Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Forget the other thing about today.
To All The Things I Should Have Done…
- Elizabeth Lyons – @mrslyonslibrary
- https://thelibrariansjourney.blogspot.com/2023/02/to-all-things-i-should-have-done.html
We started the voicEd Radio discussion with this song from the great John Anderson.
I don’t ever recall talking about work/life balance at the faculty. It was something that I came to learn as I entered the profession. I’ll be honest; for the most part, it was just talk because of the nature of the job. It will eat you alive if you let it.
Elizabeth recognizes that there are other important things in life along with teaching and addresses it in this post. To be truthful, she doesn’t belittle the profession; she does a great job of sharing where she is with her class and her philosophy.
Like so many of us, she has a wonderful family that deserves part of her time and attention as well. It’s the condition of teaching that we’re forever balancing this.
A teacher’s life is like no other. She captures so much of it in this post. And, it’s just not home/work; there’s all the professional development that an educator needs and couple that with being an educational leader in the province, there are so many things competing for your time and attention …
Enough. Enough. Enough.
Another AI Post, but about Math
- Cal Armstrong – @sig225
- https://onenoteschool.com/another-ai-post-but-about-math/
I like it when Cal takes on a topic and takes it in an interesting direction. I came to the post ready to argue because ChatGPT is notorious for getting things wrong at times. I misjudged what this post was going to be about.
Cal notes that he’s worked with interactive bots for a long time as well as many of the popular Mathematics applications. One thread through all of this is that getting the answer right is important.
But, what about the process?
Cal introduces us to a new application (well, new to me anyway) called MathGrader and how it could be the solution to having Artificial Intelligence do some marking for you along with understanding the process that students go through to get their answer.
It’s an interesting read and it doesn’t come as a surprise to me that Cal sees it being integrated into OneNote some day.
I’ve marked this “stay tuned for more”.
Creating Dynamic Content
- Lynn Thomas – @THOMLYNN101
- https://wordsgrow.com/2023/02/28/creating-dynamic-content/
This is one of those “Wow” posts.
If you are using Brightspace/D2L or there’s a chance that you will be, this is definitely worth the time to read. Actually, I’d recommend bookmarking and reading more than once.
Lynn certainly takes a deep dive into using this resource in your classes.
By default, often LMS systems are boring text interfaces and the activities often aren’t similar at all to good classroom pedagogy.
Lynn tears this apart with all kinds of ideas to make the interface more appealing and the content more engaging with the hopes of better success and interaction with your content.
She addresses:
- Environment
- Active Learning & Engagement
- Stress Management
It’s a huge affirmation that teaching and learning online doesn’t have to be completely different.
Coaching The Destreamers
- Brad Dixon – @TeachingMrDixon
- https://stao.ca/coaching-the-destreamers/
I suppose that if you’re at Ministry, it’s easy to say “let’s destream Grade 9” and make the transition from Grade 8 to 9 a little more friendly.
Ultimately, it may well be. Right now, it’s an ongoing process.
In this post, Brad takes a look at what is required on the teacher side to make it happen.
- Don’t do it alone
- Your team matters
- Experience is not always best
- Not everyone is ready
And, as a department head, what he plans to do to assist his department in their implementation.
- Make a plan
- Take baby steps
- Be the coach
- Get the team together
It’s a nice reminder that any implementation isn’t as simple as just flipping a switch.
What was lost 8/31 #SOL2022
- Melanie White – @WhiteRoomRadio
- https://reflectingonrecreation.wordpress.com/2023/03/09/what-was-lost-8-31-sol2022/
Melanie shares a writing prompt that she has used with us.
A writing prompt that I used recently asked students to consider a time when they lost something important.
I had two reactions to this post.
The first one was the one that I shared on the This Week in Ontario Edublogs show. It was personal about something that I had lost – my wedding band (twice). Recovered once from a museum in Ottawa and secondly, I’m still looking for it. In that respect, the prompt let me have fun with my misfortune.
What I didn’t talk about on the show was that Melanie followed up her prompt with personal experiences of her own. I didn’t mention it but in passing because it’s the sort of thing that would make me tear up and choke.
She shared her story and her very emotional, personal take on the writing prompt.
I couldn’t help but wonder if her writing prompt might have generated similar stories from her students.
Oculum Echo: Guest review
- Helen Kubiw – @HelenKubiw
- https://canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com/2023/03/oculum-echo-guest-review.html
Bronte L, a Grade 9 student, writes as a guest poster on Helen Kubiw’s blog.
She shares a review of Oculum Echo, a followup to the first book Oculum.
Bronte indicates that she didn’t read the first book but got connected to the characters, nonetheless.
“I would recommend Oculum Echo to any sci-fi loving kid that enjoys adventures.”
I love the fact that a student wrote a review for the book and that Helen provided the platform for it. We should see more of this.
Cynthia Solomon: Computer Science Pioneer and Equity Champion
- Peter Skillen – @peterskillen
- https://theconstructionzone.wordpress.com/2023/03/07/cynthia-solomon-computer-science-pioneer-and-equity-champion/
Peter is my best “way back” and “way forward” thinking guy. He knows and has made so many connectors with people who have made significant changes in the use of technology in education.
In celebration of International Woman’s Day, Peter takes us on a trip back and looks at the work of Cynthia along with Seymour Papert.
The programming, of course, was Logo. So often, these days, when you mention Logo, it’s poo-pooed. “We introduce kids to Python, a real programming language.”
I’ve always maintained, and I still do, that that philosophy completely misses the point. My first programming language certainly isn’t in vogue these days. But, the problem solving, thinking, and collaboration has lasted me a lifetime.
I miss meeting up with Peter; just chatting with him is so powerful. This post will have to serve as a proxy.
Thanks, my friend.
And here we are at the end of another week. Please take the time to click through and read these posts. You’ll be that much smarter for doing so. And, share them with colleagues.
Then, follow these folks on Twitter.
- Elizabeth Lyons – @mrslyonslibrary
- Cal Armstrong – @sig225
- Lynn Thomas – @THOMLYNN101
- Brad Dixon – @TeachingMrDixon
- Melanie White – @WhiteRoomRadio
- Helen Kubiw – @HelenKubiw
- Peter Skillen – @peterskillen
This Week in Ontario Edublogs
Opening Song
Closing Song
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.