Author Archives: mwalker

A school’s core purpose in a larger framework!

Posted on September 14, 2009 by mwalker

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/senecavalleyhs/childdev/maslow.htm We have trying to clearly define our school’s core purpose that will help give direction to our improvement work over the next years. The school’s purpose is stated in the strategic plan which is a formal agreement between the community, teachers and … Continue reading →

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Podcasts

Posted on September 14, 2009 by mwalker

I have been thinking about using podcasts on my blog and / or school website to talk about upcoming events or talk through some thinking about various topics ie school purpose – and I came across Bill Carazzo’s blog entry … Continue reading →

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Using sticky notes on a wall to promote dialogue about a school’s purpose

Posted on September 14, 2009 by mwalker

  I’m not sure this works for adults – hence my go at this for my staff but I can see this as a hit for students as they review their inquiry topic. I will post the wallwisher link for … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Creativity, Instruction, school, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

I’m changing to the drums.

Posted on September 10, 2009 by mwalker

Like John Connell I thought I could play a little guitar but after listening to this child prodigy I think my next move is to the drums or rhythm sticks. I’m told my singing of the national anthem at Monday … Continue reading →

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Teachers Guide to Web 2.0

Posted on September 8, 2009 by mwalker

A Teacher’s Guide To Web 2.0 at School View more documents from Sacha Chua. Following on from the social media theme I found this presentation which teachers might find interesting. It has a message for us all about using the web 2.0 … Continue reading →

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Social Media in classrooms

Posted on September 3, 2009 by mwalker

The clip is thanks to Warrick Wynne. Today at the end of the school day I walked into a classroom to catch up with a teacher about workforce planning for 2010 and saw the face of a young teacher, currently in … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching, Technology, Uncategorized, Video Clips | 4 Comments

Can you guess the men in this film?

Posted on August 31, 2009 by mwalker

Men In Film Once again Philip Scott Johnson does a great job in creating visual art this time about men in film. I know I recognised at least half the men in the film. The list appears below – look … Continue reading →

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Milos World – Virtual learning possibilities

Posted on August 28, 2009 by mwalker

Thanks to John Connell and Ron Burnett for this amazing clip from X-box and Lionhead Studios. I have played a little Wii before and was thinking about guitar hero for the school and lunchtime music classes but this takes gaming to another … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching, Technology, Video Clips | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Cyberbullying – what can we do!

Posted on August 10, 2009 by mwalker

Recently a few parents asked for the school’s support in dealing with the issue of cyberbullying. Whether the problem arose at school or at home in the end is probably not the issue – its how to stop it in … Continue reading →

Posted in cyberbullying, parenting, school, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Educating for the unknown- what’s worth learning?

Posted on August 6, 2009 by mwalker

David Perkins from Harvard University was another keynote speaker at the Singapore conference. He put the proposition that a lot of what goes on in schools is educating for the known – we teach lots of information – spelling rules … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 Singapore Conference, curriculum, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Instructional Leadership Presentation in Singapore: Using data to improve instruction

Posted on July 26, 2009 by mwalker

I co-presented at the international conference in Singapore on instructional leadership and the use of data and other strategies to improve student learning. After the session, which was cut short, there were a number of questions asked by delegates on … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 Singapore Conference, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Kishore Mahbubani – The New Asian Hemisphere.

Posted on July 22, 2009 by mwalker

Certainly one of the more challenging speakers at the recent World Convention of Principals was Kishore Mahbubani. For those not familiar with Kishore or his work, and I was one of them, he is currently a Professor in Public Policy at the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 Singapore Conference, Leadership, school, Teaching, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 4 Comments

World Convention of the International Confederation of Principals – Singapore – a hit!

Posted on July 21, 2009 by mwalker

I have just returned from the 9th World Convention of the International Confederation of Principals in Singapore. It was truly an international convention with1,400 delegates from over 40 countries. It was also an opportunity to meet up with old friends … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 Singapore Conference, Leadership, Networks of Schools, school, Teaching, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Learning to speak Chinese – Mandarin

Posted on July 3, 2009 by mwalker

Victorian students are required to learn a language other than English up until year 8 and for many years our students learnt Italian. This year after extensive community consultation we choose to change the language to Chinese – Mandarin. The main … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese Language, school, Teaching | 7 Comments

Sir Ken Robinson on the ABC 7.30 Report about the narrowing focus for Schools.

Posted on July 3, 2009 by mwalker

I have just caught up with the interview of Sir Ken Robinson on the ABC 7.30 report on schooling and creativity amongst other subjects discussed. Warrick Wynne has managed to create a direct link to part 1 of the interview … Continue reading →

Posted in parenting, school, Uncategorized, Video Clips | Tagged , , | 2 Comments