tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88565121413075826032024-03-15T20:10:05.732-05:00To Learn TwiceThoughts about education, technology, and learning - because nothing is as good as a good theory - in practiceDr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.comBlogger385125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-48130749189605407902020-07-02T07:31:00.000-05:002020-07-02T08:05:02.347-05:00One week Later: Thoughts on ISBE's Guidance on Returning to School<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last week in </span><a href="https://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2020/06/29/well-put-together-the-best-possible-plan-we-can-and-learn-to-adapt-dist-99-superintendent-reacts-to-nebulous-isbe-fall-guidelines/afpueh2/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1593473636" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Suburban Life</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I weighed in on the ISBE Guidance on returning to school immediately after processing it and building this</span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RL5QfQ8mRB_VLgLZgh1If_94-iE8W9wm167dJ6PdG2c/edit?usp=sharing" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">summary overview</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Now one week later, after being </span><a href="https://wgnradio.com/john-williams/district-99-superintendent-hank-thiele-on-school-reopening-guidelines/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">interviewed by</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://wgnradio.com/john-williams/district-99-superintendent-hank-thiele-on-school-reopening-guidelines/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John Williams on AM 720</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on these topics and having more time to think about it - I have put together what I believe regarding these guidelines as of today - July 2nd - with about 6 weeks left to develop a plan to return to school.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The pandemic has impacted everyone in the world and we are all struggling to figure out how to navigate our new situation. Please know that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I truly appreciate the work of the Illinois State Board of Education and the task force that developed the guidance</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I always try to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">presume good intentions</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and I believe all of those working on </span><a href="https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Part-3-Transition-Planning-Phase-4.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the ISBE Guidance</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have the best of intentions for students and families.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My biggest concern is that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the ISBE Guidance</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> should have been released as </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DRAFT</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> guidance weeks ago and shared with others to provide feedback- this is how essential, key guidance has been released in the past...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">already</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> clear guidance issued from the </span><a href="https://www.niet.org/assets/Resources/31b7058159/school-year-planning-guide-2020-21.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">National Institute for Excellence in Teaching</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (NIST) - (released on June 12) which ISBE reiterates and links to in their 63-page Guidance. I feel as if the 63 pages could have been reduced to a couple of pages with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">clear</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and unequivocal guidelines of what we must do in priority order and then linked back to the NIST guidance. With this we could have been working 3 weeks earlier and have definitive guidance by now. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In ISBE’s Guidance they list </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 things</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are mandatory:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 1. Require use of appropriate personal protective equipment (</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PPE</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), including face coverings;</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2. Prohibit more than </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">50 individuals</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from gathering in one space;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 3. Require </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">social distancing</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> be observed, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as much as possible</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 4. Require that schools conduct </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">symptom screenings</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and temperature checks or require that</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> people self-certify that they are free of symptoms before entering school buildings; and</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 5. Require an increase in </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">schoolwide cleaning and disinfection</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However this guidance is nebulous</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do we interpret “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Possible</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” - especially for large districts like ours, which house 2,000+ students at staff at each school? What is more important: Bringing every student back to school at the same time or maintaining social distancing? Picking one of those priorities leads to completely different plans for returning to school. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have received </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">conflicting and confusing</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> guidelines with no priorities </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Social Distancing vs. Bring Everyone Back/prioritize in-person learning</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep students apart vs. Ride the bus with up to 50 people for an unknown duration of time</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check for temperatures before entering the building - No touch thermometers work on dry skin in a draft free room</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The guidance is ever-changing </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">even though the health guidance has not changed since last week</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Yet, </span><a href="http://www.isbe.net/Documents/FAQ-Part-3-Transition-Guidance.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; font-size: 14px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">there are already significant changes to the 5 mandatory requirements</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">since the original guidance was released last week, and after a series of webinars was held, and multiple meetings with other school and health department officials occurred. This includes the following:</span></div>
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<li><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Face shields being allowed vs. face masks</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Governor and ISBE both said face shields are ok substitutes - now they are not)</span></li>
<li><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Self certification</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - now needs to be daily, rather than a one-time oath from parents and students that they would perform this check--how to administer this? That isn’t outlined in the guidance.</span></li>
