tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87609733277739252962024-03-06T21:34:22.929-06:00Tales of an iCoachAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221640026343653041noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-59550853249813384982022-03-22T22:47:00.001-05:002022-03-22T22:47:08.968-05:00The Hurdler in action today<p> I wrote about being a <a href="http://www.talesofanicoach.com/2022/03/the-hurdler.html" target="_blank">Hurdler</a> in a previous blog post. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Defined as a tireless problem-solver who gets a charge out of tackling something that's never been done before. When confronted with a challenge, the Hurdler gracefully sidesteps the obstacle while maintaining a quiet, positive determination. This optimism and perseverance can help big ideas upend the status quo as well as turn setbacks into an organization's greatest successes—despite doomsday forecasting by shortsighted experts. </p><p>Today I had a coaching meeting with a teacher. When I showed up for the meeting </p><p>KG: I have something to ask you that is not about what we are meeting about. </p><p>Me: Sure, What? </p><p>KG: I'm having this issue with a pie graph in Numbers (Apple app). </p><p>Me: Show me. </p><p>KG: Opens computer and shows me what she did, and then explains that she would like to add labels or a legend in each segment of the pie. </p><p>Me: Ok, can work on your computer? </p><p>KG: Yes. </p><p>Me: I click on lots of things on the screen while KG says yes, I tried that, yes I tried that. </p><p>Needless to say after clicking on many things, searching Google, and watching two YouTube videos we couldn't figure it out. I will be "hurdling" tomorrow till I get it figured out and can send her a screencast of how I solved it. </p><p>I love being a tech coach! </p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-56105975319111034862022-03-21T23:37:00.002-05:002022-03-21T23:37:47.358-05:00A Book<p> A good book prohibits writing today. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQD5IJainjb68qivUJFDWIeUA_WsISaXtaxgn7PUYSYq_HSjTRElfwHoNqRwBvf0kwQ6xlbpla_146xFLC2B2xrrxlq53Hye6G-HIPNB5lF6_IaxBB3CeOp9gIdscoq7sER4cjs2OC2ODGvtG0yKCIg9n0yA7sr94kxxgXJf4vyj-_qBPN77vjKpD/s1825/D4ECC78B-8C92-40E9-87D4-61EB7A0C227C.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1825" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQD5IJainjb68qivUJFDWIeUA_WsISaXtaxgn7PUYSYq_HSjTRElfwHoNqRwBvf0kwQ6xlbpla_146xFLC2B2xrrxlq53Hye6G-HIPNB5lF6_IaxBB3CeOp9gIdscoq7sER4cjs2OC2ODGvtG0yKCIg9n0yA7sr94kxxgXJf4vyj-_qBPN77vjKpD/s320/D4ECC78B-8C92-40E9-87D4-61EB7A0C227C.jpeg" width="205" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-69086992658431654462022-03-20T17:59:00.004-05:002022-03-20T18:03:24.437-05:00Life Gets in the Way<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">I haven't written in 4 days! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>I don't consider myself a good writer, to begin with. I never did well in English class when I was in elementary school. I started a blog in 2013 to share all the cool things we were doing with technology integration as coaches. I blogged when there was something to say, or when I finished a big project. It was a good way to reflect and put a bow on the coaching cycle. When my colleague Michelle Brezek over at </span><a href="http://hellogoodgoodlife.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Hello Good Good Life </a><span>reminded me about Slice of Life (as she does every year) I decided I needed to start writing again. I blogged for 16 days in a row! I feel really good about that. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then life got in the way! In a good way, though! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">My son is currently serving our country in the US Army. He was home on leave for 6 days. This may not seem like a big deal and probably wouldn't have been at another time in recent history. But he is going to be going to Eastern Europe for a year to support US/NATO efforts and the Ukrainian refugees/ </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We spent the last 4 days seeing friends and family, going out for meals, running errands, and taking care of all the loose ends before he leaves. I need some more time off just to recover. LOL! It was great to spend time with him and the ones we love. I don't do that enough! I really tried to be in the moment and enjoy what was going on around me.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">He leaves in a few weeks. They can't tell you when they are leaving because even they don't know when. I don't know exactly where he is going. Although I'm told some of this information can be found online if you know where to look. Once he gets there he can send us his address, so we can send cards and letters. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Whatever you believe in - Please send positive intentions to all our servicemen and servicewomen around the world! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hopefully, I can get back on track and finish the next 10 days!</span></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-25556754615220748892022-03-16T15:47:00.003-05:002022-03-16T15:47:41.465-05:00The Hurdler<p> <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Inspired by the <a href="https://www.ideo.com/post/the-ten-faces-of-innovation">Ten Faces of Innovation</a> and my most recent team meeting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The Ten Faces of Innovation is a book by Thomas Kelly. It is noted as a book that is a "guide to nurturing and sustaining a culture of continuous innovation and renewal." It describes 10 personas necessary in an organization to drive innovation. In my time as an instructional coach, or a better description might be technology integration coach, I feel like I have cycled through all 10 of these personas at one point or another in the last 9 years. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The personas are: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Anthropologist</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Experimenter</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Cross-Pollinator</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hurdler</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Collaborator</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Director</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Experience Architect</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Set Designer</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Storyteller</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Caregiver</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Right now the one that speaks to me most is - The Hurdler. Defined <span style="font-family: inherit;">as <span style="color: #262c30; letter-spacing: -0.5px;">a tireless problem-solver who gets a charge out of tackling something that's never been done before. When confronted with a challenge, the Hurdler gracefully sidesteps the obstacle while maintaining a quiet, positive determination. This optimism and perseverance can help big ideas upend the status quo as well as turn setbacks into an organization's greatest successes—despite doomsday forecasting by shortsighted experts. I don't know that I'm doing a lot of things that have NEVER been done before. I am trying to solve teachers'</span></span></span><span style="color: #262c30; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> and administrators' issues or problems with technology. I really like crafting or co-crafting solutions with them. Just in the last 3 days, I have 4 different staff members come to me with 5 different issues or problems - "Here is the issue or problem. What tool(s) can I use to solve it?" Then lots of questions follow in order to make sure I have clarity on what they want the outcome to be for kids. It is so fun for me to choose an app and then test it to see if it really does what I want it to do. I love supporting teachers in this way. <br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #262c30; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.5px;">What persona are you? </span></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-23600283321703933702022-03-15T00:30:00.001-05:002022-03-15T00:30:00.169-05:00Apple Elements of Learning - Real World Engagement<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="font-size: medium;">This post is as much informational as it is for me to synthesize my own understanding of the Elements of Learning. Plus if I do it every day that's 5 days of writing that I don't have to brainstorm a new idea. </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The 5 Elements of Learning are: </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Teamwork</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Communication and Creation</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Personalized Learning</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Critical Thinking</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Real-World Engagement</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A note about the Elements of Learning. Apple's research shows that students that come from classrooms with the 5 Elements of Learning are highly effective learners and the technology just amplifies that learning. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Element # 5 - Real-World Engagement</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I feel like a lot of educators gravitate towards this one. They may think that a virtual field trip fits the bill. That actually isn't correct. It is a good use of the technology that we have, but it's not real-world engagement by Apple's standards. Real-world engagement consists of a number of components. One is realistic example - it is what it sounds like. If students are graphing severe weather they should be using real-life data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or the like. The data should not be made up by the teacher. Second, it should include immersion in the real world. This is where the virtual field trip might come in or students might visit a place or interview someone in the community. Next component is realistic task(s), an example would be doing something a professional or citizen might do outside of a school setting. The highest level of implementation is when it is immersive and realistic. This forms authentic engagement. Student work serves a. real-world purpose AND it has an impact outside of the 4 walls of the classroom. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have an example of real-world engagement that we've done in our district. It was an amazing experience for everyone involved. This was from about 6-7 years ago. Our summer school enrichment students were doing a unit on environmentalism and recycling. They studied the garbage patch in the Pacific. They took water samples from the biggest park in our city. While at the park one of the students had to throw away some plastic. He realized there were no recycle garbage bins in the park. The students went to the park district board to get more information. They spoke at public comment at a meeting. They worked with the park district to get bins ordered. The bins were ordered, delivered, and placed in all of our city parks. That was all student-led. Everyone involved learned a lot about environmentalism and the inner workings of local government. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgo4z1U-V2mBZHhdSkB4tyr8zWHQOcGB23CVUkxeN9NpCGwJGJra1zeL7h8hTT5mclzmGkq3VE6FdIdzer4m7fVwELUaWNmwCu2pNxaMEQHhznunlGjbuMqA09yGffFbWTyWqYxjBnxkgc5sLfMbRc1H9Y-6qDWNWpYlb9FhcCOsg12LI_uBpxyKqib=s824" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="824" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgo4z1U-V2mBZHhdSkB4tyr8zWHQOcGB23CVUkxeN9NpCGwJGJra1zeL7h8hTT5mclzmGkq3VE6FdIdzer4m7fVwELUaWNmwCu2pNxaMEQHhznunlGjbuMqA09yGffFbWTyWqYxjBnxkgc5sLfMbRc1H9Y-6qDWNWpYlb9FhcCOsg12LI_uBpxyKqib=w442-h221" width="442" /></a></span></div><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-9215002581797084192022-03-14T19:57:00.005-05:002022-03-14T20:33:48.903-05:00Apple Elements of Learning - Critical Thinking<p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This post is as much informational as it is for me to synthesize my own understanding of the Elements of Learning. Plus if I do it every day that's 5 days of writing that I don't have to brainstorm a new idea. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The 5 Elements of Learning are: </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Teamwork</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Communication and Creation</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Personalized Learning</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Critical Thinking</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Real-World Engagement</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">A note about the Elements of Learning. Apple's research shows that students that come from classrooms with the 5 Elements of Learning are highly effective learners and the technology just amplifies that learning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Element # 4 - Critical Thinking</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Critical thinking tasks should involve open-ended questions with multiple correct answers or nonroutine problems. Students should be engaging in lessons that are characterized by one or more of the following: analysis, interpretation, synthesis, evaluation, or generating solutions. Some of these are higher-order thinking skills according to Bloom's Taxonomy. