The Art of Teaching, Seesaw, Blended Learning Spotlight

The Art of Teaching

My junior English teacher was a masterful instructor who allowed his students to find their way with words and concepts as he talked us through the thinking behind the scenes of grammar, composition, and American literature.  

In her blog post Interactive Digital Writing, Deb Frazier gives her students the opportunity to "see" the thinking behind the writing process as she and her students share a keyboard.  "[Composition] time is instructional, authentic, and explicit." While the post focuses on writing instruction and keyboarding, the concept described can be applied across the spectrum: in the science lab or math class, in the CTE classroom, and on the playing field. It allows the students to create and to use the tools of creation alongside a mentor and to get immediate feedback on why something works and why something else doesn't. That's art! Hope her post inspires you as much as it inspired me.

Seesaw: PD In Your PJ's

I'm sending a great big Bulldog thank you to Shea Holland at AES who has impeccable timing! I was working on this week's Tuesday Tech Tips when she forwarded an email to me from Seesaw, which is hosting a month of self-paced, online workshops that will help you "Get Started, Get Organized, Get Inspired, and Get Connected". In addition, there are four live events. If you want to learn how your students can use Seesaw to create, collaborate, and curate their learning, check out the calendar here.

Blended Learning Spotlight: Levelling Up

Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to catch up on some professional reading. To say that my blog feed had been neglected is an understatement. 557 unread posts. Uggh! Let's just say that "mark as read" was my best friend in getting that number dwindled down. 

One of the stand-out blogs I read was by Marcia Kish. Her "Level Up in Future Ready Skills" really hit home for me. It reminded me that we need to grow into our understanding and practice of blended learning, and so do our students. Even major league baseball stars started on the t-ball field! Click on the graphic below to access Kish's blog that more fully explains the concept of leveling up. It was a great reminder to me that big journeys begin with small steps, and that Phase One work is essential to the process--for us and for our kids!

https://www.dsdprofessionaldevelopment.com/blended-learning-blog