Another year of learning

The 194 Days of learning blog is back for another year of making our thinking and learning visible. This year, the blog is open to anyone in the SCDSB community wishing to talk about their learning. 
Watch this space, follow #SCDSB and @SCDSB_LandT on Twitter or better yet, subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a post.

Day 30 : Multidirectional Learning

A wise woman once said there is "No day without learning", and today was no exception!  This afternoon we worked with a passionate group of educators who wanted to dig into Blogging!  We realized quickly that we needed to take a few steps back before we could progress. Last year, our system moved forward rapidly with technology enabled learning, yet we are still on a learning curve.  After a summer of digital detox, we need to have patience with refreshing our own skills. We can relate to those students in our class who come back after a summer and may be a little rusty with some of their skills.  Our learning continues to move forward, but sometimes we need to take different directions (or step sideways or backwards) to regain our momentum.

Using the EasyBlogger Jr app

Learning can also shift direction based on the influence of our collaborators.  Today we experienced new learning when one of the participants shared the gadget on Blogger for Google Translate. This enables us to be more inclusive of the increasing multicultural communities in our county, as we communicate on our blogs.

Setting up our first blogs!

The journey will be ongoing as several of the participants in our session are going to continue their learning down different paths. Some will back up and revisit areas they wish to explore further, others might step sideways and explore other platforms or tools to support them, and some might even take a rest from the journey.  We felt honoured to be tour guides "on the side" as we brushed up on our skills and learned on our own pathway. We invite you to join us in our trek toward making our learning visible through blogging.  A "roadmap" for this excursion can be found in this shared Google Folder: bit.ly/EasyBloggerJr

Louise Owen & Marie Swift

Day 9: Fresh Ideas

Have you checked out the new tabs above? Who doesn't love new stuff, right?! 
So,why is the best stuff always so hard to find? Our best new learning should be visible . With that in mind, we are looking for places to store our freshest new learning, outside of the SCDSB Staff > Teaching pages. Teachers Pay Teachers?...forget about it! The BEST stuff is usually FREE. Fresh ideas and resources are meant to be shared, so lets get started. Right here. Right now.
We welcome your ideas about Fresh Stuff and the Virtual Music Room. Are the supports useful? What else would you want to see there? What ideas do you have about getting the word out? Come on. Do your part...because your great ideas were made to be shared.

Jamila Monahan

Day 6: Beautiful Bubbles from BIG Ideas!

Beautiful Bubbles from BIG Ideas!

By, Jamila Monahan, Jill MacAlpine, Lisa Boate , Deb Shackell

  We started the morning exploring the beautiful Creemore and Nottawasaga Public School garden, the pumpkins, egg plant and sunflowers in the morning sun, clearly this was going to be a fabulous day.


We set up bubble making stations in this enchanting spot and were eager to see what creative, interesting devices the Grade one and two students we would be working with today would come up with. We were not disappointed! The students were excited about their learning.

They had ideas and they want to see them come to life. It was interesting, to see that the exploration process was similar in each class. A handful of students would tie together a straw and a dowel with pipe-cleaners and then blow through one end. Inevitably this  would create a few small bubbles. With a few questions to prod their thinking, they would go back and try again. It is exciting watching the experimentation phase, the try and fail cycle leads to problem solving that leads to 'aha' moments. There is nothing better than hear the cheers of, "We did it!" The giant smiles tell you how good it felt to create a tool that solved their problem.

These days reinforce how much we love our job, seeing the students and teachers cheer and want to keep learning even though the recess bell has gone...there is nothing better.

Day 4: Find your passion

I've been back at work for almost a week, but today was my first day back at "school"! Nervous and excited, as I am sure many students were this week across Simcoe County- I took the first step towards a Master of Arts in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development @UofT . One of the presenters at the orientation session this evening talked about passion. She said that to embark on this learning journey, you need to follow your interests and love what you do. I couldn't agree more! If we could all find that sweet spot > doing something we love, that incorporates our strengths and has purpose! Can you imagine the possibilities? How can we create these types of opportunities for ourselves and the students in our classrooms? 

Happy first week back SCDSB! Wishing you all a fabulous new school year:)

Louise

Day 1: 194 Days of Learning

Sometimes, the best way to start something is to just… start. Blogging isn’t any different.

I wish I could remember who said “Ideas are born on the page.” I wish it was me because it’s true. Once you start writing, your brain kicks in and the ideas come. You just need to start.

Blogging isn’t about perfection. Perfection is for novels, greeting cards and prescriptions. This space is about documenting learning in real time and reflecting on it.

Today I learned about the:

• history and future of eLearning and blended learning from Hanne and Jaclyn – so many possibilities
• long road of building of a system culture from Kathi and Anita – everything we do only serves to prove what we believe
• vast black hole of kitchen renovations from Jessica – best to keep your distance
• importance of family and friends from Kieley – they are with you even when they are not

Looking back on the day, I realize two things.

One, we are all walking around with so much knowledge, insight and talent, and its worth grows exponentially when we share it with others.

Two, I am surrounded by brilliant women.