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In order to prepare students to apply rigorous learning to new and real-world situations, educators must provide opportunities that foster critical and creative thinking, communication and collaboration. Importance of Global Collaborations Common Core State Standards demand students to collaborate with diverse partners , thereby expanding students' global awareness . Some of the benefits of collaboration might include: Developing interpersonal skills of working together as a team. Fostering critical thinking skills while working towards a collaborative goal. Increasing comprehension while partaking in conversations and exploring ideas from different perspectives. "Collaborative learning promotes communication among students; it is particularly beneficial for English Learners (ELs) because peer interaction contributes to the development of language," ( CA ELA ELD Framework, Chapter 2 ). New 2016 ISTE Standards for Students I recently attended th...

What had the most impact on me this past week, and what memories will be most prominent from this week? What new goals will I set as a result of this week? Here they are, not in any particular order. Linda Yollis & Kathleen Morris 1. Educational Blogging: Flattening Classroom Walls by Linda Yollis and Kathleen Morris I am always inspired and in awe of these two women. They have made such an impact on me, so to see them present together live was absolutely incredible, especially since this week was the first time they had met face to face! Their stellar session was filled with powerful tips, incredible resources , while providing powerful examples of what can evolve out of blogging. To highlight a few tips: Linda , Kath , Sue Wyatt , Sue Waters , me , Ronnie , Julie , Anne , John Start small. Blogging is a journey. Use your content objectives to focus your posts. This way blogging doesn't become an add-on to try to fit in, but rather part of your literacy bloc...

Collaborative writing is strong for bringing ideas together, capitalizing on individual strengths, and building in feedback. When I walked into Mrs. Bliss' 5th grade class to work on the Student Blogging Challenge #3 , "Me on the Internet," they decided to write their post collaboratively. How can students successfully write a collaborative post (or written work)? Build Background Knowledge (while hooking their interest) First, we watched this video called Digital Dossier by DigitalNatives , introduced to us in Miss W's post for the Edublogs Student Blogging Challenge #3 . Before playing the video, we asked them to focus on two questions to discuss after the video: What is a Digital Dossier? Why is it important to each one of us? Following the video, we went back to our guiding questions and asked them what it was and why it's important. The students were quite involved in their discussions because of its relevance to their lives. Introducing Trac...

I was recently invited by an amazing woman, Joan Young, to participate in the #Rockstar Meme -- How Blogging Rocked Your World . This is such an honor, and the timing couldn't be better as I celebrate my first year anniversary of blogging . Why blogging? Blogging helps me reflect, process, and focus, which provides clarity. I think in brainstorms, adding ideas and eliminating others as I rule them out. The process I go through to write a post helps me decipher ideas and connect new meaning, leaving me with a sense of calmness and closure. Expected blogging benefits It's expected to be an organized place to keep notes on my learning. Saving time is another expectation because I spend much of my time answering emails about tech integration. So, it helps to post it on my blog. Unexpected blogging benefits I didn't realize the connections that evolve from blogging. Until nine months ago, the only blog I followed was my best friend's. The change happened when ...

Teching it Up K-12 -- Success Stories, Part 3 In Part 2 of "Teching it Up K-12 -- Success Stories," originally presented at the Arizona CIO/CTO Forum 2011 , we focused on developing a learning culture through peer coaching .  In Part 3, we focus on 21st century learning, blogging, and PLN. Pedagogical Shift There is a pedagogy shift happening in our district. Teachers are focusing on their learners . They are connecting beyond the four walls of their classrooms for an authentic purpose , relevant to their learners. Students are creating products as part of their learning, rather than it being just another hoop to jump through. As our teachers become 21st century learners , they push themselves to the next step. For us, the Edublogs Teacher Challenges and Student Challenges have been catalysts in this process. Edublogs Teacher Challenge Image attributed to Edublogs The Edublogs Teacher Challenges build teachers' skills in web ...

Blogging is a fabulous way to connect with an authentic audience. Like everything else, there is a transition process for learning how. Some rights reserved by T Hall Foundations for Blogging Houses need a sturdy foundation to remain standing. Likewise, blogging needs a sturdy foundation of digital citizenship and quality commenting . Digital Citizenship Introducing your class to digital citizenship is the first step. They will learn most of this in the context of blogging. However, setting guidelines is important for safety and netiquette expectations. Resources Sqworl Commenting When it comes to learning about quality commenting , I turn to Linda Yollis . She teaches us to break commenting into two parts: the content and the editing. Here is a summary of some of their tips : Start with a compliment. Add new information, especially facts. Connect with a personal story of how it's relevant to you. End with a question. Proofread. Comment Prompt St...

