The geek girl in me enjoyed reading “Where is your mobile phone manufactured?”
Wish I’d know this before being landed with a dud phone! Must have been assembled in the Emirates. Luckily my current phone is an original.
Amongst all the great bloggers who work tirelessly to share good information and provide inspiration – there are some who help us soar high in the clouds by the specialist nature of their collaborative conversation.
I like the information that Larry Ferlazzo brings to the conversation with his focus on Teaching ELL, ESL and EFL.
I’m also proud to announce the ‘arrival’ of a local colleague, Danni Miller, with her focus on a “new, powerful conversation on body image, self esteem and outcomes for girls” at The Butterfly Effect.
Do you have a specialist read that you would like to share?
I’d like to list them in this post.
Karen Janowski’s Teaching Every Student blog focuses on assisting students with disabilities.
Thanks to Andrew and his pointer to another fabulous website that I haven’t taken enough notice of … so perhaps you haven’t either. 🙂
This is a website for young people about books.
Here you can:
Insideadog is also the home of the Inky Awards – Australia’s first Teenage Choice Book Award. It all starts with the longlist – 10 Australian books and 10 International. Then the panel of 6 judges will whittle it down to a shortlist of 3 Australian and 3 international books.
This is another great Australian resource!
OK, I have to admit, this is spooky.
I am sure that Will, or Ewan, or Michael or Sue are used to using their blogs (or having their blogs used) as part of a program of study at various university or other graduate education courses.
However in the last 6 months I have noticed the odd link to course programs etc. in the backlinks to Heyjude. Amazing I thought! Even more amazing when a friend forwarded a copy of their uni assignment to me – a review of HeyJude 🙂
But in the last few months things have been getting busier, and recently there has been a bit more of a flurry.
So R U in ED2203?
I’ve read some of your work, and seen the interesting Web 2.0 tools that you are being asked to investigate and discuss. It’s great to see Web 2.0 getting into uni programs. But I am wondering how much depth is being applied? Who teaches you ‘power’ use of Web 2.0 tools?
I’m alluding here to what I think is the same problem that we face helping our teachers in schools learn about Web 2.0. In the beginning it is always just the basics – and often I find that that is where many teachers seem to stay – missing the full potential for supporting learning, because they can’t get there themselves, and their is no-one to guide them.
What we need is a TeachMeet07 of our very own to “Learn something new, be amazed, amused and enthused”. The Scottish model seems a great one.
Who can take up this challenge?
In my workplace we are undergoing a sort of major change as the leadership work to shape a new direction for the learning frameworks in our schools. I’m pretty keen on seeing these changes. Recently, at a two-day workshop, we heard some great stories from three schoosl – Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti, Summerland Primary School, and North Loburn School, all in New Zealand. Nice one Vince, Luke and Mike! Personally I would like to hear more from Australian schools, and Australian teachers. I know we have some fabulous innovation going on right here in Sydney……..but?
Never mind – the global collaborative to the rescue (no business flights required)
A post in the social networking site Classroom 2.0 lead me to the Map of Future Forces Affecting Education from the KnowledgeWorks Foundation and Institute for the Future 2006-2016. Check it out or grab the pdf, and then think about what you’ve seen on the map and discuss it with colleagues.
Will Richardson wrote recently about The Steep “Unlearning Curve”, and lists 10 things we need to unlearn to make ‘future’ schooling come to life. What Will talks about resonates with us all who are trying to create a shift in the way schooling happens. It IS about seeing the possibilities.
The “aha” moments in life delight us. We suddenly gain an insight, experience a profound joy, or realize something important for the first time. That’s learning! That’s why we have to push further into the future of learning than our NZ colleagues took us recently.
How far and fast we can go is picked up right here in Sydney by Westley and his MLC girls, busy building Skoolaborate in TeenSecondLife.
This for me is real innovation, and leaves our NZ colleagues for dead. Me? I wish!
Thanks to the August edition of Good Reading (magazine for book lovers) I have discovered a new website Mirror of the World: Books and Ideas.
This website showcases some of the State Library of Victoria’s most precious and historically significant books. It is a rare opportunity to look more closely at fragile medieval manuscripts, turn the pages of exquisitely illustrated picture books, zoom in on the meticulously detailed maps or even hear works narrated.
There are four main themes to explore. Inspiration traces the development of books and their power to shape our history. Imagination illustrates the many ways in which books transport us into rich, inner worlds. Exploration charts the importance of books in documenting the discoveries of new lands, peoples, flora and fauna. Innovation looks at books as objects of beauty, artistry and agents of change.
In addition, the Teach & Learn section (look for the link on the bottom bar) contains a series of educational resources for teachers and students. Based around items featured on the Mirror of the World website, the resources are organised into activities for students and accompanying information for teachers.
If you’re a teacher, especially if you are an ICT teacher ‘doing’ software or programming, then I have to share a ripping good read from Giles with you.
You know, Giles realised something, that he says is specific to his own circumstance.
I realised that what he wrote is a ‘must read’ for schoolies!
We all have to think differently, and infuse our learning purpose with passion and diversity. Go on, read When the Beast is Born, and decide what class or staff meeting you will use this piece for a discussion starter 🙂
Thanks to the ICT Guy’s post about their professional learning day with Scratch – Creating Games with Scratch – I have been reminded to look into this great creative tool.
SCRATCH is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art — and share your creations on the web.
Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design.
Scratch is available free of charge, go to Download, and there are support documents available to get you underway.
Help turn your kids from media consumers into media producers, with their next Scratch project!!
Keeping right on my theme of promoting some good things from Downunder for BlogDay2007, I would like to share this great presentation from Paul Reid, of Digital Chalkie fame.
Thanks Paul!
…… or so it seems according the the Wall Street Journal’s report on a social networking for doctors. In a recent report about a patient with an eyeball protruding from a socket, professional consultation about a diagnosis didn’t take place in a doctor’s lounge. It happened on Sermo.com.
And so it spreads…but only when there is appropriate bandwidth available! I know that some parts of Australia and New Zealand don’t have the luxury of easy access to Web 2.0 tools and collaborative connections.
judyoconnell.com 