Vision 2020 Blog

We are happy to announce the launch of the Vision 2020 Learning Platform! The video below will help you understand, in very simple terms, what the Vision 2020 learning journey on the platform will be all about. Some teachers have already been invited to join it as early adopters. Do you want to be a Vision 2020 early adopter? Click HERE and find out how. We hope to see more and more of you engaging in our Vision 2020 Shared Learning Platform!

We are currently offering an online professional development opportunity for our teachers: the Digital Learning Labs. Right now, we have a group of 35 teachers finishing module 1 | Google Drive. There has been a very high level of engagement in this module, with lots of interaction and discussion about possible applications and uses of Google Drive in our professional practice, in and out of the classroom. Registrations are now open for module 2 | Google Docs. Many of the folks taking module 1 are moving on to take module 2, as well, for they feel the need to keep developing their knowledge and skills on these tools. If you're interested in joining our learning party, click HERE and fill out our registration form. We ask you to please join by no later than August 27th . Lab modules go on for about 2 weeks and are 100% online and self-paced. They are a great opportunity for those of you who need some introductory hands-on experience on these core Google tools: Drive, Docs, Slid...

We are thrilled to share some news about a great innovation initiative which has just begun in our school. It's the JDO Global Partnership Program, a partnership between the JDO Foundation and Casa Thomas Jefferson whose main goal is to develop teachers' and students' global and digital citizenship skills. The partnership was born of a recent connection made between Beth Rabello, Denise De Felice, Mariana Sucena and JDO's CEO Heather Rooney during the 2018 ISTE conference in Chicago in March. JDO's misson is to provide an enriched educational experience for U.S. and international classrooms (students aged 8-14 years) by providing state of the art technologies (if needed), and professional training to the educators managing these technologies. JDO facilitates global collaboration among partner schools to enable students to be accomplished, well-informed digital citizens. The Program matches international partner teachers and provides a framework to build co-curric...

It’s been a little while since I last posted any news regarding our innovation project, Vision 2020. Some of you may know that I had to be away for medical reasons in early April, but I have already come back after a very successful recovery. (Yesss!) And let me just say this: visiting our Facebook group and following all of the great things you guys have been doing with your students was absolutely delightful (and I’m pretty sure it contributed to my speedy recovery <3) How amazing to see the innovative spirit of Vision 2020 going strong ever since our 1st Thomas Maker Summit ! I am writing this very short post to let you all know that I’m happy to be back and that we will soon resume the Vision 2020 project  activities. Before I end this post, let me just give you a taste of what’s been happening and what’s to come. As you know, the first year (2018) of the project is devoted to developing and nurturing a climate and a culture of innovation , as well as leadership for...

On January 24th, 2018, we held our 1st Maker Summit. The purpose of the event was to immerse our teachers in Maker-Centered-Learning experiences, which required them to manipulate technologies, tools, and even methodologies, such as Virtual Reality apps and glasses, Osmo kits, Stop Motion and Green Screening video tools, as well as Design Thinking. Here are some of the things we hoped to achieve with these immersion experiences. We wanted our fellow teachers: to have the student experience by diving in the challenges right from the start. We wanted to give them space to tinker, to play with the tools being used in each experience; to reflect on the hands-on, immersive experience and the difficulties, challenges, successes, and insecurities that surfaced. We wanted them to connect to those feelings that arose while they engaged in each of the experiences together with their peers; to identify possible opportunities for the use of those technologies, tools and methodologies in ou...

I am writing this to share my process with the world. I am truly interested in the network effects that spur growth and creativity. So if you like the theme of change and innovation in education, I would love to connect with you. I am also writing in order to “process my process.” Writing for an authentic audience is very challenging and very productive. It pushes you to articulate your ideas as best as you can. Before I go on, let me give you some background information on who I am and the work I do. I’m a Brazilian 42-year-old mom and educator who lives in Brasília, the capital city of our country. I have been in English Language Teaching for 22 years. After ten years working as a full-time teacher, I worked as an academic administrator in my school, Casa Thomas Jefferson , as course supervisor, a middle-management position of leadership. I have my English language and teaching credentials, but my academic background is in Anthropology. It was not until about a year ago that I re...