Monte Vista School
The Independent
Learning Academy
Principal’s Message
December 7, 2015
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came
without packages, boxes or bags!... Then the Grinch thought of something he
hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from
a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!" ~Dr.
Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
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@DrMVPsimivalley
This message as well as the past
messages can be found on the Principal’s Blog:
Good morning and a pleasant Monday! The
holiday season is upon us as well as the last few weeks of the Fall
semester. The next two weeks will be
full of activities both in the classroom and in our various labs, not to
mention a holiday party or two!
We’ll start of the week with the
international project called “Hour of Code”.
Every classroom will have a couple of chrome books with coding projects downloaded
and ready to start. Also, the Maker
Space Lab (room 3) will be opened throughout the week for hands on coding
experiences. We’ll cap the “Hour of Code”
week on Thursday with numerous coding activities in the Maker Space Lab and for
each coding project a student completes, they’ll be given a raffle ticket for
our Hour of Code drawing! For a great
resource of Coding ideas check out this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X_0ounfMjieWfPEQTLp958w_AaJ0k1kJEPu8oLdys8s/edit
Congratulations to Tracie Garfinkle
for being named the Simi Valley Ed Foundation teacher of the month! And a big shout out to the SVEF for what they
do for all of our schools and teachers throughout our district.
Give the Gift of Joy Today! If you’re interested in donating a gift to a
child in need this holiday season, please come to the office and pick an Angel
Card off of our Angel Tree. Bring your
unwrapped gift (with the tag attached back to the office by December 16th.
Our Angel Tree is in the front office.
Sign up now for this Thursday’s evening’s
Floral class. A floral holiday mug will
be designed and create by each floral designer (that’s you!) As in the past
classes, the class is opened for all students, parents and staff of SVUSD, just
need to know by Tuesday evening if you’ll be attending. Class starts at 6pm in
the MPR.
It’s rumored that Santa and Mrs
Claus will make an appearance to the holiday breakfast party on December 17th
in room 8. Contact Tracie Garfinkle for
more information…hope to see you there…Ho! Ho! Ho!
Mark your calendar for these
upcoming events:
December 8 - Science Update!! Tuesday's Science exploration will be a
STEM activity called "Gumdrop Bridge Building"! The students will be
using all sorts of materials to build structures.
December 11 – Field trip to CPK. See behind the scenes how a pizza is
made, and remember some of the ingredients so we can plant a pizza garden in
the spring.
December 11 – Staff Cookie exchange
December 16 – Care & Share Can Food Drive ends. Bring a can or 2 into your classroom
collection box before the 16th!
December 18 – Staff Holiday Party & Gift Exchange
The article below lists 15
Characteristics of a 21st –Century Teacher. Take a moment and
respond back to the blog and posting which of the 15 traits you can relate the
best and which of the 15 would you like to work on for next year. If you think there some traits of the 21st
Century teacher that aren’t listed, go ahead and add them to the list. If you’re a parent, a student or a non-teaching
staff member please post on the blog which of the 15 characteristics do you
think is the most important to the learner and/or is there a trait that should
be included in the list? Click on this link (http://drmvpblog.blogspot.com/) to add your comment and earn a Point!
Follow Monte Vista on Twitter*, keep
smiling and let’s all make it a great week!
Steve J
15 Characteristics of a 21st-Century
Teacher
http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/15-characteristics-21st-century-teacher
Tsisana Palmer , ESL Instructor/Intensive English Program
Recent technological advances have affected many areas of
our lives: the way we communicate, collaborate, learn, and, of course, teach.
Along with that, those advances necessitated an expansion of our vocabulary,
producing definitions such as digital natives, digital immigrants, and, the
topic of this post -- "21st-century teacher."
As I am writing this post, I am trying to recall if I ever
had heard phrases such as "20th-century teacher" or
"19th-century teacher." Quick Google search reassures me that there
is no such word combination. Changing the "20th" to "21st"
brings different results: a 21st-century school, 21st-century education,
21st-century teacher, 21st-century skills -- all there! I then searched for
Twitter hashtags and Amazon books, and the results were just the same; nothing
for the "20th-century teacher" while a lot for the "21st":
#teacher21, #21stcenturyskills, #21stCTeaching and no books with titles
#containing "20th century" while quite a few on the 21st-century
teaching and learning.
Obviously, teaching in the 21-century is an altogether
different phenomenon; never before could learning be happening the way it is
now -- everywhere, all the time, on any possible topic, supporting any possible
learning style or preference. But what does being a 21st-century teacher really
mean?
Below are 15 characteristics of a 21st-century teacher:
1. Learner-Centered
Classroom and Personalized Instructions
As students have access to any information possible, there
certainly is no need to "spoon-feed" the knowledge or teach
"one-size fits all" content. As students have different
personalities, goals, and needs, offering personalized instructions is not just
possible but also desirable. When students are allowed to make their own
choices, they own their learning, increase intrinsic motivation, and put in
more effort -- an ideal recipe for better learning outcomes!
