Group items tagged

We are the stories that we tell and it is the stories we share which unite us. This was the seed of an idea planted by a day with author, artist, musician and story teller Boori Pryor. Understanding the power that our stories have allows us to better value their role in our lives, to see them as more than recounts of the past or imaginings of the future. Stories should be viewed as the powerful agents that they are with the force to shape who we are as much as we shape them.

For schools the concept of a learning organisation should make perfect sense, after all learning is our core business, or it should be. Perhaps that almost three decades after Peter Senge identified the importance of learning within organisations the idea is only now gaining traction in schools tells us something about the approach taken to learning and teaching within schools. With an increased focus on the development of professional learning communities as a response to the complex challenges that emerge from a rapidly changing society, it is worth looking at what a learning organisation requires for success.

There is a growing momentum in education driven by a desire to share our practice and learn from our colleagues. Increasingly teachers are finding ways to break free of their classrooms and share their ideas. Collaborations in the interests of unlocking the collective potential of the profession are spreading within and importantly between schools. For many these collaborative endeavours and desires are satisfied by online communities but for many the possibility for a face to face conversation is more alluring.

Making, Maker Centred Learning and STEAM fit neatly alongside Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) for many schools. Commonly this approach includes a constructivist view of knowledge and teachers seek to establish conditions which allow students to explore questions and ideas with greater independence than may occur in the traditional classroom.  Learning becomes a collaborative partnership between teachers and students with a clear focus on a learner centric approach.

As teachers we hope our lessons are engaging and that our students are engaged. We understand that positive learning experiences are more likely to occur when we are engaged cognitively and affectively by what we are doing and that when we are, new ideas and skills are more likely to stick. Engagement is an important consideration in learning and as such it is worth taking time to consider what it means to be engaged and perhaps how we bring the benefits of engagement to our teaching and our learning. 

Something is missing from my classroom lately and I am quite happy to have seen it disappear. It is the traditional line at the teacher's desk formed by students awaiting feedback on a recently completed piece of writing. What has replaced this is our use of Google Docs and Slides as a tool for the collaborative development of ideas from initial thinking and strategising through to final editing and refinement. It has introduced a new workflow to the class that both streamlines the process of providing feedback, allows for greater detail and transforms the process into one that is richly collaborative.

Happy Mothers Day Brunch Desserts Menu Recipes Ideas To Celebrate Moms- Treat mum to something from this collection of gorgeous Mother's Days recipes. If you need a hand with the preparations, have a look at our menu plans for an easy brunch, a Mother's Days lunch for eight or a high tea.

Free and open online education magazine with top teaching tips, resources and ideas.

A site that invites world class speakers to share their ideas through video lectures. These follow a similar format to TED lectures. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Video%2C+animation%2C+film+%26+Webcams

This is a great site to find all sorts of useful resources and information for teaching geography. There are pages of lesson plans, downloads, ideas and advice. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/PSHE%2C+RE%2C+Citizenship%2C+Geography+%26+Environmental

A wonderful, easy to use, collaborative mindmapping tool to organise your ideas. Just share your page link to invite others to your page. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

50 Useful Mind-Mapping Tools for College Students Mind,Map,Mapping,concept,Mindmap,conceptmap,IDea,Sketch,creative

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS - There are no tugs at the heartstrings as tolerable little nostalgia . You can stick to the TV for hours watching reruns of " Saved By The Bell " and remember when a feeble attempt to get a date with a screech that Lisa felt like the biggest problem in the world . The following list of activities that will create you and your partner in the mood ultra - nostalgia .

The value of Twitter for helping you and your colleagues stay informed of the latest trends, ideas, resources, and Web 2.0 integration tools has increased tremendously in the past year. A Web 2.0 tool is available for exploiting the every growing information on Twitter to remove barriers and allow you to collaborate with other science and math teachers. This new online tool is paper.li - a source of daily Twitter newsletters in education.

"Over the course of this event we will be looking at a small range of web based tools that will enable you to create motivating online language learning activities for your students. These can be used either in class or set as homework. You will have the chance to understand how these tools work, find out how to use them with students and be able to try your hand at creating and sharing activities with other teachers. By the end of the event you should have a small 'toolkit' of resources and ideas that will enable you to enhance your lessons though the effective and pedagogically sound use of technology."

Over the course of this event we will be looking at a small range of web based tools that will enable you to create motivating online language learning activities for your students. These can be used either in class or set as homework. You will have the chance to understand how these tools work, find out how to use them with students and be able to try your hand at creating and sharing activities with other teachers. By the end of the event you should have a small 'toolkit' of resources and ideas that will enable you to enhance your lessons though the effective and pedagogically sound use of technology.

"Democracy wasn't present. Those wishing to censor ideas have been given a most powerful weapon. "

Krissy Venosdale (https://twitter.com/KTVee) has amassed a superb collection of images and posters for the classroom on her blog and Flickr steam. Also find great ideas and resources for your classroom, especially for teachers of gifted and talented classes. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Displays+%26+Posters

A huge site with lots resources to teach English as a additional language. Find games, ideas, lesson plans, quizzes and a helpful online community of students and educators. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/English+As+An+Additional+Language

Ideas for educational creative coding in the classroom.

Ideas for educational creative coding in the classroom.