Google Streetview & Augmented Memory

A week ago, Doug Peterson shared a highly personal, reflective post: My Childhood Community. While Doug's blog is always informative and thought-provoking, this one has created more ripples than he likely imagined.

Like many others, I have frequently dragged the little yellow dude onto a map in Google Streetview, but I hadn't done so through my 'little kid' eyes. What I discovered took me on an emotional ride that is sure to continue. Let me just share a few highlights from earlier this evening.

A virtual visit to what will always be for me, the home of my granparents, sent me to reconsider a tree that was gnarled and gigantic in my youth; to reminisce about playing with the large-grated air vents in the upstairs bedroom; to reflect on my grandfather's habit of listened to Tiger games on the radio, while simultaneously watching a game or two on television.

And that thought sent me to Tiger Stadium. Though it no longer stands, the glow of the stadium at nighttime was a common spectacle from downtown Windsor... so Google Streetview beckoned.

Most images in Google's cache still show the home plate quarter of the stadium, but this one photo was taken another day, after the camera car had completed the Michigan-Trumbell-Cochrane loop. This image captured the fall of the Ernie Harwell's booth and the best seats in the house, while a proud flag waved from the centre field flag pole!

My inner conversation let me next to consider the two most significant sports fields of my youth. The first was the street in front of my house that was home to road hockey, street football, and kick the can.

The other, was the school down the road where I learned to run track, play basketball, and work on my short game on our custom par three golf course". The most surprising memory trigger for me, was the pole that now sits outside of the school playground. It marks the spot where we played tag games like British bulldog, and where hero pranksters opened the fire hydrant to flood our schoolyard for winter skating. It's also where the Duncan Yo-Yo man wowed us with tricks and hooked us on what was to us, a brand new toy.

The details of my memories may be of little interest to others (including my own children), but to me, the memories are priceless. And the detail and pace at which they came flooding back was surprising when inspired by modern day digital images.

But I'm late to the party!

Shortly after My Childhood Community appeared, Stephen Downes contributed Where I Grew Up, a reflective post very similar in flavour to Doug's post.

A few days after that, Megan Palevich posted A Walk Down Memory Lane with Google Streetview. After embracing personal memories with her mother, Megan took the idea a step further, considering how students and teachers might embrace this idea.

The lesson she developed was later shared with Zoe Branigan-Pipe whose reflection highlights what for me was the biggest story in the experience... the great value we can discover in sharing our ideas with other networked teacher-learners.


Doug Peterson started more than a meme. He set memories in motion; initiated creative storytelling; inspired collaborative networking. Now that he's posted An Idea that Keeps Growing, you can take your digital time travel to new levels.

As a first step, reward yourself with an augmented trip through your own memories.

Let the Voting begin...

If you're looking for new Edu-bloggers, or Edu-tweeters to follow, you can't go wrong in checking out the nominees at the Edublog Awards. This year, there are more nominees than ever, meaning there are plenty of voices to check out.


I knew from the posts of a few of my colleagues that I was being nominated for the Eddies, and I'm delighted to see my twitter account @thecleversheep, nominated for Best Individual Tweeter; while my podcast, Teacher 2.0 is up for Best Educational Use of Audio.

Voting is only open for a short time, ending on Wednesday, December 16th, but over the next week you'll have a chance to consider the nominees and to vote in categories of interest. Even if you don't want to vote, there are some well known edu-bloggers mixed in with a number of fresh voices whose work is well worth checking out!

My Edublog Nominees

For the past few years, the Edublog Awards have been very effective at highlighting a wide range of blogs across the educational spectrum. Last year, I only came to learn about these awards by being nominated in the Tech Support category, and while I voted for my favourites last year, I'm ready to make nominations this year.


Best Teacher Blog
Mr. Robbo's Blog: Jarrod Robinson is a teacher-learner-experimenter in his second year of teaching, who models lifelong learning. Jarrod comes to teaching with a specialty in physical education; and he uses his blog to highlight the many innovative ways he's managed to tap into the technological interests of his students. Jarrod is proof that the future of our profession is in good hands, and if you give his blog a read, you'll realize that there are many ways kinesiology specialists can make use of communication technologies including video games; Bluetooth-enabled devices; MP3 players; QR codes and much more.

