The Revolution has begun...

9/9/14 was the start of our school’s Revolution.  We decided to send off the teachers on a QUEST.  It was designed by our 1:1 technology fellow, Jessica Geremia, and acted as a guide for the first 1:1 professional development day.  The QUEST was focused, differentiated, collaborative, and provided some independency.  It gave time for teachers to play and step out of their comfort zones with support if needed.  Teachers could navigate through their new Apple MacBook and try out activities on the web that they may use in their classrooms. 

Activities varied from accessing Evernote to practice taking notes to creating a custom search engine using Google.  Also, we were fortunate enough to have Apple representation from the Boston offices to provide support for teachers on an as needed basis.  They were able to answer questions about the track pad to maneuvering through the system preferences on their laptops. 

This day also provided our 1:1 fellow and myself baseline data on what teachers need to learn about so we can plan more personalized PD in the future.  They filled out a Google form that promoted reflection.   Questions they responded to were, how can technology be personalized to you as a teacher that will enhance your instruction with students, what was the most valuable part of today's professional development, why, and tell us what you want to learn about next.  Teachers overwhelmingly gave us plenty of information about their levels of knowledge with the device and with using the web/ apps as products to enhance instruction. 

What’s next?  Our next PD will feature SAMR, which shapes teaching and learning with technology. This will provoke a discussion based on our focus question, what is 21^st century learning.  This discussion is important because we need to gain information on the various levels of understanding about 21^st century learning so we can then plan PD for teachers as we evolve and shift they way we think about teaching and learning when devices are placed in the hands of students.

It's a Revolution...

1:1 is the chance for us to “re-imagine learning” and not just “digitize” what we currently do.  This is an opportunity for us all to reinvent ourselves as teachers and learners.  In a way it is a revolution because we will not fall back into old teaching habits but step forward into the innovation that will change the educational experience for our students.   This modern day revolution will create the innovators of our future.  All stakeholders in this shift need to fully invest themselves.   We as administrators need to provide the education through professional development so they can be ready to stand on the front lines to ensure success for our students in what is our smallest world ever that we know it to be due to technology.  This will ensure that our students “envisage new possibilities, and to imagine and pretend the world is different (Alison Gopnik).” 

How are we doing this work?  Our school and the district created a model educator framework.   Model educators were assigned to content/ specialty areas.  The purpose of the model educator is to provide information regarding universal themes to you and to be that “go to” person when clarification is needed, assistance is needed, or to brainstorm new ideas that could surface based on how you evolve using technology as a tool to enhance instruction.   This work will educate teachers so they are equipped to carry out the revolution. 

It is an exciting time and I cannot wait to share progress as we change teaching and learning.  

Remember to be curious, be ambitious, be energetic, and be confident!

Sources:

Richard Culatta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0uAuonMXrg

Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner, 2012

Tapping into Kids through Tech!

Instagram is an application that allows users to share pictures and videos with their followers.  Followers can write comments and let the person sharing know they like their photo or video.  Instagram is like a virtual coffee table magazine or book.  According to Wikipedia a coffee table book is “an oversized, usually a hard covered book whose place is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one would entertain guests and from which it can act to inspire conversation.”  Instagram does just that but virtually. Now, I am not promoting Instagram but just wanted to share how we as school administrators use it as a tool to communicate with our students about our school. We want them to know that we value their work, their being, their efforts, and everything that makes them who they are as citizens of our school community.  Through this application we can acknowledge our students.  The following highlights the many ways we use Instagram to communicate with our students which in 6 months we have 375 followers, mostly students and some parents and teachers. 

Who likes snow day?  Students surely do.

Highlighting Student Work

Sharing Information

Acknowledging Accomplishments

There are many more wonderful ways to acknowledge all the bright spots in your school! Join in on the fun!

Learning Walks on the comeback!