This was my first time going to ISTE and Edubloggercon . So, what were my favorites and takeaways? 1. I found that Jackie Gerstein 's session on the Flipped Classroom at Edubloggercon  gave me incredible perspective. We were given snippets of information filled with examples, interspersed with discussion points as small groups and the whole group. Later in the day when I had a moment to ponder this, I realized the possibility of the Flipped Classroom was no longer something intangible to me that only districts with lots of money and high SES could do. It's something we  can do despite the economy, having to close two schools, and all the other "Yeah, but..." excuses I could list here. 2. Blogging "N@ked" or Being Transparent in Our Relationships with Susan Davis , was another favorite from Edubloggercon. The discussion started with what it meant to be transparent by sharing celebrations as well as failures, because that's the reality of change a...

The Edublogs PLN Teacher Challenge #2 gives me an opportunity to ask what questions I have about PLNs and share some insight. Connecting I want to connect with innovative educators who are passionate about learning-centered classrooms. I am rewarded when I learn and can help others grow, because of the impact it makes on the students. Developing PLNs are like developing friendships. It takes time. It's easier when I have similar goals and common things to discuss, or can respectfully challenge each other with new ideas. I need to contribute as much as I take, otherwise it's an unbalanced relationship, which won't last. My One-to-One PLN Needs My job title is "Technology Integration Specialist" for AJUSD. I spend over half my time in K-12 classrooms working with students and teachers. The other half of my time is spent helping teachers with resources, project based learning, creating/facilitating professional development, and setting goals for future...

Mrs. Martinez's students have got their groove on! Here's how we approached the  Week 7's Edublog Student Challenge : Review what we've done so far -- which also sparks excitement. Look at the Edublogs Student Challenge.  Narrow it down to the three of activities we are most excited about.  Split the class into three groups. Collaboratively work through the writing steps. Share and celebrate our posts. The Writing Steps, A Collaborative Effort We brainstorm in a think-pair-share format. Discuss and decide the outline of the blog, such as the main points of the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Decide who will write which part. If more than one student wants to write about it, that's fine, they can work together. If nobody is interested in writing one of the ideas from their brainstorm, then that's fine too, and they leave it out. Students start writing (use paper if computers are being used).  Collaborating on Google Apps We le...

I don't want to make the same mistake I've made in the past of going all in teaching everything I know about a topic all at once. Professional development needs to be tailored to the readiness level and rolled out in layers over time. To be honest, it requires discipline on my part to not share everything because I'm excited and want to push on to the next step. The other day I held a class introducing blogging and RSS through Google Reader . My goals were to introduce them to what blogging was, and how they play a role in education.   They serve as self-selected professional development and a way students can share with an authentic audience . It's important to tier professional development training in layers just like I would new content for students. In a one to two hour training, less is more. That means introducing less new concepts is more effective than introducing many new concepts, especially when it comes to educational technology. There are some wh...

Where are the lines and boundaries for copyright , Fair Use , and Creative Commons ? Copyrights extend to photos, music, art, ideas, etc. Fair Use can be difficult to understand, open to interpretation, and if I understand correctly, don't extend outside the United States. So, if I'm running under the assumption that it's okay to use the image if attributed correctly, then what if the image was from contributed from outside the U.S.?  Digital Citizenship I try to get teachers to think outside the four walls of the classroom, and how technology allows us to connect with others around the globe. The last thing I want to do is upset someone on the other side of the world because I used an image that was acceptable under Fair Use for Educators, but not acceptable on their part of the world. Now what? Create my Own I love creating my own. Hey, I minored in fine art in college, so it's natural for me. Do I have the time to create my own? Not always, and others can do...

As the only Technology Integration Specialist in the AJUSD district, I focus on technology that fosters student learning. I spend over half my time in the classroom with students and teachers. I always tailor it to the teacher's readiness because I want the teacher to find it practical and beneficial to continue what we've started, even when I'm not physically in the class helping. The Edublogs Class Challenge is a wise investment of time because the students learn with a meaningful purpose, and the teacher continues with the blogging. It's her blog and she loves it . I am thrilled about our success! Today we set huge goals, and have completed many of them.  Now that the students are used to the procedures of blogging, and how we use our time, we can dive into it more.  Tips for Managing Class Blogging Graphic organizer s help with success, by allowing them to focus on their task.  Collaborating on one document in Google Apps has been extremel...