Best Individual Blog
Off the Record: I came to blogging the same day as my colleague Doug Peterson, whose blog is unsurpassed at humanizing the ed-tech experience. Passionate about leading others to share their learning, Doug walks the talk by publishing his reflections, observations, and personal growth experiences on a daily basis. If you know of an educator new to using communcations technologies, they'll find affirmation in the public learning Doug does... 'on the record'.

Best Class Blog
Pipe Dreams: Zoe Branigan-Pipe has only been blogging for the last year or so, but her classroom site highlights the potential of public learning. On the site, you'll find everything from student podcasts and blogs, to best practices in classroom education. As a class blog, the site demonstrates how teachers and learners can engage a range of communications tools to reach through the walls of their classrooms.

Best Educational Wiki
Open Thinking Wiki: As an open teaching advocate, Dr. Alec Couros has led the compilation of resources on a wide range of topics. Although the content is intended to support his work with post-secondary candidates, this wiki is filled with nuggets that should be of interest to any modern educator. Whether considering social justice, media literacy, digital storytelling, or copyright, visitors will find links, videos and slidedecks sure to enrich personal or professional learning.

Best Individual Tweeter
@courosa: Yes, it's the same Alec Couros. Whether tweeting from the airport, the back of an ambulance, or his classroom, Alec is always sharing relevant and interesting content. He regularly engages in give-and-take with colleagues from around the globe and at the very least, his tweets inspire followers to think, to share, and to learn.


That's my take, what's yours? Which edubloggers, podcasters, tweeters are most effective at inspiring your professional learning? To make your nominations, simply record your preferences in a blog post that links to the Edublog Awards. Then share the link to your post on the Edublog home page. (Thanks to Sue Waters for reminding me about Step #2)

The Most Important Thing

I'm in the midst of preparing a workshop for staff based on an earlier presentation: 'Collaboration: Top Ten Trends'. In polishing an interactive session, I'm offering educators from around the world, the opportunity to help me teach a valuable lesson.

Step #1: Engage Google forms to create a simple survey;

Step #2: Elicit the cooperation of Twitter colleagues, in sharing the message;

Step #3: Embed the form in my blog to gather more suggestions from the edu-blogosphere.

Step #4: Publish the survey results. I'm thinking at present of engaging Wordle, but also hope to consolidate the data into a Top Ten list.

15 Efficient e-Portfolio Tools

As more and more educators bring rich learning opportunities to their students, it makes sense for us to engage students in the creation of electronic portfolios of their work. Although there are a number of 'pay-for-service' sites and content management systems that are up to the task, there are also a number of free and low cost alternatives that can be leveraged by teachers and students in order to demonstrate their personal and professional competencies.

Whether you're looking for a place to share group portfolios, to publicize culminating performances, or to encourage students to post personal learning histories, it may be well worth your while to become familiar with one or more of these tools:

Posterous: Thanks to the fact that students and teachers can post content by simply emailing all manner of media to their custom blog address, this tool is now at the top of my list. Automate the embedding of audio files, documents, and recorded video on your custom site.

ScrapBlog: In using the concept of electronic 'scrapbook', this tool may be the easiest for your charges to understand. Rich templates professionalize the photo and video work of students, and the results can be shared in many ways.

PBWiki: The humble wiki can play a lead role in allowing students to gather their work either individually, or as members of a group. Through a universally understood edit and share format, a variety of wiki tools are available, for use by schools.

WetPaint: My favourite wiki tool can be made 'ad-free' for educational purposes by simply drafting an email request to education@wetpaint.com. WetPaint wikis make it easy to create community around evolving projects, and the inviting 'easy edit' button and WYSIWYG editor make it easy for anyone to contribute.

Wix: If you want a look and feel that's sure to be a hit with young people, this site engages animated menus and rich templates to embed all types of media. Although the site is in beta release, you can do things you can't do in traditional wikis & blogs, like rotating media to play on custom angles!

Carbonmade: One of only a few tools designed specifically for e-portfolios, this free online app allows you to showcase images, flash media, or video. Creators can conveniently add text explanations or artist statements to pieces that appear on the site.

Weebly: If you're looking for simple drag and drop utility in a web-based interface, this page creation tool can help you to highlight your digital work, or to bring attention to the multimedia creations of your students.

