mackenzie

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  • mackenzie 1:40 pm on July 28, 2012
    -3 votes
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    Tags: community of practice, , shared lessons,   

    Hi Everyone, For some time, I have been concerned that it is nearly impossible for teachers to find, share and discuss resources or initiatives with other teachers that are like-minded or that are simply constrained by the same learning outcomes.  As a social venture that doesn’t make money, but more importantly saves time and money […]

    Continue reading SHARED LESSONS Posted in: Venture Forum
     

    • Donna Forward 10:31 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Steve,

      Great opening with your Elevator pitch. It is visually attractive and I like your choice of pictures (like the one with the teacher and the stack of papers and marking). It was also interesting how you ended your introduction leaving the listener curious to hear more and that they should contact you if their interest had been tweaked.

      The idea of Shared Lessons is good and you describe it well as a “cloning software that scaffolds and builds on the knowledge of the group”. It is almost a Google Doc’s type of concept that you are improving upon.

      A few ideas to perhaps improve your Venture Pitch. I would have liked to have seen more slides to describe your venture as you were talking. Sometimes I was waiting for a new slide to appear but you remained on a previous one while you contined with your pitch. Also, it might have been a good idea to re-record your narrative as you spoke since there were several spots that you stumbled upon. By doing this you could have more of a professional, polished presentation.

      The idea of your to help bring resources to reach all teachers is a excellent proposal. I’m not sure if you’ve quite convinced me to invest however, but the potential is there.

      Donna

      • mackenzie 2:24 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Donna

        I agree the visuals could have been more powerful, and executed with greater effect.

        Being a social enterprise aimed at one particular district definitely made it difficult for the average investor to grasp what I have intended. I tailored the pitch to such a specific client’s actual needs based on actual meetings with district personal that the audience(classmates) has joined the process part way through.

    • Dave Horn 10:48 pm on July 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve

      As a teacher who has definitely been under the gun to develop lessons, the idea to collaborate and share lessons definitely appeals. As an investor, I wondered how I could contribute and how any monetary gain could happen. I may have missed it, but what about having a small cost for joining and sharing on the site? Who would be running and managing the site so as to update and organize materials?
      Great effort though and I always like the idea of collaboration.

      Dave

      • mackenzie 2:25 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Dave

        This project will not make money. Every teacher that I have approached has liked the idea. But if asked to pay money to join, they said it would drive them away from the site, or any similar venture site. Some colleagues said that they may consider joining this site for a small window of time to reap the resources but would not keep a continuing membership. Essentially, the idea of profiting in any way from their sharing of resources was unpalatable to them, and seemed to set an adversarial tone and not a collaborative one.

        • Dave Horn 9:08 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I can see your point about membership creating an adversarial tone, or one where people have temporary accounts to access content, but then don’t really contribute in return. What about moving it to a larger scale, where the school boards/districts paid a small fee to allow their teachers access, this could at least cover the costs of maintenance and such.

    • Hussain Luaibi 1:29 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Steve
      Great efforts can be seen in your work. You explained things in a natural way which gives more credibility to the whole project.
      As a teacher, I think sharing materials is great. But that can be done through many free software these days. The i-cloud and the drop-boxes can be a product killer. With the tight-fisted school budgets , many school these days would prefer to use free drop-box to do the same job. Besides, you mentioned that profit is not a priority here. How would you expect to entice the profit-oriented investors?
      I think the idea is generally good but it won’t last long in the light of the flourishing market of information sharing.
      Great presentation, Steve.
      Hussain

      • mackenzie 2:25 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hussain

        This is definitely not profit investors dream come true, but that was not my intention. I was targeting my own school district to allocate some resources to back my social enterprise. It was never my intention to appeal to investors that had monetary goals, but instead to reach an investor that shared my vision for a cultural paradigm switch from isolation to inclusion.

    • shawn harris 8:30 am on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve ,

      Thanks for sharing your presentation of pitches with us!

      As an educator the market concept appealed to me and I was more than willing to listen in to hear what you had to offer the market and to potential investors. The idea for sharing lesson plans is one which I give praises to as last year the education department had to fly specialist teachers from one island to the next for meetings and planning of lessons for the new academic year. In this technological era, that should not be done as it is too costly.