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhSBjA0YxdfwEbo8P1Z4Qd760jOKODGSzFZ8ow1VEqFki9nU-owUFVcuyD_L6z_n4OOo9OEtJp6FZmxDpZoVVwtWulSreUICKkYZuDq3BMb3WHhPUkOPQ65wdMjzsiOlQ9mxQ4hdaXFHp2EFwFAMUCsEsnizIpqK3Lmm0Qltw61C4tdv9sDEd9bWx3=s650" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="650" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhSBjA0YxdfwEbo8P1Z4Qd760jOKODGSzFZ8ow1VEqFki9nU-owUFVcuyD_L6z_n4OOo9OEtJp6FZmxDpZoVVwtWulSreUICKkYZuDq3BMb3WHhPUkOPQ65wdMjzsiOlQ9mxQ4hdaXFHp2EFwFAMUCsEsnizIpqK3Lmm0Qltw61C4tdv9sDEd9bWx3=s320" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />In these lessons, critical thinking should be the main activity. The place in the lesson where students spend most of their time and are where they are assessed. These lessons should also include intellectual independence. This is where students are responsible for figuring out the solution to the learning challenge and thinking deeply about related issues. Excerpt From: Apple Education. “Elements of Learning.” Apple Inc. - Education, 2018. Apple Books. <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id1367981260"><span class="s1" style="color: #dca10d;">https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id136798126</span></a>. They don't need to create knowledge that is new to the world, just new to them. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In an example given by Apple, students read multiple news articles about the challenges of providing medical translations to those who speak English as their second language. Then students compare and contrast different policies around medical translation and come up with a proposal for new policies. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I think this is may be the most difficult to do especially in primary classrooms. As of late, I'm not seeing a lot of open-ended questions that are being asked to be solved with higher-order thinking skills. I'm sure this can be done in any subject area but I feel like a good place to start would be a science or STEM classroom. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTwf8pNvxgQtRkjaJpiwHm8N_UNYUn5Bd8r690Zmcu2Xcvwea1socIKRajJXM5vUIL6m17IF-E1mCxMw1lRqCqwWTaX2oR_lVSAQ0CZfyqUOfAQSQm-9c6PEdTkDHv_dEMu1_LQvaVnwW_PC3UjPwDzNkv-NdgV2McBuf0HzZaIfEptgYT6SLr4Faj=s1096" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="1096" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTwf8pNvxgQtRkjaJpiwHm8N_UNYUn5Bd8r690Zmcu2Xcvwea1socIKRajJXM5vUIL6m17IF-E1mCxMw1lRqCqwWTaX2oR_lVSAQ0CZfyqUOfAQSQm-9c6PEdTkDHv_dEMu1_LQvaVnwW_PC3UjPwDzNkv-NdgV2McBuf0HzZaIfEptgYT6SLr4Faj=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Excerpt From: Apple Education. “Elements of Learning.” Apple Inc. - Education, 2018. Apple Books. <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id1367981260"><span class="s1" style="color: #dca10d;">https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id136798126</span></a></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-47194194487653241962022-03-13T21:32:00.008-05:002022-03-13T21:34:11.289-05:00Six Word Story<p><span style="font-size: large;">St Patrick's Day shenanigans with friends.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhymKBDeh-D3g-hRKT6VR16hAczrlfowitveP2CQyhykxDqKghhEfRhNZYUFsdRtHyZy0wNiivfm1A1Hrb1P8bBE-zrbtqw1ZKUwBz1L4S8gH_EOUwF35q3TTodPT0OnJJIgw-R9p9fv5xmMipyAN76qFBlo11mUwfT0B2awDYSWR-1CUoHKjMjlcI4=s3088" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhymKBDeh-D3g-hRKT6VR16hAczrlfowitveP2CQyhykxDqKghhEfRhNZYUFsdRtHyZy0wNiivfm1A1Hrb1P8bBE-zrbtqw1ZKUwBz1L4S8gH_EOUwF35q3TTodPT0OnJJIgw-R9p9fv5xmMipyAN76qFBlo11mUwfT0B2awDYSWR-1CUoHKjMjlcI4=s320" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-45728054603859392152022-03-13T21:32:00.001-05:002022-03-13T21:32:15.541-05:002 - Six Word Stories<p><span style="font-size: large;">1 - </span> <span style="font-size: large;">My son is home on leave. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">2 - My army medic, heading to Poland. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZfUIeeiGhPLA8kaY3yNWiCO42_zEuz5CFv-CN-xAzprSyXmhqpl3CMKkd3jHcX6YYVTIjzzD0KqvxZ5U0NjqmNDqHUT4rAAbEW5sK0QMzXSF91_-OYVU2R5YlwzCDt8FOGWX42PwsqyQYd7nQlL4ky7caTzDaMl9tWLabWMHCEQvqHtq0lXIEOsng=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZfUIeeiGhPLA8kaY3yNWiCO42_zEuz5CFv-CN-xAzprSyXmhqpl3CMKkd3jHcX6YYVTIjzzD0KqvxZ5U0NjqmNDqHUT4rAAbEW5sK0QMzXSF91_-OYVU2R5YlwzCDt8FOGWX42PwsqyQYd7nQlL4ky7caTzDaMl9tWLabWMHCEQvqHtq0lXIEOsng=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-47784711547054021882022-03-11T17:57:00.001-06:002022-03-11T17:57:18.610-06:00Apple Elements of Learning - Personalized Learning<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">This post is as much informational as it is for me to synthesize my own understanding of the Elements of Learning. Plus if I do it every day that's 5 days of writing that I don't have to brainstorm a new idea. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The 5 Elements of Learning are: </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Teamwork</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Communication and Creation</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Personalized Learning</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Critical Thinking</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Real-World Engagement</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A note about the Elements of Learning. Apple's research shows that students that come from classrooms with the 5 Elements of Learning are highly effective learners and the technology just amplifies that learning. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Element # 3 - Personalized Learning</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Personalized Learning. I like to hear people in education talk about personalized learning. I feel like there are so many interpretations of what it really is. I feel like most people are really talking about differentiation. Again just my opinion. I have the book<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/How_to_Personalize_Learning.html?id=-4u2DAAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description" target="_blank"> How to Personalize Learning: A Practical Guide for Getting Started and Going Deeper by Bray and McClaskey (Corwin Press)</a>. I've had the book for about 5 years. I haven't looked at it in 5 years. I don't remember much from it and I left it on my desk. I meant to bring it home. What I do remember is that they talked about UDL. Students should create a Learner Profile (LP). Then they create a Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) and they need to identify their Personalize Learning Backpack (PLB). The latter is a set of resources and apps that will support their learning. This was my first exposure to personalize learning. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">Now on to Apple's definition. Element #3 must have 3 components to be implemented at a high level. Those components are variation of task, significant choice, and equitable access. Let's look closer at those. Variation of task is when a teacher gives students more than 1 task to learn the material. This could be different scaffolding for different ability levels. Varied tasks create different levels of difficulty within the same assignment for different students. Significant choice means STUDENTS choose, with or without the support of the teacher. Students can choose a type of product, tools, learning activity path, and even learning goals. Do you have to give students choice in all those areas? No. Should you pick one and build on it in the next lesson or unit? Yes. This choice allows them to draw on their background and their strengths. <a href="https://education-static.apple.com/elements-of-learning/1/pl/personalization-components.pdf" target="_blank">Choice is not appropriate all the time</a>, and you don't want to make choices about things they are not familiar with. Again start small and build on yours and your student's successes. Having students do a science lab in any order they want is not rigorous enough to constitute choice. Having students design their own lab or labs is! Finally, equitable access is important. Teachers should be offering equitable access through their lesson design and their classroom culture. The iPad or other device has assistive tech or accessibility features that can support students. Teachers should be demonstrating these options to the whole class or meeting with individual students to conference about what might meet their needs. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Again doing all of these things caused the teacher to have to relinquish some control in order to meet students where they are. This is hard for many teachers. If they would give up some control they would get so much back from their students. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I need to look at Bray and McClaskey's again and see how I can join these two approaches together. That sounds like a future blog post. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span class="s1"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKs7hCa7KouJrviLbUzVGj1MfVFFnZqSQuThjGwxIYPCPdfWxn03FccFu6PzFg97uYm8gSPoQgrPq_qEncw6af_X8V89LEtGf4cQ-O-kTSZR1B4Acaqo4DPAmlhvXuJQN1nphlLv961WTda-lBb09afjn0QZOAtp2jPdVAC45rq7vuxm7soZcEwW7v=s920" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="920" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKs7hCa7KouJrviLbUzVGj1MfVFFnZqSQuThjGwxIYPCPdfWxn03FccFu6PzFg97uYm8gSPoQgrPq_qEncw6af_X8V89LEtGf4cQ-O-kTSZR1B4Acaqo4DPAmlhvXuJQN1nphlLv961WTda-lBb09afjn0QZOAtp2jPdVAC45rq7vuxm7soZcEwW7v=w556-h272" width="556" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Excerpt From: Apple Education. “Elements of Learning.” Apple Inc. - Education, 2018. Apple Books. <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id1367981260"><span class="s1" style="color: #dca10d;">https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id136798126</span></a></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-1725196098376914392022-03-10T19:11:00.007-06:002022-03-10T19:29:57.127-06:00Apple Elements of Learning - Communication and Creation<p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">This post is as much informational as it is for me to synthesize my own understanding of the Elements of Learning. Plus, if I do it every day, that's 5 days of writing that I don't have to brainstorm new ideas. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">The 5 Elements of Learning are: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">Teamwork</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;"><b>Communication and Creation</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">Personalized Learning</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">Critical Thinking</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">Real-World Engagement</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">A note about the Elements of Learning. Apple's research shows that students that come from classrooms with the 5 Elements of Learning are highly effective learners and the technology just amplifies that learning.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;"><u>Element #2 - Communication and Creation</u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">This one is my favorite. It is more complex than it sounds. Communication and creation must include 3 components to be implemented at a high level: Students get to choose their own means of expression, they have a sense of audience and they adhere to principles of design. Let's break that down. Letting students choose their own means of expression can be difficult for some teachers to do. This CAN be done even in kindergarten. Does that mean, letting students choose what they want whenever they want? Absolutely not. There is a slow release. Teach them 2 apps and then let them choose which one will best support their demonstration of their thinking and understanding on the third lesson. Another alternative might be to choose between doing it digital or analog. For instance, a student can choose to sketchnote on paper with markers or in an app, like Sketches School, Keynote, or Book Creator on their iPad. Next, I have seen how powerful it can be to give students a sense of audience outside of the teacher in their classroom. It doesn't have to be an elaborate share-out. You don't need to find a classroom in Europe or Africa to share with. It can be the Principal or the class down the hall or maybe they create a product to teach a younger grade something. Here is a paragraph from a </span><a href="http://www.talesofanicoach.com/2016/07/using-lucid-press-to-publish-non.html" style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;" target="_blank">blog post I wrote in 2016 about the power of giving students a sense of audience</a><span style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: large;">. This was just one example and I know that giving our students a sense of audience changed the way they approached this project. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Old Standard TT";"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Students
used Lucid Press and their GAFE log-in to create non-fiction magazines.
