EdCamp, Apple, Brenthaven, Oh My!

Have you ever had one of those weeks where there are SO many exciting things to blog about, yet before you can even start to blog something else amazing happens that you want to blog about? ... And then it happens again... all in the same week?

Tuesday, November 4: iLearn EdCamp Institute Day

The heading says it all, right? South Berwyn School District 100 has come so far over the past 5 years. We're transforming the way we teach and the way we learn, and I believe Professional Development has almost everything to do with the change. (Thank you +Marilyn McManus/@D100PD Director of Professional Development and your PD team.)

Marilyn meets with a ruthless team (we all have our own ideas!) to plan & coordinate our Institute Days. We literally sit around the new learning space at Pershing and brainstorm ideas. We focus on what our teachers' needs are and then how we can meet those needs. "What if we hosted our own version of an "EdCamp?" Teachers can choose their own pathways of what they want to learn about on that day. This is exactly what we did, with some slight modifications. +Jonathan Palles is our EdCamp expert in D100, so we had him introduce the day and explain to staff what an EdCamp was and what was expected of them. Check out #ilearnbsd100 for tweets about the day and our Professional Development webpage for more info.

Wednesday, November 5: Innovative Classrooms: An exclusive event for Apple Distinguished Schools and Apple Distinguished Programs 

Apple hosted an event downtown Chicago for Apple Distinguished Schools and Programs to connect, collaborate, and learn from one another. We had the absolute privilege of listening to Dr. William Rankin, probably one of the smartest educators I have heard speak.

@rankinw & @ShannonSoger

Have you ever heard the phrase, "What happened to the traditional way of teaching? I turned out just fine and I didn't have a laptop or iPad in school." Well, Dr. Rankin says if we want to go back to "traditional times," then we'd actually have no books (as he showed an image during the medieval times). He shared that everyday kids are carrying around production studios (ie iPhones) in their pockets. However, we are teaching kids content they need to memorize or comprehend for the "test". It takes 10 years of constant repetition in order to remember something forever. These facts students are memorizing are most likely being forgotten  So, why are we teaching facts that kids can just Google? He talked about using devices at higher levels. These included experiences where students will remember what they learned because the lessons had value to them and because students had to create something. Dr. Rankin sparked our minds and encouraged educators to transform the future of learning.

D100 ALT, iCoaches, & Admins

The remainder of the day consisted of breakout sessions and small group content creation. I led a session on The Impact of SAMR in an Apple Distinguished Program with ALT teacher +Kristin Richey. (Prior to the event +Jordan Garrett +Mary Havis +Michelle Thorne, +Christina Betz, +Sarah Larson, +Todd Bittorf +Ramona Towner +Sue Butler and +Lindsey Lahr created the Keynote together in iCloud.) 
Apple connected everyone along with resources from the day by sharing a private iTunes U Course. At the end of my session I challenged attendees to get our group of Distinguished Schools and Programs to continue to collaborate, but at the Redefinition level by walking the objective up a Blender Ladder. We concluded with continuing the collaboration with a broader audience to connect, share and reflect on... Twitter!

Wednesday, November 5: Brenthaven Education Webinars: Above the Line Teaching and Learning 

Being a presenter for a webinar is not an easy task! I'm constantly talking in front of groups of people, I enjoy presenting, and I get nervous each time I present. BUT, speaking to a laptop and not seeing your audience was quite the challenge! During the Webinar I talk about the transformation of teaching and learning that I've seen throughout District 100. Examples are shared from each category of the Apple Education Recognition Program: Visionary Leadership, Innovative Learning and Teaching, Flexible Learning Environment, Compelling Evidence of Success, and Ongoing Professional Learning. The overall message is that 1:1 is a journey and SAMR is a journey, but it's important to constantly be pushing students, staff, and administrators above the line.  If you're interested in hearing specific examples, please watch the Webinar hosted by Brenthaven.

We actually ran out of time at the end of the webinar for questions, so Brenthaven send me the list of the questions. Rather then emailing the answers back I recorded myself in GarageBand answering the questions and Brenthaven sent them to all registered attendees.  #abovetheline

It's exciting to think about my broad range of influence from our District 100 staff, to educational leaders from Apple Distinguished Schools and Programs across Chicagoland, to educators on the webinar from 15 states that I will likely never meet.

DAQRI Edu & The 2 Guys Show Meet #BSD100

Dedicated, Innovative, Hardworking Teachers

South Berwyn School District 100 has the most dedicated, innovative, and hardworking teachers!

During the second week of school in +South Berwyn 100...

