Well, still not really keeping up with the challenge but so far I’m finding that I’m much more willing to post on other blogs and beginning to find excellent resources. Today I found Dr. Scott McLeod’s blog, Dangerously Irrelevant, by following up on some library resources on blogging at the college/university level. McLeod writes about why university campuses are slow to embrace blogging. On his site I found the following excellent video, which I watched over and over to figure out who all of the people speaking are. I wanted specifically to sort out who Daniel Pink is, but was even more taken by the comments in the video by Stephen Heppal. That led me to search out his blog.
This video is well worth watching and will definitely become a part of my toolkit for encouraging teachers to work with the available technology.
Betty Online – Time Out
Reflections of a Teacher turned Activist.
Don’t worry about doing the activities if you’re finding that you’re commenting more and finding new resources! 🙂
Dan Pink wrote “A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the World” and he’s also just written an excellent career book called “Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need.” (You can find a great presentation about the latter book here: http://tinyurl.com/5q7zj5
“A Whole New Mind,” while a few years old, is a must-read. It talks about the fact that the best jobs in the future are going to require right-brained kinds of skills that are less “logical” and more creative. Changed my life because it really crystallized for me how we need to be thinking differently about learning and what we’re teaching people for the future. And it’s an interesting read, too. I highly recommend it.
But the 31 day challenge activities are all well worth doing. I just know that for most of us it might well be 311 days worth of challenge, but that is all ok!
Betty,
I’ve enjoyed the video and think it’s urgent and exciting to encourage teachers to “take the plunge” into e-learning and web2.0 new worlds. Michele suggested us to read “Literacy of the 21st Century”
http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/ConnectingtheDigitalDotsL/ about the new skills students may develop in classroom projects that fully accept and work with the new technology; in my school, we are just starting, but in great enthusiasm.
@Michele,Thank you for indicating this book; I noticed this eloquent expression: “right-brained kinds of skills that are less “logical” and more creative” – we can intuitively feel that, it is somehow “in the air”.
Ines
Hi Betty,
I was online to print a copy of my intent but of course I was lead astray. I’m glad I was. I finally took a look at your blog and it doesn’t look so scary after all. It will be a great way to connect with youth in my new job.
I may even start a blog of my own…imagine that!
see you tomorrow