This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

Renowned as one of the most prestigious medical schools in the world, the UCSF School of Medicine employs technology to help students and faculty learn more effectively. At the school's Kanbar Simulation Center, students record practice consultations and review the videos to improve each step of their patient interactions. Students also use iPads in labs, which makes training videos and resource material easily accessible at the point of practice.

For Catherine Lucey, Vice Dean of Education at the School of Medicine, integrating technology aids the faculty in teaching students to become compassionate, skillful physicians. Click on the video to learn more about UCSF's approach to learning.

This video is part eight in our Future Learning video series about technology in classrooms. Check out our first video on Khan Academy here and learn about other forward-thinking innovators like Sugata Mitra, Sifteo, Digita Tabula, Innovations for Learning, Connexions, and Collaborize Classroom.

Alison Suffet-Diaz is the founder of Environmental Charter Schools, a network of Los Angeles schools that uses environmental awareness and civic participation to engage kids in their educations. This week in GOOD's video series, What Do You Love, Suffet-Diaz takes us on a tour of the things that inspire her the most. Here are 10 of them:

1  Taylor, my daughter
2   my nieces and nephew Jared, Jessie, and Jamie
3   my mom and dad, Jeff and Chris
4   traveling the world
5   hard work
6   solving problems
7   being creative
8   learning
9   kids
10   life

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University and visiting professor at M.I.T., talks about how his Hole in the Wall Experiment helped poor children in the slums of Hyderabad, India teach themselves English. Giving them access to tools like computers, Mitra showed that uneducated, non-English speaking children could work in small groups and with the help of computers, teach themselves how to speak and read. Watch to learn more about how children with the right tools can learn how to read, search for information, and find the answers to the world around them.

This video is part seven in our Future Learning video series about technology in classrooms. Check out our first video on Khan Academy here and learn about other forward-thinking innovators like Sifteo,  Digita Tabula,  Innovations for Learning, Connexions, and Collaborize Classroom.

What do you love? This week in GOOD's video series, Wylie Overstreet—author of The History of the World According to Facebook—takes us on a tour of the little things he loves. Here are ten of them:

1   Carl Sagan
2   Dorothy Parker
3   FWD: FWD: FWD: FUNNY EMAILS FROM GRANDMA
4   subtle jokes
5   Dyslexic jekos
6   my iPhone's auto-cuttlefish
7   prime numbers
8   movies without vampires
9   ambiguous endings
10   

IBM, GOOD's partner in the search for the most innovative and responsible medium-sized companies, selected German fashion retailer Gewandhaus Gruber as a finalist for the GOODCo Project. 

Originally established 355 years ago in Bavaria as a tailoring shop, Gewandhaus Gruber has stayed relevant in the fast-paced world of fashion through its commitment to a cutting-edge customer experience. The company's latest innovation is a customer rewards program that uses fingerprint technology to distribute savings and rewards. Customers scan their finger at the register to pay for their purchases without cards or cash, plus they instantly earn loyalty points and discounts.

Check out the video to learn how this cost-efficient technology gives the midsized business an edge over larger fashion competitors.

What moves the people who are moving the world forward? This week in GOOD's video series, What Do You Love, pilot George Velasquez tell us about the things that inspire him (mostly, flying).

This post is in partnership with Vestergaard Frandsen

Today, 884 million people only have access to unimproved water sources (such as wells and plumbing that have not been updated or maintained), which can be the source of deadly water-borne diseases and other contamination. Many of the world's water problems are due to this type of contamination, not lack of water supply.  The solution to this global problem may be household water treatments that can be kept at the point of water use. They've been twice as effective in reducing water-borne disease and don't require firewood or extensive time to maintain. Click above to see how providing these water filters can help save lives.

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

Sifteo co-founder David Merrill believes in the power of hands-on thinking. Using digital cubes, he explores how intelligent play and physical exploration with our hands stimulates cognitive learning. Defying the idea that technology creates a passive experience, Sifteo cubes engage users with games and encourage them to play and think nimbly with exploration-oriented problem solving.

This video is part six in our Future Learning video series about technology in classrooms. Check out our first video on Khan Academy here and learn about other forward-thinking innovators like Digita Tabula,  Innovations for Learning, Connexions, and Collaborize Classroom.

What do you love? This week in GOOD's new video series: Los Angeles singer and voiceover artist Mela Lee takes us on a tour of her favorite vintage record shop and talks about the little things that make her life worth singing about. Here are 10 of them:

1   my Valentino Red Rain boots—they have a bow on them!

2   my band, Magnolia Memoir—everything I ever dreamed of when I was singing in front of the mirror

3   The Record Collector on Melrose—history at your fingertips

4   Los Angeles—I discover new places and people every day

5   vintage clothing stores

6   dark chocolate

7   comedy

8   Eliki, a Harlem artist who really breaks my heart when I hear her voice

9   traveling around the world to meet my anime and voiceover fans

10   my life—two years ago I was washing dishes, and got discovered.

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

Democrasoft founder Richard Lang created Collaborize Classroom, a digital platform that builds on the power of shared thinking.  Teachers no longer become the funnel for information in classrooms; students can share information and ideas with each other and direct the flow of learning through online discussions. By helping encourage a group's collective thinking, Lang hopes to take education to a higher level through collaborative learning.

