Whatisschool November 20, 2014

Being #whatisschool tonight, talking about writing and communication, which I am so passionate about, has been nothing short of amazing.  For me art, film, writing-both fiction and non-fiction for print and TV, has been a lifelong journey I have now passed on to my kids. It has made them richer, multi-dimensional thinkers, creators and doers.  In this incredible age of technology and communication it is exciting, heart quickening, to guide children into the realm of communication and let them go, watch them soar.  As teachers you have the power to do this. You also have the power to extinguish their enthusiasm, a flicker of light fading out in the night. Be passionate, be bold, take risks! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain…so do your students.  Archives are posted below. -Laura

Author Laura Hill presenting with her daughters

How does Good Writing Create Powerful Communication?

#Whatisschool Thursday, November 20, 2014 6PM EST

Last week we talked about the changing nature of communication and the impact it has on student's ability to succeed.  This week #whatisschool takes a deeper look into the mechanics of writing, the basis for all communication.  So what is good writing, how does it affect communication and how can we foster a passion for visionary communicating in students?  

As an author who also writes with children this topic holds a dear place in my heart.  In my work, which spans 15 years of television and documentary production and five years of literary work, I have never found anything that is singularly more powerful, or misleading, than words.  Nations stand or fall, relations start or end, great ideas are created or extinguished like a spark in the night, all by words. I have written many articles on the topic of writing with children,  Living A PBL Life, Breaking The Mold, Flipped Writing, Why Shared Experience Is Crucial To Creative Writing, Real Life Experience, Making Dream Come True and created a web site dedicated to the Great Story World Mix-Up books my daughters and I have written. Please join me this week and invite your colleagues and students to this very special #whatisschool.      –Laura

 

Author Laura Hill presenting Secret Writing

#Whatisschool Thursday, November 20, 2014 6PM EST

1) What is the most important aspect of good communication, content or proficiency?

2) Can you strengthen student communication and writing skills by creating shared experience?

3) What methods can you employ to increase the impact of student communication and writing?

4) Beyond the written word, what forms of communication have students found most effective and engaging?

5) How can visual and audial technology or methodology increase the power of student communication?

6) How do you see students communicating in the future? What's the most important skill you can teach them? 

#whatisschool is an international twitter forum co-founded by author, speaker Laura Hill and tech teacher Craig Kemp that attracts thousands of educators who come together to re-imagine school in order to give students the skills they need to be leaders, inventors and creators in a global digital/communication economy.  Join us every Thursday night at 7PM EST, questions and archives of each week's chat are posted below.  To bring  #whatisschool to your school email Laura Hill or contact me on twitter @candylandcaper.  I hope you join us! -Laura

A Special Thank You 

I wanted to send a thank you, to all the educators who make #whatisschool an amazing forum and to those celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on all the good that we have done.  You and I are on the forefront of leadership exhibiting the willingness to explore, change and create; skills we want our students to embrace as they go into the world. For myself, this has been an extraordinary year in which I find myself busier than ever but even more importantly, I find myself evolving in thought and action.  Make a pledge to yourself this Thanksgiving to say Thank You to all the people who have made this year extraordinary and if nothing extraordinary has happened yet, be the agent of change!  Don't worry about the nay-sayers and the blatant self promoters.  Make a promise to yourself that 2015 will not be filled with the same reasons, or excuses, for not making a difference however big or small in your world.  Do it for yourself, do it for your students. Thank you for all your support and amazing input, you are each and every one a gold star -Laura

Happy Thanksgiving!

Related Reading: Are You A School Reformer?

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Whatisschool November 14, 2014

Thank you for joining us for another amazing chat #whatisschool. As I sit down each week to write the questions and vet the ideas I think are important to you, I find I get very reflective.  Pouring through the archive, sometimes for hours, is a real eye opener not only showcasing the questions educators are asking but the brilliant solutions you are finding to the changing environment you find yourself in each day. You are heroes, you are learners you are inspiration, you are teachers.  My daughters are your students now and the lessons they learn will shape who they become. Be bold, be loud, make yourself heard! I am thankful to have such an amazing PLN. Archive from this week's chat is below. 

