Reading Writing Responding

In a post a few months ago I mused on the idea of providing time for teachers to tinker and explore . My feelings were that like the students we teach, we too all have areas of interests that we never quite get a chance to unpack. I was reminded of this again recently by +Edna Sackson who spoke about enlivening a professional development day by empowering the voices of the staff at her school and giving them a chance to present, rather than simply bringing in outside providers. Although I have experienced this to some degree in regards to ICT at my school, where we ran a session where various staff provided different sessions, I have never really heard of it been offered as a whole school initiative. I was therefore left wondering, why don't more staff share and collaborate, whether online or off? ... A point of collaboration that I have been involved in this year was the development of a conference presentation with +Steve Brophy . As teachers we often talk abo...

creative commons licensed (BY-SA) flickr photo by mrkrndvs: http://flickr.com/photos/aaron_davis/14223298149 Lately, I have been writing a lot about being a connected educator. A part of this stemmed from a tweet from +Alan Thwaites , but it also comes from my involvement in the TL21C program . However, I was challenged by a colleague the other day with the question: 'what do we talk about when we have finished talking about getting connected?' At first I was confused by the question for being connected is so important, then it occurred to me that maybe I've been focussing too much on the wrong issue? It is so easy when talking about teaching and learning in the 21st century to get caught up in discussions about tools and technology. However, as I have discussed elsewhere , 21st century learning is more than just one thing. If we use the work of the team at ATC21s , it is in fact a combination of four interrelated topics: Ways of thinking. Creativity, critical t...

creative commons licensed (BY-SA) flickr photo by brizzle born and bred: http://flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/4934882110 In a recent ICT committee meeting, one of the participants made the remark that the digital revolution has failed to deliver all that it supposedly promised. Having been a part of the YVeLC pilot program almost ten years ago which focused on the potential of 2:1 laptops, it has been interesting seeing the changes that have occurred since that time. In a conversation with +Catherine Gatt , this is the list of reasons that we came up with as to why the digital revolution has failed to be the saviour that so many said it would be. Failure to Invest The government, both state and federal, has invested a lot over the last ten years. Whether it be providing Internet for students, WiFi access in schools, support in regards to servers and switches, as well as devices for students. In addition to this, the state government Victoria made a big investment wi...

In a post titled, ' The Importance of Modeling Positive Use of Social Media ',  +Chris Wejr suggested that schools need to do more to both model the appropriate use of social media, as well as promote more positive stories. Borrowing  +George Couros ' notion of ' digital leadership ', Wejr suggests: Much like leadership offline, students and adults can LEAD others in how they interact and treat each other online. When we put our heads in the sand and ban social media, we miss a huge opportunity to showcase and tap into digital leadership and model a positive online presence. This got me thinking about some of the other things that we may do personally online , but not necessarily model all the time in school. One such practise is that of reading and responding online. So often students are told to use tracks and be active readers, to write regular journal reflections, but this usually starts and stops at the physical book. When are students getting the...

Johanna O'Farrell started it. She wrote an article for The Age titled ' Splashing Cash won't Fix Australia's Broken Education System '. The piece was basically a tirade against 21st century learning from the point of view of a secondary teacher. There have already been a few responses written including  +Mel Cashen 's ' Why our schools are NOT failing your children ' and +Celia Coffa 's ' Why Our Schools Are Not Failing Your Children - Another Teacher Tells '. Both of which shared their passion about why schools are not failing. Leaving the hyperbole and exclusive language aside, I would like to add my own response by unpacking a few of O'Farrell's arguments a bit further. Reading ... Books? O'Farrell states: Instead, the strategy is that children will simply learn to read and write ''by osmosis''. This is all well and good for children from families where reading is habitual. However, those from househo...

A colleague queried me the other day about the differences between a 21st century learner and someone who is really good with technology. This is a bit of an age old problem about what comes first, the device or the doing done with the device, the tool for working or the actual ways of working? As I have discussed elsewhere , I believe that something is misunderstood in this argument, for in many respects, they are inseparable. In an insightful post debunking the naïve myth that "it's not about the tool", +Peter Skillen  makes two key points. First, that computers are a form of media through which we can think about problems in a deeper way, and secondly, tools and technology shape our society in both intended and unintended ways. Often one of the arguments made about 21st century learning is that many of the attributes are possible without the use of technology. Surely you don't need a computer to help you think? Although this may be true, I would argue t...

There has been a lot shared lately as a part of Connected Educator Month about the benefits of connecting online. In many respects, I agree with +George Couros  that ' isolation is now a choice educators make '. However, something overlooked in many of the discussions and debates are some of the taboos associated with being a connected educator. Some of the reasons why teachers do make the choice to stay isolated. Teacher-Student-Friend? In a recent post , Peter Dewitt spoke about how he saw a photo come up in his feeds from an ex-student, whom he had taught in Year 1. She was photographed finishing her last teaching round. It got me thinking, when is it ok to connect with students (and ex-students) online? Another similar example that comes to mind is from +Adam Bellow 's inspiring keynote from ISTE2013 where he invited people to 'change the world'. A part of this is utilising the power of social media to connect with students through such mediums as ...

In a recent blog , +Vicki Davis  shared about the idea of having an 'App of the Week', where she has a focus each week on a particular application. As she suggests: I want my students to be productive geniuses. They are a human being not a human doing but they carry around a full blown secretary in their pockets, if they’ll learn how to hire it. If you are a BYOD school, you should do everything in your power to help students really “Bring it” using their mobile device and an app of the week is just one way to do it. Using Dragon Dictation as her example, she shows how she introduces a new program and gets the students using it in five short minutes. This is a great example of how to manage 1-to-1 programs. One of the biggest challenges I have had in being a part of the group implementing a 1-to-1 program is how to get the most out of the devices. I have found one of two things happen, either the devices are rarely used, only when they fit a particular need in t...