28 Days of OLLIE: Day 4

Before I get into today's focus, I want to remind you about the OLLIE community cohort course opportunity. The course, Designing Online Lessons is a 2-credit course and will begin on Feb. 17.  You may audit the course for free, or pay a minimal amount for license renewal and graduate credit. To register, click here.(Note: You must register even if you are choosing to audit the course and not take it for credit.) This course is an awesome opportunity to learn more about video-based lessons, text-based lessons, and tools like SoftChalk.

And now without further ado...

Day 4

ON day 4 Mr. Miller begins to see some of the ways community members can help each other out by sharing ideas, resources, and tools. You to can help out by sharing your own thoughts about question posed in the scenario here.

Scenario

It's day 4 of the 28 days of OLLIE and Mr. Miller is starting to see how he can connect with people. The announcements give him new information and ideas to think about and the forums, Twitter, and Diigo are all tools that he can use to connect with others in the community, but what has him really stumped is…"when and why do people connect?" Other than the information from the community announcements, he doesn't really feel like he has a reason to add his voice to the conversation... and that's when it happens.
In the general forum a teacher has made a post asking the community for assistance. She is a 4th grade teacher who would like to incorporate some digital citizenship content into her blended course. She is looking for online resources that could put in her unit.
Mr. Miller remembers that he read that a good online instruction includes extension activities and resources that push students thinking. Even though he teaches middle school science, he replies to her post with a resources that he uses with his students.  
As he looks at others responses to the post he even finds some resources that will assist his efforts in supporting digital literacy with his students. He makes a mental note to add them to his course.

Physical Science Self Paced Content Available

In AEA PD Online's Student Personalized Learning system teachers and students can learn more about Physical Science with learning modules on Waves, Chemical Reactions, Energy and Electricity, and Matter.  Teacher can check out the content by logging into the Student Personalized Learning system using their username and password that they use for the training system where they have taken mandatory trainings.

Once logged into the Student Learning system, click on Modules, Science and look at the individual Physical Science modules.  If you wish to use these with your students or have any questions please contact Denise Krefting (dkrefting@aeapdonline.org) or Melissa Wicklund (mwicklund@aeapdonline.org).

28 Days of OLLIE: Day 3

I don't know about you, but I spent a good chunk of yesterday digging my way out of the snow. The good news is I don't believe that the groundhog saw his shadow yesterday so spring is just around the corner, right? Right?

Day 3

Yesterday, we focused on connecting with the community via announcements. These announcements are the best way to stay up-to-date on community events and activities. Today focuses on how the OLLIE Community helps keep members informed and connected via social media like Twitter and Diigo.

Scenario
It's Day 3 of the 28 Days of OLLIE and Mr. Miller didn't have time to look at the daily announcement during the day. However, as he lays in his bed looking at the phone he takes a few minutes to review its contents.
The announcement focuses on two additional ways that community members can connect with each other. One is Twitter and another is Diigo.
Twitter is a microblogging tool where individuals can write 140 character messages and post it so that others can view it. The announcement includes several different resources to help people new to Twitter get started. After reviewing the information, Mr. Miller downloads the Twitter app to his phone, does a search for the #28OLLIE, and looks at what others community members have been posting on twitter.
Diigo is the other tool that is introduced. It allows members of a group to bookmark and annotate articles. The OLLIE community uses it to share articles about online/blended learning with each other and sometimes discuss them with each other using the annotation feature. Mr. Miller takes view the tutorials, download the diigo app to his phone, and finally review some articles that the community has annotated in the past.
Here is what Mr. Miller and you can do to stay connected with the community via Twitter and Diigo.

• Review informatin about Twitter, including what it is and how to use it here.
• If you don't have a Twitter account create one here
• Review the tweets at #28OLLIE
• Earn your Twitter badge by posting your own tweet at #28OLLIE
• Review the information about Diigo found here
• If you don't have a Diigo account create one here and join the OLLIE group
• Explore articles that the community has shared with each other
• Earn your Diigo badge by sharing an article with the OLLIE Group

28 Days of OLLIE: Day 2

Does snowmageddon 2016 have you stuck inside? If so, take a few minutes to check out Day 2 of the 28 Days of OLLIE.

Day 2
Today focuses on how to stay informed with community events, activities, and conversations. Now that Mr. Miller has joined the community he is looking for ways to stay connected to the events, activities, and conversations that are happening in the community.

Scenario
It's second period and it is Mr. Miller's planning period. He opens his e-mail and notices that he has a message from the OLLIE community. He doesn't have much time so he skims the message.

He notices that the message includes a short video about how the community uses announcements and forums. He doesn't have time to view it now, but decides he will take a look at it when he is waiting to pick up his son from basketball practice.

