2008 January

Entries from January 28th, 2008

Picking up the conversation where we left off

January 28th, 2008 · 5 Comments · Educon 2.0

I’m reflecting on Educon 2.0 this morning and the most powerful parts of it for me. One of the most powerful aspects for me was online community turned real community -that in 140 characters on Twitter , bit by bit, you create connections with other educators. And when you meet them, it’s like you are just picking up [...]

Conversations that matter

January 27th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Educon 2.0

I’ll be writing more for weeks I’m sure about the conversations and sessions at Educon this weekend, but in looking over my notes this morning, the thing that strikes me the most is the power of conversation in learning. One of the most powerful part of Kevin Jarrett’s and Sylvia Martinez’s session, “Influence Without Authority” about [...]

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Stretching our gaze outward

January 26th, 2008 · No Comments · Educon 2.0

Kate left a comment on my blog yesterday about personal learning networks, and that now all we need to do is show teachers the why. And sitting here, at Educon 2.0, surrounded by so many other dedicated professionals that I never would have met otherwise, is my reason why. There are educators and bloggers from [...]

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Learning from peers

January 23rd, 2008 · 2 Comments · Educon 2.0, Teacher Learner

This summer, at the NECC conference, I was sorry to have missed the first “Educon” — an informal gathering of educators/bloggers who had only previously met virtually –who were meeting in Atlanta to talk informally about education. Tomorrow I’m leaving for an experience I am very excited about–and the seeds of which were planted at [...]

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Keeping it real

January 18th, 2008 · 6 Comments · Staff development, Teacher Learner

Quite a bit of conversation has been circulating around the blogosphere lately about personal learning networks and how to move them into the professional practice of teachers. Scott Schwister pushed at that idea in a “must read” recent post, asking “How do we show the learning that happens through personal learning networks?” He concludes by [...]

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Welcome to School Library Journal readers!

January 17th, 2008 · 4 Comments · Web 2.0

If you’re stopping by after reading my recent article on using Skype in libraries, welcome! Skype also is an excellent tool for bringing in experts/other librarians into workshops you are presenting, by the way, even if they can’t attend in person. One of the best things about using Skype is it brings you and your students closer to [...]

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How about some wheat bread?

January 15th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Research

Professor Tara Brabazon of the University of Brighton is concerned about student uses of Google and Wikipedia. She is giving an upcoming lecture in Brighton which piqued my interest, entitled “Google is White Bread for the Mind.” While I am always amazed by Google, and by no means go so far as she does(banning students [...]

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What if your library had no walls?

January 10th, 2008 · 3 Comments · libraries, Renovation, Web 2.0

Literally. And figuratively. This is the question I’ll be trying to answer for the next year or so, because this is our library. Is a library defined purely by just its “stuff” or by the services the staff provides? The time for thinking a library is just a warehouse has passed. We can deliver services to [...]

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From the ground up

January 7th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Change

Fascinating interview with Alvin Toffler in Edutopia which dovetails with my post a couple of days ago about Sir Ken Robinson’s approach to rethinking education. While I don’t agree with everything that Toeffler says, I do think it’s refreshing to see someone approach this complex problem with some understanding of the complexity and particularly the [...]

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Desperately seeking engagement

January 6th, 2008 · 7 Comments · Research

A chance plea from a parent and colleague Brian Smith on Twitter today led to a long discussion online about the research process and how it could be so much more meaningful for students than it is. Smith was struggling to work with his 14 year old to generate a research topic. The assignment the student [...]

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