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Exciting NEW Course Empowering Learners: Creating Flexible Thinkers

Empowering Learners: Creating Flexible Thinkers

Learning how to learn in this fast-paced world are skills that everyone needs today. Join Meg Ormiston for this five-part professional learning series created for practicing educators navigating the future of learning to develop flexible thinkers. This is an asynchronous workshop start when you want and work at your own pace. There are five videos with three discussion questions in each and additional resource collection.

Session #1 Learning How to Learn

Learners are empowered to create their learning path to the agreed-upon standards, and they create, organize, and share digital artifacts demonstrating what they know and can do. Individuals and groups create authentic models and projects and communicate this to a broader community.

  1. Balancing Structures and Freedom at the Local Level While Collaborating Globally
  2. Flexible Thinking and Production
  3. Communicating the Learning Journey Using Media

 

Session #2 Seeking Knowledge Online and Off

Learners become knowledge seekers and computational thinkers as they explore the world around them. Validating the information they find from multiple sources is critical for current and future learners living in a global society. 

  1. Identifying Trusted Sources of Information
  2. Seeking Experts as Primary Sources of Information
  3. Teaching and Learning From the Community Near and Far

Session #3 Project Management Fundamentals

Learners at every level need to learn how to learn and manage their time successfully. Learners need to be guided and coached on how to manage complex tasks by setting manageable goals. Life-long learning is a balancing act that everyone needs to practice. 

  1. Organizing and Planning Tasks within Projects
  2. Juggling Personal Goals with Group Expectations
  3. Publishing Individual and Group Work

Session #4 Reflecting and Goal Setting

Setting goals and reflecting on progress are essential skills for everyone, but do we teach learners how to manage their progress and reorganize their path to success. Outside of schooling, acceleration and remediation happen naturally as learners discover gaps in their knowledge and need to backtrack for answers.

Learners celebrate their success by sharing artifacts and projects beyond the walls of the classroom.

  1. Creating, Tracking, and Refining Individual and Group Goals
  2. Acceleration and Remediation as Needed Based on Assessments and Feedback
  3. Communicating Successes and Challenges to Stakeholders

Session #5 Technology NOW

We can help create flexible thinkers as they ubiquitously move between technology tools and apps. Learners need experience with a wide range of technology tools to help craft a toolkit of resources they are comfortable using. Digital portfolios show what learners know and can are evidence of learning.

  1. Using Real-World Technology Tools to Manage Communication and Collaboration
  2. Technology Tools for ALL Learners
  3. Creating a Visual Representation of Growth Using Technology Tools
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All Five Books Have Been Published!

Time to celebrate, all the #NOW Classrooms books have arrived! I spent the morning yesterday racing around to deliver the 9-12 books to three high schools in the Chicago area. Once the books arrived each of the schools did some type of surprise for my five co-authors. It was so fun to watch Twitter to see the surprises. Here are a few pictures. 

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NOW Classrooms at Learning Forward 2017 in Orlando

I’m thrilled to present a session with co-authors Dr. Jamie Reilly and Cathy Fisher next week in Orlando Florida. This is the first presentation about the NOW Classrooms book series and we are excited to share what we learned on the journey! Learning Forward is a fantastic organization focused on the best practices for professional learning in education. Follow the excitement on Twitter!

This is the session we will be presenting Monday afternoon from 2:30-4:30.

1411 — Excellent Teaching Everyday Showcased on the District Hashtag

Ramp up content on your social media channels! Hear how a district team, nurturing a culture of continuous improvement, created collaborative classrooms purposefully using technology for teaching and learning. Hear how a districtwide hashtag, #D60Learns, empowers staff to share excellent teaching and learning every day. Leave this session with your district’s plan for successfully celebrating teaching and learning in your community.
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Book Reviews are Starting to Roll In!

NOW Classrooms, Grades 3-5: Lessons for Enhancing Teaching and Learning Through Technology (Supporting ISTE Standards for Students and Digital Citizenship) Released September 29, 2017

by Meg Ormiston (Author), Sheri DeCarlo (Author), Sonya Raymond  (Author), Grace Kowalski  (Author), Justin Gonzalez (Author)

Order yours today!