...Fast forward to later in the day...
Mr. Miller has viewed the super short video and learned 

• that as a member of community he will receive announcements via e-mail
• he can review older announcements by locating "Announcements" under the "Resource" heading in the community.
• Announcements are made by the community facilitators.
• Announcements contain useful information about events, activities, and opportunities to engage in conversations about online/blended learning.

View the video on community announcements below.

28 Days of OLLIE: Day 1

Day 1: Becoming a Community Member

Mr. Miller is a middle school teacher and is wanting to blend his instructions, but he doesn't know where to begin. He has heard several of his colleagues talking about OLLIE community and the 28 Days of OLLIE that begins today, Feb. 1.

They explain that the OLLIE community is an online community where individuals who are interested in online or blended instruction can connect with each other. Members they have the opportunity to benefit from each other's ideas and experiences, as well as gain insight into the newest innovations in online learning. It is a great place to ask questions and bounce ideas off others who are expanding their instruction into the online world.
After hearing this, Mr. Miller decides to become an OLLIE community member. He isn't quite sure what he wants from the community or what to expect, but he's willing to give it a try. He:

• Enrolls in the community here.
  
• Introduces himself in the general forum found here.
  
• Pins his location here and learns that there are 3 other teachers in his school who are members of the community.
  
• Learns the lay of the OLLIE community by completing the OLLIE Scavenger Hunt here
  

Later that day he is pleased to see that several community members have replied to his introductory posts, including the community facilitator. He also notices that he has received a badge for completing the OLLIE scavenger hunt.

Be Like Mr. Miller!

• Enroll in the community here
• Introduce yourself in the general forum here
• Pin your location and see where other OLLIE community members are from here
• Earn your Explorer badge by completing the OLLIE community scavenger hunt here

28 Days of OLLIE Starter Kit

AEA PD Online is excited to announce that The 28 Days of OLLIE Starter Kit is now available. 

AEA PD Online has created the 28 Days of OLLIE Starter Kit to help you get started in the OLLIE Community events and conversations during the month of February. The Starter Kit contains 28 days of information, activities, and resources. It doesn’t matter if you want to just observe the community or if you want to jump into all 28 days of learning opportunities, we are confident that you’ll find something that will interest you.

A Conversation with the 2015 iNACOL National Blended & Online Learning Teacher of the Year

The Blackboard K-12 Innovative Teaching series is offing this upcoming webinar.

Need some inspiration?  Join us Monday for a conversation with Paula Barr, the iNACOL Blended & Online Learning Teacher of the Year for 2015. Paula will share her perspective on how blended and online teaching improves student engagement, provides for greater personalization of learning, and how a veteran classroom teacher has adapted to a new teaching and learning environment. Paula will share examples of successes and challenges she experienced in the journey of becoming an outstanding blended learning teacher. Paula recently had the opportunity to meet with and share about personalized learning within the blended learning environment utilizing flipped learning with colleagues at Beijing Normal University in Beijing, China.

Register today.  There are limited seats for this special session. 

AEA PD Online and Heartland AEA are teaming up to provide teachers, instructional coaches and administrators in Heartland AEA with a Blended Learning Cohort. The first learning opportunity in this series is "Blending/Flipping Your Classroom”. This face-to-face three day course for license renewal credit is meant to deepen your learning around blended and flipped classroom models.  The first part of this course looks at specific examples of blended learning and key components of teaching in such a manner.  Throughout all of the coursework, directions are available in an online platform. This is not about a specific Learning Management System (LMS) but instead about the pedagogical changes and tools needed to blend or flip your content.

Learning Goals or Targets

• Participants will apply Blooms Taxonomy to the use of blended or flipped classrooms
• Participants will explore flipped learning opportunities and tools
• Participants will understand the challenges and benefits of various blended learning models
• Participants will explore creating and applying essential questions and connections beyond the school walls
• Participants will learn to weave formative, summative assessments as well as adaptive learning that are well suited to blended and flipped learning environments

Class Dates: March 29, April 20 & May 12, 2016
Class Times: 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

If you are interested in finding out more or want to sign up for this learning opportunity go to https://prodev.aeapdonline.org/4DCGI/TE106292111601INV&*

More learning opportunities for this cohort on blended learning, instructional design and assessment to follow.

