a view from the back row

Well, I am in the big city of Winnipeg visiting my mother during spring break. Unlike me, my mother is not a computer nut and doesn’t do a lot of fancy stuff with her computer she can type and send email, and attachments now too! I am feeling quite proud of my mother today, she started using Skype for the first time. I’m extremely jealous because by using her computer not only can I talk with my family without using any crazy headgear or microphones, but I can see them too! My mom’s computer has all these cool things….she has a brand new Mac.

I have always been a PC kind of a person, but I must admit - the big screen, lots of cool gagets (things I am using already or want to use) it looks pretty good! We only have PCs in our school. So here is the question… What kind of computer do you have at home? And if it was your choice, what type of computer would you choose? What are your reasons? Should Mrs. Carter get a Mac?

Tags: computers, Skype, Technology

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?

Tags: Technology, Will Richardson

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?

What are your thoughts?

Tags: ICT, Sir Ken Robinson, Technology

You now have a due date for your projects…..February 12.  I have posted the presentation schedule in the LA LAB, see me ASAP if you have not signed up yet.
After Feb 11, there will not be a scheduled class to work on your projects but if you ask me in advance, and nicely….I may consider opening the lab during recesses.  Use your time wisely! And as always, I am here to help you!

Tags: Technology

I have received emails from most of you this week regarding your projects, you seem to be finished your research and starting to create your “teaching projects”.  Don’t forget to create your quiz and answer key for the presentation component!  I will be meeting with you individually during the last week of January and first week of February to set a firm date for your finished presentation.  Remember, I am only an email away!  Keep working hard!

Tags: Technology

Now that you are more familliar with Microsoft Word, it is time to challenge you.  For assignment 2, you are  to develop a newsletter that includes the following items:

 a bulleted list                             3 different articles & titles for each              
 one photograph                         2 columns
 one clipart item                         title of newsletter
 borders around 2 items           use of various text colorsYou may start working on this project as soon as you have completed and handed in assignment 1.  The due date for assignment 2 is December 21st.

Tags: MSWord, Technology

Our assignment this week is to produce a one page document which includes the use of a bulleted list.  Maybe you want to write a letter to a company explaining the difficulty you are having with their product, or to your friends explaining a camping trip and listing what they need to bring.  The content is up to you, just remember that I will also be marking this assignment in Language Arts.  Spelling, grammar and paragraph structure always counts!  Send this assignment via email to me by Friday, December 14th.

Tags: MSWord, Technology

Looks like the project is put on hold guys….time for plan B.

Tags: CyberSafety, ICT, Technology

“I think for most people, school is still seen as the (THE?) place where kids go to learn. I know that’s the way it was for me. Yeah, there was a lot of informal learning that took place on the playground, on Main Street, in the back of cars, etc. But the “real” learning, the important stuff happened at school. It was the center of learning in my life, though I never called it that, per se. But I know that’s how my mom saw it. You went to school to learn because that’s where the knowledge was. And if the teachers at the school were good, they helped you understand why that knowledge was important. And that “vision” worked pretty well for a lot of years. It was pretty easy and consistent.

Problem now is, it’s not working any longer. School isn’t the only place where the knowledge is. Knowledge is everywhere. You don’t have to go to school to get it. And now, because knowledge isn’t stuck to a time and a place any longer, knowledge is contextual. It’s not one size fits all. The whole idea that 30 kids in a classroom need to learn the same stuff at the same pace at the same time just makes no sense any longer. In this environment, we can’t keep thinking of schools as the center of knowledge and learning. Instead, we have to start thinking of schools as a part of a much richer tapestry of an individual’s learning and education. ”

By Will Richardson on The Shifts

Tags: 4Fun, ideas, learning, Technology

Our new project is all about being safe when using the internet.  What can early years, middle years, senior years, and adults do to insure their safety when using the internet?  We will be working in our groups to determine what kind of information we can find, if it is useful and how we can better communicate these messages to our various target groups. 

Tags: CyberSafety, ICT, Technology