All posts by markwcarbone

I have 36 years experience in K-12 education. I have been fortunate to work in many different roles including teacher, department head, ICT consultant, IT Manager and CIO. Personal interests include performing in the Venturi Winds woodwind quintet, the Cambridge Symphony and the KW Community Orchestra as well as composing and arranging music. Connect, Learn, Reflect & Share - make a difference today!
Digital Citizenship, Leadership Perspective, Social Media, Technology in Education

Social Media Check

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Thanks to a tweet from @trustsocmedia this week, I found out about the  The Doc Zone  feature titled Facebook Follies   . Although I was not able to view the CBC broadcast, the title did capture my interest. Today, I took the time watch the online version of  Facebook Follies .

In my view, the production was very well done.  The realities, cautions, benefits and highlights of using Facebook, and social media tools in general, are all explored through real situations. To me, this speaks to the reasons why students need to be educated through authentic experiences about the use of social media tools, digital citizenship and managing your online profile/digital footprint.

Your online actions live forever. I applaud educators who are making efforts to embrace social media tools, leverage their power , teach and model ethical and responsible use.

~Mark

Social Media, Technology in Education

ECOO 2011 Reflections

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One thing really struck me about this ECOO 2011 — energy. There is a genuine energy in Ontario teachers for change in teaching practice. There is a synergy building in the province, and it was certainly great to be part of the learning.

A few personal highlights:

  • @snbeach & @willrich45 – great keynotes – motivating: be a change agent
  • Trending @dougpete – super group effort
  • Finally got to meet @shannoninottawa F2F – must continue the building school admin capacity discussion
  • Insightful talk by @gcouros
  • Presented my first pecha kucha – wonderful experience
  • Interesting discussions at the OSAPAC booth
  • The OCT: use Social Media tools but don’t put yourself at risk, maintain professional boundaries
  • Connected with new educators, new learning opportunities
  • Noon hour discussion topics – removing barriers, great thinking
  • Chatting with WRDSB Futures Forum Project teachers — next steps, thinking BIG
  • Pleased to have a good turn out for my Facebook in the Classroom session
  • Explored new staff development resources at the PLP booth.

ECOO 2011 was a great conference and wonderful learning opportunity. Thank you to the planners and organizers — take a bow!!! This conference was certainly an opportunity to be WRDSB Proud. WRDSB had a strong contingent attending the conference to learn and share. WRDSB presenters were well received on the wide variety of topics presented – go team!

Related Resources

ECOO 2011 Twitter feed
Twitter bio update challenge #changegame
ECOO


~Mark

Uncategorized

Thank you Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs
(1955-2011)

Thank you for sharing your vision, energy, leadership and innovative spirit. You have taught many and made a difference.

Your legacy will live forever.

~Mark

Leadership Perspective, Technology in Education

Ryerson Public School

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I recently had an opportunity to participate in a Grand Magazine interview with Peter Berndt, Principal at Ryerson Public School in the Waterloo Region District School Board. The article, linked below, captures the technology focus of the school and highlights the excellent work of the teachers in using technology to support student learning.

Congratulations to Peter and the Ryerson staff for their excellent work with technology and forward thinking about student learning.

This article is posted and linked for viewing purposes only with permission from the publisher. A special thank you to Nancy Silcox for preparing this article for publication.

Ryerson Public School

~Mark

Leadership Perspective

5 on 5

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This past summer I had an opportunity to participate in an interview process with IT World Canada.  The format is 5 on 5 — 5 questions for 5 people. The IT strategy 5 on 5 discussion on enterprise architecture development is captured below  (with permission).

 Question 1

Question 2

 

 

Question 3

 

 

Question 4

 

Question 5

 

 

 

~Mark

General

Remembering Jack

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Jack Layton was a remarkable Canadian in many ways.

A few key words from his  Letter to Canadians  stood out for me.

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”

Food for thought: How are these words reflected in the way you live your life? What will you do to keep the spirit alive?

~Mark

General

4 Great Questions

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A few days ago my wife received an email from a friend indicating that she was going through some challenging times. In the message she asked for my wife’s perspective on four questions (below).

  • Things you would change if you could?
  • Lessons learned?
  • Things you are glad you did?
  • What do you hope for in the next 5-10 years?
I thought these were great questions that certainly put one into reflective mode.
What would these mean to you personally?  professionally?
What actions will you take?
Happy reflecting.
~Mark
Leadership Perspective, PLP

Boot Camp Panel Reflections

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Earlier this week, I had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a PLP Boot Camp panel discussion.  I enjoyed hearing the thoughts and key messages of the panel members concerning 21C leadership. I captured a key phrase or two from each panel member and share them here for your reflection and what these might mean for you.

  • awakening to the 21 century
  • embrace change
  • continuous learning
  • unified direction needed
  • observe and learn from the cultures in your organization(s)
  • place yourself in the place of most potential, be open to possibilities
  • tools in service of the learning
  • be open and transparent
  • consider support and release needs
  • sustainability planning is critical
Enjoy reflecting on these leadership thoughts. What actions will you put in place?
~Mark
Tech, Technology in the Arts

iPad music software

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As the calendar roles into August, my thoughts turn to CATC Camp, our Board’s annual summer 3 day, self directed,  computer PD session for staff. This year I will be taking some time to explore music applications with the iPad. Some of the things on my explore list are:

iRig Mic

iRig Guitar Adaptor

iPad music stand mount

Nano Pad

MIDI Interface for iPad/iPhone/iPod

GarageBand

Band in a Box

Music Studio

Pianist Pro

Virtuoso Piano

What am I looking for? — apps and ideas suitable for classroom use, applications that are easily used in the student performance context and applications that can interact with OSAPAC  licensed software (for Ontario publicly funded schools)

As always, I am looking forward to this learning opportunity.

~Mark

Related Links
Kellysmusic
SoundTree Music

Social Media, Web20

Online orientation

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While participating on the OTF21C panel discussion this past week, an interesting point came up.  Since the discussion, I have been thinking about this:  What is your online orientation?

1. Are you offline, and you choose when to go online?

or

2. Are you online, and you choose when to go offline?

Please leave a comment, or connect via Twitter or Google+

~Mark