Browsing articles tagged with " parents"

Educon Conversation, better late than never.

May 28, 2009   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  No Comments
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I have been going back through some of my audio files recently and I found a really good conversation from Educon 2.1.

This conversation was from John Pederson‘s Session, The Networked Learning Manifesto: Welcoming Parents into the Conversation.

You can find the actual Manifesto that sparked the conversation here.

The participants that I recognize from the audio are:

There are many voices that I don’t immediately remember or recognize, however. Which is a little sad because there are a lot of really good voices in the room.

The original recording for the session is here, but I believe that the audio isn’t quite as good as this excerpt. There is also a follow up conversation at Parents as Partners.

This is the kind of conversation that I need to keep reminding myself to come back to. Some very smart things were said about going to where parents are and becoming a person to them first before trying to “get them on board” with technology and networked learning.

I hope that we all follow up on the promise that this conversation evoked.

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I bought a house today!

Mar 6, 2009   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  3 Comments
Sold!
Image by Azhure* via Flickr

This post doesn’t have a whole lot to do with educational technology, but I really had to let everyone who might care to know that my family is moving into a new house. It is our absolute dream home.

I have toyed with the idea of putting up the video tour that I did in order to show my parents, but I’m not totally sure that anyone that reads my blog casually really needs that kind of a detailed view of where my children sleep. If you truly would like to have that kind of voyeurism in your life, send me a direct message on Twitter.

For now, though, just know that I am happy with our decision, and that I cant wait to move in.

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The New Job Description

Jun 11, 2007   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  No Comments

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The more that I think about doing something “different” in my classroom, the more that I feel that process should be transparent. Not just for my students and their parents, but also for my administrators. Principals, Assistant Principals, and even Super-Intendants should be aware that there is change happening in the classroom. They should also want that change to occur, meaning that they should actively support it. But the only way that this is going to happen is if we start advocating for it.

So, this podcast is all about how we should be writing our own job descriptions for the jobs that we dream about doing as teachers and presenting them to our administrators. I think that if we take this proactive approach, many will listen and start to think differently about what should be going on in the classroom.

Show Notes:

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Digital Ex-Patriots and The Formula for Transparency

May 15, 2007   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  No Comments

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Well, I may be going out on a limb with this one, but I have described in the podcast a level of discomfort with technology that goes beyond the simple immigrant/native debate. The fear and panic that is associated with technology in the classroom comes from Digital Ex-Patriots. These people (parents, teachers, administrators, etc.) are so sure of their anti-technology stance that they are actively pursuing a life (of education) away from technology integration. These are the people that we must win over if we are going to continue our collaborative efforts and truly create change. Please let me know what you think about this concept in the comments or in an e-mail (benjamin.wilkoff@dcsdk12.org)




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Creating the School 2.0 Movement

Apr 19, 2007   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  No Comments

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I have become dissatisfied with talking about School 2.0 only among educators. It seems to be this feedback loop that creates a lot of noise, but in the end, really doesn’t create any massive change. So, I am proposing a change in tactics. We need to begin talking to anyone who has the time to listen about School 2.0. We need to show them artifacts of authentic learning so that they know just how effective it can be. We need to get outside of the blogosphere and podcast communities, and talk to the parents that don’t get it yet. Although “consciousness raising” is important amongst teachers, it really should be our only tactic in bring about a transformation in education. Most of this is why I will be starting up another podcast over at The Podcast Network. I am looking for educators and non-educators alike to interview, anyone who is willing to think critically about the shared vision of student-centered education. Please contact me for details.

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Parents as School 2.0 Stakeholders

Feb 14, 2007   //   by Ben Wilkoff   //   Uncategorized  //  No Comments

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Convincing parents that the skills of School 2.0 are important is going to be one of the biggest jobs facing all teaching in the very near future. I have outlined in this podcast three possible ways of accomplishing this goal:
1. Student exemplars of continual advancement.
2. Constant communication and reflection on learning between parents and teachers, students and teachers, and parents and students.
3. Parent and Student testimonials of engagement and achievement.

My hope is that by identifying the things that are the most convincing to parents, we can create a compelling argument for technological school reform.

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