Comments for Graham Wegner - Open Educator http://gwegner.edublogs.org Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:39:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Comment on Headspace by Graham Wegner http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2012/01/26/headspace/comment-page-1/#comment-16716 Graham Wegner Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:39:00 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=1442#comment-16716 Thanks for the encouragement Pam. Perhaps I'll see you at the CEGSA AGM? Thanks for the encouragement Pam. Perhaps I’ll see you at the CEGSA AGM?

]]> Comment on The Network – Platform Edition by Graham Wegner http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2012/02/03/the-network/comment-page-1/#comment-16715 Graham Wegner Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:37:11 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=1449#comment-16715 How did you go with things like printer permissions? I'd love to experiment with Linux as an option in my school down the track but there are a bunch of higher priorities for the forseeable future. Thanks for sharing. How did you go with things like printer permissions? I’d love to experiment with Linux as an option in my school down the track but there are a bunch of higher priorities for the forseeable future. Thanks for sharing.

]]> Comment on The Network – Platform Edition by Kevin Kirton http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2012/02/03/the-network/comment-page-1/#comment-16713 Kevin Kirton Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:25:05 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=1449#comment-16713 I used my Ubuntu laptop for all my teaching in 2011. I used OpenOffice and Scratch to make presentations for teaching Japanese, and I used VLC for movies. Only a handful of students and teachers had even heard of Linux, so there was something of the novelty of the unknown. There were only two problems that come to mind. The browser-based reporting software used by the NSW department of education has a line-wrapping problem when used in any browser other than Internet Explorer. And a really good Japanese video site (Erin's Challenge) would not stream properly through the school's network (although it worked fine when I used my own modem). So neither of those were problems with Linux. I'm also platform agnostic, but I think the philosophies that underpin Linux, GNU, FOSS, and OER are a great match for educational institutions. I used my Ubuntu laptop for all my teaching in 2011. I used OpenOffice and Scratch to make presentations for teaching Japanese, and I used VLC for movies.
Only a handful of students and teachers had even heard of Linux, so there was something of the novelty of the unknown.
There were only two problems that come to mind. The browser-based reporting software used by the NSW department of education has a line-wrapping problem when used in any browser other than Internet Explorer. And a really good Japanese video site (Erin’s Challenge) would not stream properly through the school’s network (although it worked fine when I used my own modem). So neither of those were problems with Linux.
I’m also platform agnostic, but I think the philosophies that underpin Linux, GNU, FOSS, and OER are a great match for educational institutions.

]]> Comment on The Network – Platform Edition by Pam Thompson http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2012/02/03/the-network/comment-page-1/#comment-16712 Pam Thompson Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:07:56 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=1449#comment-16712 My thoughts too, which is one of the reasons I introduced Macs to our school. I can see the kids starting to respond in the same way to the two different platforms. They are comfortable with both and appreciate that there are some things that each has that the other doesn't, but that a task is not usually restricted to one tool. My thoughts too, which is one of the reasons I introduced Macs to our school. I can see the kids starting to respond in the same way to the two different platforms. They are comfortable with both and appreciate that there are some things that each has that the other doesn’t, but that a task is not usually restricted to one tool.

]]> Comment on Headspace by Pam Thompson http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2012/01/26/headspace/comment-page-1/#comment-16711 Pam Thompson Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:06:17 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=1442#comment-16711 Hi Graham. I totally understand your concerns and, knowing how you approached your classroom teaching, I can see that this will be a real dilemma for you. You will find ways to overcome this I'm sure and maybe the idea of treating your sessions with your staff as your classroom teaching is a good start. Hi Graham. I totally understand your concerns and, knowing how you approached your classroom teaching, I can see that this will be a real dilemma for you. You will find ways to overcome this I’m sure and maybe the idea of treating your sessions with your staff as your classroom teaching is a good start.

]]> Comment on Headspace by Graham Wegner http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2012/01/26/headspace/comment-page-1/#comment-16705 Graham Wegner Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:01:52 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=1442#comment-16705 Thank you very much for your considered comment. Teachers always want to see the link between theory and practice and your suggestion about modeling that at every opportunity is a good one. Talking at my colleagues will only go so far. Thank you very much for your considered comment. Teachers always want to see the link between theory and practice and your suggestion about modeling that at every opportunity is a good one. Talking at my colleagues will only go so far.

]]> Comment on Headspace by Amber Nowlin http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2012/01/26/headspace/comment-page-1/#comment-16702 Amber Nowlin Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:20:50 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=1442#comment-16702 I am not in a leadership role at either of my schools, but I will speak to what I respect in a great AP that I know. I'm not at her campus anymore, but she's amazing. Probably the best thing she did to keep instructional touch and credibility was how she approached professional development days. Now, I'm in the States, and I don't know how your school year is done in Australia, but here we have days where an entire campus staff has time to work together without the students there. Do you have those? Anyway, she really approached the segments/seminars that she led as her classroom teaching time. She taught teachers, and she did it using tools and techniques that we could take back to and use in our own classrooms, with our own students. Even when her sessions were on something that should have been dull, she had us engaged in the process and the content. I never felt like she wasted our time, and always came away with some new idea that I wanted to try. I am not in a leadership role at either of my schools, but I will speak to what I respect in a great AP that I know. I’m not at her campus anymore, but she’s amazing.

