I’ve freshened up the blog a little. I needed to clean things up. I mean, after several years, revolving passions, interests, and stuff. And my general category of “learning” had over 750 blog posts. Isn’t everything learning? So, I broke down every thing that is important to me. You know, the things that keep me awake in the middle of the night. The things that I can’t stop reading about, learning about, or thinking about.
Imagine: Reimagine learning that’s right for all kids. Challenge gifted learners, support struggles. Imagine PD that’s better for teachers. Imagine the kind of support that helps all learners. Make it all authentic. Imagine is about dreaming big.
Reflect: Sometimes all that’s left of me at the end of the day is a rambling thought that spins into a blog post. This category should also be titled, read with caution, this might not make sense. Sometimes in learning, it’s the struggle we need to blog about, not just the success. I don’t like to edit posts, I just want to share what’s real.
Make: I consider this category the hub of STEAM, the gadgety goodness of hacking, coding, robotics, and maker spaces. Make stuff and look for things that inspire the maker inside us all. I don’t think every school should have a maker space, I think school should BE a maker space.
Create: Tutorials. People always ask, ‘How did you make that?” I’m going to try to share more often. I consider creativity as necessary as breathing. But, I didn’t want to call the category “Breathing.” But if I don’t take time to create each day, whether it’s a quick Instagram photo, or a huge mess on my kitchen table after school, it has to happen in some way.
Integrate: Tech embedded learning. Tools are great, but it’s the outcome we should be concerned with. Not the icing on the cake, the eggs and flour in the mix. Not an “extra” but something essential. From the details of Google Apps to the bigger picture of tech in the classroom, it’s all about integration.
Connect: PLN’s, global projects, Twitter, and ways to reach out and connect with others, as well as connecting ideas. It’s the connections with others than inspire us, change us, keep us growing, and keep us mentally alive when we most want to quit. People and relationships are the heart of education.
I’m also working on a page of JUST posters. I want anyone who’s looking to print a poster to be able to download it for FREE. I’m going to make that easier here. I’m also setting a goal to blog every day for the next 30 days. No pressure if I miss, but sometimes when I feel confused, or stuck, or excited, or overly passionate or even completely insane, blogging is like opening a little door inside my head and making sense of it all. And now there are even categories that make sense to me. 