We decide before the students started that their audience was going to
other students in District 100. After some debate, we decided on 4th and
5th grade students. I contacted 4th and 5th grade teachers in our
district to ask them if they would be interested in having their
students read and give feedback on the student-created magazines. Of
course, they all said yes. They were happy to help. This audience helped
framed the way students approached the project. Lynnette overheard
students during the planning stage talk about how they would approach
this based on the audience that they now had. This is what she overheard
- "Your sister is a fourth-grader do you think she would know the mean
of (a word)? Should I include it in my glossary?" This is a sense of
audience that is really beneficial to students! </span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Old Standard TT";"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The last component is principles of design. This means that if you ask them to write a non-fiction piece to demonstrate what they learned about the Civil War maybe it is in the form of a newspaper article. Adhering to the principles of design for a newspaper article means it includes: a headline, story, picture with caption, edition time (morning, daily, etc), date, cost, etc.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Old Standard TT";"><span style="font-size: medium;">In closing, I would like to say two things. Students have a deeper meaning when they can create products that demonstrate their thinking and understanding of a particular topic or idea. Finally, I have found that teachers that have given up control when it comes to the means of expression are paid back in abundance in other ways. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: 19.8px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Old Standard TT"; font-size: 19.8px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ3JXnu1-xIT8lyf8wgyy-HwKBmtObgIrLax5ibhEbmvbezv039WBWEMp94_sOIgVp8haIV39Sxs_ewDLdWZlKeiM_nADs66xta3xYu8tzu8iKTbeNEaBbHfuPensAl9TMN8aOyDHIh92VEidJl57dXtOIAIkpxryZzrZTtugQNYW1-P-uercAFllA=s929" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="929" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ3JXnu1-xIT8lyf8wgyy-HwKBmtObgIrLax5ibhEbmvbezv039WBWEMp94_sOIgVp8haIV39Sxs_ewDLdWZlKeiM_nADs66xta3xYu8tzu8iKTbeNEaBbHfuPensAl9TMN8aOyDHIh92VEidJl57dXtOIAIkpxryZzrZTtugQNYW1-P-uercAFllA=w520-h255" width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">Excerpt From: Apple Education. “Elements of Learning.” Apple Inc. - Education, 2018. Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id1367981260</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-39667541532393803902022-03-09T21:34:00.004-06:002022-03-10T12:56:07.265-06:00Reflection from a day as a Technology Integration Coach<p> Taking a break from the Elements of Learning posts (if you've read yesterday's post). </p><p><br /></p><p>I'm exhausted from a hard day in the classroom. This is the most I've moved around in classrooms since spring 2018, so this is going to be a short post. </p><p>Today "FILLED MY BUCKET!"</p><p>I spent the morning in a 2nd grade classroom teaching them to use Apple Clips app to find 4 sided shapes around their classroom and then demonstrate the attributes of the shapes. Such a good well-behaved class. They all finished! Next, I was in a 4th grade classroom helping them use Keynote to measure and tell what they know about angles and vertices. It went really well! The kids were able to demonstrate their understanding of the concept of acute, obtuse, and right angles. Finally, I was in a 1st grade classroom teaching them to use Clips to create book reviews. A few tech issues but nothing we couldn't handle. There were a lot of questions and a lot of bending over or sitting on the ground to be on their level.</p><p>Everyone learned something today, including me! Everyone tried and grew today! Some kids created some really cool projects to support their learning! What more can you ask for? </p><p> Time for a good night's sleep. </p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-89875209094326610522022-03-08T22:33:00.002-06:002022-03-10T18:33:08.403-06:00Apple Elements of Learning - Teamwork<p>This post is as much informational as it is for me to synthesize my own understanding of the Elements of Learning. Plus if I do 1 every day that's 5 days of writing that I don't brainstorm a new idea for. </p><p>The 5 Elements of Learning are:</p><p>Teamwork</p><p>Communication & Creation</p><p>Personalized Learning</p><p>Critical Thinking </p><p>Real-World Engagement</p><p>A note about the Elements of Learning. Apple's research shows that students that come from classrooms with the 5 Elements of Learning are highly effective learners and the technology just amplifies that learning. </p><p><u><span style="font-size: large;">Element # 1 - Teamwork</span></u></p><p>Teamwork must include 3 components to be highly effective. The first and most obvious is that students must be working with at least 1 more person in order to form a "team". The second is shared product. The student must be working towards a final shared product. Finally, they must engage in joint reasoning. Let's look a little deeper at the latter two. The team must <i>create</i> a final product that they work on together. The team turns in one project that they all receive the same grade for. The final product is large and complex and could not be completed by only one student. </p><p>For instance, a group of students creates a podcast. The different parts of the script are written by more than 1 person and the technical pieces of the podcast are also done by more than 1 person. Another way is that 1 person writes the script, one person does the music and/or sound effects. One person does that talking and one person does the editing. It could all be done by one person but the specialty of skills and the amount of time needed is not doable in a 4th - 12th grade classroom. </p><p>The second attribute of a highly effective project using teamwork is joint reasoning. Together students engage in analysis, synthesis and evaluation (higher order thinking skills) to complete group work. Using the podcast example again the team would need to look at all the information that has been gathered for the podcast script, before, during and after right the script ALL members of the team need to evaluate what is important and should be included and what should not be included. </p><p>In my opinion, if these things are not happening then a teacher should add one at a time. I think it would be too overwhelming for a teacher and possibly for their students to add them both during the same lesson or project. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3QKWJ4_BUzj_EB3SFNq7mij9DHcYV2H3dVFLXxTMKqrFt9EY6pr1Cnm04RqP86lpHZOi-0kqZvrg2cFwHVACzLAZd4Zhy9YqyJE2mNvIsNXVHHT4c2ilGa3F3PiKsUJxjywsSlpowGOD9dduvXlARl0ekVLoAF47eJsgSyoRxoWcfx2q3v0y0jvVp=s871" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="871" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3QKWJ4_BUzj_EB3SFNq7mij9DHcYV2H3dVFLXxTMKqrFt9EY6pr1Cnm04RqP86lpHZOi-0kqZvrg2cFwHVACzLAZd4Zhy9YqyJE2mNvIsNXVHHT4c2ilGa3F3PiKsUJxjywsSlpowGOD9dduvXlARl0ekVLoAF47eJsgSyoRxoWcfx2q3v0y0jvVp=w540-h243" width="540" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Excerpt From: Apple Education. “Elements of Learning.” Apple Inc. - Education, 2018. Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id1367981260</p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-58390649242393157472022-03-07T17:23:00.005-06:002022-03-08T06:45:56.816-06:00Education Frameworks - Talking Tech Integration<span style="font-size: medium;">
Our district has chosen to use <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id1367981260" target="_blank">Apple's Elements of Learning</a> as a framework for our technology integration this year. We've been a 1:1 Apple school district for 9 years. Every student K-8 has an iPad that they take home daily. Some of our neediest students have their iPads about 340 days a year. </span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 2012 we used the SAMR framework to talk tech integration. We were very device focused since we were brand new at 1:1. SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. This is from the work of <a href="http://hippasus.com/blog/" target="_blank">Dr. Ruben Puentedura</a>. The first two are considered below-the-line teaching. They have their place in the classroom, but they don't really change the learning. The latter two are considered above the line and the learning changes. Above the line or innovative teaching is a moving target. In the early 90's QR codes were innovative and considered above the line, but now they are augmentation at best. This last point is one of the reasons I don't like using this framework with teachers. Nobody wants to work towards a moving target. Want more information on SAMR? </span><span>Here is a great </span><a href="https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/introduction-to-the-samr-model" target="_blank">video</a><span> from Common Sense Media if you like to learn with videos. Here's another take on it from my friend </span><a href="https://hookedoninnovation.com/2013/12/10/taking-a-dip-in-the-samr-swimming-pool/" target="_blank">Carl Hooker</a><span>.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiL5zs8_jkf2VNUrufwoMGQ-bmmBTIVwPN-WYR80ZIsgwyRpamYJGIs6a-vwOwmf5xVNfuM76RTLcOJZaDLNljI-2rcit3mfiJomCjvoPvQrCrlJbXzLWCQ7YfBs2qBT1C8yrt631xLzvgiRqHTncMqbOgLL8RGyj4lswqNxfImD2SAZ_wWO5VtpWJl=s578" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="578" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiL5zs8_jkf2VNUrufwoMGQ-bmmBTIVwPN-WYR80ZIsgwyRpamYJGIs6a-vwOwmf5xVNfuM76RTLcOJZaDLNljI-2rcit3mfiJomCjvoPvQrCrlJbXzLWCQ7YfBs2qBT1C8yrt631xLzvgiRqHTncMqbOgLL8RGyj4lswqNxfImD2SAZ_wWO5VtpWJl=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtvo88lrxmZZ99DntueQKXEryF0K_7gnFTUIPpPANCPQ6A4j1Y7EZdMGxuRSXrjXhIC6o-tm9ur1W0jGc0NwUj5z0E8GS9qP48oLegqEZSzo1Zv34KoFP8MfvjojpRwsZPDNRRVGcjIBE9blhq---eF6D7MEMLPjeUgQ6xCHlxrgzXFHGWIr8cgr84=s606" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="606" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtvo88lrxmZZ99DntueQKXEryF0K_7gnFTUIPpPANCPQ6A4j1Y7EZdMGxuRSXrjXhIC6o-tm9ur1W0jGc0NwUj5z0E8GS9qP48oLegqEZSzo1Zv34KoFP8MfvjojpRwsZPDNRRVGcjIBE9blhq---eF6D7MEMLPjeUgQ6xCHlxrgzXFHGWIr8cgr84=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 2015 or 2016 we started to talk about TPACK as our framework. This framework was more teacher-centered as we moved through our 1:1 journey. It is the combination of the teacher's pedagogical knowledge, content </span><span>knowledge, and technological </span><span>knowledge. Where the 3 intersect is the sweet spot, the place where teachers want to be, as far as technology integration. Common Sense Media has a <a href="https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/introduction-to-the-tpack-model" target="_blank">video</a> for TPACK as well. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw20FfthgZ-R4DCZL8jqlu71JRJb55jc0vEI08sDmSxf0kupncRhYKD-CLsdaifjDlo6X--W73p9AKDi-hcvirdJ3MStnorY4Ul2d6Cuym-4gKmZRj0qxMVs3NZ7JV-Mu6ECbUOuSlK709TjHVlvnHIBgOm1VX3WXxHUZ0C_Lkba-6h8MrdvTnCrPu=s775" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw20FfthgZ-R4DCZL8jqlu71JRJb55jc0vEI08sDmSxf0kupncRhYKD-CLsdaifjDlo6X--W73p9AKDi-hcvirdJ3MStnorY4Ul2d6Cuym-4gKmZRj0qxMVs3NZ7JV-Mu6ECbUOuSlK709TjHVlvnHIBgOm1VX3WXxHUZ0C_Lkba-6h8MrdvTnCrPu=s320" width="317" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Now we are using </span><span>Apple's Elements of Learning as a framework to talk technology integration. This framework is very student-centered. The 5 elements are teamwork, communication and creation, critical thinking, personalized learning, and real-world engagement. Apple says that students that come from classrooms that have these 5 elements are highly effective learners sans the technology. The technology amplifies the learning. Because it is Apple there isn't a graphic available on the web. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjz1qTexHbrlhpd4_0pjFsPWB5Ps6NRuD2tyH6lxh-OfTB03NpH9QOC-pt9VFvG6d2BBhE3MK1F2hHNm5Mhnz2UZTW2dd_B7BOQYWhF-ljlUwIwQiHHys5_75xwm4COBMRVOYg4fEUXQ8f102YR7dxNSrj0zYXvu-36D10o1Rs6CKSa-YYRtUoAuVDW=s810" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="810" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjz1qTexHbrlhpd4_0pjFsPWB5Ps6NRuD2tyH6lxh-OfTB03NpH9QOC-pt9VFvG6d2BBhE3MK1F2hHNm5Mhnz2UZTW2dd_B7BOQYWhF-ljlUwIwQiHHys5_75xwm4COBMRVOYg4fEUXQ8f102YR7dxNSrj0zYXvu-36D10o1Rs6CKSa-YYRtUoAuVDW=s320" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Frameworks help a district create a common understanding and a common language around an initiative. There are many frameworks out there. We have used the Knoster Model for Change, the TRU Framework, and others to support other work that we do in my district. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">What frameworks have you used? </span></div>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-71665105340194895062022-03-06T22:22:00.003-06:002022-03-06T22:22:55.711-06:00My New Car<p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0GARcuHKzIe9VvLb32UYqrI6pHgmF2BiDoQe6Boz8hlDHIJ15w_U02KuGFY62SLgWl6pEtyKLOgkvoctpQy4K3BQzfqXgbV_yN2-WbMr9qlQZFcDvaigyvD1BpB7FzyPpzLTgOQUb45_RU5NRmIB1otlt110NO4pzKN5LPrerLR7x50hIyarsara-=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0GARcuHKzIe9VvLb32UYqrI6pHgmF2BiDoQe6Boz8hlDHIJ15w_U02KuGFY62SLgWl6pEtyKLOgkvoctpQy4K3BQzfqXgbV_yN2-WbMr9qlQZFcDvaigyvD1BpB7FzyPpzLTgOQUb45_RU5NRmIB1otlt110NO4pzKN5LPrerLR7x50hIyarsara-=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2022 Ford Mustang </td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p><p>There she is! My brand new 2022 Ford Mustang Ecoboost 6-speed manual transmission in velocity blue. I have wanted a Ford Mustang since I was 14 years old. I love the body styles of 1965 to 1979 & 1994 to the present. The stars aligned and I had to buy this car. My used car was worth a lot of money and I got a really good deal on this new one. I had my last car for 3 years and the total cost of ownership after I sold it was $4,000 including oil changes and other routine maintenance. The car market right now is INSANE! It's fast and it's fun to drive. It's been a long time since I've driven a manual transmission car. It took me a few minutes to get back into the habit, but it was faster than I thought it would be. I only killed the car 4 times on that 1st day. I'm not a shoe person. I don't do bags or lots of clothes or even fancy clothes. I don't drink often, I don't smoke, or gamble. I'm also pretty practical when it comes to making big purchases. All my appliances are well researched, and I usually pick the Consumer Reports Best Buy. I was lamenting to a friend about buying the car. He reminded me of how practical I always try to be. He told me that I work hard and if I want to drive a nice car, I should drive a nice car, so I am. Another friend asked me this week how I liked my new car. I said, "I'm happy every minute I'm in it!" She said, "So money really CAN buy happiness." I quipped, "I guess so."