After reading the article that Allison Harding pointed us to, I can’t help but think of the invisible refrigerator analogy and subsequent discussion that we had about the role of Edtech in education, schools, and our classroom. The article that Allison posted is entitled “Our tools shape us.” So I wanted to try and square…
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I was thrilled to be the keynote speaker at FIRST Lego League‘s Kick off event – hosted by my school at Bayview Glen – this past Saturday. The project mission this year is to: “create something that will help people learn better.” FIRST Lego League is accomplishing this already by its very strucutre – it…
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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, reading and exploring about educational leadership over the summer in preparation for my new role as Director of Teaching and Learning. There are some things that I really want to make sure I make habits of mind. The first is to be a Learning Leader. For me,…
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As a history teacher, I love when I can align what I’ve learned about the past with what is happening in today’s world. We call this continuity and change – the ability to tie a thread of an idea, an event, or happening, from then to now. Today, I heard the incredible story of Mozart…
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These past two weeks have been a prime time for Educonferences – there was a great one at St. Clements in Toronto, The Klingenstein Summer program in Lawrenceville, and of course the ISTE 2014. But I was at none of them…or was I? I have colleagues who attended each of these conferences, and we were…
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We at Cohort 21 have written before about the different places that technology can occupy in a classroom. We’ve talked about leveraging it to check-in on student learning, Louis has reflected on how use tech to engage students in the learning process, and even allow students to use technology as a demonstration of their knowledge….
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One of my big take-aways from this year’s Cohort 21 experience is the overall momentum and capacity for shifting our practice that was generated within the members this year. When Justin and I first began this journey, we had talked about how important it was to us, personally, that we pursue excellence in our classrooms…
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When introducing students, teacher and administration to the concepts of digital literacy and footprinting, there are few insights that I have gleaned from my experiences. Overcoming Digital Natives’ Complacency: This is a concept first created by U.S. author Marc Prensky in 2001 is emerging as the globe’s dominant demographic, while the “digital immigrant,” becomes a relic of…
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Back in October, I launched my action plan, and even though Digital Citizenship Day is in the past for 2013, I am looking forward to the first week of October in 2014. There are some great conversations throughout Cohort 21, as well as the CIS Ontario community about online safety and the role of students,…
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The more I read and research, the more fundamental I see digital citizenship being to what we do as educators. However, I also get more and more curious about where this type of learning fits in with the Ontario curriculum. In my research, I came across a document by the Ministry of Education entitled A Shifting…
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