WebNode: This tool is another free WYSIWYG page editor that allows you to post media into a number of ready-made templates.

SimplyBox: If you require your students to pull together pieces from across the world wide web, this solution can be leveraged to highlight one's own online work, while referencing other sources that may have inspired the work.

Google Sites: If you're a fan of Google services for email and document creation, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with the free site creation tools available to registered users. Before going in too deep, familiarize yourself with the terms of service.

Viewbook: If you're looking for a place to host photos, or scans of student artwork, and have a budget to do so, this tool's professional-looking interface may be your solution.

Jalbum: This free alternative allows you to organize photos or scans in an offline layout, and then to post your work in the Jalbum community or elsewhere. The album creation software is free to download and to use.

Drop.io: More than file sharing, this site uses a simple and clean interface to embed all types of media for playback or download.

DropBox: While this resource is traditionally effective for sharing desktop files 'in the cloud', it can also be used to help students collect their work into one online location.

For those looking for an e-portfolio reference to share with colleagues, you might find what you're looking for in the JISC document Effective Use of e-Portfolios.

Are there other e-portfolio tools you'd recommend?

Photo Credit: Lionel Torres

So Much to EMBED, So Little Time...

Many creative elements on the read/write web can readily be embedded within blogs, wikis, homepages, and online courses. Here are just a few examples of what you can do with embed code:

Embed a Video: Create a video in minutes with Animoto, or grab a favourite video from the TED conference or from YouTube, TeacherTube or Blip.tv;

Stream a Live Event: Use video with UStream.tv or Live Blog with Cover-it-Live.

Invite a Response: Video, audio or text responses are possible. Consider using Seesmic, or VoiceThread. Each requires an account to harness it's two-way channel, but the potential is great.

Share Lessons: Digital lessons from slideshows on Slideshare or SlideRocket, to Jing screen capture demos on Screencast.com, and timelines at TimeToast.com are suitable to 'click-copy-embed'.

Gravitate to Google: Embed a Google Map or satellite image (just click the word 'link' above any map for the code); launch a survey with Google Docs (use the share tab); automate an RSS feed to appear on your site from Google Reader (from 'manage subscriptions', select the 'folders and tags' tab, and select 'add a clip to your site'). The expert user will automate content appearing on a site, by applying (and deleting) specific tags to subscribed posts, podcasts, photos...

If you'd like to learn more, you may be interested in "The Magic of Embed Code" on the Teacher 2.0 Podcast.

Photo Credit: liamngls

Feedback Matters

How is your voice heard in the blogosphere?

Of the millions of people learning about technology in education through blogs, there are relatively few voices actually being heard. If we consider Bloom's Taxonomy, at what level of thinking is the participation of most netizens?


Think about the classes you may have taught. Is one way communication the preferred end result? Are you content voices heard in one direction? I'd rather see reflections or counter-arguments that challenge, confirm or contradict my own sensibilities, than be left to see my words hover alone on a page.

Is that a fact? Are most of those who are contributing their voices to the discussion, doing so in affirming ways? Are there even more productive ways to participate?

Suggestions for responding to Blog posts, according to Bloom:

1] Knowledge: Read; Bookmark; Annotate; Restate;

2] Understanding: Reflect; Question for Clarification; Translate; Add to list; Discuss;

3] Application: Provide an example; Share a pertinent experience; Respond to a request;

4] Analysis: Share an opinion; Link to a new resource; Question; Challenge;

5] Analysis: Probe more deeply; Compare work to another's; Correct inaccuracies;

7] Synthesis: Connect to related posts/ideas; write something new; Digest and reinterpret;

8] Evaluation: Make a judgement; Appraise; Argue; Judge;

Coincidentally, Kim Cofino has issued a 'comment challenge', encouraging us to become better blog citizens.

Photo Credit: AJC1

Twitter: The New Water Cooler

Alternate title: Twitter and Two Degrees of Separation...

When working at the office, it's common practice that the most interesting things you learn in a day, are shared at the water cooler. It makes sense then to have a Web 2.0 water cooler, and I would suggest that the best such water cooler we have is Twitter.

Note: This image is actually a flock of seagulls!