On Monday, students in @5SL were working on math problems on their iPads, and submitting their work in Schoology. Natalie, student Ignite Presenter from @4CPershing last year was using Evernote to describe how she felt about the problems in class and she further explained how to solve the problems. 

In Ms. Vega's bilingual classroom 1st grade students were logging onto their laptops and exploring SMART Notebook to practice using the track pad and keyboard, coming from 1:1 iPad classroom. The students were so excited to get their device and they did an amazing job following step-by-step directions!  (Walking to laptop cart, hugging their device, placing laptop on the table, logging in with the username and password, with a capital S!)

During AOW (Article of the Week) +Sarah Larson was engaging her 8th grade students in a writing discussion on Ebola. Students were researching and writing about the deadliest outbreak and deciding if we in the US should be worried. Students had to use a variety of sources to make sure they were getting accurate information and then choose a creative way to inform others of their findings. Many students are choosing to create a movie, but they were left inspired at the end of the class period when Mrs. Larson shared a catchy song, "Ebola in Town" by D 12, Shadow, & Kuzzy of 2Kings. The purpose of the song was to inform others and avoid the infection. I'm eager to see what the 8th grades create!

At Komensky School the new 5th grade team is on fire! +Ryan Kozin & Dan King are new to co-teaching together AND Dan's new to an iPad 1:1 classroom. Students were reading together looking as though they had been in school for months. +Jonathan Palles moved from 2nd grade to 5th grade, already in a comfort zone he's ready to dive into iSWAT (I'm a Student willing to Assist with Technology) planning. Students in 5C were sharing writing samples, and Mrs. Cooley was anxiously waiting to hear how she can get her students involved in #iengagebwyn.

I'm simply amazed walking though classrooms amongst our 8 buildings. Our teachers are dedicated to the success of our students. They don't make excuses and they uphold high expectations.  They are powering through any "techy" issues (yes, we still have plenty) and are focused on the learning. They're learning from each other and sharing experiences via social media. I can hardly keep up with all the new blog posts and tweets!

Finally, the iCoach team, +Ramona Towner +Todd Bittorf and +Jordan Garrett have put together an amazing Google Community, The Toolbox & The Fridge, where all D100 teachers can share and learn from each other without physically being in the same room or even the same building.

It seems to me like we're ready for our 1st site visit!

          

Balance: Welcome to a New Year

1st Summer as an Admin! 

It was an amazing summer of learning, collaborating, and presenting. I attended iPadpalooza in Austin, TX, ISTE in Atlanta, GA, and Ed Tech Teacher Summit in Chicago, IL. Each conference helped me grow as an educator and a leader in different ways. Each experience will have a direct impact on my education role in South Berwyn School District 100.

This summer I also spent time with my beautiful 6 month old niece. I learned what it was like to be a "mom of an infant" for a whole day. I learned how she liked to be held; I learned that she'll fall asleep in 5 minutes in her stroller. I learned the painstaking feeling of seeing her sick and not being able to do a thing to make her feel better.

I hosted professional development for my school district, and I also spent several hours behind my desk preparing for 1:1 updates. My fiancé and I bought our first home, and I spent some time catching up with friends and family. I'm busy, we're all busy. Thus, this year in my iCoach Department, our theme is BALANCE.

We are leaders in our professional and personal lives, thus we always have a LOT going on. We cannot continue to learn and grow and be our very best if we don't have a work/life balance. I'm challenging myself, our coaches, and all educators to do the same. Don't forget to focus on yourself, spend time with your loved ones, exercise, and be all that you can be at work. Oh, and check Twitter updates somewhere in between. Schedule times throughout the day to put your device down and enjoy your balanced life.

Have a great school year!

1:1 5 Best Practices

Please enjoy my Apple Education Recognition Program Showcase reflection using the 5 Best Practices to sum up the 2 day event. 

Teaching and learning has truly been redefined in South Berwyn School District 100. After participating in the Apple Education Recognition Program Showcase, I was exhausted, but beaming with pride.

On March 6, 2014 I received an invitation from Apple asking South Berwyn to be a part of the 2-day event. (We are a recognized *Apple Distinguished Program 2012-2015.) Day 1 was for a district representative to share their story at Apple Inc. downtown Chicago.  On Day 2, schools/programs were asked to host a site visit in the morning and one in the afternoon. The majority of educators and administrators in attendance were those just starting a 1:1 initiative in their schools. 

Day 1 at Apple Inc. Panelists: Amy Warke from Flossmoor 161, Shannon Soger from South Berwyn 100, Carolyn Skibba from Burley Elementary, and Susan Sullivan from Sacred Heart School.

