Suehellman's Comments

Hello Sue,

Thanks for the invitation to the Canadians Mashup, just seeing it now : (

Karen

Hi Sue:
sorry it took me so long to answer back, between everything I've been doing at school, I finally got online to start building. I teach in Surrey, BC. I'm at Sullivan Heights. Right by you.... I'll know where to go for help. Thanks for the welcome. Will join when I have the time for it. Take care.
Nicole

That brings back memories. I grew up in the Maritimes - so not quite the same cold as Winnipeg - but the amount of snow....

Good afternoon Sue. Love your bio and understanding we need to change. We have a subscription to Discovery Canada at our school. I do not use it too much as I find the technology videos are limited. That said, one of the physics teachers at my school loves it. We just conducted a workshop on the service (a choice teachers could sign up for) on Friday. Those in attendance liked what they saw. We will be reviewing how much it is actually used at my school before we renew.

There was a change to add more Canadian content this year. I talked with a rep at a conference this past fall, and they talk about having big plans.

Hope this helps.

Phil

Thanks for the Canadians Mashup welcome; I'm in!

Hi Sue,
I don't know Ian Jukes - it's a small place up here but there are still lots of people I don't know.
I'll check out the mashups group on the weekend.
CYA
sylvia

Part Two:
So now to the dialogue part...Verification comes from understanding through dialogue not repetition and this sort of dialogue leads to a shared understanding of personal experiences. In dialogue we can open understanding not transmit it.

So... a phenomenological inquiry may give me an opportunity to give voice to that which may not be easily heard over the sometimes overpowering drone of traditional research methods. Have we really listened to what teachers are saying is happening in their classrooms in the 21st Century?
Understanding comes by being in the world together. By creating forums in which people can join one another as co-participants to shape something new. It requires a connection in culture through language.
My experience as a teachers is that we have such busy lives. If we are not careful we will reduce teaching to the "101 things I have to do every day to please all the people I really don’t like so much" kind of job. Teachers do not need someone from outside telling them they have to change their practice, yet I do see a need for a shift. One day they may be trusted enough to be asked what they think and involve them in the process of change. I do not think we have listened enough to teachers. I want to give them a voice.
Sorry that was so long. It would not all fit on one comment field
Nancy

Part One:
Philosophical Hermeneutics is a little tricky to explain but I will give it a go... As I know it in this moment of time, it is an extraordinary study of the ordinary from the inside. Which is partly why it is difficult to pin down. It is the study of things and happenings as they appear to us. We live in the world so I believe it is really is impossible to pretend we can remove ourselves from it to study something. I believe it is not really a method of generating knowledge but a way of thinking about knowledge. It is an art and a different way to classify meaning. It is often applied to the interpretation of human actions, utterances, products, and institutions. A hermeneutic interpretation requires the individual to understand and sympathize with another's point of view without ignoring your own.
A couple of key points:

* The world is rich and complex with many causes and effects
* Truth is a personal experience not universal
* Knowledge does not have a subject-object relationship
* Understanding and interpreting are essentially the same thing
* Interpretation is a task
* Language is the medium of all understanding
* Language is not a tool but an activity between the speaker and the listener in order to play with understanding
* Knowledge lives in the learner

More to come

Hello Sue,
Thanks for letting me know about the Canadian Mashup. Like you, I was a public school educator for a long time (30 years) and moved into higher ed. I was fortunate to get work as a sessional instructor for SY Math Methods as I was completing my M.Ed. Eventually a position opened for a full time Assistant Prof in Math Methods & Technology. I was fortunate to get the position. I am now working on a PhD (a change in career at this stage was very invigorating!). So here I am with a new career path and it is lots of fun to teach teacher candidates and do research into topics I am so interested in! Good luck in your quest.

Thanks, Sue. You're a star!

The task forces are board initiatives.

Thanks for the information Sue, will be right there! Nice to collabarate and share with all educators, at home and abraod! :-)

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the note about Canadian Mashup. I have not spent much time on this Ning, but I like the idea of connecting with other Canadians online. I am part of the English Companion Ning where ther is a small group of Canadians.

Cheers,
Chris

thanks Sue.

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the invitation.

Andrew

Hi Sue,
Thanks for finding me. :) I'll check out the Canadian Mashup group.
Kristy

Hi Sue,

Sure I will join the group. Great idea.

Good to build a Canadian group.

Thanks

Roger

Thanks for the invite Sue. I'll definitely check it out. :)

Great to be a part of the group. Thanks Sue!