This video is part five in our Future Learning video series about technology in classrooms. Check out our first video on Khan Academy here and learn about other forward-thinking innovators like Digita Tabula,  Innovations for Learning, and Connexions.
 

What do you love? Comedy performer, writer, and canjo aficionado Thomas Middleditch counts the little things that inspire him on the improv stage and in his living room. Here are 10 of them:

1  video games
2   my girlfriend
3   my dog, Meatloaf
4   teaching myself how to build a motorcycle
5   my 1982 Mercedes Benz that runs on vegetable oil
6   military history
7   World War I
8   building canjos
9   playing canjos
10  performing in front of a live audience

What do you love? GOOD senior editor Cord Jefferson took us on a public transportation tour of Los Angeles to show us all the little things he loves. Here are 10 of them:

1  Weddings
2  Burritos with fake meat in them
3  Arizona
4  Los Angeles (and the Randy Newman song "I Love L.A.")
5  Getting haircuts
6  Steely Dan
7  Skipping town for the weekend on a whim
8  Very sad movies
9  Driving around and listening to music late at night
10  LAX to HNL 

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

On Friday November 10, GOOD and University of Phoenix proudly announced that Terry Dougherty, a third grade teacher of Roland Rogers Elementary School in Galloway Township, New Jersey, is the winner of the Great American Teach-Off, as voted by the GOOD community.

Watch our video to learn more about her work for children of military personnel and how she plans on using her $10,000 grant money. Plus, you'll get to see how Dougherty received the news—and a check for $10,000—during a surprise assembly at her school. 

Congratulations to our winner and all of our inspiring teachers from this year's Great American Teach-Off! Stay tuned for our next round for teachers in grades 7-12, starting in early 2012.

Below is a message from Great American Teach-Off partner University of Phoenix:

Congratulations, Ms. Dougherty!

I am so very pleased to celebrate your success and honor you as the winner of the first Great American Teach-Off and a $10,000 classroom grant! Your commitment to the military child tutoring project is to be commended. Providing families with opportunities to stay connected and participate in their children’s educational environment creates priceless connections. My brother-in-law recently celebrated 23 years in the Navy and is currently deployed. I am so appreciative of your efforts to help military families stay involved from a distance and smooth transitions. 

Your vision of a mobile technology lab, focused on math, science and reading, supports national efforts to increase excitement, energy and academic gains in these areas. Integrating technology into instruction creates a dynamic learning environment and utilizes hands-on tools and innovation to stimulate learning. Thank you for your commitment to your students and their families. You truly embody the mission of the University of Phoenix, College of Education, by “impacting student learning, one educator at a time.” 

Best of luck on your continued success! 

Sincerely,

Meredith Curley, Ed.D.
Dean, College of Education, University of Phoenix

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

What if you could build a textbook perfectly tailored to your studies and learning style? Rice University professor Richard Baraniuk created Connexions, an online library resource, to do just that. Find out how Connexions deconstructs textbooks and lets you put them back together, helping learners become teachers and teachers become learners.

This video is part four in our Future Learning video series about technology in classrooms. Check out our first video on Khan Academy here. Learn about Digita Tabula, which makes lessons more like video games here, and Innovations for Learning's electronic teaching aids here.

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

Innovations for Learning founder Seth Weinberger envisions a future where technology and teachers work in harmony in the classroom. He's designed handheld computers to do the work of teaching simple lessons, enabling teachers to focus on higher order needs for student success.

The software programs offer tailored reinforcement and teacher reports about which kids are learning lessons, which need help, and which may not be understanding the material. Watch to learn more about how new technology is helping students and teachers find success in the classroom.

This video is part three in our Future Learning video series about technology in classrooms. Check out our first two videos here and here.

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

Why can't learning algebra and chemistry be as fun and addictive as playing a video game? Ntiedo Etuk, founder and CEO of Tabula Digita, is developing tools to merge teaching with dynamic engagement. Click above to see how Etuk is using technology to design lessons that are as motivating as winning games.

This video is part two in our Future Learning video series about technology in classrooms. Check out our first video about Khan Academy's lessons on demand here.

This post is in partnership with University of Phoenix

Did you miss our live event, "Now Hiring: A Conversation About Growing L.A.'s Tech Workforce" held this summer?  The event's panel discussion brought together some of L.A.'s most influential education, business, and government leaders for an evening to discuss how L.A. can produce the next generation of technology professionals.

The panelists included Peter Diamandis, Founder and Chairman, X PRIZE Foundation; Eric Garcetti, the President of the Los Angeles City Council; Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing; Bernadette Lucas, Principal, Melrose Elementary Math Science Technology Magnet; and Blair Smith, Dean, College of Information Systems & Technology, University of Phoenix.

If you weren't able to join us for the event, click above to watch a video recap of the night's speakers and learn more about how education and technology are the key to a stronger, more prepared workforce.

This post is in partnership with Kia Motors

Click above to learn everything you need to know about the new Kia Optima Hybrid battery, from learning how the battery charges the motor to understanding how the battery improves fuel efficiency.