Reading Writing Responding

There seems to have been a few blogs bouncing around in my feeds of late. These include  Deb Hicks ' 'Why Blog', Tom Whitby's 'Why Blogs and Who Needs Them Anyway' and Peter DeWitt's 'The Benefits of Blogging'. I t kind of occurred to me that I hadn't really ever stated, nor really thought about, why I have chosen to blog. I have therefore decided to have a go at providing some of my reasons: Scratching an itch . Often while reading, there are things that stick out, that prop the ears, the spike the imagination, that remain like an itch. A blog is a way of  responding to these things, somehow alleviating the irritation. Being connected . I love being connected, following various threads of thought, commenting, tweeting and reaching out to others, but sometimes a responding needs to be something more substantial. A blog is one avenue that allows this. Critical engagement . I read on the wall in a coordinators office the other day the st...

In a recent blog , Corrie Barclay shared his experiences from a recent meeting he attended where Dr. Bill Rankin spoke about presentations. In conclusion, Corrie came up with the following, that: The creation of a presentation is more than just images and text on a slide. To effectively engage an audience and convey powerful messages, you need to consider those messages and specific design principles that will allow present your information in the most effective manner possible. I could not agree more that it is more than 'images and texts'. A presentation is also about more than just an app or a device. I am not saying that apps are not powerful, but in my view having a good app is only one part of the puzzle that is a good presentation. Let me diverge for a moment to explain. At a recent staff meeting, we had Tony Richards come and speak about cyber safety smarts. Not only was I left pondering the consequences of my ongoing digital footprint, but I was also lef...

In a recent blog post on being a connected educator, Tom Whitby suggested that: The unconnected educator is more in line with the 20th century model of teacher. Access to the Internet is limited for whatever reason. Relevance in the 21st century is not a concern. Whatever they need to know, someone will tell them. If they email anyone, they will follow it up with a phone call to make sure it was received. The question that it got me thinking was that if not being connected means not being a part of the 21st century, what does it actually mean to be working within the 21st century? There are many contrary opinions out there about what 21st century learning is and what are the skills associated with it. However, the one thing that stands out across all discussions is that to ignore one element often collapses the whole definition. Reading, a Sum of Many Interconnected Parts The other day, I was discussing the practise of reading with a fellow teacher. Although see...