Thursday Thoughts January 15
I didn't watch the big game on Monday night. I knew that the Oregon quarterback won the Heisman but I didn't know anything about the Ohio State quarterback, Cardale Jones. In fact, I am not sure that many people knew alot about him prior to Ohio's win over Alabama in the playoff. But Monday night changed all of that. Now Cardale Jones is a household name. The fact that a third string quarterback could garner a win over a team like Oregon is impressive enough, however even more impressive is this young man's mindset shift regarding the importance of his education. You see just two years ago, he made headlines for the tweet above. At that time, he was coasting through school and close to being tossed out of college. But he hung in there and was held accountable for his grades and actions. The expectations were set and if he wanted to stay at Ohio State, he had to rise to them. The rest is history.
As educators we have a responsibility to make sure that we don't allow students to coast. High expectations and holding students accountable will have great results even if we are not present to see them. I am sure that we have future BCS champions, politicians and even actors sitting in our classrooms. But before they can fulfill their dreams, we have to make sure that we set the stage for that to happen.
Staff Spotlight
This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Janie Massey. Janie does a remarkable job of working with students who are just below grade level proficiency. She is constantly seeking resources and materials that will help students succeed. She prepares written progress updates for each of her students in the SST process and has often offered to participate in the meetings to brainstorm additional strategies that can be put in place for the child. Janie has students that enter and exit EIP throughout the year, yet she never complains about how many students she has to serve without assistance. Janie not only shares her expertise with homeroom teachers, but she also works directly with the teachers new to Medlock. We appreciate all that Janie does to support Medlock students as well as teachers.
4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking Skills
Step by Step: Designing Personalized Learning Experiences For Students
The phrase “personalized learning” gets tossed around a lot in education circles. Sometimes it’s used in the context of educational technology tools that offer lessons keyed to the academic level of individual students. Other times it’s referring to the personal touch of a teacher getting to know a student, learning about their interests and tailoring lessons to meet both their needs and their passion areas. As with most education jargon, the phrase isn’t fixed, but it usually connects to the idea that not all students need the same thing at the same time. It implies choice, multiple pathways to learning, many ways to demonstrate competency and resists the notion that all students learn the same way.
Technology Tidbits
ClassResponder - Real Time
Student Response System
ClassResponder is a
service that provides a nice way for teachers to distribute quizzes to students
and gather results as soon as students answer the quiz questions. ClassResponder
can be used through your web browser or through their free iPad apps. There is
an app for teachers and an app for students. Students don't have to create
accounts to participate. Students simply enter your classroom code to join your
ClassResponder activities.
ClassResponder offers pre-made quizzes that teachers can use.
The quizzes are designed for elementary school students. The pre-made quizzes
are aligned to ELA Common Core standards. You don't have to use ClassResponder's
pre-made quizzes. You can create your own multiple choice, true/false, and short
answer quizzes in your ClassResponder account.
Applications
for Education
ClassResponder, like other student response systems, could
provide a good way to deliver short review quizzes to your students. You can use
the service to make quizzes to use at the end of a lesson to quickly check for
your students' understanding of your lesson's main points. You can turn on
ClassResponder's instant feedback option for your students so that they don't
have to wait until everyone is done before they see their own scores.
News & Notes
I would like to welcome Kris McBride to MBES. She is an Instructional Technology Coach from the iTeach Center at Kennesaw State University. Kris will be working closely with our teachers this semester as we embark upon our Personalized Learning journey. You will see Kris visiting classrooms, meeting with grade levels and providing support in many ways. Kris is a former teacher and is serving in a support role for our school. She has multiple schools; however when she is at Medlock, she will have an "office" in the Media Center. You can reach her anytime via email: McBrideK2@fultonschools.org
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