A global integrated media project about reimagining education for a new world.

MISSION

Our mission is to entertain, inspire, engage audiences and help to create a paradigm shift in education that empowers a new generation for the challenges and opportunities of a new world.

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
Stanley Park High School, UK

Reimagining education for a new world.

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
Bangladesh Teaser

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
Stanley Park High School, UK

Reimagining education for a new world.

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
Bangladesh Teaser

Education is the most powerful weapon
we can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
Creativity / Imagination Teaser

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein

Education is the most powerful weapon
we can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
Creativity / Imagination Teaser

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
Listen to our Voices

The function of education is to teach
one to think critically.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
We Love Changemakers

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
Listen to our Voices

The function of education is to teach
one to think critically.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Skool Project
THE EARTH NETWORK
We Love Changemakers

“I have an interest in education and I think we all do, we have a huge vested interest in it, partly because it’s education that’s meant to take us into this future that we can’t grasp”.

Sir Ken Robinson, from his groundbreaking most watched TED Talk ever.

PROJECT

THE SKOOL PROJECT is a variety of associated media initiatives that tell compelling stories about amazing people who are helping to reimagine and reshape education. THE SKOOL PROJECT cohesively integrates content and context across multiple platforms: movie theaters, film festivals, television, video on demand, virtual reality, social media, mobile, grass roots community initiatives and interactive educational initiatives.

DOCUMENTARY

SKOOL – a social/cultural documentary film and TV series about a paradigm shift in education that is changing the way we teach and learn.

SHORT FILMS

Compelling, cinematic stories about master class teachers and students who break down barriers and open up worlds of infinite possibilities.

VIRTUAL REALITY

Immersive, experiential journeys into amazing learning environments and diverse cultures around the world.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Special community events that bring stakeholders and audiences together in a variety of ways that inspire communication and action.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Comprehensive ongoing social media campaign – Vimeo, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter – designed to bridge stories, perspectives and experiences.

EDUCATION

Designed to inform and inspire our audience. These initiatives will include online resources, outreach programs, community engagement, networking, speakers, mentorship and a film specific curriculum.

The SKOOL Project

The SKOOL Project focuses on the most compelling social issue of our time: the future of education in a rapidly changing world. Through a variety of storytelling initiatives, The SKOOL Project will explore how education is evolving to fit the needs of a new generation to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of a new world. New ways of teaching and learning not only embrace change, but thrive on it.

Though traditionally education is geared towards letter grades and related certificates, The SKOOL Project will explore a system where the singular push for academic achievement is complimented by a holistic set of considerations, including creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, compassion, community engagement, and social / emotional learning.

The SKOOL Project will show students developing their values, character, and relationships in ways that combine intellectual challenges with play and fun. The result is an inside-out pattern, where students explore their strengths, weaknesses, fears and passions. Where they take calculated risks, where failure can also be seen as a natural–and critical–part of the process, and where the end result has less to do with learning to listen and study and comply, and more to do with learning how to learn.

We will see learning environments where students can thrive and find their personal potential regardless of their diverse needs and abilities by engaging in experiences that fit their unique situations and goals. We will visit classrooms from all corners of the world, where students embark on opportunities to create self-designed projects that utilize their interests and talents in ways that can have positive impact on the world around them. We’ll follow their ideas, challenges, and profound breakthroughs.

The SKOOL Project will explore inclusive education systems that, rather than being limited to only those who can afford it or have earned a scholarship or won a lottery, are accessible to anyone. We will discover how technology, innovation, and personalized learning are revolutionizing and democratizing education to level the playing field, address troubling inequalities, and improve the lives of people and communities.

The SKOOL Project will show teachers, students, parents, and policymakers working together to create powerful learning opportunities, limited only by the imaginations of the people involved. In the process, we’ll see how ongoing, organic, systemic change can happen from within current systems while developing new visions for new systems with new currencies and values. The SKOOL Project will shine a light on of some of the amazing people who are helping to reimagine education.

The SKOOL Project will tell stories from many corners of the world and inspire audiences to take part in a movement: a paradigm shift in education that rethinks how we teach and learn in a rapidly changing world.

“Great documentaries enrich the lives of individuals. They have a unique ability to engage and connect people, transform communities and improve societies. Documentary film is one the most effective tools in creating empathy and inspiring people to engage as active citizens at a local, national and international level. To change the way we see the world.”

BRITDOC

We love teachers.

We’re looking for teachers to feature in The SKOOL Project. We will shine a spotlight on extraordinary teachers who find unique ways to bring out the best in their students and create learning environments and projects that break down barriers and open up worlds of infinite possibilities. We will share their stories to inspire others.

Are you a teacher or do you know a teacher who should be part of THE SKOOL PROJECT?

Tell us your story.

Signup

STUDENTS

We are looking for students who have self-directed a school initiative designed to have a positive impact in their community. Are you a student with a meaningful story or do you know someone who you think should be a part of THE SKOOL PROJECT? By entering, your story could be selected to be a part of The SKOOL Project.

Tell us your story.

Signup

ABOUT US

THE SKOOL PROJECT is being created by The Earth Network. The Earth Network creates motion picture experiences and connects them to the world through innovative combinations of traditional entertainment media, digital media and social networking. We combine extensive experience with a new generation of multi-talented filmmakers to create immersive and thought provoking movies. The Earth Network is inclusive, collaborative and shares common goals for its participants. We create and share amazing stories about inspired ways of living.

Jon Long

Producer / Director

Jon has specialized in financing, creating and distributing film and television for over 20 years. He recently produced /directed the award winning The Search for Freedom which played in several festivals around the world. He has produced, written and directed several films and television programs for Universal Studios, IMAX®, Disney, Universal, Entertainment One National Geographic and PBS. His film Extreme, made for IMAX® theatres is one of the most successful documentaries of all time. Many of his projects include ongoing educational components, which he has worked on with Outward Bound, PBS, The World Wildlife Fund and others.

