Clif's Notes

A Teacher’s Influence (Quote from Haim Ginott)

I have come to a frightening conclusion.
I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or dehumanized.

–Haim Ginott

• Free Concept/Semantic Mapping Software
• Suggested Reading for 12/17/2008
• Free Inspiration Webcast
• NECC This Afternoon

Professional Development Meme 2010

I’m a big fan of goal setting. It can provide a road map for the short or long-term and can be an effective motivational strategy. I have set a few professional development goals for this summer and have challenged a few of my friends/colleagues to do the same thing. In 2008 I realized that I could set this up as a blog meme and hopefully encourage some of my online friends to achieve a few items from their To Do Lists. There are a myriad of ways to approach this, but I’ve opted to take the short-term, easy-to-assess approach, but I’ll leave some wiggle room for you to customize it to meet your needs. The official information is below.

Directions

Summer can be a great time for professional development. It is an opportunity to learn more about a topic, read a particular work or the works of a particular author, beef up an existing unit of instruction, advance one’s technical skills, work on that advanced degree or certification, pick up a new hobby, and finish many of the other items on our ever-growing To Do Lists. Let’s make Summer 2010 a time when we actually get to accomplish a few of those things and enjoy the thrill of marking them off our lists.

The Rules

NOTE: You do NOT have to wait to be tagged to participate in this meme.

1. Pick 1-3 professional development goals and commit to achieving them this summer.
2. For the purposes of this activity the end of summer will be Labor Day (09/06/2010).
3. Post the above directions along with your 1-3 goals on your blog.
4. Link back/trackback to http://clifmims.com/blog/archives/3669.
5. Use the following tag/ keyword/ category on your post: pdmeme2010.
6. Tag 5 or more bloggers to participate in the meme.
7. Achieve your goals and "develop professionally."
8. Commit to sharing your results on your blog during early or mid-September.

My Goals

1. Read at least 2 of the books on my book wish list.
2. Implement idea for new blog feature.
3. Submit at least 1 of the articles currently in progress for review.

I Tag…

• Professional Development Meme 2009
• Professional Development Meme
• Meme – Passion Quilt
• Planning District-Wide Technology Professional Development

Multiple Representations of Understanding through Digital Media (TAISTI)

I’m back in Nashville today for the TAIS Technology Institute. I’m excited about having opportunities to work with and learn from classroom teachers, media specialists, administrators, and more. I’ll be sharing a workshop on Multiple Representations of Understanding through Digital Media. The PowerPoint presentation is below and the full workshop notes are available on my wiki. Note that the links and logos in the PowerPoint presentation are clickable.

• Multiple Representations of Understanding through Digital Media (NCTIES)
• Multiple Representations of Understanding with Technology
• Day 2: MECA 2010
• Web 2.0 Technologies for Elementary and Middle School Classrooms

Multiple Representations of Understanding through Digital Media (NCTIES)

I’m enjoying the North Carolina Technology in Education Society’s 2010 Conference in Raleigh, NC. I’m excited about being one of the featured speakers and having opportunities to work with and learn from classroom teachers, media specialists, administrators, and more.

Today I’ll be sharing a pre-conference workshop on Multiple Representations of Understanding through Digital Media. This energetic session will demonstrate that with freely available digital technologies students can demonstrate their understanding of course content in multiple ways (images, audio, video, presentations, artwork, and more). Each student’s end product (learning artifact) allows them to personally self-express their understanding/mastery of the content/skills. Although teachers may not be comfortable using all of today’s technology it is important to consider allowing students to use it to communicate their understanding as they are often more naturally able to more fully express themselves with digital media. The PowerPoint presentation is below and the full workshop notes are available on my wiki. Note that the links and logos in the PowerPoint presentation are clickable.

• Multiple Representations of Understanding with Technology
• Multiple Representations of Understanding through Digital Media (TAISTI)
• NCTIES Conference
• Day 2: MECA 2010

Brain Rules for Teachers and Presenters

Hat tip to Miguel for bringing this to my attention.

• TN DOE Partners with iTunes U
• Meme – Passion Quilt
• Teachers’ Online Identities
• Pay Attention

I Need My Teachers To Learn 2.0

• Elementary Teachers, I Need Your Advice
• Reply to Miguel Guhlin
• Learn with Us (IDT7078)
• AudioBoo in the Classroom (Thinking Out Loud #3)

Connecting the Classroom and Outside World (Feedback Requested)

Educators, what are some strategies for connecting the classroom with the outside world?

NOTE: I’d like to share responses in an upcoming workshop/presentation and on my blog and wiki. You can submit your ideas using the form below, share your text/audio/video reply in the Comments section of this post or respond via Twitter, Plurk or on your blog using the tag #thruwalls. You can also view the compiled database of suggested strategies on my wiki, Learning Telecollaboratively.

Share this post using http://tr.im/104.

Conversation tag: #thruwalls

• Connecting the Classroom and Outside World
• Students and PLNs (Feedback Requested)
• Educators and PLNs (Feedback Requested)
• Reply to Miguel Guhlin

21st Century Schools

Dr. Stephen Heppell‘s video about 21st century schools provokes you to consider what lies ahead. Wes Fryer states that this video “makes a strong case for blended learning where the learning connection between home and school is seamless.”

• Do Schools Kill Creativity?
• Will Ed Tech Win in 2008?
• President Advocates Merit Pay and Charter Schools
• Lowe’s Toolbox for Education

Did You Know 4.0

I’ve been developing workshops for the BILD Institute for the past couple of months and I’ve discovered/rediscovered many quality resources about educational reform, instructional design, technology integration, and innovation as well as many new web tools and services. I hope to share much of this with you here on this blog (You can also go ahead and access it on the BILD Institute site.). The first resource I’d like to share is this recently updated version of the Did You Know/Shift Happens video (See previous versions here, here and here.). “This is another official update to the original Shift Happens video. This completely new Fall 2009 version includes facts and stats focusing on the changing media landscape, including convergence and technology, and was developed in partnership with The Economist.” (Source)

• Did You Know?/Shift Happens
• Wordles of Every Inaugaration Speech [Video and Gallery]
• Memphis City School Receive $90 Million Grant
• Suggested Mac Software

Lowe’s Toolbox for Education

Lowe’s will donate $5 million to public schools and public school parent teacher groups – at more than 1,000 different public schools per school year…Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation (LCEF) knows how hard you work for your kids and your community and we’re dedicated to helping your parent-teacher group achieve even more for your school. Apply for our Toolbox for Education Grant now and build on your already impressive parent group success with Lowe’s…The deadline for submitting applications for this grant cycle is October 16, 2009. (Source)

• U.S. Secretary of Education Requests Feedback on Technology in Education
• Deadline for NECC Proposals Approaches
• President Advocates Merit Pay and Charter Schools
• Planning District-Wide Technology Professional Development