Tag: discussion

[#ukedchat] Can we really help our students to become independent learners or are there too many constraints?

uked11

I have the distinct pleasure of hosting #ukedchat this evening.

The poll is closed and the winning question is:

“Can we really help our students to become independent learners or are there too many constraints?”

In order to address this question effectively, I wish to begin by considering first what is meant by ‘Independent Learning’? What does an ‘independent learner’ look like? One of the strengths of #ukedchat is that the educators who get involved represent a diverse cross-section of the education landscape; from KS1 all the way up to HE. I’m sure that we will all have different perspectives on what an ‘independent learner’ is.

I then wish to address the winning question and consider if it is possible to help the students in our classrooms to become independent learners.

  • What are the constraints (if any) that get in the way of students’ becoming independent learners?
  • How can we as educators (and the students) overcome those constraints?
  • What skills do students need in order for them to take ownership of their learning and become effective independent learners?
  • What strategies do we use to teach and/or facilitate independent learning?

I hope that you will be able to join in with this evening’s discussion – proceedings get underway at 8pm on Twitter. If you’ve never taken part in #ukedchat before, there is advice here on the best ways to get started.

[Update: Saturday, 15 October] This was the 67th instalment of #ukedchat. You can read a summary of the discussion here and download a PDF archive of all the tweets here.

Google Docs in the Classroom – A Discussion

To help clarify my thoughts while writing my School-based Enquiry, I decided it would be helpful to discuss the use of Google Docs in the classroom with a fellow teacher. Oliver Quinlan has been using Google Docs in much the same way as I have and he kindly agreed to be interviewed over Skype. The interview quickly turned into more of a discussion and we ended up talking for 35 minutes. I have broken up the recording into four parts for manageable listening however should you wish to download and listen to a single file, follow this link.

In the discussion we cover everything from collaboration, assessment, live marking, setting up, Google Apps, Moodle, wikis, forums and Google+.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Related posts:

In the Vital Hotseat

VitalMy colleague, Greg Hodgson, and I are currently hosting a Vital Hotseat adding our knowledge, experitse and opinions to a two week discussion titled: ‘Enhancing Creativity Through Digital Media‘.

Topics under discussion so far include: ‘Getting in the creative habit‘ and ‘Collaborative work with external partners‘.

You need a Vital account to join the discussion but it is free and takes little time to set up. Along with hosting forum based events such as this, Vital also support TeachMeets and provide a wide range of resources for educators on their website.

So please, sign up and join the discussion.

Boo #3: #TMMoodle, #ETRU & #readforjoy

Links:

TeachMeet – Wiki
Lessig method
My TeachMeet Moodle blog post
TeachMeet Moodle – Wiki
#TMMoodle – Twapper Keeper archive
My TeachMeet Moodle blog post at Open Source Schools
Daniel Needlestone’s refelctions on #TMMoodle
Dai Barnes’ #TMMoodle blog post
EdTechRoundUp
This weeks #ETRU flash meeting
Subscribe to the #ETRU podcast via iTunes or RSS
MoodleCommons.org – A place to share Moodle courses
PodCamp – An alternative style of unconference
#teachread (or should that be #readforjoy?)
World of Books – Google Maps

Tweeps:

Miles Berry (@mberry)
Daniel Needlestone (@nstone)
Dai Barnes (@daibarnes)
Helen Morgan (@nellmog)
Tony Shepherd (@grumbledook)
Doug Belshaw (@dajbelshaw)
Bill Lord (@joga5)

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You can subscribe to my Boos via iTunes or RSS

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You can contact me by Email or Twitter.

#edread – Ideas & Values

edread wordle

While resources, websites and apps are helpful tools I am firmly of the belief that it is the attitude and values that you take into the classroom with you that will have the greatest impact on whether you can engage your students in reading.

Here is a compendium of ideas and values shared by the wonderful members of my Twitter PLN that you can use to help your students engage in reading:

  • “Set kids free to read”
  • “Recognise everything that they read” – e.g. Science text book, comics, the web
  • “Make sure kids are aware of all the things they read”
  • “Read in front of your students”
  • “Read to your students”
  • “Read the books you love”
  • “Use graphic novels”
  • “Use e-books”
  • “Take them to the library”
  • “Take them to the library regularly”
  • “Talk about books in class”
  • “Get students to review and recommend books”
  • “Drop everything and read”
  • “Make time to read”
  • “Let them read what they want”
  • “Let them sit on the floor and read”
  • “Keep spare books in your room – let the students read/borrow them”
  • “Encourage them to read about what they are interested in”
  • “Show them different ways of picking books”
  • “Say its okay if they don’t want to read today – let them research instead – its a type of reading too!”
  • “Create a culture of reading”
  • “Make sure they can access non-fiction texts”
  • “Encourage students to read aloud”
  • “Encourage them to read in groups”
  • “Don’t forget films!”
  • “Create book displays”
  • “Get authors in school”
  • “Get students to keep reading journals”
  • “For some reading needs to be challenging”
  • “Expose them to a wide variety of texts”
  • “Ask students to buy/download books – ownership helps them value it”
  • “Encourage them to explore reading”
  • “Be enthusiastic”
  • “Don’t be a reading snob”
  • “Any text will do! As long as they are reading”
  • “Read well – make books come to life”

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the #edread discussion.  I’m not going to post on this topic for a while but I will add resources to the main #edread page as they are shared on Twitter.

Remember you can see all of the tweets here and all of the resources that have been shared here.

Image created using Wordle.