A wonderful story to share... primary... but good for all ages~

"It was hard! As a teacher, I think sometimes we say that technology is going to make teaching easier. It's not. It's going to make it different."

In a world of information overload, it is vital for students to not only find information but also determine its validity and appropriateness. Our information literacy material demystifies the process of finding and validating online information. These vital skills are needed as students prepare for our global economy.

Empathy, Not Technology, Is Core of the Problem and the Solution My thoughts here: http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/empathy-not-technology-is-core-of-the-problem

How much does this owe to the culture of learning developing in a classroom that has been evolving as a continuous 9 / 10 split since 2005? How much does it owe to the evolution of my own pedagogy in relation to technology and student learning networks? And how much of this is the observation of the tidal shift in how the emerging generation, who views technology as an underlying fact of life, rather than ornamental, or merely entertainment, can use technology to empower individualized learning?

...one phrase I saw in those documents some 20 years ago stuck with me. Reflective Practitioner. I sort of understood the concept but other than simply thinking about what you did in the classroom, I wasn't at all sure what to do with this term. PS. The only people allowed to criticize or challenge this idea are people who have blogged for at least one year and written at least 50 posts. The rest of you can ask questions but you can't dismiss it.

So we decided to add a backchannel to the reading. While one of us reads, the kids in both classrooms and the other teacher chat in a today's meet room, discussing the text, asking questions, making predictions and dropping in great pieces of the text as it is read aloud over skype.

I will (and have already) publicly declared my commitment to understanding and attempting to apply the apparent rigor, depth and discipline required for recognition as a Doctor of Philosophy, but will do so informally. That is, without enrolling or submitting to an institution, faculty, discipline area or assigned supervisors. Instead, I will direct myself, using online social networks, professional contacts...

they were so quick to see the connection to literacy - not just using blogging as an opportunity to publish writing, but as an actual form of writing, and just as important as the others they already teach.

Move as millions, survive as one. That is the subtitle to the new seven-part television series from National Geographic called "Great Migrations". Animals great and small are on the move around the world, chasing resources in dangerous journeys that might take mere hours or span generations.

When we Skyped with Silvia, what happens years ago, makes more sense. She told us way more than I'd read in a textbook. She made me put myself in Germany during the night of broken glass.

It would be a writing course. Every assignment would be delivered in five versions: A three page version, a one page version, a three paragraph version, a one paragraph version, and a one sentence version. [Could reverse the order too]

list of good online resources where students can practice what we're learning in the classroom about adjectives. They're simple - no discussion of adverbs, nothing about adjective order, etc. These sites are useful in helping English Language Learners just gain a basic sense of what an adjective is and how it's used.

# I will provide you with an extra prep per week ("A Fed Ex Prep") for 6 straight weeks. This would be prep-free for you as I would prep whichever subject the you would like. The time is also negotiable (ie. if you would rather have 2 periods a week for 3 weeks). # This time will be self-directed to ANYTHING you want with the only goal that you must DELIVER your ideas.

Although Ashley loved basketball, this was his first year playing on an organized team (grade 11). It was not that Ashley did not have a desire to play earlier, but because of his low grades and poor attendance, school rules prohibited him from doing so.

Douglas Reeves's consulting website (The Leadership and Learning Center), where he keeps full PDF text for many of his articles, past and present. SCORE! Check out this treasure trove of reading "when students improve the quaintly and quality of their writing, they improve in reading comprehension, math, science, and social studies."

Lecturing individual students is a common classroom management practice-just another tool in a teacher's tool belt. But it's a colossal mistake, born of frustration, that does nothing to curb unwanted behavior beyond several minutes. The reason?

Most exhilarating is Johnson's conclusion that with today's tools and environment, radical innovation is extraordinarily accessible to those who know how to cultivate it. Where Good Ideas Come From is essential reading for anyone who wants to know how to come up with tomorrow's great ideas. "Chance favours the connected mind."

Participants in today's Parent Coffee Talk will create a Google Account and sign into Google Reader. A great school blog. Also see: Grade 2 video blog tutorial for parents http://www.mjgds.org/21stcenturylearning/?p=445

it is crucial to monitor and define our online identities. We need to start thinking of those Google results as our resume and clean up anything that doesn't belong there.