The Doodle Revolution

Biography (taken from www.amazon.com)

Sunni Brown was named one of the "100 Most Creative People in Business" and one of the "10 Most Creative People on Twitter" by Fast Company. She is founder of a creative consultancy, an international speaker, the co-author of Gamestorming, and the leader of a global campaign for visual literacy called The Doodle Revolution. Her TED Talk on doodling has drawn more than a million views on TED.com. Her work on visual literacy and gaming has been featured in over 35 nationally-syndicated news programs and reported on in The Wall Street Journal, CNN.com, the BBC, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, etc. She lives in Keep Austin Weird, Texas.

Reviews

“In The Doodle Revolution, Sunni Brown opens our minds to the idea that we naturally possess a simple, overlooked skill of great value: the ability to doodle. It's a rare gift to be taught such a rewarding truth in so joyful and light-hearted a manner. Sunni is a creative light and an inspiring mentor.”
—Chris Anderson, TED Curator

"Why do we insist on representing our world using 26 letters rather than an infinity of pictures? Sunni Brown shows us how to doodle our way to better thinking. Her book will have you drawing insights on the page, not just in the margins."
—Dan Heath, co-author of Decisive, Made to Stick, and Switch

"Contrary to popular opinion, doodling is a serious endeavor. As Brown shows in this smart and accessible book, applying visual language allows you to see new dimensions of a problem -- and at times, new aspects of yourself. So get out your writing sticks and prepare to doodle!"
—Daniel H. Pink, author of To Sell is Human and Drive

“The future is filled with an ever-growing density of information, so visual literacy—the ability to think and communicate using visual language—will become an essential skill. Thankfully, The Doodle Revolution gives all of us the ability to take the leap.”
—Jane McGonigal, author of Reality Is Broken

"Doodles come straight from the Unconscious. That's partly why they work. Sunni did a beautiful job of shining a light on visual language."
—Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art and The Legend of Bagger Vance

“There’s a reason why so many innovative companies use Sunni’s techniques for visual literacy, and it’s not just because they want to have fun. These methods offer consistently better thinking, and in the process deliver happiness as well.” —Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com CEO and author of Delivering Happiness

Secret Lives of Great Artists: What Your Teachers Never Told You About Master Painters and Sculptors

By amorfortuna2 on October 2, 2011 (taken from www.amazon.com)

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

I found this to be succinct and fascinating. This is my 3rd 'Secret Lives' book and I think this one is right on par with the authors and composers editions. Great short reads, not meant to be a complete history of anyone, obviously, but perfect at someone at a moderate knowledge level of a subject. Makes me interested to know much more about some of these artists. Great series!

Teach Like a Pirate: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator 8/19/12 Edition

(taken from www.amazon.com)

Based on Dave Burgess's popular "Outrageous Teaching" and "Teach Like a PIRATE" seminars, this book offers inspiration, practical techniques, and innovative ideas that will help you to increase student engagement, boost your creativity, and transform your life as an educator. You'll learn how to: • Tap into and dramatically increase your passion as a teacher • Develop outrageously engaging lessons that draw students in like a magnet • Establish rapport and a sense of camaraderie in your classroom • Transform your class into a life-changing experience for your students This groundbreaking inspirational manifesto contains over 30 hooks specially designed to captivate your class and 170 brainstorming questions that will skyrocket your creativity. Once you learn the Teach Like a PIRATE system, you'll never look at your role as an educator the same again.

From the Author

I have been traveling across the country delivering my passionate and inspirational message about how to improve education for both students and teachers. This book is based on the complete Teach Like a PIRATE system that I have developed to help teachers become wildly engaging in the classroom and more fulfilled in their profession. It not only includes the entire Teach like a PIRATE system that has left audiences of educators unbelievably fired up, motivated, and ready to tackle the world, but also includes a comprehensive section on exactly how to craft and design lessons that are irresistible to students.

The book includes over 30 hooks and 170 brainstorming questions that have been specially designed to skyrocket your creativity. The final section of the book is an uplifting guide created to help you overcome all of the obstacles and resistance that you will face on your voyage.

I can't tell you how many teachers have come up after my presentations and said, "You should write a book." Well, here it is!

About the Author

Dave Burgess is a highly sought after professional development speaker well known for his creative, entertaining, and outrageously energetic style. His workshops, seminars, and keynotes inspire teachers and help them develop practical ways to become more creative and engaging in the classroom. He is an award-winning U.S. History teacher at West Hills High School in San Diego, California, where he has taught for sixteen years. He specializes in teaching hard-to-reach, hard-to-motivate students with techniques that incorporate showmanship and creativity.