<li><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Social distancing</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - in the FAQ desks now do not need to be 6 feet apart. (There is no guidance from the CDC that less than 6 feet for periods of more than 15 minutes is ok)</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I appreciate local control on topics that should be decided with local control. The guidance of health professionals is not a topic we as educators should be determining. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I prefer to defer to science and data</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when it comes to the health and safety of our students and staff.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">clear and prioritized</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> health and return to school requirements</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. From there we can determine what a school day looks like.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately now we will end up with key differences from school to school and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">comparisons and criticisms</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> will begin. Local superintendents will make the best decisions they can for the health and safety of students with lots of room for second guessing and decisions that will drive wedges between members of their community.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is difficult enough to plan for opening up school with thousands of students without clear guidance that is changing on nearly a daily basis.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, there are 852 school districts in Illinois and local control is a huge benefit to our model of schools in Illinois. Our communities vary in size, needs and affluence. We are different, but all share the same desire to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">keep our students and communities safe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I believe ISBE could construct “tiers” of solutions based on school type (elementary, middle, high school) and population size to create concise requirements and standards. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The desire to protect health is not unique to any single school district.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What am I asking for one week later? </span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clear, concise, prioritized, and precise health guidance</span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from our state public education and health officials. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A return to <b>superintendents receiving advanced draft guidance</b> so we can prepare before the public receives the information - and directly emailing information with specific updates to superintendents - instead of only posting a lengthy FAQ on the web. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A statement on </span><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">which health organization's guidance we are supposed to follow</b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - CDC, IDPH, WHO, Local Health Departments - there is so much conflicting information out there - who is the appropriate source for Illinois Schools?</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need it fast - time is running out.</span></div>
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Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-60443311561774812082020-01-28T15:07:00.001-06:002020-01-28T15:07:19.181-06:00Understanding the Superintendency - The District’s Symbiotic Relationship with the Taxpayer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Average_county_property_taxes_in_the_United_States.jpg/500px-Average_county_property_taxes_in_the_United_States.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="150" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Average_county_property_taxes_in_the_United_States.jpg/500px-Average_county_property_taxes_in_the_United_States.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
In our District the majority for school funding comes from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_tax_in_the_United_States">local property taxes</a>. This fact creates a natural symbiotic relationship between property owners and schools. The top factor that influences home values in our state is the quality of local schools. On some level, this is one of the reasons why people support their local schools and want them to succeed - the result is higher property values. Schools have a responsibility in this symbiotic relationship to help raise the value of their community’s property. One way to do this (the way tied closest to our mission) is by doing a great job: helping students to be successful, creating opportunities for a positive learning experience, and connecting students to their community so they want to come back here to live (and hopefully buy a home). Another key method is by sharing the success of our students and promoting both our schools and communities in the process. A way we help facilitate this each year is by meeting with local realtors to help them understand our schools and the work we do. Each year our district, and our other area partner districts, host <a href="https://www.csd99.org/news/1671788/area-realtors-invited-to-breakfast-event-by-local-school-districts-on-feb-5">a realtor breakfast</a> to better inform local realtors about our schools, teachers, and students. We teach real estate agents how to read the school report cards and share many things beyond the data that makes us proud. Realtors are often someone’s first pathway into our community and we want them to understand how great our schools are. Of course, the work of our communications department is focused on sharing our story all year long and these stories are bolstered by what our students, staff, and parents post on social media. Ultimately, it is the school’s responsibility to its taxpayers to share in the symbiotic relationship of celebrating and promoting their community. After all, that is what is best for the kids in the end.Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-7677833260684291872019-11-19T17:46:00.002-06:002019-11-19T17:58:18.128-06:00Understanding the Superintendency - The Role of the School Board: A Basic Overview<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In recognition of School Board Member Appreciation Day last week, here is a primer on what it means to be a school board member. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a superintendent I have a single supervisor that consists of 7 people. These 7 volunteers are elected to serve as representatives of the community. As community members indicate they are interested in serving as Board members, before they run for a 4-year term, I share this document with them: “<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eDQxYaxzWYzDiHLMx5w5GVON_XPfJTY0/view?usp=sharing">What it Means to Serve on the Board</a>” that serves as an introduction to the role. I also meet with them and share my experiences as a superintendent, but also as a former board member. Most of this information I provide is from the <a href="https://www.iasb.com/">Illinois Association of School Boards</a>, the professional organization that supports school board members in Illinois. The IASB outlines 6 main responsibilities of a school board:
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clarifies the district's purpose </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Connects with the community </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Employs a superintendent </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Delegates authority </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monitors performance </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Takes responsibility for itself </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">The superintendent is made responsible for all matters of the school district through board policies and board action. When the board takes action, it does so by voting at board meetings held in public. After a majority of board members vote for an action, it becomes the single voice of the board. It is through these actions, especially in approving board policy, the superintendent is given direction to execute the expectations of the board. Throughout the year the superintendent keeps the board informed of progress on board goals (<a href="http://www.csd99.org/about/files/Documents/District%20Goals%202019-20%20%20-%20BOE%20Approved.pdf">District 99 2019-20 Board Goals</a>) and any other important district information board members need to make informed decisions. The board then monitors the superintendent’s performance and evaluates the superintendent on meeting the board’s goals. I review goal progress with the board through a <a href="http://www.csd99.org/boe/files/Policies%20and%20Minutes/Minutes%202019-2020/2018-2019%20End%20of%20Year%20Goal%20Summary%20-%20Web.pdf">goal summary</a> and by sending out a <a href="https://www.pageturnpro.com/District-99/90377-District-99-Year-in-Review-2018-2019/flex.html">year in review</a> to the public to assist the board in evaluating my performance and to help develop goals for the following year. </span><br />
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Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-31251932072136572642019-11-12T17:39:00.003-06:002019-11-12T17:46:19.341-06:00Understanding the Superintendency: Snow/Cold Day Process<br />
