Tag Archives: Donna Miller Fry

OSSEMOOC, Presentation Resource, reflection

Exploring Moocs at CyberSummit15

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Last week I had the opportunity to attend and present at the  Cyber Summit 2105  conference.  I was thrilled to be partnered with Jonathan Schaeffer, a Distinguished University Professor of Computing Science and currently the Dean of the Faculty of Science, at the University of Alberta for the presentation topic:  Are MOOCs Past Their Peaks?

I began the session by sharing the 2 year journey of  OSSEMOOC,  a learning community supported by OSAPAC which I co-lead with Donna Miller Fry. (@fryed)

Jonathan shared his perspective and insights on the MOOC movement, noting that  while it is only a few years old, it has already had a tremendous impact on teaching and learning. Although some of the original hype surrounding MOOCs has not been realized, the reality is that they are here for good and are influencing institutional thinking.

In reflection, although the perspectives we each  presented represented significantly different contexts,  some very interesting commonalities emerged.  In summary:

  • teaching is all about meeting the students needs (not limited to the teacher’s needs or comfort zone)
  • MOOCs do, and will continue to play a role in moving learning forward
  • MOOC’s are playing a disruptive role along with other technologies
  • Educators own the responsibility to keep exploring new possibilities (including with technology) to achieve the best possible learning experiences for students.
  • There is an important need for “mini moocs” that needs to be recognized and acted on
  • Building a quality brand matters

My slides for the OSSEMOOC portion of the presentation:

Many thanks to those who attended our session.

~Mark

 

Leadership Perspective, PD, Todaysmeet

Quest 2014: Innovative Practices

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Last week I had the privilege of participating on a panel discussion at the YRDSB’s Quest conference  with Lewis Morgulis (DCDSB) and Russ Coles (YRDSB).  The panel was  moderated by Margaret Roberts (YRDSB).  I appreciate that, with permission,  we were able to livestream and record the session to offer a virtual learning opportunity to other interested educators.

Quest2014_logo

The panel discussion was centred around four guiding questions:

  • What is innovation in a K-12 context?
  • Share an example where innovation has been successfully implemented?
  • What were the elements that made your example successful?
  • What were the challenges?

Watch the panel session.

Following the panel discussion, participants engaged in table discussion guided by the question and statement  set below.

  • What does innovation look like, sound like, feel like?
  • share personal examples
  • How do you engage staff that are resistant to change?
  • How do you build a culture where change is accepted and embraced?
  • Identify barriers and potential solutions

Participants also added comments, ideas and questions to a Today’s Meeting back channel.  I have shared three quotes that resonated with me below.

Russ: thinking outside the box while living in the box

Mary-Anne: innovation starts when we stop accepting the status quo

Donna Miller Fry: (virtually from TBay)  Innovation requires a willingness to be distrubed by M. Wheatley

Do you find these quotes & ideas intriguing?   Check out the full session transcript  [here]  from the Todays Meet  collaboration space.

The closing comment spoke for itself:  As a result of your learning today, what would you do to start to implement this in your own context?

Please share your innovation ideas!

~Mark

Connected Leader, K12 Online Conference, Leadership Perspective, TEDxKitchenerED

Getting Connected With Purpose

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Whether you know me personally, are a reader of this blog or have connected online or F2F,  you know that I am passionate about connected learners needing connected leaders, and this fuels much of the work I do.

Today’s post features a video prepared in collaboration with  Donna Miller Fry  for the  K12 Online Conference  as part of the OSAPAC sponsored  OSSEMOOC  project.  Special thanks to  Silvana Hoxha, Brenda Sherry,  Wayne Toms  and  Ken Whytock  for their willingness to share their getting connected journeys.

 

Related Resource: Fostering Connectivity TEDx Talk

~Mark

Connected Learner, OSSEMOOC, ProfessionalLearning

Reflections on a Collaborative Blogging Project

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It was a pleasure for me  to co-author today’s blog post  with  Donna Miller Fry.   In this post,  we share our amazing experiences with the  OSSEMOOC:  30 days of learning in Ontario collaborative blogging  project.

Enjoy reading our reflections  [here].

~Mark

21st century learning, Leadership Perspective

Sunset, Sunrise

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CATCcamp_sunset

As one year closes out and a new one begins, it seems to be a natural time for reflection.  With 2013 rolling into 2014, I read this insightful blog post titled   The Sun Rises on a New Year   by  Donna Fry.  Three aspects of Donna’s post really resonated with me and I believe they are worthy of some personal reflection time.

1. The acknowledgement of the importance and value of developing and interacting with your Personal Learning Network  (PLN).

2.  I like that Donna pointed out that even in the diverse, interactive and collaborative online world, it is possible to get comfortable with your PLN.  It is important to have enough diversity in your PLN to keep your thinking challenged and fresh. To me, this is a great example of being purposeful of establishing and leveraging your PLN to support a growth mindset.  We need to become more comfortable with being uncomfortable!

3. Identifying  where spending your time will have great impact. This might mean balancing online and F2F times in new ways.  Be thoughtful about how you nurture and influence those around you.  Part of the nurturing process is bringing people into the online world in a meaningful way and helping them get enough traction to to be independent on their own learning journey.

My challenge to you:  How might these ideas influence your actions this year?   I would enjoy  learning about your reflections on this topic, so feel free to leave a comment here or on Donna’s  original post, share a comment on Twitter or consider blogging about your own thoughts.

~Mark