September 2009
4 posts
The Meeting Place →
This has been a rather hectic week for me. I’ve spoken at the Scottish Learning Festival TeachMeet, at the first eAssessment Scotland Conference, and took 10 pupils down to the Scottish…
Anyway You Want It! →
As the result of a conversation with Con Morris and Margaret Alcorn, I recently accepted an offer to become an Associate for LCPD Learn looking at Continuing Professional…
Marsedit Template →
This is a test
Writing The Future →
I’m just back to school after two fantastic days as the guest of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) at the Stirling Management Centre. I was, of course, singing for my supper by…
August 2009
3 posts
Back To School — Safety-savvy! →
We had the first of our two INSET (In-service Training) days yesterday and I was asked to give a very brief intro to online safety to the staff. It was a sobering lesson to me in just how much I…
Am I Missing The Obvious? →
School starts in a couple of days and having had a bit of an extended break, I thought it about time I broke out MarsEdit and posted something…
Of course, I’m saying that school…
June 2009
2 posts
TMSE09 →
Just a VERY quick post to give you the links I’m talking about:
Thatsmymouse – Add chat to any webpage… diigo – delicious on steroids etherpad.com – collaborative writing… tineye –…
TeachMeet09 — Student Edition →
David Muir of Jordanhill/Strathclyde University has a lot to answer for. Quite apart from the fact that he is a fellow Rush fan, he was also the first person to show me that…
May 2009
4 posts
Annals of Innovation: How David Beats Goliath:... →
Fascinating insight into why David can (and does) beat Goliath. Don’t play by Goliath’s rules! Also worth relating to the changes in education: What happens when you change the rules but not the system?
The English Classroom And CfE →
A general chat with some other English teachers on Twitter last night has lead to the setting up of an English Curriculum for Excellence wiki to look at and discuss the practicalities of…
Dracula In Bite Sized Pieces (Sorry!) →
Sorry for the rampant awfulness of the pun in the title to this post! Having said that, I’ll make it up to you by pointing you in the direction of a great idea…
CC: Ben…
Copyright Update →
My recent post about copyright, quality assurance and Glow certainly got the conversation started! Here’s a quick update on what’s been happening since…
CC: Blackbeltjones
As…
April 2009
3 posts
Is The Glow Dimming? →
A recent conversation about Quality Assurance of materials being produced for Glow ended up becoming a much more open discussion on copyright and ownership of materials. I thought it worthwhile…
Feeling A Bit Billy… →
Pic from LTS Website
There’s a great Scottish (or maybe just Perth) expression, “Billy Nae-Mates” meaning ‘one who is on his or her own, someone without friends‘. Anyway,…
Using Different Texts →
The experiences and outcomes for Literacy have been published today as part of the move to introduce a Curriculum for Excellence and they are going to need some very careful consideration. This…
March 2009
3 posts
Time To Read →
Why does everything we do have to have a purpose, and what message is this giving to our children? I ask this because I’ve realised that in recent weeks I’ve been so focussed on getting my…
Per Ardua Ad Astra →
DSCN2226
Originally uploaded by meteotek08.
Sometimes we are so busy looking for the complicated answers that we forget that simple is sometimes best. I have been completely…
National Literacy Conference 2009 →
I was honoured to be asked to deliver a workshop session on wikis at the National Literacy Conference in Glasgow. Even better, I was able to catch up on all that is happening on the Literacy…
February 2009
5 posts
Testing →
This is a quick test post. INSET style…
What’s That… →
After a few initial teething problems getting started with Glow, we’re now able to get going with GlowMeet in school and the pupils’ immediate reaction has been very positive. Even better, other…
Glowing Frustration… →
After the excitement of getting in to Glow on Monday, technical problems have helped highlight just how ‘on-the-edge’ the whole experience is.
Monday’s highs have been replaced by resignation…
And They’re Off… →
A little before 3 on Monday afternoon, my 1st year class became some of the very first pupils in Perth & Kinross to join Glow. It was a fun session, and I was really pleased with their obvious…
It’s Not About Classrooms Anymore… →
It has been a long time in coming, but Perth & Kinross are now starting to implement Glow. From the time I first heard John Connell talk about the Scottish Schools Digital Network (SSDN), I knew…
January 2009
10 posts
Reflecting On BETT 09 →
So, with very sore feet, I’m back in Scotland after experiencing my first BETT. BETT is very different to the Scottish Learning Festival but there’s definitely a place for both.
The
We Are Amused! →
Queen Victoria on ‘Fyvie’ with John Brown at Balmoral Originally uploaded by National Galleries of Scotland.