      With that said, the concept about online space for teachers to collaborate, share resources and their best practices was clear to me as you gave some valid reasons and examples why this market is needed. You sounded passionate about the solution you are bringing to the table. However, for both pitches you did not introduce yourself nor did you make mention of the management team behind this as this would add some credibility to the potential investor.
      I think you should have taken the time to re-record parts of your pitches for a smoother and a more professional work.

      As others mentioned there are other spaces for shared lessons and collaboration. You mentioned that the product is not about profit, so what’s in it for the potential investor?

      Overall Investment Status: I like your idea about helping educators to collaborate in a shared space however, I don’t see the CEO or the team, I don’t know the financial details about the market as little is mentioned about the marketing aspect or specifics about revenue and I didn’t hear much about the global market. I consider this extremely high risk and would not pursue.

      Good effort!

      ~ Shawn

      • mackenzie 2:25 pm on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Shawn

        As this is a venture aimed at my district, and since I am already a well-known member of its professional development initiative program amongst district leaders, a formal introduction didn’t seem necessary. Essentially, I was aiming my presentation at my target audience, an audience that already knows and trusts me, rather than providing a cold sell to angel investors. And since I was having trouble conveying all the things I wanted to in the time I had, I streamlined the parts that were less necessary. I know that I could easily present a paper that conveys most if not all of the information necessary, but I have an actual meeting scheduled with district members in the fall and believed I could double dip so to speak by creating a dual purpose pitch. I obviously need to work on my pitch so this was an excellent opportunity to test the waters. Thanks so much for your input.

    • Ronna Hoglund 4:28 pm on July 31, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,
      You pitched your product well with great visuals and with a personal touch. You certainly made the “pain point” clear – we ARE overworked!! I like the idea of collaboration but I am not quite clear on how this will make $$$$. Thanks for sharing.
      Ronna

    • Denise 9:32 am on August 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,
      As an educator I thought your idea was an interesting solution,..

      As an investor I was taken with your written introduction it really captured my imagination. When I listened to the elevator pitch I was disappointed. You presented well, the slides were clean and good visuals, but I didn’t meet you either visually or in any introduction nor get an idea of your competency. I would have been wowed with an elevator pitch that highlighted what you had written.

      The venture pitch I felt suffered again for me by not meeting you here either,and having a personalised approach. You did sell the team well – but too late. While you did stumble in the audio I think this would have been less noticeable if Ii had been seeing you – or had seen you.

      As Donna commented i would have liked more visuals. it became quite hard to keep listening to your voice when the visuals didn’t match and weren’t changing. One clasic example was the numbers of teachers across BC – I got lost and the information would have been better reinforced with a slide.

      While the venture wasn’t about money I wasn’t sure what you did want from the investor.

      Unfortuantely i would have turned off the venture pitch half way through (for the reasons above) So while a good solution you didn’t keep and increase my excitement/imagination with this. I don’t know, but your initial written intro was so enticing I wonder if a written venture pitch woudl have kept me engaged?

      Good luck with it if you are going to try and implement it though! Difference between a user’s enthusiasm and an investment analysis.

      Denise

    • Kenton Hemsing 8:39 am on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,

      The idea is good, many teachers will be very interested in an easy to use site that allows them to gather lesson ideas and resources. However, as an investor, I do not feel that this would be a venture for myself. The target market is great, but for a service that does not generate any income directly it is too much of a risk for myself. I think if you were willing to sell advertising space within the site I would be more inclined to invest as there is some potential to generate a vast amount of money.

      Collaboration is lacking in our profession, and I feel that it is directly related to time constraints. Your solution seems to be useful for some in that they can gain resources and lesson ideas directly, but it too could suffer in that there will not be many contributors to the site. I appreciate that you are honest in that critical mass is 100 contributors to the site and 5000 users, but it seems that is a small amount of contributors in the grand scheme of things. If the site was able to make uploading lesson ideas as simple as filling in a form or check boxes with an area for a quick description of how to implement the lesson, I think more people would contribute. More contributions are key to the success of the site.

