I have been playing in a new sandbox. I have been trying out our district’s SurreySchools.ca site (click on graphic to make it larger). This is a new Sharepoint platform that is designed to bring people in our organization together and create some efficiency around our work. School districts like West Vancouver, Vancouver, Coquitlam, and…
Tag: transformation
The end of wonder and the age of whatever
I had the great fortune to be with the Surrey management team at a presentation by Michael Wesch. I have viewed his The Machine is Us/ing Us many times and I had no idea that this was the guy who made the video. That was a pleasant surprise as I simply love the style and…
Innovative Learning: School-Based Exploration
The real problem is not adding technology to the current organization of the classroom, but changing the culture of teaching and learning. Alan November Last week we announced the forty elementary schools that were awarded our Innovative Learning Designs Grant (ILD, Phase 2) for the upcoming school year. The ILD project is an opportunity for…
A Movement for Radical Social Innovation
Think of yourselves as a movement not attached to the union or the government. Charles Leadbeater I was fortunate to attend the BC School Superintendent’s Winter Conference along with over 425 other attendees. I heard from Charles Leadbeater, Larry Rosenstock, John Abbott, Geoge Abbott and Bruce Beairsto. It was Charles Leadbeater’s comments, however, that were the…
Innovative Learning—For Teachers, For Students and For Me
I have the privilege of visiting schools. Once a week I head out for a site visit with Dan Turner, the Director of Information Management Systems (IMS), to the Innovative Learning Designs schools. We send a list of questions out to the principals ahead of time. For example, Where is the integration of technology working…
From Teacher-Librarian to Digital Literacy Impresarios
The Teacher Librarians’ role in our district is evolving and expanding in the digital landscape and they need an innovative tool as educator leaders to push professional practice forward. The iPad is a learning and creation tool that will help Teacher Librarians to promote innovative teaching and learning in their schools. TLs, in collaboration with…
To Gel or Not to Gel
Some days I just want a really good gel pen and a brand, spanking-new journal notebook. Those are the days when I am tired of hearing about, talking about, and learning about technology. It can all be a bit overwhelming. I think some of the people that tweet and blog have some genetic predisposition to…
The Real Flip: Where Students do the Math
Bill Gates dismisses it – this belief that children can construct their own understanding of mathematics. Many educators disagree. John Van de Walle’s student-centred approach? Marilyn Burns’ insight into how children learn math? The rationale in the WNCP curriculum? The beliefs of the BCAMT? Gates would dismiss them all. More importantly to me, he would…
Creating Fire
Tonight we launched our Digital Discovery Series. This is a three-part series that focuses on helping leaders understand their role in moving student learning forward in a digital age. Our three key themes are Using Mobile Devices, 21st Century Learning and Social Media. We had 220 educators in the room. What did the evening look…
Ramping up innovation: Leading Learning
The culture of YES! Chris Kennedy’s turn of phrase resonates with innovative leaders. He has, in a simple way uttered words that override the formal part of the school organization. The word YES opens doors and minds and feels like an exhilarating call from the informal side of the organization where innovative ideas are sparked—this energy is…