</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHZQ0DXvGsZGKJTP5dQ1g3LYgOyxSCbgVxInEZUayx-0BG2ONFNd1sRRih8ds7Sncf5uBWubOeHLfdko07LTeZnqUu69woyKqwwahg9eSX5WR_nV84LPzNBVvoDy1K261J1R6SEsBivU57KimGAuK-vT1rMhmYSbSY6N5D9xYJIcCaLvA1N0slQqXA=s1350" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="1350" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHZQ0DXvGsZGKJTP5dQ1g3LYgOyxSCbgVxInEZUayx-0BG2ONFNd1sRRih8ds7Sncf5uBWubOeHLfdko07LTeZnqUu69woyKqwwahg9eSX5WR_nV84LPzNBVvoDy1K261J1R6SEsBivU57KimGAuK-vT1rMhmYSbSY6N5D9xYJIcCaLvA1N0slQqXA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-7017858089776613422022-03-05T16:25:00.000-06:002022-03-05T16:25:43.766-06:00Tech Coach SliceI am 1 of 4 tech coaches. I work in a district that has approx 3,200 students, approx 300 certified staff members, and 8 schools. I have been in the district for 31 years. I travel to all 8 schools to help teachers use our 1:1 iPads effectively with students. Over the 8 years that I have been a coach, I have developed many good relationships with the staff who have stayed (we have a very high turnover rate). This past week while I was heating up my lunch in one of the teacher workrooms (there is NO lounging going on - don't like the words <i>teacher's lounge</i>) one of the social workers came in. We greeted each other. She proceed to tell me about an issue she was having with Google Forms. She set up self-assessment forms for students in her small groups. She was asking what was the best way to share them with her students. After some questioning, I suggested she share them via Schoology, our LMS. I spotted her computer under a pile of papers, so I asked if we could do it together at that moment. She was not in a hurry, so we did. Then I showed her how to get notifications when someone submits a form. She didn't even know that I was possible. I shared some additional information. By this time both of our meals were heated up. She was super appreciative.<div><br /></div><div>Why do I tell this story? These small moments of supporting teachers were not happening during COVID, or even earlier this year. Even though we have been in person all year this is my first small moment like this of the school year. Pre-COVID these were happening on a very regular basis, maybe even weekly. This small moment filled my bucket for the day. Looking forward to more small moments and longer coaching cycles! </div>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-543625370306682862022-03-04T06:18:00.002-06:002022-03-04T06:18:57.133-06:00We Wrote a Book - Leveraging Professional Relationships<p>Here is a slide from a professional development session that we gave at <a href="https://web.cvent.com/event/512f191d-3718-4425-b13d-0021be1b24bb/summary" target="_blank">IDEACon</a>, Illinois's state ed-tech conference a couple of weeks ago. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8zTiSUHRO5rAKy_gJv1grk0m2X1RQ1r4ds8GDVNX2sdVxB5AgJpLkRBJo9YpWvgGW4dAotjp4tRrk1rBEgIJci0dMsq9Qn9GMKKxukswLJUe8mhcSPtD5buxpKL_M3BBPzqesn26fL82GJRPStD_9ylDTCsGeJR2uaGfg4DD8Jw6uc5NVcubS6hgX=s2114" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="2114" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8zTiSUHRO5rAKy_gJv1grk0m2X1RQ1r4ds8GDVNX2sdVxB5AgJpLkRBJo9YpWvgGW4dAotjp4tRrk1rBEgIJci0dMsq9Qn9GMKKxukswLJUe8mhcSPtD5buxpKL_M3BBPzqesn26fL82GJRPStD_9ylDTCsGeJR2uaGfg4DD8Jw6uc5NVcubS6hgX=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Lucy and I, on the right, wrote a book for <a href="https://bookcreator.com" target="_blank">Book Creator</a>. Book Creator is an app that students can use on any device to write and publish their own books. The book we wrote is called <a href="https://bookcreator.com/resources-for-teachers/" target="_blank">Supporting Language Learners with Book Creator.</a> Someday I will write a post about the process of writing a book for an app company. This post is about how that all came to be. Book Creator's parent company, Tools for Schools, is located in Bristol, England, UK. I'm not exactly sure how Dan Kemp and Dr. Beth Holland got to know each other. I assume it was through social media and Beth's work at Ed Tech Teacher a based Boston based company. I know Beth because I worked for Ed Tech Teacher when they did workshops in Chicago back in 2013. Beth was a lead trainer for Ed Tech Teacher for many years. I attended a workshop and the next year I found myself working for them as a helper in the room when they provided subsequent professional development sessions over the next 3 summers in Chicago. Beth and I continued to keep in touch over the years, mostly through Twitter and Twitter DMs. Beth lives in Rhode Island. Fast forward to the spring of 2018. Dan Kemp, BC Marketing and Community Manager approached Beth to see if she knew anyone who used Book Creator with ESL students. Beth immediately thought of my team leader and me. We are a very tech-focused and innovative district. Beth reached out, to my team leader at the time, to see if she and I were interested in writing a book for Book Creator. At the time my team leader had too much on her plate, so she said no to the opportunity. I, on the other hand, don't know how to say NO. I asked the new biliteracy coach in our district if she was interested in writing the book with me. She said YES! In reality, I could not have done it without her. Her knowledge and expertise in this area was invaluable. Not only was Lucy our new biliteracy coach, but I taught her children when I was a classroom teacher. Over the next 4 months, we navigated writing and editing a book! It was a stressful and wonderful experience all at once! I got paid to write a book! How cool is that?!!!!</p><p><br /></p><p>The moral or lesson here is to keep and honor those professional relationships that you make. You never know when you might be able to leverage them for good! Part of a good PD session is being a good storyteller and I love telling this story of connection and leveraging relationships. </p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-73361066254402108932022-03-03T09:41:00.004-06:002022-03-03T21:06:14.511-06:00A True Slice - Gee willikers<p> My last 2 posts were definitely the usual ed tech or techie posts that I like to do. This one is really more of a slice of teacher life. I have to include some techie stuff in this post, though,</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Gee willikers</span></b></p><p>Yesterday I was working in one of our middle schools doing the <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/1958100334295482/" target="_blank">Anne Frank House VR</a> on Meta Oculus Quest 2. The students studied WWII and specifically the Holocaust. I go into our 8th-grade classes in both of our middle schools to run the VR experience while teachers and students work on other work. Students cycle through with about 5 minutes each in the experience. I really believe in the power of VR for our students (and others) to gain a sense of empathy after participating in an experience like this. Also, our students come from low-income families so only about 1/3 of them have experienced VR let alone own a $300 unit personally. </p><p>That's a little tech background for you - now to the slice. </p><p>Since many students have never experienced VR before some of them have very strong reactions once they put on the headset for the first time. An 8th-grade boy put it on yesterday and exclaimed, "Gee willikers!" I have not heard that expression used in years. The thing that also made it funny was that I had been using the term "coolio" with the students and the teacher in the room, who happens to also be a friend who is my age, was razzing me for using 90's lingo and thinking I was talking to the kids on their level. In both cases the slang was outdated. Does that matter? Did we both get our point across even though we used outdated slang? I was really surprised to hear something like that come out of a 13 y/o's mouth. I asked him, "Are you 90?" He said no, of course. I asked him where he hear that. He said he couldn't remember. </p><p>In closing I will say -- This is why I love my job - kids really do say the darndest things and every day is different! </p><p>Gee willikers slicers! </p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-75006346837243891212022-03-02T06:34:00.013-06:002022-03-02T18:13:30.403-06:00Sketchnoting and Read Alouds - Part 2<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.talesofanicoach.com/2022/02/sketchnoting-and-read-alouds-part-1.html" target="_blank"> You can read part 1 here. </a><br /></div><p>After visiting all 18 homerooms for the sketchnoting mini lesson it was time to model read alouds for our staff. Our building literacy coach worked with teachers to find the right book for each classroom. Some of the books were chosen by teacher suggestion and some where chosen by the literacy coach based on the standard(s) that the teacher was currently working on. Some of the teams, comprised of 3 teachers each, chose the same book to work on the same skill. The literacy coach worked hard to prep each book. When I showed up to help support her I saw that she had Post It notes on some of the pages. These were to remind her what probing questions to ask and when to remind the children to do a turn and talk. Turn and talk expectations were reviewed before starting. Each read aloud was done very intentionally. The lens given for each story matched the standard, of course. Here is what students were asked to include in their sketchnote: </p><p>Kinder - beginning, middle & end of story<br /></p><p>1st - character, setting, problem, & solution<br /></p><p>2nd - lesson or moral<br /></p><p>3rd - character traits<br /></p><p>4th - show what happened in an historical text with text evidence<br /></p><p>5th - how did a character respond to challenges in the story or how did the character feel about the challenges in the story</p><p><br /></p><p>Before we started 3 teachers were practicing sketchnoting with their students. After my initial mini lesson an additional 10 teachers reported doing sketchnoting with their students at least one more time since I had been there. That's 3/4 of the staff! Some of the teachers even sketchnoted with us! #winning <br /></p><p>We were again blown away by what the students were able to create. Students liked it and were generally successful. What I noticed while I was doing my mini lesson and the subsequent read aloud was that I could tell which teachers don't use the iPads with their students on a regular basis. At the very least these teachers are not using the iPads for creation, but only drill and kill apps that the district pays for, for our intervention programs. Hopefully, this project will get one or two of the laggards to change their tune. I can hope - can't I? </p><p>If you want to see pictures check out my Twitter feed. https://twitter.com/rmbtowner_tech. </p><p>Finally, our literacy coach is AMAZING! Her intentional modeling was spot on! <br /></p><p> </p><p>Below is a screenshot of the planning doc for the read alouds.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw54Mw2Dxl0tW3KVD-BHlbN4YLztR_ataFeViUxRG22QkqnH4YeoRS14DEqWQyuaa9EUGZy9joWT1wJ-NFNL3dthmMMb4X8q7EV1fr-kNpVLOmLxDJA_AKKhS4P6yJ-W18U2mVWXaiIC8bB1OpS74x0k5hVwZbtlRqpizUARlOgrrOp3fCqH2nH43JWw=s1017" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="1017" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw54Mw2Dxl0tW3KVD-BHlbN4YLztR_ataFeViUxRG22QkqnH4YeoRS14DEqWQyuaa9EUGZy9joWT1wJ-NFNL3dthmMMb4X8q7EV1fr-kNpVLOmLxDJA_AKKhS4P6yJ-W18U2mVWXaiIC8bB1OpS74x0k5hVwZbtlRqpizUARlOgrrOp3fCqH2nH43JWw=w496-h211" width="496" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Ramona Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18204645594096577868noreply@blogger.com2Chicago, IL, USA41.8781136 -87.62979826.41834338980285 -157.9422982 77.337883810197155 -17.317298199999982tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-36370390154549920312022-02-28T23:07:00.007-06:002022-03-02T18:28:46.906-06:00Sketchnoting and Read Alouds - Part 1<p>We have been using <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/elements-of-learning/id1367981260" target="_blank">Apple's Elements of Learning</a> as the backbone for our tech integration in our district. With a special focus on Communication and Creation (1 type) and Real World Engagement. One of the schools I work with was looking for an entire staff project for communication and creation. I was at another school listening to their literacy coach talk about doing purposeful read-alouds and it sparked an idea for me. What if we paired purposeful read alouds with sketchnoting? Sketchnoting is something I've been trying to "get off the ground" for the last few years in our district. We bought our students Logitech Crayons during COVID.</p><p>Back to the idea. </p><p>The teachers were very open to the idea b/c they like the idea of students being fully engaged during a read-aloud. The building literacy coach and I also thought that some teachers could use some modeling in the way of purposeful read alouds. We were so glad the teachers didn't think of it as One More Thing, especially this year! Hence a coaching collaboration was born! </p><p>We made a plan to collect some baseline data from the students. The questions we asked were - </p><p>1. Do you know what sketchnoting is? </p><p>2. Do you like read-aloud time in your classroom? </p><p>3. Do you think drawing or doodling helps you learn? </p><p>We used <a href="https://www.polleverywhere.com/login" target="_blank">Poll Everywhere</a> to collect the data electronically. </p><p>I went into each of the 18 homerooms and did a 1/2 hour mini-lesson, "Getting Started with Sketchnoting: A Pershing Project". First I showed some examples of sketchnotes from kindergarteners and first graders. I made the point that a person from kindergarten and older could do this. Plus kids liked seeing their work in the slide deck. We talked about the apps available to them on their iPad or the fact they could choose to do their sketches with pencil and paper too. Next, we talked about the fact that sketchnoting is about IDEAS NOT ART (read that again if you've never heard it before). We practiced drawing the 5 elements that can be the start of, or part of any and all drawings - square, circle, triangle, line, and dot. If you can draw those you can draw anything. We talked about everyone making their own meaning of the pictures and words that they put on their paper/"paper". I also told them the only wrong answer was if they didn't try. Finally, we finished with a set of quick draws. They had 1 minute each to draw the following: cup, house, book, happy, person, pizza, idea or thought, and jump. Happy, idea or thought, and jump are either not nouns or not nouns that you can touch. I was blown away by what the kids were able to draw. They represented idea or thought in a number of ways - thought bubble, question mark above the head, just a brain with a question mark in it, a light bulb, and a lightning bolt. Genius! </p><p>I had to do it virtually one day because of a severe weather day. