Staff Meeting 11.24.10 -- 8 AM Lecture Hall

Trimester in Review

• Respond via text: "Describe the 1st Trimester in One Word"
• Send Text Message to: 22333
• type 126452 and word

OR

• http://goo.gl/O6u7h

Here is a 'Wordle' (www.wordle.net) of your responses so far.

Attendance & Tardies

Starting the new Trimester

Building Goals (http://goo.gl/MB5Wn)

Tech Tuesdays

• December 7th before & after school in 118

Rachel's Challenge

Trimester in Review

As we near the end of the first trimester, I know we are all reflecting and thinking about how it went.  What things we would have done differently, what we might have changed, what we liked, and what we didn't like.  Please share some of your thoughts below by answering this question: 

What would I have done differently in the classroom if I had to do the trimester over?  cool thing is, you get a do over in two weeks!

Also, visit my chsbulldognews.blogspot.com blog for a short video highlighting some of our students talking about why they like the trimester.  I used this at last night's board meeting. 

Distracted Students?

One of the general themes that came up in the comment thread on the staff blog prior to our Fairview Park visit was "Won't our students be distracted?".  If you did not read the recommended article by Betty Clouse, let me summarize... some colleges are banning the use of laptops in their classrooms.  They find that students are not engaged in the classroom discussion -- the lecture.

Banning the laptops in a college classroom lecture is entirely understandable.  They need the students engaged in a face to face LIVE discussion.

I wonder though if their problem is deeper than whether or not the students will be distracted if they have a laptop in front of them.  Maybe the root of their problem is the ability to engage the students.  We have to remember that students today want entertainment and engagement at their fingertips.  I would venture to say that most of them are doing their homework while listening to their ipod, simultaneously texting, and all the while updating their facebook page.  On their way to school, they are doing the same.

It is hard for me to believe that the laptops were the problem at any of the colleges in the Washington Post article.

Food for thought!

visit http://goo.gl/3BcFy for another opinion on 'distraction' in the classroom.

Social Media

Another worthwhile video clip... pay attention to some of these stats!

Innovative Technology in the Classroom

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how students today learn and what direction our world is heading... Last Friday's visit to Fairview Park made me think even more.  If you haven't yet seen the 21st Century Student Outcomes, visit p21.org.

We all know that students cannot sit through 65 minutes of the same thing... one of our goals in the transition to trimesters has been to do at least 3 DIFFERENT things in each 65 minute lesson.  We have talked about several ways that we can keep the class period interesting -- one of the most obvious is with technology.  There are a plethora of ideas and methods out there... but the bottom line is that we need to meet the needs of the 21st Century student.  Here is a repost of part of a blog entry from the Bulldog News blog that I posted Wednesday (fog day):
"The teachers and administrators that attended learned quite a bit on the trip [Fairview] and left with a few ideas.  This is just the beginning of the conversation we intend to continue about integrating more 21st Century Skills into our classrooms... these skills (in addition to the academic content) include Life & Career Skills; Learning & Innovation Skills; and Information, Media & Technology Skills.  The world is changing and the job market is changing -- therefore, the way we prepare our students for their future must also change."

Watch this video about changing education paradigms... see what you think about what Sir Ken Robinson has to say.  It takes 11 minutes, but it is worth the time (thanks Chuck Smith for sending me this video!).

10 Great Ways to Use Digital Video Cameras in the Classroom

10 Great Ways to Use Digital Video Cameras in the Classroom

Check out this article from the Tech & Learning magazine (and website) about using a digital video camera in the classroom. If you ever need an easy to use camera, let me know... we have one in the office!