Blog... From Reader to Writer

Blogs aren't really my cup of tea... from a writing standpoint. I know I should share more using this format, but with 4 young kids at home and a busy day job, I don't always find the time to write.

Let's do a pros and cons list... a la Ross on Friends.

Pros:

1. I like to share my ideas... this is just another method to do it.
2. Sometimes clarity comes from writing. I can use a blog to reflect on what I'm doing and my ideas around ed. tech implementation.
3. The world can help me with my issues... or clarify my thoughts... or share their thoughts with me to better my own.

Cons:

1. 4 kids under 8 at home... this severely cuts down on my online time and i don't want to take any more time from them.
2.  I don't have any more... just wish there were more hours in the day and more desire to sit down and do this regularly.

But... in saying all of this... I read way too much. I use Feedly on my devices to organize my reading resources. I'll share them here.

Ed. Tech Resources - Some of the Blogs I Frequent

Free Technology for Teachers - This guy is great. He compiles lists and provides pros and cons of different tools. Richard Byrne loves to share and this is my go to site for finding resources... I may not always agree with some of the ideas and things he says, but at least that makes me think.

Hack Education - Not many posts, but the articles are interesting and often provide a lot of "food for thought". Very focused on the link between education and government. This is a USA perspective, so not exactly the same as the Canadian connections, but interesting none the less.

The Principal of Change – Stories of learning and leading - I've seen him present so many times (every time is excellent!) that I now read his blog in his voice with his enthusiasm and excitement. Fantastic speaker; fantastic writer.

open thinking | rants & resources from an open educator - George's brother Alec... also very insightful.

Steven W. Anderson-Web20Classroom - Posts are generally short, but insightful... travels around with Tom Whitby... below on the list!

~ Mark's Musings ~ blog.markwcarbone.ca | Connect, Learn, Reflect, Share: Make a Difference Today - Shares a lot. OSSEMOOC and innovation are his foci.

Teacher Tech - Alice Keeler - Google guru! She shares everything... uses the tools in many new and innovative ways.

My Island View | Educational, Disconnected Utterances - Very well written blog... great speaker as well. Passionate about learning and tech integration.

Brian Aspinall – Blog: Dork. Teacher. Blogger. Speaker - One of my favourites. Coding and education... passionate about what he does!

The Love of Learning... A Personal Reflection

As I come closer to completing another module of IICT Part 2, I need to reflect on my learning experiences thus far... Here are my musings!

1. Describe one significant idea or issue that has arisen for you as you were engaging in the topics during the Learning Experience:

There seems to be a common thread of what is effective Professional Development for teachers with regards to technology integration. Authentic training needs to be ongoing, focused, and job embedded. Too often, training is a gloss over set of strategies that aren’t focused on staff needs, but more to meet an agenda item of broad school goal. In our classrooms, we are supposed to meet the diverse needs of our students by providing differentiated opportunities to sustain inquiry and challenge thinking. We should be able to help students make connections with curricular goals and real life situations and challenges… yet, we rarely apply this to teacher learning. Instead, we often force a one-size-fits-all methodology and expect that everyone can reproduce, while still meeting the needs of all their students with a constantly changing set of tools.

2. Elaborate on how specific resources, ideas or experiences in the learning experience have contributed to your learning. e.g. reading material, course activities etc:

I think for me, the challenge is getting my ideas out. I like to share… in person. I’m a talker. I like to meet the people I work with and find out what they like, the type of person they are, and how I can help them. The online tools and activities, seem a bit impersonal, and I can’t share what I know as effectively in this environment.

3.Share how your participation in the discussion forum has contributed to your learning and connect that to your understanding of the Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession.

The sharing of tools and strategies specific to teaching and learning show a commitment to students and student learning. Any AQ course we take is for the purposes of furthering our knowledge, skills and abilities to meet the needs of our students. We demonstrate the love of the learning process by taking courses and demonstrate our resilience in learning more. Teaching is purposeful and if we as teachers fail to grow as learners, we aren’t modeling the love of learning to our students.