SAT02RM301

=Promoting Open, Reflective Teaching and Learning=

Wendy Smith & Brian C. Smith
media type="custom" key="449597" Skype: Add Brian's account: //teachntech//
 * Rochester, NY**

What are you most passionate about in your job? What vision do you have?
 * Activity: //Know Your Neighbor//**

Turn to your neighbor, chat and then share partners responses to larger group.

Describe what you would like to **take** from the conversation.
 * Activity:** //Give &// **//Take//**


 * MST PORTAL in Action**
 * 1. Background**
 * Why:** Need to increase opportunities for students to learn science through inquiry using project/problem-based learning. Reality - science was mainly being taught through textbooks, videos, and reproducibles.

4th grade oil spill to teach concepts of ecology- focus on student inquiry Fisher connection & mutually beneficial partnership
 * 2. Examples to illustrate how this plays out in the classroom**


 * 3. Don't Take Our Word for It:**

“//I never would have thought to do the unit this way. I would have just told them what to do.”// - Molly Gulvin, 4th Grade Teacher, Klem South Elementary School

Participants ask questions of a KS teacher via Skype call

Describe what you can **give** to the conversation. Contribute one or two ways... One, comment on the blog post on the MST PORTAL blog. Two, write your own blog post regarding the question below:
 * Activity: Give** & Take

Taking what you are most passionate about in your job, how can you transform yourself as a Teacher Leader in your setting to start to make change happen or increase and improve what you've already started?

Additional Conversation Questions
How can we increase our and other teachers’ comfort zones with transparency of practice? How important is it to make these changes in our practice?** In what ways are you open in your own learning? In what ways are you reflective in your teaching? In what ways are you reflective in your own learning?**
 * How transparent is your teaching?
 * What does it mean to be open? In what ways are you open in your teaching?

