Learning How to Focus

Take a look at the photo below. What does it tell you? What do you notice? It tells me that with close to 60 tabs open, this student was so distracted by the extension that he/she wasted a significant amount of time being off task. The worrying thing is that if this student continues these patterns…

When is a conversation worth capturing?

How often do we preserve learning today in order to revisit it tomorrow? Podcasting is a perfect medium for capturing conversations.  This week, Ms. Radford asked me to work with small groups from her FIB Global Perspectives course.   Students were grappling with these five moral dilemmas. As the class continues to learn about fostering…

Digital Bytes – 28th November, 2016

Coding apps available on iPads We already have a number of apps available to support coding on our iPads. Starting with Scratch Jr and Daisy the Dinosaur on Infant iPads and then Hopscotch there is something for everyone. If your iPads are updated to iOS 10, you can use Swift Playgrounds which is great for…

Share the story of your field trip

Wish you had more time to share the story of your field trip? Reserve a DLC to work with your students on podcastifying their journey, learning, and a-ha moments.  Learn about the FIB’s most recent work in Bintan, and how they have learned and been inspired by their partnership with The Island Foundation in this…

Parenting in the Digital Age – The Conversation Continues

Being the first group of people to parent the iPad generation certainly is an adventure. On the one hand, we are amazed by their capabilities to navigate between applications, create movies, build websites and FaceTime their grandparents. On the other hand, we may feel anxious about buzzwords like ‘screentime’, ‘game-addiction’, ‘distractions’ and ‘cyber bullying.’ Keep…

Sowing ideas one post at a time

abbyladybugPomegranate Seedsvia Flickr How can we use blogs as fertile fields for ideation? I do believe that my thinking helps to push that of others.  Sometimes in the way they agree, and sometimes when people disagree.  Opinions and ideas are often formed in what people read and how they connect to it.- George Couros I’ve…

Digital Bytes – 21st November, 2016

Instructables Instructables is a great site for seeing what people are making and sharing what you have made. It doesn’t matter what you want to make, a cake, a cardboard robot or anything in between, you can share your process on the site. There are also challenges which you can take a part in if…

Reflection rebranded?

What can we do to repackage the concept of reflection for our students and ourselves? “Reflection isn’t a single thing, a box to check in some elliptical cycle of learning. It’s as much a matter of self-awareness, humility, and affection as it is of timing, sequence, and procedure.” (Read full Edutopia post here) Educators have…

Podcasting as a provocation for EEs?

With the EE carousels around the corner, what can we do to help prepare students? This week I sat down with Georgina and her IBDP Psychology students. Georgina arranged for small groups of her students to meet with me in seven minute rotations. The result of those short chats is the episode of Podcast UWCLearn featured…

Documentation Using Technology

“Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning, observe carefully what children do, and then, if you have understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from before.”  – Loris Malaguzzi  Inspired by the work of Reggio Emilia, UWCSEA East infant teachers have been exploring documentation to make learning and thinking visible. The role…