I am a parent and educator and have been thinking a great deal lately about parental participation in schools. A parent is a child’s first educator, who remains their primary educator through out their life. I remember when I was a new classroom teacher I cringed when ever I would get a note in my mailbox asking me to call a parent. I used to wonder what now. But having been a parent for 16 years, and a paid educator…
My daughter is away on a school trip and I have taken to leaving iChat open in case she wants to chat. Doing so led to a spontaneous conversation with an educator I have not talked to in a long time. I respect this person greatly and love the freedom to discuss all kinds topics without fear of where they lead. To play devils advocate, to stir the pot of thought, and just talk for the joy of it is…
My growth as a learner has skyrocketed in recent years, as I became a connected learner. I believe I have learned more about teaching, learning and technology’s role in the process from self-directed, network supported interactions then I did in many of the formal educational opportunities in which I have participated. I am sure many of you feel the same way. My children are also connected learners and participate in many opportunities outside of traditional schooling. For example my daughter…
I am attending EduCon 2.2 and just getting ready to start the final day. Yesterday I had the privilege to facilitate a conversation with Danja Mahoney and Michael Springer, and chat with some of the smartest most thoughtful educators around. Our topic was Subversive PD: Creating a culture of collaboration to bring educators into the 21st century. Our focus was looking for strategies that work, in the absence of administrative and teacher support and/or awareness, to foster professional growth. Are…
I believe that critical thinking, analysis, and the ability to pull ideas together are essential to learning. However it has been my experience that in the current context of content based testing, time for complex analytical discussions, examination of multiple perspectives and allowing time for students to draw their own conclusions has been limited. I was wondering if its absence in the classroom had been replaced with time outside the classroom. In my high school and college days debate clubs…
I have been doing a lot of reading in the past year, or so, on education, learning, schools and teaching. I believe I am on the verge of a paradigm shift in my thinking. The constructivist in me tells me this is part of the normal learning process that comes about from gathering new information and analyzing it from different points of view. You see the conflicts with your old knowledge structures and you need to rebuild them to accommodate…
I have been involved in formal schooling as a student and educator for about 40 years, so you would think I know the purpose and goal of education. But as I became connected to other educators and began investigating technology and the tools that support learning something began to change. I was consumed by learning. In fact I think I have learned more in the last few years of my informal (non-traditional) learning then I did in much of my…