Enjoying Technology at Home - Learning at Work

I'm sitting at home with the Orange Bowl on TV and the Bear's wrestling match on my computer. We opened with a win; Kevin Tao our state champ from last year beat a tough kid from Kent Meridian. The picture quality was ok, but it was difficult at times to identify the score so I phoned my son who was at the match to make sure of the score. If he brought his lap top or I had my cell phone on me I wouldn't have had to make the phone call. Wow, what a way to watch a good football game (Kansas 17, Virginia Tech 14) while keeping up with the Bear wrestlers. Now we need to find a way for other sports to be video streamed. Do you think there might be a place for this in the classroom?

Earlier today I was able to give some feedback to Teaching and Learning staff from my observations of our early release on Wednesday with middle school and some junior high staff. I was pleased and impressed by the level of engagement of our teachers and the content of the learning opportunities. What became clear for me as we move toward implementing Classroom 10 was the need for us:

• To spend more time with teachers focused on the broader learning embedded in our units. The conversations I observed were more focused on lesson objectives both in unit implementation and unit review situations. The natural tendency is for teachers to want to move to the specific lessons as rapidly as possible. We need to intentionally plan these learning opportunities to also focus on the thinking skills, Habits of Mind, and Outcomes and Indicators that we identify as the major learning focus. Until we make this shift, we can not hold teachers accountable for understanding and implementing Classroom 10 learning. This is especially important when we are first implementing new curriculum.
• To ensure that our curriculum includes assessments that are aligned and measure the broader learnings in each unit. The assessments make the focus more clear and increase the likelihood that the curriculum will be implemented with fidelity, that whole issue of if it is tested it will be taught.

It also once again became clear that we are so fortunate to have quality teachers that care, that have the desire and capacity for continued learning, and that embrace the need for change if we are to provide young people with opportunities for success following their K-12 learning experiences. Add to this the expertise and experience that Nancy and her staff bring to this work, the leadership that principals and teachers have assumed in staff development, and a supportive school board and community and we have the ingredients for a Professional Learning Community to thrive. Oh, one more ingredient, GREAT KIDS!

Enough for now, have a great day.