Michael Frankfort joined Stephen Hurley and me as a guest host for the voicEd Radio show on Wednesday morning. It lent to a great conversation about the five blog posts from Ontario Edubloggers that we featured. Read on to see them and a couple more bonus posts.
Family Reunion
- Amanda Potts – @Ahpotts
- https://persistenceandpedagogy.com/2022/07/05/family-reunion/
Don’t we all have family reunion stories tucked away in our memories? I remember the first time I took my wife to ours and her comment on the way home. “It’s hard to imagine that you’re all related.”
On my mother’s side, it was a big summer event, more often than not landing on my birthday but nobody brought presents. We did bring millions of butter tarts though and had to be there pre-6:00 so that Dad could go to the golfing tournament and the rest of us slept in the car until people started to arrive at 9 or so. Dad’s family reunion was a big gathering just before Christmas which changes the entire mindset. Instead of being outside and enjoying the weather, we’d rent a hall and go inside to avoid the weather.
Despite all that, we were within a couple of hours driving to get to the events. I can’t imagine doing what Amanda did (read the post) just to get there. Then, there’s the whole mixture of her family and I’ll bet that everyone has stories about their own personal mixtures. Her family has mine beat.
I loved the post and it made me think of faces and names from reunions so long ago and how so many of them are no longer around. Despite it being such a lovely story, it was a great reminder to remember the current moments because they are so special.
But, 18 people in one house for a week? You’re a strong woman, Amanda.
Fighting Disinformation
- Jennifer Hutchison
- http://blog.teslontario.org/fighting-disinformation/
In the beginning, disinformation was easy to spot and actually kind of fun to explore. One of the more famous ones that I remember was the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.
Over the years though, the concept of the fake website has skyrocketed and taken off in a very sad direction.
We’re now in a time and era where everyone with an internet connection and the desire can put up a website for whatever the cause. We have so many of them, some consistent with our beliefs and others not so much. Some, after doing a bit of digging, can be debunked.
The ones that I personally have trouble with are those who have a dissenting opinion and do their best to create a plausible story from their perspective. Finding the truth used to be so simple; just go to the library and grab the encyclopedia. Not so anymore.
Then, throw into the mix the concept of a second or third language learner doing their best to research. If we as English First Language people have problems at time, imagine their situation.
Jennifer shares some great thoughts on the topic and the bottom is a wonderful collection of resources that can be used to help determine if something is truthful or not.
Reflections on “Sometimes it is enough to look back to see the Future clearly” presentation by Dr. Georg Marschnig
- Paul McGuire – @mcguirp
- https://paulmcguire1.com/2022/06/29/reflections-on-sometimes-it-is-enough-to-look-back-to-see-the-future-clearly-presentation-by-dr-georg-marschnig/
I’m really enjoying Paul’s doctoral work and how he’s openly sharing his work and his research. This is a very personal post about his own thinking. He organizes things and discusses each.
- How do schools frame notions of citizenship;
- What kind of relationships in schools and in educational decision-making processes foster real learning;
- How do power structures affect learning? – Paul’s question
- How were race, class, gender differences framed in the event?
- What connections can you draw with readings, lectures, and discussions we have held in the class?
- What creative ideas or astute analysis about education did you encounter in the event?
I enjoyed reading all the sections but the section about power structures affecting learning was a real thought generator for me. Like you, I grew up in a school environment where the teacher was always right. My parents came to their defense all the time when I’d challenge facts or other things. Later on, I came to realize that it was the game of school and you had to play by the rules. It sure made the day easier to handle.
Of course, like all things, we’ve got better at it all and we’ll continue to get better. On a personal level, I’ve made a note to learn more about “Youth Participatory Action Research.”
Slice of (Experential) Life
- Lisa Corbett – @LisaCorbett0261
- https://alotalot.wordpress.com/2022/07/05/slice-of-experential-life/
I’ve mentioned it many times; they don’t pay teachers of our youngest students enough. This blog post will have you laughing, smiling, and being thankful that you don’t teach the youngest. Or, if you do, you’ll be nodding your head in agreement throughout this post.
It was a 20-minute bus ride to the field trip location. For some of the students, it might have been a three-day road trip as they got out and looked around and remarked that they were in a different world!
Now, before I get too righteous, I enjoy community dog walks and there are always new things to see and explore even though I’ve lived here for 45 years.
I will be adamant though; we still have the same water tower.
Experience Sustainability
- Michael Frankfort – @mfrank_76
- https://stao.ca/experience-sustainability/
Our guest on Wednesday had written and shared this blog post to the STAO blog.
It was about a Webinar that Michael had co-delivered with Teresa Huang about organizing an eco-fair at your school. The post comes with appropriate resources to replicate the same activity at your school.
The concept is unlike the traditional science fair with its judging and ribbons that I remember. This was about doing good by doing good. (one of my dad’s favourite expressions that I’ve always tried to keep in mind) Today’s students can be more socially aware and responsible and this post honours that.
Look for links to replay the webinar and a slide deck packed full of ideas, resources, and connections to the Ontario Science & Technology and other subject areas Curriculum.
Our month in Bordeaux, France (June 2022 –FINAL month!)
- Sylvia Duckworth – @sylviaduckworth
- https://sylviaduckworth.com/2022/07/12/our-month-in-bordeaux-france-june-2022-final-month/
There’s probably a fine line between being a stalker and an internet friend.
I’ve been following Sylvia’s adventure as she’s headed to Europe and shares so many pictures and stories on social media. Does living vicariously equal stalking? <grin>
I can’t imagine how long it took Sylvia to assemble this piece. There are so many pictures and she uses her technical skills to provide a mapping of routes for us.
Food, wine, and the biggest croissants I’ve ever seen are highlights. It really does look like it was a spectacular event for her.
Don’t read and look at the images on an empty stomach!
Math Links for Week Ending Jul. 8th, 2022
- David Petro – @davidpetro314
- http://ontariomath.blogspot.com/2022/07/math-links-for-week-ending-jul-8th-2022.html
Finally, David always has lots of cool mathematics things in his weekly post. This week, he shared a couple of wonderful visuals.
Thanks to all of the above for sharing their learning and thinking. Regular readers know the routine – read these posts and follow these folks on Twitter.
- Amanda Potts – @Ahpotts
- Jennifer Hutchison – @TESLOntario
- Paul McGuire – @mcguirp
- Lisa Corbett – @LisaCorbett0261
- Michael Frankfort – @mfrank_76
- Sylvia Duckworth – @sylviaduckworth
- David Petro – @davidpetro314
voiced Radio Show
doug -- off the record 
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