ReadTheory-digital reading platform

http://www.readtheory.org/

Tanner, the Founder and writer/editor of +ReadTheory discovered  "the mode of critical thought" through his Philosophy studies at @UNC. He found it "fascinating and empowering." Tanner founded +ReadTheory  with the idea "if all students were given the opportunity to make sound inferences, delineate nuance and focus, understand arguments, and recognize purpose and intent, then they, too, would learn to wield this powerful tool." 

Why do we use +ReadTheory ?  Our school  tried several reading intervention digital platforms. Most of the platforms promise significant research-based growth for intervention students. Unfortunately, their platforms often fall far short of their promise. Some are much too childish for Middle School and High School students. Some do not produce helpful data to determine true growth. Some have lessons that are WAY too long for our students.  Finally, I found ReadTheory. 

We began using ReadTheory with our Pre-AP and AP students. The passages are short, interesting and engage the students. Students regularly stop in the middle of their reading to share their delight in reading and learning. More importantly, we noticed that they happily complete their quizzes. They enjoy earning each new Reading Title, which is a "reflection of the points" they've earned. One student watched his Lexile level fall after his diagnostic. He immediately completed over 60 quizzes to prove that he was a better reader!

We continued using ReadTheory with a few of our elementary classes for Winter Break assignments.
The teachers were intrigued that they could quickly view the Lexile levels, quizzes passed, as well as their mastery of ELA Common Core Standards. Best of all, ReadTheory is FREE!

Looking forward to even more classes moving to ReadTheory after the semester break. I am thankful for this digital reading tool, as are our students. Take a moment to investigate this tool for your students!

Resources
http://www.readtheory.org/

@SpiralEducation- educational technology

I have a confession. I am often a Beta tester of new technology.  I love to try out new educational technology. I've been blessed to have administrators who supported or tolerated my use of technology,  way before it was popular. This week I tried @SpiralEducation.

@SpiralEducation. They offered  FREE access to their product. Our IT guru responded to my request to try spiral by pushing it out to all of our devices. (Thank you, Mr. Guven!)
Spiral Education Intro Video

I particularly like the QuickFire option. I preloaded questions that we would normally use for discussion. I simply started QuickFire and placed a time limit on their responses. The students were able to see their anonymous responses appear on the whiteboard. So now, rather merely COLD CALL, I can expect to receive answers from every student. We were able to see and discuss the answers as they appear.  I can easily provide feedback and adjust as needed. Quiet/shy/introverted students can now respond without fear of appearing silly. I can count QuickFire responses for a grade, or use them to help inform the direction of my teaching.

In January, one of my classes will begin a Zombie Apocalypse synthesis group project. I plan on using Spiral Team for this project. If you  use Spiral Team, please contact me so that I can learn from your experience!

Our app

Quickfire

Quickfire enhances question and answer activities, enabling you to get the responses of the entire class in real-time.

Discuss

A powerful tool for creativity, exploration and deeper learning, Discuss encourages students to share ideas with each other.

Team Up

Facilitate group work - with students sharing ideas and building team persentations.

My Christmas Wish- "We can make it better for everyone"

George Lucas's 2012 article in @Edutopia  is very relevant to the @AR_TPN, Arkansas Teacher Practice Networks. There is no more important job than supporting our colleagues in our diverse state. Our mandate is to touch 10,000 teachers through our efforts over the course of the Gates Education Grant. Fantastic idea. Lucas said, "There is no other job more important than education. It is the foundation of our democracy. By seizing on what's working, and recreating those successes from one classroom to the next, we can make it better for everyone." My Christmas wish is that we "make it better for everyone" through the collective power of our teacher leaders. We can and should.

Touch
Our "touch" will be both high and light. We will touch our colleagues through face to face meetings and through digital platforms to reach a larger audience. I know that I use Twitter to reach my Global Professional Learning Network, PLN. I have watched as my colleagues personally felt validated through their participation in Twitter chats and could count it for professional development. We can and should reach out and touch our colleagues with our knowledge.

Foundation of Democracy
Teachers have an important mandate to educate the voices of the future. By "seizing on what's working, and recreating those successes" according to Lucas "we can make it better for everyone." Democracy is involving everyone. The Arkansas Teacher Practice Networks organization will attempt to seize on what is working and help spread this information within our networks to empower our colleagues to educate better the voices of the future. We can and should empower and educate.