Social networking works at the water cooler, and it works on Twitter. Think about it...
You find something worth sharing... you tweet; You begin work on a new project... you tweet; You're looking for assistance with a problem... you tweet.

The power of the 'Twittersphere' became real to me last evening around 8:00 p.m. when I was 'Uptoned'! It was noon in Australia, and our southern colleagues were just beginning to consider an invitation I'd left on Al Upton's 'Order for Closure' blog post (among what now sits at over 200 comments!). Until today, that was the only place I'd posted a link to a policy development wiki that might save other students from being denied the opportunity to write on the web.

With Al's catching up on the many responses to his blog post, he encountered my suggestion, and not knowing who I was, put out the call via Twitter . It turns out, that thanks to my mini-Twitter-network, I was only two degrees of separation from Al Upton!

The evidence:
1] 7:43 p.m. EST: Al tweeted from Adelaide "Does anyone know Rodd Lucier?".
2] 7:53 p.m. EST: Sue repeated the question from Perth...
3] 7:56 p.m. Cindy picked up the connection in Calgary and emailed me directly...
4] 8:03 p.m. My inbox rang with a message from Cindy
5] 8:12 p.m. Al and I began following one another on Twitter

Tweetscan helps to tell the time-stamped story:

Twitter truly is an amazing tool for developing learning networks. The trouble is: I've now got a handful of 'twitter-mates' who will be at the water cooler while I'm sleeping!


Photo credit: Joel Bedford
Teacher 2.0 Podcast: Twitter & Two Degrees of Separation

Blogging Voices Quieted

A classroom blog of 8 & 9 year olds is closed, and the blogosphere responds by the hundreds.

Mini 16 tells part of the story: "When I new that my blog got blocked I thort that all my work was gone! But al said that it was’ant gone. good because it is fun."

If you haven't heard the story yet, you can head over to Al Upton's Minilegends update page to read an overview of the story so far. The short story is that the primary school blogging project in South Australia has been taken offline, but in text, Al seems pretty upbeat suggesting that we should learn what we can from the experience and acknowledging that the story is not yet over. When you consider the 166 comments as of present, There is much to read, and Al is promising at least one more update on the blog.

Even though this story makes it easy to imagine the sad faces of primary students, there are countless thousands of students (and teachers) out there, who have yet to discover the blogosphere.

When a teacher is willing to take a risk with blogging, I guess we have to be prepared for even unimagined consequences. So how do we ensure that ventures of this sort can be safely undertaken? I'm thinking that we should harness the collective wisdom of the blogoshpere in supporting Al Upton and other teachers who are willing to take the leap into using the read/write web as learners.

To facilitate the gathering of blogging policy/guideline resources, I've created a wiki page where educators can share known resources and ideas that might be used by teachers or school boards as as scaffolding to develop and refine policy frameworks related to classroom blogging. On this page, you can share your expertise or ideas for how a teachers and students can safely explore blogging. If we can harness even a fraction of the many who responded to the 'minilegends', I'm sure we can help ensure that student voices can be safely heard.

If you have suggestions for what a good policy might include, or if you know of policies that can be shared, your contributions are most welcome!

Blog Sketch Credit: Frances Copozzi

Netpodwikiblogmarking

It's a verb! You won't find the word 'Netpodwikiblogmarking' in any curriculum documents, but Teacher 2.0 will be harnessing a full range of Web 2.0 applications including networking, podcasting, collaborative wiki development, blogging, and social bookmarking. These tools are so very closely connected, that we may one day need such a multipurpose moniker.

Networked learning has never been more simple or more complex. Simple, in that those familiar with the tools, quickly come to realize that they are very user-friendly; Complex, in that there are so many choices to make in how/when/why to use any particular tool. With evolving Web 2.0 tools, educators can only truly understand their power by making productive use of them in their own personal learning.

Realizing that that these tools are tightly interconnected, and that educators have varying levels of expertise, the differentiated guide below invites you to start anyplace you like discovering the world of 'Netpodwikiblogmarking':

Option 1: It's about producing creative products. Try creating lessons in new media, then invite students to do the same. Create a podcast for your class, teaching them something by means of a self-produced audio recording. It doesn't have to be long; it doesn't have to be great. Be ready to accept criticism from your audience and invite your students to demonstrate their learning by producing their own pieces. Then make a bold step and consider posting student work online for a global audience. The same model can work for creating a webpage, a digital poster, a newsletter, an electronic portfolio... Just be sure to do it yourself first, so you can anticipate the challenges that your students will face. A great Blog to follow if you'd like to pursue novel products with e-tools is Wesley Fryer's 'Moving at the Speed of Creativity'.

