Archdiocesan eLearning Network Meeting

Today I battled through the rain and flooded roads to attend the eLearning Network Meeting for the Sydney Archdiocese. What an inspirational experience!

Our presenter was George Couros who says: " I am the Division Principal for Parkland School Division and an Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Leadership consultant. I believe we need to inspire our kids to follow their passions, while letting them inspire us to do the same"                    http://georgecouros.ca/blog/

CC image by: devianART http://fav.me/d6bkchf

Here are some of the thoughts I came away with:

• eLearning is not about technology; it’s about relationships and learning. I'd always known that teaching and learning depended very much on relationships, but had not before considered technology in the same way.

• Although we can use Google and other search engines to effectively find information, it’s what we do with it that really matters.

• If you can Google the answers to the questions on a test – it's not a good test. We need go write better questions that make students think.

• Technology does not equal engagement - just because a student has a device in hand does not mean they are engaged in the task.

• The biggest shift for educators using technology is not a skill set – it is a mind set.

• Teachers need to go to the place where our students are because that is important to them.

• Kids need guidance from teachers and parents.

• The focus needs to be on learning first, technology second.

• Schools can be a place where exploration, creativity and imagination make learning exciting and where all learners (including staff) aspire to reach their dreams.