Where do social action, art, music, technology, media, pop culture, and most importantly, student needs intersect?
via digitalis.nwp.org From fandom to activism. From story to "cultural acupuncture". The Harry Potter Alliance is propelled by the passion of individuals to unite and create movements for social justice. It is Connected Learning.
What a great event to celebrate how digital tools have transformed education!
Happy Digital Learning Day Eve! I hope you enjoy some reflections from my students on: Digital Learning Is....
At a NSTWP Professional Development Advanced Institute I was co-facilitating, there was much discussion on student culture and identity and using an asset model to best serve our students. My thoughts are this. If each individual being a part of a wider system, and many systems at once, is not aware of his or her identity, this causes potential problems within any network that he or she is a member. If a person's identity is not recognized, affirmed, and responded to, this, too, can cause hiccups in that particular...
Sitting at a district meeting yesterday, I heard more of an all too widespread and alarming discussion. “Our students aren’t interested in learning like we were.” “The kids today are distracted by gadgets...
For many students, school is the only place where they can be on even ground with the rest of their peers. When implementing digital tools to learn, it becomes more than just a question of engagement and participation. How is digital learning an equity issue?
Grant Puts iPads in Hands of English Language Learners Date: January 26, 2012 Summary: North Dallas High School is undergoing a $6 million grant-funded restructuring. At the heart of the work is North Star of Texas Writing Project teacher Janelle Quintans Bence, whose English learners will be using iPads to support their literacy development...
It's common sense. We have to meet our students where they are. We have to know our students and the cultural wealth they bring to our schools. Using what they already know as a method of mediating new learning is just good teaching. So why not meet our students in a mileu that they already know? Using digital tools, thus, capitalizing upon a student's digital literacy, will facilitate literacy instruction. How do we do this? How can we make this a campus-wide practice? How do we sustain it?
"That's how I was taught, and I turned out okay." Who hasn't heard that before in schools across the country? Well, that's not going to work. Or more truthfully, it might work for some, but teachers will lose multitudes of teachable moments with that type of mantra. Instead, we would better serve today's students by really considering their cultural wealth. What differences and simiarities do they bring with them to the classroom that can be supported by learning? What types of practices do they have in other...