XplanaZine

Here’s a summary of ideas and conversations from the edublogging community that have captured our attention in the past 48 hours.Dean Shareski follows up on Will Richardson’s earlier post expressing disappointment in education panelists who opine on blogging. Dean asks, less generically than Will, “why don’t they blog?”

“I’m not suggesting that this is the only form of communication but right now this is the best tool for engaging in global conversation. I’m guessing they’d say time is an issue. That simply tells you where it fits on their priority. I’m guessing they understand blogging but without really experiencing it, it’s difficult to appreciate the real professional development that occurs. The conversations that I’m involved with and the resources that have been shared with me cannot be overstated. “

He is exactly right. Blogging is something you have to experience. And, Dean’s not the first to point to the PD benefits of blogging.

On another front, Ulises Ali Mejias picks up on the sensibility of incorporating multi-function game platforms like the Nintendo DS into the classroom. As he points out, the could certainly replace classroom clickers. But, they could also serve as e-book readers, blogging devices, and general research machines. It’s convergence that makes sense.

Continuing down the path of curriculum mashups and student-centered learning, Harold Jarche starts to ask specific questions about what this would look like. He begins his post with a link to a quote by Bill Fitzgerald and I like this particular snippet. ”
True student-centered teaching takes more preparation than traditional
lecture because the teacher needs to be prepared for whatever outcome
organically arises.” Harold also points to Brian Alger’s assertion that curriculum is really just a solution to a problem we have created. Get rid of the problem (our ideas about learning) and the need for curriculum starts to dissipate with it.