Transforming learning

This post originally appeared on the CORE Education blog (Feb 2016)] toka kāhuarau: (noun) metamorphic rock. Ko te toka kāhuarau: Ko te momo toka ka hua mai ina huri te hanga me te āhua o tētahi atu o ngā toka mā te pā mai o te wera me te pēhanga i roto i takanga o […]

Dichotomies: Round 1 | #28daysofwriting Day 6

A few things swirling around the head today, largely as a result of chat on Twitter and elsewhere with folks in the UK, tapping back into some of the shifts in systems and structure over there in the last few years. There were one or two interesting tweets about how some folk saw trendy ‘rubbish’ […]

Personalisation and the use of technologies

“Personalization of learning and emerging technologies are engaged in a policy handshake that must be examined.” This article by Phil McRae – The Politics of Personalization in the 21st Century – has been one of the most useful reads I explored in a while in relation to the way technologies are used – even justified – […]

From voice to dialogue | Meaningful student voice

Today, thanks to Te Toi Tupu, I was really lucky to hear Dr. Rachel McNae, University of Waikato, speak about how we use (and exploit?) student voice in schools. She managed to weave in poetry with Judy Brown’s ‘Fire’, a story about setting fire to the Brownie Guide toadstool and the ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ Pink […]

Pedagogy, not technology

Interesting how, once you see a reference to an idea, it pops up everywhere. And although this work from Michael Fullan came out last year, it’s slid across my radar twice this week. Fullan’s paper – Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform (April, 2011) – highlights that policy makers who select the wrong […]

Are you listening to me?!… Measuring students’ engagement

What does a student look like when they’re not engaged in learning? Slack jawed? Sleepy? Distracted? Angry?…..Absent? And if they are engaged, what does that look like?…Excited? Talking critically about the topic? Full of ideas, enthusiasm and persistence? Anyone who has been a teacher probably has a gut feeling on what this looks like. And […]

What would Pixar do with elearning?

The short film that precedes Toy Story 3 – Day and Night – is a fabulous example of how filmmakers can make the most of the opportunities that are inherent in 3D. While it’s a bit hard to appreciate this in 2D on your computer, this clip, and the making of Day and Night, show […]

Tell me you see a difference between board and screen..?

If there is no difference, then we need to talk. This video by mokmcdaniel – Online Student Experience – highlights in grim tones, how depressing it is to be in a world in which exciting teaching and learning (with and without technology) is possible, but not happening for him. While part of me can appreciate […]

Monday morning. Period 3. The topic today is Effective Pedagogy

– Right. Books open…That’s right, get your books out…What do you mean, which books? The revised curriculum, of course, is there any other?..Right, turn to page 35. Effective pedagogy.Pardon? What did you say? You’re already doing this? Don’t be so foolish, of course you’re not. And even if you are, you need to do it […]