Crafting PLE
The Art of Creating Personalized Learning Environments
JSGS Edition - September 2014
Welcome to the Future of Education
Pioneer (n) - a person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area.
You are a pioneer. You are the first to set out into largely uncharted territory to better the educational experience for our future generations. Whether you want to admit it or not, a part of you is excited to think of yourself as such. Good teaching has always been about doing what's best for students by keeping up with the latest practices and trends. Personalized learning is a trending topic. Don't believe me? Just pop over to Google,Twitter, and Facebook and check it out for yourself. See? However, before you dismiss this new wave of education as the "latest trend" consider the purpose. Edglossary.org defines PL as:
"...a diverse variety of educational programs, learning experiences, instructional approaches, and academic-support strategies that are intended to address the distinct learning needs, interests, aspirations, or cultural backgrounds of individual students. Personalized learning is generally seen as an alternative to so-called 'one-size-fits-all' approaches to schooling in which teachers may, for example, provide all students in a given course with the same type of instruction, the same assignments, and the same assessments with little variation or modification from student to student..."
Now, based on that definition, how many educational tools do you already posses to move toward a more personalized learning environment? Starting with knowing your students as individuals is the greatest investment you can make. The remainder of this newsletter is dedicated to doing just that.
Remember, you are a pioneer. Being an educational pioneer is a rarity, and it's rewarding. Keep this mind every time you want to throw your hands up at the frustrations you experience at the thought of personalizing learning and the use of tablet technology. It may seem overwhelming now, but it is worth it. Enjoy this ride, and rest easy in knowing that what you do is shaping our future.
Educator Spotlight
PLERC
Meet Your CTC (Classroom Technology Coordinator)
Tools of the Craft
Using Tablet Tools to Differentiate
Several of the class tools allow you to assess where students are right now. Then, you can put them in small groups based on the results. Here are some examples:
- Do a Spot Check after teaching a new skill. Pair students who have "Got It" with those who are "Not sure" to work together on practicing the skill. Reteach those who are "confused" in a small group.
- While students are working independently, send a Quick Poll to see how they're doing on the assignment. Work with individuals who seem to be struggling.
- Use short answer to review homework. Have students who do well to lead groups of students needing more review.
- Use the discussion feature to give assignments to groups of students based on their needs. For example, you might ask one group of students to analyze one poem, but another group of students analyze a poem on an easier reading level.
What isn't differentiation?
- Using the Count Off feature on the tablet to group students. That is random and is not tied to student needs.
- Giving all students the same assignment.
- Using any of the above tools, but not using the responses to altar your teaching.
If you need any ideas on how to use your tablet to differentiate in your classroom, your PLEF is only an e-mail away!
iFakeText.com
iFakeText allows you to emulate an iDevice text conversation. This visually engaging tool can be used for students to demonstrate what they know or as a great display to introduce your bell ringer/DO NOW/early finish activities.
News Tidbits
Organizing Playlist Builder Webinar
There will be two opportunities to learn more about Playlist Builder directly from Amplify. They will be conducting a webinar on the different ways to organize content in playlists, the pros/cons of each, and where lesson plans are stored. It will be offered:
- Wed., Sept. 10th from 4 pm - 5 pm
- Wed., Sept. 17th from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
If you would like to attend, please complete the sign-up survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1755865/Playlist-webinar
Coming Soon
- The Chrome browser is coming soon to our school computers. If you currently use Chrome then you know the perks of using this Google powered web browser. The greatness for Amplify users is that Playlist Builder works beautifully on Chrome and PLEFs highly recommend that you use it once available for anything tablet-related.
- Secondly, teachers will soon be able to access YouTube and Twitter on the tablets, other handhelds and personal laptops. More information is coming regarding this perk but think of the possibilities.
Stay tuned for an e-mail from Tech Services that will share more about these updates.
PLEF Schedule for September
Sept. 2 - Johnson St.
Sept. 3 - Ferndale
Sept. 4 - Johnson St.
Sept. 5 - Washington St.
Sept. 8 - Ferndale
Sept. 9 - Johnson St.
Sept. 10 - Ferndale
Sept. 11 - Southwest Middle
Sept. 12 - Johnson St.
Sept. 15 - Ferndale
Sept. 16 - Johnson St.
Sept. 17 - Ferndale
Sept. 18 - Johnson St.
Sept. 19 - Washington St.
Sept. 22 - Ferndale
Sept. 23 - Ferndale - PACE Meeting
Sept. 24 - Johnson St.
Sept. 25 - Johnson St.
Sept. 26 - Ferndale
Sept. 29 - Ferndale
Sept. 30 - Johnson St.
Crafting Wisdom
Teena Martin, PLEF
Email: martint6@gcsnc.com
Website: ple.gcsnc.com
Location: serving Ferndale Middle and Johnson St. Global Studies
Facebook: facebook.com/PLEFs
Twitter: @craftyPLEF