Happy Friday before the long weekend. I hope that you can check out these posts over the weekend. I think you’ll find them very inspirational. I know that I did.
Virtual Reality in the Math Class: Moving from Abstract to Concrete
I’ve been playing around with Virtual Reality off and on ever since I heard of the concept. Most of the applications are pretty predictable – you know – explore a world that may or may not exist in real life because you can. You might experience something unique and different.
One thing that I’ve tried every now and again with limited success is to create my own virtual reality environment. I think that would be the ultimate use of technology and the concept. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is something that I need to grow in to and to have better equipment.
But, back to this post from Deborah McCallum. Her posts are always inspirational and have me thinking about things I might not have ordinarily thought of.
She was inspired by a post from Kyle Pearce about moving from the concrete to the abstract in mathematics. She talks about the opposite – going in the other direction – from abstract to concrete. I like her thinking and it enhances the original thoughts from Kyle’s post.
I think that this may be a new frontier for exploration. In Kyle’s original post, he uses a doughnut example. I think I’d really enjoy Deborah taking on the opposite direction and perhaps show how a concrete approach could turn into consolidation. And, what sort of gear would be required.
Is there room for both Kyle and Deborah’s thinking? I think so.
Momentum and the positive side of constraints
As Beate Planche correctly notes, education is full of constraints – resources, time, and priorities. It doesn’t take too much thinking before you can identify them.
I find time to be interesting. In a perfect world, it should meld to be just the required length. The reality is far from it. If you have a 75 minute class, darn it, everyone is going to be there for 75 minutes. Not a minute more; not a minute less. It doesn’t matter if you don’t need that time, you’ve got to be there anyway. The opposite to that would be the concept of an EdCamp where you can use your feet to move to a different topic if you’ve got the current one mastered. Yet, there’s the classroom where the concept of mastery is the same length for everyone!
Like the canvas analogy she uses at the conclusion, it’s not the canvas that should be of concern; it’s a constraint, it’s what you do with it that matters. Complainers would complain about the size of the canvas and it’s limits; the innovative would think about how to make the best of what’s available.
When you get your head around the reality that whatever constraints you face are real and you look at ways to work within them, momentum becomes possible.
Another Day another EdTech conference! #ECOOCamp 2019
So, I found a pair of blog posts from two of the people that helped make the #ECOOcamp a success – one from Jen Giffen and the other from Ramona Meharg.
They had different types of contributions – Jen was one of the keynote speakers and Ramona was a workshop presenter (x4).
Participants had the opportunity to learn from either or both of them.
I thought about the difference between their contributions. Jen would have had to have a message prepared that would have reached out and touched everyone in her keynote address. They might have been secondary school or elementary school educator as their background or an administrator. The message would have to be crafted to appeal to everyone if she’s going to be successful.
Ramona, on the other hand, would have had smaller, more focused sessions. People would have been with her because they were interested in the particular topic that she was addressing. And, they could vote with their feet if they were ready to move on.
A tale of two approaches certainly and both would be necessary for a successful day for participants. A common thread though, they both left having learned enough to comment on a presentation from Leslie Boerkamp and Nicole Batte. The leaders become the learners. Does it get much better than that?
I created a Wakelet of the Twitter conversation about the #ECOOcamp so that you can read what people were saying about the day! https://wke.lt/w/s/P5Md2L
99 Needs and They’re All Student Related
Those that question the passion behind teaching need to read this post from Karaline Vlahopoulos.
First year teaching = VERY overwhelmed. Love listening to your discussions. Awesome words from two awesome people.— Karaline Vlahopoulos (@KaralineVla) May 15, 2019
Despite this level of “overwhelmedness” (is that even a word?), Karaline’s post overflows with passion.
She describes the thrill that she gets when students return to class on Mondays, excited to share their weekend…
She wants to make the kindergarten experience memorable…
She worries about students who have left her…
Don’t ever question her passion.
Laura Elliott gives us a look inside the teaching profession that those on the outside might never realize. I don’t think I even thought about this until I landed my first job and had my own classes.
I think I probably entered the profession figuring that the toughest thing in a teenager’s school day was learning the content that I was teaching.
Laura opens our eyes to much more than that. Every teacher knows this – you’re with those students as they’re learning about themselves, about others, the interpersonal relationships, and so much more.
Laura’s focus in this post is about understanding their body. She speaks from experience having this directed her way from a gymnastics coach.
I will never forget my coach yelling into the change room during a snack break that he could “hear me getting fatter.” Wtf!?
If you’re a teacher, you need to read this to affirm that those things that you’re doing beyond your subject are so important. Students may not show up in your class because of this, but they can leave with so much more.
You might even shed a tear.
This post from Peter Cameron could easily pass as a tourist post for his beautiful area of the province.
Living in Thunder Bay, at the head of Lake Superior, provides ample opportunity to experience water at its finest. Cascading over large slabs of granite, tumbling over waterfalls, trickling through a moss lined creek or lapping at a sandy shore, water does something for my soul.
Peter takes this background and explains how it has impacted his teaching and his approach to the Junior Water Walker philosophy. I was going to use the word “project” but his approach indeed goes further than that – it truly is a philosophy that has had a big impact on his teaching.
Visit his blog, read his words, and use the images of his students to understand the complete package.
Every time I write this Friday post, I marvel at the depth and dedication to the teaching profession that come through in the thoughts featured. This week is no different. Please take a moment and enjoy the blog posts from these educators.
And, follow them on Twitter.
This post originated at:
https://dougpete.wordpress.com
If you read it anywhere else, it’s not the original.
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.