Recently Dan McGuire left an interesting comment on this blog – a comment that sparked a number of thoughts for me. I thought I’d write a response rather than just a comment back.  Thanks Dan! Dan wrote: “For me, though, a common thread to all disciplines is communication, and disciplined communication means recording the...
Read more »

I’ve been neglecting my Thinking in Mind site for the last little while.  Having a brand new baby over the summer was definitely my focus! I loved having 6 luxurious weeks to get to know my new son. What a gift… Lately, I’ve been working away on a bunch of blog posts at our...
Read more »

I’m offering four workshops this fall in Calgary – all hosted through the Calgary Regional Consortium.  If you’re interested – or know other teachers who might be – please pass on this information. 1. Google in the Classroom: The Best Free Tools on the Web Over the last number of years Google has release...
Read more »

Over the last couple weeks I’ve been working with one of the Phys Ed teachers at our school, and the two of us have been working on strategies to integrate inquiry-based practices and technology (two of the core goals of our school) into her Phys Ed program. We’ve been tweaking a great football unit...
Read more »

Those of you who follow this blog will know that the focus of my own grade 7 classroom over the last couple years has been the Cigar Box Project. Basically, this involves the remixing of primary source images into new creations, each one expressing students’ understanding of four different themes in Canadian history. The...
Read more »

I had 18 people at my CRC session last week on Assessment and Technology and the feedback was great. I was a bit worried going in, mostly since assessment is such a complex and crucial component to designing learning, but I tried to be honest about my own learning, and the places where I’ve...
Read more »

I just collected the third round of the Cigar Box panels from this year’s students. As I’ve written before, the purpose of this cigar panel was for students to imagine what a propaganda poster might have looked like from the Rebellions of 1837. Here’s some of the student work: Some students used Gawker to...
Read more »

I want to share what I think is a great use of SMART tools for math. We are a 1:1 school with 600 students, and each laptop has SMARTBoard tools as part of the image.  I think SMARTBoard tools are very powerful, and can be used without the physical SMARTboard. A math teacher at...
Read more »

Image from Flickr: Laurie::Liquid Paper I’ve been a 1:1 teacher for the last three years, and feel incredibly lucky to work in a school that has a forward-looking approach to technology integration. This means I’ve had the permission and resources to experiment with any applications and webtools that I see fit. Capturing Student Voice...
Read more »

Yesterday and today I am attending a two day workshop on Professional Development and Leadership. The workshop is being hosted by Joellen Killion, Deputy Executive Director of the National Staff Development Council. Yesterday’s session focused on Professional Development, and the reasons why PD often has no impact. What I found very powerful was the...
Read more »