I recently attended a book launch open house where my friend Rob Dunlop celebrated the culmination of four years of work on his book STRIVE for Happiness in Education. Rob is totally on the right track with this book. In a time of such significant upheaval on multiple fronts, his book serves as a balm.…
Audio read by Lynn Thomas I love old maps. They speak to me of adventure, exploration, new worlds. Ultimately, they tell stories, and being an English teacher, I love stories! Sea map of PortugalGedaente en ... vant Landt van Portugal; from: Mariner’s Mirror,Lucas Jansz Waghenaer, 1584 A cool thing that occurred to me is how…
My tongue was a different colour every other day for more than two weeks that summer. The day I saw that jawbreaker I knew I had to get it. It was HUGE! Talk about bang for your buck or quarter as the case may be. I was so excited when Mom let me get it.…
A humble imitation of Margaret Atwood's reveries on a piece of bread. Imagine a classroom. You don't have to imagine it, you're in it right now. The colorful poster on the wall with the sparkly stars that says "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll land among the stars" stares back at you…
Audio reading by Lynn Thomas In considering education and how it should evolve to best prepare the class of 2030, we should look at it like we look at Frankenstein. Remember? That cautionary tale warning of the evils of science? Well, not really, it is more the tale of a scientist who longed for things in…
The excitement was palpable as we entered the conference area. There was an electric atmosphere that accentuated the enthusiasm of every individual and amplified it. I marveled at the apparent effect and afterward, I was in awe of the depth and breadth of learning I experienced. I am talking about Microsoft's Global Education Exchange in…
The third in a series discussing the Class of 2030. I remember one Christmas getting the SUPER large box of Crayola Crayons. One hundred undulating colours of possibility. I was absolutely giddy with excitement. Imagine all the beautiful things I could draw! Astronauts or ballet dancers, camels or dragons, elephants or fairies, anything I could…
Over the past few years, I have implemented a feedback form at the end of my course. The goal is for me to be able to reflect and improve the course and my teaching methods based on this student feedback and I have found it invaluable. In fact, it is something I wish I had…
I have been considering what word would best encapsulate my goals for 2019 for quite some time now, and one evening during Christmas break, as I sat contentedly knitting a shawl from Norwegian yarn brought to me as a gift from a friend, I had an epiphany. My word was right in front of me…
It's December: a time to reflect upon the year that is swiftly coming to a close, and a time to look forward to what the new year will bring. This past year has held a lot of new experiences for me. I presented at a conference for the first time, I hosted a #MSFTEduChat Tweetmeet,…
