Faculty of Education Alumni - Fierce Dino Pride!!

An update on a project close to my heart that I have been working on for the last two years: Faculty of Education Alumni Profiles.

As a Four Time Alumnus - PhD 1998, M.Sc 1995, B.Ed 1993, B.A 1993, and an active member of the Education Alumni Chapter, I believe it is so important for our prospective students to become aware of the many diverse and exciting pathways that an undergraduate or graduate degree from the Faculty of Education, University of Calgary offers. I also believe it is very inspiring and motivating for our current students to learn of the ways in which their peers and alumni are translating their degree into satisfying careers and making a contribution to their community.

Originally, I started contacting a few alumni that I knew, and worked with each of them to prepare a profile using some broad themes:  your degree and when you graduated, memorable experiences in the Faculty of Education, what you have been doing since convocation, and how you stay connected to the Faculty.  I believe the Faculty of Ed Communications team helped me to publish about ten stories for our Alumni Profiles website in the first few months. As of today, The Faculty of Education has profiled thirty-five of our alumni on our website, along with contributing several extended Alumni stories to the U.Today and Education website (for examples: Cervatiuc, Nixon and Broughton).

I find it amazing to read about the significant accomplishments that Faculty of Education Alumni have achieved in teaching, coaching, counselling, leadership, international work and innovation in a variety of sectors - from education, to technology, to health care and transportation. Honestly, Education Alumni are making significant contributions and influencing their professions, their fields of study and their extended communities.

My goal is to populate the Education Alumni Profile site with the diverse stories that our graduates from all programs have to tell:  PhD, EdD, M.A, M.Sc., M.C., B.Ed! Ideally, Faculty of Education Alumni will began to contact us and offer to submit a profile. Consider this blog a part of our call to action for our thousands of Education Alumni - please contact me about writing a profile and submitting a photo for our growing website. It will be my pleasure to hear from alumni like you, and to work with you to profile your story.

Hell or High Water, a Tribute Song by Terry Thoresen

It only took a few years after everyone else had done it; however, today I was motivated to upload my first YouTube video. This is a great original song, "Hell or High Water", by Airdrie, AB song writer and musician, Terry Thoresen, with Eric Vermett on guitar, and Rick Everett on drums. It is well worth a listen -- this song honors the "Cowboy Up" spirit of Southern Albertans who started work immediately after the rain  stopped and continue to put a lot of elbow grease into the clean up and restoration.

Hell or High Water - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flb0Q8WKpX0&feature=youtu.be

From Trevor Alway, drummer for Bone Cold Mama:  This song was written for Calgary and everyone else in Alberta affected by the June 2013 floods.  Terry Thoresen, front man for the Country Rock Band, Bone Cold Mama, wrote this song to acknowledge, celebrate and show support for the incredible spirit that Calgarians and Albertans have shown in rebuilding their city and communities.   To go from the level of destruction and misery this city has endured to putting on the Calgary Stampede, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, within three weeks is a testament to the resolve and passion that Calgarians have for each other, their city and their Stampede.   With the help from Bone Cold Mama's Eric Vermett on guitar and mandolin as well as Rick Everett providing backup vocals and the production of this song, 'Hell or High Water' is meant to be a strong uplifting anthem for all of the people involved in rebuilding the City of Calgary and those affected by the floods.  Terry, Eric and Rick would like to thank the hardworking crews of the City of Calgary, the first responders who risked their lives to save ours and all of the volunteers who have come together to show that Calgary is truly blessed with incredible people who care for each other in our greatest time of need.   Enjoy our song and know that we truly are thankful for everyone working behind the scenes to rebuild our lives.  Sincerely Terry Thoresen, Eric Vermett and Rick Everett

Engaging Scholarship: The Canadian Education Association’s 2013 Whitworth and Pat Clifford Awards

Founded in 1891, the Canadian Education Association (CEA) is a pan-Canadian network of passionate educators, leaders and researchers who advance ideas for greater student and teacher engagement in public education. The CEA celebrates the incredible potential within Canadian research communities to contribute new perspectives on engaged leadership, engaged teaching and engaged learning. With two awards for engaged scholarship, the CEA recognizes the work of innovative researchers from across the country for their scholarly contributions, their promise, and their commitment to breaking new ground, challenging existing ideas and revisiting commonly held assumptions in educational policy, practice or theory in Canada. It is my privilege to serve as Chair of the CEA Awards Selection Committee and to repose the Announcement of the CEA's 2013 call for submissions for our two awards that recognize researchers.

