by Donna Miller Fry (@fryed)
If we are to build an effective learning network, what will it look like? An effective learning network is complex, changing, growing, shrinking, morphing over old, new and evolving platforms. It reaches into classrooms and across the globe, held together by personal learning networks (PLNs) that continually build new connections, cultivate new relationships and learning […]
Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook make sharing easy, much easier, in fact, than reading the full content or discovering the real source of the post. An algorithm, which you have no control over, determines what content reaches your eyes. There is no human to complain to when that goes wrong. Facebook makes money through […]
Should education leaders work openly? Is knowledge more rapidly mobilized through the system when leaders work openly? For the purposes of my work, I am considering personal professional openness – the concept of sharing thinking and learning in open spaces, curating resources for others, engaging in open conversations in text or through broadcast technologies like […]
We all know carbon dating has been disproven. Homosexuality is a choice. Climate change is a hoax. Hillary is a criminal. Everyone should carry a gun for protection. All of these statements have been treated as facts in the media over the past few weeks, in preparation for USA to go to the polls. And […]
Dr. Jean Clinton is a pediatric psychiatrist and advisor to the Ontario Minister of Education. Yesterday she spent two hours at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, speaking with parents, educators and community members interested in the well-being of children in our communities. How are the children doing? Is this the major concern and question that […]
This morning, I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with PQP Part 1 Candidates in the OPC PQP course at HWDSB. In conversation with their instructor, my friend and colleague and exemplary principal, Lisa Neale, we challenged the notion of “digital leadership” and its relevance in 2016. We often say we need to […]
Today I was invited to work with pre-service education students at Lakehead University where I learned more about how our FSL teachers are learning to do great work with students in the future. We explored ways in which they can think deeply about their practice, and how they can continue to self-direct their learning. Here are our […]
We have the technology now to learn from the best teachers in the world. We can access our PLN from almost anywhere, through synchronous and asynchronous technologies. Today, our students need personalized learning options. Our teachers need to learn according to personal and professional interests. Our leaders need to be able to consult with experts, […]
What are our most urgent student learning needs? This question is at the centre of tables around the province as boards and schools go through their new school and board improvement process (SILC: System Improvement Learning Cycles). The new process, evolving from the former BIPSA process, is more agile (faster cycles), more targeted, and more […]
I’m not sure how to share this experience because it is new, intense and raw, and writing is the way I try to sort things out. So please bear with me. How do we describe and define the intense feelings we experience when we see people we care about, colleagues in our profession, working their fingers […]