Option 2: It's about collaboration. If you'd like to make meaningful connections with other teacher-learners, begin learning about tools that allow you to collaborate with others. Post to existing Wikis. (Yes, you can edit Wikipedia if you like!) Edit documents collaboratively with peers via Google Documents. Start your own Wiki page to support your own learning. A voice that seeks to provide avenues for sharing the voices of students and teachers alike is David Warlick's '2 Cents Worth'.

Option 3: It's about learning. Read Blogs. Comment on Blogs. Write Blogs. The topic doesn't matter (except that it has to be something you care about). What matters is that you become engaged in some kind of passionate discourse on the web. This public thinking will lead you to new resources be they people, websites or ideas. Explore your passions in the blogosphere. For a sample voice that challenges as much as it affirms, check out Gary Stager's 'Stager-to-Go'.


Option 4: It's about sharing the good stuff! You need to get yourself a social bookmarking space and to subscribe to some good 'gatherers' of resource links. The Clever Sheep maintains bookmarks at Del.icio.us. For more details, you can revisit my post about how you can use Social Bookmarking in the Classroom. In no time you'll be exposed to a plethora of rich resources. In differentiating for the advanced tool-user, I recommend you keep ahead on the learning curve by following Robin Good's Latest News.

Option 5: It's about networking. Through the activities above, you're bound to build relationships with others. Take time to follow like-minded folks via Twitter or Facebook and subscribe to a manageable collection of blogs. Take time to participate in the discussion by posting replies to posts that move you. To harness the power of your personal network, you can't do much better than tapping into Will Richardson's 'Weblogg-ed'.

Carve your niche! While I really believe that changing the chalkboard is the quickest way to impact education, there are many voices out there to be read/heard. Don't be shy about joining in the discussion; after all, it's what we ask of our students every day. What are you waiting for?

"Let's get Netpodwikiblokmarking!"

Square Pegs and Soapboxes

Clarence Fisher in an open letter to Gary Stager writes:

"We are a new type of teacher working in new and changing learning environments. We are willing to experiment and drive towards new forms of learning. We fit into the education system like square pegs in round holes."

Bang on!

One of the main reasons that the pace of change in education is soooo frustratingly slow, is that as square pegs, we remain the minority.   It is only recently, thanks to a variety of Web 2.0 tools, that we've been able to find one another, and to positively reinforce our collective works to engage learners.  Events such as Educon 2.0 result in positive energy simply because so many are gathered with the same motivation.   The square pegs come to realize that they are on the right path in spite of the opposition they sometimes face in their local communities. Too bad for all of us, that so few round pegs even know that such events are taking place.

On our own, each of us may have to teach with doors closed so as not to offend the rest of the herd; it is only when clever sheep like Clarence Fisher find one another, that they can institute change that is noticeable on a grand scale.  By being on top of our virtual soapboxes, we are able to publish ideas that may just lead a few roundish pegs to gain sharp corners, and, over time, may result in large scale educational reform.
 
Courtesy of Ewan McIntosh comes this BBC news item: What Makes a Good Teacher?

"The big question now is whether - after 20 years of being told exactly what and how to teach - there are enough teachers ready to be "creatively subversive"?

If we were the majority, then Gary would notice changes in classroom environments... In order to get there, our voices, our ideas, our words have to be from high enough to be heard by as many teachers as possible.  Please don't come down off of your box yet Clarence, the movement towards Classroom 2.0 needs you!

Blogged with Flock

Let's Ban Chalk!

This weekend, I got to thinking about how history measures time periods. Knowing that the Three-Age System subdivided pre-history based on the material make-up of tools (the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age), I'd like to propose a system of 'ages' as a lens through which we can view classrooms in recent years.

