PLC Day Reflection

Here I am reflecting on a Friday night at 5:00pm... I know its crazy, but I cannot stop thinking about our PLC day today and my PLC for next year. I have learned so much over the past year both proffessionally and personally! I have a lot of new technological ideas to implement into my curriculum, as well as many new found reasons to use technology and project based learning that I had not thought of in the past.

Where to go with all of this for next year?

That is the big question we all have on our minds- Im sure...!
At this point in my thought process I am thinking of several different roads to take, some of which include: creating parallel tasks, reader's response, writer's workshop, differentiated centers, project based learning, and ways to improve our students assessment scores...... Im trying to figure out a way that I can combine all of this into one awesome overall idea!

Thoughts?

I would really love to use project-based learning in my classroom next year with a reader's/writer's workshop approach toward instruction (using differentiated centers and parallel tasks) and hoping that with this approach to teaching my students test scores will improve...??

Thats where I stand today

- its truley been a great learning experience and I am in shock that this year is coming to an end. I had a great PLC team this year and while I am sad that we will probably go our seperate ways next year to meet our own individual needs.... I am confident that we will remain the "G" team and continue to share ideas with eachother and continue to challenge eachothers thinking.

Thank you to a great team this year! I've learned a lot and you have all helped to make my first year teaching a great success!

Also a big thank you to our administration for allowing us the opportunity to grow as educators- we are lucky to have a group of people leading our school district that care soooo much about their teachers and students!~

Recorded PLC Session

Live Stream of Session

Live video by Ustream

Presentation Day

So, here it is! We've collaborated on how to approach the presentation, met extra times after school to finalize our thoughts, finished up our own Glogs, have the group Glog printed for the Learning Fair, and have a plan for sharing what we've learned with others during the Session.  We can't wait.  We're going to even try a live stream of our 30 min presentation using USTREAM.  Check out our Glog below and what we're each going to focus on, but be sure to check out the live stream in our next post! 

Initiating Change

For our final PLC meeting we were able to have one last virtual meeting with Rob Griffith, social studies teacher at Hinsdale Central School, and be inspired by his approach in the classroom.  He focuses on student needs and building relationships, not technology.  While utilizing Project Based Learning, his students have been immersed in a cooperative and connected classroom.  Many of the projects are highlighted on the classroom blog, transPARENTSsee.  He shared with us the project his students were currently working on together and how certain tasks were assigned to ensure participation from all involved: manager, facilitator, reporter, and challenger.  Mr. Griffith inspires students to think, create, and present in today's digital world.

Rob is initiating change not only in his classroom, but in various areas.  His morning message at HCS has been a challenge to those in the district.  Educational sites and tools are being viewed for their educational potential and are now open for all to learn with.  His professional blog MyEduNotions shares his educational musings.  Rob has been presenting at educational technology conferences to share his students successes.  Inspiring others around him to do the same, we appreciated his encouraging words that will assist in our team's efforts in Teaching4Tomorrow.    

Make it An Adventure!

  

During our PLC meeting on Friday, we were able to meet with Jason Schrage.  He had a trail mix of all sorts of ideas, tools, and successful strategies to share with us that he's implemented into his 8th grade social studies classroom at Horseheads Middle School.   His tech point-of-view involves... Hands-on experiences -> reflect and share - mix in tech components + so much more! In other words, get outside and do something.  Then come back to the classroom to reflect and share.  The sharing aspect would be where the technology comes into the equation. 

Since he knew we were focusing on Skype connections this year, he recommended using Read Across America as he and his wife had done to celebrate the day!  How can you connect your readers on March 2nd?  Next year, be sure to check out Read Across the Planet.  His class also participated in Reading for the Record on Twitter last year to see how many could participate in reading the same book.

Face to face conversations are essential, but to take it further through hands-on projects.  Often says to his students - Here's your goal, here's a flip cam, do it.  Excited and nervous students get to approach a fun project with a major creative component.  Mr. Schrage wants to make his student's learning "sticky"! 

