If you are just joining us today, please refer to this post where we share what we are up to!
Never before has there been such an abundance of information to contribute to our learning. At the same time, there is no doubt that our collective plates are brimming over with things to do. As a positive, we challenge ourselves to think differently and explore ways to learn on the go.
I thought I would share a couple of ideas that have improved my mobile learning. Part of my practice is to capture information using Notability on my iPad. This is a powerful app that allows me to write, record, and insert images in documents that I can refer to at any point in time. One of the things I like to do is re-listen to my recordings in the car. You can apply this idea to other mediums too, such as alivescribe pen.
If the idea that storytelling is important is a new one for you, we suggest that you take your 10 minutes today, and explore some of the resources below.
The importance of storytelling has been documented on many levels. Some of us came through a school system that de-emphasized the importance of stories, and valued the memorization of facts. We may need to relearn the power of stories, and how they can play a critical role in our work as educators.
Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non-Commercial – Share-Alike license by Guilia Forsythe.
“When it comes to inspiring people to embrace some strange new change in behaviour, storytelling isn’t just better than the other tools. It’s the only thing that works.”
As education leaders, we often find that there are not enough hours in the day. The “job” never really has an ending point. We have to figure out for ourselves how to carve out some time for our own professional learning so that we can keep up with the very fast pace of change.
What if we did some learning while working (or walking, or working out)?
Podcasts are one way to learn while you work. If you have an mp3 player, you can download podcasts from a number of different sources and listen to them when you are exercising, washing dishes, or commuting to work.
If you aren’t sure yet how to download podcasts, you can also listen to many of them from your laptop. Some examples have been provided below.
The blog posts are rolling in and we are anticipating an excellent month of collaborative blogging by Ontario educators! If you haven’t started writing yet (or recording, or drawing) there is no time like right now to start! What did you learn today? (or yesterday, or last week). This is an opportunity to model connected learning for all.
As we considered how to roll out this project, we asked some established Ontario bloggers to contribute early.
Rodd Lucier (@thecleversheep) is a creative force in Ontario Education, leading the use of technology, and sharing his understanding through writing and podcasting for so many of us to learn from. He is the force behind UnPlug*d (http://unplugd.ca/), an experience that changed the career and life trajectories of many educators around the world.
