Comments for Metanoia

Comment on Not Skills or Content but cSHED by Darren Draper

Darren Draper — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:49:55 +0000

I really like what you’re saying here, but would caution you to consider the varying types of “being” and preferred “habits of mind” that exist out there. One group’s definition of life-ready likely differs from another. Also, what roles should church and other community efforts play in helping to prepare a child for life?

Comment on Tools are Made for Making by Scott McLeod

Scott McLeod — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 13:32:14 +0000

Most of what I might say in response to this I’ve said at Doug’s blog already. I appreciate the pushback. It’s always good to know when one’s message doesn’t resonate and why.

http://goo.gl/4QwCZ
and
http://goo.gl/5H9A8

Comment on Tools are Made for Making by Doug Johnson

Doug Johnson — Fri, 31 May 2013 19:04:29 +0000

Hi Ryan,

If I’da read yours first, I wouldn’t have had to have written mine:

Glad I am not the only who looked at Scott’s comments a little differently.

Doug

Comment on Tools are Made for Making by Darren Draper

Darren Draper — Fri, 31 May 2013 15:55:01 +0000

And, I would add, honey catches more flies than vinegar.

Comment on Who is Responsible for Professional Development by Jennie Snyder

Jennie Snyder — Mon, 27 May 2013 21:26:58 +0000

Ryan, Great piece! i particularly appreciate your emphasis on acknowledging that “professional development” as it is currently conceptualized in schools must change. I tried to explore the tension between a profession that espouses active, self-directed learning for children, while leaving our mental models for adult learning largely intact (in my most recent blog post: “Do We Practice What we Preach?”: http://jenniesnyder.com/2013/05/26/do-we-practice-what-we-preach/). I agree that adult learners need to take responsibility for and actively engage in their own learning. Thank you for your insights!

Comment on Who is Responsible for Professional Development by Ray Ward

Ray Ward — Mon, 27 May 2013 19:59:42 +0000

To address these professional development issues and to acknowledge that the demands of engaged learning using technology may lead to longer class periods, more team teaching, and more interdisciplinary work (Lockwood, 1999), the school district may have to make some adjustments to the school-day schedule. One adjustment might consist of arranging preparation times of teachers in the same content areas to coincide in order to allow collaboration in planning and study. Another adjustment is to make small changes in daily scheduling in order to make a substantial difference over time: If teachers arrive five minutes early, shave five minutes off their lunch hour, and expand the day by five minutes, they gain 15 minutes they can “bank” each day to buy a 75-minute block of time for professional development one day each week. Students can be released early on this day or can be supervised by substitute teachers or parent volunteers. Teachers can use the weekly time to plan, to learn from each other, or to connect to outside networks. For example, teachers can schedule a voluntary weekly “inquiry meeting” (Lockwood, 1999) or devote weekly time for whole-faculty study groups . Another way to allow time for teachers of the same subjects to team-teach or otherwise collaborate is to use block scheduling . Schools may use a variety of creative ideas and strategies to provide professional development time.

Comment on My Principal Doesn’t Need to Blog by Dave Eckstrom

Dave Eckstrom — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:29:58 +0000

I have not had an administrator in my room for more than 30 seconds for 6 years. My former superintendent said it is not necessary, as he knew exactly who the bad teachers were without even having met them.

Comment on Habits and Habitats: Rethinking Learning Spaces for the 21st Century by Prejudice in the Classroom: Reflections Based on Observations | My Thinking Corner

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:35:22 +0000

[...] Habits and Habitats: Rethinking Learning Spaces for the 21st Century (ryanbretag.com) [...]

Comment on Digital Learning Pilot Report by Valerie Dusza

Valerie Dusza — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:17:28 +0000

Wow, what a great program! I recently adopted the Chromebook for myself and I love it. I love the quote from the teacher “we need to realize
that the best device for our students may change as the devices change.” Technology is changing all the time and so must education. Thanks for sharing your findings.

Comment on Distraction Isn’t Just About What You’re Doing by Graham Wegner

Graham Wegner — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:42:33 +0000

I notice a lot of what you’re noticing when it comes to technology use in the classroom especially when iPads, smartphones, ultrabooks etc make it easy for the distraction potential to be too hard to ignore. Screens have always had this appeal – I remember teaching in a disadvantaged school in the early 90′s when there was one computer in the classroom (a Commodore 64) and kids would crowd around just to watch one other play a game like Wonder Boy. And everything is so eyecatching these days – design, gameplay, popular culture enhanced, hyperlinked – that it takes a student with enormous self discipline and focus to not be tempted to “just have a look”. We do need to take on board all the things that you mention and that Kimbowa highlights but that will take a lot of commitment from educators and education systems to address. Well meaning teachers can feel out of their depth – and that is why they will yearn for simpler times, support bans of technology or on the flipside, just let things slide in the classroom feeding the message that technology is only useful for low level info, updates and entertainment and that leveraging tech for learning is more hassle than it is worth.