2. Students as
Producers
Today's students have the latest and greatest tools, yet,
the usage in many cases barely goes beyond communicating with family and
friends via chat, text, or calls. Even though students are now viewed as
digital natives, many are far from producing any digital content. While they do
own expensive devices with capabilities to produce blogs, infographics, books,
how-to videos, and tutorials, just to name a few, in many classes, they are
still asked to turn those devices off and work with handouts and worksheets.
Sadly, often times these papers are simply thrown away once graded. Many
students don't even want to do them, let alone keep or return them later. When
given a chance, students can produce beautiful and creative blogs, movies, or
digital stories that they feel proud of and share with others.
3. Learn New
Technologies
In order to be able to offer students choices, having one's
own hands-on experience and expertise will be useful. Since technology keeps
developing, learning a tool once and for all is not a option. The good news is
that new technologies are new for the novice and and experienced teachers
alike, so everyone can jump in at any time! I used a short-term subscription to
www.lynda.com, which has many resources for learning new technologies.
4. Go Global
Today's tools make it possible to learn about other
countries and people first hand. Of course, textbooks are still sufficient,
yet, there is nothing like learning languages, cultures, and communication
skills from actually talking to people from other parts of the world.
It's a shame that with all the tools available, we still
learn about other cultures, people, and events from the media. Teaching
students how to use the tools in their hands to "visit" any corner of
this planet will hopefully make us more knowledgable and sympathetic.
5. Be Smart and Use
Smart Phones
Once again -- when students are encouraged to view their
devices as valuable tools that support knowledge (rather than distractions),
they start using them as such. I remember my first years of teaching when I
would not allow cell phones in class and I'd try to explain every new
vocabulary word or answer any question myself -- something I would not even think
of doing today!
I have learned that different students have different needs
when it comes to help with new vocabulary or questions; therefore, there is no
need to waste time and explain something that perhaps only one or two students
would benefit from. Instead, teaching students to be independent and know how
to find answers they need makes the class a different environment!
I have seen positive changes ever since I started viewing
students' devices as useful aid. In fact, sometimes I even respond by saying
"I don't know -- use Google and tell us all!" What a difference in
their reactions and outcomes!
6. Blog
I have written on the importance of both student and teacher
blogging. Even my beginners of English could see the value of writing for real
audience and establishing their digital presence. To blog or not to blog should
not be a question any more!
7. Go Digital
Another important attribute is to go paperless -- organizing
teaching resources and activities on one's own website and integrating
technology bring students learning experience to a different level. Sharing
links and offering digital discussions as opposed to a constant paper flow
allows students to access and share class resources in a more organized
fashion.
8. Collaborate
Technology allows collaboration between teachers &
students. Creating digital resources, presentations, and projects together with
other educators and students will make classroom activities resemble the real
world. Collaboration should go beyond sharing documents via e-mail or creating
PowerPoint presentations. Many great ideas never go beyond a conversation or
paper copy, which is a great loss! Collaboration globally can change our entire
experience!
9. Use Twitter Chat
Participating in Twitter chat is the cheapest and most
efficient way to organize one's own PD, share research and ideas, and stay
current with issues and updates in the field. We can grow professionally and
expand our knowledge as there is a great conversation happening every day, and
going to conferences is no longer the only way to meet others and build professional
learning networks.
10. Connect
Connect with like-minded individuals. Again, today's tools
allow us to connect anyone, anywhere, anytime. Have a question for an expert or
colleague? Simply connect via social media: follow, join, ask, or tell!
11. Project-Based
Learning
As today's students have an access to authentic resources on
the web, experts anywhere in the world, and peers learning the same subject
somewhere else, teaching with textbooks is very "20th-century" (when
the previously listed option were not available). Today's students should
develop their own driving questions, conduct their research, contact experts,
and create final projects to share all using devices already in their hands.
All they need from their teacher is guidance!
12. Build Your
Positive Digital Footprint
It might sound obvious, but it is for today's teachers to
model how to appropriately use social media, how to produce and publish
valuable content, and how to create sharable resources. Even though it's true
that teachers are people, and they want to use social media and post their
pictures and thoughts, we cannot ask our students not to do inappropriate
things online if we ourselves do it. Maintaining professional behavior both in
class and online will help build positive digital footprint and model appropriate
actions for students.
13. Code
While this one might sound complicated, coding is nothing
but today's literacy. As a pencil or pen were "the tools" of the
20th-century, making it impossible to picture a teacher not capable to operate
with it, today's teacher must be able to operate with today's pen and pencil,
i.e., computers. Coding is very interesting to learn -- the feeling of writing
a page with HTML is amazing! Even though I have ways to go, just like in every
other field, a step at a time can take go a long way. Again, lynda.com is a
great resource to start with!
14. Innovate
I invite you to expand your teaching toolbox and try new
ways you have not tried before, such as teaching with social media or replacing
textbooks with web resources. Not for the sake of tools but for the sake of
students!
Ever since I started using TED talks and my own activities
based on those videos, my students have been giving a very different feedback.
They love it! They love using Facebook for class discussions and announcements.
They appreciate novelty -- not the new tools, but the new, more productive and interesting
ways of using them.
15. Keep Learning
As new ways and new technology keep emerging, learning and
adapting is essential. The good news is: it's fun, and even 20 min a day will
take you a long way!