Better for Everyone
The teacher leaders were able to spend two days dwelling on the possibility of their personal power. We hope to harness to power of our collective and various digital platforms. It is time for our teacher leaders to step up and share their knowledge for Arkansas teachers through +Twitter  +Instagram Google+ +Blogger  +YouTube  +Pintrest and other digital platforms like Teachers.do. 

My Christmas wish is simple "make it better for everyone."  Thank you to @GeorgeLucas and +Edutopia for this insightful and still relevant idea. We can and should do this. 

Resources
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/importance-of-education-george-lucas
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/US-Program/College-Ready-Education
http://tpn.wested.org/
http://www.apsrc.net/

Suzanne Rogers, M.Ed
https://about.me/Rogers_Suzanne

I am a parent of two college cubs, an AP English teacher, ELA Coach and PD facilitator.

I've taught 1st grade, MS, and HS in public, private, and charter schools in 3 states.

#lovemyschoolday reflection

As I sit in an ER with an injured soccer player, I'm taking the time to reflect on how much I love my school. #lovemyschoolday. Our school is diverse, academically rigorous, and competition oriented, all the while helping to create young men and women of character.

During our 2 hour drive to the game, I had 4 students in my car. Our charter school does not have busses. I enjoy spending this time in conversation with our students. If we were on a bus, these conversations simply would not occur.  Today, 4 guys jumped in the car.   We began a conversation about the diversity present in the team, and more specifically at LISA Academy.  None of the boys identified as being from our state. They did self-identify as from Mexico, Palestine, Phillipine Islands, and Tennessee. We were diverse In our languages as well. While we all spoke English, it was a 2nd language for 3 students.  Our religious affiliations were also diverse. Two Catholics, 1 Episcopalian, 1 Muslim , and 1 Methodist.  We were very diverse, yet all enjoy our experience at LISA. We also had an in depth talk about the writing process and how to tie their passions into their writing to make it a more enjoyable experience.

As the evening continued, the boys began to score goal after incredible goal during the soccer game. This diverse group of young men banded together to share, rather than hog the glory. 6 people scored 7 points. They carefully set each other up to score. Awesome game with a wonderfully diverse group of athletes.  Toward the end of the game. Mohammed was knocked around and his knee was harmed. Teammates swarmed with concern. After parents were consulted, Mohammed was carried to my car for the short trip to the local ER. Two young men volunteered to accompany us, knowing that it would be very late when could begin our 2 hour drive home.  Rad and Marco (young men of fine character) kept Mohammed's thoughts off his injury during our trip to the ER.  One contacted Mohammed's brother and helped explain where we were located.

On the return trip, Rad spoke joyfully about the impending birth of a new family member. Surprisingly, the baby was born upon our arrival back at school, shortly before midnight. Rad was excitedly texting his family about potential names for the newborn.  He also spoke about his academic choices for The next morning. Leadership group, APUSH review, or Science Olympiad.  He sincerely wished he could attend all of these school events. He settled on the competition at a local university for his Science Olympiad team.

Of course, our school is not perfect, but this was the perfect end to what could have been a harrowing evening. A new life, a student recovering, a student focusing on academics, an athletic win for the entire team, and most importantly, a group of young men who continue to amaze me with their fine character. I love my school!

Suzanne

Documenting Learning

Learning is my passion. Many things about the schooling process are important to parents. Parents are trained from daycare or preschool by the schools to care about grades and behavior, as well as, activities and field trips.  But, my passion is learning. We need to activate our parents concern for the actual academic learning taking place in each classroom, particularly in middle school and high school.

More importantly, as educators, we need to retrain ourselves to document learning, and to talk about the actual learning.  Preschool programs such as Montessori and Reggio Emilia are meticulous about documenting learning. MS and HS teachers are meticulous about grading.  Is SBG the answer
(look to @drjolly and @garnet_hilman)? Perhaps. Even if a school uses a standard grading scale with mandatory weighting, grades are still subjective. As teachers we also need to hold students accountable for documenting their own learning. Are student-led conferences the answer? Perhaps. Could Interactive Notebooking become part of the process for students (thanks @acaciatc), perhaps.  Are portfolios the way to go? Perhaps. Retraining teachers, students, and parents to question the learning, rather than the grade or the behavior is a noble starting goal.

Thankfully, teachers across the US are implementing the Common Core Standards. These common standards will help teachers begin to see beyond the scope of their own communities. Educators can learn best practices from each other for documenting and sharing learning. Some schools began implementing SBG many years ago.

I am passionate about learning. Please do share the ways that your community documents learning in your middle schools and high schools.

Suzanne Rogers, M.Ed.

