Edge of Learning

Chris Lehmann presented”a progressive view of education.” He mentioned 3 essential questions to form the basis of instruction at the Science Learning Academy.”How do we learn?What can we create? What does it mean to lead?”A thought comes to my mind, Do our teachers go into their classrooms with these  questions? Would it benefit our students if they did? If students inquired , researched,collaborated, presented, and reflected would their results on Standardized Tests be higher?

Our school division is the realm of delivering and developing assessments.These assessments include The AFL for Reading, Writing and Math at various grade levels and the CAT III. We have also gone so far as to develop a Grade 7 reading assessment which has been given and will continue to be given to Grade 7′s in our school division(which I was a part of by the way).

Schools have been given the results of these tests,  and then teachers are expected to, in their individual school PLT’S,  create common assessments for those areas needing improvement in the Math, Reading,and Writing. By starting to do this, students scores should improve when given these assessments again, and our school  divsions learning improvement plan goal should be reached by 2009.

Again, back to my question, if we followed the Science Leadership Academy’s Approach to Learning, would students do better on Standardized assessments?

Last night was an interesting once again in my learning of the technological world. I got home at 6:30 from school, had to make supper for my 4 starving children(who had every which direction to go for hockey) and download Second Life. Little did I realize, on my home computer, it would take over 1 hour to download the program. Then to make matters worse, my computer didn’t want to continue to download the program 1/2 way through. Therefore, I missed the whole session. Second Life looked really neat and I just wonder from others what I missed?

I think I’m ready to continue the work on my digital project. I have been presenting workshops to our School Community Councils at several schools in our school division. We have developed a powerpoint, which I would like to put into a wiki and then I’d like to set up a blog for the SCC members. I’d also like to provide readings and any other  information pertinent to  School Community Councils through the wiki and encourage them to do the same thing.

Any other ideas from anyone?

I am going to blog this week on Clarence Fisher and Stephen Downes presentations. I was wowed with Clarence Fishers middle years classroom and how he is comfortable with allowing his students to make contact with the world through the use of  laptops. He is definitely helping his students to be collaborative leaders, collectors and creators of information. Currently, in my school we only have one student in Grade 12 who is using a laptop and most of my teachers would not be comfortable with allowing a whole class  of students to use laptops. I think the question Stephen Downes asks at the beginning of his presentation, “How do you teach if you no longer have power over the students?”, is, I’m sure ,a thought in many teachers minds. As well,we would not have many students with their own laptops. Yes, we do have a mini and main computer lab but we’re still working on getting 1 or 2 computers in our classrooms for students, not alone, asking the school division for laptops.

Stephen Downes talks about a network approach to teaching. He says we can create our own personal learning environment. “Aggregate, remix, repurpose, and feed forward. “Personally, I find my personal learning environment is not where I’d like it to be. Being aware of the many technological tools out there, exploring these tools, all takes time and time has been a rare commodity for me these days.

But I do like the idea of creating your own work environment with your own content. 

As Clarence Fisher says, ‘Education is a vital, natural resource.”

Again, the week continues to fly by and I finally find the time to do some  blogging.

I really enjoyed Dean Shareki’s presentation on “One Man’s Journey into Connected Learning.” His 5 big ideas:Getting personal and selfish; PLC on Steroids; Consider your commpost rating and Share everything are points I will take into account as I continue one woman’s journey into connected learning.

There were a few comments mentioned during that presentation that really got me thinking about my own school and school division.Having teachers who get it, supportive admnistration, policies and time are crucial’ if we want students to take advantage of all these technological tools.

Don’t we want what’s best for our students?

The presentation by Sharon Peters on ‘Spheres of Influence” really got me thinking. Before I began this class I had a different impression of the internet( social network.) Should I be exploring the websites and utilizing the tools, we’ve discussed so far in this class, if my school division has blocked, most, if not all those websites?

 With the different presentations and how technology creates social networks for people of all ages,it has given me a whole different perspective on the use of technology, if used appropriately.Such as, Sharon mentions the successes with technology and how the social network has provided exciting global experiences for her students.

Therefore, my question is, how do I go about changing the views of technology in my school division? Again, I feel as educators it is our role to make our students aware of the technology and  teach them how to use the technology appropriately.

As Sharon used in her presentation,  a quote by Paulo Freire,”Understand the word, understand the world.”

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend our class on Tuesday, February 5 due to an SCC meeting, but did  manage to find the time to listen to the recorded session. Again, I am in awe with the advances in technology.

George Siemens did have some interesting points, it is true, we often link to people who have similar values and interests. It’s safe! The “echo chamber ” effect does keep us from accepting or understanding differing opinions from our own.

Another point he mentions is, schools are being challenged by the openness and the democratic access of information.Therefore we as educators must continue to teach our students the appropriateness of technology, we need to help students prepare for the type of world they will inherit, and encourage them to experiment with these tools.

 George mentions a few points that sums up my feelings with technology.Information has really exploded; there is a sense of fatigue; too much coming our way and not having the ability to make sense of it all. We need to find a way to  make sense of this education abundance.

It is Friday and I  finally have some time to reflect on this week. With correcting final exams,completing report cards, meeting with parents,running with children and dealing with the weather, time continues to run out on me!

Blog..blog..blog…blog…

I found Rick’s presentation on “The History Of Technology”quite interesting.It is amazing how things have evolved over the years with technology and how it will continue to evolve. Once we get comfortable with one form of technology, they invent another! Are we going to keep up with the changes?

I was also impressed with the people who  could be considered leaders in technology.I t shows us that people look at technology in different ways.

With the session on Wed., I found out my school division has blocked out the website,Skype.In fact,there have been other sites with this class that have been blocked as well. Interesting? In regards to the UStream chat it was new for me that others were allowed to chat even though they weren’t in this class. Again, technology is evolving too quickly for me? How am I to keep up? But,I’m not a quitter!

Wow, I was impressed with Darren’s presentation,”A day in the life of a teacher teaching technology.” I thought my staff would have enjoyed and benefitted from this presentation as well. Thank you Alec for arranging Darren to be one of our guest speakers.Does he take his slideshow on the road?

I appreciated the comment Darren made  in regards to  one way if you want to become a better teacher is to become better in your content area. Passion, that is the word that comes to my mind. The students and staff at Darren’s school are very fortunate to have him on board.

I guess that’s why I’m taking this class, I have expectations for my staff and students to challenge themselves and become better with technology and I should have those expectations of myself.

I did feel a bit overwhelmed when the Wednesday night class posed some technical difficulties for me, but felt better when others were having those same difficulties.

I will continue to persevere!

Hi, I finally made it here! It has been quite a journey! I’m glad to read that there are others who will have a steep learning curve like me. Finding time to explore the tools is a factor with me! Posting my picture, biography, and blog were 3 big accomplishments that I have made and I look forward to the patience and continuing journey with my instructor and classmates!