Tag: design thinking

#BIT15Reads: Interview with author Rosemary Lehman

Author Rosemary Lehman joins me today to talk about her book Motivating and Retaining Online Students

As you can see in my video, there are a lot of stickies on my copy of her book!  It was a genuine thrill to speak with her today and being able to ask her questions deepened my understanding of her strategies and gave me lots of new ideas to go forward.  Here are some of them:

  • make your technology experiences sensory….what senses can we heighten with the technology experiences we provide our students in online and blended classrooms?
  • allow for as much interaction and varied types of interaction as possible
  • provide a reliable structure to experiment/play within
  • fill your course with discovery…this is key for school-aged children but for all students as well
  • use electronic office hours to build relationships; evaluate the participation in electronic office hours as an extrinsic motivator to connect with all students in a virtual face-to-face way
  • MORE visuals!  All sorts!

Here is a link to the livestream video.

She also shared some slides with us which you can find here:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QD_umoDK2zMx1MIXiLFXJEt5I7dRHNpfTPiGCvhrqlI/edit?usp=sharing

Rethinking Learning Spaces

Source: Rethinking Learning Spaces

A trait that I admire above all things is someone who is a creative risk-taker.  When Mark Carbone reached out and asked me to talk live about my experience with redesigning learning spaces, my introvert hesitated for about 15 nanoseconds, before I responded “yes!”!

Mark and Jamie and I come from diverse backgrounds in education and yet in Southwestern Ontario, we’re practically neighbours.  Here is our 1/2 hour discussion on how our classrooms are changing as our education paradigm shifts.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to capture my learning in a moment.  (I think I’ll have to include it as part of my annual learning plan.)

The experience itself has launched many new ideas in my mind so beware!  I’m not finished yet.

Designing space for children and teens in libraries and public places by Sandra Feinberg

Designing Space for Children and Teens in Libraries and Public PlacesDesigning Space for Children and Teens in Libraries and Public Places by Sandra Feinberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The traditional role of school libraries is no longer pertinent when reading and research can happen anytime, anywhere. Rather Feinberg and Keller maintain that the future success of high school libraries lies within our ability to create a space where teenagers perceive that they are “needed, respected and …belong” (p. 17). Instead the mandate of accessible and available learning becomes embodied in a physical and virtual space known as The Learning Commons. This book on design thinking is the perfect harmony of theoretical and practical for making positive, student-centred changes in libraries.

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The Third Teacher by OWP/P Architects

The Third TeacherThe Third Teacher by OWP/P Architects

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Upon finishing The Third Teacher, I immediately catalogued it and put it in our professional development resource section. The versatility of the experts that speak out for design in education in this book make it a rich read. It isn’t a how to, necessarily, but it helps clear the stale air out of the mind in preparation for the much needed paradigm shift needed in education today.  It is a big help to me as I prepare to transform my school library into a learning commons.

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