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNDJY5P97pUhrDrBw988NDlESW51yRLI36KLSrWHOurbr7L28qvgOSDV72HezOmcbS0b1d5wkzFWMeSEcrR8EsFHfOXYyHuKdcdoL5kGn0ADn_HKIUAEUK1DVE1ThHL9jy8AoQIob98T7vxAzYMyOc3l8_JoLbjx2V_E0jRGFg4lABoMx6Cg0gqAD3=s3272" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1954" data-original-width="3272" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNDJY5P97pUhrDrBw988NDlESW51yRLI36KLSrWHOurbr7L28qvgOSDV72HezOmcbS0b1d5wkzFWMeSEcrR8EsFHfOXYyHuKdcdoL5kGn0ADn_HKIUAEUK1DVE1ThHL9jy8AoQIob98T7vxAzYMyOc3l8_JoLbjx2V_E0jRGFg4lABoMx6Cg0gqAD3=w320-h191" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNECfSPvEj3dZPcei42X5a5PggabikUYoL19uIFm1Y0sJZ52qI7psyV02E2D115wsetzk2pDi1fd264tWnvPuw3wWZ_aBo2ECbSIgHzRbVZFb_9COIo4uPAcZQQRTIL-I5v7Lce3RIt01a_glVSgoe-qUMhg9YZcHGXmTCHl01ffQYEHmTKlTmMZ_S=s4032" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNECfSPvEj3dZPcei42X5a5PggabikUYoL19uIFm1Y0sJZ52qI7psyV02E2D115wsetzk2pDi1fd264tWnvPuw3wWZ_aBo2ECbSIgHzRbVZFb_9COIo4uPAcZQQRTIL-I5v7Lce3RIt01a_glVSgoe-qUMhg9YZcHGXmTCHl01ffQYEHmTKlTmMZ_S=w320-h241" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, I sketched a logo to go along with the initiative. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBgIkKzHsD6gb2Tssj3x8JtmV_iTDm-0FuBgGaBUcWZlrhzwHRVtuehopOrxthg2pPpsmzfdfyerPjWirhy4ShRoXP9fUvEdfdNLjHz1YtWRDUYjYq2Eu3fdzP-vwTbHcWxNiBScjxXR8orv0pNFP5p10tEQgZN9Q3A8LptFlPAz8oWG2ukbDwWBKa=s601" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="601" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBgIkKzHsD6gb2Tssj3x8JtmV_iTDm-0FuBgGaBUcWZlrhzwHRVtuehopOrxthg2pPpsmzfdfyerPjWirhy4ShRoXP9fUvEdfdNLjHz1YtWRDUYjYq2Eu3fdzP-vwTbHcWxNiBScjxXR8orv0pNFP5p10tEQgZN9Q3A8LptFlPAz8oWG2ukbDwWBKa=w442-h315" width="442" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.talesofanicoach.com/2022/03/sketchnoting-and-read-alouds-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2 posted here. </a></div><p></p>Mrs Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010177435957957658noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-84675150277479529782019-02-12T07:30:00.001-06:002019-02-12T07:30:19.823-06:00Daring Greatly - Chapter 5 - Mind the Gap: Cultivating Change and Closing the Disengagement Divide <span style="font-size: large;">Welcome back for another week of <i>Daring Greatly</i> by <a href="https://brenebrown.com/blog/" target="_blank">Brene´ Brown</a>. Thanks to Colleen at <a href="http://literacylovinggals.blogspot.com/2019/01/d100bloggerpd-book-study-kickoff-on.html" target="_blank">Literacy Loving Gals</a> for kicking off the book study, and to Michelle at <a href="http://www.bigtimeliteracy.com/2019/02/daring-greatly-chapter-2.html" target="_blank">Big Time Literacy</a>, Samantha at <a href="https://leadershiplessons101.blogspot.com/2019/02/daring-greatly-chapter-3-understanding.html" target="_blank">Leadership Lessons 101</a> and Amy at <a href="https://grammarmamma.blogspot.com/2019/02/daring-greatly-book-study-chapter-4.html" target="_blank">Grammar Mamma</a> for covering Chapters 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Click on any or all of the links to catch up. The link up for all the posts will be stored at Literacy Loving Gals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5, Mind the Gap: Cultivating Change and Closing the Disengagement Divide. This short chapter sets the stage for the last two chapters in the book. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The chapter starts out with the debate between strategy vs culture. Strategy is about the goals we want to accomplish and culture is "the way that we do things around here." Brown makes the argument that culture is more important and is "a critically relevant discussion for organizations" (p 174). She goes over 10 questions that can tell someone a lot about the culture of an organization. The questions are meant to illustrate the disconnection and disengagement between what we say and what we do, the space between what we we're actually doing, thinking and feeling and what we WANT to do, think and feel. This space is the disengagement divide. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Brown argues that the greater the disconnect the more dehumanizing the culture. The greater the divide the harder it is to navigate an organization (business, family, religion, political organization). Brown gives powerful examples of the divide in politics and religion. She also gives examples of the disengagement divide within a family. The examples make me think of 2 idioms in particular. Practice what you preach, especially around your children because they are always watching. The other is, actions speak louder than words. I won't share Brown's examples. You should </span><span style="font-size: large;">definitely read this book! The best one that I can think of that I deal with as a "tech" coach on a regular basis is digital leadership as it pertains to fair use and copyrighted images from the web in staff and student work. Many teachers let students use any images from the web that they find for their assignments. I've seen pictures with water marks on them being used. This is clearly a violation of copyright laws. I try to impress upon teachers that this goes against everything we should be teaching students. We teach our students that theft, taking something from someone else without permission or payment is a crime. We wouldn't let our students steal from a gift shop on a field trip, and we shouldn't let them steal images from the web. A person worked hard to create that original work. Their creativity and individualism</span><span style="font-size: large;"> should be valued. We had an incident a few years ago where a parent of one of our 7th graders had to get a lawyer because and artist was threatening legal action because the child used an image in his work without permission from the artist. This example is an illustration of aspirational values vs practiced values. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> "If our practiced values are in constant conflict with the expectation we set for our culture, disengagement is inevitable" (p 180). Students disengage from school when things like this are repeatedly done. Minding the gap between what we say and what we do is another example of <b>daring greatly. </b>Ask yourself as a school or teacher leader - Am I practicing the values that I hold out as an example of the culture of my school? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This chapter sets the stage for the last two chapters. I can't wait to see what Leah at <a href="https://responsiveliteracy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Responsive Literacy</a> and Kristin at</span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://readingandowloftheabove.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: center;">Reading and Owl of the Above</span></a> have to say about chapters 6 and 7. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will leave you with this quote, <b>"We don't have to be perfect, just engaged and committed to aligning values with actions" </b>(p182). </span>Ramona Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18204645594096577868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-86903807027581246392018-10-03T00:00:00.000-05:002018-10-03T14:25:18.254-05:00Ditch That Textbook - Chapters 5 - 9 #D100BloggerPD<span style="font-size: large;">#D100BloggerPD is a group of teachers and administrators in Berwyn South School District 100 in suburban Chicago who like to blog and Tweet. "We devote ourselves to staying globally connected. The crew embraces change, strives to better themselves professionally and desires to join forces with others to share what we learn because ...together we are better!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for the introduction ColleenNoffsinger @LitLovgal1 on Twitter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you've never read my blog before - Thanks for stopping by! Just a bit about me. I've been an educator for 28 years. I enjoy coaching teachers in order to improve student outcomes and enhance teaching and learning. I'm always pushing teachers to try new things and get outside their <a href="http://talesofanicoach.blogspot.com/2014/05/moving-out-of-your-comfort-zone_28.html" target="_blank">comfort zone</a>. That's where the learning takes place for teachers and students! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Ditch That Textbook</i> by Matt Miller is an easy read with so many practical ideas for those starting out and great reminders for those of us who have been at it for a while. Ditch That Textbook is partially a true suggestion and partially a metaphor for - let go of that Industrial Revolution mentality that exists in our schools. The Industrial Revolution is over and the mentality that goes with it needs to disappear in our schools. I believe this book was written to be read cover to cover, but could also be used as reference material. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Section 1 - Why Go Digital?</span></b><br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 5 - Reinvent Education</span></u><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">All of us that are part of this book study, #D100BloggerPD, are lucky enough to work in a district that has been reinventing education since 2009! We have been 100% 1:1 with Macbooks and/or iPads since August 2012. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are a model district in Suburban Chicago. Over the last 6 years we have hosted site visits for over 2,000 teachers, administrators, school board members, business people and state officials. They come from approximately 150 school districts and business, 20 states and 4 countries. They all come to see how we facilitate teaching and learning with our students in </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">kindergarten through eighth grade. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">For us it was not just about bringing in the devices. In Berwyn South we changed many things:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Teams of teachers were given at least one 70 minute block of common planning time each week. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We made professional development a priority before, during and after school. Staff meetings became PD opportunities not housekeeping sessions. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We hired Instructional Coaches</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We phased out traditional grades and brought in standards-based reporting. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We dumped the desks and got tables, which then led to flexible seating areas</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We changed to fitness based P.E. especially in our middle schools</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We overhauled the food in our lunchrooms, no more soda or juice machines, no more chocolate milk. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We focused on the positive benefits of student attendance with our families. </span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">In fact, I would argue that bringing the devices into the classroom of a teacher who is not willing to grow in his/her teaching practice only magnifies that problem. A growth mindset or fail forward mentality is a must in order to effect change. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you are not lucky enough to work in a progressive district there are little things that you can do to make changes in your classroom. I would encourage you to get on Twitter if you aren't already (have you been living under a rock for the last 8 year?) and follow educators who are blazing trails in many different areas of education. If you don't know who to follow. This list is 2 years old, but has some amazing educators on it. Start with your state! <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwoneal/detail/recent-activity/posts/" target="_blank">Keith O'Neil's </a></span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwoneal/detail/recent-activity/posts/" target="_blank">50 States in 50 days #eduFollowChallenge - Follow 100 Educators in Each State</a></span><br />
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<u><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 6 - We Are No Longer The Gatekeepers</span></u><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The devices give our students the ability to have all the information and experts in the world at their fingertips. Teachers are no longer the sole source of knowledge. Teachers should be the "<i>guide on the side, not the sage on the stage.</i>" In our district believe - the one doing the talking is the one doing the learning. The amount of student talk in the classroom should be greater than the amount of teacher talk. That's why as a coaching department we often do time studies on teachers showing them how much direct instruction, group work and independent work is going on in their classroom. This way they can make changes to their instruction to increase student talk. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">With the sheer volume of information that exists these days, there is no way that one person can be the expert in everything. This was once the case in the classroom. You must relinquish some of that control. Learn one app or program and do it well with your students once you have it mastered move on to another. If there is something you don't know or understand chances are your students, even if they are first graders can help you. Miller talks about using YouTube in the classroom. If you are just starting out using devices with students, YouTube to engage your students is great. I once learned how to fix the wiring in my bathroom fan with a YouTube video. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>In Berwyn South we want our students to create their own content to demonstrate their thinking and understanding of a particular skill or standard. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I CHALLENGE YOU TO HAVE YOUR STUDENTS CREATE THEIR OWN CONTENT to demonstrate their thinking and understanding.