      Also, what is going to be done when there have not been any new contributions for a while? I know with initiatives like this there is always a rush at the start, then nothing new added for a long time. Will there be PD sessions offered and release time given to teachers to contribute ideas and lessons, or will this be expected to be done on their own time?

      Great idea and pitch as well as the venture plan. I am just not convinced it would be an investment for myself.

      Thanks,
      Kenton

    • mariefrancehetu 3:35 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Steve,

      I thought your elevator pitch was well rendered with a good choice of pictures to accompany your presentation.

      First of all the idea behind ‘Shared Lesson’ is an innovative one. I can see how this type of sharing online platform could work as a great teaching tool within my own work environment where I teach adults. At work we do share projects, and collaborate on lesson planning, but it seems to always be the same people who do so. You obviously well researched this potential venture and I do like the idea that it is a social venture. The vocabulary you used to explain your venture was general and accessible to a large audience.

      Suggestions for improvement:
      – Segmenting your venture pitch into shorter periods where you speak, with perhaps more slides and especially titles that let the listener focus on the next category introduced. This would also have permitted you to record shorter segments and thus record again if necessary.
      – Increasing the volume when recording, because I had difficulty hearing you even with the volume up high
      – The first minute of your venture pitch had little to do with your elevator pitch, so I was left wondering what your project was about until later. Perhaps you could have summed up your project and then provided details about the problem and solution.

      As an investor, I may want to invest in this type of project, because I have a social conscience and know projects like these can help foster technology within the classrooms, but I found that if the presentation had been a bit more dynamic I might more readily have embarked in your venture wholeheartedly.

      Cheers!

      Marie-France

    • Sherman Lee 11:41 pm on August 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,

      Good effort in your pitches. I think “Shared Lesson” is a great concept from a teacher’s point of view. I can see how this tool can promote better instructional design as well, so as a teacher, I support your effort in this regards.

      As an investor, I have a couple of questions in mind that were not quite clarified. First and foremost is how would “Shared Lesson” know the lessons are contributed by teachers? If you go by teaching license, there would be a lot of great educators that would be ruled out. Are those lessons reviewed individually? If that is the case, how much expenses would it cost in a month? a year?

      Furthermore, I think you would need an immense amount of money in order to jump start the marketing of this product. How would you build popularity? Organization such as TEDed would invest in many revenues to get their publicity to draw in sufficient attention. I would like to know more about your marketing plans.

      Lastly, I think it would be a great idea to make your speeches a bit smoother. I find it difficult to keep focus without seeing your face but keep hearing a bit of hesitation in your tone.

      Good job though! Let me know if you are going to do a re-pitching!

      Sherman

    • Danielle Dubien 12:29 am on August 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,

      I’m from Ontario, so I won’t be investing in your venture. Nonetheless, I found your idea interesting and wrote down a few things…

      The main concern I have with this venture is the search method. It seems that even if you separate the material by topic, there still would be loads of material to go through to find just the right lesson plan. If your venture contained a classification system that is quick and easy for teachers to use, it would have a lot of value!

      Now, even though some lessons are voted higher because of “repins”, this does not mean that they are pedagogically sound. Most primary teachers don’t have a background in science or math so misconceptions in these topics could propagate through your system. As well, lessons that are newly pinned will definitely have less pins even if they are better lessons. That fact alone can mean that newer lessons are unfairly skewed towards the bottom and have less of a chance to even get seen, let alone voted positively.

      Being that this venture is limited to BC is great because it means that there is only one set of provincial goals that are in play. That said, I believe your math curriculum is shared with many other provinces and territories. How would you feel about having a separate site like that of your venture dedicated to that common math curriculum?

      Around the 6:00 minute mark, you talk about spreading to other provinces. I don’t think that’s a good idea because everything will get very complex, what with the different curricula everywhere else. I would suggest creating separate, customized programs like yours for each province and territory. That said, you could still enable some sort of function that makes it possible for people to copy and paste an art lesson from grade 5 in BC that corresponds to and is relabeled to match a goal in grade 4 in Nova Scotia, for example.

      You say that this site will contain lessons that are of professional quality, in comparison to what is on Pinterest. What will you do to ensure quality control? Up and down votes by repinning still requires teachers to take the time to look at lesson plans that may be poorly created.

