I work with some terrific teachers and am currently working closely with about 20 teachers doing various long term PD classes. They are very much like most of the teachers I work with every day. They see all the new tools, they see the possibilities of the tools, they see how it could impact their students learning. They get it. But they are overwhelmed by it all, the many options, the need to teach the state mandated curriculum, 21st century…
Most of my past experience as a classroom teacher (middle school) has shown me that instant messaging in the classroom was “evil”. I would take my kids to the computer lab to work on a project, do some research, etc… Most of my time was spent watching kids try to hide AIM in the task bar. They would talk to each other while they were waiting for the ancient machines to do anything. I never knew how to respond. When…
My daughter, a middle schooler, has been blissfully unaware of IM in any format. I have not allowed her to participate in IM or things such as My Space – I have been able to avoid this as she is “underage”. She is literal. If the user agreement says you must be 13, she would never think to lie, she will just say I can’t wait till I am 13 and move on to something else. Well time has caught…
“I put together a PowerPoint presentation with some (hopefully) thought-provoking ideas. I was hoping by telling some of these “stories” to our faculty, I could get them thinking about – and discussing with each other – the world our students are entering. To get them to really think about what our students are going to need to be successful in the 21st century, and then how that might impact what they do in their classrooms.” The Fischbowl: Did You Know?…
I thougth this summer I would have done more writing on the blog. My head is full of ideas but the time just seems to fly away. I have spent the summer reading blogs and playing with tech tools. Many teachers take the time to catch up on a good book, or take a class, for me it was blogs. I learn so much from different blogs; what are the cool websites (I could also learn that from my daughter),…
I have been doing a lot of reading on DOPA in the past few days from a variety of blogs – see my blog list – almost everyone has written on it. I believe, as most, that it is not well thought out, and is not going to help schools, kids and teachers get on with the real job of learning. But in my reality of supporting teachers in using technology to foster student learning, DOPA right now has little…
I was reading Will Richardson’s post on School 2.0. It refers to the future opening of two new schools. I am envious of these schools. They have a new vision, they are being created with the idea to be different, to try new things. They are starting from the ground up, hiring staff who share the vision and have the skills necessary to carry out the goals. I wish them well, I hope they are successful and that they pass…