Teacher-Librarians My staff describe it as a “year of wonder.” Sometimes we call it a tsunami and just want to ride the wave without crashing. Other times we refer to it as a fire beginning to flame across the district. We consider it as seeding pockets of innovation we want to take root and spread organically as connected and rooted networks. Innovative Learning Designs (Phase 1)A year ago we announced the 18 schools that were awarded grants as part of the Innovative Learning Designs schools (ILD), Phase 1. The Engaging the Digital Learner SeriesWe realized that as educators we needed to find a way to engage our learners. The Digital Discovery Series This series ran parallel to the one above. Cadres of Digital ChampionsWe created Cadres of Digital Champions (a team of three educators at every school). Core Digital Coaches From the above group, we asked for volunteers that wanted to become a core team of Digital Coaches to provide support to their larger group. How have others viewed these initiatives?
Instructional Technology Purchases Guidance Smarter Balanced and PARCC Issue Guidance for New Instructional Technology Purchases Specifications Provide Assurance that New Devices will be Compatible with Next-Generation Assessments April 25, 2012 – The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) today issued guidance designed to inform schools and districts as they make annual instructional technology purchases. The guidelines include hardware and operating system specifications covering the vast majority of commercially available computers and tablets. Specifications common to both consortia are described below. Minimum Guidelines for New Hardware Purchases The specifications issued today are meant to inform current and future purchasing decisions. The specifications do not constitute the full list of technical requirements that will be necessary to administer Smarter Balanced and PARCC assessments 2014-2015. About Smarter Balanced
Student Journal Activities for All Subjects Could you have the next Rick Riordan in your class or possibly another Dr. Seuss? Is there a hidden talent in the class just waiting to be discovered or has writing taken a back seat to all other subject areas? Why is it so hard to engage students in writing? We all have students who will write to fulfill an assignment and get the grade, but how do we ignite the love of writing? How do we recreate the excitement and joy of putting pen to paper to create a story or poem where the action and drama stem from personal imagination? Writing in the classroom is valuable tool that provides benefits such as the following: So how do we engage our students in the writing process and bring out those hidden writers? One method to engage students is using student journals across the curriculum. Classroom management factors to consider as you’re preparing for class... 10 teaching strategies containing mistakes that you don’t want to make in your... 3 classroom management tips to maximize your time.
Trustees Recently we presented an in-service to the Board of Education on The Digital Foundations of Teaching and Learning: Preparing for a Future that is Here Today. An abbreviated slideshare is included below. We also showed some fabulous video clips but we will save those for another post. The presentation was anchored in a metaphor and image of fire. “Technology IS just a tool, like a stick. In Surrey, we are using technology to TRANSFORM teaching and learning. We identified the Shifts that are Impacting Education globally, some of which include: 1. These trends are shaping the transformation of how we teach and how students learn. The BC Ministry of Education describes it as “Learning Empowered by Technology.” The wise use of technology for learning was endorsed in a research paper that examined high performing districts across Canada. So how are we doing that as a district? Here are some of the fire starters we have initiated in the district:
Making the Big Shift Policy and Advocacy | Feature Making the Big Shift Districts in Indiana have created innovative alternatives to textbooks, thanks in part to a change in state policy. By Geoffrey H. There's a lot of talk from schools about moving away from--or, at least, weaning themselves off of--textbooks as the primary content delivery platform. Policymakers and educators who are struggling to bring about this shift might look to Indiana to see what districts can do once they are given freedom to spend their instructional materials dollars not to just deliver content, but to usher in profound educational change. Creative Financing In November 2009, the Indiana State Board of Education changed the definition of a textbook to include digital content and the devices necessary to deliver or experience the digital content. Indiana has a unique business model for the acquisition and use of textbooks--parental rental. Some corporations have gotten very clever with the math.
