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Today is our last Collaboration Coach Meeting of the school year, and we're celebrating all they've accomplished at their sites. Collaboration Coaching is modeled after the research-based Microsoft Peer Coaching Program , developed by the Peer-Ed Team . The training focuses on coaching and collaboration skills; best practices in lesson design and instruction; and, technology integration and engaging practices. Collaboration Coaching fosters an environment where it is safe to take risks to try innovative practices, to engage students in critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity. This shift is occurring more rapidly because teachers have ongoing professional development by having someone they trust, a Collaboration Coach, who is just down the hall or right next door. Coaching Chronicles There are six fantastic "Coaching Chronicles" inside this Prezi created by the coaches at each of the schools sharing their "story" of 21st cent...

Digital storytelling is a first person story, where the narrator is digitally sharing his or her story; while a digital story is narrated in third person and shared digitally. Both can include imagery, background music, or motion. They also incorporate storyboarding, writing a script, revising, and publishing (the elements of writing). Benefits Here are some of the many benefits of digital storytelling and digital stories: The 21st century skills and ISTE's NETS applied are critical and creative thinking; written, oral, and digital communication; collaboration; authentic learning; digital fluency; informational fluency; and project management. It is great differentiation for all students including ELL, gifted, and special needs. It increases student engagement in a meaningful and relevant task . It can be used as an authentic assessment. Common Core Standards Many specific content standards ca...

How does a teacher start to use iPads in the classroom? While Part 1 focuses on the hardware basics, Part 2 focuses on iPad integration in the classroom. Most teachers need to think through a few things about implementation before going full throttle. iPad management When I think about introducing a class to something new, I recall the lesson learned in my first year of teaching when I handed out geoboards for the first time. After reflecting, I came to the realization that I need a plan in place for handing out and collecting the resources; to have a procedure for getting students' attention; to discuss the appropriate use; and, to give them time to explore and play in the beginning so I could expect their attention after they got their curiosity fed. Those lessons learned apply to iPad management as well. Here's a post that explores those tips, and below is a checklist to help. Click here to view enlarged image. iPad integration There are many apps for the i...

How does a teacher start to use iPads in the classroom? This post will include the basics for getting started. Part 1 focuses on the hardware fundamentals, while Part 2 focuses on iPad integration in the classroom. Hardware basics Turning on / off the iPad : Hold the sleep button for five seconds until you see the apple appear on the screen to turn it on. To power down, hold the sleep button for five seconds, then  "slide to power off." Putting the iPad to sleep : Press the sleep button . To wake it up, press either the sleep button or the home button . Use this feature to save the battery or to have students' full attention. Open an app : Tap once on the app you would like to open. If it is not on the first page, you can swipe through the pages with your finger to look for it. If you have many apps/pages, then tap the home button on the first screen of apps to access the search field to type in the app's name. Typing : The onscreen keyboard app...

The Common Core ELA Writing Standard 8 requires students to navigate the Internet for research and evaluate the validity of the sites to support their claims. The introduction to this starts in Kindergarten and progresses each year. Furthermore, Common Core Writing Standard 7 has students conduct research projects, utilizing multiple sources. Therefore, students must be taught how to dig into the Internet to search, assess the validity of the site(s), and support their claims . Basics to Googling Digging into Google by Tracy Watanabe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License . Students can also use the Advanced Search to narrow down the results by clicking on the gear icon (currently located in the top right corner of the search results page). Other lessons, posters, and tips for teaching students to search the Internet are: Google Search Education Lesson Plans (differentiated for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels) Google...

Research shows that vocabulary acquisition plays a huge role in student learning, therefore requires attention in the classroom. With the shifts of the Common Core , students need to spend time learning both Tier 2 and Tier 3 words in a variety of ways. Reading more text exposes students to more words and phrases. Students learn vocabulary in multiple contexts through multiple connections. By interacting with vocabulary, students absorb the word's meaning and learn to appropriately use it in a variety of contexts ( Common Core Appendix A ). Below are a few ways to promote active engagement while interacting with vocabulary. Increasing word choice or Tier 2 words with word clouds Word Clouds are fantastic for checking word choice and targeting Tier 2 words. Students can copy and paste their written work into a word cloud maker such as Wordle or Tagul . Words used most frequently are larger than words used less often.   ...

It's an honor to announce four of our AJUSD members and several of those I nominated have been shortlisted as finalists for several Edublog Awards . Voting is open until 11:59 pm (USA Eastern Standard Time) on Sunday, December 9th. You can vote once a day, for as many categories as you want. Only one vote will count per day, per IP address. For those at AJUSD, that means only one vote counts from the district network, so please vote from home. Here's how to vote: 1) Go to the Edublog Awards Voting Page . 2) Use the drop down menu to select your category and choice. Then press vote . Below are the voting categories and blogs of our AJUSD people and friends. Take some time to explore their blogs and what they contribute to education. Best Class Blog : Fraher's Class and Friends (AJUSD teacher) ; Mrs. Yollis' Class Blog ; 4km and 4kj ; Mr. Salsich's Class Blog ; and Mr. Avery's Classroom Blog .   Best Student Blog : Thinking About (AJUSD s...