      I’m glad you’re starting with a pilot project. Hopefully, you would have a simple questionnaire for teachers to fill out so that it would be easy to sort through the feedback.

      Much luck with your venture!

      Dan

  • mackenzie 8:22 pm on July 15, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: final version   

    Thanks to all our colleagues that contributed to the activity and the discussion that has led to the market research for this educational venture. Below is a summary of all your contributions that we added to our presentation.  Thanks again for a wonderful week!   Our final version of the presentation can be viewed at […]

    Continue reading Roundup for Week 9 Visual-Intensive Learning Posted in: Week 09: Visual-Intensive Learning
     

  • mackenzie 2:05 pm on June 1, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: , Teachers.Net, Tony Bott, Week 04   

      Tony Bott is a teacher, founded, co-owner, and advertising executive of Teachers.Net, an online support organization for teachers.  Teachers.Net provides a one-stop shop for all of teachers’ needs including information, resources and networking.  Founded back in 1996, Teachers Net was the idea of Tony Bott who envisioned a site that would emancipate teachers from […]

    Continue reading Teachers.Net…One Teacher’s Dream! Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
     

    • karonw 8:54 pm on June 1, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great post! I am pretty amazed how Bob Reap taught himself to program. I agree, sometimes it is about the quality of the features not the quantity like you said they could have just hosted links but I guess they wanted to have all the ownership in their site?

      Karon

      • mackenzie 12:35 pm on June 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Karon,
        Thanks, I agree that quality is more important than quantity, especially when you want to keep visitors coming back to your site. With Web 2.0, collaboration software has reached a new pinnacle of affordances that is a crime not to leverage. For our 522 Visual-Intensive Project we are going to leverage the affordance of social mind mapping to show just how far these V-I collaborative tools have come and what kind of learning they afford including synchronous online collaboration. Its a shame to try to make websites into closed systems like many LMS sites….take this class for instance.
        Cheers, Steve

        • Denise 2:40 am on June 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          HI Steve,
          I am interested that you don’t see a place for closed systems. I think it depends on what one is trying to achieve in learning. But love to hear oyur thoughts.
          Denise

    • gillian 9:36 am on June 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hey Steve,
      A very comprehensive post. I must say that I have adapted a lesson plan or two from teachers.net (I love the free stuff), but never really thought about its origins. I agree with you that the site is much too busy and may need some restructuring rather than simply taking an adhoc approach to updating.

    • mackenzie 11:39 am on June 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Gillian,

      Its interesting to hear that you have used Teachers.Net in the past. I was amazed at the number of lessons but worried that some teachers may find it difficult to find relevant resources to an area of interest considering the clunky search engine. As part of my final project, I am proposing a site that is similar but leverages web 2.0 affordances and targets a more locallized community such as BC teachers. Considering the pain points of this venture, I think there may be a market need for a better type of collaborative website that provides additional opportunities for engagement.
      Cheers, Steve

      • gillian 7:48 am on June 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Steve,
        Sounds like a great idea for a final project idea and sounds like you are well equipped to accomplish it. Janet’s idea below for provincially specific curriculum spaces would be a really good organizational method for the site.
        gillian

    • janetb 12:26 pm on June 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi. I think a version of this site for localized communities is a great idea. If one could click on BC or Alberta (or whatever area) it would make it easier to collaborate with teachers in your area and to share resources specific to local curriculum/ideas. Plus it would make managing resources easier as each area would have a great deal in common.

      Janet

      • mackenzie 12:47 pm on June 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Janet, you highlight some important advantages. It’s great to have such valuable input! I am hoping to set up a power point presentation for my colleagues in the next month to get more input…a form of research development. I will also share my link here in case anyone else is interested in adding some opinions or concerns for the venture. With a computer programmer for a brother and a research & development/marketer for my best friend, I think I may stand a chance to create this site in the near future.
        I hope that this venture idea will be able to showcase the many affordances that a more open site could offer.
        Cheers, Steve

    • Dennis Pratt 6:36 pm on June 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I have also used Teachers.Net for the odd science and math lesson plan or worksheet for junior high school students. I found it easy to navigate and find what I was looking for. The front page has been updated since I used it last and I agree that it looks very busy but that is how many of these sites can afford to run, through advertising, especially targeted advertising.

