Category: schoolreform
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Google in Education and Chromebooks (Sept 2011)
These are my notes from Tia Lendo’s presentation at the September 27, 2011, Google Geo-Teacher Institute in Lewiston, Maine. MY THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. Tia’s conference bio is: Tia Lendo is a “Noogler,” having joined Google two months ago. Prior to coming to Google she was a 4th grade teacher and then…
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Visual Literacy, Talking with Images and Curiosity Amplifiers
About a month ago after completing her Masters program in Educational Practice, Canadian educator E Gregory wrote a powerful reflection on what she’d learned a result of her graduate studies. Among her thoughts were the following sentences, reflecting on the importance of visual literacy and communication skills with images: I learned that, in my humble…
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The Best Conference I Ever Attended…
This short video, “The Best Conference I Ever Attended…” was shot and edited in 15 minutes on an iPad2 at the Learning 2.011 Conference in Shanghai, China, on September 8, 2011. Inspired the the satirical model of Marco Torres‘ “Teacher Movie,” we tried to highlight some of the things which need to change about professional…
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Keys to PBL and Student Centered Learning
I’m on the first leg of my journey to Shanghai and the Learning 2.011 Conference. I’m reading Ted Bayles and Ted Orland’s thought provoking book, “Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking.” It’s a book I encountered while researching the origins of a story I included about creativity in my book,…
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Understanding and OPPOSING Misdirected Educational Reform Efforts
Diane Ravitch‘s article today, “The reform movement is already failing,” is one of the best I’ve read highlighting both the misdirected agenda and LACK of research support for the GW Bush / Obama / Bill Gates / Jeb Bush / “Waiting for Superman” crowd of educational reformers. Ravitch writes: We are in the midst of…
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The Roadmap to Blended Learning and the #playingwithmedia Classroom Challenge
I’m presenting a repeated workshop for teachers in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, Monday. I’ve titled the presentation, “The Roadmap to Blended Learning.” The session description is: What is blended learning and why should educators embrace it? How can we move towards a vision of blended learning in our schools? This session presents an OVERVIEW, WAYPOINTS, and…
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High Stakes Testing Damages Student Writing Skills
Research Papers vs Blogs: Defending “Antiquated” Teaching from 21st Century Education Reform This is a great, reflective post from a university professor on how high stakes testing continues to damage students, our educational systems, and student capacities to effectively write at “college level.” The last two paragraphs summarize: First, college professors like myself should realize…
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Adventure Based Learning by Brian Dufresne #wildtech
These are my notes from Brian Dufresne’s learning walk presentation, “Adventure Based Learning,” at the 14th Annual August Institute, “Technology Runs Through It” conference at the University of Montana in Missoula. MY THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. Going to share some lessons learned, taking kids backpacking for the past several years – I’ve…
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Trends, Tools & Tactics for 21st Century Learning #wildtech
These are my notes from Kevin Honeycutt‘s keynote address, “Trends, Tools & Tactics for 21st Century Learning,” at the 14th Annual August Institute, “Technology Runs Through It” conference at the University of Montana in Missoula. MY THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. Kevin’s website is kevinhoneycutt.org Opening comments from Nancy Marks, conference organizer: –…