Jun

28

Special thank-you’s mean so much…

June 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I dropped by my boss’ office last week for a chat.  It was the end of the year and, while we keep in touch pretty much daily on twitter, it’s always good to have that f2f interaction.  We always seem to share ideas and frustrations, sharing our visions of learning.
As I sat down, I noticed [...]

Jun

28

Can we go home again?

June 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I was fortunate to grow up in a region more beautiful than any place I have ever visited (and I have been fortunate to travel a fair amount).  The Miramichi River region of northeastern New Brunswick in Canada is a generally rural area settled by the earliest European settlers to North America.  The strong Irish [...]

Jun

17

K12 Online Conference 08 - Call for Proposals

June 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I love the connections available at f2f conferences.  The opportunity to build personal friendships and professional relationships are incredible PD, and can be leveraged in our classrooms through student-based collaborative projects.
Sometimes, however, it’s just not possible to get together.  Fortunately, in today’s digitally connected world, the opportunities can come to you.  This fall will see [...]

Jun

16

Redefining SMART…

June 16, 2008 | 2 Comments

Caught this poster over on Cathy Nelson’s TechnoTuesday blog… it’s so simple it’s powerful.

This poster speaks volumes about the changing nature of our world. What does it mean for our schools? Just what to we need to be teaching our kids when all “knowledge” is a couple of mouse-clicks away?
I sent this out [...]

Jun

13

Not on the Test

June 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment

It’s been an interesting week of conversations with colleagues and parents about the place for standardized testing and it’s role in preparing our kids for their future in a globally connected world.
Well, it’s Friday, and a time for some levity…with a message of course.
I Came across this video for the song “Not on the Test“, [...]

Jun

11

Accountability by Scantron?

June 11, 2008 | 2 Comments

Education systems around the world are undergoing dramatic change - my province being no exception - as educational and community leaders (politicians) search for the magic pill that will transform learning to help prepare our kids for a future we can barely imagine.
I have been enthused by our new Minister of Education’s calls for [...]

Jun

10

Dreaming of Shanghai…

June 10, 2008 | 1 Comment

As I have written before, I truly believe in the value of having teachers and other learning leaders connect. Part of that connecting can (must) be virtual, through blogs, twitter, ning et al, but I also know the power of the even more personal connection.
I have seen how it has affected my ideas about teaching [...]

Jun

10

PicLens from Cool Iris

June 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I usually don’t write about new tools that much, but this one is so cool I just had to share.
At our provincial year-end mentor meetings last week we had some time where individuals could share new tools and tricks. I tooks the opportunity to share Twitter - I’ll write more on that at some [...]

Jun

9

Connected communities

June 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I was doing my cyber-rounds today at lunch and dropped by CNN’s Tech section and saw the headline “City Unveils Huge Wireless Network“.  However, my initial excitement was quickly tempered when I read the article, which followed the implementation of a huge, multi-point wireless infrastructure which, unfortunately, was limited in use to public safety and [...]

Jun

2

Social Media in Education

June 2, 2008 | 1 Comment

Many teachers and other adults from my generation have a hard time seeing any connection between the new media landscape and education. The reality is, however, all learning has evolved from conversations and connections over history, and the best learning is participatory in nature. While many cultures have no formal schooling, learning is [...]