Sharing Our Learning

I have enjoyed taking some time away from social media and connecting with family and friends.  The more I get involved in the “online world”, the more I appreciate my time away from it.  That being said, this graphic from Royan Lee says it all to me.

1.  7 Deadly Sins of Creativity – Innovation and creativity are two words that seem to go hand-in-hand to me, so when I came across this blog post, I thought that it had some fantastic ideas.  I loved this quote that was shared:

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

In this post, the authors go over the things that stifle creativity, while also discussing how you can conquer these ideas.  Here is an example:

Lack of passion and enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm is the lifeblood of creativity.  Creativity blossoms when you are passionate and enthusiastic about what you are doing.  It’s extremely difficult topioneer creative solutions for things you have absolutely no interest in.  When your mind is stimulated by curiosity and a fundamental interest in the subject matter, your creativity and motivation will automatically accelerate.

2.  Questions about curriculum… – Edna Sackson has long been one of my favourite bloggers and this post definitely helps to guide questions in not only how you build a classroom, but also a school.  These types of questions are imperative to growth of ourselves as educators and our schools as a whole.  Here are some of the questions that Edna asks:

What are your beliefs about learning? Do they coincide with ours?

Did you know that a curriculum should not be static, but constantly revisited and updated  to be current, relevant and promote authentic learning?

Do you think a curriculum has to be a set of books with prescriptive instructions for teachers?

Are you aware that workbooks do not usually foster meaningful learning?

Read the entire post to really get the entire idea of some of the powerful questions Edna asks of educators.

3.  Zeitgest: 2011 Year in Review - As the year closes, I loved this video as it would be a great opportunity to discuss world events and how they effect our own communities.  What are some of the questions that this type of video can spark?  I love the easy access we have to these types of videos and events in our world; it really shows me how important it is that we bring this learning into our classroom every single day.

4.  Although the below video is not necessarily focused on education or pedagogy, it is something that I loved and watched about 100 times last week.  When I see amazing dance videos like this, I think of this amazing Chris Andersen Ted Talk where he talks about the power of video to drive innovation in our world.  Would you see dance like this 10 or even 5 years ago? How many have learned this dance since the video has been released?

I hope all of you are having an amazing holiday season and I wish you all of the best going into the new year!

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by Ron Houtman

As the year is winding down and people have been busy preparing for holidays, I have not been as connected this week as I have been in the past.  That being said, I have definitely seen some awesome links.  Hopefully they will be helpful to whatever you are doing.

1.  7 Deadly Sins of Creativity – The thoughts of creativity and innovation to me, seem to go hand-in-hand.  In this blog post, I love how it shares some of the roadblocks to creativity.  There is a great list shared on this post, but I love the first one on “lack of knowledge and attention” as it is applicable to the work we are doing in schools:

Lack of knowledge and attention.

Knowledge and attention are absolute necessities.  Creative thinking cannot be productively applied until a certain level of knowledge is gathered about the current situation or problem at hand.  Thus, creativity actually relies on both sides of the brain, the creative right side and the logical left side.

The first steps the brain takes when tackling a creative venture are actually governed by logic, not creativity.  This is because most creative breakthroughs rest on the shoulders of everything that came before it.  The logical left side of your brain analyzes the situation and all the known facts, defines the problem that must be solved and then hands the data over to the creative right side of your brain.  In other words, once a creative challenge has been realized, you must first rely on your logic and absorb yourself in what is already known.  Without this logical review process, creativity will drown in misdirection.

The battle between content and process is something we often talk about, but we need to have both.  I think that is well defined in the above example.

2.  This Year’s 10 Best Ted Talks To Share With Students – Edudemic has been doing some great “end of the year” lists which have led to some great resources being shared going into 2012.  Although many Ted Talks are great for adults, these suggestions may be ones that will start some great conversations with students in the classroom.  Definitely check them out.

3.  Smile – Nothing more than I can say then that I love this video and the story it tells.  There are so many great little lessons from this video; it is definitely worth the sixteen minutes just for the smile it will bring to your face.

I hope that everyone has a great week and enjoys their well deserved holidays

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo shared by linda 21

There are two more weeks of school until the Christmas break yet I am continuously inspired by educators and their work ethic coming into the final weeks.  I know that it is easy to shut down and start throwing in videos for kids to watch, but they always take their cues from us.  Keep the kids engaged in their learning and they won’t shut down before Christmas.  With that being said, we always need to continuously build relationships with our students and I hope that one of the videos will help to put a smile on the face of you and your students.