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You don't have to post to YouTube, but <b>you need to have students creating</b> blogs, websites, epubs, podcasts etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Chapter 7 - Real World Skills</u></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Miller makes the point that there are 10 skills that all students should have: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">Adding value </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Creating content online</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Continuously listening and watching for new ideas</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Glamorizing hard work</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Turning wasted time to productive time </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Cultivating relationships </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Being financially responsible </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Staying on the cutting edge </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Maintaining the balance between professionalism and being a real person</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Becoming a twenty-four-hour worker</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll let you read this chapter to see what his suggestions are in these areas! Before you read what Matt Miller says - ask yourself - What do they mean to me in my classroom with my students?</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Section 2 - Ditch That Mindset </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This quote really stood out to me. Many of the teachers that I have worked with say that the more control that they give up in their classroom the more joy they get from their students! Is there any teacher that doesn't want that to happen? </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnofUqY8478JVOtx9k6Pkya6ku3hby8Ubc4emTva_oGdhk_fuQyOu6jiP2xoi9reC280OeVqZ8soQ8YX-btEVtjYQqczTl2ApQ7UKNubS0PCtnMbsAbEK91XPNvhVRTNxXyMb9i8idIJ1I/s1600/DITCH+THAT+M.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnofUqY8478JVOtx9k6Pkya6ku3hby8Ubc4emTva_oGdhk_fuQyOu6jiP2xoi9reC280OeVqZ8soQ8YX-btEVtjYQqczTl2ApQ7UKNubS0PCtnMbsAbEK91XPNvhVRTNxXyMb9i8idIJ1I/s400/DITCH+THAT+M.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Chapter 8 - Make It Personal</u></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Make students the stars of your lesson. Use their names and experiences to personalize the content that you present in the classroom. An example would be to liken a conflict in a book to a real-life experience that students might have had. Miller says that asking students relevant questions and using questioning techniques to connect the content through real-life experiences will help them make better sense of the content. I would argue that this also helps build relationships with your students. Students see you as more than just the purveyor of knowledge and the authoritarian in the room. They will begin to see you as a real person who "gets" them. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><br /></u></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><u>Chapter 9 - Fun and Magic</u></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This a great section for me to end with. Once when my former team of five members was being introduced at a professional development session each of the members was introduced with their particular area of expertise, Apple, Google etc. I was last and I was introduced as the Fun One! Maybe it was a knock on me, I'm actually still not sure. I took it to mean that I am a jack of all trades master of none and relished being called the Fun One. Be the Fun One in your classroom. Learning can still happen if you embrace this persona. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ask yourself if you had a choice would you be a student in your own classroom? Kids are naturally curious so don't stifle that use it to your advantage. Create experiences not just lessons! Again there are plenty of ideas out there on Twitter and another great resource is - <a href="https://daveburgess.com/" target="_blank">Teach Like A Pirate by Dave Burgess</a>!<br /><u></u></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next up is Literacy Coach </span><span style="font-family: "quicksand"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">LeeAnne Layden over at Word Detectives. <a href="https://literacylovinggals.blogspot.com/2018/09/schedule-revealed-for-upcoming.html" target="_blank">Click here </a>for the all the links to the #D100BloggerPD Ditch That Textbook blog posts! </span></span>Ramona Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18204645594096577868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-63299684886019778892017-10-26T00:30:00.000-05:002017-10-27T11:34:27.914-05:00#D100bloggerPD's Book Study on Hacking Engagement: 50 Tips & Tools to Engage Teachers and Learners Daily, Hacks 16 - 20<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">#D100BloggerPD is a group of teachers and administrators in Berwyn South District 100 in suburban Chicago who like to blog and Tweet. "We devote ourselves to staying globally connected. The crew embraces change, strives to better themselves professionally and desires to join forces with others to share what we learn because...together we are better!"</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Footnote created in EasyBib - Noffsinger, Colleen. “#D100bloggerPD's Book Study on Hacking Engagement: 50 Tips & Tools to Engage Teachers and Learners Daily, Hacks 1-5 .” Literacy Loving Gals, Colleen Noffsinger, 19 Oct. 2017, literacylovinggals.blogspot.com/2017/10/d100bloggerpds-book-study-on-hacking.html</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br /> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SueButlerbsd100" target="_blank">Sue Butler</a> (@sbutlerbsd100 on Twitter) for her <a href="http://ishiftbutler.blogspot.com/2017/10/d100bloggerpd-book-study-on-hacking.html" target="_blank">post</a> on Hacks 11 - 15. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> I'm so glad that I decided to participate in this round of #D100BloggerPD. This book is quick and easy to read. Each section is only 2 to 4 pages long. <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/118196955911768824987" target="_blank">Sturtetvant</a> (@jamessturtevant on Twitter) makes it easy by dividing each section up by - <b>The Problem</b>, <b>The Hack</b>, and <b>What <i>You</i> Can Do Tomorrow</b>. I think every teacher loves when you can take something you just learned and apply it the next day. I also like it because it offers real solutions that are both offline and online. I have a few of the other #HackLearning books. They all uniquely belong to the author, but have that same easy to read and implement format. <br /><br /><b>Hack 16<br />Break the Ice Ice Baby<br />The Problem: Your Students are Cliquey</b><br />When you go to a conference and the presenter asks you to form groups with people that you don't know you usually dread it. Why do they ask you to do it? They are modeling what we should be doing with kids. Ice Breakers work and they are valuable to helping create a positive classroom culture. Many times we assume that students know each other because they are in the same class. That may be true for the students in your class that are future teachers, but not for others. In talking with my own teenage boys I realize that unless they are forced to interact with other students in their class they hardly know that they are there. You want kids to feel comfortable and secure in your room. Sturtevant say, "If teachers don't use icebreakers, they're missing a golden opportunity to help kids bond.”</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>The Hack: Make a Living Movie Marquee</b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kids write down their all time favorite movie</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have them look up the year the movie debuted and any other pertinent information. </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have them create a marquee with images, slogans and phrases connected to the movie. This can be an offline or digital representation. You may have to define the word marquee for students. </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have students arrange themselves, in the hall, in order of when the movies debuted - a timeline if you will. Let them problem solve if there is more than 1 movie from the same year. </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have them step forward 1 by 1, turn and face their peers to present about their movie.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Name of the movie</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Year it debuted</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Describe images/slogans</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why you like it </span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What <i>You </i>Can Do Tomorrow </b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Introduce your own marquee </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Challenge students to make their marquees</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Create a new seating chart</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Find more ice breakers </span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>Hack 17 <br />Collaborate Globally with Voxer<br />The Problem: Disengaged Teachers Can't Engage Students </b><br />We all go through our ups and downs in teaching. We need to keep teaching fresh, and it’s awfully hard to do that in isolation. Most educators are on Twitter and if they're not they've at least heard of it. Voxer, a less know app, is another way to break down the four walls of your classroom. Mark Barnes says, “Teachers should use Voxer to build their tribe.” I say, "Find people, like minded or not, who will push your thinking!”<br /><span id="goog_550536910"></span><span id="goog_550536911"></span><span id="goog_550536913"></span><span id="goog_550536914"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>The Hack: Find a supportive Voxer group you can join</b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b><br />Voxer is an iOS or Android app which is free, that combines the best of live voice, text, photos, and videos with end to end encryption. I was able to leverage my PLN (Personal Learning Network) on Twitter to find a list of education related Voxer groups. Thanks to my friend Sarah Thomas (@sarahdateecher on Twitter) for her help on this one. Visit the <a href="http://www.theedsquad.org/voxer" target="_blank">Ed Squad Website</a> for a list of 60+ groups. You can also add to the list if you have a group that you would like to share. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYSoRO2HS-zKczdfyTeDXWGifNRBVGsPW0RTCyJHm_RfyL1EsSbs7veTXs7s9FRpgZf8FvNxudwnsl38LYxzeGEyn1FTumRqpTHGhQIYIrm_z4XVN6GyOV09li-nbLS6vKiwHrkpdwl1V/s1600/sarah.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="496" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYSoRO2HS-zKczdfyTeDXWGifNRBVGsPW0RTCyJHm_RfyL1EsSbs7veTXs7s9FRpgZf8FvNxudwnsl38LYxzeGEyn1FTumRqpTHGhQIYIrm_z4XVN6GyOV09li-nbLS6vKiwHrkpdwl1V/s320/sarah.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thorne, Pierce, Towner, Garrett, Thomas - Summer 2015</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>What <i>You</i> Can Do Tomorrow </b><br /> • Sign up for a FREE Voxer account<br /> • Join a Voxer group (see above)<br /> • Start your own Voxer group </span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Voxer is a very versatile app. Go to their <a href="http://blog.voxer.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> and type in education for more articles on using Voxer. <br /><span id="goog_550536906"></span><span id="goog_550536907"></span><span id="goog_550536924"></span><span id="goog_550536925"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Hack 18<br />Build an Extensive Student Support Network<br />Problem: Students are Intimidated by Academic Challenges</b><br />Students sometimes struggle with the challenges they face. It is counterproductive to let them struggle in isolation. They will just shut down.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>Hack: Escalate Your Availability and Build a Student Support Network</b><br />Elevate your students by being available outside of class time. Since you have to balance work and school. Make sure students can collaborate with each other when you are not available. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What <i>You</i> Can Do Tomorrow</b> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Create office hours when you'll be available to help students</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Advertise your availability</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Create virtual office hours - using your school LMS, Remind, or other virtual tool</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Create a peer tutoring Voxer group - if your students are over 13 y/o</span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaWbYqXfibBV6qhwVhgQpxP6W1pD08Ll5fdbzdQJwdDI-I9TAzf6KrjwdCVwOokhHY5EGqGVyoLjP4Aw3wwwJadh3U2djWmt7NLjO9jgqytABFYRkpxwu6Vv8D-gTLSY4NOsU-9r1jUkM/s1600/blog+line+art+720+right.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="612" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaWbYqXfibBV6qhwVhgQpxP6W1pD08Ll5fdbzdQJwdDI-I9TAzf6KrjwdCVwOokhHY5EGqGVyoLjP4Aw3wwwJadh3U2djWmt7NLjO9jgqytABFYRkpxwu6Vv8D-gTLSY4NOsU-9r1jUkM/s320/blog+line+art+720+right.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> Hack 19<br />Present for Ten, Then Collaborate for Ten<br />Problem: Teachers Talk Too Much</b> (YES THEY DO!) </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Teachers tend to over explain sometimes, to the point of turning students off. Also some teachers don't take the visual or non verbal cues from students - like falling asleep in their chairs. This is an exaggeration, but I know I've wanted to do it from time to time at lectures or conferences. <br />Peter DeWitt (@PeterMDeWitt on Twitter) asks teachers four questions:</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you control the conversation?</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do students ask questions?</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are they allowed - even encouraged - to have conversations with one another? </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Or do they sit as you talk?</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How would you answer these four questions? </span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7CNH8o3cDPA_9LgsyCWI2u2zXXlE25Y7HLW7CJU-IgQaWsfL1OcPFzSVV9EzaCHi9iv6XRgCrRjyxMR5gWrHvKsuQnP6VdNkK2ZrT33dVrnx3vk_xFna-3iUixea1w1ocEzbb8A5WYWb/s1600/%2523sketch50+D2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7CNH8o3cDPA_9LgsyCWI2u2zXXlE25Y7HLW7CJU-IgQaWsfL1OcPFzSVV9EzaCHi9iv6XRgCrRjyxMR5gWrHvKsuQnP6VdNkK2ZrT33dVrnx3vk_xFna-3iUixea1w1ocEzbb8A5WYWb/s320/%2523sketch50+D2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b> The Hack: Lower Teacher Volume and Amplify Student Voice</b><br />The hack here is two-fold. The first is to limit teacher talk. The suggestion from Sturtevant is for the teacher to talk for 10 minutes and then for the teacher and/or class to do something different. The second part is to encourage and amplify student collaboration. He suggest setting up "the agora" in the middle of your classroom. I'm not going to explain. I'm going to let you Google it or buy the book. