The Web20Classroom

SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

Feedback is one of the best ways to support student learning. According to John Hattie , Feedback has an effect size of.64 and is often considered as one of the top 5 influential factors on student learning, BUT… it is also the most variable. Most of the time the feedback students receive consists of answers to the questions: Where am I going? How am I going?

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The Web20Classroom

AUGUST 12, 2019

My oldest daughter, Reaghan, is getting ready to be a 5th grader while my youngest, Chesney, will be a 1st grader this year. Heading back to school with them is one of the busiest times of year. There are lots of meetings, papers to read and fill out, and new things to learn about her school. As a parent, I rely heavily upon the communication efforts of the district and her school.

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The Web20Classroom

AUGUST 5, 2019

Ever since I was a little kid I have enjoyed anything Disney. Even with my own daughters I have enjoyed seeing their faces light up when they walk down Main Street at the Magic Kingdom and they see Cinderella's Castle, even though they've seen it several times. We've visited all the parks and done a cruise. So when the team at Disney Youth Programs reached out to me to come down and check out all they have to offer I jumped at the opportunity.

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Learning Classroom Elementary Groups 102

The Web20Classroom

JULY 2, 2019

I love to read. If I am not working or spending time with my daughters I am reading. But when I was in elementary school reading was what I dreaded the most. In my classes we had the "blue birds" and "red birds" reading groups. I was a blue bird. A weak reader. Stuck in a group with the other weak readers. Thinking back on that time as an adult it was a deflating time as a kid.

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The Web20Classroom

JUNE 19, 2019

Written with my friend Shaelynn Farnsworth we break down the simple things any learner can do to make the most of their conference experience. The end of June means signals to many education technology enthusiasts one thing - the annual ISTE (International Society for Technology In Education) Conference is just around the corner. ISTE is one of our favorite conferences because we get to reconnect, face-to-face with those edufriends we haven't seen in the past year, we get to learn with some incr

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The Web20Classroom

MAY 19, 2019

Professional learning for educators comes in many flavors: Face-to-face, blended, online Content-driven, instructional practices, Edtech focused Faculty meeting, half-day, conference session If we were all to think long enough we could come up with a list of the best professional learning we've participated in and what made it great. For me it was learning where I connected to the presenter and the presentation immediately.

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Professional Learning Learning Education EdTech 176

The Web20Classroom

APRIL 19, 2019

Empathy: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner. ( Merriam-Webster Dictionary ) As a father and an educator, an important aspect of learning that is difficult to teach is empathy.

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The Web20Classroom

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

Opportunity to learn with renowned education researchers and practitioners rejuvenates the mind and reignites the passion in many educators. In the second of our two-part series, Shaelynn Farnsworth and I share what we learned from the Visible Learning Institute in San Diego, this time with a focus on literacy. Head over to part one to see our initial thoughts and shares.

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Learning Classroom Education Strategy 111

The Web20Classroom

DECEMBER 11, 2018

As a former Director of Instructional Technology I was tasked with training all district and school leadership on the process of walkthroughs. We’d spend 2 days reviewing protocols, analyzing data and how to lead conversations. Afterwards they would go out and conduct their walks. When I would visit schools and talk to teachers about walkthroughs, their purpose or how they were using the data they were often confused with observations.

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The Web20Classroom

OCTOBER 8, 2018

In our next collaborative post, Shaelynn Farnsworth (@shfarnsworth) and I discuss how schools and districts can make the best technology purchasing decisions. Recently I was talking to a Tech Director colleague that was in the middle of a purchasing battle with a principal. The principal had been approached by a well-known technology vendor wanting to sell the school some hardware and software to help students in literacy and math.

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Technology EdTech Classroom Student Data Privacy 124

The Web20Classroom

OCTOBER 3, 2018

When I was teaching Middle School Science I always tried to encourage academic discussion among my students. As a group we would debate results from various experiments, attempt to understand current events in science and talk about how science was all around us. Like many other teachers on my team (or other teachers anywhere really) promoting true collaboration and sharing in the classroom is a wonderful goal to have but ultimately difficult to achieve.

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Learning Classroom Student Engagement Libraries 142

The Web20Classroom

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018

Going digital has truly made our world smaller. From the desks in our classrooms we can travel to far off places and talk to friends via Skype or share thoughts through blogs or experience historic sites like never before with virtual reality. We can code new apps or design new objects on 3D printers. The digital tools we have available to us for both teaching and learning is (and will continue to have) dramatic effects on both.