From Publishers Weekly

(taken from www.amazon.com)

Mindset is "an established set of attitudes held by someone," says the Oxford American Dictionary. It turns out, however, that a set of attitudes needn't be so set, according to Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford. Dweck proposes that everyone has either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is one in which you view your talents and abilities as... well, fixed. In other words, you are who you are, your intelligence and talents are fixed, and your fate is to go through life avoiding challenge and failure. A growth mindset, on the other hand, is one in which you see yourself as fluid, a work in progress. Your fate is one of growth and opportunity. Which mindset do you possess? Dweck provides a checklist to assess yourself and shows how a particular mindset can affect all areas of your life, from business to sports and love. The good news, says Dweck, is that mindsets are not set: at any time, you can learn to use a growth mindset to achieve success and happiness. This is a serious, practical book. Dweck's overall assertion that rigid thinking benefits no one, least of all yourself, and that a change of mind is always possible, is welcome. (On sale Feb. 28)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“Everyone should read this book.”—Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Switch and Made to Stick

“Will prove to be one of the most influential books ever about motivation.”—Po Bronson, author of NurtureShock

“A good book is one whose advice you believe. A great book is one whose advice you follow. I have found Carol Dweck’s work on mindsets invaluable in my own life, and even life-changing in my attitudes toward the challenges that, over the years, become more demanding rather than less. This is a book that can change your life, as its ideas have changed mine.”—Robert J. Sternberg, IBM Professor of Education and Psychology at Yale University, director of the PACE Center of Yale University, and author of Successful Intelligence

“If you manage any people or if you are a parent (which is a form of managing people), drop everything and read Mindset.”—Guy Kawasaki, author of The Art of the Start and the blog How to Change the World

“Highly recommended . . . an essential read for parents, teachers [and] coaches . . . as well as for those who would like to increase their own feelings of success and fulfillment.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“A serious, practical book. Dweck’s overall assertion that rigid thinking benefits no one, least of all yourself, and that a change of mind is always possible, is welcome.”—Publishers Weekly

“A wonderfully elegant idea . . . It is a great book.”—Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., author of Delivered from Distraction

The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units 1st Edition

Editorial Reviews

(taken from www.amazon.com)

From the Back Cover

The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units offers instructional modules on the basic concepts and elements of Understanding by Design (UbD), the "backward design" approach used by thousands of educators to create curriculum units and assessments that focus on developing students' understanding of important ideas. The eight modules are organized around the UbD Template, version 2.0, and feature components similar to what is typically provided in a UbD design workshop, including

Discussion and explanation of key ideas in the module;
Guiding exercises, worksheets, and design tips;
Examples of unit designs;
Review criteria with prompts for self-assessment; and
A list of resources for further information.

This guide is intended for K-16 educators - either individuals or groups - who may have received some training in UbD and want to continue their work independently; those who've read Understanding by Design and want to design curriculum units but have no access to formal training; graduate and undergraduate students in university curriculum courses; and school and district administrators, curriculum directors, and others who facilitate UbD work with staff. Users can go through the modules in sequences or skip around, depending on their previous experience with UbD and their preferred curriculum design style or approach. Unit creation, planning, and adaptation are easier than ever with the accompanying downloadable resources, including the UbD template set up as a fillable PDF form, additional worksheets, examples, and FAQs about the module topics that speak to UbD novices and veterans alike.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Grant Wiggins is president of Authentic Education in Hopewell, NJ. He earned his EdD from Harvard University and his BA from St. John's College in Annapolis. Grant and his colleagues consult with schools, districts, and state and national departments on a variety of reform matters. He and his colleagues also organize conference and workshops, and develop print and web resources on key school reform issues.
Grant is perhaps best known for being coauthor, with Jay McTighe, of Understanding by Design, the award-winning and highly successful program and set of materials on curriculum design used all over the world, and of Schooling by Design. He is also a coauthor for Pearson on more than a dozen textbook programs in which UbD is infused and his articles have been published in several leading journals including Educational Leadership and Phi Delta Kappan.

Grant is widely known for his work in assessment reform. For 25 years, he has worked on influential reform initiatives around the world, including Ted Sizer's Coalition of Essential Schools; the International Baccalaureate Program; the Advanced Placement Program; state reform initiaves in New Jersey, New York, and Delaware; and national reforms in China, the Philippines, and Thailand. He was a lead consultant on many state assessment reform initiatives, such as the portfolio project in Vermont and peformance assessment consortia in New Jersey and North Carolina.

Grant's work is grounded in 14 years of secondary school teaching and coaching.

Jay McTighe brings a wealth of experience developed during a rich and varied career in education. He served as director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, a state collaboration of school districts working together to develop and share formative performance assessments. Prior to this position, Jay was involved with school improvement projects at the Maryland State Department of Education where he directed the development of the Instructional Framework, a multimedia database on teaching. Jay is well known for his work with thinking skills, having coordinated statewide efforts to develop instructional strategies, curriculum models, and assessment procedures for improving the quality of student thinking. In addition to his work at the state level, Jay has experience at the district level in Prince George's County, Maryland, as a classroom teacher, resource specialist, and program coordinator.

Jay is an accomplished author, having coauthored 10 books, including the best-selling Understanding by Design series with Grant Wiggins. He has written more than 30 articles and book chapters, and has published in leading journals, including Educational Leadership (ASCD) and The Developer (National Staff Development Council).

Jay received his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, earned his master's degree from the University of Maryland, and completed post-graduate studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He was selected to participate in the Educational Policy Fellowship Program through the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C.

So you see, when I am not in my classroom...I am reading to keep motivated and grow my classroom. These have been pretty good reads this school year.

Take a look when you have a chance!

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