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> <b>What <i>You</i> Can Do Tomorrow</b> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Comb Through Your Lesson </span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Decide what students can take charge of themselves</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Practice the Clear the Deck maneuver</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Practice the Listen to Me with Your Face maneuver.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Clear the center of the room to create the agora. </span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Hack 20<br />Ride the Podcast Tide<br />The Problem: It's Difficult to Find Great Guest Speakers</b><br />Students get a lot out of hearing a guest speaker or expert, but they are not always easy to find especially depending on where you are located. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> <b>The Hack: Pan for Podcasting Gold, Then Refine Your Treasure </b> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With the increase in podcasting you should be able to find someone to meet the needs of your class. If you're not in a 1:1 school district you can dial one up on your phone or tablet. The two most popular distribution sites (which is different from hosting sites) are iTunes/ Apple Podcasts and Google Music Play Podcast Portal. Age restrictions may apply, so make sure you do your homework. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUKY_NgkpVhukalXNXJ-_3g02KWEIM5KoWFtqZpg_zmcbD77QDKaV9kGvj1PfPqnYReg1t4ayCLfx5CA3-DxhlLaKdu4zLaUo3_vp7KqXfWR9rBM1pX-8VqkgnKh14AU-toMMfyjHLDRO/s1600/Podcast-Keyboard-Microphone-Condenser-Microphone-2469293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1280" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUKY_NgkpVhukalXNXJ-_3g02KWEIM5KoWFtqZpg_zmcbD77QDKaV9kGvj1PfPqnYReg1t4ayCLfx5CA3-DxhlLaKdu4zLaUo3_vp7KqXfWR9rBM1pX-8VqkgnKh14AU-toMMfyjHLDRO/s320/Podcast-Keyboard-Microphone-Condenser-Microphone-2469293.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What <i>You</i> Can Do Tomorrow</b> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Give students Prime the Pump prompts</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fill out a <b>Somebody wanted but so then</b> template (Google it)</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Complete a character web</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Play Jeopardy </span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaWbYqXfibBV6qhwVhgQpxP6W1pD08Ll5fdbzdQJwdDI-I9TAzf6KrjwdCVwOokhHY5EGqGVyoLjP4Aw3wwwJadh3U2djWmt7NLjO9jgqytABFYRkpxwu6Vv8D-gTLSY4NOsU-9r1jUkM/s1600/blog+line+art+720+right.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="612" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaWbYqXfibBV6qhwVhgQpxP6W1pD08Ll5fdbzdQJwdDI-I9TAzf6KrjwdCVwOokhHY5EGqGVyoLjP4Aw3wwwJadh3U2djWmt7NLjO9jgqytABFYRkpxwu6Vv8D-gTLSY4NOsU-9r1jUkM/s320/blog+line+art+720+right.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />As an Instructional Coach I don't have a classroom, but I'm eager to try out a few of these hacks and some of the others in this book with the teachers that I'm currently coaching! Thanks you James Sturtevant for such an awesome book! <br /><br />Next up with hacks 21 to 25 is Amy Gorzkowski at <a href="http://grammarmamma.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Grammar Mamma</a>. </span></span></span></span></span>Ramona Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18204645594096577868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-84381764601119219292017-04-12T11:41:00.000-05:002017-04-12T11:41:31.751-05:00VR TEST<br /><iframe src="https://www.storyspheres.com/scene/4Yh2P6sg?embed=1" frameborder= "0" height=315 width=560></iframe>
<br />
<br />Ramona Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18204645594096577868noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-86155339979501429802017-04-11T05:00:00.000-05:002017-04-11T10:54:18.461-05:00START. RIGHT. NOW. Grow Each Day <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This is the 2nd installment of the #D100BloggerPD book study for today. Make sure you read the post from <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/103540816284202251749" target="_blank">+Lauren Slanker</a> at <a href="https://msfrizzleirl.com/" target="_blank">Ms Frizzle IRL. </a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3nEd_n1QzzskTdDwEs0pqRBGiFUdmyZcavWGbbJk_KzXwntlLi5O1az9uOZj-Kyys2yxGBjdmMJSU9YuOFuAQssBrcokmft2WgPRIjr7c5lbUYrXHbeiXkbxurNpx17CL8OZD1URHLfD/s1600/StartRightNow.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3nEd_n1QzzskTdDwEs0pqRBGiFUdmyZcavWGbbJk_KzXwntlLi5O1az9uOZj-Kyys2yxGBjdmMJSU9YuOFuAQssBrcokmft2WgPRIjr7c5lbUYrXHbeiXkbxurNpx17CL8OZD1URHLfD/s400/StartRightNow.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you need to catch up, here are the links for chapters 1- 4. </span><br />
<a href="https://readingandowloftheabove.blogspot.com/2017/03/start-right-now-with-d100bloggerpd.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 1 - </span></a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://readingandowloftheabove.blogspot.com/2017/03/start-right-now-with-d100bloggerpd.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Teaching is Leading, Leading is Teaching at </span>Reading and Owl of the Above </a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://teachingandlearningredefined.blogspot.com/2017/03/start-right-now-know-way.html" target="_blank">Chapter 2 - </a></span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://teachingandlearningredefined.blogspot.com/2017/03/start-right-now-know-way.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Know the Way at </span>Teaching and Learning Redefined</a></span><br />
<a href="http://ishiftbutler.blogspot.com/2017/04/from-going-to-showing-startrightnow.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 3 - Show the Way Part 1 at iShift</span></a><br />
<a href="http://ilearnandteach.blogspot.com/2017/04/startrightnow-d100bloggerpd.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 3 - Show the Way Part 2 at iLearn</span></a><br />
<a href="http://grammarmamma.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 4 - Go the Way - Part 1 at Grammar Mamma</span></a><br />
<a href="http://showyourthinkingmath.blogspot.com/2017/04/start-right-now-d100bloggerpd-book-study.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 4 - Go the Way - Part 2 at Show Your Thinking </span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I
have really enjoyed reading this book. It has forced me to be
reflective about what I do well and what traits I need to work on to
become a better leader. Nobody's perfect, there's always room for
improvement. One of the biggest reminders for me was the section - Know
When to Say No. I need to work on that. I know the pitfalls of saying
yes all the time but I do it anyway. I've started saying no sometimes. Part of my
problem is I don't want to miss an opportunity to learn and grow. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I
also enjoyed reading the educator profiles from each section of the
book. I'm lucky to know 3 of these incredible people personally. <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/102564448627427251191" target="_blank">+Maureen Chertow Miller</a> is very involved in our Illinois network of ed tech educators and has always been supportive of all my efforts. <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/103265037485864854924" target="_blank">+Kara Welty</a>
is no longer a teacher leader. She will be a building leader at
Rockwood South Middle School as the assistant principal. I'm so proud of
Kara. She has worked so hard to build relationships and get to this
point. Check out <a href="http://karawelty.com/" target="_blank">Kara's blog</a>. Finally, <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/113770133282529447396" target="_blank">+Kayla Delzer</a>
is an amazing educator. I had only known Kayla as part of my P2LN until
she came to Chicago one day last summer and we hung out together for
part of the day. It is so great when you meet members of your virtual
P2LN. An additional bonus is when it is confirmed to you by meeting them
in person that you are both "on the same page". </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.topdogteaching.com/" target="_blank">Kayla's blog Top Dog Teaching</a> has a lot of resources. </span>Being highlighted in this
book as influential school leaders is no surprise to me!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Now
on with the book review. Chapter 5 is entitled, Grow Each Day. This is
the section where the authors discuss growth mindset, who you surround
yourself with and the power of feedback. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Run the Experiment. Reflect. Repeat.</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This
section is about being bold and daring and trying something new in your
classroom or school. As an instructional coach this is what I do daily.
I push teachers and sometimes building leaders to go outside their comfort
zone in order to grow. It's about taking calculated risks and reflecting
on the success or lack there of. It's ok if a lesson doesn't go as you
planned. REFLECT! Do you totally scrap the idea, sometimes the answer is
yes, but most times the answer is take the best parts and retool the
lesson till it works. As a classroom teacher I was always tried to be honest with my
students when things weren't working as I planned. There were quite a
few times where I would interrupt the lesson and just tell them we were
changing something or starting over. I also remember during my first
year as a classroom teacher almost every student did poorly on a particular unit
test. Instead of complaining that the students weren't paying attention
or the material was too hard I wrote the parents a letter. In that
letter I said that I would be reteaching a portion of the material
because clearly I didn't teach the material in a way that would help
students be successful on the test. I was really taking a risk. I
thought the parents were going to hate me. Instead the opposite was
true. They were so happy that I was going to take the time to make sure
their child knew the material. I know you don't teach to the test, but we are talking about 1994. My mindset has changed since then. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The
authors' advice about change and trying something new is something that
our coaching department tells our coachees all the time:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1. Start small</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. Try something new</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. Learn from your students</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">From
my personal experience many teachers have the hardest time with number
three. They think they must be the be all, end all in their classroom.
With the explosion of information and technology skills that are
available to our students their is no way any teacher can know it all. Our students are our greatest resource and we should utilize
them any way we can to improve teaching and learning. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Surround Yourself with Excellence</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I
love this! I feel that as part of the instructional coach team in my
district I am surrounded by excellence. We are like minded
people in the fact that we are passionate about wanting what is best for
kids and always starting with the WHY? We all have different paths for
getting there and bring so many different strengths to the table. </span><br />
<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm
so competitive that being surrounded by excellence drives me everyday
to do better. In the past I've told my teammates when one of us fails we
all fail, when one of us succeeds we all succeed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I love this quote from the book. How would you answer this job interview question? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Our
goal is to hire someone so amazing that when we hire you, I'd rather
the other teachers in the school become more like you than have you
become more like the other teachers. Tell me something so amazing about
you as a teacher that I would want every other teacher in our school to
emulate?" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Whoa!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Breakfast of Champions</u></b> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Regular
feedback - much like breakfast - is a healthy way to grow." I have been
told that I am good at telling the kind truth. Meaning that I am able
to give constructive criticism in a way that is palatable. It is easy
to look at others and give feedback. It can be more difficult to receive
feedback from others. When I am told the kind truth it takes me
awhile to process the information, but I am usually able to use it to
help me grow and move on. "We firmly believe that providing and
receiving clear feedback on a regular basis is not only an excellent
strategy for improving performance, but also for instilling a sense of
pride and satisfaction among those receiving the feedback. "</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The
other point brought up by Whitaker, Zoul and Casas is that teachers
should be actively and regularly receiving feedback from students about
their learning. Since our district does standards based reporting
I feel like this is going on often in the classrooms in our
district. What about your school or district? </span><br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Teach 4, Lead 4, Learn 4</span></u><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Check out these find educators who do what they can to Grow Each Day. Add them to your P2LN</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1. Andrea Trudeau @Andrea_Trudeau</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. Starr Sackstein @mssackstein</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. Paul Solarz @PaulSolarz - I saw Paul speak pre - LLAP - he was very good!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4. Cindy Kube @cindyqb</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1. Heidi Veal @VealHeidi</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. Barry Salde @Barrykid1</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. Sanee Bell @SaneeBell</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4. Dennis Schug @schug_dennis</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Steps you can do to Grow Each Day</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1. Attend and Ed Camp professional learning event. Check - I've attend Ed Camp Chicago and Ed Camp Tampa Bay both well worth it!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.edcamp.org/" target="_blank">Find one here</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2.
