Jump Start Learning - Day One, 2013

Despite staying up late celebrating New Year's Eve with our kids and their friends (Rummy, Quelf, Wii, and the Twilight Zone marathon), my wife and I awoke early this morning and reached for the iPads on our respective night stands. Natalie cleared her Gmail inbox, checked "Apps Gone Free", and then jumped into her favorite new game, "Super 7 HD".

Meanwhile, I checked my Google+ stream (I tend to start my day with +Larry Ferlazzo and +Edudemic), took a peek at top stories on News-360, and then moved on to clearing a few dozen messages from my Gmail inbox. Of course, +Richard Byrne, was the early bird again this morning, sharing Free Technology for Teachers. +George Couros was inspiring thought and discussion about cultivating and admiring a learning "Mindset" with The Principal of Change, blog. George is also motivating me to be more expressive and collaborative with my blog. I also took a few minutes to review a recent favorite blog post, "I Used to Think...", Shelley Wright.

One of my primary New Year's Resolutions is to become a better learner this year, and after just forty minutes of tapping and clicking, here are a few exciting "learnings" obtained with my iPad and my PLN just eight hours into the new year...

Learning Resolutions; Make the Investment in Yourself - Mike Taylor

It is certainly debatable whether or not the iPad is the ideal device for 1:1 implementation in schools. However, there is no doubt that my iPad provides me with amazing personalized, and connected learning opportunities 24-7-365. My better half, a novice "techie" by her own admission, received an iPad from Santa on Christmas Eve. It has not left her "kung-fu grip" for the past week as she has caught the connected learning bug. iPad, King of the Classroom, Adam Webster, +Edudemic
I would like to make a stronger commitment to becoming bi-lingual. +Richard Byrne introduced me to duoLingo, a free web app to help me become a better learner, speaker, and listener of Spanish. It could also help me learn French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.
In his same post, Richard directed me to a YouTube playlist of 26 videos to help me learn more about using iBooks Author. This playlist from diyjourno, contains a series of clear and concise videos that can help either the novice or the advanced user get more out of creating ebooks using iBooks Author.
I was able to spend a few minutes reviewing guitar chords using the "Instinct" web app that +Larry Ferlazzo introduced me to a few days ago. This free, simple app helps me sharpen my skills anywhere, and anytime I have a wi-fi connection and my Taylor 712 by my side.
Finally, based upon +Richard Byrne's recommendation, I also bookmarked the MIT-Video site. A collection of 12,000 videos, many of them educational, that are interesting, professional-looking, and "searchable" by subject, pre-created channels, or categories.

This morning, the first of 2013, wasn't unusual. Every single day I learn something new and interesting as a result of internet access, a slick, connected device, and a good number of helpful people that are an integral part of my personal learning network. I am inspired and motivated to be a better learner. How great would it be for our students to grab this same feeling?

Thanks everyone - it's going to be a very good year!

What Teachers Can Learn From Effective Coaches

In my educational world teaching and coaching involve the same processes. The people that impacted my own learning most significantly were coaches. Could it be that great coaches were ahead of their time with respects to instructional best practices? Let's take a look at ten coaching practices that thankfully have found their way into the classroom. http://www.coachwooden.com/files/PyramidThinkingSuccess.jpg Standards-based Grading - coaches aren't concerned with arbitrary measures of success such as letter grades. Great coaches identify a requisite set of skills that are necessary for advancement and success. Promotion and achievement are based upon clearly identified levels of skill mastery. Authentic assessment - coaches are looking for their athletes to demonstrate their skill mastery under game-like situations. The best coaches incorporate game simulations and competitive, game-like drills into their practices. Winning coaches will use the contests as assess...

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Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined ...

Nocking the Arrow

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