The one thing that always amazes me about working in a central educational organisation is the different sense of time. Most schools are winding up the year, closing off things and setting up for the new year, whereas the holiday break for the system seems to be an inconvenience in regards to rolling out change and transformation to more schools. This can feel like two contrasting currents and when they meet it can create for some choppy waters. Subsequently, I have found myself pulled pillar to post this month to get schools over the line, but we are getting there.
On the family front, we saw the remake of The Lion King. We also went to the Eureka Skydeck.
Personally, I have continued my recent return to books, reading Laura Hilliger’s Maybe Zombies and Annabel Crabb’s The Wife Drought. I have also been exploring some new (and old) ABC podcasts, including the J Files and Inspired. As well as listening to music from King Princess, Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow and Bat for Lashes.
In regards to my writing, I submitted a reflection for Changing Tracks on what would have been my mother’s 60th birthday.
Changing Tracks – A Song That Was Playing When My Life Changed Track
Here then are some of the other thoughts and ideas that have grabbed my attention this month:
Education
Digikids and the quandry of the declining literacy levels
Gill Light unpacks Four Corner’s exploration of Digi Kids, wondering what it actually means to be literate today?
An Online Student Dashboard
Greg Miller discusses his initial steps in developing an online student dashboard that provides parents information beyond the usual biannual reports.
How Can We Make Homework More Meaningful?
Bill Ferriter makes a plea for more meaningful homework.
A 9-Stage Continuum of Teacher-Centered to Learner-Led Classrooms & Communities
Bernard Bull compiles a continuum of classroom and community learning, from teacher centred to learner led.
Fit2Learn: Learning How to Learn
Silvia Tolisano breaks the ability and preparedness to learn into six different aspects: mental training, physical training, process, fuel, injury and events.
Using the Internet to Raise Your Children
Quinn Norton celebrates the fun work of learning alongside her daughter sharing some of the resources and strategies she has used along the way.
Technology
Ed-Tech Agitprop
Audrey Watters defamilarises the stories we sell ourselves about educational technology.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Keynote Address at ADL’s 2019 Never Is Now Summit on Anti-Semitism and Hate
Sacha Baron Cohen discusses the current threat to democracy being served by the ‘Silicon Six’.
Abstaining From Social Media Doesn’t Improve Well-Being, Experimental Study Finds
Matthew Warren shares research that suggests that the link between social media use to poor mental health are overblown.
How will we try to fix Facebook?
Bryan Alexander discusses the different ways that have been suggested to fix Facebook.
A Teen’s Guide To Privacy
Lam Thuy Vo and Caroline Haskins provide some ways to rethink online habits.
What Happened to Tagging?
Alexander Samuel reflects on tagging and its origins as a backbone to the social web.
Reflection
How private schools have taken over the AFL
Jake Niall discusses the rise of private-school football as the dominant pathway to playing in the Australian Football League.
Open Ed, Digital Pedagogy Lab & the Challenge of Education Conferences
Sean Michael Morris explores the place and purpose of the educational conference.
I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
Allie Conti documents the way in which scammers work around Airbnb’s terms and conditions to con vulnerable tourists with false listings by seemingly fake accounts.
7 great performances from the history of the ARIA Awards
Dan Cohen digs into the ARIA YouTube Channel to share a number of moments from the past.
The Next Big Cheap
Kelly Pendergrast borrows from Jason Moore in proposing that data is the new big ‘cheap thing’.
‘What could I have done?’ The scientist who predicted the bushfire emergency four decades ago
Graham Readfearn discusses Tom Beer’s research with CSIRO in the 80’s and 90’s exploring the impact of global warming on bushfires
Read Write Respond #047
So that was November for me, how about you? As always, love to hear.
Cover Image via JustLego101
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