Monday, June 28, 2010

Stunning Queenstown


You couldn't have asked for a more stunning day to land in Queenstown. It's been 18 years since I last visited this picturesque piece of New Zealand. We landed on a run way laced with snow as the grand Remarkables saluted our decent.
This picture was taken by the edge of Lake Wakatipu, a gorgeous light for taking photos. Looking forward to visiting two schools tomorrow as the New Zealand Principal Federation (NZPF) conference begins. Looking forward to this weeks learning.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Power of Picking the Right Ap

I was delighted this evening to get a call from my 7 year nephew asking me the name of the x table ap I had downloaded for him a few weeks prior. I said why do you want to know that? He responded by saying that all the aps on Mums iphone were boring and that one was helping him learn. I had a wee giggle to myself when I mentioned Mum would need $1.29 to buy it. Here he was 6.00pm requesting to play an educational game to get better at the times tables he was wanting to get better at. This phone call reminded me just how capable our young learners are at self regulating what they need to work on. Just had to share that wee pearl!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

What Motivates Us?

Enlightening - well worth taking 10 minutes out of your day to reflect on what motivates people. How do we actively maximise opportunities for learners to experience Challenge, Mastery and Making a Contribution. Very cleverly illustrated in Dan Pinks 'The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us'.