Lit Circles

Please read The Dot by Peter Reynolds on Tumblebooks.

You can access Tumblebooks from our Destiny page: http://destiny.k12.hi.us

user name: halekula
password: eagles

We will do activities based on this book when you come to "class" tomorrow.

Equipment or Application?

Our hope is that students' engagement and achievement will improve with more technology in the classroom.

We have the equipment, now we need to provide opportunities for students to develop proficiency with the equipment:

• Do students use technology as a tool for communication, research, and creation of new works?
• Do students evaluate and use digital tools and resources that match the work they are doing?
• Do students find relevant and reliable sources that meet their needs?
• Do students take risks and try new things with tools available to them?
• Do students, independently and collaboratively, solve problems as they arise in their work?
• Do students use a variety of tools correctly and efficiently

This is an excerpt from the National Council for Teachers Framework for the 21st Century Curriculum and Assessment. Take a peek at the complete document by clicking the title of this posting.

ePals

This site has many possibilities: standards-based lessons, cool links, and collaborative opportunities.

An example of a habitat unit:
http://www.epals.com/projects/info.aspx?DivID=Habitat_overview

Goals

What are your goals for your students by the end of next school year?

Our vision and goals remain, but how will we integrate 21st Century skills into our teaching and learning?

Making Connections

Thank you for posting your comments on the blog.

While we are excited to embark on this journey together, your postings show that you have some questions or even slight trepidations. Each of us brings strengths to the PLC based on our previous experiences, yet each of us has a need to learn more and a willingness to learn from each other. This collaborative environment will help us search for answers and troubleshoot together.

Your comments remind us we need to integrate technology purposefully. You are already thinking about how to structure your classroom physically and how to establish classroom management so students know the expectations--so they can be independent, ethical users of technology.

Curriculum drives our instruction--this is where we are now, examining our benchmarks, making curriculum connections, establishing a project-based curriculum that infuses technology into all aspects of learning.

One form of information gathering you might use with your students is an online survey. I have used one online, free resource to show how you could check for understanding, gauge comfort levels, and gather input.

Click Here to take survey

Questions

Do we stay with the same curriculum that the rest of the grade level has?

What do we envision SPED involvement--pullout or inclusion?

How will we involve parents?

Will these students move from tech class 2, to tech class 3 etc?

RTI?

How will we monitor the students' use of computers? (Ethical use)

Are there schools doing this now that we can partner with?

When can we meet as a PLC?

Drafting the Digital Classroom

So much to consider...what hopes, concerns, questions do you have after today's session?

Post a reflection. Later, visit the blog to read what your peers wrote and post a comment. We can continue our discussion online, at our own convenience.

Please post and comment prior to our next session.