Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

I just read this article by Eric Patnoudes  entitled "Beyond the Silver Bullet: Making 1:1 Matter" .  As a parent and former teacher, Eric's basically was saying that all the technology in the world and 1:1 initiatives will fail in the classroom if teachers are not provided with the training and support they need to CHANGE their practice. Professional development needs to go beyond how to use the technology and be more about how to teach with the technology in ways that are different and more appropriate for the technology. Using the same old 20th century teaching practices with new technologies is doomed to failure. Couldn't agree more. My last post speaks to this as well - not only do we need to analyze and plan for WHAT technologies are appropriate, but we need to plan and provide continued training and support to ensure the technology purchased is being used to change teaching and support learning. In my research regarding implementing technology effectively ...

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA)  just released a paper analyzing states' policies in regards to digital materials acquisitions & implementations, along with their recommendations. You can find the report & summary here In the report, they outline Next Steps: a) Essential Conditions for successful acquisition & implementation; b) suggestions for making the procurement process transparent and easy to navigate; c) the need for strategic short & long-term budgeting; and d) and suggestions for the states to guide schools & districts on best practices for adoption, implementation and vetting of digital resources. You can read the more detailed descriptions of these four "Next Steps" recommended by SETDA here . While reading the report and the next steps suggestions, it reminded me of my own research about technology acquisition and implementation. I have done several blog posts directly related to technology implementation ...

I am tired of the #CommonCore bashing, so I am just going to start writing some posts about things I have learned that have helped me realize how powerful and SUPPORTIVE of student learning these standards and practices can be. Don't get me wrong - I never needed to be convinced that the Common Core State Standards for Math (CCSSM) were a good thing for math education.  I cheered their adoption because to me, these standards supported what I had been practicing and preaching, both as a teacher and a professional development provider. But - even though I have spent the last several years studying and coaching others in implementing the Common Core in a variety of ways, I just recently learned more to solidify, for me, their power. It was sort of an ah-ha moment: if I, who consider myself very familiar with the CCSSM, just learned something new, imagine how those who have spent little, if any, time with these standards (i.e. parents, news reporters, politicians) could benefit fro...

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted!  Lord - obviously my life is a lot busier than I thought, and I thought it was pretty busy. Alright, let's get to it. Last year I did an entire series on hybrid professional development centered around teaching mathematics with technology and the Common Core, with specific use of Sketchpad as the technology tool (series listed at the bottom of this post).  It was a really exciting experience for me, and one that I have to say has sort of become my mantra - long term, supportive PD that provides time, practice, support, and collaboration using both a face-to-face and online component. Time is a key factor here - long-term, slow integration of technology into instructional practice where the focus is on how knowledge of the technology, the content being taught, and teaching strategies work together to provide learning experiences that help students.  For those of you in the know, this is TPACK - Technological, Pedagog...

I found this very interesting TED talk this morning by Daphne Koller from Stanford University. She speaks about the power of online learning to reach thousands of people who otherwise do not have access to education opportunities, as well as the capabilities of the online learning environment. Coursera is the social entrepreneurship company she helped develop that works with the universities to sponsor the courses she is referencing. Koller gives a great argument for using technology to not only reach more students, but provide personalized curriculum and feedback and expand the creativity and thinking of students via the online environment. Online learning can bring active learning and formative assessment and ignite student creativity and learning rather than just giving them information.  Her approach is that universities should be providing this content free so that anyone can change their lives, expand their minds, and make the world a better place. While listening to her, ...

I read this article yesterday by Andrew Ujifusa entitled New Tests Put States on Hot Seat as Scores Plunge . Basically, states that have implemented new standardized tests to address revised academic standards, such as the Common Core State Standards, have seen a drop in student scores, so panic has ensued. What I want to know is: has no one ever heard about the implementation dip? Whenever you try to implement something new, there is going to be a period of adjustment, scores will go down if we are talking tests, classroom behaviors will change and achievement will go down if new teaching strategies are being implemented - in short, any time you try something new, it is NOT going to go exactly as planned!  Mistakes will happen, things will be bad before they get better - it's part of the whole change process.  Which is why we need to be implementing changes slowly, early, and over time so that things that go wrong can be adjusted. Image from images.google.com What ...

Last week was a crazy, hectic and tiring week at both the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM)  and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) conferences. I mentioned these conferences in my most recent post , which sad to say was over a week ago. The conferences, from a vendor perspective, are a lot of set-up, talking, preparing for big events we host, preparing for presentations I was doing, and just being constantly ready for the next day, which comes pretty quick after a 12-14 hour day of working! If you want a great perspective, read Karen Coe's blog Behind the Scenes at NCSM and NCTM . Despite the long hours, the sore feet, the loss of my voice, my overall feeling from both conferences was that they were both great events, and that it was both gratifying and encouraging to meet, talk with, and hear what math educators are doing in the 'real-world' to engage their students. Which leads me to my title - are conferences such as NCSM and ...

No surprise, but I am inspired to write after another great online, live professional development collaboration on Twitter with the weekly #Edchat group.  For anyone who is new at using Twitter as a means of professional development, #Edchat is a great way to get started - every Tuesday at 11 am CDT.  Just reading the conversation thread is informative, even if you don't respond yourself.  Great ideas from a wide mix of educators. Today's topic was "If collaboration is high on everyones list as a needed skill; how do we work it into every aspect of our education system?"   There were lots of suggestions and questions - a true collaboration, where everyone contributed their thoughts, their strategies, asked great questions, all to further the discussion and work towards some solutions.  Not get a solution , but work towards strategies that can get things started, since there really isn't just one solution - every situation is different and what works in one pla...