Participate in a Twitter Chat - Check - Love me a good Twitter chat! I
have really found some amazing people to add to my P2LN through these
chats. We have our own district chat #d100chat on the 1st and 3rd
Tuesdays of the month at 8 pm CST. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/twittereducationchats/education-chat-calendar" target="_blank">Find one here</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. <a href="https://mindsetonline.com/" target="_blank">Test </a>your growth mindset - Check - Great stuff from Carol Dweck.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4. Watch <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/cesar_kuriyama_one_second_every_day" target="_blank">One Second Every Day TED Talk </a>and use <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/cesar_kuriyama_one_second_every_day" target="_blank">the app</a>. This one I still need to watch. While I have not tried the app yet, my teammates love it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The final chapter will be reviewed by <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/112511849441379013414" target="_blank">+Kristin Richey</a> at Reading and Owl of the Above. Hope you enjoyed the book as much as I have! Thanks to Todd, Jeff and Jimmy for writing this book that helped me reflect and grow as a leader. </span></div>
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Ramona Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18204645594096577868noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8760973327773925296.post-72764913554057005702017-02-24T16:00:00.001-06:002018-02-01T22:15:19.371-06:00Design Thinking and Novel Engineering in 5th Grade<span style="font-size: large;">I have been working in a 5th grade classroom for the last month. The co-teachers asked me to help them with fresh ideas to make their science block better. My mind immediately went to <a href="http://www.novelengineering.org/" target="_blank">Novel Engineering</a>. You can read the official definition on the website. I describe it as - a process where students design or engineer a realistic solution to a problem that a character is having in a piece of fiction literature. Some books lend themselves to this challenge better than others. The website has a list of elementary and middle school books. I'm sure that you can come up with others. We chose the picture book the<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Snowy-Day-Board-Book/dp/0670867330" target="_blank"> Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LKJv8fAlvSO0nnRbhg48KrOfPBXjW-qjdj5lgfMrYYf6xSKzmZjyaBfIfv5fxP9eBETLqg3YMTp3mg3VFTw-i7nGDNPQGLQUhV_Oy0_tnK8NZ9MWcmWKXx-RxdUWMzuE7lEjQtsirIOI/s1600/launch+cycle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LKJv8fAlvSO0nnRbhg48KrOfPBXjW-qjdj5lgfMrYYf6xSKzmZjyaBfIfv5fxP9eBETLqg3YMTp3mg3VFTw-i7nGDNPQGLQUhV_Oy0_tnK8NZ9MWcmWKXx-RxdUWMzuE7lEjQtsirIOI/s320/launch+cycle.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a framework for the students designing a solution we decided to use the LAUNCH Cycle. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Launch-Design-Thinking-Creativity-Student/dp/0996989544" target="_blank">The LAUNCH Book</a> is written by </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://ajjuliani.com/" target="_blank">A.J. Juliani</a> and </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://spencerideas.org/" target="_blank">John Spencer</a>. It gives the teacher and students a simple language to follow using design thinking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUD-Auzv1m9WLoZNI1S2Hs8rWE33RarWITgOVvfF2PYkHn10mbPbl7m6GFCYQ2SONpWn7EEbB9K-FYq3J_K1gvb79Ns78WXW9BdCG25DsfH0RqHwdkqMMSq89oe98BzATkmQhgeHA1SKO_/s1600/Launch+-+L.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUD-Auzv1m9WLoZNI1S2Hs8rWE33RarWITgOVvfF2PYkHn10mbPbl7m6GFCYQ2SONpWn7EEbB9K-FYq3J_K1gvb79Ns78WXW9BdCG25DsfH0RqHwdkqMMSq89oe98BzATkmQhgeHA1SKO_/s1600/Launch+-+L.PNG" /> </a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I read the book to the class two times. The first time I asked them to just listen and enjoy the book. The second time I asked them to close read the book through the lens of trying to discover Peter's problem or problems in the book. This was L - Look, Listen and Learn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TBSMcEf7qx78Ua_b924We1VGFERB2OV5hXdYEmCd0ND10AYj8NlgrorNiMcgJRl1Ing5xdEvmNNV166znqEVHMJKcrj8qaBZf6l_ibzFbor5f9P95J_uhgZ7kJp1YaepzC3eDMLurKHt/s1600/Launch+-+A.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TBSMcEf7qx78Ua_b924We1VGFERB2OV5hXdYEmCd0ND10AYj8NlgrorNiMcgJRl1Ing5xdEvmNNV166znqEVHMJKcrj8qaBZf6l_ibzFbor5f9P95J_uhgZ7kJp1YaepzC3eDMLurKHt/s1600/Launch+-+A.PNG" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Next I asked the students to list the problems that Peter had in the story. They came up with three. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1. Peter wanted to keep his snowball, but it melted in his pocket.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. Peter was not able to play with the big boys in the neighborhood.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. Snow fell on Peter's head when he hit the tree with a stick. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next we defined the word prototype. I told the class that they were going to design something to solve Peter's problem. They had lots of questions about the parameters of their designs. I told them that we would like something that actually works. They asked about designs that had computers or motors in them. I told them those kinds of things were ok. Their design had to have a basis in fact. One student talked about a force field. I told him that was not realistic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I asked them to identify one problem they would like to help Peter solve and write or draw some initial thoughts in <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notability/id360593530?mt=8" target="_blank">Notability</a>. I also told them that through out the whole process we would continue to ask the question, "How can we make this better?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0Gpvu3LSnReKA1fVNxfDmzuRZqhds1wIt1yyJebTvtNXlJlUyzCLV4GQEIWb_MHSfTjgZSSKrZovCe1RnuEsX5k7tkg6g8C1Z61-rUQM_OtjcNOeW8aSf6U_hzNjClZVFYAiFLlLOzby/s1600/Launch+-+U.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0Gpvu3LSnReKA1fVNxfDmzuRZqhds1wIt1yyJebTvtNXlJlUyzCLV4GQEIWb_MHSfTjgZSSKrZovCe1RnuEsX5k7tkg6g8C1Z61-rUQM_OtjcNOeW8aSf6U_hzNjClZVFYAiFLlLOzby/s1600/Launch+-+U.PNG" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The next time we met I had them do some research. I gave them some links to information on refrigeration, insulation, and how snow is formed in the atmosphere, to get them started and give them some background knowledge. Next they had to look on the Internet to see if their item already existed. If it already existed then they had to improve the existing item. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJNjs0MMhq82zZJI9Hl55vSZvyCnyve6JHkO8DiDieOM337O_lVBk1M2DFXtM6g5z1VPP9ZVLYvMmi7K9Nm4SzozMMdC2FlZBdHxLX53Cw4TXqwmhcHDD08K2Jygkl50tluGKjxX0iHZD/s1600/navigate+ideas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJNjs0MMhq82zZJI9Hl55vSZvyCnyve6JHkO8DiDieOM337O_lVBk1M2DFXtM6g5z1VPP9ZVLYvMmi7K9Nm4SzozMMdC2FlZBdHxLX53Cw4TXqwmhcHDD08K2Jygkl50tluGKjxX0iHZD/s320/navigate+ideas.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">At this point we met as in small groups to share our ideas. The purpose was two fold here. The first was so that I could see where they were in the process. The other was so, that they could receive feedback from their peers regarding their solution. Before we broke out into small groups I shared my ideas with students in order to model what I was looking for. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sfQZiAU8PwZHtVkVSjN5pG36tk1tnSiNIKpmszWMwfpNXjBX1wyAoMC3h-AxqtXnY57Pr5vP0IuDc0uZINC6v4uX0HtPRVBcB2B_LXBWFpPxsTOToAR3FsMC5WKVOceevAlq0z52TUzf/s1600/create+a+prototype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sfQZiAU8PwZHtVkVSjN5pG36tk1tnSiNIKpmszWMwfpNXjBX1wyAoMC3h-AxqtXnY57Pr5vP0IuDc0uZINC6v4uX0HtPRVBcB2B_LXBWFpPxsTOToAR3FsMC5WKVOceevAlq0z52TUzf/s320/create+a+prototype.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The calendar said it was time for Winter Break, which was perfect timing. Students had two weeks over break to create the prototype of their solution to Peter's problem. Here is a video showing my prototype. I used <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/koma-koma-for-ipad/id635794784?mt=8" target="_blank">Koma Koma,</a> a free stop motion iOS app. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z1iCcGoFWVg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z1iCcGoFWVg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuGvVotdy_MGodqTPKX_uwSv2VaFTyVoL3WJeLh56hxk-iooDZ6tnZWIr3I9aikHtTwCKfvkL_-52HB-gF1jO4XeH4P49hVntOdnaLs-R18hJTwe6hk6-jEzwVwG7z4yGmtcJncigPEh4/s1600/highlight+and+fix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuGvVotdy_MGodqTPKX_uwSv2VaFTyVoL3WJeLh56hxk-iooDZ6tnZWIr3I9aikHtTwCKfvkL_-52HB-gF1jO4XeH4P49hVntOdnaLs-R18hJTwe6hk6-jEzwVwG7z4yGmtcJncigPEh4/s320/highlight+and+fix.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had students work on H, highlight and fix, while they were building their prototype. I explained that their design might change based on a number of factors, and available materials. I asked students to write a 1 paragraph reflection on their prototype building process when we returned from Winter Break.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_2FNRN-qCOcM2J1hHjwPolw4VmmTtijC2Y1RMkC7g25KogLr-NUSFeYfiBSy1e_qq0VR9HoFv0gMu4GDwMR7ikpyF4uy_lhvFCUlNjHakToQQOoTFROTAw_8B4VMqEvO1Q8pEkWj7z7f/s1600/launch+to+an+audience.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_2FNRN-qCOcM2J1hHjwPolw4VmmTtijC2Y1RMkC7g25KogLr-NUSFeYfiBSy1e_qq0VR9HoFv0gMu4GDwMR7ikpyF4uy_lhvFCUlNjHakToQQOoTFROTAw_8B4VMqEvO1Q8pEkWj7z7f/s320/launch+to+an+audience.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The final part of the process is to share the final product with a wider audience. The students came up with two suggestions a <a href="https://sites.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Site</a>, and a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank">You Tube Channel</a>. I also suggested a <a href="https://padlet.com/" target="_blank">Padlet Wall</a>. I put up a poll on our <a href="https://www.schoology.com/" target="_blank">Schoology</a> wall and let students vote. The overwhelming choice was a You Tube Channel. Here is the link to the <span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSjT1EsuRIyF4MT5XlvUAkw" target="_blank">5CL You Tube Channel</a></span>. Please enjoy our videos of our solutions. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you are interested in the LAUNCH book the District 100 Blogger PD crew did a book study. You can find links to all the blog posts here. You can follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #D100BloggerPD. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">ADE Megan Ryder sketchnoted the book. You can find her sketches at </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/MrsRyder58">@<span class="u-linkComplex-target">MrsRyder58</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: large;">on Twitter. Here is her sketchnote for Chapter 4 the chapter that I covered for the book study. Thanks Megan!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/MrsRyder58"><span class="u-linkComplex-target"><br /></span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>Ramona Townerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18204645594096577868noreply@blogger.com0