Innovative Education in Vermont
Exploring innovative, personalized, student-centered school change
Help students prototype mobile apps with these development tools Mobile app development with students can be tricky, because in a lot of cases they’re ready to run and the tools and systems for publishing apps are still at the crawling/walking phase. Let’s look at 3 easy steps to mobile app development: sketch it out on paper, mock it …
by Dayna McRoberts The Community Sailing Center (CSC) in Burlington has developed a multi-age, year-round environmental curriculum that works in conjunction with local schools to teach the opportunistic, seasonal lessons provided by Burlington’s landscape. Floating Classrooms engages students with their environment through ecology, science, and a medium the CSC holds dear: sailing.
Reflections from Vermont educators embarking on the 1:1 process As the 2015 Middle Grades Institute draws to a close, we check in on some of the amazing work educators have been doing with their teams this week. And this time we’re focusing on the 1:1 planning they’ve been doing.
Setting goals for summer learning and beyond It’s Day 3 of the 2015 Middle Grades Institute, a gathering of more than 200 Vermont educators all passionately invested in technology-rich, student-centered educational change. And with the Act 77 deadline requiring a Personal Learning Plan for every student in Vermont grades 7-12 coming up in November, talk …
Continue reading “4 educators reflect on personalized learning”
Go beyond back-channeling and unlock creative communication This summer, look for ways to liven up your faculty meetings and delve a little deeper with technology. Try something new or take a new look at a tool you’re already using. Here are 3 ways of using collaborative digital tools for faculty meetings.
Students partner with local scientists in collecting, analyzing & disseminating water data A group of 7th and 8th grade students took a trip through the full cycle of scientific study this past year. Edmunds Middle School students partnered with the UVM Watershed Alliance to study the Lake Champlain Direct and Grand Isles Basins, very specifically, the …
Continue reading “Making a difference with watershed science data”
How do we move all new learners to the deep end of the pool? As I walked through an innovation showcase at SxSw 2015 (one of the the largest convergences of creative and critical thinkers last March) I was struck by the juxtaposition of two tables that were adjacent to each other. One offered “Creative …
Continue reading “Beyond Bling: how do we deepen Makerspace learning?”
Implementation of personal learning plans (PLPs) around Vermont As Vermont works through the first year of implementing personalized learning and Act 77, Flexible pathways to secondary education completion (pdf) there ‘s a lot of discussion on the best way to implement personalized learning in Vermont. PLPs are non-traditional pathways by which students can navigate from entrance …
Getting educators to a place of power with a powerful method When I think about educational technology, it has never for me been divorced from pedagogy. As soon as I encounter a new digital tool, although it might attract me at first based on its novelty, my mind immediately jumps to the connection of how …
So many schools in Vermont are engaged in innovative, student-centered, tech-rich education work.We’re proud to partner with The Cabot School for just this reason. Their students write the school’s website updates. They’ve been featured twice on VPR this past year. They win national awards for their recyclable, energy-efficient musical production, and their educators are Rowland …
Continue reading “4 amazing things afoot at The Cabot School”
4th grade researchers share Capstone Projects with community This past Wednesday, 4th grade scholars at Richmond Elementary School, in Richmond, Vermont, shared the results of their research with their families and community. They opened the doors of their school to family and friends for Celebrating Learning at Richmond Elementary School. I had a chance to attend …
Continue reading “Celebrating learning at Richmond Elementary School”
Crafting Pickaxes, swords and social skills Since its release in 2009, Minecraft has made its way into 60 million homes worldwide and has become the best-selling PC game of all time. The game can now be played on multiple platforms, including XBox, Playstation, and most smart phones and tablets. There are Youtube videos with literally …
Continue reading “What does Minecraft look like in a school?”
Learning on and off-line civics Whenever I taught civics, I repeatedly told my classes that I would measure my success as a teacher on how many of them were voting in elections in five years. Of course, I had no way to measure this, but it was one of my most concrete goals of teaching …
What makes an argument worth making? Recently, I was working with a colleague about getting students more jazzed to dive deep into building claims with supporting evidence. My colleague stated: “To be an argument, there needs to be a sense of “others” who are vying against our argument in ways that excite/worry us about our intellectual …
Continue reading “Student motivation in claims, evidence and audience”
Student teaching STEM Academy arduino strand Meet Ian. Ian’s a senior at Essex High School, and he’s not just enrolled in the STEM Academy there, he’s also teaching it. In this episode of the podcast, research fellow Mark Olofson talks with Ian about how he went from learning about arduinos, to teaching them, and why …
Help your students’ PSAs find their public Student-made PSAs are a great way for students to engage in project-based learning with real-world impact. Especially if they join up with community partners to tackle local issues. But once the PSAs get made, how can you help them find an authentic audience?
