August PD: Part 1

All teachers and students in the high school are getting new computers this fall. It's hard to believe, but this is starting our 12th year of being 1:1. I am always asked to kick off the in-service days with an update on what's new. Frankly, there are not a lot of updates anymore. I prefer to concentrate on how we're learning using the machines to help us.  

Over the summer I read Dan Ryder and Amy Burvall's book Intention: Critical Creativity in the Classroom. There are so many great ideas in it. They encourage remixing their activities. I also saw Lisa Thumann present #onenewthing at the EdTechTeam Custom Summit in Pulaski, Arkansas. 

Something that we have done in the past is to share a new idea using technology at faculty meetings. Either the principal or I would point out something we had seen in the classroom. The teacher would then do a quick overview. We called it "Geek of the Week" and it was modeled on the Seedlings podcast that I used to participate in. So I remixed "Geek of the Week" and a Lego activity and came up with #onenewthing. 

• Find a partner. Decide who is one and who is two
• Grab a cup of Lego (half filled Solo cups with random pieces of Legos)
• Ground Rules:
• No talking
• You will have 4 minutes to build something which I will tell you about in a minute.
• While building, you may trade Lego pieces with your partner, but it must be a one to one trade. 

• You will have 4 minutes to build a representation of something new that you learned this summer.
• After the 4 minutes is up, Turn and Talk. 
• Partner 1 - try to guess what Partner 2 made. Partner 2 then shares what they learned.
• Partner 2 - try to guess what Partner 1 made. Partner 1 then shares what they learned.
• Who would like to share one of their creations?
• Now let's think about our classrooms. What is #onenewthing you would like to try this year? Share with your partner.
• If you would like to show your creation - leave it on the table in the back.

Instead of Geek of the Week, we are going to share #onenewthing at our faculty meetings. More to come!