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The #elemchat on Dec. 17th, focusing on strategies and approaches for helping students become better writers , got me thinking about what writing looks like in 21st century learning. What does 21st century learning look like? Some rights reserved by sntgmdm Students engaged in authentic task Students are collaboratively problem solving Collaboration -- students helping peers Students are creating original work to represent their ideas Teacher is walking around the room facilitating Noticeable routines and procedures for getting help and transitioning Learning is interactive and engaging Students are on task and taking risks to learn Students are forgetting they're learning Ongoing assessment/feedback/reflection All of the above can be with or without technology What does 21st century learning sound like? Teacher facilitating instead of directing Focused noise--it's not silent while they are on task Student led discussions Respectful discussions a...

Ever wonder what math looks like in an one-to-one environment? Is it just worksheets and math problems online, or is there an advantage to learning math in one-to-one classrooms? Math in one-to-one When I was in Tina Jada's class, I saw students actively engaged, engrossed in their learning the standards at a deeper level, with a context for why they were learning and when they'd use these standards in the real world. Here's a glimpse into her 7th grade class: Different teachers, different approaches, great learning When I was in Valinda Wells' class, I saw more great learning. Her class started with a quick review for students to start on their own. After a short amount of time, Ms. Wells' showed a Screenr video modeling her solving the problems, her metacognition throughout, and how she deduced the correct answer. While she played the video, Wells was free to walk around to provide feedback, check for understanding, or guide learners if needed....

The nominations process has closed, and we are excited to see a few of our AJUSD blogs represented on the Edublogs Awards shortlist. Please support our AJUSD blogging community. You can vote once a day, and if you are in our AJUSD district, please vote from your home computer (our school computers will have the same IP address, so it will only get one count a day). The voting will end on December 14th. Here's who you can support in our AJUSD blogging community: Em's Blog for best student blog Ethan's Blog for best student blog Jon Castelhano's "This and That" for best administrator blog Melissa Martinez (Mrs. Martinez's 4th Grade) for best class blog Tracy Watanabe for best individual blog Here's how you vote: To vote, click on this link , then use the drop down menu to choose the category, then select who you are voting for. You'll need to go back through the process to vote for the next category. Final remarks All of our...

One of the lessons I've learned is a strong leader is someone who can start the momentum and will continue to carry it through. You see, just having the vision and getting it rolling is a step in the right direction, but to continue to nurture it and finish what you've started is what counts. Professional Development and Project Based Learning Project based learning  (PBL) and professional development (PD) require some effort to complete. I'm realizing that implementing successful PD is very much like facilitating PBL. Background courtesy of DragonArtz Designs , gears created on Clker , text created in Pages Each of the gears is a step in the process, and they rely on each other to be successful and complete. If you miss one of the gears, you are missing one of the essential elements in implementing PBL or PD. Furthermore, you're never really "done" with the cycle because it keeps going and keeps evolving into something better. When the gears get j...

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...