Resources for learning how to document learning.

Reggio Emilia

http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v13n2/wien.html
Standards Based Grading
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/oct08/vol66/num02/Seven_Reasons_for_Standards-Based_Grading.aspx

PBL

http://y4y.ed.gov/learn/pbl/implementation/demonstrate-and-document-learning/

Interactive Student Notebooks

http://everybodyisageniusblog.blogspot.com/p/interactive-notebooks.html
Portfolios
http://www.pgcps.org/~elc/portfolio.html

This is a test. This is only a test of the American Education System.


 "This is a test. This is only a test of the American Education System"

As an Arkansan Educator, I read with interest @Edusanity's recent blog post by +Jason Endacott who blogged about the +NWEA  MAP data craze at his son's school.  As a fellow #Eduparent, I share a similar concern, as do all parents. We want our children to be recognized as special, unique individuals. More importantly, as an #Eduparent, we owe it to our schools to be the voice of reason. 

Last July I blogged about the #Unitedoptout plan. I urged reason then, and I continue to urge reason in the rising tide of testing angst. This is only a test. Your child is not a number.


 "My child is NOT a number."  I remember hearing that same refrain from a parent of one of my first grade students at @HolyFamilyAcademy in Honolulu, HI.  My students were assigned a number so they could put their papers in order by number, line up in a specific number order, and imagine this...think numerically! I knew that this child's name was +Christine Gibo. I knew that her mother taught in the classroom beside me. I knew their family history and how they left from California to become Keiki O Ka 'Aina.  I wanted my students to not be afraid of numbers. I wanted them to think numerically at an early age. We could math games by calling out a number! The students could move and think numerically at the same time. How wonderful! #5 could join hands with #8 and #13 would join them. They could line up by odd numbers or even numbers.


Fun memory aside, I know that some parents worry about the Social Security number assigned to their baby prior to leaving the hospital. I remember the concern when numbers were put on packaging for inventory purposes. I remember when there was some concern that immunizations put the mark of the devil on children. (Really?Truth!) 


So, as  an #Eduparent how do I calm parents regarding the upcoming 8-9 hours of PARCC testing? Perhaps we need to sound the Klaxon and remind parents "This is a Test. This only a test."

"This is a test of the American Education System. The Administrators of your school in voluntary cooperation with the Federal, State and local authorities have developed this system to keep you informed.  This is only a test of the American Education System.

All joking aside, 8-9 hours of testing each year is only two half days of school. Most parents have their children out of school that much for family activities such as dental appointments, picking up Grandma from the airport, big sister's graduation, and other important events. These test scores are not currently recorded and shared with colleges and universities. We must tame the fires. We must help our parents understand that these test scores are not the "be all and end all" of their children's educational lives. This test score does not truly define their child for all time. This is one brief moment that will provide information regarding the education of their child.  Remember, "This is only a test of the American Education System."

Suzanne M. Rogers, M.Ed.

Endacott, J. (2014, March 07). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.edusanity.com


Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Macbeth Time Quotes Page 2. Retrieved March 9, 2014    from http://www.shmoop.com/macbeth/time-quotes-2.html

What is Power?
Today, I had the honor and pleasure to attend +Hendrix College  #TEDxHC.  We all think we recognize power.  
But, do we really?

According to Barb Allen, Powerful leadership is moral leadership.
According to Todd Brogdon, @WestrockCoffee, Powerful companies are for profit, but reinvest in their people/communities because they ask the right questions.
According to Amy Cuddy, @Amyjcuddy, Power poses can be faked until they BECOME real. Interestingly enough, the Science supports this idea.
Hendrix College junior, Sami Kennedy, suggests that collaboration is powerful.
Hen Mazzig, @HenMazzig, used the childhood experience of violence to shape a future built on #HOPE and #ThePowerofGood.
1992 Hendrix alumnus, Stacy Sells, @stacysells, talked about the power of a great college.
Bryan Stevenson's TED talk suggested that Power is just.
To wrap up the event, Mark Gilman talked about the connectedness of humanity to the earth. Our decisions have an impact. Humanity can choose to be powerful or destructive.

So, how does this all translate to education? Education should be moral, questioning, collaborative, humane, and  just,  which should be faked until it BECOMES real.  As long as we continue to evaluate test scores by subgroups we are continuing to see our world with blinders. Let's take off the blinders and see the wholeness of our schools and communities. Perhaps, then, education will finally become humanely powerful.

I welcome comments! Please share your ideas for powerful education communities.

Suzanne Rogers