Feb 29 2008
Students in the Swan Valley School Division are learning how to use online portfolios. By following the link provided on our school website, students can complete assignments and share their work with parents at any time.
What do you think of the new portfolios?
Feb 29 2008
We have been discussing the Swan River Valley communities and the upcoming Centennial celebrations. We have started to research information and a lot of you have found some great links. Post your links to this post to share with others. Be sure to include the URL address, name of the site and a sentence that describes what information can be found there.
Feb 25 2008
The writing assignment from class today gives you many different choices, I caution you to not get lost in the assignment. Create a clear plan and stick to it, revise as necessary but do not recreate the project every other day. Choose your format for communication, either a poem, song, short story (fiction or non fiction) or a news article. Then, create an ideas page, maybe a web, chart or picture to show your thinking about this assignment and how you organize your written work. After step 1 & 2 are complete, it is time for your first draft. This is due on Monday, March3. Be prepared for a homework check and edit on Monday. We will complete this assignment before parent teacher conferences on March 6 & 7.
Feb 22 2008
Not unlike the question I asked yesterday after listening to Sir Ken Robinson’s interview…..What do we know about our kids’ futures? I am interested in hearing your feedback. This post is from Will Richardson.
What Do We Know About Our Kids’ Futures? Really.
By Will Richardson on The Shifts
A lot of us (or should I say I?) frame the conversation around Read/Write Web tools in schools in the context of this very blurry future that our kids are entering into, one that despite its lack of clarity is decidedly different from today. In my own case, I tend to frame this through my parenting lens, that it doesn’t feel like the system is preparing my kids for their futures very well even though we don’t exactly know what that future looks like.
So yesterday here in balmy Toronto, I got asked the question directly: even though we can’t be certain about what the future looks like in terms of preparing our kids for it, what, generally speaking, do we know? What general characteristics can we assume in terms of rethinking our curriculum and our practice?
I threw some ideas out, some of which I’ve tried to articulate below. It’s difficult on many levels…are we talking about what they need to know in terms of education? Their profession? Environmentally? From a citizenship standpoint? But truth be told, I’ve been mulling the idea of this post for a while now, so I’d appreciate any sage answers you might be willing to contribute as well. (Come to think of it, this sounds like a potential Tweet…)
Our kids’ futures will require them to be:
Networked–They’ll need an “outboard brain.”
More collaborative–They are going to need to work closely with people to co-create information.
More globally aware–Those collaborators may be anywhere in the world.
Less dependent on paper–Right now, we are still paper training our kids.
More active–In just about every sense of the word. Physically. Socially. Politically.
Fluent in creating and consuming hypertext–Basic reading and writing skills will not suffice.
More connected–To their communities, to their environments, to the world.
Editors of information–Something we should have been teaching them all along but is even more important now.
There’s more, obviously. But I’m curious. What would you add? Or what would you push back against?
Feb 22 2008
Vocabulary words for chapter 6 include.. curious, secure, venture, reassure, vigorously, potential, recite, indestructible, security, and luxury. Define each word and write a sentence for each of them.
Questions
1. What were the two things that Craig promised Lisa?
2. What is their plan for the supplies?
3. Lisa and Craig have two different views of the future. Explain each of their views and why they believe this way. Which do you agree with? What would you want for the “new world?” Explain your decision.
Feb 21 2008
Sir Ken Robinson is interviewed by Radiowaves, at the Liverpool ICT Conference.
Sir Ken Robinson discusses transforming education through creativity and innovation. It is a thought provoking interview, definately worth the time to watch.
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story.aspx?lngStoryID=14527
My questions after watching this interview are …
Are students engaged and challenged in schools today? Can we meet the needs of the students in our education system and try to engage them in relevant learning for the “new world?” Are students and parents willing to make this shift in thinking about education?
Feb 20 2008
Chapter 5 – The Girl Who Owned A City
In today’s class we split into two groups, those who would join the militia and those who would not. We met to discuss and explain the reasons why. The vocabulary words for this chapter are; harried, acquiring, confidence, identity, dictator, solarium, unanimous, criticism, strategy, obvious, deceive, and society.
What did Lisa do to gain the trust of the children and persuade them to join the militia? Answer this question by responding to this post.
Feb 12 2008
People make important choices that affect not only themselves but others. Charlie felt like he was making the only choice he could to help his family. Charlie tried to explain to Lisa that “he didn’t have a choice.” Did he? What does his choice tell about his character? What could Charlie have done differently?
When answering this question, begin with explaining Charlie’s thoughts about what his life is like now and what challenges he personally faces. You want to put a lot of thought into this answer, as it is the only one for chapter 4. Definitions and handwritten sentences are due by Friday the 15th.
Feb 06 2008
We have started reading our new novel, “The Girl Who Owned A City,” by O.T. Nelson. It fits in very nicely with our theme this year on surviving life’s challenges. We will finish reading chapter three this week. Don’t forget to hand in your answers to the 3 questions (also posted here), vocabulary work and your journal on Friday.
1. In Lisa’s previous life before the Plague, she felt a belonging to certain things like Girl Guides, school, family, friends and sports teams. How has the new world changed Lisa and her thoughts about who and what she “belongs” to?
2. Did Lisa accomplish what she wanted to at the farm? What were the unknown surprises she encountered with this trip?
3. Lisa and Todd are learning a lot about self preservation and survival. What are some of their strategies? Have they been successful to this point? What is working for them? What is working against them?
