Go read: The Innovative Educator: I Learned How To Write Without School: It sounds too simple. How can people learn things if they aren’t taught the proper way? If information isn’t broken down for them into bite-sized, manageable little chunks? It’s almost like magic, and no one seems willing to believe in it. No one seems willing to believe in how much children are capable of learning and doing when they’re permitted to exist in …
Mary Hudson painted a few of the pages on the The Princess and the Frog Read-Along for iPad app and figured out that she could mail them to me… Not bad for a 3 year old.
Below are my/our notes from Friday’s visit to Saint Andrew’s School iDiscover21c 1 to 1 iPad implementation: iPad Implementation Thoughts The visit was coordinated by Apple, so it was also a great chance to pick their brains on both the technical aspects of iPad deployment in schools as well as broader philosophical questions about what the iPad means for education (though, of course, they wouldn’t speculate on iPad 2). One of the most interesting observations …
Thoughts on Implementing iPads in a School Continue Reading >
Four of us from Spartanburg Day School are headed to Savannah on Thursday/Friday to see how St. Andrew’s School is running their 1 to 1 iPad program… Apple – Education Seminars & Events – Digital Learning Environments in Action!: “St. Andrew’s School is one of the only K through 12 independent schools that is currently implementing a 1 to 1 iPad program for all students, preK through 12, as part of their new digital learning …
Headed to Apple Seminar at 1 to 1 iPad School Continue Reading >
On my iPhone home-screen I now have a link to a “2 Do” file that is a Pinboard Note… Pinboard Notes Pinboard is the bookmarking service that fills the hole Delicious left in our hearts years ago by selling out and becoming too bloated. However, Pinboard now has a notes function that allows for quick note jotting and has Markdown support. Win. I had kept my years-old “2Do.txt” file in Dropbox up to this point …
I’m Sure @Jangro Would Appreciate notes.pinboard.in Continue Reading >
On much less than a whim and much more of a two year deliberation, I decided to take the $99 plunge and buy an AppleTV tonight. After an initial 10 mins, I can say that it’s a game changer for how I consume and consider media. Many people like to say that the iPad is a “consumption” device and is meant primarily to entertain rather than create. I think that is completely false and operates …
From one of my students, Jesseca about another one of my students who fell ill this week… Tree Frog Science: “These stories show us that hope can go a long way and can be exhibited in many forms. Meredith deserves our hope and our support every waking moment, so I challenge you. All of you 8th graders, and any other griffins or friends alike, to take a stand and join me in folding a thousand …
Yep and yep… In a New Training Program, Students Teach Teachers – NYTimes.com: “As a teacher, it’s really hard to give up control of your classroom,” he said. “I think we have to trust our students more to work together.” Interesting read of how some schools are putting students in charge of teacher “trainings” but I’d also like to see more students having a sense of control, ownership, value and purpose in their own studies. …
Trusting Students and Teachers as Servants Continue Reading >
Hadn’t run across this before, but I’m pretty excited about the possibilities here… CK12.ORG – FlexBooks Already incorporating some of this into our existing textsbook over on GriffinScience.
Tears: Science teacher: The Bambification of Dr. King: “Read ‘Letter From a Birmingham Jail.’ Take a walk outside and watch the grace and agony of life around us. Yes, it’s complicated. Life is complex, Bambi’s just the celluloid illusion of a corporation that owns a good chunk of the airwaves today, including ABC. I’m betting you won’t hear much about King’s letter from jail Monday.” As always, do something that won’t compute and practice resurrection.
My pal Scott Jangro had an amazing site in late ’06 and early ’07 called BUMPzee that I loved. Basically, BUMPzee was an early hybrid of Delicious, Digg, and what would become the Facebook newsfeed. Scott and his team were a little ahead of the curve and the platform should have gone mainstream. So, I’m glad to see BUMPzee back up and running as it allows for great conversations along the lines of this (my …
Why I’m Sticking with AT&T (and Glad to See BUMPzee Back) Continue Reading >
Fantastic post that answers many of the “iPad is a fad and has no place in our schools” critics… TeachPaperless: Novelty, Huh?: “As for the specific case of the iPad, it’s hardly an ideal device if you are looking for a catch-all. I’m especially concerned about the closed nature of the system and the emphasis on sales at the app store and on iBooks. But it is a device that speaks to several of the …
This is a long piece that I’ve had in my Instapaper account for a while and have intended to read for years. After a few jolts of caffeine, I tackled the piece and wasn’t disappointed… Against School, by John Taylor Gatto: “Now for the good news. Once you understand the logic behind modern schooling, its tricks and traps are fairly easy to avoid. School trains children to be employees and consumers; teach your own to …
One of the things I did like about Sanford were the bbq’s instead of gala’s… The Governor’s Gala – Governor Watch – TheState.com: “Former Gov. Mark Sanford chose to forego a black tie gala for both his first election and re-election in favor of a low-key barbecue at the State Fairgrounds. Haley’s event was paid for through private donations. Top sponsors included BlueCross BlueShield, Boeing, Duke Energy and SCANA.” I dislike that we’ve returned to …
Trevor Turk put together a WordPress theme using only 83 lines of PHP and 75 lines of CSS. That’s pretty amazing. And pretty. I’m using it here as my theme for a very long time to come. Yes, I love it.
This is a wonderful walkthrough by Fraser Speirs on how his school (Cedars School of Excellence in the UK)implemented an “iPad for Every Student” initiative and some of the resulting reflections the school has made. I’m prodding my beloved Spartanburg Day School to do the same (at an annoyingly daily rate, I’m sure). However, I was arrested for a moment when I came to this passage in the post… An iPad for every child | …
The new beta functionality of playing Keynote presentations anywhere (well, anywhere there’s a browser, iPad, iPhone or iPod) is major for me… iWork.com – The Great Wall Most of the lessons or quick points I want to cover with my students are done on Keynote. We’ve always been able to watch them over the projector at school, of course. I’ve also uploaded the slides to the iWork.com beta site. However, they were never able to …
Guilty! Portrait of an INFP: “INFPs are usually talented writers. They may be awkard and uncomfortable with expressing themselves verbally, but have a wonderful ability to define and express what they’re feeling on paper. INFPs also appear frequently in social service professions, such as counselling or teaching. They are at their best in situations where they’re working towards the public good, and in which they don’t need to use hard logic.”
I wrote this piece on April 25, 2007. I’m fishing through some old posts and had to revisit/repot this as I think we’re on the verge of a major shift in attention literacy and finding information on the web. Enjoy… — Search is king. We have conferences and we have an entire industry built around the idea that “search marketing” is the end all / be all of online marketing. If you want to reach …
I would add that beyond the ability to “concentrate,” the ability to sift through the mountains of data, information, junk and propaganda will be the most essential skill for 21st century learners (an ability we’re still not doing a very good job at helping current students learn or sharpen)… Book review: Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think? – WSJ.com: “One theme emerges frequently from enthusiasts and skeptics alike: Precisely because there are such …