Make Create Educate

Picture books are a wonderful way to engage children of all ages.  With younger children they provide an opportunity to engage in literacy with storylines they may not have experienced or thought about. With older students they are a wonderful hook to stimulate discussion or debate.  Is it true? Is it relevant to us? What can we do to protect? prevent? or follow up? Once upon a time Online by David Bedford Using fairytale characters this book illustrates some of the hazards of being online. The Fairy Godmother teachers them how to use screen time to be productive and creators rather than users of technology. The Fabulous Friend Machine by Nick Bland Popcorn the chicken finds a friend machine (phone) and makes some wonderful new friends, who turn out be not telling the full truth. Her old (true) friends step in to save her. The internet is like a puddle by Shona Innes This book gently talks about the dangers of being online and how adults can help us navigate those dangers. The...

What is social learning? This week I attended the Learn@Work conference, Learning and Development conference. The major theme was social learning. Social Learning is using the natural desire to socialise to enable learning in the work place.  Social learning is when learning occurs in a social situation. Social learning is often unstructured and an informal learning process where you receive just in time training from a colleague or you learn together how to solve a problem. Social Media may form a useful tool for social learning however it can not be forced onto learners. It is up the learner to make effective use of social media as a tool for learning. Forcing a learner to use a tool they are familiar with is not helpful in the learning process. Many people have now started to develop virtual connections using social media. Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) can enhance learning. They provide an opportunity to learn from people with different experience...