Laura Zeman

Producer

Laura is a creative explorer, effective leader and communicator. With a passion for people, Laura has a Master of Arts in Leadership, where she studied the intelligence of emotion and how we can use this intelligence as function of personal and organizational leadership.   Laura was an Associate Producer, Music Supervisor and Production Manager on The Search for Freedom. As a teaching consultant, Laura is also the designer of a youth leadership program that focuses on developing self-mastery towards self & social responsibility, community engagement, creativity and leadership.

Chip Burgess

Executive Producer

Chip is a lawyer, entrepreneur and meditation instructor with a special interest in developing and promoting sustainable and socially conscious technologies and businesses. Chip was an executive producer of The Search for Freedom (Universal, Entertainment One) and Sacred Planet (Disney) made for IMAX® theatres. Regarding education, he believes “Our greatest natural resource is human capacity. The most effective way to teach our children is to focus on nurturing their strengths and individual gifts rather than trying to fit everyone into a box.”

ADVISORS

Our team of advisors are doing far-reaching and meaningful work in education and they provide The SKOOL Project with diverse perspectives to help achieve the mission of the project.

Ross Hall

Ross is currently directing Ashoka’s education strategy for triggering a widespread change in the experience of education so that every young person is empowered to become a change maker. Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with nearly 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70 countries putting their system changing ideas into practice on a global scale. Over recent years, Ross researched and architected a ground-breaking programme that aims to equip and incline young people to be well and to do well. The first implementation of the Better World programme is with 500,000 children in rural communities across Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Ghana.

Rod Allen

Rod is former assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Education in BC, Canada, where he has been leading education transformation efforts to the forefront of the international stage which include an emphasis on personalized learning. Rod has taught at most grade levels in British Columbia, where he advanced through school and district leadership positions. His work as an advocate for transformation of the education systems has been praised by jurisdictions around the world and informed their strategies. Rod has been applauded for his enabling, grass-roots approaches to system transformation.

Terry Heick

Terry Heick is an author, social entrepreneur, and education dreamer. He is the Director at TeachThought, and is considered an education thought leader sought out for his thinking, experience, and vision. He is specifically curious about inquiry, thought, the critical shifts of future learning, student-centered learning, emerging technology, innovative teaching and learning models, and the modern knowledge demands in a connected world. His most recent work includes a digital citizenship project with the White House, as well as various projects with Pearson, Institute for Habits of Mind, ASCD, Edutopia and consulting for various schools and districts.

Katie Salen Tekinbas

Katie is the founding Executive Director of the Institute of Play. She is a pioneer in applying game design principles to challenges outside the field of commercial game development. She is a Professor in the School of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University and lectures widely and writes extensively on game design, design education and gamer culture. She has co-authored or edited several books, including Rules of Play, a textbook on game design, The Game Design Reader and The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Also, Katie was co-lead designer on Gamestar Mechanic, an award-winning online game with built-in game design curriculum.

Yong Zhao

Currently the Presidential Chair and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he is also a Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership. His work focuses on the implications of globalization and technology on education. He has published over 100 articles and 20 books and is a recipient of the Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association and was named one of the 2012 10 most influential people in educational technology by the Tech & Learn Magazine. He is an elected fellow of the International Academy for Education. His latest book World Class Learners has won several awards including the Society of Professors of Education Book Award, Association of Education Publishers’ (AEP) Judges’ Award and Distinguished Achievement Award in Education Leadership.

David Albury

David is a Director on the Board of the Innovation Unit, UK. He is working on the Global Educational Leadership Program (GELP), which is supporting system change in education globally to help empower learners to thrive in the 21st Century. Since January 2001, David serves a Principal Adviser in the Prime Minister’s (UK) Strategy Unit. In his role at the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, David played leading roles in long-term reviews and strategies for education and health as well as analysis of systemic causes of unnecessary bureaucracy system design principles for public services.

Hannah Tümpel

Hannah is Director of Communications and Engagement with UWC International in London. UWC (United World Colleges) is a global educational movement with the mission to make education a force for peace and a sustainable future. UWC has 16 schools worldwide at which students from over 150 nationalities live and learn together for the two last years of their high school education. They are selected through 154 national committees worldwide on demonstrated promise and potential only and more than 65% receive full or partial scholarships to ensure that a UWC education is available independent of a student’s socio-economic background. Hannah is a German lawyer and mediator by background, has worked the last nine years in alternative dispute resolution in Paris, has lived in Italy, Belgium, France and the US and has travelled through many more countries. Her passion to use education to create a more peaceful world and to teach students to celebrate the value of diversity gets her out of bed in the morning.

Amy Anderson

Amy Anderson is the Director of ReSchool Colorado, an inspirational initiative launched by the Donnell-Kay Foundation in 2013 to design and launch a new education system in Colorado. Prior to serving in this role, Amy led the Division of Innovation, Choice, and Engagement at the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) as Associate Commissioner. Her work there resulted in the creation of a statewide vision and strategy to personalize learning and ignite the unique potential of each student through Expanded Learning Opportunities. Prior to CDE, Amy had her first stint with the Donnell-Kay Foundation as the Director of Strategic Partnerships where she launched the Foundation’s work on blended learning. She also worked as a Senior Associate and Vice President with Augenblick, Palaich, and Associates, and led new school development efforts for the Colorado League of Charter Schools. Amy is a founder and former Board Chair of The Odyssey School, a Denver Charter School started in 1998. She currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors at the International Association of K12 Online Learning (iNACOL). Anderson holds a Ph.D. and M.Ed. from the University of Colorado and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

JOIN IN

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