Wow!
Doug Johnson did it again! His post today is right on the money! In these times, when so many of us are fighting for our libraries to stay open, professionally staffed, and even nominally funded, Doug has given us some crucial advocacy tools.
What Does a Good Library Tell You About a School?
It's a must-read and a great post to share widely!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Great Advocacy Tips To Consider
An interesting presentation full of school library advocacy tips appeared in my Google Reader this morning. It is shared on docstoc , and created by some Canadian colleagues, I believe. Frankly, I do not know how the person who shared it on docstoc is associated with the creators, and assume that it was meant, by the creators (Sharon Armstrong & Valerie Bureau), to be shared. I hope that Armstrong or Bureau will notify me here if this was not their intention.
This presentation outlines dozens of interesting ways to advocate for your school library program--practical ways to use data, schedule creatively, and meet student needs in the less-than-perfect situations that many of us find is our reality! Well worth a look!
keep -
This presentation outlines dozens of interesting ways to advocate for your school library program--practical ways to use data, schedule creatively, and meet student needs in the less-than-perfect situations that many of us find is our reality! Well worth a look!
keep -
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
K12 Online 09 is Here!
Hooray!
It's time again for the K12 Online Conference to begin! I can't wait! This is one of the most useful and exciting conferences around--and it's FREE! Thanks go to Wes Fryer and the many conveners that have put in so, soooo many hours making this conference happen! It is a lasting and significant professional learning experience for so many of us all over the world!
Join the sharing and learning, starting Friday, Dec 4! ( Schedule is here.) Until then, enjoy Kim Coffino's thought-provoking PreConference Keynote presentation, Going Global: Culture Shock, Convergence and the Future of Education. Be sure to join the discussion, sharing and learning on the K12Online Ning as well!
It's time again for the K12 Online Conference to begin! I can't wait! This is one of the most useful and exciting conferences around--and it's FREE! Thanks go to Wes Fryer and the many conveners that have put in so, soooo many hours making this conference happen! It is a lasting and significant professional learning experience for so many of us all over the world!
Join the sharing and learning, starting Friday, Dec 4! ( Schedule is here.) Until then, enjoy Kim Coffino's thought-provoking PreConference Keynote presentation, Going Global: Culture Shock, Convergence and the Future of Education. Be sure to join the discussion, sharing and learning on the K12Online Ning as well!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Sir Ken Robinson on The Element
I discovered Sir Ken Robinson through my PLN a couple of year ago, and he is one of the people that I most love listening to and learning from. What a mind he has. I would love to hear him at a conference one of these days. He's very eloquent and always makes me think differently about the world.
The video below supports his latest book, The Element, and in it, Robinson explores what element it is that elevates us to greatness. He contends that those who have a passion for our job are the more successful and fulfilled. Our task as educators is to connect our kids to their passions and engage them through those passions. Sounds a lot like a differentiated modern classroom to me--a goal/dream for many of us.
Enjoy!
The video below supports his latest book, The Element, and in it, Robinson explores what element it is that elevates us to greatness. He contends that those who have a passion for our job are the more successful and fulfilled. Our task as educators is to connect our kids to their passions and engage them through those passions. Sounds a lot like a differentiated modern classroom to me--a goal/dream for many of us.
Enjoy!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Online Curriculum--is It Improving?
From a link in Wes Fryer's post today, the following video from Dr. Jose Bowen of SMU really hit home:
Online multimedia tools (podcasts, videos, slideshow tools) enable professors to deliver lectures online and, in turn, facilitate authentic learning through discussion and exploration in the face-to-face setting. What an inspiring vision that is! How I wish that this kind of leadership and vision proliferated in today's schools and universities!
I envision a totally online classroom being successful with this model too, if discussion boards are adequately facilitated by interested and skillful faculty. Unfortunately, in my recent online grad classes at a Texas university certainly did not engage me in this way. I'm wondering if most online courses--both 9-12 and university--are so poorly designed.
My daughter, a sophomore in college, is currently living the nightmare of poor online curriculum design, and it is such a shame! This summer, she has taken both an online German language, and a political science class to satisfy degree requirements at her university. They have both been horrifically tedious for her and I would dare to guess that very little authentic learning has taken place--it's been more about us paying for the course and her checking the course off her list. I daresay no meaningful learning has taken place, although she has earned A's in the classes. Very frustrating in a time when an engaging and community-enhanced curriculum could have provided a rich experience.
Her current poli sci course literally consists only of reading a chapter from the breathtakingingly expen$ive text, and taking a 20-question online multiple choice quiz over it. Repeat--for twenty chapters! To be fair, the professor has tried to provide some relevant contemporary content to the course by assigning several extra credit readings (even John Stewart's America) and Frontline videos. She's really enjoyed those, and has wanted to talk about them--fortunately, she has her father and me! There is absolutely no collaborative element to the class, and unfortunately, the interesting, contemporary content serves only as extra credit--how many of the students don't even bother to do the extra credit, much less discuss it with someone?
Watch video/take quiz/get extra points. No discussion or exploration of the subjects at all? Can't we do better than that?
Are most online courses utilizing the multimedia and collaborative tools in the way that Dr. Bowen encourages at SMU, or is my experience and that of my daughter the norm? Are more engaging programs on the rise, I hope?
Online multimedia tools (podcasts, videos, slideshow tools) enable professors to deliver lectures online and, in turn, facilitate authentic learning through discussion and exploration in the face-to-face setting. What an inspiring vision that is! How I wish that this kind of leadership and vision proliferated in today's schools and universities!
I envision a totally online classroom being successful with this model too, if discussion boards are adequately facilitated by interested and skillful faculty. Unfortunately, in my recent online grad classes at a Texas university certainly did not engage me in this way. I'm wondering if most online courses--both 9-12 and university--are so poorly designed.
My daughter, a sophomore in college, is currently living the nightmare of poor online curriculum design, and it is such a shame! This summer, she has taken both an online German language, and a political science class to satisfy degree requirements at her university. They have both been horrifically tedious for her and I would dare to guess that very little authentic learning has taken place--it's been more about us paying for the course and her checking the course off her list. I daresay no meaningful learning has taken place, although she has earned A's in the classes. Very frustrating in a time when an engaging and community-enhanced curriculum could have provided a rich experience.
Her current poli sci course literally consists only of reading a chapter from the breathtakingingly expen$ive text, and taking a 20-question online multiple choice quiz over it. Repeat--for twenty chapters! To be fair, the professor has tried to provide some relevant contemporary content to the course by assigning several extra credit readings (even John Stewart's America) and Frontline videos. She's really enjoyed those, and has wanted to talk about them--fortunately, she has her father and me! There is absolutely no collaborative element to the class, and unfortunately, the interesting, contemporary content serves only as extra credit--how many of the students don't even bother to do the extra credit, much less discuss it with someone?
Watch video/take quiz/get extra points. No discussion or exploration of the subjects at all? Can't we do better than that?
Are most online courses utilizing the multimedia and collaborative tools in the way that Dr. Bowen encourages at SMU, or is my experience and that of my daughter the norm? Are more engaging programs on the rise, I hope?
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