Lego Project - part of Industrial Industry Unit - assembly line/race - hands-on element to take concept further

WWII - Teach-In Day /Wiki - community involvement - teams of students interview w/ snowball mic and cameras

VoiceThread - Study Task - PLN added tips and tricks to the students, rest was to guide in test prep

Skype/Remote Response/IWB - old multiple-choice state test ?s/competition format w/ another class

Perfect Quiz - Toolbox Pro - take a quiz unlimited # of times - perfect practice

Compass Course - flag markers w/ numbers and content-based questions/clues

Gaggle - Filtered email

StudyBoost - using IM and text messaging to study

So, get up and get moving, keep your objective in sight, guide your students through content with alternative gear, grab your backpack of tech tools, get creative, and embark on the hike!

A Close-Knit Classroom

Last month, our PLC team was able to learn from Andrew Kauffman, a third grade teacher and technology in education explorer from Indiana.  He shared with us some of the projects and initiatives that have proved to be successful.  Mr. Kauffman's classroom is a caring environment mixed with innovative strategies where kids love to learn. 

First, he explained how his students have used Marzano's approah with VoiceThread to have a conversation about what a word really means.  They use the tech tool to create a definition.  Andrew also explained how it could be done in reverse with student-created pictures and play guess the word and have a reason to back up your guess. 

Brain Pop has become the basis for classroom discussions, as the videos can be paused and turned into conversation starters.  The supplemental activites are wonderful and as he put it, "cement the learning" more. 

Andrew's one reading group is designing a comic strip and writing the script to correspond with a book they've read.  They've been able to contact the author and will be sending it to him.  What a neat way to get kids excited about reading! 

This year he's been able to create a caring classroom environment through knitting.  His class started a kidblog and have been learning from a local store owner.  According to Mr. Kauffman, "They have done amazing things in terms of relationships and students helping students, it's built a classroom community that is quite a bit stronger."

Another resource he recommended was utilizing PBS's free teacher resources.  The video clips and lessons have alligned with the standards that his district follows.

Thank you Mr. Kauffman for inspiring us to go beyond the tech and create connections withing the classroom through numerous ways!
 

How do you create a close-knit classroom where students are excited to learn?   

Behind our Digital Hallways

Our school does not lack in the tech department.  In fact, most classrooms have 5 computers, at least half of the classrooms have SMARTboards, we have wonderful access to an open Internet, BOCES resources abound, iPads are floating around, plus we have the BEST team of people!  People make the technology! 

Mike Frame, our Chief Information Officer, is better known as the man who knows everything tech-related at our school.  I still laugh when I call him and the first advice he always offers is, "Have you tried re-starting your computer?"  But, it's SO much more than that.  He's organized, knowledgeable, and does his best to see that the ideas we have about incorporating technology into our classroom can become a reality. 

At our last PLC meeting, we requested to meet with Mike.  We took our first PLC "field trip" across the parking lot and up flights of endless stairs to his office over in the High School.  We had an informal discussion about upcoming plans and goals of his department, as well as shared some aspects that we've found beneficial about our network with the two members of our PLC that are new to our faculty this year.  For example, our oceans folder is a wonderful way to pass things back and forth between you and your students.  Next, we shared with him all the random questions that were on our mind.  The image above depicts what I envisioned our network to look like.  While there were some similarities, when we entered Mike's arctic tundra where all the magic happens, he was so proud to show us something the size of a dresser drawer that housed all of the district's files. 

Thank you Mike for taking the time to meet with us.  The success we experience here at RCS isn't soley due to our wonderful computer network, but to people like you that afford us opportunities and are always available to help us along the way!

When Voice Is More Than Enough

We've all been integrating more tech into the curriculum in our classrooms.  Doors have been opened virutally through Skype and the connections with other classrooms have been meaningful.  So, for our December PLC meeting the focus altered on utilizing our new Snowball microphones more through Podcasting.   

If you haven't checked out our conversation we had during the meeting in the last blog post, be sure to.  We used Vocaroo, the simplist way to record out there, and implemented the tool in a way that we plan to with our students.  The discussion we had went over numerous tools, ideas, as well as answered questions that came up. 

