whys and hows

the pencil demonstration – an example of technology that doesn’t fail (and passive aggressive means to reduce lap top use in classrooms) used to leave me satisfied. not so much anymore.  but i am still struggling to see how technology improves the teaching environment.

okay. challenge is to collaborate by curating videos on education/technology.

my personal comfort alarm bells that someone will find out i don’t know anything need to be silenced – i push on.

wait. omidog i’m so behind. it’s not about the teaching. it is about the learning. i’m not being obtuse – i’ve just been slow. so. very. slow.

all those ‘how to hybridize’ courses i’ve taken, the discussions, the swf meetings to establish project time. no wonder i’m frustrated: my perspective was skewed.  i was supposed to be incorporating technology to make the classroom more ‘fun’, tech savvy, and demonstrate my tech knowledge/ability… honestly, there was no clear reason. it just seemed that was the push: award points and value to people who use technology. there’s bandwagon jumping just to avoid being left behind.

i’m so embarrassed. it’s not about me and my teaching: it’s about the learning.

i know that. now i feel like i know that.

 

 

 

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Happy

 

you can’t help but tap toes and feel happy happy happy when listening to this song.  for a while i was trying to use the song as a mantra when student issues or more likely administrative bungles got me in the un- part.

cartwheels – couldn’t resist this one: because cartwheels are fun – sometimes the consequences not so much.  thinking of the person who owns the toe – pure bliss.

finally – women and words and wine.  it’s book club tomorrow night where i will drink, eat, share reading from (this month) Dropped Threads (edition 1) with new and old friends.  how fortunate. how happy.

Challenges of the day

Having joined @ontarioextend #oext116, i find myself thwarted in my daily challenges. ‘just do 5 minutes in the morning’ pleads my tech savvy friend. ugh. there are a myriad of reasons this past week that have resulted in no progress in my daily challenges.

reasons. rationalizations. po-tay-toe. po-tat-o. i didn’t do many.

diving into the marking again to post comments on my students’ progress in their ‘new to you’ assignment: a regular in the critical thinking course i teach wherein i challenge them to adopt a new daily activity (brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand) for 30 days and report on progress.  we’re looking at how regular new activities build neural pathways, increase adaptability, creativity…

get the irony yet?

i didn’t until one entry in particular spoke about the reluctance and downright annoyance at having to do something so simple.  this gem explained how they hated drawing every day – how hard it was to find five minutes to do this in the morning and then after forcing it for two weeks they found it easier and now look forward to the daily 5 minute draw. thanks followed for forcing this issue and exhortations to have me promise not to tell his mom.

so here’s my question: how did terry greene access my student’s blackboard journal?

that’s some techno savvy guy.

thank you.

birdsong

Patch #21 – Just Listen
Chuck Pearson, Tusculum College, Tennessee

The goal is not for the student to mimic your own explanation; the goal is for the student to arrive at their own accurate explanation. That’s not something that happens without intention. That’s something you can make specific plans to develop in the way you organize a class meeting or an assignment. But that requires listening to students in the moment. Feedback isn’t just helpful with a graded report or exam; feedback is useful in the moment, in dialogue with the student where you say as little as possible and you put the student in position to say the most.

ahhhh. thank you Chuck Pearson.

one of my all-time favourite people in this world is Julian Treasure – the self-proclaimed man of sound.  if you have heard of him, you know why he’s someone to be listened to.  mr. treasure speaks of sound with reverence: protect your ears – your ability to hear.

bird song is essential to our lives.  it tells us that everything is okay. birds were carried into mines as safety patrols for gas leaks. birds stopped singing: time to get out.

our students are our birds.  today, a student came to clarify the grading structure – an answer already provided through email but she wanted to make sure so she came to talk. to be listened to. to be heard.

my monkey chatter brain was screeching to get back to the marking pile, to stand up and force the leaving by physical mirroring.

and then she smiled and told me my office was cozy and comforting.

so i leaned back and listened for the bird song.

extend this

@ontarioextend #oext103 expanding to include growth in unexpected places pic.twitter.com/VixOCAegGH

— wendy ward (@wenward) March 6, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

rubberize this sucker

what prompt?

i am trying something new. something exhilarating. ground-breaking. earth-shattering. terrifying. blogging. oh dear lord. what has happened to the sanctuary of my education?

fellow extenders – thank you for the easy welcome. and please bear with me as i stretch some under-used (but well-intended) muscles. or at least start to develop them.

i plan on walking through the forest without any breadcrumbs. someone will come and get me, right? please?!

why? because i am unhappy with the current state of where i am in my role as educator and i am fetching about trying to fix what i can. so i start with me. maybe if i know more, can do more, can use technologies, it will be better.

wish me luck, alice.