Happy Friday - I hope everyone had a great four-day week! Fortunately the weather has improved and it seems the heat has finally broken, which has allowed our children (and us) to stay active, alert and engaged throughout the day. Although I hate to see summer go, I do love the weather in the fall - there is nothing better than a cool/crisp morning. With that in mind, I hope everyone has some fun plans for the first weekend of fall. I am flying out to LA on Friday afternoon to host the Bammy Awards on Saturday... then I am taking the red-eye back on Saturday night so I can spend Sunday with Paul... good times!
In other news, I had to share the following piece generated by my dear friend and principal colleague Amber Teamann, who is an incredible educator in the great state of Texas (still love her evn though she is a Cowboys fan). Check out what Amber shared with her staff about meaningful technology integration, which I think is something we are ready to consider based on how successfully we have started integrated technology thus far at Cantiague...
Let's talk SAMR!
Let's not add technology to our classrooms just for the sake of adding technology. That doesn't necessarily IMPACT or REDEFINE student learning, which is our goal! To take it to the next step, we genuinely want to TRANSFORM what we are asking our students to do...if we look at this SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification & Redefinition) model list below, our goal should be to move along this scale - at whatever pace makes the most sense for us and our learners. The purpose is to best meet the learning needs of our children and as such technology is only a means to an end, and not the end itself.
To help clarify even further, check out this great Prezi about what SAMR can look like in school - some amazing stuff to consider!
Substitution
In a substitution level, teachers or students are only using new technology tools to replace old ones, for instance, using Google Docs to replace Microsoft Word. The task ( writing) is the same but the tools are different.
Augmentation
Though it is a different level, we are still in the substitution mentality but this time with added functionalities. Again using the example of Google docs, instead of only writing a document and having to manually save it and share it with others, Google Docs provides extra services like auto saving, auto syncing, and auto sharing in the cloud.
Modification
This is the level where technology is being used more effectively not to do the same task using different tools but to redesign new parts of the task and transform students learning. An example of this is using the commenting service in Google Docs, for instance, to collaborate and share feedback on a given task task.
Redefinition
If you are to place this level in Blooms revised taxonomy pyramid, it would probably correspond to synthesis and evaluation as being the highest order thinking skills.Redefinition means that students use technology to create imperceptibly new tasks. An example of redefinition is when students connect to a classroom across the world where they would each write a narrative of the same historical event using the chat and comment section to discuss the differences, and they use the voice comments to discuss the differences they noticed and then embed this in the class website.
In a substitution level, teachers or students are only using new technology tools to replace old ones, for instance, using Google Docs to replace Microsoft Word. The task ( writing) is the same but the tools are different.
Augmentation
Though it is a different level, we are still in the substitution mentality but this time with added functionalities. Again using the example of Google docs, instead of only writing a document and having to manually save it and share it with others, Google Docs provides extra services like auto saving, auto syncing, and auto sharing in the cloud.
Modification
This is the level where technology is being used more effectively not to do the same task using different tools but to redesign new parts of the task and transform students learning. An example of this is using the commenting service in Google Docs, for instance, to collaborate and share feedback on a given task task.
Redefinition
If you are to place this level in Blooms revised taxonomy pyramid, it would probably correspond to synthesis and evaluation as being the highest order thinking skills.Redefinition means that students use technology to create imperceptibly new tasks. An example of redefinition is when students connect to a classroom across the world where they would each write a narrative of the same historical event using the chat and comment section to discuss the differences, and they use the voice comments to discuss the differences they noticed and then embed this in the class website.
#EDUWINS for the week included...
- Melanie had her children singing the Fight Song in an effort to build stamina and perseverance as readers, which is critical. The children had such a blast singing the song but more importantly they got the message was that sometimes they have to "fight" through a book to finish it as they build stamina.
- Laurie did an awesome activity in the Science lab with fourth graders where she used a slinky to simulate how an earthquake moves, looks and feels. The kids were literally in awe as they watched and based on the activity they completed afterwards, they learned a lot too.
- Our PTA Meeting was an awesome success because we had students from each kindergarten class and fifth grade class come down and kick off the meeting by sharing what it is that they love most about Cantiague. The kids were amazing and they shared things like they make new friends at Cantiague, we are a bully free school and we push kids to think and be creative with things like Genius Hour.
Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this blog post that features 10 Ways Google Classroom Will Make Learning Better!
Blogs Worth Reading...
Parenting, Not For The Moment But For The Long Haul by Jessica Lahey
On Public Shaming and Our Classrooms by Pernille Ripp
Where Do ELLs Fit Into The EdTech Revolution by Jeffrey Knuston
Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Melissa Cerullo who shares her very personal journey with the whole teacher evaluation system in NYS. Thank you Melissa for being so candid and sharing such an important perspective...
SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK...
Monday, September 28
"A" Week
Happy Monday... final one of September!
Tuesday, September 29
Blogs Worth Reading...
Parenting, Not For The Moment But For The Long Haul by Jessica Lahey
On Public Shaming and Our Classrooms by Pernille Ripp
Where Do ELLs Fit Into The EdTech Revolution by Jeffrey Knuston
Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Melissa Cerullo who shares her very personal journey with the whole teacher evaluation system in NYS. Thank you Melissa for being so candid and sharing such an important perspective...
This week I wanted to blog
about my NYS teacher rating from the 2014-2015 school year. As many of
you know, I had a beautiful baby girl on August 23, 2014. As a result, I
took a maternity leave from September-April of last year. I returned to
work the week before the state tests and basically contributed nothing to the
preparation of the students. Christina Garrison did an amazing job and
the kids did really well on the tests. When I returned to work, I was
observed twice, as I expected. The maximum amount of "points"
that I could have received for last year (due to my maternity leave) was 60.
I received 59/60 points and was rated ineffective. I think it is
funny because it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to have attained an effective rating,
being that I was only here for 11 weeks. Wouldn't it have been more
"effective" for the state to not have rated me at all?
That's how broken this
system is. I don't really care about the score anymore as I have been
rated ineffective, highly effective, effective, etc. with drastic changes each
year (when I didn't drastically change my methods of delivering
instruction...another indicator of a broken system), but I almost feel like I'm
being punished by New York State for having a child...a child that will one day
be part of this system that employs and empowers non-educators to make
decisions about education.
SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK...
Monday, September 28
"A" Week
Happy Monday... final one of September!
Tuesday, September 29
Picture Day - follow schedule & be on time!
FEO @ 3pm for all staff - Library
FEO @ 3pm for all staff - Library
Wednesday, September 30
Happy Wednesday!
Thursday, October 1
CST @ 1:20pm
PTA Executive Board Meeting
Gr. 2 Trip
PTA Executive Board Meeting
Gr. 2 Trip
Friday, October 2
Happy TGIF!
Reminders...
- Can YouTube videos be used as part of an informational text study? Something to consider... especially with Gr. 3, 4 & 5!
- Keep spreading the HAPPY around your room!
- Next FEO on 10/6 - Teachers ONLY to Discuss EdCamp (watch this short 2 min video)
- Let's try and avoid HW on the weekends