In considering the 'tools' that have been mainstays in classrooms from the time when learning moved indoors in North America, we can frame education into three eras:

The Slate & Chalk Age (mid 1800's - present)
Characteristics: records are temporary; memory is necessary

The Paper & Pen Era (1900's to present)
Characteristics: records are semi-permanent; memory for homework is possible

The Web & Keyboard Period (2000's to present) Characteristics: records are of multimedia and may be historic; searchability makes memory less critical;

In looking for links to support these time periods, I stumbled across a wonderfully concise explanation courtesy of PBS.

In identifying the Web & Keyboard Period, I'm naming the period after the tools used to write, but the implication is that we have to consider this to be a period where students produce content in as many varied mediums as they experience. The true tools would include microphones, cameras, and other evolving input devices, well beyond the keyboard and mouse. Remember, in 2006, YOU were being named TIME's Person of the Year, not for your reading and writing, but as part of "a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before."

But many educators are still tied to both chalk/chalkboards; and paper/pen remain the preeminent classroom tool. In order to hasten the arrival of School 2.0, a time when the norm for classrooms is for the world wide web to be ever-present as the 'chalkboard', "I propose we Ban Chalk!"

While initially tongue in cheek, this proposal is one that would demand teachers change their practice. We may eventually want ban or put strict limits on paper, but I believe that the fist step is to change the blackboard. The physical space that makes up today's classroom, is reflective of rooms over 100 years ago. Changing the blackboard to a projection screen or SmartBoard, makes a dramatic statement to students and educators that the game has changed.

The day when it is 'normal' for classrooms to harness the power of global networking by using the read/write web along with a range of multimedia tools can only become a reality when the environment is reflective of the learning that takes place within the space.

The Stone age didn't end when we ran out of stone, it ended when people abandoned stone tools in favour of a better product. If teachers can teach this historic concept, surely we can live it!

"It's time to step away from the chalkboard and to step into the present!"

My "Down with Chalk!" mini-rant began on the Teacher 2.0 Podcast.

RSS: Get inside the wrapper!

If RSS is 'Really Simple Syndication" why do so few people really understand it?

If you are reading this blog because you have subscribed to an appropriate feed, then you likely won't get anything out of this post. If, on the other hand, you came across this post randomly, then you might consider taking advantage of RSS to provide yourself with 'one-stop' reading.

The best analogy that I can come up with for Really Simple Syndication, is the chocolate bar. You might be attracted to the wonderful packaging, but really, what you want, is the candy that exists inside the wrapper!

Really Simple Syndication ensures that the CONTENT can be subscribed to, while the FORM is inconsequential. In the 'old days' of 5 or 10 or more years ago, web authors used to spend lots of time customizing the form of their content. Fonts, sizes, colours, and other attributes that adapted and augmented the content ('the wrappings') if you like, are becoming secondary to the content. RSS, allows the reader to focus solely on the content. You might want to view "RSS in Plain English".

A quick and entertaining explanation of RSS is included within The Machine is Us/ing Us:



In order to access the content, you need to select and get comfortable with a 'feed-reader'. These 'aggregators' are free and widely available. I prefer Google Reader because it has the same look and feel as my G-mail account, but there are many options available.

Once you have a feed-reader, you can subscribe to all kinds of syndicated content. Just look for the orange RSS symbol in any URL, and you can copy the entire URL from your address bar, to add a subscription to your feed-reader:



Now you can subscribe to all types of content, including:

Your friends Flickr images
A colleagues bookmarks: http://del.icio.us/thecleversheep
Your favourite newspapers: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Any of a number of Blogs... like this one: http://feeds.feedburner.com/thecleversheep
or Podcasts: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ E-learningDaily

I didn't mention this in today's Teacher 2.0 Podcast, but this is just the beginning of huge changes in the way we access information! As coders are coming to realize, you can also draw RSS information into other sites and programs, resulting in a wave of new 'mash-ups' that are turning the world wide web on its ear. What are you waiting for? After all, it is "REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION"!

Fear of Flying

Tomorrow, I have to get on an airplane, and lucky for me it looks like we'll have a winter storm to fly through (written with sarcasm), hopefully to warmer weather on the other side! I'm sure there will be nervousness and trepidation for many of the passengers traveling this holiday season; and this has me thinking about how our fears sometimes restrict our personal and professional growth.

