Last week, I had an hour-long meeting with our K12 curriculum director and curriculum mapping expert. In essence, we stared at our learning management system (LMS) side-by-side with our curriculum mapping system and asked ourselves the following questions: 1) How much of the structure and content of LMS already overlaps with curriculum mapping, and vice [...]
Minecraft was noted as a possibly strong, open-ended educational tool by one of the featured speakers at NAIS last week, and I will note that both my son and daughter are and have been fans of it (especially watching videos of other’s creations or gameplay). This is a fun video about educational options:
The following are my notes from two keynotes of the NAIS Annual Conference 2013. Jim Collins Good is the enemy of great The hallmark of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency. Innovation should be empirically validated. In the Arctic, Scott used motorised sleds and ponies, which both failed in the freezing cold. Amundsen used dogs, which were [...]
I really enjoyed doing the “Innovative Learning Spaces” speed innovation session at the NAIS Annual Conference yesterday. I had a good turn out for all three 15 minute session. Here are the 12 Takeway Points I shared: 1. New construction isn’t necessary 2. Peripheral computer lab design is the new norm 3. STEM and STEAM [...]
I have the honour to offer a “speed innovation” session at the NAIS Annual Conference today at 1:30 p.m. The topic is “Out of the box: Innovative Learning Spaces” and I plan to adapt some of the materials I used at my 2012 ISTE presentation on the topic of innovative learning spaces and the role [...]
About a year ago we ordered one of the early Chromebooks to evaluate. We rather liked the concept of having a browser-based, inexpensive laptop that worked well with Google Apps, but the model we had was flawed in that purely having a browser interface on the screen was confusing, and swapping between tabs to write [...]
I enjoyed attending a “fathers only” presentation by Michael Thompson at our school this week. He addressed about 60 fathers in the room (not bad at a 7:30 a.m. start) with the concept that it is very easy for a father to feel “disqualified” from being needed or actively involved in the raising of children. [...]
This thought-provoking post by Susan Lucile Davis has been out awhile, but I found myself referring to it again this week: http://gettingsmart.com/blog/2012/10/fear-mourning-age-digital-education/ The feelings of fear and mourning associated with digital learning she refers to are becoming less common, but we still witness them. There is a “coming of age” sequence in middle and high [...]
I recently had the chance to trial a Samsung Ativ Smart PC for about two weeks. Of all of the new Windows 8 Pro tablet/laptops I’ve seen so far (including the Lenovo Yoga 13), I believe I liked the form factor of this model the [...]
This article is worth a review for the tech ideas: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/9831417/World-class-a-superschool-for-the-global-age.html It’s interesting that they have a comprehensive 1:1 approach (I wonder when the students shift from iPads to laptops). Also, it sounds like 90 percent of their materials are on the iPads instead of paper. However, for an independent school, it’s unusual how heavily [...]
I continue to be impressed and amazed by the strong work and careful thought being revealed in the 1:1 iPad pilot program currently in progress in two of ASL’s fourth grade classrooms. The teachers are maintaining and publishing an active blog about their work and progress, and I recommend a visit: http://eureka4.edublogs.org/ Great work!
I will admit that I’m impressed by the creativity and design shown by my daughter who learned the basics of Maya animation software this semester in her 8th Grade design elective. Here’s one of her images: She has a blog about her work, and short animation, at http://eveanimation2012.blogspot.co.uk/
The American School in London has an opening for a one-year High School Technology Integration Specialist for the 2013-14 school year. If you are interested, or know of someone who is, please refer them to the link below: http://www.asl.org/page.cfm?p=5032 If you have ever been interested in working overseas or spending a year in London, this [...]
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