The Whitworth Award For Educational Research - First presented in 1967 and held by 49 researchers thus far, the Whitworth Award recognizes the impact of innovative and experienced Canadian researchers who have made a sustained and substantive contribution to educational research and practice over a period of time. Recipient of the 2010 Whitworth Award: Dr. Phil Abrami, Concordia University.

Canadian researchers who have made sustained, substantive and significant contributions to research, education and leadership over time in Canada are encouraged to apply for this award. The Whitworth Award is formal recognition of a researcher’s scholarly work and contributions, it provides additional networking opportunities with CEA, and comes with an invitation to submit a feature article about the program of research to Education Canada magazine.

The Pat Clifford Award for Early Career Research in Education - First presented in 2009 and held by 5 researchers thus far, the Pat Clifford Award recognizes the high quality work achieved by emerging researchers in Canada. The committee seeks applicants who demonstrate early career research and teaching promise, scholarly contributions and achievements, and commitment to charting new territory in education policy, practice or theory in Canada. As a classroom teacher and University of Calgary Faculty researcher, Dr. Pat Clifford blurred the boundaries between pedagogy and research. Pat Clifford strongly believed that teaching was at the heart of research, and that research was at the heart of teaching. The Pat Clifford Award is an enduring commitment to sponsoring and mobilizing the work of new researchers whose ideas and scholarship will change education. In 2012, the CEA recognized the research contributions of Dr. Michelle Hogue, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the First Nations Transition Program at the University of Lethbridge, with the Pat Clifford award. New researchers are encouraged to apply for this award, for the formal recognition and promotion of your scholarly work, for the networking opportunities and mobilization strategies with CEA, to maximize the impact of your work in practice, and for the invitation to submit a feature article about your research to Education Canada magazine.

Learn More: http://www.cea-ace.ca/awards

Blogosphere: Create, Share, Learn Together - Barb Brown, PhD Candidate

This morning, I am at the @UCalgaryEduc for @barbbrown's session on blogging during the Education Students' Association's (ESA) 21st Century Classroom Student Lead Conference - http://ucalgary.ca/esa/node/268

Barb's own Technology Leadership blog is here: http://bbrowntechnology.blogspot.ca/

Barb advises that bloggers create an "about me" profile to help others learn more about you and your professional interests. She explains how to use QR codes as a way to link people to your blog.

There are several good books on using social networking as a part of your professional practice, with titles from Personal Learning Networks, the Socially Networked Classroom and Playing with Media. Barb advises you take your own pictures for use on the blog as often as possible; be aware of the rules and guidelines around copyright and the use of images and photos in your blog. As a teacher, you need to be ready to advise students about appropriate use, copyright, fair use and creative commons. 

Educational Blogging

- "Our schools need to harness each student's natural propensity for participating in online spaces and funnel that energy into building powerful networks for learning that are used in class almost everyday" (Personal Learning Networks, Richardson and Mancabelli, 2011, p. 7).

- Time will always be an issue; as teachers, we need to find time and design ways to engage students' enthusiasm for creating, connecting and sharing online. While teachers have to consider curricular objectives and school learning, they also need to consider Alberta Education's Inspiring Education direction for educators in our school system to instill the following qualities and abilities in our youth: engaged thinker, ethical citizen and entrepreneurial spirit.

- Levels of Educational Blogging: 1. Information Sharing, 2. Reflection and 3. Collaboration (Playing with Media, Wesley Fryer, 2011, pp. 58-62).

- Kist (2010) the Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New media age. Corwin.

Design

- When considering a blogging assignment at school, we need to engage leadership, colleagues and parents in the conversation about purpose, objectives, preparation and guidance of students' digital citizenship roles and responsibilities. As teachers, we are education students as part of a community of teachers, family and community - we need to contribute to good learning and digital citizenship.

- In addition to your pedagogical design and assessment framework, considerations for blogging with students include copyright and intellectual property, characteristics of good blogging, online etiquette, blogging guidelines and expectations for students.

Pedagogy
 
- Private versus public blogging - Teachers need to consider the purpose and design for learning, and ask themselves several questions: Do you want the students to collaborate and communicate only with each other? Do you want to include the parents and community in the ongoing interactions and conversation? What is the jurisdiction policy on open networks for elementary, junior high and senior high? Do you plan to connect with another class somewhere else in the world? Do you plan to collaborate with others to create and share knowledge?