How Does Communication Effect Teaching?

#Whatisschool Thursday, November 14, 2014 6PM EST

 "We are living a public life on a global stage, the ones who can express themselves best, will be heard." -Laura Hill, Author The Great Story World Mix-Up, co-creator #whatisschool

As we quickly move toward a communications based workforce students who have mastered the ability to communicate are the ones that will be heard.  So how do we maximize these capabilities when we don’t even know how students will be communicating?

Dr. Hussein S. El-Ghoroury, CEO and Founder of California based tech developer Ostendo, thinks he has found one of the answers to the future of communication in a 3-D smart phone based holographic interface that uses nanotechnology to project real time images from a camera no bigger that the one on an iphone.   Due out in consumer markets this summer Dr. El-Ghoroury had this to say in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal:

“Imagine if everything coming back to you was in 3-D-all your shopping, all your gaming, everyway you receive data.”

Dr. Hussein S. El-Ghoroury, CEO and Founder of  Ostendo

So, how are you preparing students to communicate in the future?

 Questions #Whatisschool 

Thursday, November 14, 2014 6PM EST

Join us for this special time change this week!

1) What methods of communication have you employed to expand your students' ability to communicate?

2) Which methods or technologies do students use to communicate with peers? Are they same as those used in school?

3) How can students and teachers employ these methods and technologies to strengthen communication skills?

4) How do you see people communicating in the future? How can you build student skills to replace forms that are obsolete?

5) Think of some ways, real or imagined, that would strengthen student' communication skills on a global stage?

6) What role, if any, does communication play in students becoming future leaders, creators and thinkers?

#whatisschool is an international twitter forum co-founded by author, speaker Laura Hill and tech teacher Craig Kemp that attracts thousands of educators who come together to re-imagine school in order to give students the skills they need to be leaders, inventors and creators in a global digital/communication economy.  Join us every Thursday night at 7PM EST, questions and archives of each week's chat are posted below.  To bring  #whatisschool to your school email Laura Hill or contact me on twitter @candylandcaper.  I hope you join us! -Laura

Whatisschool, November 6, 2014

Is Evaluation A Valuable Tool?

#Whatisschool, Thursday November 6, 7PM EST

In a world that is constantly changing, we find ourselves in a battle to keep up. Evaluating practices to ensure we are at the top of our game. We all need people to give us feedback, that’s how we improve ….

This week #whatisschool delves into evaluation. Are we using evaluation to improve our teaching? What implications does evaluation have on the teaching profession? What does your ‘ideal’ evaluation look like?

Until recently, many teachers only got one word of feedback a year: “satisfactory.” And with no feedback, no coaching, there’s just no way to improve. Bill Gates suggests that even great teachers 
can get better with smart feedback.

How do we know how to get better? How do we develop our skills? Join us for #whatisschool this week as we delve deep into the heart of evaluation.

Questions For #Whatisschool 

Thursday November 6, 7PM EST

1. What does evaluation mean to you?
2. What does evaluation look like in your organisation?
3. As an educator, how do you use ‘smart feedback’ to ensure you are the best teacher you can be?
4. How do you make evaluation an integral part of your programme?
5. How do you use technology to evaluate your teaching and your students learning?
6. What does your dream evaluation system look like? What needs to change?

#whatisschool is an international twitter forum co-founded by author, speaker Laura Hill and tech teacher Craig Kemp that attracts thousands of educators who come together to re-imagine school in order to give students the skills they need to be leaders, inventors and creators in a global digital/communication economy.  Join us every Thursday night at 7PM EST, questions and archives of each week's chat are posted below.  To bring  #whatisschool to your school email Laura Hill or contact me on twitter @candylandcaper.  I hope you join us! -Laura

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