BiblioNasium

Do your students struggle finding just right books?  Lucky for you, BiblioNasium has come to the rescue.  You might be wondering, what is BiblioNasium?  BiblioNasium is an online reading community for young students.  

Why Use BiblioNasium?

BiblioNasium is a platform that can help students become lifelong readers.  This community allows a class to keep track of their reading, recommend books, search for books, and connect with other readers in a fun way!  Watch this Welcome Video to learn the many benefits of using BiblioNasium with your class.  There are wonderful features on BiblioNasium for students, teachers, and parents.

BiblioNasium allows students to:

• search for books by the author, title or reading level
• select their avatar & change the background
• meet challenges presented by teachers & parents to win awards
• write recommendations
• find just right books (by interest and reading level)
• connect with their classmates about books they enjoy reading

BiblioNasium allows teachers to:

• recommend books
• create reading challenges for the whole class or individual students
• monitor and analyze what students are reading
• update students’ reading levels

BiblioNasium allows parents to:

• stay connected to their child’s reading
• view the books their child has read
• set up reading challenges for their children
• keep track of their child’s reading level

We want to provide the ideal learning environment for our students and BiblioNasium can help get us there!

Watch this tutorial to see how to get started with BiblioNasium

Getting Started with BiblioNasium by Leah Starr

What’s Next?

Let’s start using BiblioNasium with our students!   This can be integrated into the Reader’s Workshop as part of the Daily Five activities.  

Here are some ‘how to’ videos to share with students when getting started with BiblioNasium:

Change the avatar

Look at classmates bookshelves

Search for books

Use the reading log

Send & receive book recommendations

Here are some helpful resources for getting started with BiblioNasium:

https://www.diigo.com/user/lmstarr/PD-project

View the professional development presentation that can be used to introduce BiblioNasium to reading teachers:

BiblioNasium Presentation created by Leah Starr 

Collaborative Learning Environment: Edmodo

A collaborative online learning environment (CLE) can be a wonderful place for students, teachers, and families to create and share work.  I have experience with some collaborative learning environments, which include Google sites, docs, forms, and presentation as well as VT’s Young Writer’s Project.  I would like to further develop my experience with collaborative learning environments and have decided to try using the learning management system (lms), Edmodo this fall.  

Here are some strengths of Edmodo:

• Easy to facilitate class discussions 
• Allows for communication with families
• Students can collaborate with each other
• Teachers can collaborate with each other
• Easy to post assignments for students
• Students do not need an email address to access Edmodo
• Teachers can create polls & quizzes
• Easy to provide grades & feedback on assignments
• You can embed videos on the wall for class tutorials or discussions
• Teachers can keep a calendar for students to check due dates
• You can connect your Google Drive account to Edmodo

Check out these resources collected on Diigo to help make Edmodo easier to use:

Edmodo Resources

One downfall of using Edmodo is that students have one more place to log into instead of staying in their Google Account.  I would prefer if students could complete their work in the same account we are using as an LMS.  This will have to wait until Google Classroom is available to use as an LMS!

All in all, Edmodo is an effective, easy to use LMS.  I’m looking forward to more online collaboration this coming school year.  I am excited that my class will have a place to view, discuss, and collect assignments online.  

Flipping My Classroom- What does it mean and should I do it?

I have heard many benefits of a “flipped classroom” model, so I was interested in learning more about it.  I decided to do some research about what this means exactly and how this could be deployed as a technology initiative in a school.  After reading the blog entry, Flipping The Classroom...A Goldmine of Research To Keep You On Your feet, on 21 st Century Educational Technology and Learning, I have a much better understanding of a flipped classroom.

Essentially, this is an overview of a flipped classroom:

• Teachers create or find short video clips that focus on a necessary skill/strategy/lesson
• Students watch these clips at their own pace
• Students & teachers are involved in online discussions about these clips
• Class time is dedicated to interactive activities (such as Project-Based Learning)

After reading this blog entry, I have come to realize that a flipped classroom can look very different from classroom to classroom or school to school.  I like that teachers can create a blended learning environment based on the needs of their students.  The idea that it can look different depending on resources and needs makes the deployment of flipping the classroom more realistic for schools.

Some strengths I found for flipping the classroom:

• More individualized instruction
• More time for Project-Based Learning
• More time for the teacher to meet in small groups and one-on-one to best meet the needs of students
• Easy reteaching method
• Students work at their own pace
• Nourishes higher-level thinking skills
• Students are engaged
• Promotes self-evaluation

    In my research about flipping the classroom I came across Salman Khan’s video on Edutopia.  This was a wonderful resource.  One of my biggest take aways was the fact that the videos that students watch focus on skills or strategies that they learn from but some of the best learning that will happen is after the video is over and students have discussions. This emphasizes the point that flipped learning allows for Project-Based Learning.  Khan also emphasized how flipped learning lends itself well to individualized instruction.  Students can be working on skills or strategies that they need, whether it be below, on, or above grade level material.