Probably the best thing she did to keep instructional touch and credibility was how she approached professional development days. Now, I’m in the States, and I don’t know how your school year is done in Australia, but here we have days where an entire campus staff has time to work together without the students there. Do you have those? Anyway, she really approached the segments/seminars that she led as her classroom teaching time. She taught teachers, and she did it using tools and techniques that we could take back to and use in our own classrooms, with our own students. Even when her sessions were on something that should have been dull, she had us engaged in the process and the content. I never felt like she wasted our time, and always came away with some new idea that I wanted to try.

]]> Comment on The Concept Of The Virtual Schoolbag by Jim Stuercke http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2011/09/28/the-concept-of-the-virtual-schoolbag/comment-page-1/#comment-16623 Jim Stuercke Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:07:27 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2011/09/28/#comment-16623 Thank you for your post. I am convinced that students will respond in a positive manner when they recognize that they are genuinely cared for, and their interests are taken to heart. Those "positive relationships" that you mentioned are built on a foundation of hope, encouragement, guidance, appreciation, and achievement. The interaction that you describe having with your student population is admirable because it shows a picture of someone who is committed to building such a foundation; more concerned with what he can give to children, rather than what he can get from them. Thank you for your post. I am convinced that students will respond in a positive manner when they recognize that they are genuinely cared for, and their interests are taken to heart. Those “positive relationships” that you mentioned are built on a foundation of hope, encouragement, guidance, appreciation, and achievement. The interaction that you describe having with your student population is admirable because it shows a picture of someone who is committed to building such a foundation; more concerned with what he can give to children, rather than what he can get from them.

]]> Comment on John Hattie – Visible Learning by Chris Welch http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2010/03/01/john-hattie-visible-learning/comment-page-1/#comment-16619 Chris Welch Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:44:14 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=919#comment-16619 Self report grades I understand as student self assessment. We use this extensively. For students to self assess though they need a differentiated, clear statement of criteria. That's the hard part. So we have lines of criteria for various elements of application and participation from Unsatisfactory, Inconsistent, Substantial, Commendable and Outstanding. We have report criteria for each subject from Y7 to Y11. We have been building this for the last 5 years. There's also criteria for study skills. Students musty be able to assess where they are on a line of criteria and be able to see clearly what they need to to get to the next level. Feedback from the teacher of course. Hattie has done a huge service to education. Cheers Self report grades I understand as student self assessment. We use this extensively. For students to self assess though they need a differentiated, clear statement of criteria. That’s the hard part. So we have lines of criteria for various elements of application and participation from Unsatisfactory, Inconsistent, Substantial, Commendable and Outstanding. We have report criteria for each subject from Y7 to Y11. We have been building this for the last 5 years. There’s also criteria for study skills. Students musty be able to assess where they are on a line of criteria and be able to see clearly what they need to to get to the next level. Feedback from the teacher of course. Hattie has done a huge service to education.
Cheers

]]> Comment on How Do I Find Sierra Leone? by Graham Wegner http://gwegner.edublogs.org/2011/11/08/how-do-i-find-sierra-leone/comment-page-1/#comment-16614 Graham Wegner Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:34:33 +0000 http://gwegner.edublogs.org/?p=1411#comment-16614 I have no doubt that this student has a better shot at life on her own terms here in Australia, although she is not without her own barriers to overcome simply through the events of her life that led her and her family here. We have many students from all around the world here at my school and I suppose I was wondering out loud whether the system of education we have here is unwittingly biased against kids like this and the "virtual school bag" she brings to school. What we value as an Australian society may not necessarily be of this person's world - but being literate and numerate are valuable life skills that transcend and make connections between cultures. I was just bouncing my ideas up against Jose's statement that seemed to infer to me that our education system rewards kids with certain values, dispositions and support mechanisms. How much of an advantage does my own child have where he is read to on a daily basis, has access to the internet and mainstream culture and has a comfortable life where hunger and want (of a real kind) are unknown, compared to the child who can still remember life in the refugee camp, where parents can't help with their homework because their English is being learned from their kids and where their long term future still depends on whether their home country will be safe sometime to return to - if there is anything left to return to? I'm rambling but a lot of things have been in the past for disadvantaged groups that hasn't always turned out to be in their best interest. Acknowledging up front that education is not a level playing field can be a start to avoiding the mistakes of the past. I have no doubt that this student has a better shot at life on her own terms here in Australia, although she is not without her own barriers to overcome simply through the events of her life that led her and her family here. We have many students from all around the world here at my school and I suppose I was wondering out loud whether the system of education we have here is unwittingly biased against kids like this and the “virtual school bag” she brings to school. What we value as an Australian society may not necessarily be of this person’s world – but being literate and numerate are valuable life skills that transcend and make connections between cultures. I was just bouncing my ideas up against Jose’s statement that seemed to infer to me that our education system rewards kids with certain values, dispositions and support mechanisms. How much of an advantage does my own child have where he is read to on a daily basis, has access to the internet and mainstream culture and has a comfortable life where hunger and want (of a real kind) are unknown, compared to the child who can still remember life in the refugee camp, where parents can’t help with their homework because their English is being learned from their kids and where their long term future still depends on whether their home country will be safe sometime to return to – if there is anything left to return to? I’m rambling but a lot of things have been in the past for disadvantaged groups that hasn’t always turned out to be in their best interest. Acknowledging up front that education is not a level playing field can be a start to avoiding the mistakes of the past.

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