My goal this year is to train teachers to immerse our students in a 21st Century Classroom where they will create, think critically, collaborate, and communicate through student projects that are real-world relevant based on Common Core standards-driven curriculum.

Here are some great apps for 21st Century Skills and Literacies. which are powerful apps if used in meaningful ways.

I read an interesting article last night which asks the question, “Are Students Really Motivated by Technology?” and the answer is no, not really, after the newness has worn off.  Read this article and comment about what you think about students’ motivation and technology.

The real motivator for students is content and how well we as teachers design our lessons. Is the content relevant and interesting? Is there a problem that I can help solve by learning this? Am I able to socialize with other people while working?

Motivate your students this year by providing real world experiences and by designing learning experiences that let your students create, collaborate, think critically and communicate with others.

Give your students choices and when you lead professional development or work with other teachers, give them choice and voice. It is powerful if you as a student or as a teacher feel like you are being heard. Edmodo is one way that we can learn from other teachers by joining Professional Learning Communities, students can learn from one another by sharing ideas via Edmodo, and teachers and students can communicate with each other and provide valuable feedback about projects, classwork, homework, and assessments.

Here is another article that talks about choice and voice, which I train about often.

Have a wonderful 2012-2013 school year!

After teaching a graduate class to veteran teachers for the past few years, I’ve found that many teachers are not comfortable planning lessons based on the curriculum standards. They find it very hard to think outside of the box or think creatively when planning lessons and designing learning opportunities. I’m not sure if this is due to the emphasis on standardized testing and teacher accountability based on test scores or if it is due to the lack of trust from principals when teachers incorporate project based learning in their classroom.  I have seen teachers only want to use the examples that are written on the portal or units that have been taught in the past, instead of studying the standards and focusing on learning goals and creating their own lessons.

Understanding by design  is where we should begin. Please take time to read this article about teaching technology to teachers. The focus is not on the technology, but on the learning goals.  My focus when I lead professional development is to teach Common Core and Standards Based Curriculum by engaging students using interactive strategies that involve technology and non-technology based activities. Think of the learning goal when planning lessons and use technology if it is appropriate. Technology is one of the tools teachers and students will use to master the content and demonstrate their knowledge.  Be creative and focus on your students this year as your plan your lessons.

“I used to think that teachers needed help learning the newest Web 2.0 tools, but now I think they need to know how to use a simple tool to teach vocabulary, main idea, summarizing, character analysis, story structure, writing strategies, research techniques.”

“I used to think that teachers needed help creating interactive flipcharts, but now I think they need to know how to seamlessly plan their day so that their lessons are integrated and flow based on their learning goals.”

As I study the Common Core Standards, I see how crucial it is that we move to Project Based Learning in our schools. No longer, can students be expected to simply memorize facts for a test on Friday, they need to be able to argue, defend, provide evidence, create, collaborate, think critically, and publish their work.

Teachers need to plan lessons and design learning opportunities for students where they have choice and voice. My goal this year has been to share the idea of Menus with teachers from K4-High School.

Here are some examples of Menus that teachers have created.

Khan Academy has even created videos and lessons for Common Core Standards. Check these out.

5 Things Teachers Should Do to Meet the Common Core Standards:

1. Lead High-Level, Text-Based Discussions

2. Focus on Process, Not Just Content

3. Create Assignments for Real Audiences and with Real Purpose

4. Teach Argument, Not Persuasion

5. Increase Text Complexity

Read more in this article by Lauren Davis. 5 Things Every Teacher………Common Core Standards

I just read about Voki and tried it out this morning. I actually called the number and recorded my voice by talking into the phone. It saved immediately and went into the project. First I created my avatar, then added a background, and finally my voice.  Then I published it. I can put it on facebook, twitter, embed it on my blog or website.  I read where foregin language teachers are using it for oral tests.  I learned about this from Barbara Bray, the ecoach. She publishes a newslsetter with fantastic ideas.  Here is the link to the article:  Interactive Lessons for Read Alouds

Students in all grade levels enjoy using this interactive tool to present their knowledge.  It’s a great way for teachers to assess and help students feel more comfortable reporting to their  peers.

I have been researching the use of  iPads  in the classroom and I wanted to see them in action. Luckily, Kitty Tripp, an outstanding 4th grade teacher from Wellford Academy, allowed me to visit her 21st Century Classroom. She did such an incredible job planning her lesson. The students were writing letters about electricity to her using Notes on their iPads, then emailing them to themselves. Next they copied and pasted their writing into an app called PhotoCard . Here is one of the finished products: Photocard

Also, check out the movie I made of these fine scholars as they worked

I am passionate about making connections and building relationships with students in order to create a classroom environment conducive to learning. One way that I found that helps build such a climate is to have a neat, orderly, organized, color coordinated classroom (No Reds, Bright Yellows, Bright Oranges on the walls).  This did not happen naturally for me. I was taught to use the brightest, most vivid colors and to cover every inch of your wall with STUFF.  I found after training with HET Highly Effective Teaching that colors really do alter the tone and setting of your classroom. Keeping colors simple and borders plain, with no designs on the borders, helps focus on the student work that is being displayed instead of away from the board to the edges.  I had to totally redesign my classroom and my thinking after 23 years of teaching. It was very hard at first to take all the STUFF off my walls and only put up what we were studying at the time. I actually painted my main wall navy blue instead of Bright Canary Yellow. That automatically created a sense of calm in my classroom. I covered my cluttered shelves with light blue curtains, I used light blue fabric for the backing on the bulletin boards and for my curtains on my windows. I bought all white baskets to display my books. I painted my book shelves dark blue and gathered all the navy blue chairs from other classes so mine all matched. I added plants to all the children’s cooperative learning tables and had lamps on in the room. I never had all the lights on at the same time, it was too bright and hurt our heads and our eyes.  The kids loved it!!! I loved it and we all felt very comfortable learning in a cozy environment. Notice in the video below how the Procedures are displayed for all to see. The Conceptual Map is displayed so anyone who enters the room will know what the students are studying throughout the entire year.  The Immersion Table is powerful and is a natural hook for visitors and students alike. They can’t wait to see what is on the Immersion table that relates to their learning that week. Have a quiet place for your students to escape to if they are having a horrible, no good, very bad day….. we called it “Australia”.  Students would listen to classical music on the ipod, do some relaxation exercises and relax if they had a bad morning at home. Maybe mom and dad got in a fuss, or a pet died, or a friend was mean on the bus, or you had an argument at recess.  It was a place to refocus and gather their thoughts.  My classroom was the happiest part of many of my students’ day and I designed it that way……… the safest and most conducive environment for learning.