I am returning to my blog to begin a periodic narrative of what a superintendent actually does and some of the decision making that goes into this role. Since we are already into snow season here is a quick description of what goes into calling off school for cold or snow in my role.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It usually begins with a series of conference calls in the day or days before a potential emergency weather event with DuPage County and the Office of Emergency Management. At the same time, I am discussing what we are learning with our local elementary school districts and other high school districts in DuPage County. There are several calls or emails between these groups and this continues throughout the day leading up to an emergency event. We follow our processes outlined on the </span><a href="https://www.csd99.org/about/emergency-closing-information" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">District’s Emergency Closing Information page</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we can make a call the night before, we try to before 9PM. Otherwise superintendents across DuPage County are monitoring the situation all night. We are in communication with local government and emergency responders during this time to understand road conditions. We keep a close eye on weather reports from the </span><a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=41.7693&lon=-88.031#.XcsjxqjYo3F" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">National Weather Service</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conference calls begin at 4am with local elementary superintendents. I then report what we are thinking to the other DuPage area superintendents at 4:30am. We then have another call with local elementary superintendents and decide on staying open or closed for the day. We are all in, or all out, together as a set of District 99 area schools. We make the decision collaboratively.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When deciding to cancel, safety is my top concern. We have to balance this against the fact that our school offers many students 2 meals a day, a safe place to be, and the support of our caring staff. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we are closed, notifications start going out at 5am.. You’ll receive multiple messages and it will be posted on the websites and social media as well.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the event of a School Closing, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">don’t come to work unless you are an employee involved in snow removal</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If called, follow the </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uEBxnvCo7x8152QVpHuyMheRlYYFUR19rtM00CtBtkc/edit" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">expectations for e-learning days</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Typically, if the school is closed all evening activities will be canceled as well. However, we may have some unusual situations where we may authorize events in the evening, depending on conditions. Athletic or Activity Directors will be in contact with coaches or sponsors in the rare condition that occurs.</span></div>
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Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-40720598323218601942017-10-13T10:24:00.002-05:002017-10-13T10:24:47.754-05:00Find the Good Points on the Way to Yes<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">As school leaders, we often have those around us approach us with requests that are difficult to meet. Many times, the first instinctive response we reach for in those difficult situations brought to us by a student, parent, or colleague is: “no.” That answer is safe, easy, </span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> doesn’t require us to extend beyond our comfort zone. I heard once that the secret to helping others is by trying to get to “yes.” That doesn’t mean that the answer will be “yes,” but the trick is to figure out what it would take to get there </span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> be open to walking down that path. Once you open the conversation up, you must listen carefully </span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> find the good points. In nearly every difficult conversation, even those where you strongly disagree, there is usually some good idea. Looking for good points could get you closer to “yes.” It might not be what was asked for at the start, but working to “yes” gets you further than ending with “no.”</span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-71027362812954222562017-06-14T09:26:00.000-05:002017-06-14T09:26:10.338-05:00 Summer is the Time to Grow - By Using a Rubber Duck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Rubber_duck_assisting_with_debugging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Rubber_duck_assisting_with_debugging.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Almost everyone is done for the summer, or soon will be, and I believe this is your best time to grow through reflection because you actually have some time you can dedicate to the process. I have long practiced “</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currere&source=gmail&ust=1497536216448000&usg=AFQjCNEcTLcGjYtKTX6G3-CgMYvKvUH8jQ" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currere" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Currere</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” as a method for structured reflection on a project or a school year. Here is a quick way to break down a school year using Currere by asking four simple questions:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><ol>
<li>What was my experience last year?</li>
<li>What do I want to do next year?</li>
<li>How am I feeling about current abilities and skills?</li>
<li>What is my path forward to a successful year next year?</li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The trick to taking action on what you learn from reflection is verbalizing what you are going to do next year. Speak your plans out loud and listen to what you are saying. As told in the recent “</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://rationallyspeakingpodcast.org/show/rs-186-tania-lombrozo-on-why-we-evolved-the-urge-to-explain.html&source=gmail&ust=1497536216448000&usg=AFQjCNGQMRwJCxM1GC7ruX4CKPPcs4U8Ww" href="http://rationallyspeakingpodcast.org/show/rs-186-tania-lombrozo-on-why-we-evolved-the-urge-to-explain.html" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rationally Speaking</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” podcast, you don’t have to explain your plans to anyone but yourself, but you do have to say them out loud - even if you just speak to a </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging&source=gmail&ust=1497536216449000&usg=AFQjCNEBZM0K08-L7xU-9-itoODe-RVSjA" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rubber duck</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. You will then help yourself build a better plan. The roadmap to having a great next school year is already inside of you. Now is the time to discover the path through some structured reflection and a little rubber ducking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cross Posted to the Tech&Learning Newsletter</span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-75673864113566676802017-05-01T21:51:00.001-05:002017-05-01T21:51:23.504-05:00The Actual Cost of Cursive in Illinois<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Cursive_WikiWorld.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Cursive_WikiWorld.png" width="162" /></a></div>
Last week the <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/illinois/articles/2017-04-26/house-would-require-cursive-writing-in-illinois-schools">Illinois House passed new legislation</a> that would mandate that cursive is taught in schools across Illinois. This comes <a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/31/expert-illinois-budget-stalemate-could-last-through-next-election/">during the same time that they cannot pass a budget, for two years running</a>. This got me thinking of the question "at what cost does cursive come at?" So I have attempted to estimate and cost it out.<br />
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The two major variables for hard costs are materials and professional development. Handwritten cursive requires consumable workbooks. A common set of materials for teaching cursive, which typically occurs in 3rd grade, is the <a href="https://www.zaner-bloser.com/products/zaner-bloser-handwriting.php">Zaner-Bloser Handwriting series</a>, which comes at a cost of $11.69 per student. According to the <a href="https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/State.aspx?source=studentcharacteristics&source2=enrollment&Stateid=IL">Illinois Report Card</a> we have averaged 152,545 third graders each year over the past five years. This gives you a cost of student materials of <b>$1,783,246 for the first year,</b> <b>and for every year after that</b>.<br />
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Many schools haven't been teaching cursive for a while, so we would have to coach up our teachers, modify daily schedules for 15 minutes of cursive per day, ensure that we have methods for assessing student progress, and ways to intervene when students don't succeed. I estimate that we will need a day for each third grade teacher to re-train on their cursive skills and build out the curriculum. Using Illinois Report Card Data again, With 152,545 third grade students, with the average class size across Illinois in elementary schools at 19.1, and the average hourly rate for teachers in Illinois at $45.19 per hour we come out with a cost of <b>$2,887,052 to retrain our third grade teachers</b>.<br />