Recently, I had the opportunity to read "Helping Users Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway"
"Reduce my fear or guilt, and I'll be grateful. Help me do something that really IS scary, and I'll be grateful and exhilarated."

While succeeding (or failing) at something that is frightening, challenging, or with unknown consequences, may not be life-altering; there is little doubt that such emotionally-charged experiences, provide plenty of self-knowledge and enrich our lives regarless of the outcome. Providing opportunities for risk and reward in a safe environment is what much of teaching should be about. In the best of cases, educators take the occasional leap themselves and model learning through risk-taking, celebrating both success and failure at their attempts.

While many of the educational projects I've undertaken have been novel and unique, they've always been done within the relative safety of the classroom, or in front of a controlled audience of teachers. This blog on the other hand, is the forcing me to think, to reflect, to share, and above all, to take significant risks in front of a potentially global audience!

I just read Scott McLeod's Dangerously Irrelevant post "Blogs that Deserve a Bigger Audience", and I'm reassured knowing that those first to take the leap are working to soften the landing for those that follow. As an educator who has only recently been inspired to take the leap in ruminating publicly (talk about a YouTube moment!), this type of support cannot be under-rated.


Fear of Flying isn't just about the airplane... In the case of blogging, it's about the fear of what others might think of your ideas and about how effectively you engage others in the discussion. In the case of this blog, I'll go on... knowing that this type of risk-taking and learning is what education is all about. I love the metaphor provided in the EDS advertsement: "Building Airplanes in the Sky".



Knowing that educators are constantly flying without a net in implementing new curriculum; in attempting and adopting new strategies; and in making connections with new students, my hope is that educators will see themselves as model learners in taking personal and professional attempts at flight.

Maybe in the time I'm away, a few readers will take a risk in adding their comments to a blog that catches their attention and makes them think. I'll be back in a week or so... provided the plane makes it!

New Conversations for a New Year

Many forward thinking educators find themselves teaching with their classroom doors closed in order to avoid conflict with their colleagues who are teaching in more 'traditional' ways. If you are a teacher who would rather have the students speak, than have your own voice be heard; If you are a teacher who would rather have students work on engaging cross-curricular projects, than turn pages in textbooks; If you are a teacher who would rather provide access to a real world audience for student work, than grade and return student assignments, then there is a high probability that you are in need of opportunities to connect with like-minded educators!

The reality in the many schools I've taught in, and visited, is that teachers who strive to engage their students in engaging projects, often run the risk of being seen by their teaching collagues as 'rebels' or worse yet, teachers who lack 'discipline'. The fact that a teacher might have students up and out of their desks, speaking with other students, and demonstrating learning with tools other than pencils, pens and books, must be threatening to those who have only experienced working with compliant students sitting in rows and following the lead of the 'sage on the stage'.

Rather than engaging in meaningful collaborative learning with neighbouring teachers (whose doors might also be closed... if only to keep their students from seeing your active learners), educators on their way to becoming 'Teacher 2.0', might be better to open discussions with peers whose classrooms are undertaking similar transformations: moving from the teacher-directed model to more constructivist, project-based learning approaches. Luckily, many of these teachers have opened virtual doorways to their classrooms via the World Wide Web.

While you may or may not have your students use read/write tools like Wikis, Blogs, and Podcasts, you might well find inspiration from seeing the work of others who are leveraging these tools to engage in global conversations. I know that many of these classrooms/teachers are looking to network with other classrooms from around the world, so by all means, consider participating in the discussion!

Conversation Starters:

View some Teacher/Classroom Blogs: http://classblogmeister.com/
EduBlog Award Nominees: http://edublogawards.com/
Educational Podcast Network: http://www.epnweb.org/

A few Folks you might want to meet/read:

Wesley Fryer: http://www.speedofcreativity.org/
Will Richardson: http://weblogg-ed.com/
Bob Sprankle: http://www.bobsprankle.com/welcome/welcome.html

School S___s

What could the title be??

Truth is, when kids used to say to me "School Sucks" I took it personally as a challenge on more than one level. One, the language was vulgar. Two the implication was that as a teacher, I was 'school', and so the student was making a comment about me!

Now that I've got over 20 years experience in education, I have come to agree that "School Sucks", but I've started this blog to expend the thought: "School Sucks: WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT !"