Love this Quote...

"At the end of the day, the biggest disruption brought on by technology has nothing to do with the youth themselves, but with the way in which it forces us to reconsider our position of power as adults. We cannot simply tell it like it is; we need to re-learn how to learn and how to evolve with the changes all around us. " - Dana Boyd -"Living and Learning with Social Media"

This is where I want to go.....

This morning, while reading over my Google BUZZ updates, I came across a posting from Darren Draper, who linked a post from Wesley Fryer about Passion-based learning in action.  (Side note, Wesley Fryer will be one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming 2010 Christa McAuliffe technology conference )   I am currently working on a course with over 30 teachers from my school, and we have been talking about standards, unpacking them, and not narrowing the curriculum for the tests sake.  What a better way to show real, authentic learning experiences, with any population of students. Anything is possible.  We know poverty exists, we know some of our students are underachievers, we know some of our students have family problems, yes.. we know.. now what?

I watch this video and say YES!  I say YES Brian Crosby, you are amazing and inspirational!   This is what I see.  This is the futre I want for my students at my school. This is real, this is now, this is amazing and so very, very authentic.  I am sure you will agree.

Please be open minded when viewing, as there are always many barriers as to why things like this may not work in your school or your classroom.  Starting small - a blog, a wiki, a skype, connecting with other teachers / students is just one way to begin your amazing journey with technology.  I encourage you to just try.  Baby steps.  The more comfortable you feel, the braver you become.  I know I feel really brave today after watching this, how about you?

I'm Here

Please click here to read more...

Thank you to Ryan Bretag for sharing this video on his blog - Metanoia.

"This short film, based on an original story and art by Peter H. Reynolds and produced by FableVision, movingly conveys the loneliness a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder often experiences, and the life-changing effect each of us can have in breaking through that solitude. FableVision created the film for SARRC (Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center).


FableVision CEO Peter H. Reynolds, NY Times best-selling children's author/illustrator, illustrated the film. The film includes a powerful musical score by Ruth Mendelson. "I'm Here" is the precursor to the film and book "Wings of EPOH." Both products are co-published by FableVision and SARRC." From Youtube

What Motivates Us? How about in school?

The notion of motivation for individuals in the work place was always thought to be monetary. Not so true according to Daniel Pink.  According to the latest research, money is not the end all be all we once thought it was.  Watch this video to see what really motivates us.  Do you think this can work in education?



Amazing stop motion video! Really keeps your attention and engaged! Kudos to the artist!

Cute Video - Based on Black Eyed Peas Song and dance from Oprah Show

Found this video today when reading Lisa Thumann's blog. So cute! Gotta Keep Reading!

It's About The LEARNING!

Wiki Skills
Originally uploaded by langwitches
I found this great blog post today through my Tech & Learning weekly update. It was written by Silvia Tolisano and also cross posted to her Langwitches blog - It's not about the Tools. It's about the Skills.  If I could shout this from the rooftops of every school building I came across, I would!  I know all of this web2.o and technology is intimidating to people who have never experienced working with it.  I get that.  I get that it is scary and could be viewed as "bells and whistles" when it comes to bringing these tools into the classroom.  How does this contribute to the learning environment?  How can we encourage the use of these tools to make sure the "goals, objectives, targets" are being met?  What if anything, will the students get out of the use of these tools?  I understand how these questions arise.

Please take a moment to read over the blog post linked that Silvia wrote.  I agree it is skill building.  I look at skills in a different light a bit, though.  I look at skills being concrete things like changing margins, adding tables to a document, etc.  Skills mentioned here are a much broader definition of the word skill.  Using these tools does teach the skill of each of the programs.  What I see as being the "outcome" if you will of all of the tools is;  learning, literacy enhancement, collaboration, engagement, as well as core curricular goals.

I really love the little posters for each type of tool.  Very creative and very visual for people like me!

If there is a learning outcome, I would never feel my time was wasted in the classroom.  It may take a lot longer to teach the tool along with the lesson, but in the long run, the kids are excited, engaged, having meaningful conversations with each other, sharing tricks they have learned, and being genuine with their learning experience.

In this day and age of the 24/7 connectedness of our youth, why would we hold them back?  Why would we want anything less for them.  Everything changes, some things faster than others, so why not be open to change?

Net Cetera - OnGuard - New Safety Guidelines

This website has a wonderful PDF to download with really great resources about online safety as well as cell phone safety. Advice for parents, how to talk to kids, socializing online, communicating online, mobile phones, protecting your computer, parental controls etc.