Reading Writing Responding

I took to the recent #DLTV2014 Conference with a renewed sense of creative vigour. Instead of simply recalling information and posting titbits here and there (which I did as well), inspired by the likes of +Amy Burvall , I set myself the challenge of being more visual and more imaginative in my postings. Using creativity as a medium to express my voice. So here then are some of my ventures: #DLTV2014 Leading up to the event, I created a couple of memes to stir up the conversation around DLTV2014. #EduVoice I created a couple of images in the build up to  +Steve Brophy and I's session 'Listening to the Voices in and out of the Classroom' . Sketch made using Paper 53 app on the iPad   Original image via creative commons licensed (BY-SA) flickr photo by hackNY: http://flickr.com/photos/hackny/5685391557 Edited using Phoster on iPad I think that maybe this one has mixed messages Made using Trading Cards app on iPad via +Corrie Barc...

Lego poetry at DLTV2014 As I sat through one of the most horrendous presentations on Office 365, it got me wondering about the question, what makes a good presentation? I sat there thinking what would make this better? What was missing?   At first I thought that it was the absence of any conversation about pedagogy. A point that +Edna Sackson made about last years GAFE Summit in her post, ' 'I Want to Talk About Learning…' There was reference to pricing schemes and packages, what this includes and what that does. However, I had signed up with the hope that I could take back to school a few more tips relating to how to get the most out of Windows 8 - whether it be new applications or different functionalities - I was wrong.   The one thing that held me together throughout was the conversations I was having on Twitter with +Rich Lambert . He too was lost in the presentation. Although our banter was critical of Microsoft and their lack of innovation, much of it...

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...