Our virtual meeting was with Chris Hyde, a Technology Integrator from Pennsylvania.  During the Skype call, we discussed various elements of Podcasting including:

1. Way to Publish Student Work - new way to "hang" stuff in the hall

2. Station/Center - tools and equipment ready for students to create

3. Review/Practice -downloadable option to student iPods and use at home to study

4. RSS - subscriptions

5. Student Showcase - way to explain another project that students have done

6. Tools - Audacity, Aviary, and GarageBand

7. Ideas - How can't you use a podcast?...so many ideas were thrown out, my mind is now drawing a blank!

He shared with us a wiki full of resources about Podcasting and a LiveBinder packed full of samples, help, and options.  Be sure to click on the tabs to find valuable information to get you started and inspired to try more!  He also referred to his Tech Tips Podcasts that offers a mixed bag of all sorts.  Chris works directly with classroom teachers and many of us are looking forward to connecting with them via Skype during the second half of the year. 

It was neat to see how since our last meeting, a mere week and a half ago, how the teachers on our PLC have already implemented the use of Vocaroo.  For example, Melissa's students used in along with the reading stories that correspond with our series and Nikki's students used it to make communication smoother with their ePals compared to lengthy typed messages.  It's nice and simple, plus gives you an embed code for your site or blog, a direct link to share, or allows you to email it to the receipients that you'd like.   

How do you use podcasts with your students? 

Please share your ideas with us. 

Podcast Conversation...

Here's the recording of our conversation regarding podcasting.
We've tried to focus on the following outline -
1. Tools for Podcasting
2. Ideas for Student Podcasts
3. Questions for Getting Started

Quick...Catch the Pile!

Story writing + the creative component of tech =
student author success! 
There are SO many ways to create, write, share, design, produce, and illustrate a STORY, add the DIGITAL component and your piles of resources can just topple over!  With all the choices and options, I have to consider what's the best to use for the objective that I'm trying to have my students reach.  Since we are focusing on tech integration, connecting classrooms within our school and with others virtually, this PLC's session focused on digital storytelling.   

PLC Meeting Reflection:
We got off to a great start.  Immediately, we discussed some things on our mind and by doing so created our agenda for the afternoon.  We shared ideas, concerns, asked each others' opinions, and enjoyed another virtual chat thanks to our webcam.

Karen Ditzler, Elementary Technology Integrator, from Dillsburg, PA was able to connect with us for our virtual meeting this session.  We've worked together numerous times, as well as shared tech integration ideas.  She is a truly inspirational educator and I couldn't wait for her to share one of her specialities with our PLC - digital storytelling! She shared her Progressive Story Project, VoiceThread, Picture Book Maker, and Mixbook with us.  Not only did she walk through each tool using Skype's screen share, but she also shared with us examples of each.  Along the way she offered tips and tricks for implementation. 

Personally, I really liked her take on Picture Book Maker.  I've utilized the other tools presented and had seen Picture Book Maker tweeted on Twitter, but hadn't tried it out yet.  With it's simplistic options, one can create a book in a sitting to print and share personally.  Publishing online is impressive, but having a little book to hold is... vintage in a way...yet because of that aspect almost more appealing in certain cases.  Last school year, I was award Teacher of the Year by the CASLS.  When I attended the banquet, one of the library media specialists was retiring from another district.  During her farwell speech, she'd mentioned how special it is for children to hold books....real books....and to never forget that.  She was referencing the new digital books and the ever-changing technology.  Although I'm an advocate of technology, I couldn't help but to realize the importance of what she was saying.  So, admist publishing online and reading online, this was a nice little reminder that printable books are very valuable to kids.  Thank you Karen for reminding us of this!  

Goals:
Try out some new tools for:
1. Class video of pics - random or themed
2. Small group - collaborative storytelling
3. Whole class modeling of Theme 2 Writing Project - description

Participate in our 3rd Progressive Story Project:
1. Start a web - invite others to collaborate
2. Decide on illustrations in a new way
3. Encourage use of pens and video comments when narrating
4. Skype with other classes involved

Let's get writing! 

