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Technological change is not additive; it is ecological, which means, it changes everything. —Neil Postman

If we see technology simply as additive, our questions will be about the technology

it's about addressing the new needs of modern learners in entirely new ways

So, having also recently attended an EdCamp, I can say there is something between that and a traditional conference that would be best for how I want to learn.  And, I am okay with giving up a Saturday (with the promise of a bagged lunch) to sit in a high school to talk teaching and learning.

 If I am going to travel to conferences, then I need it to add value — not only to come away with new ideas, but new tools that I have had the chance to try, and the experience I couldn’t have had if I were not there.

What I need now is a chance to spend time making sense of what I am hearing — I crave the opportunity to engage with the smart people who are with me in the room.

digital portfolios could be used as a “parking lot”

Every day at BCLUW is Digital Learning Day. Technology is not viewed as a separate entity needing a specific time to be etched into the classroom for use, in fact it reminds me a lot of the dichotomy between reading and writing; technology infused curriculum is the norm here, a natural part of pedagogy and student learning. 

I have a group that watches the videos the night before and then uses class time (extremely effectively, I might add) to work through challenge problems, labs, quizzes, and projects. In the same class, I have two students that work 30-35 hours each week outside of school. They use the class time to watch the videos together and then move forward. They rarely do chemistry at home, which is fine with me. Yet a third group does most of their chemistry at home, checks with me in class, and then moves on to geometry for the rest of the period. Each group is totally different than the others, but they are still learning.

workshops should begin and end by having people think and write about their learning goals. Workshops and series should be named after learning goals rather than tools.

involves introducing tools not by the unconscionably boring "click-along-with-the-presenter" method, but by giving participants a logical series of steps to perform and having them figure out how to do them through play, exploration, peer and facilitator support.

professional development plans ultimately need to build towards creating environments where teachers are coaching, guiding, supporting and inspiring one another.

“How could they get passed along and end up in high school without understanding how to use the word although?”

Literacy, which once consisted of the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently, and express complex thoughts about the written word, has become synonymous with reading. Formal writing instruction has become even more of an after­thought.

The school’s success suggests that perhaps certain instructional fundamentals—fundamentals that schools have devalued or forgotten—need to be rediscovered, updated, and reintroduced. And if that can be done correctly, traditional instruction delivered by the teachers already in classrooms may turn out to be the most powerful lever we have for improving school performance after all.

Subtext is a free iPad app that allows classroom groups to exchange ideas in the pages of digital texts. You can also layer in enrichment materials, assignments and quizzes—opening up almost limitless opportunities to engage students and foster analysis and writing skills

Teaching in a 1:1 iPad classroom allows me to use technology to redefine teaching and learning. Subtext has been a wonderful addition to the 'toolbox'