After a long February and very well deserved March Break for all of us at Cohort 21, I have been thinking about some of the great posts that I’ve been reading. In particular, Jesse Denison, Celeste Kirsh, Derek Doucet, Jen Bibby and Ruth McArthur; they have published some thoughtful reflections, but also reflections that have…
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I wanted to write this post as an inspiration to all my fellow Cohort 21 members as we head into March and towards the end of our energy and capacity for the year! I just read this great article on leadership by Workplace Mojo entitled “13 Thoughts for Discouraged Leaders“. Despite its title, it actually…
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I have continued to make good successes in engaging students on their blogs. Currently, I have 98% of grade 7, 8 and 9 students on blogs, and 100% of advisers are blogging. But more importantly, we are discussing the struggles with the students that are reticent to blog, and with the whys and hows of…
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I find myself looking more and more at the impact of MOOCs on education, and in particular, on the notion of personalized learning. Reading the blog “Hack Education” and following this movement in Edutopia have spurred interest. In his article from Edutopia, Matt Levinson, argues that: Unfortunately, for many learners, MOOCs lack the possibility of…
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Sir Ken Robinson‘s interview at The Blue School is one to watch. I have found that it speaks strongly to the role that the Adviser plays in personalized learning at Greenwood. In it, Sir Ken Robinson speaks of knowing the students, when to push and challenge, and when to calm and support. He likens master teachers…
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As February is now upon us, it is a time that I use to step back and take a more meta-view of my programs and goals. This is a pivotal time to stay focused on your goals, because it is one of the most difficult times. It is busy, and frantic (report cards, assessments, OSSLT,…
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Returning to work after the winter holidays is an unusual thing to do at my school. On Monday, Jan. 7th, the whole school is empty – not a soul around. In fact, every teacher and student is off on some sort of winter camping excursion or community service adventure (some even go to Costa Rica!)….
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For a few years now, I have been following Joe Bower on Twitter. He is a great thinker and advocate for responsible and positive change in education. He is a thoughtful blogger, and he got me thinking of my discussions with many during the last Cohort 21 F2F session about personalization of learning. Amongst others,…
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Over the winter holidays, I wanted to focus a little more on the question of “why blogging?” I want to ensure that as my school adopts blogging and the Eportfolio, we are doing so deliberatly and in a way that is well-informed. Also, I want to make sure that it will have its focus on…
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One of the things that I’ve learned from looking at blogging scope and sequence, but also the looking at how institutions use blogging, is the importance of building capacity around the practice. In a recent meeting with my team of advisers, I selected a few different articles for them to read about blogging. I have…
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