Blogging about the 1:1 Classroom – Personal Learning Networks

Last week I attended a workshop which ran a small demonstration about personal learning networks. Personal learning networks are a tool to help teachers think outside of the box and to gain new ideas about teaching and learning beyond the confines of their school. For more information have a read of this post by Kim …

Helping high school teachers adjust to a 1:1 laptop environment

In my spare time I have been reading a book by Chip and Dan Heath Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. The book has been on the best seller list for a while, and I was reminded of the book in a Apple Educators presentation a few months back. I think the …

Teaching tendencies in a 1:1 laptop classroom

In a 1:1 laptop school it is very important to provide support and advice to teachers. Due to the initial excitement of having technology in the classroom many teachers often go too far, too soon with laptops to the detriment of student learning. I always highlight to staff that laptops are an aid used to …

What can be achieved in 45 mins… Google Docs

I am still an avid fan of using Google Doc's to spice up some otherwise boring subject matter in Economics. Today students were thinking about the tools available to governments to correct a budget deficit. The cool part about this part of the course is that students are applying ideas from other parts of the …

Extended Response Writing using Google Docs

The writing of extended responses is an important skill that Economics students need to acquire and develop throughout the two year course. I always try to use collaborative approaches and scaffolds to assist students writing skills. My favourite digital approach for developing these writing skills is to use a collaborative google doc. Traditional Approach - …

What are authentic, transformational eLearning tasks?

Recently I attended a Breakfast Leadership workshop with an Apple Professional Educator Stephanie Hamilton. Her short presentation was about the importance on focusing on the learning occurring in schools and ensuring that technology is being used in an authentic way to transform the learning process. She had gathered many of her ideas from travelling around …

Using a collaborative approach to develop writing skills

Traditional Approach - posters, paper, group writing Digital Approach - wiki, group planning, comment functions Success in IB Economics requires students to develop their writing and literacy skills to the highest level possible. In the final examinations students are required to write an extended response to a set question. Developing the skills to structure an …