Science Courses for credit and STEM Endorsement

These online science courses have been approved for the STEM Endorsement through Drake University and Grand View College.  If you are interested in taking this class for your knowledge or for to obtain the STEM Endorsement, you can find out more or sign up by clicking on these links:

Inquiry in the Science Classroom-Supporting Science and Engineering Practices-  2 credits Online February 1-March 18, 2016   Activity # 22030399991601

Physical Science for Elementary Teachers  3 credits  June 6-July 29, 2016  Activity #: 22031499991701

Earth Science for Elementary Teachers (K-5) 3 credits  June 13-August 20, 2016  Activity #: 22031999991701

Learning Opportunities for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

edWeb.net is hosting a special event for Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

One size does not fit all when it comes to student learning. This webinar, led by Shanna Peeples, 2015 National Teacher of the Year, is based on her experience as a teacher in Title I middle and high schools, as well as her work with refugee students, English language learners, and students in remedial classes. Shanna encourages teachers to focus on achievement for students in humanizing and empowering ways.

Bringing together the various strands of differentiation, RTI, and other protocols, this session will help teachers and administrators create effective learning experiences for students. Join Shanna for this live, interactive event to learn how to bring out the best in all of your students. She will field questions from attendees after her presentation. This webinar will deliver both practical strategies and inspiration to educators and administrators working toward success for all of their students.
This webinar is January 18, 2016 at 3 pm standard time.  Click here to register for this webinar.

There are a number of online resources available for teachers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Check out some of these links:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-resources
• NEA  http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/mlk-day.html
• National Parks Service  http://www.nps.gov/malu/learn/education/lessonplansandteacherguides.htm
• Teacher vision https://www.teachervision.com/martin-luther-king-jr/teacher-resources/6643.html
• Education World http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson248.shtml
• Scholastic http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/commemorate-life-dr-martin-luther-king-jr
• Brainpop https://educators.brainpop.com/bp-jr-topic/martin-luther-king-jr/
• Teaching Tolerance http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/dos-and-donts-celebrating-mlk-day
• www.CivilRights.org  http://www.civilrights.org/resources/mlk/
• Discovery Education http://mlk.discoveryeducation.com/

What's Your Mindset?

 

This week I was introduced to a term I was not familiar with, “growth mindset” through my Twitter feed. So, of course, I had to go explore it some more as it sounded intriguing.

What is mindset? To get a really good understanding, go to this website, Mindset, and click on the link, What is it? Briefly, mindset can be one of two ways of thinking. A person can have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. This image provides a good visual of the basics of both mindsets:

image from http://carriekepple.com/2015/04/24/growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset-which-do-you-have/

 

As I look at the “characteristics” of both, I can see where I fall with my own mindset. Sometimes my mindset is in the growth mindset—when I am really, really interested in learning something new that seems important to me. When I am in this mindset, I continue to try until I can do it or have succeeded—doesn’t matter if I am smarter or more talented than someone else. I have a positive attitude.

But there is also the side of me that flips into the fixed mindset when I am faced with things I am not that interested in—I end up in that area I call “can’t”.  I can’t succeed because I am not that talented, not that smart, etc. My attitude when I am in a fixed mindset is not very positive, can be quite negative in fact.

We all know a person or persons who may exhibit these two mindsets—one person sees the glass half full, the potential and possibilities, while the other sees the glass have empty, and only dwells on the negatives. I had just never thought about it being a mindset before. The exciting idea is that a growth mindset can be learned.

“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”

Carol Dweck, http://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/whatdoesthismeanforme/index.html

To explore more about this concept check out these resources:

Resources for Teaching Growth Mindset
The Science: The Growth Mindset

Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives
There's more to a 'growth mindset' than assuming you have it
You Can Learn Anything

What will you do to move your thinking closer to a growth mindset?
What will you do to help your students learn to think with a growth mindset?

Peggy Steinbronn, Ed.D.

Coming Soon: 28 Days of OLLIE

AEA PD Online is excited to announce that the 28 Days of Online Learning for Iowa Educators (OLLIE) will be starting on Feb. 1, 2016 and continue throughout the entire month of February.

The Goal
The goal of "28 Days of OLLIE" is to form connections among and between OLLIE community members that will extend beyond the 28 days and lead to a community of online teachers that can support each other in future work around teaching and learning in online environments.

This place will be an ongoing learning community which will be available for you all year long to ask questions, find support and learn more as you work to blend/flip/online your course work with students. 

How to Participate in the 28 Days of OLLIE
Begin by joining the community here: http://bit.ly/1Gcnx3x
If you have an account with aeak12online.org, you can log in and select "Enroll Me"
If you do not have an account with aeak12online, you will need to create one and log in to the system. Once you have done this, click on this link and select "Enroll Me".
Once you are enrolled in the community you will receive regular updates about the 28 Days of OLLIE and ongoing OLLIE Community events.

You can also access updates about the 28 Days of OLLIE and the OLLIE community by following us on social media or via our blog www.aeapdonline.org.