Derek's Blog

Here's a really fascinating set of 16 interactive slides designed to explain what happens in the brain of a person with Alzheimer??s disease. Titled Inside the Brain: An Interactive Tour they explain how the brain works and how Alzheimer's affects it.

The interesting thing for me is the fact that, although designed as a teaching tool to help people understand more about Alzheimer's disease, it provides a stimulating introduction to our understandings of how the brain functions, and how different parts of it appear to be responsible for different aspects of our behaviour and abilities.

I have observed a number of teachers introducing these ideas to their students in the context of understanding the nature of knowledge and learning - often with a limited understanding of the very complex medical and physiological matters involved. This resource may help provide a more informed perspective.

Others who refer to our understandings of how the brain functions in relation to how we learn include Ian Jukes in a recent post on his blog titled Parents get a look at teens brains and others such as those with articles on the Brain Research and Education website.

Another article titled How can research on the brain inform education? from the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory in the US provides a useful overview, and includes a table listing a number of points suggested by recent research and some suggestions for teaching to address these.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A highlight of the Learning@School conference for me has been the opportunity to meet with Pat Clifford and Sharon Friesen, co-founders of the Galileo Foundation based in Alberta, Canada.

Between them, Pat and Sharon have an extensive background as classroom practitioners and researchers, and are strong advocates of a a learner-centred, inquiry-based pedagogy. They're also deeply involved in the pursuit of understanding how we can effectively integrate ICTs into our teaching and learning practices.

Recently Pat has drawn together the results of her research and practical experience as an educator to develop an online resource called Effectively Integrating Technology into K-12 Education , a project funded by the Albertan Ministry of Education.

This site is designed to assist teachers, teacher educators and preservice teachers to address the question: How can university faculty and preservice teachers have consistent access to the most current thinking of practitioners who are leading the way in ICT integration?

This resource is based on the research findings and recommendations of 'Coming to teaching in the 21st century' (PDF), produced by the Galileo Foundation, that I blogged about back in June last year.

The site has been developed fully in Flash, and provides some really insightful approaches to dimensions such as planning, resources and assessment, and includes insights into classrooms, including video clips, to illustrate the points made. Those working with the resource can design their ideal learning environment, using a small interactive toolset, then print it off as a pdf to work with.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am sitting at the L@S conference in Rotorua this afternoon talking with some teachers about Blogging. Lots of interest in this and many other aspects of the use of social software. Many links to these products are included in my protopage (link on the sidebar of my blog).

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I came across LearnOutLoud today while searching for some multimedia files on the web.

LearnOutLoud.com has scoured the Internet to assemble over 500 free audio and video titles which are available free to view on the Web. Many of the titles can be downloaded for a small fee from the original site.

This LOL directory features free audio books, lectures, speeches, sermons, interviews, and many other great free audio and video resources. Most audio titles can be downloaded in digital formats such as MP3 and most video titles are available to stream online.

Well worth a browse and bookmarking for future reference!

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been doing a number of presentations over the past week or so, mainly to new clusters and groups of teachers, talking about the "promise of eLearning" and how the use of ICTs can contribute to effective teaching and learning practices.

For some schools, the biggest challenge is understanding the true nature of 21st-century learning. Once this transformational concept is embraced, technology becomes a means to help boost achievement across the board.

eSchoolNews have gone through their archives to bring back some of their best content related to 21st Century Learning Environments They also point you toward several online resources where you can learn about how other educators are defining 21st century learning needs and transforming their instruction. There's a plug for Promethean who have helped fund this initiative - but the list of articles provides a really interesting cross section of initiatives and projects that those interested in developing 21st Century Learning Environments will find helpful.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)