Wikis and More...

I have just entered the world of WIKIS and I have no idea what I am doing. :) I really want to create a place where my students can share their thoughts and ideas and display their work. Is this the best place to do this?

My personal goals: I feel that I have met most of my personal goals for our PLC over the past month. I am still struggling with center ideas. I am open to ANY ideas. Mrs. Shawley and myself have really taken a liking to SKYPING with our classes. Our students are developing relationships virtually. I am hoping over the next month to come we will be able to take this to the next level and really make these experiences educational and meaningful to our students. :) I am becoming more familiar with the webcam and snowglobe, but I would really like to explore more avenues of using these in my classroom.

I have become a huge fan of the website Around the World with 80 Schools. I have met teachers from all over the world! It is so exciting. My only concern is that I am having trouble finding a focus or getting started with them. We never know exactly what to do with SKYPE or how to go about introducing our classes... etc. I want this process to be more natural and comfortable- rather than awkward. I would be open to any suggestions on how to put curriculum first and add technology later and make it all flow. I feel like I am thinking of really neat technology ideas, but they are not really fitting into the material I need to be teaching.

Still moving forward and ready to learn new things today at our PLC meeting. :)

Still moving forward with technology.....

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am having a lot of success with the technology in my classroom!!! I have been making a lot of connections using SKYPE and I have set up a classroom blog spot at kidblog.org My students are really really excited about this... and SO AM I! :) I only have time for a quick post... just want to let you know I am still here and I am still working hard to reach my goals.

www.kidblog.org/Ms.Pollock's Class

Falling 4 Skype

Fall is my favorite time of year!  Many view Spring as a time of "new beginnings," but as an educator, I'm the opposite.  For me, it's fall.  As the new school year approaches, I'm always looking to create change.  The focus of our PLC has helped me to keep my goals on learning and sharing with others here at my school. 

As a rural girl, fall is also the time for sunflowers and apples here in Randolph, New York.  I can't tell you how thrilled I was when my fellow PLC member, Tammie Thomas, contacted me about her idea!  She knew our class usually started with a mini sunflowers unit and her class apples, so Skype was added to the formula to connect our classes in a new way.

Initial Steps - Planning Phase: We did almost all of our planning through Skype with a combination of the chat feature and video calls.  Our purpose was two-fold.  First, we wanted to show our students how teachers, even at the same school, can communicate using forms other than little notes, face to face conversations, and emails.  Second, we also hoped to solve any technical problems prior to the actual Skype calls.  Personally, I love planning on Skype and have used it with many teachers at different schools.  My favorite part of it is that you have a little orange indicator with sound that informs you that you have a message.  Some would say that it's not much different than email, but it just seems quicker and easier for me.  You can then reply, at your convience.  You also know when the other educator is "on" Skype.  The second component that I really like is that classroom teachers often don't share any similar prep time, but they still need to talk in order to collaborate.  It really isn't the best to bring my whole class down to talk to another teacher and that's impossible if they aren't in this building.  But, if it was planned ahead, I can call for a quick 2 min clarification conversation while my students are working for a moment, just as if another teacher came into my classroom in person.
Area of Impact - Personally, I was thrilled to be working with an educator at my school who shares a similar vision for her students, who I can learn from, and always share my classroom successes with.

Monday - Let's Meet: This is fully needed for students who have never Skyped before.  They are so excited, rightfully so, to be on "camera", that they get overly distracted by this element and forget about the purpose - communication and collaboration.  We kept it simple and decided that each student would get their own webcam moment to share their name and something about themselves. 
Area of Reflection - After the call, I asked my students to take a moment and reflect on the call.  Even second graders, when challenged, have the ability to be thoughtful and genuine in their reflection.  I like to see what they think, both areas of success and concern before I give my thoughts.  The one comment that really stuck out was, "I liked how Mrs. Thomas called her groups up one by one so we could hear what each kid had to say." 

