A Principal's Reflections

JULY 26, 2012

'Cross-posted at the Huffington Post. This summer I have made a commitment to reading more and have chosen books that I think will help me become a better leader. A few weeks ago I finished Drive by Daniel Pink and am now halfway through with Linchpin bySeth Godin. I highly recommend both of these book at any educators who is interested about the science behind motivation or overcoming resistance to become and indispensable component of an educational organization.

System 266

System Education Industry Examples 266

Educational Technology Guy

JULY 26, 2012

'Social Media is an incredible resource for education. Educators can learn, share, connect and more with educators from around the world. They can collaborate and communicate with students, parents, and colleagues. There are many different social media networks, and lots of ways to use them. Here are some great resources for learning more about social media in education : Social Media in Education - connect, share, learn, communicate and more Social Media Cheat Sheets - free tips and more for so

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Social Media Resources Comparison Personal Learning Network 221

The Web20Classroom

JULY 27, 2012

'Cross Posted In Smartblogs On Education I recently moved into a new position with my district. As the Director of Instructional Technology I am responsible for the vision and direction of the technology program for a district of 80 schools and 57,000 students. It is an incredible opportunity that every day I am thankful for. As I am have been transitioning into a Technology Leadership role I have been thinking a lot about how to lead and drive real change in an environment where the pressures a

Technology 211

Technology Meeting Resources Tools 211

Baker's B.Y.O.D.

JULY 26, 2012

'I have a horrible confession to make. I''m totally ashamed. As a HS English teacher, this is really bad. really really bad. Totally horrible. and i''m not using hyperbole. I can''t efficiently and effectively grade my students'' writing by myself. those long labor intensive essays and research papers. yup, those, I can''t grade them. I''m horrible at it. 1 page quick essay responses, I''m a little better at grading, but I still end up banging my head against the desk due to repetitive mistakes.

Edmodo 142

Edmodo Assessment Conference Robotics 142

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The 21st Century Principal

JULY 21, 2012

'Recently, I found myself entangled with several people in a Twitter debate about whether BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies actually perpetuate or aggravate the digital divide our students currently experience. During the conversation, I could sense the frustration teachers feel when they stand before classrooms where large number of students barely have a home to go to in the evenings, much less their own technological devices to bring and use within school.

Digital Divide 105

Digital Divide BYOD Policies Accessibility 105

Learning with 'e's

JULY 27, 2012

Everyone is a teacher. We all have the ability to help others to learn. This is exactly what Vygotsky had in mind when he proposed his famous Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory. Children (and adults too) can learn more broadly, deeply and extensively if they have a knowledgeable person by their side, than they can on their own. In our society, we often think of that knowledgeable other person as a professional educator, a tutor, lecturer or classroom teacher.

Education 77

Education Study Learning Classroom 77

SpeechTechie

JULY 26, 2012

'iBooks is a free app from Apple (it doesn''t come with your iPad but is the first app the App Store suggests when you open it ) that is an increasingly interesting e-book app with implications for speech and language interventions. Initially, I was myself skeptical about the potential of e-books, because I actually really appreciate the value of traditional paper, particularly picture books, in therapy activities.

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iPad eBook Video Libraries 65

The 21st Century Principal

JULY 25, 2012

'Those who have known me, know I have been an avid reader of Buddhist writings for the past five years. I''ve even tapped into some of that wisdom here on the blog from time to time. I say that not to promote that way of thought. Tonight, I thought I would just take a moment and let everyone know that I am "unplugging" this weekend. Beginning tomorrow afternoon sometime, I am passing into the mountains of North Carolina, away from cell towers and WiFi, to participate in three days of Mindfulness

Technology 49

Technology Education Social Media Training 49

Learning with 'e's

JULY 25, 2012

My colleagues and good friends Martin Ebner and Sandra Schon have released a new e-book in their Open Access 'books on demand' series. This one, written by Sabrina Huber, focuses on iPads in Schools is available as a free download and is in English. It will be of interest to anyone involved in the application of learning technology, particularly in schools, but also in colleges and universities.

iPad 57

iPad Tablets Guidelines Accessibility 57

The Daring Librarian

JULY 21, 2012

'Let''s Get Animated! Jodie & Phyl my hosts from Australia (background story below!) asked me to write a short article on a tech topic to distribute to schools in Australia and New Zealand. So, you know I HAD to highlight 20+ of my favourite Super Avatar Generators & Creators! The piece has been made into a promo flier & a full article - PLUS. you know you can get all the links & graphics from the Companion & Updated Avatar wikipage!

iPhone 53

iPhone iPad Meeting Google 53

Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape

The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.

Training

The Learning Revolution Has Begun

JULY 23, 2012

'Join me Tuesday, July 24th, at an early time for a live and interactive FutureofEducation.com webinar with Michael Karnjanaprakorn, CEO and Co-founder of Skillshare , "a community marketplace to learn anything from anyone." At Skillshare, they believe that: "[E]veryone has something they want to learn and something they can teach to others. This means our communities are really the greatest universities.

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Blackboard Learning Facebook Resources 63

Learning with 'e's

JULY 24, 2012

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the personalisation of education. The sticking point is that most education is publicly funded, the state has a major stake in how it's conducted, and therefore dictates what should be taught in schools. Because of lack of space, time and resources (you will always have this problem when the state intervenes) there is little latitude for personalised approaches and creativity is stifled.

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E-rate Education Learning Mobility 50

Learning with 'e's

JULY 22, 2012

One of the perennial problems teachers face, especially in early years education, is trying to get children to write. The main problem is that children are expected to write in a vacuum, for an audience of one (the teacher). There is often very little incentive in this exercise for kids, who would probably rather be doing other things with their time like playing on their Nintendo.

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Internet Safety Social Media Exercises Course 48

Learning with 'e's

JULY 25, 2012

There are moments in time that shape who you are and who you become. They say that your school years are the best years of your lives, but for many people, school was something to be endured rather than enjoyed. In past blog posts I have related bad experiences of school and have questioned the relevance of current school practices to real world needs.

Robotics 46

Robotics Study Conference Technology 46

This white paper examines and proposes revisions to the "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" introduced by Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson in 1987 for today's technology-driven world.

Technology