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Teachers need materials too, and we will get them one set ever, just to keep costs down. So the 7987 third grade teachers across the State also get $11.69 worth of <b>teacher materials at a total cost of $93,364</b>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Total cost of year one in $4,763.662</span></b>, which is only %0.43 of what Illinois owes schools in back bills from this year, because they haven't paid any school funding yet and owe schools $1,106,085,191 as of today. It is also enough to <u>fully fund</u> many <a href="https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?source=environment&Districtid=08043211026">small school districts</a> across the state for a year.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The total cost after 5 years is $11,896,648.</span> </b>That is more than the annual budget in my child's elementary school district and a little more than 1% of what the State currently owes schools.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2D0G6MIjrQMlK20KZA1GqZY52PR8KnF2wEPU2cPg8M18KVP_UMVEg7lCSc95Wowl86mcFt7yU9y5Ujo3mcGcwpvWoZfYGWl6r5SkXyDQOHtZHI9HZmv5BBFdyR04UsiGnVJ5v9qoBfz3T/s1600/Screenshot+2017-05-01+at+9.45.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2D0G6MIjrQMlK20KZA1GqZY52PR8KnF2wEPU2cPg8M18KVP_UMVEg7lCSc95Wowl86mcFt7yU9y5Ujo3mcGcwpvWoZfYGWl6r5SkXyDQOHtZHI9HZmv5BBFdyR04UsiGnVJ5v9qoBfz3T/s1600/Screenshot+2017-05-01+at+9.45.13+PM.png" /></a>When working through this exercise I am not even factoring in the cost of the time for administrators and support staff to organize all of this, order materials, inventory orders, and cut checks for these changes - we will consider that a throw in as part of doing business. We also won;t factor in what we <u>are not doing</u> while we are teaching and preparing for cursive. Or the tissue we will need for all of the kids that are in tears as a result of forcing them to master a skill that has gone the way of ink wells, television tube repairs, and filmstrips. Really, tears must be a thing, because there is a whole curriculum called "<u><a href="https://www.hwtears.com/hwt">Handwriting Without Tears</a>".</u><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>So before legislators start passing mandates, maybe they should pass a budget.</u> </span></b><br />
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Visit <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PassILBudget&src=typd">#PassILBudget </a>to see the peas from educators across the State of Illinois, including more than 413 Superintendents, to get this done.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1om1T1Gfw9K2qtuEgQFRSPofUdVzBvnTS1NUJjSaSA-w/edit#gid=0">Check my math here</a><br />
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<br />Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-35628752341658431222016-10-13T11:03:00.003-05:002016-10-13T11:03:56.238-05:00Getting Students Connected to the Internet at Home to Close the Homework Gap and Digital Divide<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The recent </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v%3D6_2367596542_104292_11&source=gmail&ust=1476452466869000&usg=AFQjCNHsiYtN0spLhI8rVVXawuMqUC40PA" href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2367596542_104292_11" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">SchoolCIO Summit in Baltimore</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> focused on closing the digital divide across the United States. SchoolCIO Summit attendees, comprised of K-12 edtech leaders, came from different backgrounds ranging from large urban school districts like Baltimore, to small rural ones like Neosho, Missouri, and everything in-between. Attendees identified the toughest digital equity challenge to be Internet access. Many attendees equated the Internet with water or power--a utility that is necessary in today's modern world. There are government agencies, communities, and businesses partnering to close this gap, such as the nonprofit </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v%3D6_2367596542_104292_12&source=gmail&ust=1476452466869000&usg=AFQjCNFujbb9xu67pXFw34KqUp96Dgk7YQ" href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2367596542_104292_12" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">EveryoneOn</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, whose Chief Programs Officer, Veronica Creech, led a panel discussion on the topic at the summit. The "One Million Project" (</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v%3D6_2367596542_104292_13&source=gmail&ust=1476452466869000&usg=AFQjCNHv5gzVJeoeorUiVPrMFCOKkMg_qA" href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2367596542_104292_13" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">#1MillionProject</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">) sponsored by </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v%3D6_2367596542_104292_14&source=gmail&ust=1476452466869000&usg=AFQjCNF-bTxryKw93NXdpuAvsDlsl0l9GA" href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2367596542_104292_14" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">Sprint</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> seeks to close one-fifth of the five million unconnected families through WiFi hotspots. </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v%3D6_2367596542_104292_15&source=gmail&ust=1476452466869000&usg=AFQjCNFFdsPB4Wk7XlaBPgzUf2Slmtkk_Q" href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2367596542_104292_15" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">Comcast’s Internet Essentials</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, which works in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s ConnectHome initiative, has connected more than 600,000 low-income families through its $9.95/month offer to low-income homes. Through programs like these, closing this divide is now an attainable goal.</span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-90135021679000391882016-09-15T10:43:00.002-05:002016-09-15T10:43:26.824-05:00What You Do is Amazing<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">One of the challenges in working in education is the ease in which the public can attack schools. I believe that there are several societal changes that have led to the rise of teacher and school bashing:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">1. The death of the local free press: It used to be easy to get a reporter and photographer to show up at school to see the awesome things going on. Now a lone reporter, who is spread too thin, tends to only show up when things go wrong. It is the bad news that gets Web visits.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">2. Bad news has more places to travel fast: Social media promotes the travel of bad news--especially when it can be delivered in a punchy headline, picture, or video.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">3. Schools are just buildings from the outside: The public drives by and sees our buildings but can't easily see what is going on inside of them.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Without evidence that school is different, the public is left to believe that school is a place that is worse than before and headed in the wrong direction. We need to change this perception. What educators don't readily recognize is that the public standard for "good schools" is simply being better than when the community member was in school--5, 15, of 50 years ago. We aren't just better than 5 years ago--we are absolutely amazing in comparison to 5 years ago! The activities teachers do on a daily basis are mind-blowing to the public--once they see them. We need to start sharing the awesomeness of our schools everyday. We need to create a massive outpouring of evidence that what we do is special, important, and good for kids--while burying the negative voices out there. This starts with parents. Send them pictures and videos of their children doing school. Give them a glimpse into the amazing new world of education. Work with your administration to appropriately share this information on the Web and through social media. The press isn't interested in telling the real story of what we do in schools. This isn't bragging, this is about sharing what we really do each day, and allowing the public to see more than just a building when they see our schools.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://techlearning.com/">Cross-Post from the Technology & Learning Newsletter</a></span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-81265619581953992102016-08-10T14:13:00.001-05:002016-08-10T14:13:31.151-05:00Balanced Intentions<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The calendar has now flipped to August and teachers are getting ready to return to school. As I reflect back on my early teaching career, I remember spending many hours planning amazing lessons, but not as much time thinking about the people I would meet. As I became a more veteran teacher, I realized that the time at the start of the school year was better spent getting to know my students and investing in building relationships. This school year, I challenge all of us to intentionally focus time on the learner. Push off some of the early time dedicated for content to connect with students. Research tells us that you will make that time back in effectiveness with the relationships you build. This strategy holds true for administrators as well, as the relationships we build at the start of the year will offer us insights into the student experience as the year progresses. Once the school year gets started, all educators should consider following the example of </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2298628002_101337_11" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">Karen Ritter</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, assistant principal at East Leyden High School, who followed a student through his day to see school from a student's perspective. My grandfather was famous for saying, "we show people what we value by where we spend our time." I think we can all demonstrate our values by spending more intentional time this year with students on our way to improving learning.