Wednesday - Sunflowers: My second grade class took their turn to share about sunflowers.  As part of our preparation, we read a non-fiction book A Field of Sunflowers by Neil Johnson.  Three student pairs chose their favorite fact, recorded it an a question format, and then illustrated a picture to correlate.  We also read a fiction story Sunflower House by Eve Bunting.  Three student pairs chose either the beginning, middle, or end to summarize and illustrate.  Last, two students were in charge of explaining the glyph that each of the students in both classes were going to create.  These two were so excited about it all they even made up their own little song that taught about phototropism. 
Area of Improvement - Well, they did such an impressive job getting ready and they were so excited, that during the call, many partners kept preparing.  We talked about how it's important to give each other our attention, so we can all learn from each other.

Friday - Apples: Now it was time for Mrs. Thomas' class to share about apples.  This time we tried to really focus on being a respectful and attentive audience.  Our tables were cleared of distractions and we were ready!  Student groups came up and taught us how an apple tree looks through the different seasons.  My class thought about when to clap and I gave them signals of when to stop.  They shared the life cycle of an apple tree, as well as the directions for the apple man craft.  But, then I put my class on the spot and asked them to come up to the webcam.  They were asked to say their name and one compliment of specific praise about their presenation - either about what they learned or how the students presented. 
Area of Success - Well, this was one of those moments that you realize that your students really have SO much potential.  We needed this moment as an entire class - both students and teacher!  When the camera was off, we were all smiles to say the least.  We all can't wait for the next adventure involving Skype!

This week - Open House: This was such a unique call for me, since we are both here at the same school.  Parents and students will be able to see the crafts from both classes and hear about how we are both getting our students prepared to be global communicators and collaborators in a world of ever changing technology. 
Area of Connecting - I can't wait to hear how my students describe elements of Skype to their parents and visitors they bring with them to our classroom.  It helps me to see what they understand and where to take them next!

Our door is always open -

literally, figuratively, and virtually! 

So, come on in and let's talk tech!

Initial Thoughts...

Thoughts...
Yes, I'm still THINKING!  I guess I have many unresolved thoughts still circulating that I am struggling to find a way to express and formulate them into text.  But, I'm going to consider it a good thing that I'm still thinking on our first PLC meeting since we learned, shared, experienced, and accomplished so much! 

Virtual Meetings...
It was so neat to be able to connect my PLN, Personal Learning Network, with my PLC, Professional Learning Community.  When we had talked about what we'd actually do during the meetings and resources, I couldn't help but to think that this would be a valuable resource to tap into.  The educators who we've connected with so far, have made this idea not only become a reality, but had such an impact on the team that we can't wait for the next connection.  So much was shared during such a brief time, but here's what stuck with me the most...
Josh Allen - Take a bunch of tech tools, play with them and decide what you can latch onto.  Sometimes I get overly excited about the tool, the options, the possibilities when I share my thoughts with others.  I need to constantly remind myself that what works for me, may not be what works best for them.  But, I need to keep sharing because sometimes others need to see how you are using a tool in your class to understand how they might also embrace it.  I also learned about some updates in Diigo that I can't wait to explore more.  Lastly, I really need to match up those I follow on Twitter and my tech viewpoint, also know as stop following people and realize that it's okay. 
Avivia Dunsinger - Get into Evernote and get it off my to do list.  She's raved about using it for student assessment and record keeping.  Well, I need to get started and soon!  I liked her simple format that she utilizes in an attempt to increase her amount of student feedback - I really like how you did ________.  For a next step try__________________.  I also look forward to using her student's Kidblog blogs as examples of wonderful student blogs as my class gets blogging this fall.
Dennis Grice - I admit there are times when I think backwards, but he reminded me yet again to... Start with your learning goal and work from there.  Be mindful of all the resources out there when designing units, not only the tech resources, but the educators as well!  Not only did he share useful tools, but also student examples which made my mind start getting into "creative mode."  I haven't tried out Youblisher when making little page-turnable digital books before, so we are going to give it a try.  I plan on asking him more questions about Google Maps and the pin-cushions as we start our unit on migration. 