New podcast episode: Essex STEM Academy In this episode, we talk with math educator and STEM Academy leader Lea Ann Smith about Essex High School’s STEM Academy and take a look inside a program that lets students pursue projects in medicine, engineering, computer science, mathematics or biology — by working with community partners during the school …
Continue reading “Personalized STEM learning at Essex High School”
Flexible learning environments have a physical component — and effect Do you recognize the object at left? Does it look like a comfortable learning environment for a student? Does it look like the type of learning environment a student would choose for themselves? OF COURSE NOT, and because you are all such passionate and committed educators, you started …
Continue reading “Hack your classroom: flexible physical learning environments”
There is a lot of conversation about the importance of STEM education – in the media, in politics, and among educators. With so many voices emphasizing STEM education, it is not surprising to see people raising the counterpoint. Recently, Fareed Zakaria (a journalist for whom I have a lot of respect) published an op-ed titled …
100 years of Girl Scouts can’t be wrong Digital badges have potential to serve as both markers of achievement and as a vehicle for those of us who assess students’ learning for a living to think differently about our current practices. Many students do the work of examining their own learning through collecting artifacts, reflecting …
Continue reading “Digital Display: add Credly badges to Google Sites”
What are some mechanisms for keeping track of digital credentials? As we work with schools who are piloting digital badge programs on the BadgeOS platform, we need to start thinking through what some options are for students to store, keep track of, and display the digital credentials they earn. What does it look like to …
Find new uses for data visualization Free, online timeline tools allow students to break free of the traditional two-dimensional timeline and create highly customizable multimedia projects to showcase research, serve as digital portfolios, manage projects, guide gallery walks or form study guides. And yes, they can also be used for book reports.
In Vermont, in the winter, we talk about the weather. A lot. Perhaps this is due to our agrarian roots and realities. Maybe it is an extension of how we look for each other. Or maybe it’s because it is really, really cold. Mars cold. Whatever the reason, it is a very common topic for …
At TechJam this past autumn I was fortunate to run into a number of student groups who were there to show off projects. That forum, and others like it, gives learners a space to share, interact, and learn from each other. One group I met was from Big Picture South Burlington (@BigPictureSB), a community of learners …
Making math and music at The Edge We were lucky enough to get to sit down with three groups of students at Essex Middle School’s Edge Academy just before the break and hear how their year-long project-based learning (PBL) projects are going. In the final installment of the series, we talk with three students making math …
Continue reading “Project-based learning at Essex Middle School: algebra and songwriting”
The play’s the (learning) thing Also the musical film and the series of novels. Stay with us on this. In the 2nd of our three-part series looking at project-based learning with The Edge team at Essex Middle School, we talk to a novelist, a playwright (slash-director-slash-costume-designer-slash-actor) and a film-maker — all at the same time.
Essex 7th graders partnering with UVM on food sustainability project Just before the holiday break, we got the chance to talk with some of the students on The Edge team at Essex Middle School, in Essex Junction, Vermont, about the progress of their year-long inquiry projects. In the first of three installments, we talk with …
Continue reading “New podcast ep: Building an eco-machine at The Edge”
Here at the beginning of the year, many people make resolutions. A new year can mean new opportunities, and offer chances to implement large changes. One change that we see teachers take on is the idea of implementing the flipped classroom. Shifting direct instruction to video in order to clear up more class time for …
Continue reading “Thinking about flipped science classrooms”
Getting the most out of Apple’s new OS in the classroom The new Yosemite OS from Apple is out now and free to all desktop and laptop users running OS 10.6 or newer. But why upgrade? Will Yosemite provide educators with any useful new functionalities? WHY YES. Right this way for 5 cool Yosemite tips for …
Besides ours, of course 🙂 In case you’re just tuning in, podcasts are having something of a renaissance. People are finding themselves on treadmills or trapped in cars on their commutes back and forth to work and soccer practice or just out for a long walk with the dog after dinner. And in this do-more-be-more-right-now world, podcasts represent a …
Continue reading “4 edtech podcasts you should be listening to”
Shouldn’t every hour be a genius hour? Anyone paying attention to education in the US lately has seen the proliferation of the “Genius Hour.” Presumably inspired by Google’s 20% rule, through which employees of the search engine giant spend a day a week on projects of their own choosing, many schools are adopting a model …
Move to implement PLPs reflected at two local conferences for educators Fall in Vermont features two amazing local conferences for educators: VT Fest and the Rowland Foundation Conference. And at both these events, one of the hottest topics was personalized learning. As Vermont moves to implement Act 77, Flexible pathways to secondary education completion (pdf) …
It is Tech Jam time here in Burlington! This annual two day event is a chance for employers in the tech sector to come out and talk about who they are, what they do, and who they need to hire. It is also an amazing tech expo that has interesting and fun activities and presentations …
Concept to reality with Edmunds Middle School makerspace Hear from a group of 6th grade engineers who got to use their school’s nascent makerspace to design their own magnetic-levitation (mag-lev) cars in Google SketchUp, and then actually make them.
