Principal Ramblings

Math Dude

As I’ve started to subscribe to more and more podcasts, I find myself taking them for a “test drive” and trying to see how they might be applicable to school life, learning and instruction. This weekend I started listening to a series of podcasts around educational content and found one that I really like. I like this one in particular because I feel like it works for adults and students. It’s called The Math Dude. I listened to three or four episodes in my car this morning and I really enjoy the way that this fella presents math. I found it interesting and motivating. The website for the program is at http://mathdude.quickanddirtytips.com/ or you can find the podcast at the itunes store.

Hair Today, Colored Tomorrow!

When Jennifer Caron came to me and said that we had the opportunity to have Sue Luck, principal of Rick Marcotte Central School, come and present about a school in Gwollu I never thought that the students would be so moved by it. Our students were presented a challenge. Simply, it was that if they worked hard to “take responsibility” and help out this school in another country I would do something at the annual PTO talent show. In a matter of a day the students had filled the jars in their classrooms and then some. In talking to one student I realized that my doing something at the talent show was fine, but it only worked for those students who could attend and it may not be as representative of the students effort as it should be. So, this particular student, who I’m told donated more than thirty dollars of his own money thought that it might be a bigger and better idea for me to dye my hair on March the 19th. That way all students would be able to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment during the school day and that night at the talent show. Thus it became so! Anyone know how long that stuff stays in your hair?

Thinking Ahead…Like Twenty Years Ahead!

As we strive to help our students become 21st century learners, we realize that we are also 21st century learners.  Our comfort levels, knowledge and approaches to our changing world impact the manner if which our students view and approach learning everyday.  In an effort to create a shared vision of what 21st century learning looks like we are beginning several things.  As mentioned in an earlier post we are beginning the process of taking a self inventory as a staff of where we feel we are in terms of 21t century learning.  This survey will soon be available for families as well.  Another effort that we are starting to plan is around informal adult learning sessions around 21st century tools, web 2.0 resources and concepts that surround the two.  We have started to put together a list of topics that adults, parents and staff, may enjoy having some informal training on…or at the very least, a chance to explore and ask questions about.  One request that has come through was for a session on Facebook, which is a good place to start the conversation about social networking and the responsibilities associated with it. Other things that we’ve put on the list range from the “basic” to “advanced” levels with things like e mail skills, RSS feeds, blogging and collaborative environments.  We’re looking for more.  We are looking for things that you want to learn about.  Drop us an e mail or let us know about the types of things that would benefit you. To be clear, we are not looking to debate the benefits of these different tools, but only to provide some more information about each that might help us all make wise decisions as 21st century learners.

How the Web Works

This was a nice link to a BBC slideshow explaining how the web works. Nice resource for a quick explanation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8552415.stm

Thank you Stacy

Those of you who have made it in to our office in the last couple of weeks may have noticed a new face in the office. Stacy Carter has been subbing for Darla Burgess for the last couple of weeks.  Those of you who know the in’s and out’s of a school office understand the complexity of a day and the amount of energy that it takes to keep pace with it all.  Stacy did an amazing job, brightened each and every student’s day and helped us keep the UCS office moving straight ahead!  We all want to thank Stacy for her hard work and dedication.  While we are very excited to have Darla return to us, we will miss having Stacy around. Thank you Stacy!

The MILE Guide

As the quest for 21st century learning continues, it was nice to find a fantastic guide to helping the conversation move along. Today we looked at the MILE guide from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. This guide is specifically designed to help districts determine where they are on the spectrum of 21st century skills integration and then use that information to plan a path for future work that brings 21st century skills in their systems of learning. This guide was impressive from the start. It really depersonalizes the discomfort that some have with technology by basing the conversation on the process, the skills and the content. I’m anxious to work with it further. Check out the link at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=800&Itemid=52

Ernest Boyer, past president, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

It is no longer enough simply to read and write. Students must also become literate in the understanding of visual images. Our children must learn how to spot a stereotype, isolate a social cliche, and distinguish facts from propaganda, analysis from banter, and important news from coverage.

Town meeting

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who was able to attend the school information night last night. Everyone brought good questions and we always enjoy the chance to discuss UCS. Thank you for your participation and support.

Personal Branding

I was just listening to a podcast from SPARK, a Canadian based tech show, about something I had never heard, but already knew about.  It was talking about “personal branding.” The basics of it were that with so much of our lives online now we are becoming responsible for maintaining a “brand” and that brand is ourselves, or the image of ourselves that is presented via media.  The guest commentator was Anand Giridharadas who can be found at http://anandgiridharadas.com/  and Spark information is available at http://www.cbc.ca/spark/  This particular piece resonated with me for many reasons including the consideration of my own “brand,” but also in regards to one particular comment that I think Anand made where he said “we are becoming a world where words really matter.”  What he was talking about was the increasing use of social media for sharing of information by politicians and most recently in regards to diplomacy.  A connection that I made with this statement was…wow…he’s right!  I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve sent an e mail, made a post or something similar where the words didn’t truly reflect what my message was meant to be.  Words are becoming more and more important in conveying thought.  When I think about students and the world in which they are going to need to navigate I wonder what ways we are teaching and guiding them in the importance of words.  Great podcast!

Blogging for Literacy

This blog piece had a great list of the skills that students can learn from blogging and other web 2.0 applications.  This list really resonated with many of us as we work toward better 21st Century Learning at UCS.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/02/let-your-students-blog.html