Creativity Expert - Sir Ken Robinson

Revolutionary ideas on education and razor-sharp wit. 

Sir Ken Robinson is very widely-known, yet his ideas deserve even more spreading, especially around teachers, school administrators, politicians, parents, and basically everyone.

An expert on creativity and one of the wittiest public speakers I've ever heard, Sir Ken's TED Talks are so popular that he's done at least three - they keep asking him back. I'm having difficulty deciding which one of his books to read first. Any suggestions?

One of the anecdotes he gives in one of his talks is that of British choreographer and director Gillian Lynne, most famous for her work on the musical Cats. As a young girl of eight, she simply couldn't sit still in class or turn her homework in on time. Her mother was called in to school, and this is what happened...

Picking favorite quotes from his TED Talks is difficult, so here are just two:

1) Escaping Education's Death Valley

"you can't improve education if you don't pick great people to teach and if you don't keep giving them constant support and professional development. Investing in professional development is not a cost. It's an investment"

2) From Bring on the learning revolution!

"every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly." 

See more on his website and on YouTube.   http://sirkenrobinson.com/?page_id=14

Try IT On Monday 2014 - Part I

On Saturday I went to Try IT On Monday (TIOM) 2014 with some teachers from my school. It was our first time at the event, and it was well worth it. There were over 100 teachers from international schools mostly around Tokyo to exchange ideas with. The aim of TIOM is for teachers to share IT ideas that are useful, but still easy enough to use that you can walk into your own classroom on Monday and try them out.

TIOM had a great atmosphere, professional yet relaxed - the perfect combination for teachers volunteering their time on a Saturday morning. According to the coordinator, Kiyo Horii, a successful TIOM event includes these flavors and spices:

• informal
• flexible
• variety of presentations
• open registration
• student involvement
• free lunch and snacks

Check it out at http://jascd-tiom.ning.com/

Some of the presenters (do I dare call them 'techsperts'?) were IT integrators or Google certified teachers, others were regular teachers who had figured out how to do something cool or time-saving using IT.

The sessions I saw were:

1) blogging 
2) Google sites 
3) efficient report card writing

As you can see, I really am trying IT on Monday with this new blog. Over the coming year, I will share ideas from the sessions I went to, and much, much more...

A big thanks to our hosts at Nishimachi International School - otsukaresama guys! 

Efficient report card writing session at TIOM2014 - no more spelling mistakes, ever again! 
www.schoolreportwriter.com

Coming soon...

This blog starts Monday, 28th April, 2014. 

The first blog entries include Try IT On Monday and Sir Ken Robinson.