      Dennis

    • ping 9:53 am on June 3, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,

      Thanks for sharing this. It’s a wonderful website. I like their “sample problems”, so easy to understand and to use. I’m also curious of your Web2.0 version in the near future. Please remember to share us when you start it. If you can somehow increase the utilization of graphics and reduce texts as possible, maybe my daughter could use it despite of language difference ? !

      Ping

  • mackenzie 3:37 pm on May 17, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags:   

    Meet the “7 Things You Should Know About Navigating the New Learning Ecosystem” page …amongst many others.  If you haven’t already checked it out, take a look! Although aimed at higher education, this 2 page summary argument about navigating the new learning ecosystem includes brief sections on a real-life scenerio, “what it is”, “how it […]

    Continue reading I’m in 7th heaven! Posted in: Uncategorized
     

    • mariefrancehetu 4:10 pm on May 17, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello,

      You have convinced me to further peruse this website, particularly because it is about what seems promising for higher learning and teaching. I also like the fact that they are a not for profit group, which means they are less likely to be biased.
      I am also pleased with the fact that they provide links that allow you to delve deeper if you find something of interest. I also find it impressive that 250 corporations are members and it could indeed give me ideas for a future venture.

      Thanks for offering such a good review!

      • mackenzie 3:48 pm on May 18, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Marie-France,
        You make some excellent points about their non-profit status and corporate membership. This definitely ups their credibility quotient, not to mention their many other resources are from real-people’s experiences utilizing and developing uses for these various technologies.
        Cheers, Steve

    • janetb 4:32 pm on May 17, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I reviewed an article from this site as well and was very impressed. It would DEFINITELY be very helpful for anyone just beginning to implement new technology or to learn about what is available. As you outlined, I liked the link to the abstract and then the whole article – the scenarios gave context and the length (two pages) was attractive for quick info without overload, but if you want more the links are there. I will definitely use it again.

      • mackenzie 3:55 pm on May 18, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Janet,
        It sounds like you haven’t checkout some of their seminar or discussion videos. I know I might sound like a broken record, but they are really cool! You should check them out. The brief summary is just the beginning.
        Cheers, Steve

    • HJDeW 8:31 pm on May 17, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for the enthusiastic ‘pitch’ to visit the site. I have used some of the ‘7 Things’ tip sheets as ‘tech teasers’ in the past and have found them valuable sources of information for educators who want to keep informed but have little time to manage longer readings or highly technical reports. I have not tapped into the extensive offering of other resources before so will keep this in mind.
      Helen

      • mackenzie 3:52 pm on May 18, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Helen,
        I was dreading writing this review, as its not my forte. But once I delved back into the site and started watching some of the videos, my excitement took over. Sorry if it was a little over the top. After reading Gillians analysis, I realized that I didn’t critique it, I promoted it. However, it did have alot of fun doing it!
        Cheers, Steve

    • gillian 11:49 am on May 19, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,
      Nothing wrong with a little excitement! I enjoyed the enthusiasm of your piece – it certainly kept me engaged. The fact that the 7 things … series is contained within the EDUCAUSE’s website is perhaps its best feature, for after you have read the concise 2 page review, there are so many other options for further research within the site itself.
      gillian

    • Denise 4:19 am on May 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      HI Steve,
      I agree with your enthusiasm too. I think the 7 Things site is fantastic for all the reasons oyu identified!

  • mackenzie 10:51 pm on May 10, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags: ,   

    Salutations from Kelowna (BC) to all my fellow ETEC 522 comrades. Currently I am taking 522 and 511, my 6th and 7th courses in the MET program.  It seems like just yesterday I was a newbie and terms like scaffolding, digital natives and connectivism were mystifying.  If you’re a newbie, please don’t let those words […]

    Continue reading Salutations from Steve Posted in: Uncategorized
     

    • Claire Burgoyne 11:02 pm on May 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,
      I have the (almost) perfect example of a teacher community for you. Art Ed 2.0 (arted20.ning.com) is an active community of over 11,000 art teachers. Many excellent resource and lots of small groups and sharing.

