by Brenda Sherry | Apr 13, 2012 | Global Communities of Inquiry, Making The Shift, Personal Learning Networks, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
I’ve been thinking about where I’m finding my best support for my own learning these days. While I’ve been going to my Twitter network and saving links, resources, and graphics to help me plan a new technology integration course for teachers, I’ve found that it’s actually my community of inquiry within Powerful Learning Practice that has lead me to the deepest learning. I think I owe it to my learners to help them understand that while Twitter networks might lead them to incredible contacts and resources, our classroom community will be where they can get down and dirty with some really messy learning.
by Patti Grayson | Jan 19, 2012 | Connected Leadership, Local Professional Collaboration, Personal Learning Networks, Teacher Leadership 2.0, Voices
Technology opens the door, but it’s the support and encouragement we find in authentic learning communities that connects us. Commitment is hard. Giving up outdated but comfortable ways of doing our work is hard. We all need encouragement to stay on course. Many of us are finding that support online.
by Patti Grayson | Jan 3, 2012 | Creating Global Classrooms, Less Teacher, More Student, Making The Shift, Personal Learning Networks, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
As we return to the classroom in January we’re refreshed, renewed, and rarin’ to go, right? If you’ve been putting off shifting your classroom due to time constraints, fear, or confusion about what “shifting†is, now is the time to take that first step forward. In the five full months that remain (in most of North America, at least), commit yourself to one of these steps each month and you’ll be on your way.
by Sr Geralyn Schmidt | Dec 27, 2011 | Connected Leadership, Local Professional Collaboration, Personal Learning Networks, Voices
“One can readily understand the value of communication between individuals within a school building, but the sharing of goals and vision among all stakeholders within the entire school community can only truly happen through the use of social media. What a great way to market and spread the passion of teaching and learning that is unique to your learning community!” says Catholic educator and IT leader Sister Geralyn Schmidt. For school leaders in need of social media help, she recommends Communicating & Connecting with Social Media from Solution Tree.
by John Norton | 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.
by Patti Grayson | Sep 26, 2011 | Personal Learning Networks, The Compelling Need for Change, The Moral Imperative, Voices
The more I move into 21st century tools and teaching practices, the harder time I have with our current grading system. The more opportunity I give students to work collaboratively, experiment, and pursue their passions, the harder it is to assign grades to this kind of learning and growth. Our standard “letter grade†system does not encourage learning. It does not encourage students to challenge themselves. It does not encourage creativity or innovation. It encourages memorization, competition, and discovering the easiest path to an A. Does this seem right?
