Conquer Conflict Cauldrons

As much as we want to avoid conflict, we are often faced with situations in which we have to deal with contrary ideas, values and beliefs. Left bubbling away, these cauldrons can erupt into nasty distasteful pieces of work - which many of us may have experienced in the past. Personally, I avoid conflict like the plague and on Friday a workshop challenged me to think of it as a learning opportunity. Sarah at Stonefields School highlighted to us how we can look at conflict as a positive experience, in which we take on the challenge of appropriately addressing the issue. So instead of letting the cauldron overheat why not take positive action to cool it down?

Consider:

Communicating - Communicate what is bothering you in a clear and respectful manner - talk to those directly involved and avoid letting it travel through the grapevine.

Controlling emotions  - Ensure that you are in an emotionally stable state to address the situation - if you feel angry and upset you will want to take time to calm yourself before saying something you may regret.

Personality differences - Do not forget that we are all different and need to learn to accept others ideas and values. Collaborate with others and celebrate these differences instead of allowing other viewpoints to frustrate you.

Working on Web Design

When working on web design it is important to make sure you create it for an audience with a diverse range of "tech-savviness". Have you made sure that your site and its content is visible for your audience? Is the information easy to find and in an obvious place? How many clicks do users need to make to get to where they need to go? Have you made sure your design is consistent and visually appealing? 

All of these factors will determine how your site is navigated by others and how your students engage in the learning on the site. After all, you want to make sure you limit the amount of time students spend trying to access their learning, so that they have as much time as possible to get stuck into their activities. 

Multi-Modal Learning with Google Sites

Today I not only discovered how to create and edit a Google Site, I also had the chance to create a quick multi-modal site for students to explore the story of the Three Little Pigs (see screenshot of my site above). Making the site multi-modal allows students to engage in a variety of learning activities and explore ideas and perspectives from various angles.

By clicking on the six links I found, students are challenged to look at the story from the wolf's perspective, explore  the challenges a wolf would face breaking into houses in our world, look at creative ways others have reinvented the story in other contexts, and they can also explore the traditional tale through collaborating with others in a play or engaging in an interactive reading site. There is so much material online that we are able to explore for the benefit of our individual learners, and today I was reminded of the fact of how much is right at my fingertips waiting to be discovered.

By scrubbing up on your Google site skills and getting your Google search on you can quickly create these simple but interactive sites for your class!