Chatting with 4th graders

Chatting with 4th graders

ISB just launched PantherNet. Our Moodle system that syncs (or is trying to) with PowerSchool. It’s still in Beta but early feedback from teachers: “Where has this been?” That’s a good sign! Yesterday I met with a fourth grade teacher eager to see if PantherNet could fit into her classroom. I haven’t used Moodle much in the elementary but there […]

Do you give yourself permission to reflect?

Do you give yourself permission to reflect?

I’ve been thinking about reflection lately and how we use it in our classrooms. I can remember being in elementary school and being asked to reflect in a journal. Reflection is a great process…a proven process of learning. We’ve been asking students to reflect for years in education so one simple question: Do you give yourself permission to reflect during […]

The Stick turns 3!

The Stick turns 3!

I told this story as my 10 minute TED talk at Learning 2.008. As September 19th was The Stick’s 3 year anniversary. The Thinking Stick turned 3 a few days ago and it’s hard to imagine that it’s been 3 years since I installed WordPress and just started writing. As I started looking back through those first posts I started […]

Learning 2.008: A moment

Learning 2.008: A moment

I think these pictures tell the story better than I can. I always have this weird feeling when the conference is over. Part of me is so relieved that it’s over and another part of me never wanted it to end. I was tired, running on pure adrenalin by the end of it but so excited to see educators learning […]

Learning 2.008: No Stage, just conversations

Learning 2.008: No Stage, just conversations

1. Before someone talks you into creating/organizing/hosting a conference make sure you’re prepared for the work ahead. 2. Once you are prepared for the work, double the time you think it will take, multiple that by two, and then you might be close. 3. Always remember you are doing this to better education (or educators) or so you hope. ___________________ […]

Learning 2.008 is about YOU

Learning 2.008 is about YOU

It’s about the learner! This conference is about allowing you the learner to take control of your own learning, to create opportunities for yourself to learn. We have done nothing more than to solicit the help of professional learners to help you in your own learning journey. We talk about teaching students to learn how to learn. Next weekend….you get […]

Thai Cultural Class Reflection 1

Thai Cultural Class Reflection 1

All new international teachers to Thailand must take 20 hours of class work to obtain a Thai Teaching certificate. Today was my first class and our assignment is to reflect on what we learned…..so here I go. What did I learn today? We had a great discussion about the Wai. A common greeting in Thailand much like a handshake. The […]

Communicating from the classroom

Communicating from the classroom

As a technology person you don’t always get to decide where you are going to start with teachers. In fact, most of the time the teachers tell you where you are going to start. Hence my focus on parent communication. Many teachers are looking at using blogs as a way to communicate with their parent communities. Now, before I go […]

Parent Communication: From Print to Digital

Parent Communication: From Print to Digital

Over the last couple of years I have helped numerous teachers set up blogs, wikis, and just plain old html pages to be used to communicate with parents. As some point teachers always ask: “So, I can just copy and paste my newsletter right here?” You can, but you shouldn’t Newsletters do not transfer well to the web. Well, as […]