Personal Goals... (Sept 2nd - Oct 8th)
Skype
- find new connections (2nd grade) that share a similar tech vision and communication style
- continue to build on established connections, re-create what was effective and experiment new approaches
- set-up another "virtual meeting" for our PLC's next session
Webcam
- organize a computer station for webcam and voice-capture "projects" that the student's will create independently...VoiceThread, GlogsterEDU, Vocaroo, etc.
- install and experiment with the new webcam we received as a resource for our PLC team
Snowball Mic
- continue to utilize for whole group and small group Skype calls
- use during literature discussions as an accountability element and post recording of conversations on the classroom blog
- try out the above concept among ourselves during our next PLC meeting (thanks to esipe for the suggestion!)
Centers
- get all of my students set-up with their Kidblog, GlogsterEDU, and Storybird accounts
- utilize the SMARTboard for collaborative creation and practice of the above mentioned tools
- borrow two of tthomas and esipe's iPods for a fluency center and sign-out some others for use
- brainstorm ways to make our center time more focused...cross-curricular, content, creation, connecting, collaborating,

Teaching4Tomorrow...  I'm absolutely thrilled about this PLC and can't wait to see where we go as a team!  We have a wonderful mix of educators who really want to learn, grow, encourage, explore, and share.  We've fine-tuned our main goal and work together in a way that will make us all better educators.  We understand how important communication and accountability are as members.  It's always the people who make things, I'm glad that we are starting the year with such a willing team! 

A Final Thought... Keeping things simpler is a personal goal of mine for the year.  I'll take any advice you can offer!

(First PLC Meeting) Learning.......

-So many emotions, thoughts, ideas..etc as I begin not only my first year as a teacher in a wonderful district, but also as I begin challenging myself with technology. I feel very lucky to have an awesome PLC group to work with and I learned SOOOO much over the two prof. dev. days. I left our meetings feeling excited about learning and ready to expand my horizons... after all, we are "teaching for towmorrow."

The one thought I had that stuck with me over the past week is... "WOW, what is education going to be like when my daughter gets to fourth grade?!" At eleven months old now it is amazing to me that she already knows how to pound on computer keys, hold/talk on a cell phone, etc... that brings me to the thought that life/education is changing and we as educators must keep learning and moving forward or we will let our students/our own children down. With that said, I am planning to push myself to keep up with the "way of learning now" and explore new ways to incorp. technology into the fourth grade curriculum! I LOVE the goal of our PLC and I cannot wait to meet in 6 weeks and see how far each one of us has come.... esp. ME. :)

My personal goal for the next 6 weeks is to become familiar with all the available technology out and about. I made a twitter account.. I am going to try and get in touch with other educators... Mark Carls is going to be helping me set up my snowglobe and webcam.. and also giving ideas on how to use them in my classroom. I am planning to incorp. skype into my classroom and also glogster. I am very excited to teach in a 21st centry style!

I am writing this blog with a smile because I am very excited about the educational journey I am about to embark on... not only at an individual level, but with a wonderful team of teachers from R.C.S and a journey with a group of amazing fourth grade students! I am having fun learning/teaching and I am very exited to put the technology into my students hands and see where it takes us.

Wish me luck as I challenge myself to be the best teacher I can be using unfamiliar technology. :)

First Post

I found our first meeting very successful. I was introduced to MANY tools that will help me as well as my students in a number of ways. My personal goal for the next six weeks is to create accounts and get comfortable using the equipment on my own. I am looking forward to setting up Skype and putting it to use in my classroom.