12:50 dwaltman : low budget smart board? 12:51 jeschwartz : She has become "dependent" on the SmartBoard. Is this good or not? 12:54 dwaltman : need a portable smart board 12:54 jeschwartz : In my comment/question I was identified as "unstreamer 28947." I'm actually Jim Schwartz. I'm wondering if any of the others identified as "ustream xxx" are any of my students. 12:58 dwaltman : i see you as jeschwartz 12:59 fleggett : will I be able to view this later? 01:00 dwaltman : if they recorded the broadcast you will be able to view later 01:00 dwaltman : i'm sure they probably are recording as well as broadcasting 01:00 fleggett : will I come back to this site? I need to move on with my day 01:00 dwaltman : they also have the option of saving this conversation 01:01 dwaltman : i've watched some presentations where this chat conversation was an interactive part of the onsite presentation 01:01 fleggett : brian is inquiring via skype right now 01:05 dwaltman : what is brian's skype name? 01:07 fleggett : anyone able to copy chat for Brian 01:08 fleggett : I left the channel for a minute and lost the conversation 01:09 fleggett : anyone know how to view the chats? 01:10 jeschwartz : I've copied and pasted the whole chat up to this point. 01:10 jeschwartz : (into a Word doc.) 01:10 TNewman519 : Hi, from St John Fisher College! Wendy and Brian are great! 01:11 teachermom57 : I can only go back to 12:50 by scrolling the green bar. 01:11 fleggett : I can only see the chat since I rejoined at 107 01:11 jeschwartz : TNewman - are you one of my students?? 01:12 teachermom57 : I can't get anything from before they started. 01:12 TNewman519 : It depends on who you are.... lol 01:12 jeschwartz : Jim Schwartz - Childhood Education Dept. 01:12 TNewman519 : I am actually one of Wendy's students right now 01:12 TNewman519 : Ooh... you visited our class one day 01:12 jeschwartz : :) 01:12 TNewman519 : Fancy meeting you here 01:14 dwaltman : anyone have questions you want me to forward to Brian via Skype right now 01:14 jeschwartz : On topic ... I think Wendy's relationship with Brian is a KEY to her success. 01:14 jeschwartz : Many teachers don't know where to start. 01:14 TNewman519 : Can you tell Brian and Wendy that their literacy class from SJFC is watching 01:15 dwaltman : just did 01:15 TNewman519 : awesome, thank you 01:16 jeschwartz : YES!!! (in response to what WS is saying 01:16 dwaltman : i agree that is a good point 01:17 TNewman519 : definitely 01:17 teachermom57 : Many times you come up with wonderful situations that hook the students just by your own research as you create the unit. 01:18 teachermom57 : I agree with the idea that we need to stick with what we want the students to know/understand. The other stuff is just icing 01:18 fleggett : in response to jeschwartz, that is why I keep advocating for a full time IT/tech person in each building, teachers need help 01:19 jeschwartz : Part of why that's true (job-embeded education) is because technology is changing so fast. If we try to teach the tech first, it goes by too fast. 01:19 teachermom57 : It needs to be embedded in the day. The way we are learning is by being in the MST lab with Wendy and watching and working with her. I've done research on job embedded PD and it is the way to go. 01:19 dwaltman : i want to be that IT person in our building! 01:20 dwaltman : keep comments/questions coming....I'm cut/pasting to brian via skype 01:20 TNewman519 : Janet wants to remind us that Technology is a great tool for embedding literacy into the content areas 01:21 jeschwartz : Traditionally it has been easier to get funding for capital than for prof. dev. 01:21 jeschwartz : W/o this level of prof. dev., it just doesn't progress. 01:23 teachermom57 : You need to see it and do it on a regular basis to make it a part of your teaching. If you can't go back and put it right into practice, it gets lost. 01:23 TNewman519 : This is really the coolest thing. Its nice to know we can participate in this discussion without actually being there. 01:23 dwaltman : it is cool...too bad Brian's comments aren't showing up here for some reason 01:24 TNewman519 : Its important that all teachers think about the impact that this kind of technology can have on the classroom. It really empowers students and lets them know they are part of something so much bigger 01:24 TNewman519 : Yeah. I tried to figure out how Skype works, but I wasn't sure what to do. 01:24 TNewman519 : It would be cool if I could figure out how to directly talk to Brian and Wendy 01:25 dwaltman : do you have Skype available right now? 01:25 TNewman519 : Yes, and I made an account. I just didnt know where to go from there 01:26 TNewman519 : I have never used the program before, so I am pretty clueless 01:26 dwaltman : his skype name is teachntech 01:26 dwaltman : add contact or search 01:26 dwaltman : his name should come up 01:26 dwaltman : then you can start chat 01:26 fleggett : can you set up a conference call with them via skype 01:26 MaryAnnKrog : We will also be starting the collegial circles on K-12 Online learning this next week. 01:27 dwaltman : you can make audio conference calls...but i'm using chat feature now 01:27 TNewman519 : I love that he just gave us a shoutout. Caitlin says "WE LOVE YOU BRIAN!!!" 01:28 dwaltman : i just came across ooVoo software which allows for a multiple (up to 6 users) video chat 01:28 dwaltman : but haven't found people to test it yet 01:29 MaryAnnKrog : I would like that Reading First money behind work reading and writing for the world and see what happens. 01:29 dwaltman : now..you can see interaction bw what is happening in philly and our comments from Rochester! 01:30 TNewman519 : Sorry brian!! I am trying to figure out skype! 01:31 teachermom57-1 : I am doing this on two computers right now because the speakers on one of them go out after 35 minutes. Gotta love tech. 01:31 dwaltman : that's an interesting feature 01:31 jeschwartz : Openness has both good and bad aspects. 01:33 dwaltman : i like to come back to a Will Richardson comment: you have to see how the tech/web2.0 informs your own learning before seeing how it can be used for your own students 01:33 jeschwartz : absolutely 01:34 TNewman519 : Teachers have to be very informed of all of these things, especially if you're going to manage using them in your classroom 01:34 dwaltman : that's what i've done in the last few months...and it's had a huge impact on how I learn, etc. 01:34 teachermom57-1 : that is so true!! I am learning to use things before I try to let students do it. It makes a huge difference. 