3 Days in Philly aka Educon

I'm still too tired to write about my experiences at Educon, but mind is mulling over many conversations, tweets and panel discussions! I loved the passion and energy at this event. I'm documenting this blog as my memory backup and I thank the author for a great synopsis... it appears we attended many of the same sessions! Now... on to a bit of work for tomorrow and some SLEEP! I don't have time or energy to stay on Twitter tonight, but I'm sure there are many great reflective blogs based on the weekend's conversations. THANK YOU Middle School Librarian for the blogpost!

The ipods are coming, the ipods are coming

So... what will we do with the ipods? I hear they are coming soon! Put in work tickets for apps that you like... hmmm? I found this blog tonight... she may help me think this tool through a bit more. I love the mobility of these tools... and the motivation factor for kids. But... what are you doing with them that's truly creative. I want to know... I want to learn. Show me. Can't wait... the ipods are coming...

Expectations impact abilities to Respond to Student Learning??

Responding to Paula...

Paula- As always I love how you share your experiences with the world to give us real stories to reflect and connect with. Thank you for continuing to give your students the opportunities and freedoms to guide their own learning, not to mention, your learning. And the best part is that you respond and RECOGNIZE this! I wish that more educators would slow down, observe and listen to their students and then reflect on what the students are doing, saying, asking, etc. So often, we as educators have our own plans, our own worksheets, our own state-driven curriculum, our own bubble sheets, and we don’t let students lead their learning. I wish we understood that we can do the standards as a minimum in most cases, the mundane bubble sheet if necessary, and so much more relevant and fun learning, if we truly read and respond to our students and their interests, curiosities and reasoning… we can guide at a much deeper level when we do this! So, how can teachers learn to trust that this kind of responding to students can lead to not just the minimal standards but deeper lifelong learner standards. I think we should always think about our own behaviours when watching our students… don’t we not finish books because we don’t like them? Don’t we disregard rules of games to make it what we want/need? What are the habits of mind that we want to instill. And the even bigger picture of all of this…When is it okay to not follow rules? When is it okay to use something in a completely different way than it’s intended… Think about how science, technology and the arts have grown from this action!! How does the world really work and what is our role in this world. Okay, I’m rambling and not able to articulate what I want to end with… but I LOVE this posting and I hope when I go back to the classroom, that I can follow my hopes and dreams of recognizing and responding to student learning in powerful ways! I expect to learn a lot from my students! But what will I do with this learning??

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms