Spring is here! We know this from the wacky weather we are having. The buds are growing and colours are popping everywhere and it’s a timely reminder of transitions even in education technologies. There are apps (applications) and then there are “apps”. While all apps are meant to do something, it is not until you…
Category: Core Competencies
January Starts a New Year
Welcome 2021! We’re looking forward to the longer days of sunlight from January onwards. 2020 saw the transition back to the classroom as well as a mixed form of hybrid learning. O365 Teams and blogs continued to be the backbone of communication and storytelling. As well, the Canvas platform served to provide another alternative to…
It’s November – Leveling Up Feedback
Feedback could be considered the basis to all learning in whatever capacity. Consider a golf swing – you gain immediate feedback when that tiny ball doesn’t quite get into that tiny tiny hole. Or perhaps it’s the cake that doesn’t quite poof up as shown in the picture of that recipe especially when they say…
On the Educational Technologies front…
The streets are lined with golden leaves and the air is crisp and clear. It must be November. Hard to believe that we’re well into the middle of term. Quite a few of our Learning Teams and workshop series have started up and I think I’ve visited almost every school site. A short synopsis (especially…
Learning Walks
We are fortunate to live in an area that is surrounded with nature right outside our doorstep. The popularity of using “learning walks” add new elements to our day. I can think of the power of this opportunity in every one of the curricular areas. “What if” we placed devices in the hands of students and…
September – A New Year
Welcome back! It’s great to still have summer weather around as we ease into another year of discovery, exploration and thinking deeply. You’ll notice that we have a PROJECTS IDEA button on the sidebar. This takes you to the Projects page where we’ve listed stories to spark ideas and opportunities to learn from your colleagues….
Authors & Voice – Using Google Classroom/GAFE
Storytelling is about discovery; discovery of oneself, discovery of our relationship with the world, discovery of questions within ourselves. Purposefully and intentionally immersing technologies that are simple to grasp, amplifies the discovery allowing the power of voice to lift off. This year’s joint project between Learning Technologies and Literacy accessed the collaborative nature of Google…
2018 Top “15” iPad Apps
Yes, yes..apps come and apps go. Some maintain their longevity and merely get face-lifts, while others no longer exist. This is one reason we do not rely on apps themselves and focus on the goals of learning. As always, we have connected them to the Competencies. So here goes with our newly edited list of…
It’s 2018 – Moving Forward
It’s already 22 days into the new year! Recently we moved all classroom blogs and student BlogFolios to a new service allowing for growth over time. It’s been exciting to connect with people from all the team initiatives and be a part of their learning stories. LOOKING AHEAD: As I’ve said before, change is the…
Unplugged Activities – Hour of Code (ADST in Action)
Last week we discussed the term ‘computational thinking‘. Tick, Tock – BUT there’s only so many hours in the day! I hear this often – it’s our reality. How do we include ADST so that we’re being efficient and not go crazy? We do what great teachers have always done – tease out the important…
“Notice and Name It” – ADST & Hour of Code
One of the most important foundations of ADST is “Computational Thinking“. OK right now, you’re probably wanting to run away. You’re thinking who cares OR it doesn’t apply to me as I teach little folks. Well I’m here to say it does apply to you and everyone else living in this world. Let’s break this…