What a great week it’s been, and today was the icing on the cake. This year, I’ve been facilitating the first phase of a high school business department curriculum redesign. I am blown away by how hard these teachers have worked and by how willing they are to move far outside of their comfort zone. Together, we’ve created three distinct endorsements that high school graduates may work toward as they complete a pathway through the…
I’m not wild about Interactive White Boards. My reasons are fairly simple– we don’t expect young people and teachers to identify their real learning and creative purposes often or early enough, and I question how IWBs facilitate this well. I feel it’s important to begin most learning there, and I have a hunch that when we overlook this, we increase the chances of integrating technology in ways that don’t serve any one very well. So…
The WNY Young Writers’ Studio celebrates its third anniversary this summer! Thinking about joining us but haven’t just yet? Well this year, we’re opening up greater opportunities for you to do so. Studio is not a camp. It isn’t a workshop or an institute either. It is a learning community comprised of teachers and students who have been writing and learning together over time. Many of our fellows have been a part of our program…
Over the last month, several educators (including quite a few in my own network) have launched new communities in Ning. I’m looking forward to joining the conversations that will unfold as others join and connections begin to build. Hope you will add to our learning! Jenny Luca and Jackie Gerstein have launched Students 2.0 and are opening dialogue around the potential for this exciting new space for kids. Heidi Hayes Jacobs has invited everyone to…
I had such a great time tonight. A while back, I was invited to keynote a regional forum of the New York State Middle School Association. I chose to speak about something I feel really passionate about–the possibilities created when our classrooms become communities— and ever since, I’ve been excited and terrified in equal measure. That’s quite a huge topic for the small chunk of time I was provided, after all. And anyway, what would…
Students 2.0 is a new network for young people that will be facilitated in large measure by young people, with a bit of support from some older people who try to remain young at heart ; ). From the ning: Students 2.0 is a network for learners to connect independently with other students and with mentors in order to shape educational paths and experiences which may be outside of traditional institutions. We encourage you to…
This week, several people in my professional learning network have asked me to stream my demo lessons and share more photos of the work that I do inside of schools. Explaining why I can’t do that in 140 characters or less on Twitter is something of a challenge, so for what it’s worth, I’m sharing my thoughts about it here. The truth is, I wrestle with issues regarding transparency and boundaries quite a bit. Sometimes,…
Communities for Learning friends and fellows! I hope you’ll watch Whatever it Takes, a documentary by Christopher Wong that airs on PBS this week. Giselle Martin Kniep and several fellows of our community learn and lead together inside of this school. Looking forward to being inspired!
Hey–there is an interesting conversation taking place over here. I jumped in because the issues raised here are particularly relevant to the work that I….and a whole lot of other people I know…..do. A theme has been emerging from my own learning over the last few years, and Bass digs into it in ways that I respect. He advocates for leading change by beginning with what is. He speaks to a reality that I understand,…
Last week, I had the opportunity to facilitate the first session of WNYLIT, a new forum for literacy leaders in our area, hosted at the Carrier Center in Angola, New York by the fine folks at Erie 2 BOCES (thanks Theresa)! Twenty literacy coaches, administrators, and teachers came together to explore the benefits and challenges of building relationships with those aim to serve. We used a protocol for rich text discussion to explore several pieces…