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Cross Posted from Technology and Learning E-News</span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-59841619607346564402016-07-06T14:37:00.001-05:002016-07-06T14:37:21.658-05:00Start Getting Ready for Next Year with #GoOpen<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">We are finally reaching a point in schools where the divides between students, devices, and connectivity are closing. One of the last divides to close is easy access to instructional resources as many schools still use outdated, static, and heavy textbooks. With the onset of easy-to-use tools like </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2263664311_99819_11" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">Google Classroom</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> for distribution of content, teachers need to be on the lookout for easily distributable open resources. Summer is the ideal time to start pulling some of this material together. Phil Lacey has pulled together a</span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2263664311_99819_12" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">catalog</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> of many online repositories where teachers can get started. One of my favorites is </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2263664311_99819_13" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">CK12</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> which is now easy to share with students using Google Classroom (</span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2263664311_99819_14" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">here are instructions</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">). For schools looking to move in this direction check out the #</span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2263664311_99819_15" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">GoOpen</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> resources provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Here, John King explains: "Openly licensed educational resources can increase equity by providing all students, regardless of zip code, access to high-quality learning materials that have the most up-to-date and relevant content." As educators, our job is to remove barriers and </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2263664311_99819_16" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">#GoOpen</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> is working to break down one of the most ingrained curricular divides in schools.</span><br />
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Cross Posted from Tech&Learning eNewsDr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-20446124398932441662016-02-10T18:04:00.004-06:002016-02-10T18:04:25.490-06:00Community Crossovers<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I never even considered. We have seen the devices become the primary computers in homes that never had computers, which has introduced younger students to computers and allowed parents to use computers for tasks like applying online for jobs. Our 1-1 program has also offered our students the chance to become amazing technology leaders through their work with our student-run helpdesks. One of the challenges this brings to us as a staff is providing "staff development" for our students. As a result, we host a </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_2103983501_92779_11" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">Student Technology Leadership Summit</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> to allow students to build their skills and share with their peers. I have also seen the benefits of 1-1 in a Cub Scout troop I help lead, where all students are from a 1-1 school. One of the badges involves building a computer game. Because every kid has his own device running Scratch, my kitchen table will become a computer lab. Sometimes, the unexpected extracurricular outcomes are as great as those we see in our classrooms.</span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-91856215927630250752016-01-07T08:23:00.003-06:002016-01-07T08:24:02.700-06:00Becoming a Change Agent<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">As we move into a new era of ESSA, we must take lessons learned from the disassembling of NCLB. The past few decades have focused on standards, accountability, and higher level thinking in education. The common visualization used to legitimize these goals has been the pyramid of Bloom's Taxonomy. </span><img alt="Bloom's Taxonomy" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEi5yIozZqiC_VvwWQYDTBEAQGtQl7QYjQANhYEJNxGCqP6b1GY1BWgQOTmfLHLsUsuXIx7b9k0WuxE144dTLEWu75LSLkD2MB4xeSSxV-QvVTqPHxxRwFy5512gGKJzw6DUNBKGpxiPoh6QSOuoLhmjZzouWo2COjzijt0jlIiPEHpwyLsoRvkSEzyjwL9dd_8XoKNuNAuLIzmfSmmuX7fGtQ=s0-d-e1-ft&L_blooms_old_200x171.jpg" title="Bloom's Taxonomy" width="200" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">But, under NCLB, schools have focused on only one of the three domains of learning in Bloom's Taxonomy: Cognitive. What about the other two domains of learning, Psychomotor and Affective? How have educators reached the mind, body, and heart of each student? We have failed at reaching all children and really changing education because as a profession we have focused on only one of the three parts of the whole child. This has resulted in what I call, “The Investment Gap.” It’s time to close that gap and invest more of our efforts into the other two domains. To become a change agent, and really impact each individual student you serve, there needs to be a connection beyond content, beyond learning, that reaches the whole person you are helping to learn. Until that happens, the most you can ever expect to get out of a student is compliance and cooperation. It isn't until you reach students on a human level that they will begin to value and identify with the skills and content you are offering. Once that happens, you can become an agent of change.</span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-64580788273589996112015-11-12T18:58:00.001-06:002015-11-12T18:58:36.877-06:00It's Time to Open Your Doors<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">If you have not noticed lately, education is under attack and those of us in the education profession have nobody to blame but ourselves.Today, we educate more students at a higher level and face greater challenges than ever before in the history of schooling--yet we spend little time showing the public what we do. Instead, we invite our students into our schools each day and work magic behind closed doors and leave the public to believe that classrooms operate just as they did 20, 30, or 40 years ago. We need to open our doors and show that schools are different. We need to put our students out in front where they can show just how amazing they are. Each time I am in a situation where adults interact with kids in an educational setting, the adults walk away stunned by the level of work, creativity, and ability that is demonstrated in our classrooms. If we want the attacks on education to end, it's time to stop letting people believe in an outdated image of our schools.</span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-46978509804451199442015-10-18T20:35:00.001-05:002015-10-18T20:35:43.346-05:00What do students think of your tech?<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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<tr><td align="left" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;" valign="top">Are you asking your students for their perspectives of the programs and technology you provide to enhance learning? This recent<a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1965212479_86886_11" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">post by Audrey Mullen</a>, a sophomore in California, provides a too-common look into the high school experience in the 21st Century Classroom. I recently had a conversation with a student who was frustrated with a program that adapted the level of questioning based on her success. She had always been the first to complete her work and master concepts, but now the target kept moving higher based on her mastery of concepts. From her perspective, this was creating a more difficult school experience. How frequently do we listen to these student voices and, when we do, are we reflecting on, or even changing, our practices? Are we having conversations with students about the choices we make and why we believe they are appropriate? As we continue to adopt more technology, instructional changes happen at a quicker pace. Involving students in discussions about those changes can help us achieve better results and help us reach our goals.<br /><br />Cross Posted in the T&L Newsletter</td></tr>
