I finally did it, having spent 18 months using Twitter regularly to support my professional learning, sharing ideas and resources with fellow educators, I participated in a Twitter chat. Having seen these chats advertised by some of the wonderful educators in my professional learning network, getting a sense of what they are and the possible... Continue Reading →
The use of video is an excellent way to support teacher coaching and improvement. In John Hattie’s meta analysis of factors influencing effective teaching, micro teaching (video recording lessons) was in the top 10 strategies used by teachers that have the biggest impact on student learning. Yet despite this evidence plus better and more affordable... Continue Reading →
Most teachers that I meet want to incorporate technology to support and enhance student learning. One conversation particularly stuck in my mind when the teacher said: "Yes, I would like to have my students be more creative with technology, I only wish I knew how to use it [technology] better myself." A number of teachers... Continue Reading →
Many schools employ technology coaches / integrators, though the role they undertake is wide-ranging and differs greatly from school to school. Like many new positions that are created in schools the role evolves as the landscape shifts, particularly with the rapid development of new and different technologies. While this can be difficult to plan for... Continue Reading →
I would probably make a guess that Microsoft Word is the most heavily used piece of software used by teachers yet, from my experience, very few schools give their teachers much training in how to use the application. Given its use in helping teachers and education leaders prepare worksheets, booklets, newsletters and reports, it is... Continue Reading →
In his article for On the Horizon back in 2001, Marc Prensky coined the terms digital native and digital immigrant. Prensky refers to our students as Digital Natives - "all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet." Digital immigrants, on the other hand, are referred to as "those of... Continue Reading →
One fear of teachers with increased use of technology in the classroom is that students do not stay on-task or time is wasted. For some this can be used as an excuse not to engage with technology and avoid its use. In schools that have 1 to 1 device programs, a recurring theme that maybe... Continue Reading →
