Rethinking Learning
conversations about the future of teaching and learning
Barbara Bray
be creative, innovate, take risks, unlearn to learn

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Meme: Passion Quilt

By Barbara Bray      February 19, 2008 -- 10:32 PM

Thanks to Barbara Cohen of Independent Thinking for tagging me for this cool Passion Quilt meme.

Directions: Find or create an image that captures what you are most passionate for kids to learn about.



I took this picture from the air of the Hayward salt ponds. What I like about this is how you can find beauty from most anywhere. Patterns on the ground make a real quilt to enjoy. The world looks different from above and now with Google Earth, students can find these patterns and leave a placemark with facts, images, videos, and even create an audio podcast. This picture is in our eLibrary...   more...
Comments: 1   Last Comment By Andrea Hernandez  February 20, 2008 -- 06:18 AM

Do you have Social Networking Etiquette?

By Barbara Bray      February 3, 2008 -- 08:36 AM
I keep adding myself to more and more social networks. I twitter, post on Facebook, keep del.icio.us tags, connect on LinkedIn, etc. etc.  I know that my children, my nieces and nephews use Facebook daily. Watching what they and their friends post, I wonder if they realize that the world is watching. Alison Miller wrote in her blog Connecting in a Connected World her questions about Facebook and SNet-iquette:

We need to teach people about SNet-iquette (Social Network ettiquette), and the positive and negative effects of their online ’behaviour’, and how they are creating an online ’digital ...   more...
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Trying to define community

By Barbara Bray      January 11, 2008 -- 08:00 AM
I find myself in so many different communities that I am not sure what or how you define what a community is. Maybe there are multiple types of communities depending on the purpose and shared vision of the members of that community. I created a presentation about purpose (Learning Communities for Different Purposes) and plan to keep adding to it. Pretty soon, there’ll be more co-authors adding content about different communities, purposes, etc.

Purpose is important but there are many communities that are just floundering without participation.

My family is my main community. I always touch base ...   more...
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Social Networking or Self-Promotion

By Barbara Bray      November 27, 2007 -- 09:00 AM
How many of you post to your blog regularly? Do you put your blog on Technorati or have RSS? Are people commenting on your posts?

I read Steve Dembo’s post this morning Self-Promotion: Where do you draw the line? and it got me thinking. Why do many of the EdTech world blog?

Since funding cycles have changed, the educational technology world is struggling. There is not as much money going around for many of the same people. So Web 2.0 tools (most free) give you an opportunity to publish, share, give your opinions, comment on others, link to and from, and even embed in your blog. Because the power ...   more...
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Future of the Global Student

By Barbara Bray      November 11, 2007 -- 08:30 AM
Collaboration  - always learning - rethinking how we learn and connect is important, especially today with instant information, everyone and anyone a journalist, actor, writer. So what does this mean for our students and for their future. Kim Cofino presented at the Teach IT conference in Singapore and shared her presentation on SlideShare. Curious what you think...


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Framing Change: providing a place and time to wonder

By Barbara Bray      October 29, 2007 -- 09:21 AM
Ben Wilkoff, a 7th/8th grade Language Arts teacher at Cresthill Middle School in Colorado presented Obstacles to Opportunities “Starting From Scratch: Framing Change for All Stakeholders” presented at the K12 Online Conference. Ben designed a school model called The Academy of Discovery.

He shares about framing change for schools, teachers, students, administrators, and parents. If you think of school in its present form, then the thought of any change is monumental and overwhelming. He explains very clearly that you need a new framework of pedagogy and his focus at Cresthill is a singular concept ...   more...
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Blogging about Yourself

By Barbara Bray      September 25, 2007 -- 09:14 AM
Konrad Glogowski shared a post "Learning to be Myself" on his blog of proximal development that I recommend teachers to read who want to blog with their students. He starts out "If education is essentially a social process, then the teacher needs to be part of the learning community, not only as its facilitator but also as one of its members."

The blog he uses with his 8th grade students is all about him and how he relates to the curriculum. The title is not just his name but something catchy and he thought about for some time. He created an avatar and description that represents him and  ...   more...
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Women of the Web (WoW) Podcasting

By Barbara Bray      June 26, 2007 -- 06:42 PM
The night is getting dark in a deserted convention center (at NECC) - surreal with some of the audience listening in the Second Life room and Roxanne, Janice, and I listening to the ongoing podcast as it was happening (edtechtank.com/chat). Kind of weird just sitting a few feet away trying to listen with it delayed. Members of the audience shared their highlights of NECC. Ian Jukes presentation, the panel with David Warlick, Gwen Solomon, et al, and the main points were the connections and the people. So fun! I was lucky to add something on kids and podcasting.


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Comments: 3   Last Comment By small Teresa Roebuck  January 13, 2010 -- 07:34 PM

RSS as Professional Development?

By Barbara Bray      April 24, 2007 -- 08:23 AM
What does Professional Development mean to you? I was reading through different blogs on community, pd, Web 2.0, and decided that with Web 2.0, community can mean anything to you and maybe something completely different to me. So how does community fit with PD? I see how Dean Shareski explains the whole “professional development via RSS”...   more...
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Blog about Blogging

By Barbara Bray      March 28, 2007 -- 08:09 AM
Kimberly Moritz, a high school principal from Gowanda School District, wrote a blog about blogging with students that I wanted to share with you.

It’s a mistake to ask teachers to blog with their students. It causes anxiety and worry about too many things. Teachers may worry that their own writing will be judged. They worry about inappropriate comments and linking to undesirable places and people. They also figure they don’t have anything to say.

That’s why I say “forget blogging with your kids.” Blog for you, for your own learning.

What do you think?
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Comments: 2   Last Comment By small Bill McGrath  April 4, 2007 -- 12:53 PM