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Taking Yourself Seriously: Processes of Research and Engagement is the working title of a book by Peter Taylor and Jeremy Szteiter that assembles the tools and processes from research and writing courses taught in the Graduate Program in Critical and Creative Thinking. The most up to date version of the book can be viewed at http://cct.wikispaces.umb.edu/TYS (and associated links, including a link to a full pdf of the book). "For your research and writing to progress well, your questions and ideas need to be in alignment with your aspirations, your ability to take or influence action, and your relationships with other people. Shorten these items to head, heart, hands, and human connections. Your efforts to bring these 4H's into alignment is what we mean when we invite you to take yourself seriously." Some comments from former students looking back on the influence of the research courses out of which this book has arisen: Jane, a healthcare professional and story-teller: I learned is to 'hold my ideas loosely', which means accepting my own idea as a valid one but always leaving the space open to take in the counterarguments. I learned to give myself permission to be circular and come back to previous steps or thoughts, and I actually became more comfortable doing so. I was able to get engaged in a project that I was able to actually use in work, which was extremely satisfying. The whole process encouraged me, and I felt very empowered as a change agent, which could be an exhilarating feeling.

"If there is one thing I have come to realise in headship it is that you can't do it all by yourself. Surrounding yourself with the very best people is a start - but getting the very best from the very best requires an atmosphere and culture of trust to develop. As the new calendar year dawned and the Spring Term commenced I gathered the staff together from both of my schools to introduce my Innovation Recognition Scheme which I intended to roll out across the federation."

Make a Manga avatar of yourself.

"There's no such thing as originality anyway, just authenticity." Carroll agrees: "Being 'original' does not mean having novel ideas never before expressed by a human. It simply means doing the work for yourself."

Make a 'Wallace & Gromit' like clay Avatar of yourself or your class with this superb tool. Great if you are not able to show photos of your children on the Internet. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+&+Web+Tools

Scribble is a great tool for preparing web-based readings for engaging students more attentively in their inquiry. Great tool to support close reading and CCSS. Scrible is a free online tool for saving, organizing, annotating, and sharing websites for online research projects and web quests. It saves a copy of each page you annotate in your personal Scrible library, so that even if the original web pages you've made notes on go down, your saved pages and your notes still exist. You can post your work on Facebook or Twitter, and you can also share your Scrible pages with short links that you generate with the click of a button. Check it out for yourself at www.scrible.com.

As we are moving to the end of the year, it might be fun for those of us with seniors to have them send themselves an email, to be delivered on a specific date in the future. You can do that (as long as you keep the same email address) at this site.

Interesting concept--write a letter to yourself and have it delivered at a future date.

I've started creating a table of important skills, some derived from the Padagogy Wheel, and actions, some derived from iPad As… What I am planning to highlight is that there are many apps that can be use for many purposes and for developing many skills. For example, I have already added "Explain Everything" to 9 categories as I see it as a multifunctional app and one worth its price because of the educational benefits it provides. Over the coming months I plan to add text descriptions to each category to explain how the apps listed address the skill or action they have been linked to and may also link them to other online sources that show them in action. I'll also provide direct links to the App Store, as I always do on this blog when I mention apps so you can check them out yourself if you want. Now this sounds like a big task and it is. So I do need some help. What do I want from you? Anything you can give. Just add them to the comments of this post. Examples of apps that help to develop specific skills Additional skills I haven't listed here Examples of apps that are multifunctional. Explanations of good pedagogical practice with apps. Don't worry, all credit will go to you when I include your suggestions. Links to blog posts, websites, Youtube tutorials, open wikis, nings etc that promote good practice that I can link to from here. Examples on add ons like bookmarklets for curation sites, websites that work well with iPads ( Flash-free) that can still be categorised under these headings for iPad use. Spread the word regularly through Twitter, Facebook, Curation sites like Pinterest and Scoop-It to keep educators coming back.

Lots of links on different aspects of storytelling. A great way to explore the topic and help define for yourself the role of storytelling in your own life and that of our students.

Find out more about yourself. Use these interactive self-assessments to discover what you're good at and where you may have room for improvement. Identify the things that interest you and get some ideas about careers to explore. Based on what you learn about yourself, you can pursue educational and career goals that bring long-term satisfaction.

Either it's the case that everyone is talking about Educational Technology (EdTech) at the moment, or it is true that you 'trap' yourself in bubbles of your own interest. Whilst either could be true, from conversations that I've either had in the staffroom or online, there is a real trend towards talking about which apps/websites/other pieces of cool kit you can use in the classroom in enhance or benefit the learning that is taking place...

Glogster.com - Poster yourself - Make your interactive poster easily and share it with friends. It is fantastic!

Really is a powerful tool in the classroom, with so many ways to implement it for any subject. Also, teachers can set up student accounts and monitor activity.

Glogster EDU Premium is a collaborative online learning platform for teachers and students to express their creativity, knowledge, ideas and skills in the classroom.

"Speak instead of type. Voice comments are up to 75% faster than typing, and help you convey tone and emotion in your feedback. Stop repeating yourself Use one of our curated Lessons to explain concepts, or create your own. Track and rate skills Quickly communicate strengths and weaknesses. Google Drive integration Seamlessly add files from Google Drive."

Teaching is by nature a high energy profession that demands a lot and while their is much to celebrate there is arena danger of burnout. Taking some time to relax and de-stress is important as is noticing the signs that you are reaching your limit. For all teachers understanding that a break and a change of schedule benefits not just you but your students too can be the catalyst for granting yourself permission for a genuine break.

Posting the wrong image on your blog can be costly - copyright infringement penalties can range from $8,000 to $150k. Here's how to protect yourself from...

"At the end of the day, the questions we ask ourselves determine the type of people we become." As we look to guide students and mentor/encourage other professionals, we have to get honest with ourselves and do some personal reflection. These questions challenged me to rethink some things for sure. "

If you teach, if you think digital citizenship is important and if you know some of the students you teach are coding, you have I believe some responsibility to teach yourself about ethical hacking, so as to advise the students about rights and responsibilities in the coding environment that motivates them.

What journals might be suitable for reviewing this fieldbook of processes of research, writing, and engagement? (http://bit.ly/TYS2012)