Twitter’s not just a great way to build your PLN as an educator, it’s also a powerful tool to connect students with the world around them in very unique ways. But how can you make those connections authentic learning experiences? Let’s look at making the most of twitter in your classroom.
When I was still teaching high school, I was presented one quarter with the option of creating and teaching a science elective. Looking at what my department offered, I noticed a lack of courses that explored the earth sciences. At the time I was getting really interested in weather, and so I created a course …
By now, almost everyone’s familiar with QR codes, the distinctive-looking black-and-white graphics which, when scanned, take the scanner to a url. No? Not sounding familiar? Then how about: If you have a phone, iPad or tablet with a QR-scanning app installed (we like Barcode Generator/Reader for Android, and Scan for iOS) open it up and center …
Continue reading “5 off-beat ways to use QR codes in the classroom”
Educators are embracing digital tools for planning and sharing Personalized learning plans, or PLPs, are non-traditional pathways by which students can navigate from entrance to graduation in a way that’s personally meaningful. By studying topics they’re passionate about, students continue to stay engaged; by collaborating on the plans with educators and family, students’ passions can …
Continue reading “4 ways personalized learning plans are taking off in Vermont”
STEM endorsement for students features personalized learning, community partners Last week, Essex High School threw a community launch party to celebrate the start of their STEM Academy‘s second year. But what does a STEM Academy look like on the inside? What does taking part in this program look like for students? We were on hand for …
Continue reading “STEM Academy launches at Essex High School”
One of the big challenges in the math and science classroom is to make abstract concepts real for your students. Whether we’re talking about how changes in the intercept of a line will affect its placement on a graph or how batteries push electricity through a circuit, a lot of imagination is required to make the …
Continue reading “Science and Math simulations for your class”
We’re flipping for Flipboard — and your students will too! Flipboard is a free mobile app for the iOS, Android and Google Play tablets that allows you to “flip” content into self-curated magazines. Translation: you grab webpages, videos, tweets or images, and pull them together into magazines. The magazines are the important bit. Haven’t you ever wanted …
Continue reading “4 ways to use Flipboard in your flipped classroom”
What is the worst consequence of our best idea? That’s a question that Chris Lehmann, founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, asks his team when trying out new strategies in their high school. It’s a question I want to pose to all teachers when considering issues of equity in our classrooms.
Feed and grow your PLN as an educator Now that you’ve gotten started with Google+ Communities, you may be wondering how to make the most of the time you spend there. How can you find other tech-minded educators to learn from? How can you maximize your connections and find folks who can help with your classroom …
Continue reading “Six Google+ Communities you should be part of”
It’s all about your Personal Learning Network (PLN) Google+ communities are becoming a major way for educators to get inspired by other classrooms, get tech questions answered and make personal and professional connections. Jump in and get started!
Flip the way you deliver content and engage students, but don’t stop there: flipping your space, your community and faculty meetings can be just as useful.
Mark Olofson is a second year doctoral student at UVM and began working with the Tarrant Institute in the Fall 2013. Mark has taught middle and high school science and mathematics in Colorado as well as Los Cabos, Mexico. He is looking forward to incorporating his experience with content-driven technology integration and blending brick-and-mortar with virtual …
For a lot of kids, science can be something you learn about, instead of something that you do. This is understandable – a lot of experiments that students do in the classroom aren’t exactly leading towards new discoveries. Even if it’s an amazing reaction or a wonderful simulation, it can be hard for students to …
Continue reading “Citizen Science: routes to collaboration on scientific research”
What We’re Reading Advice from the popular Nerdy Book Club on how to create authentic book clubs in the classroom, from a teacher who didn’t:
So many graduations to be excited about this week! Congratulations to the 8th graders transitioning from Cabot’s middle school to high school! Congratulations to Winooski’s graduating kindergarten class! Congratulations to PAML students who are stepping up this morning! Congratulations to Burlington High School class of 2014! Congratulations to Milton Middle School 8th graders, who graduated …
Continue reading “Congratulations to all of Vermont’s amazing graduates!”
