The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s dry — but if you let ideas percolate, rather than racing to finish it, I think almost everyone would find the intersections of engineering and design really useful to their work. Things I will take away: the product needs […]
I’ve been watching this group Canada Learning Code for awhile and trying to summon the nerve to go to one of their workshops. I worried that I would be completely out of my element and that I’d feel really awkward in a group of people more advanced than I was in the content. I first […]
Originally published in Canadian School Libraries Journal May 21, 2019. When the political world beckons me to pick sides and arm myself, I conscientiously reflect on my purpose and my goals as a teacher-librarian. I also surround myself with like-minded idealists, searching for ways to not only make sense of the turmoil, but also to […]
Waking up to more cutbacks in #ontEd funding is never fun. So I decided to look at the data. This post is all about the different ways I developed professionally in 2018. There were so many great happenings around the province this year. It never ceases me to amaze me the passion that Ontario educators […]
My love affair with Mindomo continues. Here I am trying to explore the Ontario College of Teachers’ Standards of Practice. I’m focusing here on just one of these standards: Ongoing Professional Learning. https://www.mindomo.com/mindmap/beliefs-and-learning-about-our-own-writing-0586b22d3bd64316b6f45a9e97b86981
School Library Makerspaces: Grades 6-12 by Leslie B Preddy My rating: 3 of 5 stars As a secondary librarian, without planning time, without my own students focused on design/construction/creativity, I’m launching a full-time makerspace this fall that is filled with mostly donated items from the now-extinct home economics and fashion programs at my school. We […]
Social LEADia: Moving Students from Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership by Jennifer Casa-Todd My rating: 4 of 5 stars Jennifer Casa-Todd has set a high bar for herself in tackling this multi-faceted concept of leveraging social media to engage students in digital leadership. Her book is densely-packed with examples of how teachers and students negotiate […]
Code in Every Class by Kevin Brookhouser My rating: 4 of 5 stars A powerful little read that zips by. Although I’m personally working on my entry-level Lightbot skills, I really like how Kevin Brookhouser opens up with pseudo-coding activities to create a coding mindset and then works towards more and more challenging materials. The […]
We’re midway in our August book “Creating Thinking Classrooms” and author Garfield Gini-Newman has agreed to join us for a lively discussion on this topic: How schools need to refocus the goals in order to better prepare students. Join us here live at 2:30 ET or via the Twitter stream at #BIT16Reads .
I’ve just finished reading George Couros‘ “The Innovator’s Mindset” and I think it’s time that we addressed the elephant in the room. The word “mindset” is so five minutes ago. There I said it. What I mean is that putting the words innovator and mindset together in the same phrase is oxymoronic…it’s a contradiction in […]
The TeachOntario #BIT16Reads book club is on fire over the topics in George Couros’ book The Innovator’s Mindset so we are going to come together and attempt a Google Hangout on Air tomorrow July 19th at 2pm. Facilitating with me is participant Caroline Freibauer, who will direct the conversation Participants can join in a number […]
Wherever I go, my PLN tells me that they wish we had more time to hang out together….well this is it!! There’s still time left to register (by Thursday night please!) for the Ontario School Library Association council Summer Institute…virtually free to you in Ottawa this August 10-11-12. Here’s our description: Ontario School Library Association […]
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is a must-read for anyone who wants or needs to understand the evolution of the digital revolution. At times the computer science went over my head but for the most […]
Welcome to all new members of #BIT15Reads! Hello to all of you who’ve been with us since the beginning. We gained almost 30 new members since November 4th bringing our total membership to 92 members. Fantastic. I’d like to propose a few ideas for moving forward: a) we keep the name #BIT15Reads until Dec. 31, […]
threadbare beauty 