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The Web20Classroom

AUGUST 23, 2018

When I was a Director of Instructional Technology it was always a fun day when we could deliver brand new devices to a school. The students and teachers were always excited and ready for the new possibilities ahead. Then after a few weeks frustration would set it. Students would loose work, teachers had to spend hours trying to figure out which document belonged to whom and we’d see lots of devices in the shop for repair.

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The Web20Classroom

AUGUST 17, 2018

This post is sponsored by ThinkCERCA , an online platform designed to empower teachers to personalize literacy instruction across disciplines. Just as literacy is a part of every classroom at every grade level, writing is a powerful component of the curriculum. Writing is generative in nature and helps students uncover thoughts bubbling in their heads that haven’t reached the surface yet.

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The Web20Classroom

JUNE 8, 2018

As the end of the school year approaches my daughter’s backpack is filled with fliers from her elementary school. Everything from summer reading lists to stacks of classwork that are finally being sent home. Nearly every night my inbox is full of emails from the school reminding us of this and that. It seems like they are trying to pack everything we need to know for the summer into the space of a few days.

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The Web20Classroom

MAY 2, 2018

When I walked into the Houston Convention Center a few weeks ago I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had never attended a FIRST LEGO League World Championship. Walking through the doors I was in awe. 15,000 kids from nations all over the world gathered to show off their robotic and LEGO creations and compete for the title of World Champion. I heard multiple languages, adults reminding kids about how they got there and some of the craziest chants you’ve ever heard.

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Robotics Classroom Learning STEM 185

The Web20Classroom

APRIL 11, 2018

Lately, the work I’ve been doing with teachers and leaders has centered around the engaging and effective use of technology. In addition to developing a guide for how teachers can plan better using technology and what leaders can look for when doing walkthroughs, I have had many conversations around the transformational use of technology. Specifically, what does that look like?

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The Web20Classroom

MARCH 19, 2018

A few weeks ago I asked a group of teachers to describe a lesson where technology was used effectively to impact learning. After some thinking, one of the teachers described a lesson where students were using Google Maps to take a tour of different parts of the world. They were to visit some predetermined places, go into street view and answer a few questions.

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Assessment Classroom Outcomes Student Engagement 241

The Web20Classroom

FEBRUARY 19, 2018

Do you struggle with effectively integrating technology into learning? Do you wonder how your pedagogy must change to respond to the technology choices you and your students make? Do you wonder what tools are out there other than what you’ve heard about on Twitter or read on blogs? Influential educators Shaelynn Farnsworth and Steven W. Anderson introduce a course where you can find the answers to these questions and more.

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Course Classroom Laptops Professional Learning 108

The Web20Classroom

FEBRUARY 5, 2018

Co-Written with my friend and business partner Shaelynn Farnsworth In all the work that Shaelynn and I do with teachers across the US and beyond we see educators creating amazing learning environments for students. From the use of 1:1 technology to enabling students to learn authentically, these really are incredible times to teach and learn. However, among all the flash and pageantry there is struggle.

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The Web20Classroom

JANUARY 28, 2018

Last week I had the honor to work with educational leaders and teachers from Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. Our goal was to examine the role of technology leadership in and out of the classroom and to better understand how technology can enhance learning. It was a unique opportunity for me because normally when I do professional development like this I work with one group or the other.

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The Web20Classroom

JANUARY 5, 2018

When I was leading an Instructional Technology program, one of the hurdles my team had to overcome was the lack of involvement from our leadership on the professional development we were delivering. In the feedback we would get from teachers we would hear that the learning was good, but that their Principal, AP, Curriculum Director, whom ever, didn’t know what they were learning, or why they were learning it.

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The Web20Classroom

DECEMBER 6, 2017

Unless you just haven’t noticed, trees, lights and ornaments are going up on businesses and homes all over the place. Commercials on television highlight sweaters, coffee and fireplaces. It’s hard to ignore we are in the holiday season. And, if you are like me you mind turns to the long list of things you have to get for everyone in your life. Gifts for kids, family, friends, the mailman, bus driver, front office staff.

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Learning Classroom Education Professional Learning 118

The Web20Classroom

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Recently most of the world has become familiar with the term “fake news.” These alternative facts are pervasive and infect all facets of our lives. From our twitter streams to talking heads on television it seems like we can not escape facts being outright fake, or the perception that they are. What’s worse is most students can’t determine whether what they see or read is real or fake.

