Reading Writing Responding

"Sorry, I don't have the time for that." How often do we hear that when we try and start something, organise a catchup, a get together to share. Now I am not saying that this isn't true, however I would argue that the only thing that keeps us apart in today's day and age is ourselves. As I have discussed elsewhere , we all have many connections in life, the big question is how do we nurture them all? At the opening day of the TL21C program a few weeks ago, I got chatting with +Sam Irwin . We started reminiscing about our time with the 21st Century Learning Melton Network . After sharing a few stories about the halcyon days, Sam suggested that we should get the band back together. This is something that I had mooted last year, that we should maintain the group, but had never got around to doing. So this week I decided to  finally take action. Whilst on Google+ answering various queries and questions associated with TL21C, I decided to cr...

It was a sad day last Wednesday as the  Melton Network 21st Century Learning Team  met for the last time under the tutelage of +Alf Galea . Although Alf suggested that the network meetings may continue next year, it can be guaranteed, that with all the cuts that have taken place, it will not be to the same level and with the same sense of support. It subsequently left me reflecting on the opportunities that were gained from being a part of the group and how the implementation of various 21st century initiatives has evolved in the past five years. A New Way of Being I started working with Alf about five years ago as a part of the roll-out of the Ultranet. I had been asked to be a Lead User with Alf being the Melton Ultranet Coach, while after that Alf worked as the 21st Century Thinking and Learning Coach for the Melton Network. Although the Ultranet failed to achieve what it promised and will move into private hands at the end of the year, ...

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...