Online Professional Development Courses Coming Soon

Are you looking for technology integration professional development but are unable to attend after school trainings due to other commitments?

The Office of Personalized Learning will be rolling out  online professional development courses soon.  These courses will be listed in PDExpress when available and can be accessed through our Moodle server at eLearn.spps.org.  Interested participants will register in PDExpress and use the enrollment key listed there to enroll in the Moodle course on eLearn.spps.org.

Online professional development can be worked on anytime, anywhere - whenever is convenient for the individual participants, whether that is at 4:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., or 12:00 a.m. during the week or on the weekend. Whenever is most convenient for the participant.

After completing an assignment in the course, participants will receive clock hour credits in PDExpress just like they do for attending trainings after school or during the school day.

If online professional development sounds interesting to you, check in PDExpress under Personalized Learning for new courses coming soon!

Personalized Learning Institute

The Office of Personalized Learning held the first Personalized Learning Institute March 26 and 27.

The institute was attended by eighty-five Saint Paul staff and introduced them to personalized learning essentials, tailoring instruction, culturally responsive teaching, teaching in technology rich environments, student voice and choice, universal design for learning (UDL), and a hands-on introduction to some of the features of the new learning platform.

Staff also had time to collaboratively explore web 2.0 tools and resource websites that can be integrated into lessons to help students collaborate online, produce multimedia examples of their learning, and educate students on digital citizenship and online safety.  

Additional personalized learning institutes and training will be available later this spring.  Please check the Personalized Learning website for additional information about institutes and professional development.

Student response: Plickers

There's a new tool in student response: Plickers.  Plickers is great if you don't have access to student devices like an iPad or clickers.  The only requirement is the teacher needs to have an iPhone or Android phone to collect responses.  Each student gets a paper response card, and can turn the card based on their chosen answer (A,B, C or D).  The teacher scans the room with the phone, and the responses are collected!

The Plicker website allows teachers to print cards, create class lists and see students' responses.  Feedback I've already gotten recommends printing the cards on cardstock, or something more durable than regular paper.  You can set up your class list so that a student is associated with a specific card. Then, you can see that student's answers afterwards.

Have you tried Plickers? 

Tweet Chats

As you may have seen, the Office of Personalized Learning is starting to have regular Tweetchats on Monday nights starting at 7pm.  "What's a Tweetchat?" you may ask.  A Tweetchat is a chat that happens on Twitter.  Anyone wanting to participate gets on a connected device at the same time.  One person moderates the discussion, by asking questions.  THe nice thing about a Tweetchat is that is is fast-paced (due to the character limits) and allows you to participate from anywhere--you can even be in you pajamas!

Here is some advice if you are thinking about participating:

1.  It's a good idea to use a third party Twitter site, like Tweetdeck or Twubs.  Sites like these help you follow the chat much quicker than trying to search for the hashtag.

2.  Don't be afraid to lurk at first; just don't let it be too long.  We'd love to hear from many people in the district.  Lurk until you feel comfortable.

3.  Don't forget, Twitter is a public place.

4.  Join us, even if it's for a little while.  Tweetchats are a great way to connect with people outside your school.  We're all busy, but I will be moderating with the help of my 3 and 6 year old kids, so what's stopping you?
 
We hope to see you on Monday!  Contact Jessica McMahon via email (jessica.mcmahon@spps.org) or via Twitter (spps_mcmahon) with any questions.  This Monday's topic is "Student Voice and Choice."

School Choice Fair

Come join the Office of Personalized Learning staff at the School Choice Fair!

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We would love to strike up a conversation with you about how personalized learning can engage and empower Saint Paul students by allowing them more voice and choice in how they demonstrate their learning with technology-enhanced personalized instruction.

Come see some of the digital learning tools being used in SPPS schools, such as, iPads, laptops, Chromebooks, Nooks, and the new Learning Platform and hear more about how these tools can be used to support instruction.  We can also give you a demonstration of digital resources like Achieve3000, MackinVia, TumbleBooks, and Discovery Streaming that are currently being used with students in our schools.

Join us January 11 at the RiverCentre between 9:30 AM and 2:00 PM.

Galtier Community School embraces design thinking for greater flexibility in learning

Earlier this year, during two sweltering days in late June, students, their parents, and teachers from Galtier Community School in Saint Paul decided to revolutionize education. Their methodology? Design thinking. —TheLineMedia.com.

Read the full story here:http://www.thelinemedia.com/features/galtierschool111313.aspx

Information Week: iPad Changes Education: For Better, Or Worse?

As a growing number of schools adopt tablets, students and teachers need to hold on for a bit of a bumpy ride during the implementation phase.—InformationWeek.com
Read the full story here:
http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobile-devices/ipad-changes-education-for-better-or-worse/d/d-id/899724?