This was kind of an exciting email to receive after my thoughts about conference keynotes yesterday.
It’s from Apple.
In a perfect world, we’d all be going to conferences and listening to speakers and presenters and maybe even going out for dinner with friends old and new.
That’s not happening now.
Yet the need to learn is still there.
I know that many educators are motivated and are working on their own. There are others who are looking for something well organized and worthy of their time and effort. Time and extra effort are at a premium these days.
So, why am I excited about this offering?
For one, I’m a fan of badging to provide evidence of learning. It’s simpler than those conference reports that we had to submit and wonder if anyone ever looked at them! It’s also something that you can proudly put on your personal website or your signature on your email. Or, just tuck them away in a corner of your computer for your eyes only.
There is a second reason here for those who are learning haphazardly as opportunities become available. In this case, this is a collection of relevant teaching performances that will definitely help to increase literacy and skills, in the Apple environment.
In my mind, it’s difficult to argue against the concept. I’m pleased to see it being announced and available to those with an Apple Teacher account. It joins the badging and learning programs from others like Google and Microsoft.
It should also serve as an example and maybe inspiration for others to get involved. The scope of the learning from these organizations is world-wide by design and there’s no fault for that. But, locally, is there the desire for provincial subject associations or local school district to provide something that slides in directly to your Ontario classroom?
doug --- off the record 