Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Top 10 quotes from Iowa 1:1 Institue 2011

Angela Maiers made the infamous top ten quotes list at #ITEC10 so here's mine for #i11i.

10. "bandwidth is critical!" Tech coordinators group
9.  "Hashtags are like a look into the collective subconscious of those schools." @SMGHogan
8. “We decided that we were doing it, and we did it.” Admin group
7. "1:1 is not going to help improve test scores." Admin group
6. "The world is shrinking, and most people don't even know it." @CoachB0066
5.  "I'm smart, just not three paragraphs double spaced smart." @shermanmi
4.  "Teachers need to stop hiding behind points” @russgoerend @mctownsley
3.  "Twitter is your Neighborhood BBQ, SO how'd you get to be the party host?" @angelamaiers
2.  “Technology does not equal learning.” @mcleod
1.  "Providing students a laptop will not magically improve the quality of instruction provided to students." @DeronDurflinger

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Can We Become A Community?

Last Friday the Ambassador group hosted the "Waukee Carnival".  There was dancing, games, food, and fun.

Towards the end of the event @CoreyStJohn (who was co-DJing) said, "This is great, we should do this more often!"
I said, "There's only 50 people here out of the 750 in the school, we can't afford to do this often."
"The people that are here are having fun, that's a good thing"
"True"
"We should have these for all sporting events; basketball, football, baseball.  Then we could come up with a school chant that everyone would learn on orientation night, then we could all walk to the gym or field chanting.  Wouldn't that be cool to get 400 middle school students chanting at one football game?"

That would be cool, but how do we turn an attendance of 50 to 400+ students?  How do we become a community?

Monday, May 9, 2011

Tour of Waukee MS

Kids learn a lot from their teachers but teachers can be more effective and productive in a great building that we are fortunate enough to have.  I am going to share what makes Waukee #1 in my book.

You can tell that this isn't any ordinary building by the front entrance.


The brightly colored mural at the front of the building.



The lovely secretaries are a great key to success here!



The library is a lovely place to stop in and read, browse, or chat with @kellynelsen.


The "heart" of the building is the painted bench.  Original name, I know. :)


Our three state-of-the-art computer labs are nearby too, offering students access to many life tools.


The lunch room keeps everyone well fed and ready to learn!


The P.E. teachers are ready to help you burn off those calories you just ate at lunch in their gym.


At the back of the building is another mural that takes up an entire wall.


Last but not least, the classrooms where all the magic happens.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

iPad or #SBAR

When the now infamous iPad came out only a year ago, there were quite a bit of demoting outlooks on the device but today you're considered old fashion without one.  You could say that Standards Based Reporting is the same way.

When they were released to the world not everyone latched onto them, they were kind of leery to take that first step.

When the iPad came out there were those Apple fanatics that had their device pre-ordered.
When standards based reporting came out there were some that were all for it.

Most people wanted nothing to do with a "giant iPod Touch".
We've taught this way for 100+ years and it hasn't failed us yet.

Apple has provided updates and newer models to make a good device great.
People have developed methods and made them fit their needs and students.

Apple has sold over 1 million iPads and probably even 2 million by the time I'm done typing this.
Schools are looking into and experimenting with Standards Based Reporting if they don't all ready have the system.

The iPad may have only been out for a year while standards based has been for about 10, but everyone has their own five minutes of fame.

How long do you think it will take for the majority of U.S. schools to switch to #SBAR?  Is there any other way to compare the two?