The Importance of Getting Students Engaged!

http://www.thestar.com/life/2014/01/05/skateboard_school_is_vehicle_to_success_for_teens.html

Getting students engaged is a huge part of motivating students to learn and a huge component of 21st Century Learning. The article above (see link) discusses an alternative school programming that has managed to spark curiosity in teenagers who would much rather be at home playing video games. I think this article/story is a great example of how interest sparks engagement and motivation in learning. Connecting students love for arts culture and skateboards with the curriculum and real-world experiences (Recipe for success!). I also think it is great that schools can form a mentorship relationship with local businesses to create programming that is meaningful for students (we need more of it!) Take a read! 

First Inspirational Find of 2014 - "Amanda Bennett: We need a heroic story for death"

Happy 2014!

One of my resolutions for this new year is to blog more and to find time to get through my list of TED talks and inspirational finds that I collect on the daily basis and keep on the "when I have time" list. This year, I am going to make time to learn and grow from the finds and try (really hard) not to keep a never-ending list of things to get to!

In this inspirational TED talk find, I thought Bennett's story had a great message about how to deal with troubling times in our lives. Bennett argues that the emotion of "hope" is actually interchangeable with "denial" and many of us miss the chance to really be in the "moment" or "feel in the moment" because we are in "denial" in that search for "hope". Her story of losing her husband to cancer argues for a different discussion about death or the journey to death. To search for a narrative that discusses the battles/triumphs that is experienced by the person on the journey and his/her family members rather than the ultimate plot of "to live" or "to die".

This find also made me think about how difficult times in our lives is really a "difficult" discussion to have with anyone and especially children....and that maybe there are always many different opinions in approach... but really no "right" way.

Interesting perspective to listen and explore.... Enjoy!

Inspirational Find - Try something new!

Weekend Highlight - Robotics Competition

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of being a spectator of a robotics compeitition for TDSB elementary schools with my York ICT class. It was a great learning experience! We watched times competitions between student groups of their robots. They had to complete a certain number of "missions" within in 2.5 minutes. Then, groups were also judged based on design, collaboration and a seperate project based on natural disasters. These students excluded 21st century learning skills, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity were all present. Their passion was inspiring and I personally hope to learn more about the First Lego League because I think this is a great oppurtunity for students to find their passion, problem solve an authentic task. 

Inspirational Read: "From Dyslexia to CEO: How my learning disabilities taught me to be a successful entrepreneur"

Found the following aritcle written by Brett Kopf via Zite : 

"From Dyslexia to CEO: How my learning disabilities taught me to be a successful entrepreneur"

In my York ICT class, we explore many technology tools that help enhance both the learning of students and teachers in our 21st century classrooms. One of the tools we looked at was, Remind101, a one way messaging service that sends text messages to students/parents to do exactly what the product name suggests, "remind"! It is a great tool to remind students of upcoming events, tests dates and other simple reminders. The one-way messaging means that a generic/anoymous number sends the text message, once the teacher registers an account. The student/parent cannot reply back to the message as it is a computer generated number.

The other day, I was browsing through articles on Zite and "how my learning disabilities taught me to be a successful entrepreneur" part of the headline totally caught my attention. When I opened the link to the article I realized that the CEO was the creator and founder of Remind101! This aritcle shows how one's disabilities or struggles does not prevent one from acheiveing success. Brett Kopf was able to create a product to help others who have similar struggles as him (forgetting things! - sometimes not by choice). Check the article out - it is truly an inspirational read! 

Inspirational Find - Real-life "King's Speech"

This past week, Melissa, a friend of mine, posted this video on her social feed via Upworthy. This emotional video documents the journey of a young boy in the UK who finds a voice in front of an audience through his teacher's explicit practice of differentiated instruction.... headphones and music! Just like the movie, starring Colin Firth in "King's Speech", this young boy masters public speaking by putting on headphones and having the music playing! This video is a great example of the importance of differentiated instruction in the classroom and the profound impact of what happens when one CARES.

Inspirational Find : The First 20 Hours- Josh Kaufman

In my newest inspirational TED talk find, Josh Kaufman argues that it does not take 10,000 hours to learn something new and he demonstrates with his goal to master the ukulele! This talk is worth 20 minutes of your time, as Kaufman's musical performance itself is worth the watch, but his performance is evidence to his argument. In my current York ICT AQ class, I'm constantly learning new ways to integrate technology as a tool for 21st century learning. New learning sometimes is frustrating, but it is no reason to give up!! Kaufman finds "fear" as the most common factor of why people are reluctant to learn something new.

As an advocate for life-long learning, we should embrace the challenges and frustration that comes with acquiring new knowledge. Kaufman provides a great message to teachers, with a new learning process comes "fear" and "frustration". Let's provide strategies and tools for students to understand "it's ok" to have these emotions and encourage life-long learning.

*Came across this inspirational find through an article posted on TNW via Zite.