One of the most iconic images of Queen Victoria and her…
Do As I Say… →
I was involved in a revealing exchange about how schools view the internet recently. I still don’t know whether to laugh or cry…
A friend (Hi Stephen!) contacted me about some online resources…
Instant Or Filtered? →
This post started life as a quick comment for the Education2020 wiki about internet filtering in schools. As you will notice, it got a bit longer so I decided to post it here as well!
In…
You, Doctor Martin… →
One of my favourite Anne Sexton poems opens with the lines “You, Doctor Martin, walk / from breakfast to madness.” Sexton’s striking image of walking from one world to another is brought home…
7 Things Meme… →
Typical, you don’t get memed for ages, and then two show up at the same time. Mind you, I’m not complaining as I’m still working on a longer post that I can put out tomorrow…
I’ve been asked…
Something New… →
One of the real joys of the Christmas Vacation for me is getting the chance to catch up on everything. In doing so, I’ve found a very promising Ning for English teachers.
English…
So The Wind Won’t Blow It All Away… →
Made any New Year resolutions? Given up on them yet? Looking for a serious suggestion?
Techcrunch is carrying a story that should have us all thinking carefully about the real dangers…
New Year, New Connections, New Learning →
Day 2 of 2009 and I’ve already taken part in my first connected learning experience. Darren Kuropatwa was taking part in a radio discussion about 21st Century Learning in Manitoba, but there…
Two Steps Back… →
In a paradox worthy of Dr Who, I received tomorrow’s Times Ed Scotland yesterday. What worries me even more, is the apparent attempt to move society and schools back to another time as…
December 2008
3 posts
X Rated — Maybe Not! →
Like many others, I was somewhat flabbergasted at Andy Burnham’s recent suggestion that the Internet™ should have age ratings. Fortunately, his more media savvy colleague Tom Watson has…
Come And Have A Go… →
Following on from my last post, I’ve been having a look at DJEarworm’s site. From it, I followed a link to an interesting Technology Review article about the different styles of mashups……
Creative Talent →
I’ve just stumbled on one of the coolest mashups I’ve ever seen. DJ Earworm’s United State of Pop 2008 (Viva la Pop) is quite simply, stunning.
If he was a kid in your class and he…
October 2008
3 posts
Blog Action Day 08: Free Rice →
Today is Blog Action Day 2008. The theme this year is poverty, and there have already been some great posts made on the topic, including some stunning photo blogs.
I thought I’d…
Blog Action Day 08 →
Today is Blog Action Day 2008. The theme this year is poverty, and there have already been some great posts made on the topic, including some stunning photo blogs.
I thought I’d…
MarsEditTest →
Mars Edit Test Post
September 2008
13 posts
Calling All Writers! →
The National Write A Novel In A Month is back, and this year there’s a dedicated Young Writer’s Programme with lots of activities designed to help participants write that novel in a month!
…
SLF08 - Wikis Part 2 →
I had made a conscious decision beforehand that the real focus for my session should be on some of the work that pupils are doing using wikis in my school. In the end, I was not able to cover…
SLF08 - Wikis Part 1 →
I delivered my first seminar at the Scottish Learning Festival this week. It appears to have gone down well, and as promised, here are my thoughts on what I said.
Some of the…
SLF 2008 - Session 1 →
So we’re off! I managed to avoid my traditional “Miss-the-bus-have-to-grab-the-car” experience this morning and have arrived at the Scottish Learning Festival in plenty of time! My first session…
Whit We Doin’ The Day? →
A good friend of mine and fellow English Teacher had a class who greeted her with the words “Whit we doin’ the day?” every single lesson… even if she had it written on the board!
After 6 or 7…
Countdown… →
With only a few days to go, the preparations for this year’s Scottish Learning Festival are in place… and after a serious flurry of activity on the part of David Noble and others, …
It’s Been A Funny Old Week… →
What do Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, and Tom Magner, Director of the US Office of Educational Technology, have in common? Not an awful…
Slide… →
Just a quick post to let you know that Sliderocket has just entered public Beta mode… which means you can sign up to try it without having to wait for one of their very elusive invites.
Put…
It’s a small small small small world… →
We all know that the world is shrinking, but nothing brings this home to me more than a message I received this evening from Govinda Prasad Panthy. In my day to day school life, I worry about…
Yay Wiki Wiki! →
Great news from Wikispaces… They’ve extended their offer of free wikispaces for educators and I for one am over-the-moon!
In case you hadn’t realised, I am a great fan of wikis — a fact I’ll…