Digital Eyes

Put One Foot In Front of the Other We talk a lot in education about the need to change. People often have a difficult time with change. There are many reasons for it. But one thing is for sure. Change is a constant. So for those who are feeling a little stressed about the amount of change we are undergoing, here is a fun way to think about it. We are all where we are. We can only move forward from that point. So commit to taking one step forward! Happy Holidays! Dave Video Credit: 1970, Bass/Rankin Productions, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".

ASCD's Education Update had a great article in their December issue on developing the creative skills in our students in order to prepare them for the 21st century . I was glad to see them recognize that creativity is interconnected with inventive thinking. The article talks about how many of the jobs our current students will hold in their future do not exist yet. Many of these jobs will require them to think creatively in order to solve problems that we haven't even identified yet. To do this, we must teach our students to be inventive, imaginative, and risk-taking. The article mentions three main ways to get started. 1. Model Creativity - Create cross-curricular units, give kids opportunities to use creative tools to solve problems and communicate learning. 2. Use Mistakes as an Opportunity to Learn- We need to encourage students to take risks. We need to send a clear message that mistakes are not a bad thing. Mistakes lead to new learning. 3. It doesn't have to take a l...

Read all about it! Wayzata has been profiled by Smart Technologies as a Showcase District. Read the article at http://www.education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/News+and+research/Publications/EdCompass/Showcase+School+profile.htm .

If you didn't get to the TIES Conference this year, touch base with someone who did. Our district sent many more people this year than in the past. It was really great to see the excitement of the classroom teachers as they learned from some really great presenters. If you want to see notes from some of the presentations go to http://reviewcommittee.wikispaces.com/TIES+Conference+Notes to see what attendees thought of what they saw. If you want to see the presentations themselves, go to http://wiki.ties.k12.mn.us/ . It's the next best thing to being there! Here are a few highlights. Feel free to add to the list! 1. Daniel Pink's Opening Session - he really makes it all make sense! 2. Ben Friesen's presentation on his Middle School Elective Class based entirely on web-based tools. I left wishing I taught a class just like that! 3. Mark Garrison's presentation on Adding Images, Audio, and Video into Your Classroom. I need to learn more about Alice Isen's research...

Thanks to Andrew Churches for this updated look at Bloom's Taxonomy. It really shows how many of the technological skills that we have been working on integrating fit into Bloom's Taxonomy. I especially like how collaborating is interwoven with all levels of the taxonomy. If we are to teach our students to effectively colloaborate, they must have these opportunities at all levels, not just one or two. I think the verbs that Andrew adds represent the kinds of opportunities our students need. It really demonstrates how many of these new skills really teach a broad range of thinking skills. If we really want our students thinking critically and deeply, these are activities that can really get us there. I'm curious if you have any other verbs that you think should be added to Andrew's list. For more information on Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, visit http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy to see Andrew Churches' analysis.

I have been having a lot of conversations recently about all the things that could and do go wrong with technology. It is true that technology is imperfect and often frustrating. However, I believe that if we focus on the opportunities afforded by technology and less on the obstacles, our brain tends to notice the frustrating aspects less and less. There are too many wonderful things that can be learned from technology to let the everpresent nagging issues stand in the way of taking advantage of these opportunities. So I ask you, do you focus on the opportunities or the obstacles? Do you say What If or What if we don't...? What are the consequences of not doing something? Is there a bigger risk to our students if we don't give them these opportunities?

I spent quite a bit of time this week working with fifth graders using Scratch. I had a great time, and so, it seems, did they. Ms. Arvig's class decided to blog about it in fact . Their comments are overwhelmingly positive. The amazing thing to me is that while they clearly had fun, they also learned some important skills like logical reasoning, problem solving, and creative thinking. As they get better at using Scratch, it can be a tool for math (program your sprite to create a shape or to follow a pattern), language arts (recreate a scene from a story, write your own story), social studies (create a scene from history), art, music, technology, and more. I hope to continue working with classes on this, and I hope teachers will continue to bring their students to the lab to work on projects like this.