MSDN Blog Postings

Last weekend, Doug Belshaw’s “Things I learned this week #17” mentioned this blog (although with some fake reluctance), and the post that contained the What’s new in PowerPoint 2010 for teachers video. I often read Doug’s blog, as well as listening to the EdTechRoundUp podcast, which Doug takes part in weekly. The thought hit me (belatedly!) that “Things I learned this week” is an excellent way to share some of the snippets of news that aren’t quite important enough to make a blog post all of their own, but lumped together they may make interesting reading.

So, thanks to Doug’s idea, here’s my first “Things I learned this week” list:

Things I learned this week

• I have known for some time about the Microsoft Education Competencies, which was designed by teachers, and is used in a number of countries for professional development and career planning by teachers.
  What I learned this week is that one of the 39 competencies is Humour, and just like every other competency, there are a series of level statements that can be used to describe progression:
  Microsoft Competencies > Humour

Level 1: Basic	Level 2: Intermediate	Level 3: Advanced	Level 4: Expert
Generally uses humour in a positive way	Uses humour to bring people together	Knows exactly when and where a joke or story will be effective	Can see humour in almost everything
Is conscientious about timing and setting for humour	Uses humour to boost morale or decrease tension	Has a great sense of timing	Sought out by others for guidance in this area
Tries to diffuse tense situations with appropriate humour	Uses humour to make for a more relaxed and productive atmosphere	Realises when and where humour will backfire, and withholds	Uses humour as a uniting dynamic across a range of situations
Can laugh at self and others	Allows others to be funny	Understands that laughter makes a more comfortable meeting, classroom, etc	Recognizing and appreciates a great sense of humour in others

And like all of the other competencies, there are sections on improving proficiency, interview questions, learning opportunities and even a recommended reading list.
(Honestly, it took me half an hour to satisfy myself that this wasn’t some kind of April Fool’s Spoof)

• There’s a new Windows Live Messenger around the corner, which integrates Facebook, LinkeIn and MySpace – and will be running on phones etc.
• My colleagues in the States have created a “Digital Storytelling” e-book for teachers. It explains activities and ideas to improve students writing and creativity.
• I’m not the only person who’s been wowed by Pivot, from Live Labs. I think that combination of Pivot, and your MIS student data could create a magical SMT discussion.
• According to a tweet from Phil Neal at Capita, one in three secondary schools in England are using the SIMS Learning Gateway
• Tony Sheppard likes SharePoint as a basis for learning platforms in schools – partly because it’s so Web 2.0

Thanks for the inspiration Doug

This post originated from and is provided by the MSDN Blogs RSS feed. The original post of the article can be found here.