Friday, September 21, 2012

Day 2 at Leadership Institute

Today has been another great day.  The Institute is focusing on blended learning and the incorporation of technology into the classroom.  There was a great talk by the Coordinator of Online Learning at the Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia.  I will not regurgitate everything they are doing in that district, but I will share with you one aspect that I found worth thinking about.  They use online learning in five different ways: original credit, credit recovery, AP courses, online tutoring, and blended learning.  What intrigued me was their use of technology to offer online tutoring for students in the four core areas.  As we build our online presence it will be interesting to determine whether or not online tutoring is an option for PT.  

I also participated in a round table that discussed blended learning.  I tweeted a good graphic that shows the development of technology integration into classroom practice.  The graphic talks about three levels of incorporation as it relates to classroom instructiono.  First, there is substitution, then augmentation, and finally  transformation for the incorporation of blended technology on the teacher level....first technology substitutes for something instructionally, then it augments instruction, and finally transforms instruction.  I like that as a framework to think about how technology can be effectively incorporated into the classroom.  


Thursday, September 20, 2012

Day 1 at Leadership Institute

The sessions this morning have been thought-provoking.  I have attended three sessions so far.  The first session dealt with the role of technology in education and society.  One of the "take-aways" is that schools must make sure that students have the skills to research the incredible amounts of information that is available on the web.  That information is only going to increase over the upcoming years.  Currently, only 10% of the known knowledge is in electronic form and available on the internet.  Imagine the amount of information that will become available as the internet expands and includes more of the known information.   I foresee that schools will have to start teaching students how to become better researchers and analyzers of information gleaned from the web.  The presenter also was thoughtful enough to force us to take a step back and reflect about the value of technology in our life.  For example, looking at Yelp to find a place to eat in the middle of a neighborhood in a big city when you have hundreds of actual people you can ask is kind of ridiculous.  I think that the philosophy at PT is sound; technology is a means to an end. In other words, technology can lead to better instructions and enhanced learning opportunities (and activities) for our students

Speaking of learning activities, one of the presenters this morning discussed some cutting edge brain research.  The presenter was thoughtful, articulate and very bright.  I understood most of the research behind his conclusions, and his recommendation to those of us in the audience was powerful.  Brain research supports two powerful teaching strategies that need to be used more in all schools across the United States.  First, the brain learns best by trial and error.  By making mistakes (and learning from them) the brain actually creates neural pathways that lead to beeper learning.  The presenter also stressed the importance of active learning.  Your brain learns the best when it is physically doing a task, not just receiving information from a lecture or a video.  I am proud that PT is moving almost exclusively to the active learning environment.  Finally, I learned that the brain needs time to "consolidate" information after it is learned.  What does this look like in the classroom?  Many times a students that is daydreaming is actually consolidating information that they have just learned.  This process is a required part of deep learning.  Now, sometimes daydreaming is just that, daydreaming.  But I think back to something my grandmother used to say.  When she saw someone daydreaming she would say, "That is a sign of intelligence"; although it may not be a sign of intelligence, it may be a sign that deep learning is taking place.

So far, this conference has been thought-provoking and I look forward to sharing more with you tomorrow!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Blog Posts from Phoenix

I was fortunate to be invited to an educational Institute this week.  Normally, I do not like to travel (I do not like time away from my family and the costs can be too much), but since the organization that is organizing the Institute is paying all of my expenses, I thought it might be worth looking into.  As I researched the agenda, I saw that the topics that will be discussed align well with some of our initiatives at Penn-Trafford.  Between the fact that the district would not have to pay anything for me to attend, and the fact that I believe I can learn something that will be beneficial for the school district, I decided to attend the Institute.  With topics on blended learning, personalized literacy, and district wide approach to online learning (as well as a session on the Common Core Curriculum), I anticipate that I will be able to add to the conversation while at the Institute and also bring important ideas back to PT.  There will be 65 superintendents from across the nation in attendance. Here is a brief explanation of the summit from one of their emails to me.

Superintendents Summit September 2012 in Phoenix, AZ will provide participants with opportunities for high-level networking and professional development in key topics related to K12 leadership, including technology, wellness, special education, curriculum and assessment, and business and finance.
This is an invitation-only event for a select group of superintendents who have been identified by their peers as leaders in their region or state. All expenses--including membership dues, travel, food and lodging--will be underwritten by the Institute.


I will tweet and blog from the Institute starting on Wednesday night.  I will share with you anything that is interesting as well as my reactions to the information and what it means for our school district. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

PLN in Action


Mr. Lazaro



Using a Kindle in the Classroom
Today I spent a period in a classroom where strategies learned through training during the PT Summer Academy for Teachers was effectively used.  This summer Mr. Roger Sullivan spearheaded a program to bring Pennsylvania Literacy Network training to the school district.  To read more about this initiative, please click here.  This morning Mr. Sullivan and I were in Mr. Lazaro's room at Trafford Middle School.  Mr. Lazaro teaches 8th grade Language Arts and also went to the summer PLN training.  Mr. Lazaro had the students work in groups of two and incorporated the following PLN strategies: Students making notes t-chart, Main ideas/questions/terms Read, write, discuss Whole class discussion- relevance & connections, Human lens, social lens, Language lens, meaning (4 lenses of learning), "Type 1" Writing, Some students read aloud, some quietly.  I want to thank Mr. Sullivan for providing me with his notes.  Additionally, Mr. Lazaro incorporated the Smart Board into his classroom and used it to help generate a discussion about the topic.  Finally, I watched the "BYOD" policy at work.  Students were using their smart phones and Kindles to help them research answers based on the work that Mr. Lazaro was asking them to do.  I was really impressed with the lesson because the students were engaged and were collaborating with each other.  It is easy for people to say that education must be collaborative and engaging, it is quite another thing to develop a lesson that actually accomplishes the task.  Mr. Lazaro succeeded at creating a lesson that was engaging and collaborative.  I am encouraged that training the district held in the summer is being put to use in the classroom.  That is a positive return on investment.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Teachers in the News

The recent copy of the Penn-Trafford Star has a great article about how some of our teachers are using the social media web site Pinterest.  I am excited to showcase the advantages of social media because there is a benefit to online collaboration.  I belong to Pinterest myself, although I have not quite figured it out.  I will have to stop in one of these classrooms and ask our experts about how I can get the most out of it!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Great Resource

I came across this web site that may be useful to you.  The web site is full of ideas and lesson plans incorporating I-Pads into the classroom.  Even if you are not a teacher, the site can show you the possibilities of incorporating an I-Pad into the classroom. 

On a related note, yesterday I was in Mr. Hyland's middle school history class and I saw first hand how  many students have some sort of device that can be used in school.  The School Board recently approved a "BYOD" (Bring your own device) policy and I was encouraged how that policy was being used in the classroom to improve the educational experience for students.  Mr. Hyland asked his students to bring in a device so they could use it in the class.  I saw I-Pads, Kindle Fire's and smartphones being used to enhance instruction.  I believe almost every student had a device.  It was good stuff!!