After reviewing hundreds of TED talks, stats guru, Sebastian Wernicke, uses statistical analysis to design way to create and delivery the ultimate (or worst) possible TED talk in a very tongue and cheek(y) delivery. Remember: never, ever quote the New York Times, ecetera, ecetera, ecetera...http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

Truth be told, I don't attend a great deal of meetings. Don't get me wrong. I like meetings when they are properly scheduled and serve a purpose other than to just disseminate information (Just send me an email, OK?).Last month's school leadership meeting was the background for an interesting dynamic that occurred. Of the eleven … Continue reading Rude or the new face of meetings? →

I just finished reading Photocopied Education, by National Post's Kenyon Wallace. And, no doubt, the fears that the new copyright law, Bill C-32, will bring to Canadian textbook publishers is well-founded. But, I think that it's more of an issue of ill-founded assumptions rather than what big-publishing might have us believe. These "concerns"appear to be … Continue reading Photocopied Education: Textbook →

Every single educational technologist, educator, administrator that truly values the power of the Internet for its ability to connect, collaborate, and learn knows all about PLN--personal learning network--and the important role it plays in lifelong learning. People like Fisch, Shirky, Alec Couros, Shareski, Richardson, and Warlick live on a daily diet of Twitter feeds, Google … Continue reading PLN: Right under my nose →

Once again, social media guru, Danah Boyd, has forced me to revisit and rethink an issue that I held for so long to be one of black and white in nature: teenage bullying. Once again we, as educators and parents, may not have our collective finger on the pulse of the morphing young adults that … Continue reading "Bullying" means very little to teenagers →

If you haven't already read the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians Association's Points of Inquiry document outlining the role of teacher-librarians' in our schools in the twenty-first century as important contributors to the success of learning for our students you NEED to. I strongly encourage all BCTLA members and advocates for digital literacy to take some time … Continue reading Points of Inquiry: A chance to rethink our purpose? →

 The other day the injunction sought by Sunshine Logging against the Sinixt blockade on Perry Ridge in the Slocan Valley was denied by the courts.http://www.bclocalnews.com/business/106771333.htmlSo, the Slocan Valley advocacy group is one step closer to the long-awaited Perry Ridge Nature Conservancy that the Sinixt Nation and the Perry Ridge Water Users Association have worked so … Continue reading Sinixt Nation: Extinct or Not? →

Professor Richard Quinn of the University of Central Florida was so disgusted by evidence that many of his students had cheated in their midterm exam that he gave them a lecture that he hoped would teach them a life-long lesson. In the lecture, Quinn told the class he had enough evidence from statistical analysis and … Continue reading Cheating & the Aftermath at University of Central Florida →

Education technologist, Alan November, published a white-paper several years ago, and I had forgotten about it every until recently when our professional learning network began looking at how technology impacts student learning.It is titled "Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning" and was pretty heady stuff only just a few years back.Now, more than ever, its message is an important … Continue reading November asks…What’s our culture of teaching and learning? →

Congratulations to our colleague and teacher-librarian, Wendy Phillips of Richmond Secondary School, for winning the 2010 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature with her first novel, Fishtailing! Her inspiration for her work? Her students, of course! Wendy is busy researching for her second book and maintaining the library at Richmond Secondary.Way to go, Wendy! Gotta love those … Continue reading BC Teacher-Librarian Wins Governor General’s Award for Debut →