Current Events

 Current Events Posting Five

I found this article from a local paper through a twitter posting. It states that school board officials are working on developing a district-wide social media policy. While it doesn't contain many details about what such a policy would cover, it mentions the possibility of reworking the existing code of conduct to include social media.  With countless students and staff already using social media, some for educational purposes, it is high time that the district included this new domain in their purview.  The paper mentions a very unfortunate incident as a reason for initiating this process, but many other incidents on a smaller scale have already occurred, and staff need a consistent policy for dealing with them.  Schools are responsible for anything that impacts the school environment, and with so many students and staff using social media, it is sure to impact the school environment in both negative and positive ways.  Have any of your schools or districts created concrete social media policies to govern expectations and consequences? 


Current Events Posting Four

My principal showed me this slideshare by Brian Kuhn from Coquitlam called "Targeting Technology for Maximum Student Benefit."

Brian Kuhn Slideshare

He starts by stating that our current model of education, based on preparing children for work in factories, is ineffective and irrelevant in today's world.  Nothing new.  What I found interesting was the slide where he introduced 4 ways of adopting technology in the classroom (slide 9).  From substitution, where high-tech tools are directly substituted for low tech tools with no functional change in the activity, to redefinition, where high-tech tools allow the teacher (or students) to create tasks that were inconceivable in a lower-tech world, Kuhn then provides examples of all of these kinds of technology use in the classroom.  I found this very interesting in light of many conversations that I have had with my colleagues about whether a particular piece of technology was actually improving their students' learning, or whether it just had an impressive appearance from the outside.  I can still teach an engaging lesson that requires students to think critically and collaborate using only paper and pencil, which some of Kuhn's quotes imply is impossible, but I am starting to find ways to incorporate technology into my classroom that actually allow us to do things that we couldn't before.


Current Events Posting Three

I follow Ted Talks on Twitter, and I noticed this interesting video, in which Joe Sabia talks about the evolution of storytelling technology from cave paintings to the iPad.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/joe_sabia_the_technology_of_storytelling.html

I thought it was interesting that he talked about how humans have always told stories, and while the stories themselves haven't really changed, the ways we use technology to tell our stories have changed so much.  He uses an iPad projected on to a large screen to assist his storytelling endeavour, and it is quite ingenious how he uses many different apps and tools to add visual interest to his story.  From an educational perspective, it is interesting to think about how we use different technologies to engage our students.  From whiteboard drawings, to puppets, to video clips on YouTube, we are constantly striving to grab and hold our students' attention in new and innovative ways.  Joe Sabia demonstrates a new way to use the instant interactivity of an iPad to add visual interest to any presentation.

Current Events Posting Two

I follow George Stroumboulopoulos on Google Reader, and noticed this interesting post today.

http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/world/president-obama-confirms-us-drone-strikes-via-social-media.html

It discusses (and shows) how U.S. President Obama confirmed drone activity in Iraq during a Google Plus "hangout" event, which was broadcast live on youtube.  I had never heard of one of these events, but thought that it was a fascinating way for people to interact, through a mediator, but still fairly spontaneously, with their political leaders.  I don't know the details of how the program works, but think that it would be interesting just to show an event like this (preferably with Canadian politicians) to my Grade 4/5 class.  It would be amazing if they could actually ask their leaders questions, but even just viewing an event like this would help instill the idea that politicians are responsible to the people, and the people are responsible for being aware and involved with their country's politics.

Current Events Posting One

This interview aired on January 22 on Spark on CBC Radio One. The link to the full interview is here.

http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2012/01/full-interview-rhonda-mcewen-on-tablets-and-students-with-autism-3/

 Rhonda McEwen is conducting a study on the use of iPads in the classroom with students with ASD. She has seen these tablets lead to students with social anxiety and difficulties initiating social interactions and joint attention activities with peers. She also discusses the use of these tablets with all children, and the changes this is having on the nature of the classroom dynamic and environment. She brings up the issue of preparing students to interact with the world.