Learning is Change

Yesterday, I spoke with a superintendent in Singapore via video conference alongside many other APS educators. He was on the other side of the world, and we were learning from him.

It made me think: “When did Singapore get so close to Aurora, CO?”

Creating a Learning Orientation Versus a Performance Orientation

This fits really well with our Cultures of Thinking work. What kinds of questions are your kids asking most often: Performance questions or Learning questions?

Reflection Facilitated by QR Codes

Reflection is such a huge part of learning, and yet we often find ourselves skipping it because of time constraints. This tech-infused suggestion provides for quick access to reflection questions for kids on their work.

7 Strategies for Personal Professional Learning

Barbara Bray has been writing about how to make learning personal for over a decade and she just keeps digging in deeper. This time she is looking at ways of making Professional Learning more personal, starting with “Teachers are learners too.”

We are pattern recognition machines. We look for them to avoid threats and to embrace opportunities. Sometimes, though, the single unexplainable outlier is far more informative. Why did one child struggle or excel when others did not? It tells a lot.

Bringing digital citizenship into the school curriculum

Digital citizenship is something that must be explicitly taught, but it doesn’t have to be boring, for teachers or for students. Google has new curriculum and a new gamified experience to support both!

5 Common Teaching Practices I’m Kicking to the Curb

In a move of courageous reflective practice, one teacher takes a look at her previous classroom practices and sees which ones will stay and which ones will have to go.

When a child is passionate about her learning, it isn’t a secret. In fact, it is contagious. The fire in the eyes of one learner communicates to all that it is okay to get excited, and you start to see the light spread from one set of eyes to the next.

Case Study: Personalized Learning in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

One of the strongest proof points for personalized learning has been Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The latest case study from their work is an in-depth look at the many ways that personalization looks at different schools that have taken it up. Worth the read!

Not Short and Sweet: A Conversation with Students of America (V)

Listening to students about what they want school to be is an essential part of Personalized Learning. The StuVoice movement is a great start!

We can’t predict what will happen this year or next. However, everything we do today will make a difference. The words we say and actions we take will lead to what happens next, like making hundreds of tiny bets on the future. What are your bets?

What Personalized Learning Is Not – EdSurge News

A great summary of Personalized Learning that helps to reclaim the term from those trying to use it for anything other than empowering kids and teachers

Misinterpreting the Growth Mindset: Why We’re Doing Students a Disservice

Growth mindset is a powerful idea to help students stretch themselves and learn more than they ever thought possible. However, this is only if the idea is fully understood and utilized.

Don’t Sell Your Soul or Students to an Edtech Brand

A strong educator reflection about how we think critically about the tools we utilize and promote in our classrooms and schools.

Just questions today: Who “owns” the learning in your school? And, how do you know? Is it those doing the most work? Is it those that are learning the fastest or with the most depth? Is it those who write the lessons/assessments or those who take them.

‘Where We Went Wrong’ Atlanta Educators Reflect on ‘Failed’ Tech Implementation – EdSurge News

Some great thinking here about how teachers have moved from believing Personalized Learning is a tech initiative to one about student ownership of learning. This transition took 5 years in Atlanta!

Flipgrid and HyperDocs: Amplifying student voice in purposeful digital lesson design.

I love tools that let us listen better to learners. Their needs are on display in our classrooms, but only if we are looking for and listening to them.

I was in Houston for a school visit 3 weeks ago. That school is closed, along with hundreds of others. But, the kids of Houston are still learning a lot this week, about themselves and each other. I will be thinking of and supporting them any way I can.

Google and 826 Valencia invite you to a ‘planet ruled by love’

A great story for how writing, technology, and equity can work together to create deeper learning.

How Pineapple Charts Revolutionize Professional Development

This is a great overview for Pineapple charts, the practice of publicly sharing what you are doing within you classrooms to allow for informal observations by peers.

I am happiest when I create. But, only when that creation is in the service of solving for an identified need or answering authentic questions. Creating things that no one asked for brings no satisfaction. Are we listening to needs or creating to create?

Using Technology Doesn’t Make You Innovative

Is the technology in your school helping you do things you couldn’t do before, or is it replacing paper and pencil to do the same tasks? This post helps us consider this question and a few other important ones too.

3 Chrome Extensions that Make Google Classroom Even More Awesome!

Google classroom already does so much to support student learning, but here are three important ways of making that process easier and more effective.

My Classroom Charts Blog: How to make your own

Never underestimate the power of sharing your classroom with others. The simple act of taking pictures of your chart paper and making them available online can inspire fellow teachers and engage your students. Here is a great example of doing just that!

There are many drinks you can use to hydrate. Some are better at it than others. But, no one will question the need for water as the core component of each. So it is with learning. Many ways, but no one questions the role of student engagement and agency.

Not The Only Way: Authentic Vs. Compliant Learning

A couple of innovative middle school leaders discuss the importance of authentic learning and making connections to students in the classroom.

Digital Note Taking Strategies That Deepen Student Thinking

Are you worried that asking your students to take notes on devices is going to less learning? Fear not, as here are some great strategies to ensure that the devices are accelerating understanding and not impeding it.

“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is often interpreted that you should choose a path others don’t. But, the poem states both paths were worn “really about the same.” The moral is to actively choose your path, not to belabor forks in the road.

Why Late Adopters Are Skeptical of Edtech (and How to Get Them on Board) – EdSurge News

One 28-year veteran of teaching tells his story for how technology became an essential tool for learning in his classroom, even as a “late adopter.” I aspire to his expertise and deep commitment to kids.

#BathroomPD InStallment #1, #2 Soon!

I don’t recommend PD in a bathroom stall to everyone, but I do recognize that we need to look for innovative ways of finding professional learning that is relevant for us. What are the unique spaces you are learning within?

Generations Will Not Be Destroyed by Smartphones

A great educator response to the (by now) famous Atlantic article about how cell phones are having a negative effect on our kids. I love the community, educator, and parental responsibility she advocates for here.

Our time with kids is finite, but their learning is not. They learn from every moment they are in Schools, and every moment they are away. They continue to learn what you taught hem yesterday and last year. What infinite learning will you create for them?

8 Things to Look For in a Student-Centered Learning Environment

I’m a huge fan of tools that let you look at your classroom (or any classroom for that matter) in a new light or through a new lens. This set of “Look Fors” for Student-centeredness is a great opportunity to do just that. How many of these things are present in your classroom or school?

Introducing the TT Educator Grants Program

Are you looking for some money to help implement an Equity project you are working on in your classroom or across your school? Tolerance.org is providing grants between $500 and $5000 for educators interested in creating anti-bias cultures. Go for it!

8 tips to help you keep up in Google Keep

As you are looking to be as productive as possible, so you can spend more time with your students and teachers, it is helpful to use the right tools. Google Keep has become invaluable to our team, and we highly recommend giving it a try this school year.