Day 7: Reflection

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Day 6: Twitter?

This teacher posted her blog post on the power of her PLN last summer. It explains what a PLN- whether you determine it is through, Google Reader, Diigo and/or Twitter- does in her case.

Ms. Cheska's Blog Post

Day 6: Today I Learned....

Today has been full of great presentations and ideas!

Leave a comment letting us know one thing you learned from someone else- either about a new technology you learned, a great presentation tip, or a new teaching strategy.

Day 5: To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Today, Jason showed us Google Reader as a premier means of harnessing a stream of educational content from blogs and other websites. Tomorrow, I will show you Twitter as a means of accomplishing much the same thing. Typically, people confront Twitter either with open arms and a good deal of caution and disbelief in its powers as a PLN tool. In an effort to sway any doubter a little :), I wanted to launch a preemptive strike on your caution and disbelief with these two artifacts found....on Twitter.

Below, you will find a presentation that I thought was great at dealing with Twitter frivolous uses and with its useful ones in an entertaining and informing way.

Why is the Fail Whale Smiling?

View more presentations from Rodd Lucier

Also, please reference this blog post we discovered on Twitter that shares some enlightening examples of how many resources flood Twitter in any given day. Scott McLeod's blog post shares one day only a month and a half ago. http://bigthink.com/ideas/38698

Day 5: Why Would I PLN?

We spent all morning showing you why we love our PLNs so much and telling you what we see as the advantages to being involved. So what do you think?

In the comment section, let us know what you think. What do you think the benefit of being in a PLN will be for you, and which PLN tool do you like the most so far?

Day 4: Which generation are you?

You spent time researching the generations that will most likely make up the audience of your professional learning session- so which one fits you best?

The generations studied were:

• Silent Generation (1925 - 1944)
• Baby Boomers (1945-1964)
• Generation X (1965-1984)
• Net Generation (1985 - present)

In the comment section, let us know which generation you are most like. Remember- you may have been born in the 1950s but be of the Net Generation at heart!

Day 4 Story

In planning activities for Pinnacle, we have tried to make them as self-guided as possible while still squeezing in experiences with the typical technologies we would like you to take from the experience. In the classroom, we hope that as students become aware of various technologies, you will allow them to direct their own learning and the ways in which they express their learning. In our case, the assignment on student-centered instruction does not quite fit the bill simply because we needed to teach you the technology of Audacity as well. In the classroom, once students have used something like Audacity once before, it should become invisible within the instruction and ultimately a tool that they might choose to use.

In what ways would you suggest making an activity like this more student-centered? For example, how might you allow students to choose their topic, their means of learning about that topic, and their method of assessment? In this case, you were given a topic and simply told to research it with some guiding links. Then you were provided a specific tool to use to generate some kind of response demonstrating what you learned about the topic. (Design)

In what ways are you considering changing your classroom? a given period or day's agenda? and lesson plans in general? What are your feelings on relinquishing the control of so many facets to your students?



Please listen to the other two podcasts and respond as well.

Remember to bring your Wireless Slates on Monday and Tuesday so that we can pair them for you.

Day 3: Discover Discovery Education

We investigated new ways to use Discovery Education today and you even got some time to start working on a lesson you can use with your students once school starts back. In the comments section below, share with each other what your lesson idea is.

Day 3: Design and Symphony

Since we were able to play with Google Apps, specially Docs, today, we thought it might be fun to contribute to a collaborative presentation asynchronously. This one, delivered to us in our own Google training, shows 32 ways of using Google Apps in the classroom. While it is embedded here, since it has also been shared to you, you will still be able to add slides to it just as if it was yours.

Your mission is simple, just add at least 2 slides with your own ideas for using Google Apps in Education. The embedded presentation here should change to display the most current, saved documents. Now, please realize that many of you may find yourselves in the document at exactly the same time. Be polite. :) Everything works just fine, but will be easier if you add a slide and work on it while someone else works on another. Let's see what happens!

Day 2: Qualities of a Pinnacle Leader

As a Pinnacle Leader for Gaston County Schools, you exemplify teacher leadership and a love of lifelong learning. You are also a role model for technology integration, positive attitudes, and professionalism among your peers. It is important that you keep these qualities in mind as you get ready to embark upon a new year.

In the comments section, leave suggestions for how you can exhibit and keep these qualities throughout the year.

Day 2 Play

"Play will be to the 21st century what work was to the last 300 years of industrial society- our dominant way of knowing, doing and creating value."- Pat Kane, author of The Play Ethic

Having explored a number of sites and shared them with your peers, hopefully you see the value of discovering new tools for yourself and within your network. In the spirit of collaboration, what ideas would you propose for replacing the technology in our centers from this morning? What activities might you change altogether to better meet a level of blooms?

Day 1: Whatchu' gonna do with Google?

We've spent a lot of time today learning about Google. We covered mail, calendar, and docs...and there is more to come later in the week! After seeing the basics of Google and seeing a few examples of how other teachers use Google Apps in the classroom- how do you think Google will enhance the way you teach? Leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments section.

5 Things You Hate

In order to establish the norms that will carry with us through the Pinnacle experience, we will use Blogger to weed out suggestions. First, leave a comment to this post listing 5 things you to see occur in a PLC setting. Afterwards, we will get in groups of 4 or 5 to combine those into categories we will use to make norms.

Day 1 Empathy

"Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate and to connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives."

Today, you met your cohort of fellow Pinnacle Leaders and we did a lot in the way of setting the stage for the next several days of tasks, including this blog, Base Camp, and our collective vision. It is no mistake that we chose to lead off Pinnacle with the sense of Empathy. While in the danger of sounding corny, how do you feel the sense of Empathy fits inside your concept of being a Pinnacle Leader? How does it affect your role as an educator?

Check out this recent blog post about a presentation at June's ISTE 2011 conference in Philadelphia on the "Yeah But's"

Discover Blogger...er, Google Blog

Blogger is scheduled to change (as of last week) to Google Blog in the near future. In order to learn our way around Blogger, we ask that you search for yourself using these 5 questions to guide you. Don't worry! You will not stranded. As you have questions of your own, just leave a comment to this post OR use any of your peers to help.

1. How do you make a new post?
2. How can you modify some of the settings to make the blog more safe?
3. How can you add widgets/gadgets to your blog's sidebars?
4. How do you change the template of your blog?
5. What are labels and what is the benefit of using them?