- One example was shared about a gradual and graduated approach from private to public: A soft launch can be appropriate, such as private and closed at first as the teacher and students develop their digital citizenship and literacy skills, and gradually move towards a more open and public blogging space as teachers and students are skilled in the roles and responsibilities of ethical, digital citizens.

Collaborative Communication

Opportunity for workshop participants to ask Barb additional questions:

1. What are the questions that remain unanswered for you about blogging?
2. How do you see yourself using blogs or micro blogs in the classroom?

Submit here: http://barbbrown.posterous.com/

Barb's notes from this session are also here: http://barbbrown.posterous.com/

This Bibliophile Loves Books and Book Lists

I am an avid reader. One can find stacks of books all around my house, my office and even in my vehicle (in case I have to stand in line somewhere and need something to read). Every year we add a few more book shelves or cases or places to store more books. My iPad is full of eBooks, and my dear husband encourages me to buy more eBooks so that he doesn't have to build any more shelves... When I visit the library, I bring home a bag of books. I often have several books going at the same time.

I write a few book reviews a year [Think to Learn, Play to Learn, The Kids Cannot Wait], and I enjoy reading book reviews.  I really enjoy browsing through annual book lists, like this recent one, "100 Notable Books of 2012" published in the New York Times. This particular list of notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction has been compiled by the editors of the New York Times Book Review - people who love books.  I like to buy books, and to give books as gifts - it gives me a great deal of pleasure to be the person who "turns on" another reader to an author or series of books. 

Finally, I like reading books with my children. We recently finished the "How to Train Your Dragon" series of nine books by Cressida Cowell, and I am going to start either the Hunger Games trilogy or wade through a few Goosebumps books with them before the holidays.

No, Algebra isn't necessary - Thinking is necessary

Recently, I wrote a review of Roger Schank's book, Teaching Minds, for Education Canada that has received a good bit of attention.

Jacobsen, M. (2012). Think to Learn: A Review of Schank's "Teaching Minds: How Cognitive Science Can Save our Schools". Education Canada, 52(2), Spring 2012. URL

Schank's book is about THINKING and makes a great contribution to any discussion about 21st century "skills". His argues we should focus on developing cognitive abilities such as negotiation, evaluation, decision making, diagnosis, team work and planning in school instead of teaching content.  I think every educator, from those who teach kindergarten to those who teach graduate school, should read it and learn from it.

Recently, Roger Schank wrote this little gem for the Washington Post:  "No, algebra isn't necessary - and yes, STEM is overrated".

My favorite part:

"You can live a productive and happy life without knowing anything about macroeconomics or trigonometry but you can’t function very well at all if you can’t make an accurate prediction or describe situations, or diagnose a problem, or evaluate a situation, person or object. The ability to reason from evidence really matters in life, the names of famous scientists and their accomplishments do not.

We can teach people the skills they need if we allow them to choose what interests them and then teach them to predict, evaluate, diagnose, etc., within their area of interest. Teaching algebra and then hoping those skills will transfer to other areas of life is simply fantasy, a fantasy that makes our kids bored and miserable in school".

Read more of Roger Schank's writing here:  http://www.rogerschank.com/

Eyes High on Research - Fall 2012 Public Lecture Series

A Public Lecture Series, Fall 2012
Sponsored by The Advisor to the President on Women's Issues

Fridays at Noon in Social Sciences 1153
University of Calgary

Curious about the research that will help us meet the Eyes High goal of becoming one of Canada's top five research universities by 2016? Save the dates below and hear research leaders from across the university speak about what excites them in their research.
Noon, Friday September 21: Charlene Elliott, CIHR Canada Research Chair in Food Marketing, Policy and Children's Health, is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts (Communication and Culture) and the Faculty of Kinesiology.
Noon, Friday October 19: Lana Wells, Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence, is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Work.
Noon, Friday November 2: Shirley Steinberg, Director and Chair of the Werklund Foundation Centre for Youth Leadership Education, is Professor of Youth Studies in the Faculty of Education.
Noon, Friday November 23: Josephine Hill, NSERC Canada Research Chair in Hydrogen and Catalysis, is Associate Professor in the Schulich School of Engineering.

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Admission is free and open to the public. However, because space is limited, registration is required. Click here to register.

Other interesting links:
Advisor to the President on Women's Issues