Learning in Progress

This post first appeared on FTISEdtech I was thrilled to get the chance to work on some coding centers with a second grade class, and so impressed with their persistence and hard work. The kids got a lot of practice with addition, measurement, algorithmic thinking and even a little storytelling.   These would be great centers to try out any time this winter. Materials For the centers, you'll need:  At least 6 sets of Dash and Dot Robots Launcher accessories Plow accessories Ping Pong Balls Bunny ears accessories (for Dot) 4-5 Ozobots Large sheets of paper Black, Red, Green and Blue markers Cotton balls Painter's or Masking Tape The Centers Center 1: Winter Activities with Scratch JR In this center students create a winter scene in Scratch JR and then write about their favorite activity using the speech bubble or audio record feature in the program. I like this basic tutorial from Paul Hamilton about how to use Scratch JR: Here's an exampl

Post used for 3D Printing PD as a resource page. Have you heard the story about the middle school teacher in Wisconsin who helped to save the life of a duck by making it prosthetic feet or maybe you've heard about the 6th grade students making prosthetic hand a classmate.    While printing prosthetics may seem unusual, there is no doubt that 3D printing technology can revolutionize problem solving for teachers and students of any age. For example, consider how this Assistive Technology Specialist in Sonoma used 3D printing to design solution specifics to the needs of a student he was helping:   By using Design Thinking strategies and guiding students to empathize with end users and define problems, teachers can turn things over to students to problem solve.  With a simple design process like ICE (Imagine, Create, Evaluate), even elementary aged students can successfully imagine and design solutions. How can you organize student work? Consider guiding students thro

What do you think when you hear the word project?   Go to AnswerGarden Top Google search results for "School Projects" returns Pinterest pages of 25 best projects and plenty of science fair projects. Image searches are full of planet models, tri-fold boards, and dioramas. In contrast, ask someone in the business world what they think of when they think of the word project, and you might get a much different answer. With the rise of Project Based Learning (PBL), we often see much confusion about what it is, and what it isn't.  PBL, Genius Hour, Projects, Service Learning - these are all terms that might be discussed during PLCs, conferences, on Twitter chats, and explored through countless professional readings in the form of books, research papers and blogs. Designing PBL? Check out some of the Basics: From format, to planning, to collaboration, to integrating technology in a mindful way, there's a lot to consider before the project begins. 

Second in my "PD While You..." series.  The image is hung in "strategic" places around schools:)  Originally shared here . Links to Get You Right Where You Need to Go Three Rules to Spark Learning - TED Talk inspiring curiosity and creativity    Make Learning POP ! Check out the resources for My BrainPOP.  You will need the code from the print flyer to set up your account.  But you can have your kids making movies just like the real deal BrainPOP videos in no time! Check out this playlist to get you started:   Learn how to make a BrainPOP movie here - perfect for letter writing! Gettin Appy With It - Solve Me Mobiles get your students thinking in algebraic terms with fun puzzles Do This Tomorrow ! Toontastic 3D is an amazing storytelling tool for kids to use - check out this example my 3 year old made:) The Secret Sauce - Begin with the End In Mind - Using Legos! The Five Things Challenge - a practical strategy fr

Presentation These materials were for a collaborative presentation built by librarians in Fort Thomas Schools to show the progress we are beginning to make towards supporting students in a future ready way. Check out our slide deck for Future Ready Libraries to see images of how we are working towards supporting a focused on the future vision. Share What ideas do you have or are you doing that fit in each of the areas of a Future Ready Library?  Insert your thoughts on the padlet Resources Hover over the ThingLink below to see links to tools and web pages you might find useful

From the first day I stepped into my very first library assignment, after 10 years in education, I realized that a million things had prepared me for the moment, but if I was going to leap beyond that moment, I was going to have to take full control of my own learning.  This was a novel idea to me, as up until this point, I had always been told professionally what to learn based on what initiatives were important to a district and a school. But here I was, the only person in my building in my role, and I had a full school of children ready for something - anything.   To hold myself accountable and to push my learning in new ways, I began this blog. The Work in Progress page, written in July of 2012, explains that premise, and I took my own learning to heart.  At the beginning of each school year I chose topics and dove in deep to learn everything I could.  I read books, found blogs, and began to connect with people on Twitter.  From topics like using centers in Elementary libraries

At the end of the 2016-2017 school year, we were very fortunate to have a three day Project Based Learning (PBL) workshop led by Drew Perkins , Director of Professional Development at TeachThought . For me, the three day workshop was an opportunity to fine tune my understanding of PBL, work with teachers on new ideas and dig into strategies that can help teachers think through the planning process. Day 1: Aligning from the Top Down Some of my big takeaways from the first day of our professional development with Drew was that when designing a project with specific skills or standards in mind, it helps to begin by brainstorming possible products, purpose and audience and projects, in terms of Bloom's Taxonomy , really start at the top and as students work  through the project they move down into understanding and remembering.  In my role as coach, when I work with teachers to develop PBL, I think the audience piece is really important for us to consider more carefully.  Often

I couldn't narrow it down to four actual things - but there are four topics to explore!  Pick something and play this summer to help refresh after a long school year. Hover over the image below for hot links to things to check out.  

At the end of last year when I took on the role as Technology Integration Specialist for the elementary schools in my district, my first major task, before my official start date, was to plan two days of professional development at the end of the year.  Day 1 was to get teachers acquainted with the SAMR model and the iPads that all students would be receiving in August, and Day 2 was to introduce teachers to Project Based Learning (PBL) . The iPad training was an ok start.  It was differentiated, with different teams leading sessions based on teacher experience.   When I reflect back on it now, we should have stuck with two days of iPad training, but one school already had a plan to spend a day with a book study on PBL, as a way to get teachers started with it, and the other schools decided to join in.  The deck was a bit stacked against us, we didn't have copies of the book for each person, two schools were entirely unfamiliar with the concept, and I was really green when it

  This post or iginally appeared on FTISE dTech Math makes me nervous. And, not your run of the mill, mild, tingle in your belly kind of nervous. It's the kind of nervous that literally initiates the fight or flight response, where every neuron is on edge, skin feels prickly to the touch and a waterfall of tears is being held back by not even a shred of willpower: I t's the kind of nervous that shuts a learner totally down.     Needless to say when I wrote a grant for a 3D printer last year, I wasn't thinking that I would actually have to use math to use it.  I mean, my general plan was that the kids would figure out how to use it, and I would just cheer them on, and probably tweet about the cool stuff they were doing.  And then it became apparent that I had to learn how to use it. For real use it. As a last minute challenge, one of our district technicians, Andrew, talked me into meeting him and Michelle, one of our second grade teachers after school, on a Friday

This post first appeared on FTISEdTech Recently, while trying to help one of our Music teachers hack a lesson that included a paid app that we don't have access to, I discovered a strategy for using the Duck, Duck Moose apps - Draw& Tell , Superhero Comic Maker , or Princess Fairy Tale Maker combined with Green Screen by Do Ink that allows you to create a layered green screen videos that makes it look like students are interacting with comic book style characters. Create your Animation To make it look like you or your students are are between a background and the animation, you will want to create a "green screen" animation by either using the picture of a green screen or by filling in the background of a blank scene with green. You will then set your scene.  Add writing, characters or letters.  Stickers will move during recording.  You can also add voice overs while you're recording, or maybe play a song in the background.  Whatever audio you hav