01:34 TNewman519 : But even so, its okay to make mistakes and learn from them.The second time around there will ALWAYS be room for improvement 01:34 fleggett : I can go both ways...watching a student learn with you can be very powerful too 01:34 TNewman519 : You have to learn somehow 01:35 TNewman519 : Or sometimes even havign the students teach you! 01:35 TNewman519 : Because they are so savvy these days 01:35 jeschwartz : So - we have two learning curves to deal with. One - our own learning; the other - how we're learning to improve our teaching. 01:35 TNewman519 : Most definitely 01:35 fleggett : but isn't that what master teachers do....lifelong learning 01:35 TNewman519 : I was just going to say that exact same thing!! 01:36 TNewman519 : Its really important to not be afraid to make a change and experiment with new things... because new technologies will keep on coming! 01:36 teachermom57-1 : I find that the excitement i feel about learning and doing all of this is contaigous to my students. They get excited because I am. They see me as a risk taker, not afraid to make mistakes in front of them. This helps them to be more risk takers. 01:37 jeschwartz : Yes. I've had times when the risk-taking backfired, however. 01:37 MaryAnnKrog : how so 01:38 fleggett : so what did you do...probably kept on with the main concept 01:38 jeschwartz : Always have a plan B.. and C... and so on.... 01:39 jeschwartz : Mary Ann - I've been had times when my lesson was dependent on a technology and the technology failed. 01:39 fleggett : absolutely and when they are not planned, stick to the concept. show your problem solving skills to the kids, they need to see real problem solving in action 01:39 TNewman519 : Also, when students see you as a teacher using technology- they can really relate 01:40 dwaltman : seems like the chat conversation has moved to Skype 01:40 teachermom57-1 : Technology fails a lot. I'm learning to troubleshoot and so are the students. If I can't make it work in 5 min. We go back to the "old fashioned" way. The kids are getting good with it. They are learning flexibility. 01:40 TNewman519 : I have both open now. Thanks for helping on that 01:41 MaryAnnKrog : I imagine showing the students what can ahappend when technology backfires would be imorotant also. 01:41 TNewman519 : Because it really is okay to make mistakes and learn from them 01:41 jeschwartz : I like the 5-minute rule, teachermom. 01:41 fleggett : topic comment: we need to teach children how to stay safe, they are going to access information not age appropriate...we need to plan/expect that 01:41 jeschwartz : That's one of the things I had in mind when I said openness can be both positive and negative. 01:43 teachermom57-1 : I agree. I have two teenagers, the internet can be a scary place for parents. I try to keep on top of what they are doing and where they are going. I am trying to take what I'm learning to my students inthe way of netiquette. 01:43 dwaltman : no problem 01:43 TNewman519 : It really opens up a whole new world that we need to teach them about... 01:45 TNewman519 : Again, anyone who wants to join the chat on skype, brians name is TeachnTech 01:46 dwaltman : Brian's skype name: 01:39 TNewman519 : Also, when stbrians skype name: teachntech 01:46 TNewman519 : But watch out... this guy is crazy about technology. He'll get you addicted to blogs and wikis and now ustream 01:46 dwaltman : you can join the chat at skype 01:48 teachermom57-1 : Very important! WE are preparing the future, they need to be at least as ready as the rest of the world. 01:49 jeschwartz : I don't think it's "important" for its own sake. Rather, if it helps us achieve our learning goals better, it's important in that regard. 01:50 TNewman519 : Its so crazy to think about that statement "we are preparing the future." We really are preparing students to be literate in a world that we can't even begin to imagine.. 10 years from now 01:51 TNewman519 : And we've been talking about Literacy as reading and writing... having web 2.0 really opens up a whole new world for our students 01:51 TNewman519 : The idea of technological literacy 01:52 teachermom57-1 : THey are the future and we need to make sure that they are ready to learn and change at a speed none of us can even imagine right now. Being able to jump and change and fgure out where to get the information you need will be the way to survive inthe future. 01:53 TNewman519 : There's a video called ShiftHappens that exlpains how we, as teachers, are preparing students for jobs that don't even exist yet. If you havent seen it, I'd highly recommend it 01:54 teachermom57-1 : I've seen it at opening day at school. It really made me think about what is important to prepare students for. I wonder sometimes if we are on the right track in some areas? 01:55 TNewman519 : They showed it on opening day in my school district too! 01:56 fleggett : don't worry, I hear the renzulli comment:) 01:56 TNewman519 : Oh, most definitely. I wonder that alot. Someday, I would be very interested in getting involved in curriculum development 01:58 dwaltman : the author of Shift Happens has a blog Fischbowl...good reading most of the time 01:58 TNewman519 : yeah, i've seen that! Thanks!! 01:58 fleggett : what is brians skype name, I was talking to him via wendys 01:59 barcuri : Skype: teachntech 01:59 teachermom57-1 : Just watching all of this, think about being able to multi-task. That is a skill students will need. 02:00 TNewman519 : Its a huge skill to have, we need to teach them this 02:00 jeschwartz : Yeah; I've been doing at least two more tasks while participating in this :) 02:00 jeschwartz : Those poor folks at the actual conference are stuck with one task. 02:00 teachermom57-1 : I'm listening, watching, typing, reading and trying to download skype on the other computer. 02:04 jeschwartz : The guy on the left makes some very good points. 02:06 jeschwartz : Thank you! Bye! 02:06 MaryAnnKrog : Thanks Wendy and Brian! This was great 02:06 fleggett : Thanks everyone, nice chatting 02:08 teachermom57-1 : It was great chatting with you all!! Great job Wendy and Brian. wendy
 * Chat Log from uStream Below:**