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Social Media Classroom Education Video 167

The Web20Classroom

OCTOBER 10, 2017

"Science is fun. Science is curiosity. We all have natural curiosity. Science is a process of investigating. It's posing questions and coming up with a method. It's delving in." -Sally Ride I was a Middle School Science and Math teacher. When I started in college I didn't set out to teach those subjects but found myself there after discovering my love for both.

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Classroom Resources Elementary Google 235

The Web20Classroom

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

As a teacher, I always looked forward to the first day of school. Getting my room put together, planning new lessons and meeting new faces was something I couldn't wait to do. As a parent, I dread the first day of school. And this year was no different. When my newly minted third grader, Reaghan, came home of course I wanted to hear all about how it went, the new friends she made and what her teachers were like.

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The Web20Classroom

AUGUST 27, 2017

Reaghan is my oldest daughter and about to start third grade. At 2 years of age I noticed she wasn’t talking much and when she did talk you couldn’t really understand what she was trying to say. After talking to her pediatrician it was decided to have her evaluated for her speech. She spent countless hours working with a speech-language pathologist for nearly 5 and half years.

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The Web20Classroom

JULY 31, 2017

For the next several weeks I’ll be sharing posts that you can use for your summer learning. School may be out for many but the learning we do as educators can last even outside the classroom. These posts will take us through Twitter chats and how you can participate in real time or whenever you want. Next we will examine some ideas on how to get the most out of any conference you attend this summer or beyond.

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Learning Social Media Classroom Twitter 128

The Web20Classroom

JUNE 13, 2017

For the next several weeks I’ll be sharing posts that you can use for your summer learning. School may be out for many but the learning we do as educators can last even outside the classroom. These posts will take us through several different ways of extending your learning. We started with Twitter chats and how you can participate in real time or whenever you want.

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The Web20Classroom

MAY 17, 2017

These are truly incredible times to not only be a learner but an educator as well. The access to information we have is unlike anything we’ve had before. And the tools we have to create a learning environment where all students can succeed are ever increasing. While these are incredible times, it can be quite daunting as an educator to look across this ever-changing technology landscape and feel unprepared.

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Education Classroom Assessment Google 274

The Web20Classroom

MAY 10, 2017

This post is sponsored by ThinkCERA , an online platform designed to empower teachers to personalize literacy instruction across disciplines. The use of digital learning spaces has exploded in use in classrooms nearly everywhere. Through Learning Management Systems (LMS) many educators are moving to put content online and extend learning beyond the four walls and beyond the school day.

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The Web20Classroom

MARCH 22, 2017

Steven Anderson and Shaelynn Farnsworth lay out what Connected Educators do and how it’s a always a work in progress. Educators today can no longer just walk into the classroom, shut their door and teach. In every facet of our practice there are other educators doing amazing things that we can all learn from. Through the creation of our Personal Learning Network we find smart folks we can learn, share and grow with.

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The Web20Classroom

MARCH 11, 2017

When I was a middle school science teacher I regularly assigned projects. At the time I thought that the projects would be a great way for me to understand what my students understood about particular concepts and topics. I had them make visual representations of atoms of the periodic table, reports outlining the effects of global warming on our community, and several others.

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The Web20Classroom

FEBRUARY 27, 2017

Last week I laid out 3 Untapped Social Media Resources for Teachers. This week we take a look at how to leverage social networks for students. My sister is a senior in high school. Whenever we spend time together I ask her about “what the kids are into these days?” She is right in the heart of the age range for kids who use social media the most (13-18 yrs old).

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The Web20Classroom

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with information as adults and as educators, there are still many untapped resources to learn from and share with and grow, especially through social media. Being a connected educator doesn’t mean sticking to one favorite platform and having that singular lens to learn from. We want students to have multiple perspectives so we should expect the same from ourselves.

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Social Media Resources Twitter Facebook 89

The Web20Classroom

FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Along with my good friend and literacy expert Shaelynn Farnsworth , we examine what authentic learning means and what these classrooms truly look like. Reimagining education is frequently sparked by advancement in technology. From the introduction of the No. 2 pencil to the streaming of video in to support learning and teaching, technology is typically the driver to change.

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The Web20Classroom

JANUARY 22, 2017

This week brings us another awesome gathering of educators from all over the U.S. and beyond. Descending on the Orange County Convention Center in sunny Orlando, Florida the FETC Conference kicks off with tons of opportunities for all of us to learn, share and grow. I am honored to be a Featured Presenter again this year and will be there all week sharing and presenting along with countless other wonderful educators.

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