Saturday, January 30, 2010

Differentiate with Twitter

Early in 2009 our MYP Coordinator, Mr Fambro introduced me to Twitter. I signed up for an account and played around with it for a while, but in the beginning I didn't really understand the point of it. During last year's EARCOS Administrators' Conference I began 'following' some colleagues and found that this really improved my connectedness to what was happening at the conference, and also to online resources related to conference topics.

Since then I have started following a network of educators, technology specialists, and people who are devote to infusing technology into education. Following these people has given me access to a professional learning network (PLN) that provides resources, advice, and answers beyond what's available to me within the walls of GSIS. The most exciting part about my Twitter PLN is that the resources are there for me to access when I am ready - these resources are much more valuable and relevant to me when I have a practical for need for them.

In the latest Educational Leadership journal William Ferriter writes about Why Teachers Should Try Twitter. In his article he writes:

What lessons have I learned from Twitter? First, I finally understand how much differentiated learning matters. My own motivation levels have skyrocketed, I'm accessing ideas connected to my professional interests, and I've taken ownership of my own learning.

This is certainly true for me as well. I feel that I am now connected and part of a global team of educators committed to sharing and promoting best educational practice. With the teacher's role now being one of facilitator and learning coach it is increasingly important that we assist our students in developing their own professional learning networks. Twitter may just be one of the tools that we can use for this purpose.

Source: Ferriter, M. (2010) "Why Teachers Should Try Twitter." Educational Leadership, Vol. 67, No. 5, pp 73-74.


Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Apple iPad

I am not what you would call an 'early adopter' of new technology, that is if by technology you mean gadgets and tools - I don't have an iPhone....in fact I have never owned an iPod. I am very interested in the latest technology - I have been listening to music in MP3 format since 1999, that's probably why I prefer a simple MP3 player over an iPod.

I have read (with great interest) all about the Apple iPad that was unveiled today and it sounds pretty cool. I must admit that for a few moments I even thought, "I should get one of those." That was until I started to read a little more about it and came across this article:

What's Missing from the Apple iPad

The questions I have now are:
  • Is it just an oversized iPhone?
  • Is a touch screen/tablet computer?
  • Is it a Kindle/Nook with a lot more features?

If the answer to the last question is yes, then the people at Apple are simply brilliant. It certainly tops other ebook readers in terms of features and it will be a great companion for the iBook store, just like the Kindle is for Amazon.

Now I begin to wonder.....do I "need" an iPhone, an iPad, and a MacBook? I have little doubt that MS students around the world will be telling their parents that they deifinitely need an iPad. This is a great opportunity to research this product together and weigh up its pros and cons, while at the same time strengthening the parent/child relationship. Your kids may be impressed that you even know what an iPad is!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Happy Australia Day!

One of the great things about living and working in an international community is that you get to share in a wide variety of celebrations and holidays from the many different nations and cultures that make up an international school.

January 26 is a big day of celebration in Australia as we commemorate the day back in 1788 that the first fleet arrived in Sydney Cove and raised the Union Jack. I am taking great pride today in celebrating Australia Day with my fellow Aussies here in Korea, as well as sharing with our colleagues from other nations a little about Australia's history and beginnings.

Happy Australia Day!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

How do you teach students to be Principled?

The IB Learner Profile consists of 10 attributes that students should develop through attending IB schools. Some of these attributes deal with intellectual domain, while others deal with the affective domain. One of the affective attributes is Principled.

This means that we want our students to develop into citizens who are honest and virtuous - but how do we teach this? One way is to engage our students in debate about real-life examples of principled actions, as we as those actions that may not be so principled, like the ones at the following link:

10 News photos that took retouching too far

Our students will be faced with many choices in life so it is important that they are given opportunities to discuss and debate the decisions of others with relation to how principled these decisions have been and how they may relate to the students' own experiences. We cannot and should not underestimate the importance of real-life relevance for improved student engagement and outcomes.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Thinking vs Memorizing

An interesting viewpoint on how intelligence is changing.



What do you think?

