wwwatanabe

Our district focuses on creating 21st century , student-centered classrooms. We want classrooms filled with student collaboration and discussion about their learning, connecting to the world around them. Some rights reserved by tgbarrett Blended learning Students learn in different ways, and at different paces. To address these needs, we've been piloting blended learning in two high school classrooms. AJUSD's definition of blended learning is: Blended learning combines the best features of in-class learning with the best features of online learning. Online delivery allows student control over the time, place, path, and/or pace of their learning. In-class learning provides student-teacher interaction as well as opportunities for students to collaborate on challenging, project-based work.  By having content online, students have more time on task. They can pause the content, go back to revisit lectures/lessons, and have control over the pacing of their ...

This post is my reflection (and brainstorm) for creating a 21st century learning district, specifically through developing our Collaboration Coaches . I’m asking for your feedback. The focus for Year 2 Collaboration Coaches This is the second year we’ve had Collaboration Coach training in the district. The first year training module is closely adapted from Microsoft Peer Coach Training developed by the Peer Ed Team. Since there isn’t a continuation training module, I’ve created my own based on surveys, reflections, and four areas of focus: Communication, collaboration, and coaching skills  21st century learning, pedagogy, and lesson design Best practices with technology integration and resources Staff development The professional development plan for Year 2 Collaboration Coaches August : Setting goals and overview of year -- for the purpose of kicking off the year September : Web 2.0/Coaching Smackdown   -- focusing on best practices; resources; and ideas for...

My passion and goal is to see 21st century learning (innovating, creating, collaborating, communicating, and critical thinking) in our classrooms. How can I spread that passion so the goal of 21st century learner-centered classrooms becomes a reality? As the Technology Integration Specialist, part of my job is coaching teachers, administrators and students in technology integration for 21st century learning. As a coach, there are several different roles, avenues, and opportunities I have to further this goal: Roles Sharing or Consulting (Expert) Collaborating (Peer to Peer) Coaching (Facilitator) Visual What and Why Shares information, resources, content, and advice Works together to create; collaborates Supports, encourages, critiques, and guides to new insight or deeper reflection How Provides supplies and resources; offers ideas and materials; gives tips and solutions Brainstorms together; plans together; works together; gives and takes Provides "Wow...

Silvia Tolisano (@langwitches) challenges us in a meme to audit blogs and comments to raise awareness of quality blogging. I'm honored that both Kathleen Morris and Sheri Edwards tagged me in this meme. Here is Silvia's meme challenge : Select a blog post or blog comment to audit (Professional or Student) Take a screenshot or copy and paste the post or comment into your blog post (be sensitive whether you want to reveal any names or references) Include or link to the rubric you use to assess the quality of post or comment Audit the post or comment by describing your train of thought regarding the level of quality you would assess your chosen post or comment Suggest how you would coach the author of audited post or comment to improve Tag (at least) three educators and challenge them to audit a post or comment Leave a comment with the link to your audit post on Langwitches Quality blog posts I created a few variations of checklists as guides for qu...

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...