We missed a week of instruction in my county this past week. The teachers had Professional Development days on Monday and Tuesday, and then school was canceled the rest of the week because of snow. This is our 5th snow day in January, and I'm hearing more bad weather in the forecast for this week. We seem to be losing so much instruction time this month alone. I also feel like the students have many days off for Professional Development days which makes consistency in learning tough. What can we do to change this? I'm curious what other school districts/counties do for Professional Development. Do you have full days of PD or part of a day? How does your school conduct PD days? I came across an interesting article from The Answer Sheet about a district in Ohio using snow days as e-days. It is interesting, but I wonder if you can incorporate that in a large county versus a small district. Anyway, here is the link to the article. Enjoy!
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/technology/school-district-turns-snow-day.html?wprss=answer-sheet
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Evaluating 21st Century Skills
While exploring the website Partnership for 21st Century Skills, I can understand the need to revamp and update education to incorporate 21st-Century skills. In addition to the core subject knowledge, students must learn essential skills of critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration. The P21 committee is focused on student success in a global economy which means they want students to be successful as citizens and workers in the 21st century.
Quite honestly, I really did not like the way this site was organized and had a little trouble navigating my way through it. If one purpose of this site is to make educators want to become a part of P21, I would think that the first page would be a little more inviting. On the other hand, P21 consists of business community leaders, education leaders, and policy makers. Actually, this makes sense to form an alliance with these groups if we want to prepare our students for the changing business world and the global world. In order to help our students, we must align the classroom environments with real world environments through the three R's and four C's (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration; and creativity and innovation).
This is a federally funded project that was formed in 2002. It is almost 10 years later and still only 15 schools are participating. I am curious to learn about the results/findings they have collected since implementing the program. If it is meant for all of the US, why aren't more schools jumping in?
As a contemporary educator, it is my duty to help my students develop good communication skills, become self-learners/critical thinkers, and work well with others. After all, I am preparing them for the 21st century.
Quite honestly, I really did not like the way this site was organized and had a little trouble navigating my way through it. If one purpose of this site is to make educators want to become a part of P21, I would think that the first page would be a little more inviting. On the other hand, P21 consists of business community leaders, education leaders, and policy makers. Actually, this makes sense to form an alliance with these groups if we want to prepare our students for the changing business world and the global world. In order to help our students, we must align the classroom environments with real world environments through the three R's and four C's (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration; and creativity and innovation).
This is a federally funded project that was formed in 2002. It is almost 10 years later and still only 15 schools are participating. I am curious to learn about the results/findings they have collected since implementing the program. If it is meant for all of the US, why aren't more schools jumping in?
As a contemporary educator, it is my duty to help my students develop good communication skills, become self-learners/critical thinkers, and work well with others. After all, I am preparing them for the 21st century.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
CLASSROOM BLOG
I tried to log onto my blog at school today, and I found out that it was blocked. Boy was I disappointed! I picked this specific blog software because I felt that it was fairly easy to navigate, but I'm frustrated that the school blocks it.
When I think about a use for a blog in the 8th grade computer classroom, I wish I taught a core subject because there are many uses for blogs in English, Science, Social Studies, and even Math. So, I began thinking about my students and the projects they create. Our class discussions are centered around the project they are creating for that week. I do not always hear from all my students, and I certainly get lots of questions when the students are in the midst of creating their projects. It occurred to me that I could create a blog to have discussions based on a specific computer topic or just a general topic. Eventually, we could blog with other computer classes that I teach and then with other schools. I could also use the blog for a reference guide/frequently asked questions about the project that the students are working on. I believe that the blog would help to enhance the lesson because students would be able to collaborate and interact in a different way. I can also use the blog to post assignments for the class. In using blogs, I think that it would help students to express themselves in a different way and open communication between them.
When I think about a use for a blog in the 8th grade computer classroom, I wish I taught a core subject because there are many uses for blogs in English, Science, Social Studies, and even Math. So, I began thinking about my students and the projects they create. Our class discussions are centered around the project they are creating for that week. I do not always hear from all my students, and I certainly get lots of questions when the students are in the midst of creating their projects. It occurred to me that I could create a blog to have discussions based on a specific computer topic or just a general topic. Eventually, we could blog with other computer classes that I teach and then with other schools. I could also use the blog for a reference guide/frequently asked questions about the project that the students are working on. I believe that the blog would help to enhance the lesson because students would be able to collaborate and interact in a different way. I can also use the blog to post assignments for the class. In using blogs, I think that it would help students to express themselves in a different way and open communication between them.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Google docs
I am still a little uncomfortable about posting--I feel like I won't be able to write what I want to say. Some people really have a way with words. Anyway, last evening my husband was talking about a meeting he had earlier in the day with the other members of his team (he is in sales). He mentioned to the group that it would be great to have one document that they could share showing Dr.'s names, staff working there, location, etc. One of his team members suggested Google docs as a way to do this. Ok, now I was impressed. I have been thinking about incorporating this into my classroom, but I'm not sure where to start. I emailed another teacher today who suggested using it as a spreadsheet--one of the areas we cover in class. So, I'm excited to begin learning how to use Google Docs. If anyone uses or has used Google Docs, can you suggest a good way to begin. Looking forward to trying it soon.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Welcome to my blog!
As we hear more about 21st century skills and what students need to be able to do, I wonder how education will change within the next few years. With the integration of Web 2.0 can we help students grow as learners while being critical thinkers, collaborators, and creative thinkers. Please feel free to share some Web 2.0 tools or new skills you share with your students.
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