Amazing, it seems like it was just yesterday that I was writing a reflection piece about the end of a school year. Now, I am looking at the last week of classes before the holiday break. How time flies 🙂
I guess I know what my New Year’s Resolution will be this year – spend more time reflecting in this blog. One of the changes I have made since my last post was a redefinition of my ICT focus at my school. I have changed my department head title from Dept. Head of Educational Technology to Department Head of Learning Technologies.
I like the focus on learning rather than technology this semantic change evokes. Don’t get me wrong – I am still a big fan of educational technology, but I prefer the new focus. The new emphasis on learning reminds me of how the SAMR model highlights the transformative power of technology – to enable our students and ourselves to do things that were impossible just a few years ago. The student image in this post shows him working on his teacher designed lesson. The online software provides a wealth of content information, 24/7 access, interactive content, a connection to the electronic text book, his teacher, and so much more.
We are facing exciting times at my school. Our 1 to 1 program which is in its second year, expanding from the original Grade 5 classes (expanded to Grade six this year) to a larger scale next year. 1 to 1 technology access provides us with so many more options now that we don’t have to deal with booking lab time or laptop carts.
For those of you who are looking for a daily fix of Learning Technology ideas, please visit my paper.li site called Phil’s Learning Technology News. The content of this daily “paper” is generated by my Twitter feed.
Happy Holidays to you and yours,
Phil
