Tuesday, January 26, 2016

He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way, he had a boogie style that no one else could play (The Andrew Sisters)

1 Getting negative feedback
Loved this article from Leadership Freak about receiving feedback. He's a wise old owl!

2 This
I get updates from This in my mailbox. I recommend it, you might like This too!

3 London tube map


I'm leaving London this week and heading back to NZ. The London tube map is a work of art, but what does it have to do with education? So read this short piece.

4 Student engagement
A mind/shift article on student engagement? Yes please!

5 Stop teaching
Finally this week - a piece that suggests we should stop teaching and start learning. Alrighty then! Timely one for me as I head back to work next week.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Oh is there concrete all around or is it in my head (Mott The Hoople)


1 Meetings
I have a thing about meetings - mainly an aversion. Leadership Freak seems to share my feelings, although I like his always positive initiatives to improve the experience. If we must have them then the powers that be should read this.

2 Curiosity
Another of our thrusts in English classes last year and this has been to build upon students' curiosity. Another Leadership Freak article that hits the right spot.

3 Professional development
I've been involved in various forms of PD during my teaching career (now into its thirty third year). Good to read this article by well known educational thinker/writer Mike Schmoker about restructuring PD to make it (more) powerful.

4 Quill
A colleague alerted me to this - a tool to help students be better writers - a great site that I aim to use in 2016.

5 Quill part 2
This article is a companion piece that delves into Quill's use as an 'accelerator'.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

We can be Heroes, for ever and ever. What d'you say? (David Bowie)

Only a few more weeks of holiday remaining! 

But let's not dwell, let's luxuriate in some fine writing and analysis.

Here we go...

1 Three cutting edge schools
A look at three schools doing great innovative things. Every school is different but you can always pick up new ideas right?

2 Hollywood
This article details the Bechdel test for films - it measure how male directors and female directors treat females in their films. It's a fascinating area and data rich but that's not why I'm including it on my education blog. Oh no. 

Why then? Because it forces us to analyse the types of movies we show our students and the subtle and not so subtle messages they give our male and female students. We may not like what we find!

3 School Culture
I love studying school cultures - the peculiar way things are done about your school. This article subtitled 'school culture rewired' highlights a new book by Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker.

I'm a fan of Whitaker's work so I'll need to track down a copy.

4 Lesson planning
Given our experience with blended and personalised learning within an inquiry model, this article examining 'the problem with lesson planning' seems apposite. It's written from a UK perspective and the call for freeing up the timetable is always worth reading about!

5 Radical visions
Finally, this mind/shift article looks at a radical vision for new schools. Cool. I love mind/shifts!

Sunday, January 10, 2016

And I whip, my loving arms around you (Rita Coolidge)

I notice that stores in Nu Zild are starting their back to school deals which is a pain - coz I'm still firmly on holiday mode in Norf Lundin.

But still - Baggy Trewsers requires a part of my brain to remain on school alert so it shouldn't be too bad getting back to school in February.

Here's my next five bookmarked goodie bag items for y'all:

1 Eleven Websites to help you get smart
What a great title - hooked me!

2 Why are plurals so different in English
The English teacher in me loved this.

3 Ten must read books for teachers
Again - I'm a sucker for these lists. I can sift through the recommendations at my leisure. These books are the mini reviews all looked pretty awesome!

4 Cram
One for bookmarking for use later - this is like studyit - a site for creating study aids like flash cards.

5 Meet the school where the students call the shots
I'm wary of this kind of thing. I love student voice but...all things in moderation! 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Only way to feel the noise is when it's good and loud (Motorhead)

Schools went back to work in the UK this week. Hopefully that means it will be a little less frenetic on the nation's high streets for the rest of our London holiday (which helps explain why this post is a tad late this week).

That said - here are five more cool things from my bookmarks:

1 Your next book


This place suggests your next book for you. For instance My Murakami search revealed Rhys Thomas and Graeme Simsion.

2 Transformers
Richard Wells watched a pile of TED talks and came up with this nifty list of five things that transform a school.

3 New Year mayhem
This is a good example of how people see things differently. And people are blimmin clever when they do! Another great story from The Guardian.

4 Sir Ken Robinson
Creativity is an important word/concept that Sir ken returns to often.  

5 Presentation lessons from Steve Jobs
Finally this week - some nifty lessons to learn from Apple presentations.