Teacher-Librarians
Thanks to Robyn Beyer and the organising committee of the Northern Sydney Regional Teacher-Librarian conference for kindly inviting me to present the keynote today. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The delegates were enthusiastic and treated me very kindly indeed. cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by Darcy Moore My pre-conference survey elicited a number of interesting responses. I have been collecting this kind of data for 4-5... Read More
Social Reading
cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by Darcy Moore Reading has always been a solitary pursuit – by definition – in my mind. I never sought membership of any kind of club that met to discuss books. The idea of attending a ‘festival’ to listen to an author, or ask them questions, seemed a little silly. Surely their thoughts and insights, knowledge and work was best approached by sitting, alone, with their prose. My... Read More
myPad
My 5 and 8 year old daughters have monopolised our iPad since we bought it in 2010. I never really used it that much but my partner, who is not at all geeky, would prise it away from the kids for email, browsing, Plants vs Zombies, ABC iView and reading the ‘newspaper’. Wikipanion is her favourite app. A couple of weeks ago, I really wanted to read my ‘book’ but our Kindle and the you-know-what weren’t available and... Read More
The best of both worlds: an anecdote
I have been asked to ‘lecture’ at the University of Wollongong this year. This position gives me the privilege of working with tertiary students preparing to become English teachers. This is an exciting opportunity and while preparing, thinking about the idealistic and the pragmatic, it became evident to me that the experience of organising to teach at the university might make for a useful introductory anecdote about the mixture of traditional... Read More
Your Daily Bread?
What online and tech tools do you use daily in your personal and professional life? Have they changed in the last two years? What has failed to ‘work’ for you? I am having a little tidy – before the New Year – and was thinking about 2011. This is a brief ‘Christmas’ post (a list really) of sorts. I hope you have the time to add a comment. Firstly, the following are dearly beloved but now departed: My iPod(s)... Read More
My Spines
@LiteraryMinded asked about ‘our spines’ today and I have obliged below. However, it is my Kindle that has the most titles, especially chapter samples to read. 11 pages of titles to sample or read Read More
Anthill: A Novel
“The cycles of other species can be destroyed, and the biosphere corrupted. But for each careless step we take, our species will ultimately pay an unwelcome price – always” EO Wilson I have just finished Anthill, set mostly in Alabama and occasionally underground, by two times Pultizer Prize winner and first time novelist, aged 81, E.O. Wilson. Pre-ordered ages ago, it arrived on my Kindle Monday and was enjoyable enough that... Read More
The Genius in All of Us: Part II
Now, having finished David Shenk’s, The Genius in All of Us, I’d like to continue my reflection on the importance of this work to educators, students and parents. The notes I made while reading, using that function on my Kindle, highlight that our quintessential thinkers, in Western civilisation, have always suspected that giftedness’ was a ‘process’. For example, Nietzsche described ‘great artists as being tireless... Read More
The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You've Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is Wrong
‘Intelligence is not an innate aptitude…’ It is difficult to shift paradigms and I have just started a book that may assist us to change perceptions about the potential of all our students – and ourselves. Steven Johnson, one of my favourite authors and thinkers, recommended via twitter last week, The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is Wrong by David Shenk. I have... Read More
My Kindle Review
I’ve now read a book on my Kindle and feel the time has come for a brief review. Firstly, I’m glad I purchased the device and have no reservations about the outlay of approximately $300. I am happy with the leather cover and the weight of the Kindle. The fact that one can add documents , as Judy O’Connell explains, is great. My colleagues at work have been impressed with the potential of this e-reader, especially when travelling,... Read More
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