ConnectedLearning_TMI

Great Screencasts and various web related tools.

testing

that;'s interesting

Here is Wes Fryer's outline for Technology 4 Teachers, part of his "Powerful Ingredients for Blended Learning." Lots of great resources here which we can share with teachers.

As we go into CL schools, here's a great toolkit to help our work with 6th grade teams. Gotta love Wes Fryer. Check it out.

Balancing the what with the how of teaching. Meditation on the messiness of improving instruction teacher by teacher.

I could not agree more with the need for balance. I think different teaching styles are as important as teaching to different student learning styles. I'm concerned that a school full of all Type A "what" teachers is not the best thing for our students -- school culture is a huge factor that is often given a lower priority than "student achievement." Here's to a greater emphasis on the "how's" of teaching and learning!

US schools provide insufficient capacity to support teachers tech needs.

An interesting variety of answers from some education and ed tech leaders.

Interesting blog, especially his theory that 4:1 is the idea configuration for students:computers (75% cost savings and a focus on kids learning from one another). Years ago, there were in-depth workshops on teaching and learning in collaborative groups. In recent years, I've noticed that many teachers seem clueless as to how to facilitate successful groups, and fearful about loss of control. My hope is that "classroom management" will become a concern of the past in a successful blended learning environment.

if 4:1 is ideal for students, wouldn't it also be ideal for everyone else?

A slightly different take on the Harlem Children's Zone. Maybe most notable is the conflation of test data with general progress. "We don't care how the children live, as long as they are scoring well."

Teacher collaboration is on the decline. We are cutting against the grain as we try to work with 6th grade teams on the Connected Learning project. What does sustained "sticky" PD look like? How do we truly build capacity?

Hi all. I'm diving in here and notice that my highlighted text showed up as annotations. Sorry. I'm working on it! What I found most interesting was one commenter who noted: "in reality, being fully human is necessarily collaborative. . .Schools would benefit tremendously from honoring and supporting collaboration among faculty but more importantly among students. . .teaching, learning, and assessment are artificially forced into acts in isolation in traditional schooling. . .That is dehumanizing and countereducational. . ." My thoughts: So how can we humanize the PD process? Seems choice and autonomy are huge factors towards ownership of technology integration. Comes back to the question, for adults as well as students, "Who owns the learning?"

Is it even possible to minimize one's digital footprint anymore? The new whackamole.

Mikva Challenge students in Chicago have authored a report on technology innovations in the high school. Among their suggestions, teachers should use Skype, Youtube, video and other tech to enhance instruction.

New schools combine bricks and clicks. (haha) This is the model NYC is looking to move to over the next several years. iZone initiatives heading this way.

Check out the Booker T. Washington video. He shares his approach to blended learning, but he also discusses challenges for those who are not "connected."

My friend and former colleague, Ann Martin (Apple Distinguished Educator), currently an ed tech curriculum specialist in Nanjing, China, is supporting this conference. She says, "Looks to be really innovative - totally online, 5 days, all global, various languages. We're pushing for as much involvement as possible world wide."

Very well thought out guide to parent engagement and building the school-home connection. Recommend to all CL consultants taht you distribute this to your parent coordinators and principals.

Atlanta Journal Constitution article on attending to student strengths, featuring words of wisdom from Jenifer Fox, my wife.

I'd like to share several different perspectives on homework that may inform the work we do with our schools. "Meaningful homework should be purposeful, efficient, personalized, doable, and inviting. Most important, students must be able to freely communicate with teachers when they struggle with homework, knowing they can admit that they don't understand a task-and can do so without penalty." As recently as last year, I found myself comforting special ed students who simply could not handle the volume of homework, some crying out of fear of disappointing their ELA teacher (who would immediately send a "missing homework" email to the parent). I worked hard on homework accommodations for these students, but their feelings of inadequacy were fueled by a lack of teacher understanding of their needs -- a focus on deficits as opposed to strengths, and an unwillingness to offer differentiated assignments.

A different perspective than the previous article, this one reminds me of some of the issues raised in the movie, "Race to Nowhere."

Nice list of free web 2.0 tools designed for educators. Useful for connecting school to home and involving parents.

What if perpetual innovation is the new normal?