Digital Tribes and the Social Web

Steve Wheeler, whose blog I always read, has kindly shared his recent conference presentation via slideshare.

Your PLN

This is a great, professional looking slideshare presentation from Mark Woolley found at Heyjudeonline.

‘PLN Yourself’

Last year @suewaters collected some great data on PLNs which assisted her to build this ‘PLN Yourself’ wiki. Sue’s work has helped many, including myself, to inservice colleagues and grow our networks.

Please help Sue Waters to collect data on the tools that assist our PLNs.

Connectivism: A Vision for Education

Connectivism & Connective Knowledge #CCK09

This week, like many learning professionals around the globe, I commenced an online course to disrupt all online courses, Connectivism & Connective Knowledge.

The #CCK09 MOODLE has many resources and you can drop by and read all the participant introductions.

‘Connectivism is the thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks’.

After listening to Stephen Downes and George Siemens discussing what is Connectivism my understanding of this learning theory is deepening. Their differing perspectives are clearer – and very complimentary.

I’d like a list of recommended readings pertaining to neuroscience from Stephen and George.

Also, I wonder if George or Stephen were fans of James Bourke’s televison shows or know about his K-web?

A Teacher’s Guide to Web 2.0

Courtesy of @TonySearl

Developing a PLN #IWBNET09 Presentation

The Best School Websites

Q: What’s the best school website you know? Please send! I’ll collate and do a blog post. Cheers

I asked the above question of my PLN on Twitter and what follows is the complete list of all school websites tweeted or emailed in response. Thanks to everyone who responded and/or retweeted.

I’ve decided to break these sites into three groups: local, Australian and international for ease of reference. Do we have a representative sample of what’s out there to look at, or do you have some brilliant school websites to add?

International (not all are ‘school’ websites)

Ambleside Primary School   Global Gorillas

Crescent Girls’ School   Archer School for Girls   Kent

Vail Mountain School    

Hendrix College   Wycombe High School

Headington School   Georgetown Elementary School  

Kaneland Community Unit School    Royal Agricultural College  

University of Rochester   Wireglass Ranch High School  

Olathe South High School   Arapahoe High School

http://begeleidzelfstandigleren.com/   Saint James School

 

Australian

Murwillumbah High School   Broken Hill High School   

St Joseph’s College   Ringwood North    SCEGGS

Copacabana Public School    Boggabilla Central School

 Tuggerah Lakes College   Glenquarry Public School

 Hurlstone Agricultural High School   MLC

Cleveland District State High School

Bendigo Senior Secondary College

Local sites

These school websites belong to schools in my immediate vicinity that were sent to me:

Mt Keira Public School   Mt Terry Public School  

Corrimal East Public School   Campbell House

Minnamurra Public School   Nowra Public School  

North Nowra Pubic School   Narwee Public School  

Oak Flats High School 

 

Thoughts?

I suspect that many of us feel our school websites are not all they could be and badly in need of updating, or didn’t tweet them, fearing they may be judged of not a good enough standard. Many of you asked me what is the criteria for the ‘best’ school website and my response was, ‘that is up to you’. I feel strongly that the website must not merely ‘advertise’ the school and be more than just an extension of what the school offers.

Each school has a different context and needs and this is evident by the diverse range of sites above. It is worrying but predictable to note that Web 2.0 is not a feature and that most school websites would not be of much interest to a student, in my opinion, with a notable exception or two. Or is that too harsh considering what is likely on their intranet and unavailable to us?

Did anyone else notice that ‘student voice’ is almost completely absent from school websites?

Our school site has served for many years but we are starting again, as I type, and an important conversation I am hoping will arise here for my school to access. Consulting students and the community will be a key part of our school strategy in a, hopefully fertile, effort to engage them with the new site.

• What site above do you admire – and why?
• What innovation and ideas would you have for an ‘about to be built’ school site?
•  How many school sites truly reveal themselves to be practically serving communities of learners?

Who can help me help us to have an inspirational and ground-breaking school website?

A Brave New World-Wide-Web

David Truss created this great, inspirational video last year.

more about “A Brave New World-Wide-Web! (The vide…“, posted with vodpod

 

Learning Professionals to Follow on Twitter

Check out this list, 100 Featured Learning Professionals Online .

‘Learning Professionals’, I really like the way Jane Hart has described ‘educators’ to follow on Twitter.

Wonder how other people feel about the description?

I am going to work my way through Jane’s list and find some new people to ‘follow’.

Who is new, to you, for you to ‘follow’?