Some techniques & tools I found to successfully deploy the flipped classroom model:

• Use resources that already available (Khan Academy or LearnZillion) 
• The blog entry, 30 Online Multimedia Resources for PBL and Flipped Classrooms  
• Follow Flipped Institute’s easy how to guide
• Use the WSQ technique for student accountability

My decision is yes, I would like to deploy the flipped classroom model.  With this model, classroom time will be available to do creative, hands-on, collaborative projects which will nourish life long learning.

“The real magic is when you let people talk to each other.” - Salman Khan  

Using ISTE’s Essential Conditions to Support 21st Century Learning

How do we prepare our students for their future?  One way is to focus on 21st century learning.  In 2010, The U.S. Department of Education released Essential Conditions for Tech Integration to help ensure 21st century learning in schools.  There are fourteen Essential Conditions which include, shared vision, empowered leaders, implementation planning, consistent and adequate funding, equitable access, skilled personnel, ongoing professional development, technical support, curriculum framework, student-centered learning, assessment and evaluation, engaged communities, support policies, and supportive external context.  Every school district’s technology plan should be based on these Essential Conditions.  I am going to focus on what schools can include in their technology plan to support 21st century learning with three of the Essential Conditions: students-centered learning, assessment and evaluation, and ongoing professional development.

Student-Centered Learning

According to ISTE, having student-centered learning means, “Planning, teaching, and assessment centered around the needs and abilities of students.”  

Some ways a school can meet this Essential Condition:

• Students have access to technology in all classrooms
• Students have access to computers before and after school
• An internet safety curriculum is implemented
• Adaptive technology is available in all classrooms
• Google Drive for each student to allow for easy collaboration and feedback
• Technology is woven into the curriculum
• Students are engaged in learning projects that are relevant to them
• Focus on collaborative learning
• Students are working with a variety of modern technology
• Individualized learning for students

Assessment and Evaluation

ISTE describes assessment and evaluation as, “Continuous assessment of teaching, learning, and

leadership, and evaluation of the use of ICT and digital resources.”

Some ways a school can meet this Essential Condition:

• School districts can use an Essential Conditions rubric for staff, like the one found at Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction  for walkthroughs and self-assessments
• Create an online platform for students assessments, such as Google Forms
• Use a district wide platform for assessment data such as Infinite Campus
• Create common assessments for all learning areas that use technology

Ongoing Professional Development

ISTE explains that ongoing professional development is, “Technology-related professional learning plans and opportunities with dedicated time to practice and share ideas.”

Some ways a school can meet this Essential Condition:

• Each staff member creates a personal technology plan using SMART goals
• Staff members are surveyed for technology strengths and weaknesses
• Professional development is planned based on areas of need
• Teachers learn technology integration with their students
• One staff meeting a month is dedicated to technology professional development
• PLC time is used for technology implementation
• Teachers work together to learn new tools
• Teachers train each other based on strengths
• Weekly newsletters include technology tips
• Technology tutorials are available to teachers

Educators need to work together to support 21st Learning by focusing on ISTE Essential Conditions.  For schools to successfully prepare students for their future, it is necessary to focus on the quality technology integration. Using the ISTE Essential Conditions as a guideline is key for successful technology plans.  

Leadership- Who I Admire As a Leader

I have been fortunate to work with many wonderful leaders during my teaching career.  I currently work with one leader that I admire and am happy to share about.  This leader has clear goals, is passionate, and good at communicating. She provides well planned professional development opportunities that are very applicable.  She frequently makes observations and gives thoughtful feedback that includes how teachers are progressing and gives specific examples of things to work on.  This person has an open door and is always ready to listen and share thoughts about the next steps.  She is easy to talk to because of her friendly demeanor.  She sends out reminders. She follows up with previous conversations.  She is passionate about student success. This leader uses research to support her decision making and includes staff members and community members in these decisions. She follows things through until the end.  She works hard because she loves her job. 

Leadership- Who am I as a Leader?

Who am I as a leader?  Well, I wouldn’t really call myself a leader.  Instead, I call myself an aspiring leader.  Or a leader in training.  Below, you'll find how I would like to see myself when I become a technology leader.

I hope to be:

• Facilitating change in curriculum by sharing responsibility with staff members
• Providing teachers with current research on the benefits of technology integration
• Having open conversations with teachers and community members about the current strengths and weakness in our technology integration
• Creating a committee to collaborate in enhancing this curriculum
• Continuing to gather teacher input through discussions and surveys during monthly PLC’s
• Providing professional development for effective implementation
• Recognizing and celebrating successes!

Some actions I might take as a technology leader:

• Create a committee with high quality teachers and community members that are invested in creating a curriculum to improve technology integration
• Effectively communicate the importance of improving our technology integration and motivate teachers to accept and appreciate this change in curriculum through discussion and professional development
• Anticipate resistance to this change and provide opportunities for conversation, professional development, and leadership roles for these teachers
• Advocate for student success through technology integration
• Use current research when making decisions about technology
• PLC groups will meet on a regular basis to reflect on strengths and focus on next steps of technology and implementation
• Administer surveys quarterly for teachers to give feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of technology integration
• Regularly read and discuss current research and best practice articles in PLC groups to develop and revise implementation strategies

As I dive into this course, Teacher Leadership in Technology Integration, I see myself moving closer to the status of a leader.