Video Games and Storytelling

Just watch it, all of it … zero punctuation style … just brilliant, and its for an art history class, apparently he makes one of these a week!

8 months and 1 wiki? – what do we do all day

PLEASINGLY, after several months of persistence, I am finding a softening of academic suspicion over the word ‘wiki’. The Scientists, Computer typs and Educators have been dabbling with Wiki’s for ages of course (under the table) and haven’t really looked up. But, after 7 months of development Wikis are now available to some 2000 academics [...]

5 ways to get some PD traction

FIVE things that you can do in your community to encourage people to take a step forward. These five things use five different approaches – so if you are trying to build a professional learning community, these are approaches that address the behavioral motivators of staff  and reduce the push-back. I’ve found that covert methods [...]

Why Bored of Studies PWNs the BOS

There is no shift of control of information when you bolt technology onto what you already do. This is the strategy of public education, when you look behind the facade and grand statements. This is the approach known as “spray and pray”. Research shows there is little added value from automation, and incremental improvement. (“In [...]

The 40 hour challenge

THIS term, I’ve been asked to do some professional development at a public primary school near where I live. My role here is to help them explore building a professional learning community (PLC) – though the motivation and learning of their students. I don’t see myself there to ‘teach’. It’s a school of about 400, [...]

Games – Dangerously Irrelevant?

SCOTT McLEOD remarked on his blog that he had some questions about ‘educational games’; so in spirit of 21days of being positive, I’d like to try and answer them – and perhaps he might send me a flashing badge. Does the quality of the graphics matter when it comes to educational games? Graphics of any description [...]

A qualified teacher in every class

THANKS to everyone who’s added to the coversation recent posts about Retraining Australia. To move the conversation along; I’d like to raise a point, which I am sure can be explained by PR; but not through pedagogy. Public Education advertising on TV and Radio has promoted the fact that there is a qualified teaching in [...]

Epic PD leads to Virtual School

FOLLOWING some great discussions over retraining Australia; there seems to be some points that are standing out for me; Most teachers, providing tech PD in schools are not learly adopters – but long term supporters – appreciated but not officially valued enough to rise to leadership positions The diverse skill bases of staff are are [...]

Retraining Australia

School isn’t broken; its just got patina and potential. It can be restored; but taking on a large project on your own is a little daunting. Not all schools can afford to join a private coaching clinic or hire a consultant to provide them with specialist training. Most are totally reliant on their employer and [...]

Why the WoW movie won’t be like Spiderman

According to WoW.com, the ‘Warcraft Movie’ will soon be upon us. I’m getting flashbacks to the 1994 Street Fighter . I guess the significant point here is that convergence is powerful and Warcraft brings an existing ‘socially immersive’ aspect that was not present in successful solo-franchise movies such as Tombraider or Spiderman. Sam Raimi is [...]