James Surowiecki, the author of The Wisdom of Crowds, argues that people, when we act en masse, are smarter than we think. He suggests in this TED talk that the 2005 tsunami, when YouTube video, blogs, IMs and txts carried the news and preserved moving personal stories from the tragedy was the moment when social […]
Our school ran a Year 7 Learning Team Project with one class this year and the evaluations are extremely positive. The executive is currently working out how best to improve the learning outcomes of students, especially in the middle years of school. We really need to engage our 11-14 year olds much more effectively and to […]
Kids who feel secure feel most free to play, design and take risks. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1738825&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FTimBrown_2008P-embed-PARTNER_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about "Creativity and play |", posted with vodpod
I choose happiness! :O)) [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1708998&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FDanGilbert_2004-embed_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about “Why are we happy? “, posted with vodpod
This message, in an unusually brief TED video, is of fundamental importance to all of us, especially teachers. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1697432&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FDeanOrnish_2008-embed_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about “Your genes are not your fate“, posted with vodpod
Sue Waters mentioned a ‘Twitter Love Song’ in her comment about my Twitter post. The opening lyrics are just perfectly poetic, considering that my inclination is to talk some English teaching colleagues into using Twitter. Also, I particularly like the idea of Twitter being a virtual ‘watercooler’. Enjoy this and thanks to Martin Weller. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1678267&w=425&h=350&fv=] more […]
Since Mark Pesce spoke about Twitter at an education.au conference earlier in the year, I have been embarrassingly evangelical about this microblogging service. Quite simply, Twitter lets you microblog pithy 140 characters posts, known as ‘tweets’, to your friends or followers. This often seems inane to the uninitiated but the growing number of influential educators and teacher […]
The nation’s newspapers reported on the release of the National English Curriculum: Initial Advice paper with the following opening lines: ‘GRAMMAR will return to the classroom‘ ‘CHILDREN will be taught grammar for the first time in more than 30 years’ ‘ENGLISH will be stripped back to basics under a draft national curriculum so students learn more […]
My family had the opportunity to visit Monet and the Impressionists at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney on the weekend and my 4 year old daughter’s enthusiasm to learn (without this ever being discussed) was both a joy and instructive to the educator within. I always get an audio guide – when […]
The title of David Perry’s TED talk on videogames instantly reminded me of that Red Dwarf episode and novel, ‘Better Than Life’. Enjoy this amusing and sometimes challenging presentation. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1638837&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FDavidPerry_2006-embed-Autodesk_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about “Will videogames become better than life?“, posted with vodpod
Posting about ‘reflection’ always gives rise to more of the same. It made me feel less than I’d like to be when I suggested my motivation to be a DP was merely, “…for financial reasons“. There’s more that can be said on this point that links to perhaps the greatest social experiment the country has […]
Holidays always give one room for reflection. I am really starting to miss classroom teaching. In my role as a deputy principal, at a large state school, there are many opportunities to promote quality teaching & learning but having only one class (who have just finished school to prepare for the HSC) is starting to […]
Laurence Lessig’s new book, Remix, explores the themes discussed mentioned in this TED video. Some of the remixed clips are pretty funny, especially ‘Jesus – The Musical’. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1449335&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FLARRYLESSIG-2007_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about “How the law is strangling creativity “, posted with vodpod
I love stats – even those that disturb. Watch this video to see how one can visualize some very challenging and important statistics about modern American life. I would like to show this to every student I teach and perhaps present them with, or even better allow them to research, some Australian stats and visually […]
The term ends and one would hope for more inspirational news from our political and system leaders. The above headline is from the ABC website and I am assuming it is reporting on yesterday’s memo from the Director-General but am uncertain what it will mean for us in schools who have already been allocated money/laptops […]
How do you search the web effectively? Another in the ‘Plain English’ series of brief instructional videos. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1593352&w=425&h=350&fv=] more about “Web Search Strategies in Plain Englis…“, posted with vodpod
Andrew FitzSimons interviewed by WIN TV after a presentation about the digital future(s). [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1579220&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] more about “Dapto HS Executive at WIN TV“, posted with vodpod
I know I am posting too many TED videos but they are just so good. How important is this topic? [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1569219&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FAnnCooper_2007P-embed-EG_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about “Reinventing the school lunch“, posted with vodpod
The BBC reported on the Virtual Museum of Archaeology (MAV) which is sited 100 metres from the ruins of Herculaneum. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1560781&w=425&h=350&fv=config%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fplayer%2Femp%2Fconfig%2Fdefault.xml%3Fv10%26companionSize%3D300x30%26companionType%3Dadi%26preroll%3D%26config_settings_suppressItemKind%3Dadvert%2C+ident%26config_settings_autoPlay%3Dfalse%26config_settings_showPopoutButton%3Dfalse%26playlist%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.bbc.co.uk%252Fmedia%252Femp%252F7610000%252F7613200%252F7613230.xml%26config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageType%3Deav2%26embedReferer%3D%26config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_edition%3DInternational%26embedPageUrl%3D%2F2%2Fhi%2Fprogrammes%2Fclick_online%2F7610956.stm%26] more about “Digital museum“, posted with vodpod
Dave Eggers delivering a TED talk on what a community can do to educate young people. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1558423&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FDAVEEGGERS-2008-2_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about “Once Upon a School“, posted with vodpod
All teachers should watch this TED video. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1551300&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FBrewsterKahle_2007P-embed-EG_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about “A free digital library “, posted with vodpod
My new iPhone really is a joy but I will not wax lyrical too much other than to talk about Lucy (4) and Sarah’s (2) perception of Dad’s new toy – and their lack of bias towards one medium or another. On Saturday morning both girls woke up early and all 4 of us ended […]
The DP’s association annual conference was held at Star City this week and was the third consecutive I’ve attended. Considering last year it was at Rose Hill, I am starting to think the folk who choose the venues have gambling problems as the actual spaces are so inappropriate for an Education conference, on a number of different levels, that it is hard […]
Another great TED video. Peter Hirshberg on ‘sibling rivalry’. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.1534317&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FPeterHirschberg_2007P-embed-EG_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue] more about “The Web and TV, a sibling rivalry“, posted with vodpod