Screening for Reading Problems in Grades 4 Through 12 by Evelyn S. Johnson, Ed.D., Juli Pool, Ph.D., and Deborah R. Carter, Ph.D., Boise State University When RTI is implemented with fidelity in the early grades, the anticipated outcome is that students who are struggling readers will be identified early and provided intervention. Even with an effective RTI process in place in Grades K–3, however, there will continue to be students in the later grades who require intervention to support their reading development. For schools, this means that a system for screening to identify struggling readers needs to continue beyond the early elementary grades into the middle and high school grades. Reading Instruction at Grades 4–12 The conceptual framework underlying RTI stems from the preventive sciences approach. The recent emphasis on strengthening reading instruction in the early grades has demonstrated positive effects for improving reading achievement for students in Grades 1–3 (Biancarosa & Snow, 2006). Developing a System for Screening
Forum: It’s Personal – Personalized Learning for Students and Educators Key Questions Right Now: What practical steps can educators take to personalize learning for their students in 2012–13, and how can technology facilitate this? The Big Picture: How close are we to being able to realize the dream of personalized, differentiated, passion-based learning for educators and students, and what still has to happen to make this fully real? Getting Started Video: Watch the Forum Users Guide for a tutorial on how to get started. Notice: Forums have been archived! If you would like a copy of the Forum Archive please contact us..
Utah Open Textbook Project | Demonstrating the Cost Effectiveness and Educational Effectiveness of Open Textbooks Learn What You Want, Teach What You Love The idea for MentorMob sprouts from the backgrounds of Kris Chinosorn and Vince Leung. Both avid learners, they found early on that the Internet was not quite the incredible tool for learning new skills and hobbies that everyone thinks it is. Even with millions of free lessons online, the content is almost impossible to navigate. "You don’t really know where to start, what to learn next or who you can trust, which is why in a sea of free content, people are still paying for online lessons." - Vince Leung, CTO Both Kris and Vince knew there had to be a better, more efficient way to learn for free online and that is when MentorMob was born. Since MentorMob’s inception, the company has seen many changes, and pivoted from it’s original website (now residing as LessonPaths.com) to create a community focused social learning platform that features one in-depth learning experience that works.
My Book Order "Teaching Generation Text" at this link. What's it about? TEACHING GENERATION TEXT looks at breaking the ban that exists in today’s schools and bridging the digital divide with cell phones, the most ubiquitous and overlooked learning device in American households. Discover how to stop fighting and start embracing cell phones as powerful learning aids that engage learners in fun and relevant ways. From policy to parent permission, from discipline to classroom management with a wealth of exciting new tools, featuring lesson plans and research-based teaching strategies TEACHING GENERATION TEXT provides everything educators need to harness the power of cells today! Learn how I became interested in using mobile devices for learning even though they were banned in my district, here. This video features me and my co-author sharing our thoughts about using cell phones in education. Want to know more about Teaching Generation Text? The secret is out! This is the first guide I created.
Competency Works Digital Differentiation Technology is a tool that can be used to help teachers facilitate learning experiences that address the diverse learning needs of all students and help them develop 21st Century Skills. At it's most basic level, digital tools can be used to help students find, understand and use information. When combined with student-driven learning experiences fueled by Essential Questions offering flexible learning paths, it can be the ticket to success. Here is a closer look at three components of effectively using technology as a tool for digital differentiation. Note: The interactive graphics you see below have been updated. They can be found in a newer post on this blog. The goal is to design student-driven learning experiences that are fueled by standards-based Essential Questions and facilitated by digital tools to provide students with flexible learning paths. Essential Questions: Student-driven learning experiences should be driven by standards-based Essential Questions.
Symposium on Personalized Learning On August 4-6, 2010, more than 150 invited education leaders convened in Boston around the need for the systemic redesign of our K-12 education system to one that is centered on the personalized learning needs of each student. Attendees identified the top 10 essential elements and policy enablers. Now available are a report of these findings as well as an archive of the presentations, including session summaries and videos, student videos, and attendee poll results. November, 2010: Education Leaders Identify Top 10 Components of Personalized Learning. Innovative Policies, Developer Content and Data Tools are Key, According to Education Officials at SIIA Mobile Learning Forum Thu, 20 Mar 2014 15:24 SIIA this week hosteda successful meeting with education policy makerstoenhance dialogue withdevelopers of moble learning and other educational technologies. Frequently Asked Questions about Student Data Privacy Fri, 13 Dec 2013 15:19 Thu, 05 Dec 2013 19:50