1.  Edu180ATL Project: Sabrina Manns – This inspiring project from the Atlanta learning community (which has also inspired the 184 project in Parkland School Division) shares a transparency that is so refreshing for the world of education.  As the author discusses, it is imperative that if we set high expectations for our students, we must model those same actions:

With this realization that my writing skills are seriously lacking, I am reminded of the importance of truly practicing what I tell my students to do.  If I tell my students I want them to be like professional writers, writing every day about the big and little things that happen in their lives, then I need to be writing every day. If I tell my students being a good scientist requires being observant of the world around them, then I need to heighten my awareness of what’s going on around me.

It is posts like this that continuously inspire me to share my own learning and be reflective in my practice.  Definitely read this entire post, share it, as hopefully it will inspire other educators.

2. New Ways of Learning In A Rapidly Changing World – John Seely Brown is one of my favourite authors in education and this eight minute video is one definitely worth watching.  If you like the video, his book “A New Culture of Learning” is also pretty amazing.

3.  Dancing With An Ipod in Public (Christmas Edition) – I could probably discuss how this video has to do with learning and how people just love creating and sharing their passions.  In reality, I just want to share it because it put a giant smile on my face this week.  That simple.

Enjoy.

Have an amazing week!

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo shared by mikefisher821

I can’t believe it is December already, but time tends to move fast when you love what you do  There are so many great things that I saw this last week, that it was tough to decide on just three, so I picked four instead.  Some of the links that I am going to share this week literally brought me to tears, and whenever I feel that emotion from what something shares, I think it is essential that I share with the rest of the world.

1.  A Father’s Personal Accounting – Stephen Kennedy, wrote this beautiful and reflective post about his own three children and the education that he thought was important for them.  I love personal posts as I truly believe that it is emotion that will move school forward, not only data.  If people are invoked to do something by the heart, they are more likely to do it.

Here is a quote from his post:

I believe my children – and to be fair to my extraordinary wife, “our” children – are unique, bright, and creative young people.  But I have to tell you, yours are as well.  Where education has to go next is personalizing itself to bring out that uniqueness, that brightness, that creativity in all children.  We’re lodged in conventions that work – but they don’t work as well as they could.

Things are changing.  My children, your children, and all of us have to collaborate, communicate, and conspire together to minimize the lost opportunities.  I take that process personally, very personally.

Read this post as it is masterful and touching in the way it talks about education moving forward in such a personal way.

2.  Making Learning Visible – Neil Stephenson, an educator at the Calgary Science School, shared some awesome work from his students and educators, which always provides other educators with some amazing ideas on how they can implement this into their own work.  It is a simple, yet powerful post that discusses not only the final product of learning, but the process.  It is essential that students are given the time to reflect on the process of learning, to not only understand what works for them, but to also understand how far they have really come.

3.  Learning About Blogs For Your Students –  Silvia Tolisano talks about the importance of reflection in the process of teaching, and takes some of the “push-back” phrases that she has heard and deconstructs each argument:

I do see blogging as a journey. It is not as simple as waking up one morning and deciding “Let me blog with my students” or attending one Professional Development workshop or conference presentation about blogging and thinking to yourself: “I’ll start blogging on Monday.”

The journey begins with reading blogs, but it has to continue with WRITING.

I firmly believe, that an educator who expects his/her students to blog for learning, NEEDS to be blogging for their own learning. 

Blogging has been something that has really helped me to reflect and grow in my own practice and it is something that I institute regularly into my own practice.  I am glad I am not the only one who thinks this is important.  (You can also read this great post on blogging by Dean Shareski.)

4.  What’s Going On – This video was shared today with the #psd70 hashtag by Jenni McIlhone and I was blown away by the power and the emotion of this child trying to reach out after being bullied for several years.  I remember my own childhood being bullied and know that those scars last forever, and I found myself remembering how tough it was to be a kid while I watched the simple sentences this child shared.  As he moves forward, you can see the struggle that he is going through yet is obviously trying to use a venue like YouTube as either a cry for help or therapeutic means.

Please be aware that although this is a great video to share with kids, there is some strong language in the names that the boy is being called.  It is uncomfortable to watch but again, it gives a picture of what the child is going through.

I am hoping that there is something within these four links that will help your practice or will continue to push thinking ahead.  I am always inspired by the work of others; no wonder the year goes so quick!

Have a great week!

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Kati.Rodrigues