Sunday, January 30, 2011

Leaders in a professional learning community

I didn't always think that having a set leader in a professional learning community should be very important.  After a while of thinking about this I realized that someone needs to be strict on what needs to get accomplished otherwise time is easily wasted.  As educators we all know how precious collaboration time is, so why waste it.   This video shows what the leader of this community is strict about and what they are "loose" about and why. 

Sunday, January 23, 2011

What is a Professional Learning Community

      If you are in anyway involved in education you have probably heard this buzzword being thrown around.  A professional learning community, PLC, is a hot topic in education reform.  Will it be something that lasts or just a fad?  Martin-Kniep (2008) believes that if they are done correctly then they will "greatly improve the lives of students and educators." (p. 4)  I agree with him. 
      You might be wondering how should they be done then?  Well many people have different ideas of how they should look, but they all need to include a group of individuals who, according to Martin-Kniep (2008) "share a purpose, a vision, and one or more goals that relate to making the school a learning organization where inquiry and the pursuit of new understanding are common to all." (p. 6) Watch this video to get a better understanding of what a PLC is, yes it's a little cheesy. 

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Gaming in the Classroom

A month ago I was told I had $2000 to spend buying new technology for my classroom.  I immediately thought, well I would love to have some flip camera's so that we can make more movies, and a couple iTouches would be great also for center work.  I was very excited to get some new things in my classroom, but was also looking for an idea that is different. 
A teacher down the hall came to me and shared her idea, she wanted to get a Wii.  She went to a session about gaming in the classroom during ICE last year, and she wanted to see what she could do with it in her classroom.  She also has a theory that video games can help bring up Math test scores.  So we were told to start collecting data and they would buy her a Wii. 
She looked at this as a challenge and I was right on board ready to help her with any research she might need.  I found this curriculum map done by someone and posted on the web https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/brookwood167.org/lv?key=tv_XLTCAQzrwR1MpaXZbsyw&type=view&gid=0&f=true&sortcolid=-1&sortasc=true&rowsperpage=250.  
So this week I am being observed in Math, and we are learning about graphing and data analysis.  So it looks like a perfect time to try out some of these lessons.  I would love to hear people's thoughts on gaming in the classroom, even if it is negative.   Wish me luck with this observation!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

First post

Hello my name ist Stacy and I am a  6th grade teacher who loves to learn about new technology to use in my classroom.  I will be sharing my thoughts and ideas.  I hope to also learn from others who start following my blog. 
This website has been helpful for me finding fun tech. based activities I can use in my classroom. 
http://ilearntechnology.com/