It’s always fun to write this post. There are such great things coming from the keyboards of Ontario Educators. Some of the noteworthy posts I read this past while appear below.
You know, if you could determine the answer to the question “What motivates students?”, you could bottle it and sell it to every school in the world. They’d all be glad to pay for it.
Erin Little reflects on the topic and shares some of her thoughts. They’re good thoughts, but in the back of my mind, I keep seeing the spectre of accountability and perceived accountability that just permeates everything in education. How do you balance that and motivation? Does one have to suffer for the other?
A good look backward really helps focussing and looking forward. Sue Dunlop did so in response to Vicky Loras’ “What’s Your Story” challenge.
The post documents a pretty rich career in education.
This is a good reflection and probably one that everyone should do every now and again. I think it helps put what is done daily in your personal and professional life in perspective. Vicky has a great premise and I’m happy to see that others are taking the challenge. Are you up to it? You can flip through the stories here.
I still can’t get over eight moves in eight years, Sue. It reminds me of university…
GAFE and iPad app-smashing video project
App smashing is always a fun event at conferences. In this post, Sylvia Duckworth shows how her Grade 5 students are smashing apps with Google Applications for a Quebec project.
She includes complete instructions for students (and parents) to help make things a success.
I’m so impressed with the work that schools and districts that have adopted GAFE as a platform. They’re not hesitant about sharing great ideas and are open and visible about it. It’s more than just working with a word processor, spreadsheet, or presentation package.
I’m sure that there will be a #sylvianote fall out of this project somewhere along the line.
makeschooldifferent: My Five Things We Need To Stop Pretending
Donna Fry was inspired by Scott McLeod to think about things that we need to stop pretending in schools. She listed her five:
- That we know what school is for;
- That it’s okay to determine access to future learning based on a two digit number assigned by a secondary school teacher to a graduating student.;
- That it’s okay for any student to be stuck and not learning.;
- … you’ll have to visit her blog to see the rest of her musings …
Her post inspired Aviva Dunsiger to list hers here “MakeSchoolDifferent: What We Need To Stop Pretending”
She thought:
- That we’re all on the same page;
- That we’re all making changes;
- That kids are kids;
- … of course, you’ll have to visit her blog for the rest …
And, Tina Zita got in on the action “makeschooldifferent: My Five (or close to it)”
To date, she has less than five but they’re high quality thinking:
- That technology is an option;
- That we don’t have enough access.
- … you know what you have to do …
I’m sure that they all would appreciate you dropping by and adding a comment of your own.
Session Preparation for OTRK12
As you read this, the On The Rise Conference is on and Brandon Grasley is presenting. He’s going to talk about How To Be an EdTech Leader. I can think of many who think they are already who definitely need to attend his session. In a blog post, he shares his planning.
I wonder if it will go as planned? My sessions never do; I’m easily side tracked. I hope to follow the hashtag #otrk12 and find great educators and their ideas as they are motivated to make significant changes to their own practice.
Ever Tried an Edcamp? #edcampham
You know, you never hear of people write enthusiastically after a full day of “sit n git” Professional Development. Maybe it’s the type of people that I hang around with online, or it’s just the premise of an edCamp, but these are always exciting posts to read.
There was an interesting addition to the day as Beth Hulan noted in this post. A secondary school student asked and attended. Maybe the attendance of more students would add more power to an already powerful format? Let’s face it; we talk about student voice a great deal but how much does an individual voice get in a class of 24?
Sitting around the discussion table discussing the issues with their teachers could be the ultimate outlet.
The complete agenda for the day is located here. Google documents were used to organize the day and notes were kept in separate Google documents. Ever notice that nobody ever uses Office 365 for these things? There even was a session comparing the two platforms but the record wasn’t terribly complete.
Thanks to those above who shared their insights. It made for another week of fascinating reading.
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.