We Didn’t all Learn to Drive in the Same Car.
BYOD is cool in my books. The problem arises when we focus solely on the app or device. That is to say I used to live by the best app first, then the curriculum. I’ve grown over the years and realize the curriculum task determines the app – or apps to use – and not […]
If You Can Google the Question, it Sucks – The Afterglow: #bit14 & #edcampswo
What a week. With the exception of a few hours on Friday, I haven’t been home since Tuesday morning. Don’t get me wrong, that isn’t a complaint. My head is spinning though with excitement and inspiration. #bit14 was awesome, like always. Rumours had the total audience at around 1550 teachers from all over the country. […]
Are You a Punk Leader?
Which better describes you as an educator? The Sex Pistols or The Clash. What I mean to ask is, are you a “punk” leader? Do you follow all of the rules and regulations outlined by the powers beyond? Do you still make decisions based on fear? Do you punish the entire group because you found […]
Help Support @nkwiry on KickStarter!
Nkwiry is a social bookmarking website for schools. In its infancy stage, nkwiry provides a safe place for teachers and students to curate the web for the best content and share with each other. It is live now and fully functional, but there is still much work to do. www.nkwiry.com. Collaboration is a 21st century […]
What is the Driving Force?
Curriculum, data, marks, feedback or the learning process? I am a firm believer in PBL – Problem or Project Based Learning. It’s a beautiful world down in kindergarten. Students full of joy, full of curiosity. And then it fades. We have conducted a gazillion surveys to students that all say the same – I begin […]
What to Expect – For The #bit14 First Timer
It’s an exciting week! Niagara Falls is about to get bombarded by over a thousand progressive educators who are excited to share their expertise and wisdom with the group. If you have never been before, this conference is a game-changer. It’s like an edcamp on steroids. One of those events where you feel like you […]
Female Students Develop Measurement App #edtech #csk8
Below is just another example of using coding to support numeracy. Two girls, yes I said girls, coded this app to solve some of the repetitive problems required in our 2D Measurement strand. What is great about this process is how the students had to understand and apply the relationships and formulas before they could […]
PhotoMath Answers Incorrect Homework Questions, Correctly by @mraspinall
PhotoMath came across my Zite feed today and I jumped at the chance to read the article with my students, in the moment – they then wrote opinion blogs on the thought of an app doing their ‘homework’. I had a hunch it was the app I have been looking for – and predicted a […]
Why Teach Computer Science in K-8? I Want Every Kid to Code by @mraspinall
Evey kid should learn to code because it teaches you how to think. -Steve Jobs Yesterday I had a bit of a flashback. Our VP’s niece is currently studying Physics at Laurentian University whre it is mandatory for her to take a Java programming course. I am happy to hear that ‘real’ computer science is […]
App Smashing + Augmented Reality = Culminating Math Activity by @mraspinall
App Smashing: A Definition … The art of imaginatively using multiple apps to create an enhanced project. There are no limitations here peeps … let your mind (and your students minds) soar! I’ve been feeling quite inspired lately. I account some of that to my role on our TLLP project of helping others with technology. […]
Finding The Factors of a Number Using Computer Science by @mraspinall #edtech
Factors and multiples. A very important mathematics concept. Understanding how to determine factors and multiples is a unique skill. There are divisibility rules for numbers ending in 0, 5, 2 etc. There is the sum of the digits rule. This week we took these practices to the next step. When it was evident we (as […]
From Rote Learning to Blended Gaming with @GetKahoot!
I first heard of Kahoot from @MmeM27 who teaches French at our school. She was using it to teach French vocabulary in a very engaging manner. I noticed she had placed face images as questions and the students had to determine the appropriate emotion. Impressive. I immediately saw a connection to my math program. Our […]
“Homework” is no Longer Being Done at Home
One of the benefits of an LMS like Google Classroom is that is tracks student progress on your behalf. Yesterday I put this to the test in a little experiment to see if my students were checking our Google Classroom without being prompted. What is interesting about this situation is the assignment I posted was […]
There Is No Room For Ego in School #leadership #lkdsb
I read a short article this weekend about the possibility of schools letting teachers operate the direction based on consensus of staff. Not just about classroom decisions, but budgets and even hiring. It’s a unique idea and there is a video here from PBS: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/09/what-if-teachers-were-charged-with-setting-school-direction/ I thought about this for a while this weekend. Although […]
Seven Back to School Week Activities to Get to Know Your Students
Sorry I lied. This post is not a list. People like lists though so I thought I’d piggy back the concept. I have a bizarre sense of humour. To be honest, I didn’t have a title. It’s back to school time as noted by every article in my zite feed. I’ve read countless lists this […]
Clipkwik
Are you an educator? Are you a student? Are you constantly on the look for an engaging video to reassure a concept with your students? Are you a student looking for a video clip to help your studies? Using this service, you can search once and get results from multiple sources like teachertube, schooltube, howcast […]
@scrawlar & @nkwiry For the School Year Start-Up
With September just around the corner, I want to share the latest on these tool web tools I have been working on over the last year or so. I’ve been busy adding, editing and debugging…. scrawlar (www.scrawlar.com) is a web based (html5) word processor and whiteboard. What this means is that students can write, edit, […]
Stop Coding Just to Code
First of all – I don’t much care for the term “coding”, especially when it comes to linking blocks on a tablet so I am going to use the term loosely here and in quotes. There is a ton of critical thinking and problem solving but is it really “coding”? Nothing gets compiled. I suppose […]
Dear Graduates…
Before we say goodbye forever, I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am that I could be your teacher this year and last. I hope you know how much happiness you bring into my life and how much I genuinely enjoy interacting with you. I can’t tell you how many days I […]
Curriculum as a Vehicle – Guest Post by @BeuckelareNic #lkdsb
Nicole Beuckelare is a friend and colleague of mine. She teaches at the secondary school we feed into. Nicole and I shared some ideas last week at #TLLP14 in Toronto so I asked her if she was willing to write for me. She has a great vision for curriculum, not as a driving force but […]
Its Not About The Technology
Here we are. 2014. Fourteen years into the 21st century yet I keep reading about “21st century teaching practices” as if they are new. I’m growing tired of the countless lists of things/tools/ways to teach in this 21st century. It is not about the technology. It is not about the iPad. It is not about […]
The Importance of School Culture
Remember Fight Club? Remember the rules of Fight Club? The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club We don’t really have a school wide set of rules. This can be problematic for some staff who need the boundaries made clear, but students don’t seem to mind. They have taken […]
For all the kids who grow up in a small town and think they don’t stand a chance. You do. I was once that kid.