Blog Posts
Recently I have been posting a bunch of notes on books that I have been reading, whether or not they have had an impact on my life! I am a little obsessed with reading, something that I blame the pandemic for starting; it was either read or play Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes. I occasionally share my thoughts on ed-tech and coaching, which should probably happen more often give the name of this website.
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The Instructional Coach Course: A Marathon of Learning (But Without the Sweat)
I have just past the halfway point on the Instructional Coach Course with Jim Knight and Brian Sepe. I am learning a truckload of strategies and techniques I did not know existed. My current plan is to create some checklists and infographics to accompany them. In the...
Moonwalking with Einstein – Joshua Foer
Remembering items in a list: the first thing that really resonated with me was that it is hard to remember a series of words, and that are not linked together. Foer says that one word is inextricably linked to the next word. So for example he wants to remember: bear...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 9 – Be Different
Ed Tech I'm Using Looking for a way to promote positive mental health and well-being in your classroom? Look no further than along.org. With a focus on social-emotional learning and building strong relationships, this evidence-based program provides the tools and...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 8 – Be Different
Ed Tech I'm Using In Experiments with Google, Haiku poems can be enhanced with the assistance of AI-generated music, fonts, and video. This is especially beneficial for my EAL students and creates a more emotional impact. AI I'm Exploring The announcement from Google...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 7 – Who Will Inherit The Earth?
Ed Tech I'm Using Google Fonts - not exactly groundbreaking, but I recently rediscovered Google Fonts, after using dafont for what seems like forever. Google Fonts is now my go-to for all of my font needs! AI I'm Exploring Teachable Machine is a free online tool...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 6 – Where Is The Toe Connected To?
Get ready for your weekly serving of what's been happening in my head and life! Ed-Tech I’m Using I used Mentimeter for the first time whilst delivering a workshop at ISPP in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I first came across this on a bright morning podcast. The host, Elena...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 5 -Class of 20.
Get ready for your weekly serving of what's been happening in my head and life! Ed-Tech I’m Testing This week one of my students introduced me to CapCut an online video editor to match the power of iMovie! It is free to use, available on both Android and iOS, as well...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 4
Get ready for your weekly serving of what's been happening in my head and life! Ed-Tech I’m Testing It's that time of year when I'm teaching a bunch of digital citizenship lessons including the importance of checking and triangulating information online. Below you'll...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 3
Ed-Tech I’m Testing This week my co-teacher and I were teaching plotting points, and writing coordinates on a 4 quadrant graph. I found the following a lot of fun and a way for the students to approach the topic in a fun way. Topmarks has a bunch of links to different...
The Why Axis: Motivation, Purpose and Authentic Self-Interest
Look for the hidden variable when analyzing data - particularly for causal relationships. Discrimination can take many forms, from race and religion to the schools and places you work at. Most modern-day discrimination is caused by people/companies looking to increase...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 2
Ed-Tech I’m Testing Recently, I've dived back into Google Sheets and got my Grade 5 students to cover all the basics required for making a line graph. I dubbed this the "7 Steps to Success in a Graph" and made sure to emphasize the importance of: Clear and concise...
Falling Upward – Richard Rohr
There are two parts to life. The start of the second part of our lives may begin without us even knowing, but that suffering is involved in " a deep invitation to something more." The second part of our journey begins with a sacrifice. For me that was breaking up with...
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Episode 1
Following in the footsteps of two people I think are outstanding, James Clear and Tim Ferris, I will be doing a weekly reflection on my week in education. It will include: Ed-Tech I'm testing Teaching practice I'm trying YouTube video I'm watching A quote I am...
Virtual Learning Survival Guide
Today is February 16th, 2020, and instead of looking out at the Shanghai skyline (not much to see from my third-floor apartment), I am looking out at that sun setting over Patong beach in southern Thailand. I am here as it felt like a safer place to be, given the...
Calibrating Concentration Time
This weekend I experimented with my ideal concentration time for academic writing. I tried the Pomodoro technique but felt that it was too short at 25 minutes. Next up, I tried 90 minutes worth of concentration, after reading the stupendous book Deep Work by Cal...
Speechify Overview
Speechify is a powerful app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to convert written text into spoken words. The technology behind Speechify is impressive and offers a range of features that make it an ideal tool for individuals with reading...
It Is What It Is!
What should you do when you disagree with someone at work? Normally, I like to question, tentatively, over the issue...you know ask critical questions such as: look at why the decision was made; what is the impact of that decision; when was the last time it was...
Scribble Diffusion
Scribble Diffusion uses AI to create images by leveraging computer vision algorithms to analyze the patterns and strokes made by the pen on paper. When the pen is used to create a drawing or sketch, the AI in Scribble Diffusion analyzes the various lines, curves, and...
This Week In AI
To start the week I used Scribble Diffusion with my students to create basket tags - what a total blast that was - thanks Year 6D! Then, after some online community misunderstandings, I used Speechify to read out loud, in the style of Snoop Dog, a digital citizenship...
Capture and Create Value – A Tech Coach Perspective
As of August 2021, I am our school’s system-wide technology integration and coordination specialist! So what exactly does this mean? Primarily I see myself as a tech coach, but now I also; collaborate, consult, evaluate, and troubleshoot technology puzzles so to...