Inquiry projects, Problem-solving projects

(click on the title to access the website)

Have you checked out a few of these interesting student projects from the DPI website?  These might be helpful as you plan for next year.  :)

syn·er·gy

  (sĭn′ər-jē)

n. pl. syn·er·gies

1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individualeffects.

2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation,that creates an enhanced combined effect.

3. An instance of either such interaction.

I am just thinking how we can all focus our energies to create more synergy - Less competition and more about the whole.  I heard a speaker this weekend talk about proving you are right or improving your work with others.  Something for me to reflect on for sure.  I love listing to TED talks, and other speakers who really keep refining my thinking.  What do you think?  I would love to hear from you.  

EdTechnocation: 4 GINORMOUS Google Classroom Updates! (April 21, 2015)

EdTechnocation: 4 GINORMOUS Google Classroom Updates! (April 21, 2015): "4 GINORMOUS Google Classroom Updates! (April 21, 2015)

You asked for it! You got it! The Google Classroom Team delivers again! Co-teacher support? Check! Create Assignment and Announcement drafts? Check! Enter grades in advance? Check! Oh, and you now get email notifications for private comments, too! Check all the new features just released! Keep reading!

Multiple-Teacher Support Has Arrived!

This was one of the most frequently requested features since the inception of Google Classroom, and it's finally here! As a teacher, once you create a class you now have the option to add other teachers to your class from the About page. You invite teachers to your class the same way you would invite students. And you can invite more than one teacher! Any teacher you invite can do everything that you can, except delete the class. All accepted teachers in the class will be displayed in the top banner and along the side of the About page.

The invited teacher will see this invitation
 on the Classroom dashboard.

A list of teacher's will be displayed
along the side of the About page.A list of teachers will be also be shown in the top banner of the

Create draft Assignments & Announcements!

The ability to "hold" Assignments and Announcements has also been a popular request. Teachers love to plan in advance, and especially want to be able to release Assignments at the push of a button. This new feature always the teacher(s) in the class to save drafts of Assignments and Announcements. You can create the entire Assignment, along with the due date and attachments, then choose Save Draft from the list in the corner. It will then be listed in a new box on the stream called Draft. You can go back to a draft at a later time, open it and then post it when you are ready. You currently can't schedule it to be posted at a later time.

ADDED BONUS: Your Assignment or Announcement will actually save as a draft automatically as your working on it!

Next to the blue Assign button is a new drop down menu with the options to Assign or Save draft.

Once you save a draft, it will be listed in the Draft menu on the stream.

Your Assignment or Announcement will automagically save as a draft as you work on it!
You don't even have to click on Save draft.

Assign Grades Without Having to Return Assignment!

Another great new feature is the ability to assign grades, without be required to Return the assignment to the student. Saved grades are not yet shown to the students. Students will only see their grade when you have Returned the assignment.

Email Notifications for Private Comments!

Now when the teacher(s) and the students use the private comment thread in an Assignment, both will receive email notifications (if that featured is turned on in the settings). The email will contain the Assignment name, the actual comment, and a link back to the Assignment page.

Here is an example of an email notification for a private comment.

Submit Your Google Classroom Feedback!

"



'via Blog this'

If you are like me and read Harvey "Smokey" Daniels & Stephanie Harvey's 1st book, you will want to note that their 2nd edition is coming out in June.   Many people think that  the Common Core restricts the teaching in our schools.  Harvey and Stephanie point out that now we can be focused on the bigger picture and teaching that allows for inquiry.  Let me know if you would be interested in a book study after school monthly in the fall with this new book.  I enjoy their blog posts too.  Click here if you would like to read and/or join too.

Just what are we missing in our schools today

...is what this article made me think as it really caught my eye ...... I think I want to go to this kindergarten.  Click here for the whole article. Kathy

What does a school do with 5- and 6-year-old kids?

The old answer was coax them into little chairs — at least until “creative time" — keep 'em relatively organized, and keep a lid on their natural enthusiasm. Basically a constant riot-control situation. And a first taste of standardized education.

But kindergarteners don't need to be forced to learn — really, they can't stop learning.

So educators in Tokyo had a different idea.

Architect Takaharu Tezuka explains in a TEDx Kyoto talk how one school created a kindergarten that doesn't fight against kids' natural impulses. It counts on them.

The roof is a giant ring of a playground. Why? Kids love to run in circles.

The single, continuous classroom has no walls.

Teachers asked kids to use crates to create their own areas, but somehow it didn't quite manage to get done.

The design has child psychology in mind.

Kids can get anxious when they feel walled-in or constrained. That doesn't happen here. And since little dynamos thrive in environments with lots of noise, they've come to the right place — there are no acoustic barriers.

 “The principal says, 'If the boy in the corner don't want to stay in the room, we let him go. And he'll come back eventually because the circle comes back.'" — Takaharu Tezuka

Are you running on empty ............

Let's consider our stress level today - just how does it affect your brain.  When I am over-stressed, I find myself learning about stress.  What does it do to my body?  How can I help myself?  How can support others?

This was an interesting Ted-talk about stress.  It made me feel a bit better. It was reflective at the minimum.

It is a trying time in the world and especially in the educational setting.  I hope you can take some time to reflect on thinking about your own learning, your self-talk, and yourself.

"chasing meaning is a healthier choice than running from frustration or discomfort (stress)"

I care for my educational friends and colleagues, may your day be filled with meaning as you touch so many lives.  K

Depression is real..............it touches those around us daily

This week was a particularly difficult one for me.  A wonderful neighbor in Green Bay lost her daughter on Tuesday.  Shannon, name written with permission from her Mom, was a bright girl who went to school with Kyle from Kindergarten to 12th grade.  She began her depression in high school and it  perhaps was associated with her sharing of her alternative lifestyle.  Even in a community where living an alternative lifestyle is thought to be respected in the education and community environments she struggled.  Mental health issues are all around us.  My son, Kyle, was really surprised and saddened by the news.  He rode the bus, shared car rides, and chatted with her over coffee when he came home for breaks, and messaged her via Facebook regularly to encourage her and to continue to be her friend.  He spoke of her struggle with me throughout the years.  The mother cried on my shoulder trying to know the right things to do, to say.  Shannon had a heart of gold.  It just goes to show we can never know exactly how much someone else is hurting.  We cannot ever judge when or if someone is struggling.  It makes me pause to think how many people around me are hurting.  It is so easy to rush through our own lives.

Take the time today to watch this video - for all the Shannons around us.