It’s great to see that summer has finally arrived. The rain has stopped and things are warm. Does it get any better than that?
Yep, read some great thinking from Ontario Edubloggers. Here’s some of what I caught this past while.
This is a classic post from Tim King from a year or so ago. It came to mind from an online Facebook discussion among a few of us about the new HP laptop and ensuing discussion about teacher certification and the concerns about putting all of your eggs in one basket. I was able to reshare Tim’s post which I think absolutely nails it.
In the rush to provide digital experiences for students, school districts often focus on just one set of tools or software package. We all understand that education is about teaching concepts but complete immersion in one eco-system can put blinders on creativity. Are we so sure that there is only one solution?
Magic: The Gathering and World of Warcraft TCG with Standard Playing Cards
So, what do creative people do in the summer time?
Become even more creative.
Brandon Grasley, gathering inspiration from his son takes a shot at a new card game using imagination and a standard pack of playing cards.
I’d never heard the expression “French Deck” before.
Teachers spend all their summer hours on glorious trips and sunny beaches, right?
Wrong.
Check out this post by Aviva Dunsiger where she and a bunch of friends got into a long discussion about self-regulation. Fortunately, she captured it all in a Storify document for safe keeping so that we can relive the conversation.
In typical Aviva fashion, she quickly turns the blog post into one of reflection and then lots of questions.
I would suggest that these questions are good for all for a reality/possibility check.
Hard Questions and Second Chances
Diana Maliszewski had me hooked with her first question “How do you measure wetness?”
My first thought was “you don’t”. However, any parent knows that you ask and answer that question a million times in a number of different scenarios. (Let your imagination go here…)
The rest of the post deals with a very interesting inquiry set of questions/activities surrounding water.
While Diana may not be able to do the activity directly, she’s laid it out nicely so that any classroom looking for an inquiry along these lines certainly could.
Thank her!
Wow, this is such a powerful post from Jennifer Casa-Todd. It sends a strong message to me about juggling the theoretical with the practical.
Haven’t we all been there – banging our head trying to get wrapped around some theory or digging into quantitative research where the dots are just not connecting. In the blog post, she shares some of the riveting page turning research she’s reading and positions it against some practical professional learning activities. I feel for her since the weather has turned so nice and I’m sure it does require an immense amount of self-regulation to meet deadlines.
Summer’s here and the time is right for …
… planning to use some new tools for the fall!
Olivia Skibinski has laid out some personal goals in terms of software to try for the fall. Making her list are: Edmettle, noredink, and OneNote. Check out the post as she’s tried to explain the why she’s focused on these products. The rationale is there and the implementation isn’t going to be small.
What’s interesting, in additional to her descriptors, is the response from other educators who have used the software.
The really nice thing about participating in a network of like minded learners is that she shouldn’t have to look too hard for any assistance should it be needed.
I can’t help but be amazed with the diversity and wonder of the blogging activity happening with great Ontario Educators. Take a moment and visit the entire posts to enjoy their genius.
Have you started a blog of your own?
Please consider adding it here so that we can all enjoy it.
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.