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I love awards because it's a chance to recognize and share those who rock my world. Thank you Edublogs for providing this opportunity to acknowledge amazing educators around the globe, and for raising the awareness of the awesome impact social media and web 2.0 can have on our learning and our learners. Here are my nominations for 2011-2012: Best individual blog: Integrating Technology in the Primary Classroom Integrating Tech in the Primary Classroom Hands down, the most influential individual blog that I've learned the most from is Kathleen Morris' Integrating Technology in the Primary Classroom . Her content is innovative, filled with tangible and applicable learning for every level (even if you aren't a primary teacher). She makes it super easy for a newbie to feel right at home, while being encouraged to take the next step. I appreciate how Kathleen replies to all her comments, which lets us know how much she cares and is passionate about helping ...

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...

Last week, I had the privilege of working with a group of educators on 21st century lessons and PBL as part of their Collaboration Coach training. One of the main topics we kept revisiting was authentic purpose and audience. After pointing out strengths, I asked questions such as: What real audience could the students share their learning with? What real audience would benefit from their learning/product? What real audience, community, or expert outside the classroom could provide feedback? Relating Authentic Purpose and Audience to Common Core Language Arts Yesterday I received an email from Theresa Bartholomew , our Federal Programs Director, asking us to watch this video and reflect on these questions: What stands out to you about this?   What potential shifts will this require in our instructional time, focus, use of curriculum programs, etc.? Here was my quick reply to Theresa: I'm pumped about it! I expect to see more PBL , probably thematic units , an...

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 ...

Teching it Up K-12 -- Success Stories, Part 2 In Part 1 of "Teching it Up K-12 -- Success Stories," originally presented at the Arizona CIO/CTO Forum 2011 , we focused on the importance of a learning-centric vision. Our focus for Part 2 was developing a learning culture through peer coaching . Serving others through Peer Coaching With all the professional development needed to sustain one-to-one, PBL, 21st century learning, and individualized instruction, we turned to the Microsoft Peer Coaching model developed by the Peer-Ed team. The beauty of Peer-Ed's training modules was the adaptability to our district's vision. To highlight the "collaboration" role of peer coaches, we called them "collaboration coaches." Collaboration Coaching, Catalyst for Culture Shift We tapped into full time teachers as our collaboration coaches. They focused on creating a 21st century learning environment in their own classrooms, while also working ...

We see districts who have an established learning culture, and their classrooms are filled with authentic learning experiences. How did they get there? Our story Jon Castelhano and I have the privilege of presenting at the Arizona CIO/CTO Forum 2011 on October 6th. We are going to share how our district closed the door on the 20th century and opened 21st century student-centered classrooms. Our district started teching up the classrooms with engaging, standards-based, student-centered learning, despite the financial climate we are in. The next three posts will share about our journey, and some of the key game-changers for us. The focus and the vision Our district focuses on our learners. We ask, what's good for our learners? What do they want? What can we do to improve their education? If you listen to their answers , they will tell you about our vision. Leadership Those in leadership roles in the district believe in building relationships as the foundation fo...