I'm Connected, But What Have I Become?

by | Dec 2, 2011 | Global Communities of Inquiry, Making The Shift, The Teaching Life, Voices

In my early days of immersion, I’d sit among friends in conversation and find my mind wandering. The desire to switch on my phone and check my networks was intense, almost like a primal need. I found myself connected to the network, and disconnected from long term friends, even family. It seemed that they didn’t understand, they weren’t part of what was in my immediate field of interest. None of them grasped the magnitude of my new discovery.

Coming Soon to a Global Learning Network Near You: Instant Translation

by | Nov 14, 2011 | Global Communities of Inquiry, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices, Web Tools That Deepen Learning

Mix evolving translation technologies, both visual and audio, and then combine them into a program like Facetime or Skype. Suddenly, you have people from anywhere in the world being able to carry on conversations with anyone else in the world. Language will no longer be a limiting factor when people in different cultures and language communities want to share information or go deeper into true collaboration.

PLP's Voices from the Learning Revolution: Our Easy Reference Index (Posts 66-92)

by | Nov 1, 2011 | Connected Leadership, Creating Global Classrooms, Global Communities of Inquiry, Less Teacher, More Student, Local Professional Collaboration, Making The Shift, Passion Based Learning, Personal Learning Networks, Student Life, Teacher Leadership 2.0, The Compelling Need for Change, The How of 21st Century Teaching, The Moral Imperative, The Teaching Life, Voices, Voices Index

This Easy Reference Index highlights posts 66-92 and continues our engaging mix of voices: classroom teachers, school-based leaders, district visionaries and other educators who support the deep learning practices (for students and professional educators) advocated in Powerful Learning Practice communities. Every post here has some relationship to “the Shift” — the necessary transformation of the education enterprise represented by new technologies, the Internet and the capacity for educators and students to become “connected” learners.

Dear American Friends: I Love Your ISTE!

by | Aug 5, 2011 | Global Communities of Inquiry, Personal Learning Networks, Voices

There is in my opinion one great difference between Norwegian/Swedish educators and those in North America: the willingness to commit time to personal development outside the normal business/school hours. I had many collaborators who were willing to sponsor teachers to come over to Philadelphia this summer, but we ended up with a group of only nine. In Scandinavia, the last day of school for teachers is the 22nd of June and by the 23rd, they’ve vanished!