An Inquiry into Coding in the PYP
Should coding be a 21st century requirement? Could it be offered as a new foreign language? Might coding be the most important language in the world? These are just a few of the questions that have been at the center of many educational discussions across the world as...
The Case for Digital Manslaughter: Consequences for Online Abuse
12-year old Rebecca Sedwick, 13-year old Hope Witsel, 13-year old Megan Meier, 14-year old Viviana Agguirre, 15-year old Audrie Pott, 15-year old Amanda Todd, and the list goes on and on and on. All teenagers. All bullied. All dead. All by suicide. In breaching the...
Keeping up with the Kids…and the Internet
Redefining "Bullying" According to Donegan (2012), the term "bully" is traceable back to the 16th century, but according to Wikipedia it didn't always have a negative conotation, and in fact once meant "sweetheart". Fast forward to the 21st century and my goodness how...
Original Thought: A Buddhist Perspective on Copyright and Ownership
My ego is very possessive and fiercely private. When I come up with an idea, create something or introduce an innovative element into a system, I want to be recognized for it. When I take photos while I am traveling, I don’t want those photos to be lost amongst the...
It’s About Respect
Every Friday all the Kindergarten classes at our school gather together for sing-along. The kids love it, but it very often leads me to wake up on Saturday morning with a bad case of LSS (Last Song Syndrome)! It just so happens that we also had our most recent...
Should I Be More Afraid?
Almost everything I read this week had something to do with Facebook and how more and more of your information is shared online. Here's the thing, I know lots of people who have been quite private about their use of Facebook and limit as much as possible on their...
Contributing a Digital Thoughtprint
The word footprint often conjures up visions of Mary Stevenson’s, “Footprints in the Sand” poem, set alongside a picturesque sunset over the ocean. In the poem, the author’s Lord reveals to her that throughout her most troubled life events, when she thought she was...
Learning to be Responsible…Even if you’re just five
Understanding the 'Big Ideas' Here we are in course two and as I did with course one, I clicked through all of the units to get an idea of how the work flows and big ideas progress through the entire course. Generally, I try to focus on the "Big Idea" at the beginning...
How to Use Padlet to Show Action, PYP Attitudes and Learner Profile Traits
The Essential Elements in the PYP consist of knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action. In Making the PYP Happen, it states that a balance is sought between them through delivery of the written curriculum. I’m not sure if the Essential Elements were arranged...