That being said, I was rather taken aback at the Twitter, as quoted by David Warlick here, “that as One commenter said, in explanation of a Twitter post she’d made during the conference, “I wonder if Canadian schools really get it.” I think Mr. Warlick”s response was a defense of us cousins.

Then I happened on to Clarence Fischer’s blog here , the title of which is “America …. You’ve Got Trouble”.

So I’ve got two questions.

Firstly, what does it mean to “not get’ something? I seem to hear that phrase a lot. Does it mean that one does not understand something? Or is it that it’s an easy way to dismiss people who understand, and consider, a point of view, and then choose to not stop there intellectually?

Secondly, and a little more personal, what is it that Canadian schools don’t get? And if the Twitterer thinks that American schools have the answer, PLEASE SHARE!! We’re trying real(LY) hard.

Barb

I have watched with interest the growth of the Ning, as it evolved from a bulletin board of sorts (”anyone want to share a taxi?”) to the emergence of grouped interests and ad-hoc SIGs. Many of the events are going to be streamed, podcasted and shared in numerous blogs (I’m going to do my best!), so if you can’t make it, the collaborative knowledge should be accessible to all, and available for futher discussion and use.

This, in my opinion, is key. Conferences are great, but there needs to be reflection, attempt, revision and re-trial of new ideas, so that we all don’t get lost in rhetoric and discussion, without sound efforts to ask “What then are next steps!”

BTW, Commun-IT is in the news on the Necc2008 homepage! Way to go homies!!

Keep an eye out for videos, lesson templates, learning objects and personal reflections in the Interactive Whiteboard conference on Commun-IT http://www.commun-it.org/community/whiteboards/files/

My thanks to all my colleagues who gave their time and dedication to this project.

Barb

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C_Clarke#Concept_of_the_geo

As a kid I avidly read science fiction, but never Arthur Clarke. However, I can remember so well watching “2001: A Space Odyssey” and just getting such a buzz when the ape “got” it (that musical score didn’t hurt). Never really understood really what was going on, but Hal was cool; 2010 seemed anti-climatic and even more confusing really.

I decided to pick up “2061; odyssey three” and “3001: the final odyssey”(*) for some fun reading this weekend, and to pay tribute to a great mind.

Here’s a couple of quotes from page 15, “2016: odyssey three”:

“….the political tectonic plates were moving as inexorably as the geological ones….For in the beginning, the Earth had possessed the single supercontinent of Pangea, which over the eons had split asunder. So had the human species, into innumerable tribes and nations; now it was merging together, as the old linguistic and cultural divsions began to blur”

and

“With the historic abolition of long-distance charges on 31 December 2000, every telephone call became a local one, and the human race greeted the new millennium by transforming itself into one huge, gossiping family”

This was written in 1987!!!

Very real concerns of Web 2.0 tools are privacy and safety for students and the impact on teachers and administrators if the fortress of learning is breached. I think it is time we moved the discussion forward to the realities of students using Web 2.0 tools, their abilities to sort through the incredible bombardment of web influences and our responsiblities to be knowing guides through these interesting times.

Barb 

The current OCDSB AUP is in need of reflective revision. Are the Web 2.0 tools the problem? Do we ban outright all cells, handheld devices, cameras? Or do we just continue to require appropriate classroom behaviour regardless of media? Do we ban the pen that wrote the word, or do we teach etiquette, respect and tolerance?

What do you think?

 Barb