      We love the drive-in too. My husband and I drove by at 7:30 p.m. opening night on our way back from Kelowna and were very tempted. Next time:)

    • mackenzie 11:24 pm on May 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Claire,

      Thanks for the site! It looks very vibrant and I can’t wait to explore once my membership is accepted…still pending. Its great to see a community of teachers sharing ideas and working together. Are you actively involved in the site?

      My wife and I are going tomorrow night…The Three Stooges and This Means War are playing. Looks to be a fun night. Maybe we will see you there. We will have the big white dog, its hard to miss us!

    • Claire Burgoyne 12:38 am on May 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,
      I haven’t posted to discussions or contributed resources since last May when I started taking two MET courses at a time.

      Very tempting to take the night off and head for the drive-in. We always go early so we can claim our favourite spot just a few rows back and right in the centre. Maybe we’ll see you there.

      • mackenzie 1:50 pm on May 13, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Claire,
        That’s our favorite spot! I wonder if we have shared many a movie, side by side. I look forward to running into you at the drive-in this summer.

    • mariefrancehetu 12:40 pm on May 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,

      Your venture to crate a system of collaboration for teachers sounds like a great project to work on during this course. With fellow MET colleagues we created a course designed to help ESL teachers reflect on their teaching through journaling. I have begun a blog which I hope can become a place where teachers can share their teaching and learning experiences, but I too am not sure how to make it fly . . . honestly there is so much out there that it is difficult for teachers to find a venue that they can relate to and also find the time to be part of a community.

      I wish you luck and hope your project works out! I look forward to seeing how your venture progresses during this course.

      Marie-France

      • mackenzie 2:12 pm on May 13, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Marie-France.
        Journaling is a great idea for personal reflection on teaching and I, myself, have achieved considerable learning through this process. Congrats on your blog! I agree that making these sites fly can be a challenge. I have reviewed a lot of literature on different teacher community sites, and the studies seem to agree that they need to have a strong draw for teachers. They seem to emphasize the need to create a fun, vibrant, supportive and interesting place that teachers want to visit. This is why I was wondering if a social pin board that would link teachers to all sorts of resources posted by peers like humor cartoons, posters, stories, or shared tips and tricks of the trade, to classroom gadgets/technology to more professional sites like blogs and small formal interest groups would create such an environment. It could be a jumping off point to different ideas and resources that would be organized within a highly visual and interactive environment (containing comments, ratings, etc.) allowing teachers to peruse alot of possibilities without going into great depth on any of them….until the teacher was ready to focus their attention on the relevant and personally important sites. If your wondering what I am talking about, try visiting Pinterest.com if you haven’t already. I would love to hear what you think!

    • gillian 10:53 am on May 12, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hey Mac!
      Good to see you again! It does seem like yesterday that you were a newbie :)! You are just motoring through the program … good for you. Looking forward to working and learning with you again.
      gillian

    • sheza 2:15 pm on May 12, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Steve,

      I’m also taking ETEC 511 this term so perhaps I will see you there as well 🙂

      Interestingly, as part of ETEC 510 last term, my group and I worked on creating an online resource community for teachers like the one you have described. We were also concerned with the fact that most of these ventures tend to end up like ghost towns. It is interesting however, to note that within our ETEC courses, there is such an active group of online collaboraters – people who participate actively in the METs Ning community as well as on certain course project communities such as the ETEC510 Wiki. And looks like this course will be yet another active place where we can all share our expertise and experiences 🙂

      Looking forward to working with you,

      Sheza

      • mackenzie 3:35 pm on May 13, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Sheza,

        I haven’t “seen” you in my section ‘A’. You must be in the next section. I agree that we are lucky to be a part of such a vibrant and active community of learners. Unfortunately, I think many of these resource sites have great intentions but fail to motivate teachers to visit or participate. Maybe these ghost town sites are just too serious, is it possible we need to make them more fun and interactive and therefore more appealling? I am hoping to create a social pin board site that would draw teachers into causal sharing of interesting sites on humor, videos and personal blogs while mixed in with more meaningful links to specific resources or study groups. I certainly haven’t perfected my pitch, but I am working on it.

        How are you liking the new Connect format. Personally, my head is hurting with the new stream format of posts, although I am sure I will be used to it.
        Cheers, Mac

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