Edina Digital Age Learning

Last month, I shared about some work I was doing around Student Podcasting ( Giving Students Voice & Choice Through Podcasting ). This month, my colleague, Sean Beaverson and I are launching our own podcast! Safe for Prep is a short but sweet look at the great things we see in our roles in Edina Public Schools. As the name implies, it is something you can listen to, in the background during your prep! Below is Episode 1! We highlight some great work the 8th grade teachers at South View Middle School shared with staff last week, and Sean's efforts to help some students. Have a listen!

This February, I shared with staff the value of giving students pathways in how they demonstrate learning by creating podcasts. I was inspired by an ISTE presentation by Rabbi Michael Cohen and Jeff Bradbury  last summer, and a presentation that Glen Irvin Flores gave in November.  A few staff were interested and so I put together this presentation for students. I shared how I still remember my 6th grade project where I recorded myself as a 12 year old in Moscow, and my dad interviewed me to demonstrate what life was like in the Soviet Union. (Yes, I'm that old! The collar above gives it away! In addition, I cannot remember any of the multiple choice tests I took to demonstrate learning...)  I also shared with students that NPR was sponsoring a Student Podcast Challenge , inviting students to ask their teachers to submit their audio file that spoke to one of the following prompts: Tell us a story about your school or community: about something that ha...

So yesterday was Digital Learning Day. In the past, I have shared how we have celebrated it in Edina  (Of course most of the post was aggregated from a tool that no longer exists....sigh!) Well, yesterday, I saw this tweet from Schoology and so I thought I'd share my thoughts... 💻 Happy #DLDay 2019! 💻 In honor of this special day, we’re having a contest! Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Reply to this tweet answering the question “What does digital learning mean to you?” 2️⃣ Use the hashtag #DLDay 3️⃣ Best answers win an exclusive prize! — Schoology (@Schoology) February 28, 2019 Here goes...

Jaime Casap , Education Evangelist with Google was the Monday Keynote at the 2018 TIES Conference .  Jaime helped launch Google Apps, Chromebooks and helped found the Phoenix Coding Academy. He also teaches Communication to 10th graders.  He authored the book, " On Our Street ," a children's book about poverty. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen in the 70's, so he knows a little about the topic. Education disrupts poverty!  All of the milestones he has achieved were based on Education. He was invited to speak at the White House to help launch Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative . What we sometimes forget is that the impact we have on students goes on for generations! Since he went to college, her daughter just assumed that she would go on to college. The life his children have comes from the educators that impacted Jaime. The State of Education Casap doesn't think education is broken, because it worked for everyone in this room. AND it has changed...

Virgil Hammonds , chief learning officer with Knowledgeworks , was the day 2 keynote at the 2018 Personalized Learning Summit.  Changing the culture of education through personalized competency-based learning. Knowledgeworks has 3 main focusses: Forcasting the future of learning Transforming policy Growing Educator Impact What is your spark?  It is important for you to know yours as well as your colleagues. Hammonds had us do a "Magic Number" sorting activity using the numbers 1-9 and trying to sort them between 2 jars, where no number could be created by adding other numbers in the same jar. We found that given those constraints, it isn't possible. His point is that sometimes we sort our students into jars in much the same way. He shared how there is a movement nationally to get to proficiency based learning.  There is a transformation from school districts to learning communities.  By 2020, over 40% of the US workforce will be independen...

Ravi Hutheesing,  who bills himself as a cultural catalyst and keynote speaker was the keynote at the 2018 Personalized Learning Summit.  Shared the story of his Uber driver, an immigrant from Laos. Cultural competency is one of the most important skills today. He learned more in the 40 minute Uber ride about world history than in any classroom.  Education is no longer about providing knowledge, it's about inspiring students to absorb the lessons of the world! He shared stories of working in Iraq with people who had just escaped ISIS, and a trip to Lebanon, where he visited a city that was in a dangerous area, but then he received texts from his hometown of Charlotesville during the racial protests last year. Core Beliefs: He believes world peace is possible...How: Make it profitable! Cultual Competency is the MOST important skill for the future Education is the means of solving all the world's problems Huthseeing shared that he is a relative of Nehru, I...

Rabbi Michael Cohen , "The Tech Rabbi," was the third keynote Tuesday at ISTE 2018 . I had the pleasure of hearing Cohen speak at a session at ISTE 2016, and was excited to hear him keynote. His background is in design and graphic arts, and his slides showcase his amazing skills. He began by sharing that a student had emailed him about a problem idea that he didn’t think was possible, but knew that Cohen would be inspirational and give him ideas. It showed Cohen that he was making a difference in that student's life, but also.... .... So much energy is invested in helping students to squire knowledge, but how much time is green to help them think about the abstract. Cohen said we should focus on instilling B elief in Self, Belief in Others , and that there is something bigger than themselves Experiment take risks and courage to do something about those light bulb moments. What abilities are we helping our students do? Cohen had some VERY "...