When I decided that it was time to begin my blog, I chose a writing format that was a bit relaxed, a bit ‘informal’. That was purposeful. I wanted to let people know who I was as a person, my professional passions, my vision for leadership and education — all in a format that was easy to read and conversational. Throw in a bit of humour and TADA — my blog!
Curriculum
A Sea of Pink – Wearing it Proudly on Feb 28th
By now most of us have probably heard of Pink Shirt Day. If you haven’t heard of it — or if you’ve forgotten — here’s a brief description of the event that started a nation-wide trend of wearing pink in February:
Why Wear Pink?
The idea of wearing pink originated from a 2007 story in Nova Scotia where a Grade 9 student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt one day.
That same day two students decided to take a stand. They went out, bought 50 pink shirts, and then that evening contacted most of their friends over social media.
The next day before school, these two students handed out 50 pink shirts to these friends and classmates. It was an incredibly visible way to show support for their bullied friend.
SEA OF PINK
Artificial Intelligence Is Here – Time to Buckle up!
Fair warning — this blog is a little long, especially with the embedded videos. You don’t need to actually watch the videos to understand the content, but they really do help to bring the information home. I suggest setting aside about 10-15 minutes for this blog. It’s long because I find this topic extremely fascinating. You’ve been warned!
I entered the incredible world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at a recent educational leadership event. I heard from and interacted with a number of highly respected researchers, thinkers, and leaders in the world of AI. It was a truly exhilarating learning experience.
As part of the presentation, the history of computers, the Web 1.0 and 2.0, AI and a number of other computer-centric advances were graphed for us as a function of their capabilities over time.
As you can see from the graph below, the capability of individual PCs and mainframe computers are well past their prime. However, the relatively recent presence of smart machines, analytics and big data have been gaining in strength, but are now slowly starting to level off. Look at the purple AI line. It’s becoming vertical — more so every year. AI is literally exploding into our world unlike any other computer-based technology — EVER!
At times, I felt uncomfortable hearing about AI and it’s influence on our world, but I was also excited at the possibilities that lie ahead.
The Power of Why 