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Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-73562532249508475312015-10-18T20:25:00.003-05:002015-10-18T20:25:39.033-05:00K12 Blueprint Chromebook Resources<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">If a school is moving to 1:1 and expecting students to use a single device all day, I believe it’s essential that district leaders live with the same device first. In 2012, I began modeling this by using a Chromebook exclusively for my job. After working effectively in this environment, I was confident that students could, as well. In the past year, Chromebooks have become the top device purchased by schools for reasons explained in the new eBook </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1965859796_86877_2" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Less Waiting, More Learning with Intel-Based Chromebooks</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. In addition to this eBook, K-12 Blueprint offers several great resources for “going Chrome,” including a </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1965859796_86877_3" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Chromebooks page</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> and a </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1965859796_86877_4" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">blog</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> where educators such as </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1965859796_86877_5" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Alice Keeler</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> and </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1965859796_86877_6" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Kyle Pace</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> share their expertise. Learn what it takes to advance to the next level of technology-powered education on K-12 Blueprint from a team of incredible educators. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Cross-Posted to the K12Blueprint Blog</span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-81256663965763874892015-09-10T13:52:00.001-05:002015-09-10T13:52:36.519-05:00A Season for Growth<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">We have arrived at the time of the year where everyone is finally back in school. Some are just starting this week, while others have been back for almost a month. With back to school comes a season of change, where leaves turn colors and crops are ready. Just this past weekend, we enjoyed the fall harvest by taking the family apple picking. One of my favorite moments during this time is showing my kids that when you turn the apple upside down, you can see the remnants of the flower that became the apple. Day after day, that bud was given what it needed to grow and now, in September, it has become something entirely new. This small flower developed into a source of energy. This lesson applies to the classroom as well. Good teachers know that all of their efforts will be worth it because of the bounty at the end. Make sure you give your students everything they need to grow into sources of energy that will evolve from the delicate flowers that sit in your classroom today.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Cross-Posted from the Technology & Learning Newsletter</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-17634257358780613842015-07-13T08:07:00.000-05:002015-07-13T08:07:03.249-05:005 More Lessons from ISTE<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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<tr><td align="left" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;" valign="top">Beyond the many specific lessons educators took back with them from <a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1854902824_82045_11" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">#ISTE2015</a>, I observed the following big-picture trends that indicated some major shifts in thinking in K-12 edtech:<br /><br />• <strong>Sessions on tools are lame and should be avoided.</strong> The days of telling people where to click in sessions are no longer valuable. There are YouTube videos for that now. Show me what you are doing with it and how it impacts instruction. Even better, show me what your students are doing with it. Have your students come tell me about it--in person, virtually, or on video.<br /><br />• <strong>We are entering the age of the instructional coach.</strong> Schools are finally figuring out that tools are only good if your teachers are using them effectively. Coaching will be an area where we invest a lot of time and energy over the next 5 years. Tools to help with coaching are starting to heat up too.<br /><br />• <strong>Stories are gathering importance.</strong> Yes, testing is here to stay, but leaders and communities want to hear how you and your school are making a difference in student's lives. Start documenting and sharing these stories. Also, gather the stories of your teachers that are making this happen.<br /><br />• <strong>Devices matter, labels don't.</strong> Nobody really cares what brand of device you are using any more. As long as it connects to the web, you can support it, it can be sustained and every student has one - you have a tool. Now what?<br /><br />• <strong>Now what?</strong> As more schools are getting to a point where they have reliable tools and pathways to the Internet, they are trying to figure out how to go beyond basic student use and spark innovative change in the classroom while measuring success. See #2 and #3 above.<br /><br />Cross Posted from the Technology and Learning Newsletter<br /></td></tr>
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Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-49414489603025996622015-05-21T07:46:00.001-05:002015-05-21T07:46:57.443-05:00Set a Date to Show You Still Care<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Welcome to the end of the school year--the last final weeks until your students go out to whatever comes next: the next grade, college, or work-life. I believe there are two things you should invest your time in during these final weeks: reflecting and challenging. Although this time of the year is insanely busy, take some time to reflect on what you accomplished this year and take some satisfaction in your success. Sketch out some notes on how to keep improving into the next year. Challenge yourself to head into the next few months laying groundwork for taking your craft to the next level. Then challenge those around you to do the same. Provide opportunities for your students, or those you supervise, to reflect, provide feedback, and set goals. Then open up your digital calendar or task list and pick a day in the fall when you are going to follow up. Then next fall, reach out to those you influenced this year to double your impact. Those 4th graders are going to be amazed when their 3rd grade teacher checks in on the status of their personal challenge. As the school year ends find ways to reflect, challenge, and continue to grow through the rest of this year and into the next to keep showing that you care.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Cross Posted from Tech and Learning Newsletter</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-27542009792223339762015-04-21T10:23:00.001-05:002015-04-21T10:23:15.344-05:00Ingredients for Leading for Transformative ChangeOn May 8th <a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1755080380_78074_12" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">Tech Learning Live Chicago</a> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">comes to the Lincolnshire Marriott. Among the many other topics being presented at this one-day conference, I will be co-moderating a session that will look at “Leading for Transformative Change.” I will join a group of district leaders who will discuss the ideas, people, and resources needed to spark movements that result in new directions for schools. It is interesting to see how similar and different these mixtures can be. Over the past five years, under the leadership of Dr. Ken Wallace, our schools have helped lead the way in becoming a successful 1:1 Chromebook school district. As we have progressed, we have been active in sharing our successes and challenges through hosting site visits, sharing our resources, and presenting at conferences. In all of these interactions, I’ve learned that no school has the same formula to create a successful 1:1 program. Each has its own set of transformative ingredients to find success. However, there is one constant ingredient for transformation: the power of the learning demonstrated by students. I am amazed by how well kids can react, respond, and adapt to nearly any new situation. For all of the time we spend preparing for worst-case scenarios in 1:1 settings, few of us can imagine the learning opportunities students can encounter under the direction of an excellent teacher. I am often left wondering if we actually get in the way of the most transformative factor in our schools--our kids.