“Travelling is just like homeschooling but way better…” says Lucy – and I tend to agree. Not having the chance to travel overseas until was 25, I really value this opportunity and what it represents for my family on a number levels. Together time, learning, new experiences and just opening up horizons – for all of […]
Last year I wrote a unit of work, after my travels in Shanghai, that I would like to share with you. It is written for NSW syllabuses but it may be of some interest to any teacher interested in travel, Asia, teaching visual literacy, social media or organising a student trip overseas. Here’s the PDF […]
This post was written for the IBM 100th Anniversary website, Shaping our Future (hit the drop down under the education topic). The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed. —William Gibson, quoted in The Economist, December 4, 2003 ‘The future is here’ and this oft (over) quoted line from the father […]
In the age of ‘infowhelm’ choosing the appropriate digital communication tools – to stay in-the-loop and professionally connected – is essential for any professional person, especially teacher-librarians. A teacher-librarian can make a start on developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN) by following these steps at their own pace: finding several excellent blogs to follow and […]
I am presenting to teacher-librarian colleagues about ‘digital communication tools’ this week. I’d rather say we are ‘collaborating’ than I am ‘presenting’ and have used survey monkey to collect data from the delegates prior to the conference about their needs and yammer to seek advice about the perceptions of what ‘skills’ and ‘knowledge’ are needed […]
The shutterbug is feeding voraciously on my blood. I am happily bitten and wanted to share the best of what I have read on my Kindle or iPad, from local libraries, inter-library loans or friends’ shelves. Amazon has made a fine profit from me as it is so easy to cheaply and quickly purchase for my kindle […]
I Music & Photography: A Digital Renaissance This century, the digital revolution in photography and music, has led to the democratisation and proliferation of human beings sharing images and sounds, experiences, knowledge and beauty. How have these two industries, with entrenched interests and well-established systems, changed so rapidly that they little resemble their former selves […]
Scene: an Australian family watching tv in May 2011 Daughter No.1: Dad, how come Prince William and Princess Catherine’s daughter won’t be the Queen if she has a brother? Daughter No.2: That’s not fair! Daughter No.2: Why did the PM say that about that man? (at 1.25-2.20min) Daughter No.1: What does justice mean? Daughter No.1: […]
Back in 2007, some ‘fresh ideas’ excited many Australians, especially those involved in education or who had an interest in the schooling of their own children and grandchildren. In short, that’s pretty much everyone. Here’s a reminder of the commitment our current federal government had, to the ‘Digital Education Revolution’ when seeking election in 2007: […]
The department supports its employees’ participation in social media online applications such as social networking sites, wikis, blogs, microblogs, video and audio sharing sites and message boards that allow people to easily publish, share and discuss content. The above quote is the opening statement in the new Social Media Policy released by my employer, the NSW […]
A new report asks a very important question in, ‘What can we learn today about the students’ aspirations, adoption and adaption of emerging technologies for learning than can help us plan for the future?’ A major national survey concluded that students were already very effectively implementing a vision of socially-based, un-tethered and digitally-rich learning on […]
by William Carlos Williams (1923) so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens. Source …so much depends upon using imagery to engage students and creating opportunities for them to use imagery to engage you… Slider credit: cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo shared by […]
Many bloggers want to create their own images as frequently as possible, with camera or software, to accompany their written text. However, often, a near-perfect image is legally available online. Ensuring the image is attributed correctly is very important, especially for educators encouraging students to source images appropriately. Thanks to quick responses to a tweet […]
The Sydney Writers’ Centre blogging competition involves an eclectic range of blogs, many of them new to me. These competitions are always a good way of finding new Australian bloggers in order to share the best of what is out there with a larger audience. It is very cool that 570 bloggers are being celebrated! There […]
I discovered, via A Pair of Ragged Claws, that the 702 Book Club on ABC Radio is compiling the Top 10 Australian Poems. For me, lists, whether they be a top 10, 100 or 500, can be catalysts for discussing what a culture still feels is important, relevant and uplifting. Many of us spend pleasant hours finding new books, tunes […]
I can still see the poster on my own childhood primary school classroom wall: Kids who read succeeed The Conservative politician and current British Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, has recently said that, ‘children should read 50 books a year’. Who could possibly disagree? In my (not so) humble (on this issue) opinion […]
Over the last few years my presentations and workshops, designed to share my enthusiasm for Web 2.0 with colleagues, have led to many new friendships as well as much personal and professional excitement at the future of learning. It is evident to me that all of us involved in education need to personally develop life-long […]
For the first time in 20 years I do not have English classes to teach. The principal has requested that I am ‘off the timetable’ and work with all students on digital citizenship and creating a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) or, if you prefer, Personal Learning Network (PLN). This is another small step towards creating […]
A recent conversation with a colleague, who genuinely believes that students are more creative when they write with a pen, really made me wonder about the future of pen & paper examinations in NSW and the rest of the world. As you likely know, the students sitting the Higher School Certificate examinations in 2012 were issued […]
Life in 100 Words is an idea gleaned from Solid Gold Creativity: The magazine, Marie Claire, recently featured a series to mark the centenary of International Women’s Day. It asked “10 women, 10 years apart, to offer their life story in 100 words.” I will try this idea with students in the future but would really […]
After watching this talk I feel a little depressed about the graph on the ability of adults to aquire a second language. I also feel that so many of us native English speakers are increasingly going to be disadvantaged in a multilingual global environment. Q: Can anyone comment about their experiences learning a second language […]
It is always wonderful to have a fresh enthusiasm to share. HDR photography (or HDRI) is new to me and in the last weeks of the holidays I learnt much about this art. Just a few years ago it would have been very difficult for me to learn about this quickly as I do not know […]
Michael Wesch has been such an important educational thinker and innovator for so many of us in recent years. Here is his ‘Rethinking Education’ video recently posted on his YouTube channel which is a must subscribe to space. You can submit entries for @mwesch‘s next video here. This is an remix of the submissions so far:
Do you advocate playing video games in education? We should talk more about our own life experiences as part of this conversation. I have been reflecting on my video game playing past and finding it interesting to try and remember what was played and when. I thought I would share this with you in the hope […]