Video

Is Sharing Still a Moral Imperative?

Posted by Dean Shareski on in Blogs, rants, Video, writing 1 Comment

The video I created in 2010 for the K-12 online called Sharing: The Moral Imperative remains a fairly widely used bit of content. I was proud of my efforts from a production, content and delivery perspective. Also if you want to see George Couros, before he was George Couros, have a look.


That was over six years ago. As I rewatched it, I had to ask if I feel the same today. What, if any changes would I make to this video if I were to update it?

Focusing solely on the content, I still value and believe sharing is integral to learning and our profession. My claims in the video focus mainly on efforts to share online. At the time, only a small number of educators were actively sharing content online. Blogs were beginning to take traction for some, but their value wasn’t anywhere near a universal belief. Twitter and social media opportunities were nowhere near where they are today. Twitter was seen much like Snapchat is perceived for many today.: wasteful and for posting of minutia.

My original message was to encourage and create a culture where teachers look to share their ideas, thoughts, lessons, resources … Read the rest

2016 in Photos and Video

Posted by Dean Shareski on in 365, flickr, Personal, travel, Video 2 Comments

Well, here it is, the moment you’ve been waiting for.

2017 will be my 10th year of taking a photo a day. It’s partly an act of mindfulness, partly documentation and by now pretty much a habit. While many people have on occasion, taken on this task, few have done it for as long and I don’t know many who take the photos and package them in any way. This year’s edition was about a 4-hour effort. I don’t do a whole lot of editing anymore, simply drop them in and do a bit of tweaking as needed, find some decent soundtracks and publish. At some point, I’ll force all my family members to watch it and we’ll be on to 2017. I actually go back every so often and look at past years. Taking 20 minutes or so to remember all the mostly great things that happened is a nice way to reflect and share a journey and you’ll certainly see what things are important to me.

While I’m certainly privileged to travel and see some amazing places, keep in mind I was doing this before my current life of travel. New and beautiful places are great but just … Read the rest

Surprisingly Awesome

Posted by Dean Shareski on in Classrooms, Video 1 Comment

In a world where information and ideas are everywhere, I’m fascinated when people have a healthy obsession with something and go into great detail to analyze and deconstruct a topic or idea.

Sometimes it’s the topic itself but more often than not, it’s the person’s enthusiasm for the most minute details that keeps me interested.

As a sports fan, you may be familiar with the term “inside baseball” a broad term now used to refer to any behind the scenes insights or knowledge. Speaking of baseball, love him or hate him, I love listening to someone like Pete Rose talk about hitting. As arguably the greatest hitter in baseball, his breakdown of his craft is fascinating.

Sports analysts can often be annoying and yet can add new insights into their game. Here’s an example of two “experts” debating one of the most over analyzed topics in golf: Tiger Woods’ golf swing.


Unless you’re a golf fan, you didn’t watch that but what fascinates me is the detail and the passion they display as they argue this very unimportant topic. It reminds me of some of most memorable moments as a kid when we used to argue over the … Read the rest

Community Stories

Posted by Dean Shareski on in digital stories, Discovery, Video 0 Comment

I’m often reminded that I have one of the best jobs in the world. Getting to work with districts around the world, I continue to value and appreciate the high quality of people who have dedicated themselves to helping young people. Being able to spend time with these people and hear their stories, encourage them and connect them to others represents a fairly large part of my work. Building and growing community in a variety of ways is pure joy.

Another of the great privileges I have as part of my work at Discovery Education is to pursue my passions. One of those passions is storytelling and videography. Much like my writing and speaking, I recognize I have some ability but also recognize how much I have to learn. Last year I shot and edited 8 videos from educators in Canada, the UK and the US. I had filmed another in April but for a variety of reasons, was not able to get it edited and produced until today.

Zulma Whiteford from Discovery Education on Vimeo.

I continue to be fascinated by stories and how they forge, create and strengthen connections and build community. I hope to share … Read the rest

When Beauty Leads to Empathy

Posted by Dean Shareski on in presentations, Video 0 Comment

I’ve been blessed to speak to a variety of audiences and events around the world. But in September it was my great privilege to speak alongside my youngest daughter to a TEDx audiences in West Vancouver.

Having spoken in West Vancouver a few years ago, I was asked to return. A few weeks before my invitation, Martha, who was in grade 12 mentioned that one day she would love to give a TED talk. So I asked Craig Cantlie if he might be willing to take a chance and have Martha and I speak together. Craig listened to our proposal for a talk which was really a thread of an idea and decided to take a chance.

This talk is based on Martha’s passion around feminism. She has taught me a great deal and I tried to take her learning and mine and put it in a broader context. Our process of collaboration began with her writing what she wanted to say. I then tried to compliment her story as best I could.

Given the events of the past few weeks, I think the talk offers much to ponder. My personal passion for civil discourse and a focus … Read the rest