One of my favorite blogs to follow is The Tempered Radical.

The author of the blog, Bill Ferriter has a unique perspective on the state of education and instruction. What is intriguing about him is his open forum, reflective, no-holds-barred, sometimes opinionated ideas dedicated to student success and the transformation of teaching into a true profession.

I encourage each one of you to participate in his upcoming event with Rick and Rebecca DuFour. If you have never participated in a live-online discussion, do so. "Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap," will provide an opportunity for you to share your ideas, questions, comments and concerns about helping all students achieve at high levels.

Mark your calendar for May 19 - 21, 2010 to visit Voice Thread and to share your unique experience or ideas.

Click here for a sample of Voice Thread.

Big Thinkers on Education (Reprinted Directly From Edutopia)

Some of the world's most brilliant minds -- from Howard Gardner to Jane Goodall to Martin Scorsese -- share their ideas for making public education better.

Change starts with an idea. That was true of the American Revolution, and the microchip. It's equally true of the big changes that the American public education system is just starting to make. And despite the headlines, some of the most exciting mind are focusing their attention on the world of education. Take a look at some of the most innovative, surprising, intriguing, and inspiring ideas from some of the biggest thinkers Edutopia has featured.

Sir Ken Robinson

International leader in creativity, innovation, and educational reform and the author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative

* Creatively Speaking, Part One: Sir Ken Robinson on the Power of the Imaginative Mind (video)
* Schools Must Validate Artistic Expression

Martin Scorsese

Academy Award-winning director of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, the Departed, and many other films

* Martin Scorsese on the Importance of Visual Literacy

George Lucas

Maker of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films and founder and chairman of the George Lucas Educational Foundation

* George Lucas at Dreamforce: Sharing His Hope for Education (video)
* George Lucas and Daniel Goleman Q&A: Educating Hearts and Minds
* Life on the Screen: Visual Literacy in Education

Daniel Coleman

Psychologist, journalist, and the best-selling author of Emotional Intelligence and other books

* Daniel Goleman on Social Emotional Learning (video)

Linda Darling-Hammond

Stanford University education professor and adviser to the U.S. Department of Education

* The Collaborative Classroom: An Interview with Linda Darling-Hammond (video)
* Linda Darling-Hammond on Becoming Internationally Competitive (video)

Alvin Toffler

Futurist and co-author, with his wife, Heidi, of Future Shock and The Third Wave

* Reshaping Learning from the Ground Up

Howard Gardner

Harvard University professor and author of twenty books, best known for his theory of multiple intelligences.

* Q&A: An Interview with the Father of Multiple Intelligences
* Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences (video)

Jane Goodall

Groundbreaking primate researcher and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute

* Kid Power: The Roots & Shoots Program

Marc Prensky

Speaker, writer, consultant, and game designer in the critical areas of education and learning. He is the author of Digital Game-Based Learning and Don't Bother Me, Mom, I'm Learning

* The 21st-Century Digital Learner
* Programming Is the New Literacy

James Paul Gee

Professor of literacy studies at Arizona State University and author of What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy

*Grading with Games (video)

Randy Nelson

Dean of Pixar University, which provides employees of the animation company a broad fine-arts education

* Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age: A New Model for the Workplace (video)
This article originally published on 1/28/2010