Visionary Leadership 
Within 2 hours of reaching out to our District Administrators, Principal +Mary Havis and Principal +Marilyn McManus responded that their buildings would be "happy to host" the site visitors.  iCoaches +Ramona Towner and +Todd Bittorf took the lead on helping the buildings prepare for the site visit. Assistant Principal Joe Collins and teachers Claire Martin, Kristin Kennedy, Alex Von Ebers and Amanda Zanchelli welcomed site visitors from Decatur #61, Freemont #79, Gurnee #56 and Single Path Technologies with a presentation. They collaborated using Google Presentation, spoke about Irving's demographics, their journey, and what the 5 best practices look like at their building. (Thank you +Michelle Thorne for the idea!)

Apple Education Recognition Presentation at Irving 

Further Pershing Principal Marilyn McManus, teachers Chrissy Lukasiewicz, Beth Zeller, and Social Worker Marty Stachura created the welcome presentation at Pershing for visitors from Palos Heights #128, Orland #135, Apple Inc., Hawthorn #73, and Wilmette #39.

Apple Distinguished Program Presentation at Pershing 

Innovative Teaching and Learning
Throughout the Irving and Pershing site visits we saw students working in independent centers while the teacher was giving guided instruction to a small group. Classrooms were completely differentiated; the teacher was a facilitator in the classroom. Students were using SMART Notebook for listening and recording vocabulary, Photo Booth for story telling "pre-write", Kid Blog for reading reflections and summaries, augmentative sites like IXL, Xtra Math, and Mathletics for skill and drill, QR codes for immediate feedback, Aurasma to show American Revolution iMovies, and student created CCSS Google Sites to name a few.
In South Berwyn, we are focused on teaching "above the line," and moving lessons up the SAMR ladder. It's important to note that it's not just about the tool students were using, it is about the learning objective. (Thanks +R.J. Gravel & TPACK!) The 3rd grade students were simply creating a Google Site, the objective was to teach next year's 3rd grade class about a specific CCSS. They had to include examples, explanations, etc.

                                    

Ongoing Professional Development
When I walked into Annie Cantafio's (@3c_pershing) 3rd grade classroom, she explained that her students were having "Passion Period." Passion Period is Annie's version of Passion Time because they don't have a full hour to commit to the projects. Annie learned about Passion Times from 2nd grade teacher Jonathan Palles (@JonathanPalles) who did an Ignite Session on Passion Time at our January iLearn Institute Day. Passion Period gives her students choice, choice in what they are learning and in what they are creating for an end piece.

Compelling Evidence of Success

To reflect on Compelling Evidence, I'm going to share a few quotes from the site visit evaluation. 

"I loved to see the students engaged and working independently on different tasks that was differentiated for the students learning!" -2nd grade teacher

"Students were highly engaged in their learning. Teachers were facilitators of learning." -Principal  

"Classroom visits were great. Kids knew expectations and were fully engaged." -Instructional Technology Coach

"The kids and teachers were amazing! Great job everyone!" -Superintendent 

Flexible Learning Environment
I had the pleasure of meeting Instructional Technology Coach +Christine Edwards from Decatur on 9/27/13 at our first site first this school year. We immediately connected on Twitter (@techiechrissie) and have been utilizing our PLN to learn from each other. The fabulous +Molly Miller (also Decatur Instructional Coach) and 6 others drove 3.5 hours to visit South Berwyn for a second time. They wanted more of their teachers to be able to attend the site visit without actually driving, so they brought along @Panganibot, the school's robot. The robot (being controlled from Chrissy in Decatur) traveled to 3 classrooms at Irving, spoke to students, and brought the site visit experience  to those who couldn't make the trip (or get a sub!).

@Panganibot reading the Dry Erase board in 5M at Irving!

Final Thoughts on 5 Best Practices

If you are in the middle of a 1:1 implementation, study the 5 best practices. What are your strengths? Where do you need improvement? The most important area (in my opinion) is Visionary Leadership. Without the vision from administrative staff, it will be extremely hard to "master" the remaining 4 best practices. What is your vision? South Berwyn has a vision of ranking in the top 25% of schools in IL, differentiation and extended learning will help us get there quicker. 

*To be recognized as an Apple Distinguished Program or School you need to demonstrate success in 5 best practices including Visionary Leadership, Innovative Teaching and Leaning, Ongoing Professional Development, Compelling Evidence of Success, and Flexible Learning Environment. The school or district submits a multi-touch iBook as an application. Apple shared with the crowd that successful 1:1 environments all had the above common themes. You can find our iBook in iTunes.