Setting Laptop Boundaries at Home

Working in a 1:1 environment is a fantastic experience! Utilizing the available technologies really helps to open up the world of learning and extend education beyond the confines of our school walls.

Of course along with opportunity comes challenge - one of the major ones being how students use their laptops in the home. Having a middle school aged child can be a challenging time for parents in itself, then when you add in a tool that enables students to be connected 24/7 it becomes increasingly more difficult to maintain and develop family relationships. Parents need encouragement, support, and education on how to establish effective boundaries at home that will empower students to become responsible and balanced users of technology.

Tim Bray offers the following 5 tips for parenting in a 1:1 world:
  1. Never allow the computer to be in the bedroom
  2. Set reasonable time limits for computer use
  3. Open communication about everything
  4. Responsible computer use
  5. Help your child with homework
(You can read a further explanation of each point at Tim's blog)

In a 1:1 environment our goal should be to help parents (and teachers and administrators) move from a fear driven control mindset to one where responsible and authentic use of technology can be role modeled and supported. Utilizing the 5 steps above in the home may be a good starting point in this paradigm shift.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Benefits of an e-Portfolio

Last semester we launched our e-Portfolio in the MS. This semester we continue to work with students on developing and personalizing these portfolios and they will become an integral component in our student-led conferences in March/April.

One of the questions that still pops up from time to time is, "Why do you use e-Portfolios?" This is a good question to which I always respond in terms of benefits for the students. Karen Barnstable has posted "41 Benefits of an e-Portfolio" on her blog. After reading this insightful list I think the question will become, "Why aren't you using e-Portfolios?"

For more information in support of e-Portfolios be sure to visit Ray Tolley's blog, eFolio in the UK.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Full Engagement and Enjoyment

As I walked down the hall towards Ms Letsche's grade 8 Design Technology room I was struck by a wonderful smell, and I as I got closer the smell got stronger. When I entered the classroom I was delighted to see her DT class busily preparing and cooking a dish that each student had researched and chosen to cook. What I witnessed was students who were fully engaged and enjoying what they were doing.

Once the meals were prepared the students had the opportunity to look at how the meals were presented before tasting them and giving feedback to each other. What a great way to engage the students and offer them the opportunity to participate in a unit that involved a wide range of interdisciplinary links that enabled the students to apply skills and knowledge from other subject areas to a real-life and authentic situation.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The change isn't coming - it's here!

I watched this video on Jeff Utecht's blog and thought it was too good not to share:



It is timely reminder that school's are not just about student learning - they are just as much as about developing professional learning communities where teachers and administrators model life long learning.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Are you Balanced

At yesterday's MS assembly Ms Postema's homeroom explored the IB Learner Profile Balanced and encouraged us to think about our lifestyle and ways that we can ensure balance in our lives. This is not always an easy thing to accomplish, but it is certainly something that we should always be aware of and constantly strive for.

If you do a Google search for "balanced lifestyle" you will find in excess of 1, 790, 000 sites that offer all sorts of advice on how to live a balanced life and the benefits of being balanced. It is harder to find ways to determine whether or not your current lifestyle is balanced. One of the sites (http://www.wikihow.com/Have-a-Balanced-Lifestyle) contained the following quote:

If you live a balanced life you will find joy in almost everything you do. Some a bit more than others but your happiness will originate from inside of you and not from external sources.

I think this is a pretty good indicator of a balanced lifestyle - your are happy and content rather than searching for happiness from external sources.

One of the major benefits of leading a balanced lifestyle is that when challenges arise we are better equipped to deal with them - we have the physical energy and stamina to take on the challenge, we have the emotional stability to handle the challenge in a calm and rational way, we have the social skills and network to seek help from peers and friends, we have the spiritual grounding to pause and reflect before acting, and we have the academic knowledge to approach the challenge in an intelligent and thoughtful manner.

Students face just as many, although different, challenges than we adults, so it vital that we help students to lead a balanced lifestyle to better equip them to deal with these challenges when they arise. Holistic Education is so much more than academics and is imperative as we collaborate with our students and help them develop the skills necessary for success in the 21st century.