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Cross Posted in the Tech & Learning Newsletter</span>Dr. Henry Thielehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589985520636806337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-24007530396016994272015-03-25T13:06:00.000-05:002015-03-25T13:06:05.753-05:00Spring is the Time of Presenters in Maine Township 207<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">February and March have been busy months for Technology and Education Conferences and several staff members in Maine Township 207 have been actively presenting. Listed below are the conferences and our presenters. Those staff members marked with an asterisk are Google Certified Educators. If you are looking for a presenter on one of the topics search for anyone below.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Illinois Computing Educators Conference - February 24-27</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aida Awad</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Google Apps in the Collaborative Classroom</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Michael Biondo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: ICE Teacher of the Year, Workshop - Five Fantastic Features of Formative Assessment and Supporting Tech Tools, Breakout - Engage! Using Google Apps to Enhance Learning</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Neil Charlet</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Chrome-ology: Getting the most out of your Chromebook</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David Fermanich</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Workshop - Google Forms and Autocrat, Breakout - Peardeck, a tech tool for formative assessments</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allison Gest</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Breakout - Engage! Using Google Apps to Enhance Learning</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jim Gubbins</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Breakout: Make Your Classroom STEAM with Creative YouTube Video Ideas, Breakout - Where Have All the Web Tools Gone?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Richard Jones</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Using Google Apps to Support Your Research-Based Writing Course</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alexis Liakakos</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Workshop - Five Fantastic Features of Formative Assessment and Supporting Tech Tools</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pam Morgan</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Web Wars: How to Become a Web Master!, Workshop - Chrome Apps for Digital Storytelling</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adad Ocampo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Breakout: Chromebook Ninja Training</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Greg Regalado</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Chrome-ology: Getting the most out of your Chromebook</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wendy Reitz</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Beyond First to Five: Formative Assessment in a 1:1 Classroom</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dexter Roknich</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Google Apps in the Collaborative Classroom</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tina Sabatello</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Breakout - Creating Interactive Instructional Videos the Free & Easy Way </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hank Thiele</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Become a Google Data Wizard, Workshop - Google Apps for Administrators, Breakout - Awesome Tables: Become a Data Hero</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Future Ready Conference - March 7-8</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hank Thiele</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Breakout - Changing to a Culture Built on Collaboration, Breakout - Going 1-1 with chromebooks</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Midwest Google Summit - March 15-17</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aida Awad</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Spotlight Speaker Sessions - 20% Time Projects in the Classroom, What’s that paper crumpled up in your backpack?, Google Maps - moving from Google Earth to the Cloud, Flipping your classroom with Google Apps for Education</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allison Gest</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Google Apps for Education for Science Teachers</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Derrick Swistak</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Google Add-ons</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hank Thiele</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Become a Google Data Wizard, Breakouts - Awesome Tables: Become a Data Hero, Google Drawings: The Most Powerful App You Have Never Used</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collin Voigt</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Workshop - Google Add-ons</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ASCD (Association for Supervision, Curriculum and Development) Conference March 21-22</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hank Thiele</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*: Breakout - Improved Student Achievement through Targeted Communication</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WEMTA (Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association) Conference March 23-24</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jim Gubbins</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Breakouts - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where Have All the Web Tools Gone?, Make Your Classroom STEAM with Creative YouTube Video Ideas, Functional Formulas for Success with Google Apps</span></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-32150873797830565502015-03-05T07:42:00.004-06:002015-03-05T07:51:45.519-06:00In Response to: Grant Wiggins "5 unfortunate misunderstandings that almost all educators have about Bloom’s Taxonomy"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/twLMLsgCW7Sy6gakWiJ5cJACTMlJ_JcHSwWEy0uDFM75PfSgDptxWq0Py2rwBlgRpDmBEupNkVY=w1896-h845" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vFUWWOPnK4c/VPhd7c3cOJI/AAAAAAAADKI/i5F7mkg1fus/s1600/Affective%2BDomain-%2BBloom's%2Bet.%2Bal.%2BTaxonomy%2Bof%2BEducational%2BObjectives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vFUWWOPnK4c/VPhd7c3cOJI/AAAAAAAADKI/i5F7mkg1fus/s1600/Affective%2BDomain-%2BBloom's%2Bet.%2Bal.%2BTaxonomy%2Bof%2BEducational%2BObjectives.jpg" height="137" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post is in response to: Grant Wiggins' post "<a href="https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/5-unfortunate-misunderstandings-that-almost-all-educators-have-about-blooms-taxonomy/">5 unfortunate misunderstandings that almost all educators have about Bloom’s Taxonomy</a>" (also left as a comment on the blog).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post strongly mirrors a presentation (http://goo.gl/jr72Fz - start at slide 29 for information related to this post) I recently gave that focused on the Affective Domain - the Second Domain that the group that Bloom chaired published (see image above). I love this quote from Bloom about Book 1: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"One of the most widely cited yet least read books in American education"</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I believe that by focusing solely on the Cognitive Domain with limited understanding of its purpose, and not taking the time to understand the true scope of what the three domains were trying to uncover about measuring learning, that we have done a great disservice to students and teachers in regards to the arts of learning and teaching. At the same time we have over simplified what it takes to measure mastery. By only focusing on cognitive aspects of mastering a topic we ignore other inherit and important skills, inside of the Affective and Psycomotor Domains that help students invest in the learning process and ultimately achieve mastery the cognitive goals, while building skills to connections beyond the limits of those standards. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and unfortunately in the case of throwing around the taxonomy, that is often the case. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other Thoughts not in the blog comment:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some other points I want to leave, but I didn't want to fill a comment box up with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The goal of the Taxonomies was to:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Measure the ways in which students will </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">change</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> their </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thinking</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">their </span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">feelings</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and their </span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">actions.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We just fall so short of doing this in schools - and standardized tests are terrible at doing this (trust me - I have helped write them).