Do you play video games? Lucy (7) and I are playing Civilization Revolution (CivRev) on PS3 with great gusto. Sarah (4) plays this same game on the iPad and we all enjoy each others company in the family room. Here’s the opening to the game for those not familiar with Sid Meier‘s Civilization franchise: A friend, who is not a teacher, […]
The political uncertainty of the election ‘result’ that Australians watched unfold last night will lead to concerned discussion about what a hung parliament will mean for our democracy. There will be many at the moment worrying, including myself, about the NBN plan and what will happen to the Digital Education Revolution, if Mr Abbott is anointed. However, another interesting question is, obviously, how […]
Holiday Fun At the beginning of the school holidays I asked Miss 4 and Miss 6 what we could do together for fun. Quite a list emerged, including – ride the bikes, play ‘Cinderella’, take photos, see Toy Story 3, play soccer in the backyard, tease Mum and go to websites – and ‘Dad, can you fix the Wii’? […]
My interest in photography has always been, in a sense, academic. In truth, I am not really a practical guy and the technical aspect of taking a picture and developing a print never really appealed to me. Whereas the stimulation and aesthetic pleasure of vicariously enjoying someone else’s carefully crafted simulacra was immensely, is immensely pleasing. I like […]
I have been tweeting for two years. I know many of you have been on twitter for much longer but it is amazing to think how fundamental to my day social media, especially twitter, has become in this relatively short period of time. The first person I followed was @mpesce who presented an interesting talk at […]
Things You Learn is a new online magazine that draws together stories exploring how learning influences our lives, how we strive for change and the outcomes it can bring about. I really like this idea/rationale. Metacognitive skills, like reflection, are such an important part of learning. Hearing stories on others’ reflections is important for students but […]
Thanks to Monika Hardy for posting this video. [vodpod id=Video.3359367&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] more about “Stick in the Sand“, posted with vodpod
Now, having finished David Shenk’s, The Genius in All of Us, I’d like to continue my reflection on the importance of this work to educators, students and parents. The notes I made while reading, using that function on my Kindle, highlight that our quintessential thinkers, in Western civilisation, have always suspected that giftedness’ was a […]
‘Intelligence is not an innate aptitude…’ It is difficult to shift paradigms and I have just started a book that may assist us to change perceptions about the potential of all our students – and ourselves. Steven Johnson, one of my favourite authors and thinkers, recommended via twitter last week, The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything […]
A year ago I posted 10 Australian Educators to follow on twitter and it is time to update that list with some more excellent tweeple. All of these learning professionals share their skills knowledge, contacts and enthusiasms generously. They have expertise between them in edtech, technology, leadership, librarianship, primary, English and Maths teaching In alphabetical order: Simon Borgert Jan Green Shani […]
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Thriving and Surviving at Work, Home and School by John Medina is an excellent, must-read for book teachers, parents and students. I am listening to the audiobook version, read by the author, at the moment and am finding it both informative and entertaining. I am considering releasing one principle a week to […]
“More and more research is showing that our brains change constantly with learning and experience and that this takes place throughout our lives…we have shown that what students believe about their brains — whether they see their intelligence as something that’s fixed or something that can grow and change — has profound effects on their […]
Everything’s changed or changing – fast. Michael Wesch commences with some of the issues of teaching in an inappropriate space before moving on to new media. I particularly love the Marshall McLuhan quote referred to at the opening of this hour long presentation: The past went that-a-way. When faced with a totally new situation, we […]