Just a short post today to provide some feedback from my most recent face-to-face with my two blended PD cohorts. Last posting I discussed the focus, listed here: Lesson Five: Provide suggestions and examples of taking the activities/content of the professional development and modifying (adding to, deleting from, etc.) to meet the diverse needs of their students. By helping teachers consider how the activities might need to be altered to differentiate for students, you provide them with power and control over what they are learning, and help them make the PD learning and content their own. Things went pretty well - we had our customary share out at the beginning, where there was some nice conversation and suggestions for helping integrate Sketchpad into lessons. There were some teachers who shared really fun experiences with their students and then some teachers are experiencing real frustration with trying to integrate the technology into their classrooms, from classroom manage...

This week I meet for the fifth face-to-face with my two Sketchpad cohorts. It's only been 3 weeks since our last face-to-face meeting and it is also the beginning of their spring break, so planning for this week has been interesting, since I know their minds will be elsewhere! As I posted in last weeks online community development posting (part 4) , the teachers have really begun to think about student needs as they consider using Sketchpad and the Common Core Standards, so I want to continue to foster that in our face-to-face meeting.  As I did last time, I had participants make suggestions of content/topics they wished to focus on in this weeks face-to-face. Our content focus, based on their input, will be on learning some more about the multiple-representational capabilities of Sketchpad as well as some of the animation capabilities. In addition to teacher input as I planned, I also really wanted to think about addressing student needs, since in their online discussion for...

There has been a lot of focus on professional development for teachers in light of all the new technology, 1:1 initiatives, Common Core Standards...the list goes on. It's definitely a concern because in order for anything new or different to be effective in the classroom, teachers need training and practice. Which of course has many schools and districts in a bind since everyone is also in the midst of budget constraints. The question then is how do we pay for the necessary professional development when we don't have the money to do so? One answer is look within - good professional development doesn't have to cost money.  There are ways to utilize the resources in your own building or district and get quality professional development.  All that's really required is a little time, effort and commitment. Having been both a teacher, administrator, and now a provider of professional development, I have had a wide range of experiences with professional development and th...

 Five weeks goes so much faster than expected! It's already time for me to do my next face-to-face workshops with my two cohorts in my hybrid/blended professional development. I will say I feel more excited than usual about the workshops because I really have a connection to these teachers now, something I don't often get to experience in my position.  Usually, I am in and out in a couple of hours, or a day or a few days, but with these two groups, we've been together, physically and virtually, going on five months.  I definitely think it's making what I have to offer and what they have to offer so much more connected and personal because we have had time to work through things, change things....time is not something that is often given in PD and it's been rewarding. Here's a quick recap of previous 'lessons' from the prior 3 face-to-face workshops: Lesson One: Begin a professional development experience assessing the background skills of participa...

I just spent last week with the teachers I have been working with for the last three months on my hybrid/blended PD (my most recent post in the series was Feedback (Part 3) on Hybrid PD ).  I also spent the last part of the week at the Texas Computer Education Association 2012 conference in Austin, TX, where I met with myriad of teachers from all different disciplines and talked about technology and mathematics. In both experiences, I was surrounded by teachers excited about technology, excited about using technology, and teachers who were so excited to engage and provide opportunities for their students to get their hands on learning, whether it be mathematics, science, social studies or English. But...what I also heard was frustration about their ability and access to provide those experiences to their students due to such mundane things as the software not being downloaded on the computers, or the sites they want to go to being blocked by the school firewalls. This had me thin...

In my most recent post in my hybrid/blended PD series, Planning for Hybrid PD (part 3) - Make it Relevant , I was about to embark on my 3rd face-to-face meeting with the teachers. I have met with the groups and have to say, I think relevancy was definitely the thing to focus on, for two reasons. 1) After almost 3 months working together, with 2 previous face-to-face meetings and 2 online components, the teachers are feeling comfortable with each other and really willing to voice their frustrations, ask for help or ideas, and share strategies. 2) They feel much more comfortable with the software themselves and are actually thinking of how it could work with their students, so they are want lessons that fit what they teach, since that's an easier stretch as they try something new. How did these two reasons fit into my goal for this third face-to-face meeting of making it relevant?  As I said previously Lesson Three: Make the activities and learning relevant to the teachers every-d...

This week is my third face-to-face set of meetings with the two groups of teachers I have been embarking with in the hybrid, or blended, professional development journey. We are focused on learning and integrating dynamic mathematics into math instruction using The Geometer's Sketchpad . We are just coming off our 2nd online unit, about to start our 3rd cycle.  This particular online unit was significantly shorter (3 weeks) compared to the first one (5 weeks), so a much quicker turn-around (my feedback on that can be found in my last online community posting). In my first two parts of this series on blended learning, I went into each face-to-face workshop with specific lesson or goal to focus on: From Planning for Hybrid PD (Part 1): Lesson One: Begin a professional development experience assessing the background skills of participants.Ensure they are given the necessary tools, starting points, and resources to feel comfortable with what they are going to be doing, see the ...

Just completed my second round of face-to-face workshops with my two cohorts I am doing my blended learning professional development with on Sketchpad and technology integration in mathematics. In my previous postings ( Planning for Hybrid PD , Follow Up Day 1, follow Up Day 2, Online Community Part 1 , Planning for Hybrid PD Part 2 ), I have been documenting this professional development experience, sharing my planning process as well as what has been happening in the face-to-face and online components as these groups move forward.  The ultimate goal by the end of this process is that these teachers have not only learned the software, but more importantly, have learned  to integrate Sketchpad into classroom instruction to help their students learn mathematics in an engaging way that improves student understanding and achievement in mathematics.  This week we met face-to-face after teachers had a month+ online to try some activities on their own to help lea...