together to improve education and living conditions through joint economic development.