In Education Nation author Milton Chen draws from extensive experience in mediafrom his work on Sesame Street to his current role as executive director of the George Lucas Educational Foundationto support his vision for a new world of learning. This book examines the ways in which K-12 learning can be revolutionized through innovative reform and the use of technology. Due in large part to new technologies, over the last few decades weve witnessed a huge shift in how we imagine teaching and learning. A good example is the educational revolution sparked by Sesame Streetwhich in its first season had a goal of teaching preschool-age children the numbers 1 to 10. At the time, experts dismissed it as an unrealistic goal since many kindergarten students were having trouble mastering this simple counting. Yet the research proved that preschool-age children learned those skills and many others directly from the TV screen. Now Sesame Streets curriculum teaches the numbers from 1 to 40. In todays digital age the number of new ways to teach and learn is ever-expanding and includes: television, Google, YouTube, TeacherTube, Facebook, iPhones; and there are countless examples of ways technology positively impacts student learningfrom voice-recognition software that helps children learn to read to translation tools that help teachers communicate with non-English speaking parents. As a result of constant innovation, learning is no longer limited by traditional confines and were quickly moving beyond students tied to their chairs, desks, and textbooksand teachers locked away in classrooms. CONTENTS Foreword by George Lucas Preface: My Learning Journey: From the Longest STreet in the World to a Galaxy Long Ago and Far, Far Away Introduction: The Vision of an Education Nation 1 The Thinking Edge: Getting Smarter About Learning 2 The Curriculum Edge: Real Learning and Authentic Assessment 3 The Technology Edge: PuttingModern Tools in Young Hands 4 The Time/Place Edge: Learning Any Time, Anywhere 5 The Co-Teaching Edge: Teachers, Experts, and Parents as Coeducators 6 The Youth Edge: Digital Learners Carrying Change in Their Pockets Afterword: Tomorrow's Edge, a 2020 Vision, with Steve Arnold