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Written Collaboratively at Conferences from 1949 to 1953 - with 34 co-authors and </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bloom as the Editor. They sent out </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">1000 pre-editions for review before publishing the original work. Several of the </span><span style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">contributors</span><span style="line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;"> died before it went to publication (that is how long collaboration took in the 50's).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book was intended to analyze "relevant and accepted principles" around </span><span style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">evaluating</span><span style="line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;"> learning - which means they are built around best practices of the 40's and 50's - which, if the Taxonomies are still relevant, means a few things:</span></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">What made good teaching has always made good teaching</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is more to learning than cognitive skills</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We should all be embarrassed for not moving much further past this in 70 years</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">My final point: We sometimes over think all of this - teaching is about people - start there and help take them go further. Show students that you care about them, get them interested in the topic and how to use the information, get to the point where it has value to them and in the process you will help them leap over the "Investment Gap".</span></span><br />
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-90515790995490607402015-01-15T09:59:00.002-06:002015-01-15T09:59:56.762-06:00Differentiating in a 1:1 Setting<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Over the past few months, I have been sitting in on some focus groups comprised of teachers who have worked in a 1:1 setting for more than a year. A constant theme has been rising out of these conversations: differentiation works in a 1:1 environment. This goes against the reasoning of a recent </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1652650109_73663_11" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank"><strong>EdWeek article</strong></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> that claims that a “mixture of students with varying abilities in one classroom causes even the most experienced and conscientious teachers to flinch, as they know the task of reaching each child is an impossible one.” I hate to think that we would give up on kids so easily. I believe today’s tools make understanding and providing support for each student possible. Our teachers use tools like Google Forms, </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1652650109_73663_12" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank"><strong>PearDeck</strong></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, </span><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1652650109_73663_13" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank"><strong>Socrative</strong></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, and </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=6_1652650109_73663_14" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">EduCanon</a> </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">for quick formative assessments that show where their students' skills are so they can adjust lessons as needed. The combination of the device and assessment tools provides the pathway to differentiation that allows our teachers to reach every one of their students, no matter how big the challenge.</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-60162543574647101442014-10-28T10:49:00.000-05:002014-10-28T10:49:12.978-05:00Response: Technology Doesn't Belong in the Classroom?An <a href="http://dominicmanola.blogspot.com/2014/10/technology-doesnt-belong-in-classroom.html">insightful post</a> by Dominic Manola on a disturbing meeting of individuals that were discussing "the impact of social media during a school crisis". It isn't just disturbing that we have to have meetings about school crisis, it is the fact that it turned into another one of those "the problem with kids today is technology so ban it and the problems will go away" meetings.<br />
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Here is what history has taught us:<br />
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1. Once a modern invention/idea/convenience has taken hold in common culture (indoor plumbing, books, electricity, radio, TV, credit cards, Internet) and as displaces, enhances, or fills a void that was there before schools must eventually respond to its arrival.<br />
2. Schools, which were built to resist change, will resist the change - driven by paranoid adults and experts (and those invested in the old) - usually by discrediting, banning, and citing that the innovation is doomed to fail (see <a href="http://1to1schools.net/2012/06/ballpoint-pens-the-ruin-of-education-in-our-country/">inkwells vs. ballpoint pens 1815-1950</a>).<br />
3. Society will quickly demand the new skill in the workplace, to respond to consumer demand or efficiency, or both. Parent and Business will wonder why schools are not preparing kids for society.<br />
4. Schools will change, slowly, as a result of external pressure. Kids will wonder why their school is so far behind their real life and why the adults can't do things they take for granted. In the meantime, kids will do amazing things outside of school - which they will turn into multi-national influential companies that come back to tell schools how to do their business with pressure from the politicians they fund (see the <a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/US-Program/College-Ready-Education">Gates Foundation</a>).<br />
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These steps repeat themselves for each new modern invention/idea/convenience that takes hold.<br />
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Should we be cautious, responsible, and caring of how new things will impact our kids? - YES<br />
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Should we fear-monger and blame innovation for all of the woes of today? - NO<br />
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We should responsibly teach kids how to use whatever will come along in their life, how to evaluate the pros and cons of any new innovation, to look for ways to integrate any resource to do good work, and with an expectation that they will use anything at their disposal to improve the world around them - for themselves - for those around them - and for those that follow them.<br />
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None of that can happen in our schools when we ignore, ban, blame, or hide from innovation.<br />
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So - How do we break the cycle?<br />
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Start sharing the stories of success. Share in your school, share outside your school, and share with the world. We need people to see evidence that kids can do great things - they need to know that today kids are more intelligent, powerful, and inventive with access to more information than any other time before in human history. They are capable of understanding how to use that power for good as the leaders of today and the leaders of tomorrow. Let's be part of preparing them to harness that power for good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856512141307582603.post-28000484772242258512014-10-20T13:46:00.004-05:002014-10-20T13:46:53.865-05:00Crazy ideas or just a different point of view?<br /><br />Recently, my 8-year-old and I had a conversation about his recent trip to the school library where he was shocked to learn that there was a special section of books that he could not check out and take home. The conversation went something like this:<br /><br />Son: “What is an encyclopedia and why is it so special that we can’t<br />borrow one?” <br />Me: “They are books that contain information and facts about things<br />you might be interested in. You go there to get started<br />learning about something”<br />Son: “Like Wikipedia”<br />Me: “Exactly!”<br />Son: “Who would be crazy enough to print out all of Wikipedia?”<br /><br />After I recovered from my dumbfounded look, I was reminded how perspective and experience define our understanding of the world. From the view of a child today, a printed encyclopedia is crazy. When I was a kid, the encyclopedia was an amazing book where you could learn about “anything.” Same book, two interpretations of value based on experience. When was the last time you took a look at the world form someone else's perspective? Teachers: consider sitting in on a class as a student. Administrators: visit a staff development session and participate as a teacher. Perhaps changing our view will prevent us from doing something so crazy as printing out the Internet.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Cross Posted in the Tech and Learning Newsletter October 8th 2014Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0