First meeting: personal goals

Wow, is my head ever spinning! Our guests from around the continent during our first meetings were phenomenal. Aviva Dunsinger, Josh Allen, and Dennis Grice each shared so many wonderful ideas, resources, and points of view. I'm thankful that our Team Agend Template supplied us with a place to be organized about our goals so I don't shoot off into a dozen different disconnected directions : )
And while I'm on the subject, I'm also thankful for my team members. We seem to be a great mix of personalities and ideas. Some of us are still getting to know each other BUT we seem to have a lot of common educational goals. I think the prospect of having the time to work with colleagues whom I can both admire and respect is the very best thing about our new PLC focus here at Randolph Central Schools.
Back to the goals...we've worked together over the past two days to develop a broad set of goals for the group, but we've each set our own personal goals. I'm going to work on using different types of technology to contact my colleagues over the next few weeks. In addition to email, I'll be experimenting with Skype calls using my wonderful new webcam and Snowball microphone (many thanks to the RCS powers that be), and I'm going to make an honest attempt again at using Twitter in a meaningful way. Was it Sheryl Nusbaum Beach who said that you really have to use the technology personally before you can teach it to your students?...well here goes, Sheryl! I'm also going to try to continue to post to this blog about how I make out with my personal goals.
One goal I have for my students is to teach them about VoiceThreads: what they are and how to make them. Many of my first graders are coming to me as children who are in the very beginning stages of reading and writing. Some are even non-readers and writers, SO we'll use our webcam, snowball mic, and other tools to help them express their thoughts orally through VoiceThreads as we're waiting for those reading and writing skills to develop. Mrs. Moritz has strongly encouraged us to not just use technology ourselves, but to get it into the hands of our students. I'm also going to continue to work hard to incorporate technology into my literacy and math centers. I have some really great ideas after working in my PLC group for these past two days.
Now I'm going to wrap this up but you have to know that I have many other even more lofty goals that I'm not going to list, they have been moved to the back burner for now. Please understand that I'm not promising to accomplish all my goals overnight, but with the support of my colleagues and my school district I think I stand an excellent chance of accomplishing them by the end of the year. It's going to be a wonderful adventure...want to come along?

First PLC Meetings

We had our first PLC meeting during our staff development days.  First, we focused on formulating our goals.  As a group, we decided for the first six weeks our focus would be on Skype/webcams, Snowball Mics, and incorporating technology into our student centers.  We will also find a location for a "Making Connections" map.  After continued conversation, we realized that as individuals we all have different needs within the common goal.  Overall, our individual goals will be to incorporate more technology in centers, set-up accounts Blogger, Skype, Evernote, Diigo, Story Robe, and MORE! We agreed to communicate through various forms of technology within our group at least once every two weeks.  Next, we participated in three different  virtual meetings. Josh Allen reminded us to focus on the content, not the technology tool.  He introduced various ways to use technology to better yourself as an educator, such as social bookmarking and Twitter.  Avivia Dunsigner gave us a wide array of technology resources that she has implemented with her students during centers.  For example, she uses Evernote for assessment and documentation.  She gave us examples of how she uses these tools to meet the needs of her lower ability students, as well as tips in keeping centers managable for the teacher.  Dennis Grice's main point was to start with your learning goal and then think about what will be the best tech tool for implementation.  Everyone really wants to try out his rapid-fire progressive story idea in conjunction with Storybird.  "Learning should be fun, if it's not you're not doing it right!"  This hit home with all of us.  We also used the templates provided to document our goals.  After that, we created the norms that will assist us in making our PLC beneficial to all members.  Lastly, we took some time for hands-on exploration to familiarize all with the new initatives of the group.  For example, we wrote this post collaboratively to experiment with the options within Blogger. In conclusion, we had a very successful first meeting!  We look forward to continued learning and are excited about Teaching4Tomorrow!

PLC meeting 1

I'm really excited about our PLC group. I like the fact that we get to choose our own direction in what we want to learn. I also love the fact that we can implement the technology we are learning about as we go. For instance, we are using this blog to discuss our thoughts about the meetings, but this gives me an opportunity to check out blogging and how I can use it with my students. Also, we are planning on using our snowball microphones and the Evernotes program to "blog" about our next meeting. Additionally, I'm looking forward to using Skype. I already have a corny name in mind for this: "Skype with Sipe." I've learned that "corny" can be good at times in education when used appropriately. Lastly, I'm excited about using at least one piece of technology I've either learned this summer or in our PLC group in the next few weeks with my students. It will be extremely beneficial that my group is going to keep me accountable towards this goal. I can't wait to our next meeting!