Project-Based Learning Journey: PBL and 21st Century Fluency Project

Project-Based Learning Journey: PBL and 21st Century Fluency Project: Well I know it has been a while since I have posted, but I have been busy learning from the Buck Institute and Lee Crockett.  Both of these ...

iPaddiction: Creation Apps Used On The iPad

iPaddiction: Creation Apps Used On The iPad: My technology integration specialist asked me to provide a list of creative apps that we have used in our classroom.  All the apps are in o...

Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org: Blending Rigor & Relevance with SAMR and P21

Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org: Blending Rigor & Relevance with SAMR and P21: For fun, I asked myself, what would a revised Rigor & Relevance chart look like if we included Dr. Ruben Puentedura's SAMR Model a...

Alpha Company, Bravo Company, Charlie Company...

The story passed down to me goes something like this....  my great-grandfather was somewhere near Ronssoy, France in September 1918.  All the men in his squad were killed. He ran into 4 Germans manning a heavy machine gun, killed them with his pistol, and took control of machine gun.  He jammed it so it was continuing to fire.

Medal of Honor Citation

Photograph of Frank Gaffney from Niagara County Historical Society

Hoping to find a safe place, my great-grandfather dove into a foxhole.  Immediately, 80 German soldiers were pointing their pistols at him.  He jumped up and yelled, “Alpha Company, Bravo Company, Charlie Company, Delta Company.” The German soldiers laid down their pistols and Frank Gaffney marched all 80 of them back to camp.  Single-handedly.  Or so the story goes.

As a teacher, I found myself periodically (a time or two) in a metaphoric classroom foxhole.  Instead of 80 pistols drawn upon me, I found 30 sets of piercing eyes penetrating my tired and exhausted soul.  

To help prevent ever falling into the foxhole in the first place, know your students’ readiness, knowledge, and interest of the content BEFORE you ever begin instruction.  Whichever form of pre-assessment you choose, use the information you obtain to target your instruction.  By doing so, you will have a much greater chance of connecting your students to the content and they are much more likely to be engaged in the learning process.

When the occasion does occur in which you find yourself in the classroom trenches, instead of succumbing to the inevitable D-Day (Day of Defeat), jump up and seize the moment.  We have to respond quickly to the verbal and, most importantly, nonverbal feedback from our students and respond.  If what we are doing is not working, adjust and then, readjust if needed. If you are not sure what the problem is, ask your students.  They will tell you.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves, it's about them - not us.  We may feel like soldiers in the trenches, but our students are not our enemy -- they are our Allie.

My first post using WordPress...

I'm experimenting with the world of blogging.  Today I started a wordpress blog, errinjenings.wordpress.com

Please check it out.  The topic is my experience today conducting a PLC with teachers on differentiation using the app Nearpod.  Let me know what you think of wordpress and the post.

One Second of Every Minute of One Class Period

Yesterday I tried something new.  A new way for me to look at instruction.  I took a one second video every minute during one class period.  I had no idea how this would turn out and it was not something I planned on doing.  I just got the idea and went with it.

I set my timer on my iPad so I could make sure I took a video every minute.  I started just by sitting in a desk, but then I moved around the room to get different perspectives (which I would recommend).  When class was over, I downloaded my video clips to iPhoto and then imported them into iMovie.

I reduced each clip to exactly one second.  I did not add any transitions or additional sound/audio.  I wanted this to be about the classroom.  Again, not knowing what this would look like....

The 52 second movie of this one 52 minute class period was spot on.  The instructional methodology, philosophy, tone, and reality was almost clarified and articulated in a manner that could not be achieved in a 52 minute long video of the entire class period.  Please do not misunderstand - there is a a valuable need to be a reflective practitioner and view an entire class from start to finish; however, sometimes more is less.

This may be a common practice where you are, but if not, try it!  I'll be doing many more of these 52 second videos to help improve instruction for all learners...

Presenting with iPads

Using Nearpod, an app I downloaded on my iPad, I just finished creating and uploading my first interactive presentation.  Now, don't get me wrong - I've presented presentations with my iPad using Prezi and pdf's of Power Points, but never with embedded formative assessment.

I have uploaded my presentation on my iPad and it looks ready to go.  I also downloaded the app on the iPads that my colleagues will be using.  The only real difficulty I have encountered is having to charge the batteries on those iPads....

I am excited about using this tool and am looking forward to more engagement and participation!