Yesterday’s Cohort 21 F2F session provided a lot of time for putting faces to names, for putting names to schools, and ideas to be flushed out more completely. A few things struck me: 1) When the cohort held the unconference session in the afternoon (examining the role of technology in collecting data for and of…
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Susan Davis writing for “Getting Smart” begins her blog post on “Teaching Authentic Writing in a Socially Mediated World” with this idea: “…I don’t know where to start. You see, I’ve completely bought into the idea that what we teach our students should be authentic, that is, tangible and real in ways that are meaningful and purposeful for…
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It is November 11th, and it is the day of stories. Stories from what our students might consider ancient history, stories from textbooks and primary documents; stories told from black and white movies or sincere, frightened faces, and hard working bodies in the bodies in the trenches. How well can students connect to these stories?…
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This first report card is always a bit of a wake-up call for students and teachers alike. It’s a time to reflect on the work that has been done, the learning that is happening in the classroom, and as such, it serves as a launching pad for the rest of the year. Using the concept…
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With the myriad of social media tools, teachers must be very careful with the one(s) that they invest themselves in, and especially what they ask their students to invest in as well. This past week Diigo was hacked and its services were down. Many of us are already using Diigo, and I’ve been using it…
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Well, it’s almost lunch, and we’ve already accomplished so much (just check my Twitter Feed!). I’ve gotten to know a lot about the people that I’ll be learning with throughout the rest of this year. I’m sensing that there is a little bit of Vygotsky’s ZPD anxiety around blogging, what it is and how to…
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I just got the Google Calendar invite to attend the first Face2Face session for Cohort 21, and it got me thinking about the value of location to this experience. Physical location for our first meeting is at the Upper School of The York School. Just to be able to see the many other teachers from the…
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This is the first of many blog postings that will explore and reflect on the great work that my peers in Cohort 21 are doing. We’ve been trying to send the message of why this experience is so different from past professional development opportunities (HERE), and how this will benefit schools who send teachers –…
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