Reading Writing Responding

creative commons licensed (BY-NC-SA) flickr photo by courosa: http://flickr.com/photos/courosa/2922421696 So far I have discussed connecting with others both off and online . In addition to this, I explored taking owner of our identity online , as well as elaborating on and engaging with the ideas of others . The fifth step in being a connected educator is learning. Ideas and inspiration can come from many places and like connections, are not always digital or online. Sometimes learning can be as simple as a chat around the photocopier or walking between classes. I have discussed this elsewhere as the incidental 'hidden' professional learning . The reality is, everything in life can offer a point of learning if we are willing to see it that way. For example, an activity that I have done with my students in the past is to reflect upon their classroom and what it says. I have done this in history when considering artefacts, as well as in music when thinking about per...

As I have written about elsewhere , a small amount of furore erupted on Twitter last Saturday in response to Johanna O'Farrell's tirade against 21st century learning habits in The Age titled ' Splashing Cash won't Fix Australia's Broken Education System '.  One of the things that I really notice whilst following the conversations through a medium like Twitter is that moments like this really draw a line in the sand and bring the tribe together.  Three questions that arose out of the ashes was:  Do moments like this further the wider conversation in anyway?  What is the role of the connected tribe in regards to continuing this wider conversation?  What does it take to move an idea from a point of change to evolution? Connected Learning At the heart of all our connections, whether online or not, is our PLN. There are many different definitions for PLN's including: personal learning network, professional learning network or personalised le...

Wrong All The Time In a post , by +Seth Godin , he spoke about how he dismissed the Internet as, "slower, harder to use and without a business model." The lesson that he learnt out of this was that there are, "two elements of successful leadership: a willingness to be wrong and an eagerness to admit it." Godin's discussion of being wrong got me thinking. What does it mean to be 'right' and 'wrong'? And how does this fit with education? Does it actually achieve anything to constantly come back to idea of their being a correct answer? It is not that I disagree with Godin's reflection, but I feel that notions of right or wrong are often left for historians reflecting on the past and even that is questionable. The terms almost feel empty and slightly trivial at times. A spoil often left to the victor. What is achieved in being right or wrong? Often being wrong does not change a thing as it is only after the moment has past t...