At this time of year, I’m often absorbed in reading about the year that was and the year ahead. Goals, predictions, and nostalgic reviews are read, tweeted and shared in many places like Twitter, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, and here on this blog. However, this year I headed into the Chistmas break feeling rather unplugged, and […]
Tag: filters
Challenging the status quo
Educational bloggers blogging about things that need to be changed… This isn’t a post to read from start to finish. Instead, pick a topic that may challenge the status quo in your school or district and dig in. Read, tweet, share, write your own post, comment… it is fodder for YOU to challenge the status […]
Share:
Please help our flat classroom students
Our Grade 9’s are participating in the Flat Classroom Project and they need your help! Part of their final, individual video assignment includes having part of their video outsourced. This is an amazing project, and our students have learned a lot… but this has come with some rather large challenges, most of which arise from […]
Share:
Do schools really need an AUP?
Internet woes continue to haunt me here in China. I just read a great post by Andrew Churches about Acceptable Use Agreements in Junior School (often referred to as AUP’s or Acceptable Use Policies as well). Andrew questions the value of these documents. I wrote a comment response, clicked the ‘post’ button & got another […]
Share:
On being an agent of change
My profile byline on many online sites says, A husband, a parent… An educator, a student… A thinker, a dreamer… An agent of change. I think it says a lot about me, who I am, and who I want to be. But I’ve been thinking about change a lot recently, and I’ve had to deal […]
Share:
Choose Your Battle
Choose your position: Are you a gatekeeper, policemen, guard… or teacher? All these jobs are necessary, but which one belongs in schools? Choose your battle: Filters that also filter learning -or- High expectations about appropriate use? Banning POD’s -or- High expectations about appropriate use? Teaching without technology -or- High expectations about appropriate use? Make no mistake, having […]
Share:
Great things in the classroom
Here is a little tribute I shared with my staff at our staff meeting today. I took 3 or 4 of the photos last week, and then yesterday I visited classes and took the rest. It seems that whenever I talk to my staff the conversation is always about the things we need to do […]
Share:
Warning! We Filter Websites at School
I’m at a Canadian School in China. At a staff meeting I shared a thoughtful blog post by a student reporter for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. It’s a great post by a student that went and visited ‘Tent City’, built to house the city’s homeless during the Olympics: Olympic Games Side Effects on Vancouver. My […]
Share:
Openness and Acceptance, Mr Deng and his Allegories of Windows, Flies and Coloured Cats
We just completed a vacation in Xi’an, one of China’s oldest cities and the starting point for the silk road. The silk road was the first gateway to and from the Orient, it was the first real global link to the ‘Eastern’ countries of India and China. Trade of spices and silk, as well as […]
Share:
Bubble Wrap
After a month in China, I’ve come to realize that North Americans live in a bubble wrapped world. In the ‘Western’ world we walk around oblivious to our surroundings, going about our business feeling safe and secure. I don’t mean safe in the sense of being cautious of others, since in actual fact, I have […]
