Nocking the Arrow

We are one week from Digital Learning Day! -   02.06.13  ( Yes PHS Pirates, we are a participating school! ) What is Digital Learning? "Digital learning is any instructional practice that effectively uses technology to strengthen a student's learning experience. Much more than "online learning," digital learning encompasses a wide spectrum of tools and practice, digital learning emphasizes high-quality instruction and provides access to challenging content, feedback through formative assessment, opportunities for learning anytime and anywhere, and individualized instruction to ensure all students reach their full potential to succeed in college and a career." What are the characteristics of Digital Learning? Personalized & flexible Led by supported teachers & students Collaborative & aligned to a collective vision Flexible, high quality resources Data-driven, transparent, and ongoing Authentic learning & authentic audience...

My younger brother and I weren't the most destructive kids on our block, but we did have our moments of mischief and mishaps. It was through these occasional errors in judgement that we developed a self-defense response called, " I don't know ." Even in the event of being caught red-handed, we habitually broke out the " I don't know " shield. Trouble was, this answer was never acceptable to our parents. Not only was it considered the wrong answer, it in fact, only seemed to make matters worse for us.  ( We will discuss the merits of rewards and punishments in a future post. ) Like Bill Cosby hilariously suggests, maybe we were just " brain damaged ". As a practicing educator for the past 20+ years, I still, on occasion, get accused of having brain damage. While this may contain some truth, one thing I have most-certainly learned as a result of spending practically my entire life in school is... " I don't know " is not only a ...

The spark for this topic came from an institute day conversation with a group of my high school teacher colleagues.  I needed a "real-world" example to support my presentation on "Connected Learning".  I also wanted to weave in the concepts of "student inquiry", "problem-based learning", and "passion-based learning".   No small task for a fifty minute professional development session. My analogous story begins in the north woods of Minnesota about 45 years ago.  This is where my mother and my grandfather taught me how to fish for sunfish and bluegill from our dock on Lake Maud. Even though I was only three or four years old, I quickly learned to set up my own fishing pole, bait my own hooks, cast the line, and safely remove the fish.  My brother and I would spend our summer afternoons catching and releasing hundreds of pan fish - we would also keep and clean a few dozen for grandma's famous Friday night fish fries.  That was t...

Last week, I summarized our high school students' impressions and experiences as active participants our 1:1 pilot.  Half-way through year one, here's what our pilot teachers are saying about learning and teaching in this 1:1 environment with iPads. Achievements & Advances Student organization is improved after our teachers provided tips and strategies for file storage and management.  Our 1:1 classes are almost completely paperless. Student accountability for work is improved.  The excuses for lost materials are minimized since the iPad is the work "container".  Missing class is no longer an excuse for not submitting work.  The students are able to keep in contact with their teachers and classmates, and their work is submitted electronically. Teachers have recorded improved attendance in the 1:1 classes over the traditional classes. It took a few days for teachers and students to get comfortable with the technology.  It took a few weeks for ...