90% Test Mark. Yay! Right? Not always.

This is the example I give to explain why an overall percent doesn't tell the whole story, and can sometimes slow progress. Three students take a math test of 100 questions: ten questions each for ten different units. Here are the results: Each of the students achieves an average of 90% on the test. They all got the same grade, […]

Posted by milesmac on October 10th, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Why Learn History when you can DO History

Two words: SOCIAL ARTIFACTS Why do we teach world history? So students can answer a daily double on the fertile crescent? So students will know when what happened to whom? Most curricula have "Cluster 0" outcomes; over-arching skill development focusing on process in the context of whatever content each unit happens to present. These are skills like, […]

Posted by milesmac on October 1st, 2012 | 3 Comments Posted in Pedagogy, Projects

Using Sticky-Note Goals on Student Wall for Short Term Goals

My students sit around the perimeter of the room where they have wall space for work and an electric outlet to charge their devices. When students have choices about their focus for the period, or are working on projects, I have them set a goal for the time period, write it on a sticky-note, and […]

Posted by milesmac on September 28th, 2012 | 3 Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Learning in Public where the World is Your Teacher

At the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Manitoba Association of Computing Educators (ManACE) Dean Shareski ‏(@shareski) and Alec Couros ‏(@courosa) explored the idea of learning in public. Their talk titled, "Half-Baked" described the benefits of learning in public spaces, real and virtual, sharing one's "half-baked" skills or ideas and inviting responses from the larger community. […]

Posted by milesmac on May 31st, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Do you believe everything you tweet?

"Do you believe everything you tweet?" I was asked in the hallway one day. I was taken aback. Mentally searching the latest batch of tweets I scanned for something that may have precipitated such a question. We talked briefly about the purpose of my tweets and engagement with the professional learning community. I had retweeted […]

Posted by milesmac on May 11th, 2012 | 2 Comments Posted in Pedagogy

E-Readers or Tablets

Of course this need not be an either/or decision. E-readers are valuable addition to a school's library and tablets can  shared successfully among many students. In a limited budget, would you rather have an e-reader for each student, or a tablet for every 8 students? Would you get some of each? Is it better to have […]

Posted by milesmac on May 2nd, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Poetic Reflection: Who is the Learner Here?

I began my teaching career 1991 in a remote school accessible only by air. I was full of optimism and a belief in the transformative power of education. Believing that I was the agent of change and that the world was just waiting for me, I set out to bring hope and a brighter future […]

Posted by milesmac on April 30th, 2012 | 1 Comment Posted in Pedagogy

Physical Space Influences Teaching and Learning

If you're really committed to eliminating the sage on the stage, give up the stage. Stick some student desks right up front against the whiteboard, see what happens. I did, it is quite interesting. This past September I viewed the following video. It made me think about how this rectangular space of ours could work […]

Posted by milesmac on April 12th, 2012 | 2 Comments Posted in Pedagogy

20+ Years of EdTech

I have used every one of these devices in fulfillment of my duties as a classroom teacher. These were the tools available to me since I became an educator. It makes me feel rather old, but proud nonetheless, to have mastered these valuable communication technologies for teaching and learning. And some say today's technology is too complicated. Want to […]

Posted by milesmac on March 11th, 2012 | 4 Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Minecraft 07 Some Finished Grade 8 Ancient Greece Projects

Our grade 8 classes have wrapped up their first minecraft project recreating a scale version of an Ancient Greek structure. Accompanying the project were some calculations, and a video tour of their structure while describing the historical importance and architectural details. Part of our challenge was getting the students to balance research and writing time with […]

Posted by milesmac on March 1st, 2012 | 15 Comments Posted in Pedagogy
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