I can’t recommend highly enough Mrs Pepe’s Google Glass Adventures. Courtney Pepe teaches high school in New Jersey, and has spent the last month plus trying out Google Glass in the classroom with her students. Her blogposts. Are. Fascinating. Like this demo of using the translate function with Glass: Other fun entries include how Glass …
Project-based learning is alive and well in rural Vermont As part of The Cabot School‘s Exhibition of Learning earlier this spring, middle school students had a chance to share out some PBL research. Themed around the cultural landscape of the United States, the “See America” exhibit boasted a number of amazing students who showed off outstanding …
Continue reading ““See America”: Cabot students share their PBL research”
Local educators and students presenting at Vermont state conference If you’re one of the many folks planning on attending Dynamic Landscapes 2014, the annual state-wide conference for Vermont’s education scene, be sure to check out these Edmunds and Essex students and educators! They’re presenting at this year’s conference. Kathy Gallagher, Carole Renca and their students will …
Continue reading “Tarrant Institute partners presenting at Dynamic Landscapes”
Get out there! It’s spring (unless you’re in the Antipodes) and IT HAS FINALLY STOPPED SNOWING. Yes, all those capital letters are really necessary to announce that fact. The sun is out and if you’re planning on doing some outside work with your students, here are four activity ideas for using iPads outside when there’s no access …
Continue reading “Get out! 4 ideas for using iPads outside (and away from Wifi)”
What-smash? Despite sounding like a weird potato-fruit dish, app-smashing gets your students thinking less about apps and more about tasks. Hopefully with a minimum of actual smashing. App-smashing is when you give students a specific assignment that can best be solved using more than one app. iPads4Teachers has a fantastic overview of app-smashing here. Sounds good, …
Continue reading “Think outside the app: 3 outstanding examples of app-smashing”
Sixty dollars, a dremel and a dream It all started with a post on the iPad Ed Google+ community. Wait, I take that back. It really all started with the 20+ iPads we loan out to educators. Those suckers are constantly in demand and constantly in need of charging. They’re each firmly encased in Fintie …
Continue reading “Build your own iPad charging cart out of office supplies”
Here’s a great way to dip your toes in the digital credentialing waters: DIY.org. What Is It? Geared for kids 8 and up, DIY.org features dozens of digital badges heavily geared towards doing and making. To earn a badge, students choose to complete 2 or 3 challenges from an array of 7 or 8, and …
Guest post by Lindsey Halman, facilitator at The Edge at Essex Middle School: What is a system? How are living things organized? How do the structures of organisms contribute to life’s functions? Learners on the Edge team addressed these questions through a unit on Structure, Function and Information Processing in Living Organisms using the …
On February 11th, Edmunds Middle School opened their doors to the community and invited them to see what technology integration looks like in a 21st century Vermont school.
As part of celebrating Digital Learning Day yesterday, we visited The Edge team at Essex Middle School for their annual Project Fair, where students share their learning with the community. Here’s a look at some of the amazing work on display.
A 1-minute iPad how-to from Harwood Union Middle School science educator Brian Wagner, showing you how to save augmented reality “auras” from the popular mobile app Aurasma, to Evernote. Wagner used Aurasma with his students this past spring in creating an augmented reality periodic table, mounted in the community gallery space at their school. …
Continue reading “iPad how-to: saving auras to your Evernote portfolio”
Hi there! My name is Mark Olofson, and I am a new research fellow here at TIIE. I worked for a number of years as a science educator, and I’m going to use this space to share some of the things I learned in the field related to using technological tools to teach science. I’m …
While we’re all over here recovering from the epic spectacle that was this year’s Code Camp, please enjoy Shelly Wright’s TEDTalk, on her journey as a teacher. They’re all excited and they’re telling people, and texting and I’m thinking this is gonna be awesome, you know? We’ll raise a couple thousand dollars, the kids’ll …
Continue reading “How one teacher learned to let go and trust her students to lead their learning”
Our inaugural Code Camp is in some great company this morning over at 7Days: Ruby Course, Conference and Camp Coming Soon. It’s great to see such strong support for learning to code in the community. 21st century educations ftw! If you haven’t signed up for Code Camp yet, you’re in luck: we opened up a …
Continue reading “Learning to code in the Green Mountain State (via TechJamVT)”
Montpelier’s U32 students did an amazing job crafting this documentary about school consolidation issues in Vermont. A fantastic example of using technology to engage with community issues. Highly recommended.