“NOW Classrooms, Grades 3-5 is a simplistic tool for all elementary educators wanting meaningful and relevant strategies of engaging students in their learning through the use of technology. Rather than organizing and sharing ideas of how to use a tool, NOW Classrooms, Grades 3-5 authors share effective strategies to learn how to focus on the skills and content of the lesson and how technology will enhance that learning. Having examples of model lessons, NOW Classrooms, Grades 3-5 is a valuable tool for any elementary technology specialist coaching educators in the school.” —Nichole Allmann, Technology Integration Specialist, Columbia, South Carolina

“The text provides readers and coaches with practical, ready-to-implement technology integration ideas that emphasize instructional decisions rather than technology tools. In addition to sample lessons, teacher tips and tech tips sidebars prepare teachers to consider common stumbling blocks before presenting a lesson, making first-time implementation more successful and meaningful. In addition to providing sample lessons and applicable integration tips, the text sets a standard of student empowerment with a positive urgency to create a more authentic learning environment for students today. The lessons in the text are appropriately differentiated for both student and teacher comfort levels regarding technology integration and are device and content neutral. Any content-area teacher working with any devices will benefit from the examples shared in the text. The book provides supports to ensure teachers consider instructional goals first and technology integration second. By emphasizing data-informed instruction with an emphasis on instructional practice, student learning outcomes always remain at the center.” —Brady Venables, Technology Integration Specialist, Columbia, South Carolina

“I believe NOW Classrooms, Grades 3-5 can be an invaluable resource for teachers of many levels of technological ability. It provides great guidance as well as inspiration for how to integrate technology into their lessons. I believe that these lessons embrace the SAMR model and help to move the integration of technology and tools forward for our students. Additionally, the sidebar tips would be very helpful for adapting the lessons if the devices or programs varied by classroom.” —Amy Tong, Instructional Technologist, Azle, Texas

Leadership Book

NOW Classrooms, Leader’s Guide: Enhancing Teaching and Learning Through Technology (A School Improvement Plan for the 21st Century) Released October 13, 2017

Order yours today!

by Meg Ormiston (Author), Cathy Fisher (Author), Jamie Reilly (Author), Courtney Orzel (Author), Jordan Garrett (Author), Robin Bruebach (Author), Steve M. Griesbach (Author), Becky Fischer (Author)

“I found this book incredibly timely and practical to help schools and districts move from deploying technology to developing a plan to transform student learning. The Why, What, How, and Then What are critically important to creating a growth mindset for educators as well as students.” —Eric Ferguson, Director of Instructional Technology, Bellevue School District, Bellevue, WA

“Leveraging relevant K-12 advice and intuitive frameworks to build on, NOW Classrooms, Leader’s Guide is a must-read for anyone in classroom technology leadership. This book can easily become a foundational guide in any institution looking for innovative approaches to teaching and learning.” —Chris Cummings, Director of Information Technology, Klein Independent School District, Klein, TX

 

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Starting a New Year: Focus on Learning

Typically the start of a new school year marks the implementation of new technology. In some schools, iPads or Chromebooks are introduced for the very first time. Organizations who have equipment might be readying to add new software, or have just trimmed down what was once a long list. It is important to make sure that, whatever the case may be, that student learning remains front and center.

In order to keep the focus on learning, it is important that the district’s plan for technology be based upon learning outcomes and a model that supports that vision. There are two models districts can use to put the learning first: the SAMR Model and TPACK.

The SAMR Model was developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura. SAMR is an acronym for Substitution, Augementation, Modification, and Redefinition.  It is designed to provide guidance for teachers to integrate technology in a way that cialis en france will support student learning at the highest levels. Similarly, it is designed to help teachers identify the best method for integrating technology.

source: http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog

TPACK, or the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, framework inter-weaves the three forms for knowledge to help teachers utilize these intersections to integrate technology. Whether it be student demographics, teacher proficiency, or available technology, every situation is unique so each combination of the three forms meets a different need.  Due to the complexity and overlapping nature of this framework, it represents an amalgam of work completed by many researchers.

 

source: http://www.tpack.org

Districts should explore each option and compare them to other driving factors such as strategic plans and belief statements about instructional technology. This can help bring to light the option that fits best. Then, it is important to train staff on the selected model to ensure it can be applied appropriately, no matter what technology is made available to teachers and students.

by Becky Fischer

Dir. of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment Skokie School District 73 1/2  @beckylynfischer

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