Thomas Jefferson once said, “walking is the best possible exercise.  Habituate yourself to walk very far.”  Walking with a purpose can get you far, hence, my reasoning for bringing learning walks back to life.  It is a strategy that we are doing to highlight best practice, build and maintain instructional consistency, and to influence future professional development.  Learning walks have been around for a while and look very different depending on the purpose.  I did learning walks as a teacher more than five or six years ago.  I truly enjoyed my involvement with them because they provided me an experience that I could reflect on and learn from.   They made my teaching better and it made our school a true learning community from the adults as learners perspective.  At some point they seemed to have disappeared like a fad.  Fads come and go. Learning walks came and went especially as national and state initiatives were being implemented (CCSS, evaluation, RtI, etc.…). Connie M. Moss and Susan M. Brookhart says it the best.  Learning walks are meant, “to look for, recognize, and analyze what is actually happening in classrooms to promote effective teaching, meaningful learning, and increased student achievement.”  This statement reminds us of each walk’s purpose not matter what content area since we are walking based on content area.  Currently, we have had three math walks and one science walk.  These walks represent the reality of classroom life.  Teachers who walk are excited to see others teach as a way to help them better themselves.  All teachers receive a “finale message” to read and reflect on.  It is also discussed during meetings.  Our reflection messages capture the essence of the instruction based on what we heard and saw and provides information that we can apply in our day-to-day instruction as we try to get better at what we do.  These walks are also keeping us all on the same page as we use the information gained to discuss and build consensus about the use of common language, instructional strategies, and where we may need support in (PD opportunities).   This is the real work that needs to happen more and I believe can help students perform at higher levels if we stay committed and use the information correctly and strategically. 

PS: It is also the FUN work from the perspective of a teaching and learning role. 

Technology: The Classroom Walls

It is almost given that Ted Danson’s character on CSI is always shown in a laboratory room where evidence is posted on the walls. 

The evidence could be photos of suspects, tangible evidence such as insects which can help investigators narrow down a location, and other sources of evidence that inform the investigators work.  The wall space is only filled with information pertinent to the investigation, not inessential information. As teachers we have the opportunity to use our wall space as a canvas for the work that we do with our students.  The canvas can become a work of art that is developed collaboratively between the teacher and the students which can change and improve learning.   I think about classroom wall space in three tiers.

 

I should note that we need to consider local fire codes :).  Tier 1 wall space should cover about 75% of the wall space that can be legally used.  These items should be created collaboratively with the students to inform their learning.  For example, a word wall is a Tier 1 item if the words are used interactively with the students.  Betsy Rupp Fulwiler, Writing in Science 2007, tells us that “students must learn science vocabulary after they have had a concrete experience.”  Students need to experience the words that are on the word walls instead of a teacher just posting words before an experience has happened with that word.  Another valuable tier 1 item is the anchor chart.  Anchor charts are great and free too!  They are essentially posters created with the students that display information in the form of words, representations, or in numbers, depending on the content area.    A great example of an anchor chart would be showing all the ways to multiply numbers.  As you develop a multiplication strategy with students, the teacher and students add it to the poster so students can reference it is a model.  As students become more proficient with a strategy they will not need to reference it as much but it is still accessible for the learner who is not as strong in that strategy.  Tier 1 wall space is constantly adjusted as you move through curriculum because it acknowledges current learning. 

Tier 2 wall space should cover about 10-15% of the classroom walls.  These items are essentials but are not necessarily created with the students.  They can be referred to year round.  Examples would multiplication table posters, the number line, the alphabet, or rules/ expectations.   Another example could be a poster of school wide initiatives such as ways to respond to reading questions.  For example, at CMS teachers have posters of the reading strategy, INSERT displayed for students to refer to for comprehension. 

Finally, a way for teachers to save money would be to limit their Tier 3 wall space.  These items are typically purchased at an educational store.  They are visually appealing and often represent themes of learning in a classroom.  Questions to think about regarding Tier 3 wall space items would be, do students take ownership of these wall space resources and use them to strengthen their learning?  How many times are they looking away from their desks or from their group work referring to these items to inform their learning?  

The "classroom walls" could be technology that changes your teaching if used appropriately.  I hope this entry will inspire your classroom environment.