Why Common Core State Standards?

Check out the video series by the Hunt Institute: (Link) 

Updated Common Core News

Check out the new articles on my Scoop It! (Link)

Summer Common Core Professional Development and Collaborative Learning

Summer 2011 Common Core:  Interested in learning how to change the HOW of instruction when it comes to implementing the Common Core State Standards?  Click here for more information (Link). 

April News!

I wanted to continue to update my blog with some of my current happenings around current educational trends. I have really found the Scoop It! to be a value tool and wanted to post an updated link on my blog for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! (Link)
I also needed to create a few technology projects for my WMU technology class, so I thought I would share these as well.

• 21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Learner (Link)

• Transitioning to the Common Core State Standards (Link)

• Anitomo 21st Century Video (Link)

Scoop It! Update

http://www.scoop.it/t/implementation-of-the-common-core-state-standards

Teaching in the 21st Century

If you are in education, or have children yourself, please take the next ten minutes to watch this very powerful youtube/prezi presentaiton.  (Link)

Educational Redesign Scoop It Weekly Articles!

Enjoy these articles about Educational Redesign.  (Link)

Weekly Scoop It! Articles

Common Core Scoop It!  (Link)

National Technology Plan Overview

Take the time to view this informative 10 minute video that will help you understand the technological changes coming to education.  (Link)  This is an exciting time to be in education!

Weekly Scoop It!

Enjoy this week's Scoop It! articles. 
http://www.scoop.it/t/implementation-of-the-common-core-state-standards

and
http://www.scoop.it/t/educational-redesign

Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

National Tech Plan and Universal Design for Learning; What's Not to Like?
Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

Always Learning

Being a life-long learner is fun but also requires trying new things that don't always work.  A colleague shared the ScoopIt website with me so I have created my first ScoopIt set of headline resources.  I thought I would try posting it here to see how it works.  It if works successfully then I can share headline news with our KLC group in the future.  So here it goes . . . (ScoopIt Headline News) 

Michigan Assessment Consortium Video Series with Dr. Jim Popham

Today, I had the privilege of introducing Dr. James Popham, professor emeritus from UCLA graduate school of education for his presentation entitled: Everything School leaders Need to know about Assessments. This presentation was made available by the Michigan Assessment Consortium as a part of the 2010-2011 video series.

In a time of increasing accountability, it is critical that school leaders become assessment literate. Dr. Popham addressed the key ideas that every school leader needs to know about assessment to do their work effectively. I appreciated Dr. Popham's knowledge and sense of humor as he shared his wealth of knowledge about assessment literacy with educators across the state of Michigan. If you were not able to view the live presentation, you can view the video at MI Streamnet. I attached the link to allow for easy access to the presentation. Enjoy this powerful presentation by Dr. Popham. (Video Link)

Helping Others Understand HOW to Transition to the Common Core State Standards

I had the privilege of presenting at the ACT conference this week. In this presentation I was able to share what we at Kent ISD are doing, as well as the collaborative work taking place across the state through our 44 ISD collaborative project. The goal of the presentation is to share with other educational leaders and help them understand the changes that are coming. To do this I was able to share what we are doing in Kent to help our districts understand the transformations that will be taking place with changes in instructional delivery and understanding the content changes with the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This educational shift is needed but will be a huge paradigm shift for many educators, at all levels. So we must work together to make this a reality. Our children deserve it. My motto is Communication + Teamwork = Success! Together, Michigan teachers can make a difference for our students.

For more information on the ACT presentation, please see the Glogster link below:

http://terriportice.glogster.com/transitioning-to-the-common-core-state-standards/

Embrace the New Year . . . Embrace New Educational Practices

Our team at Kent ISD has been working hard with districts all across west Michigan to help teachers understand the new Common Core Standards and the next generation assessment system (SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium – SBAC). We continue to share that the transition is not about new standards rather it is about HOW we must facilitate learning differently with these new standards to change the paradigm of what school looks like in the 21st Century. We need to break away from the mold and bring our educational systems into the 21st Century. The skills that are students need for success in the future requires different skills than our past educational system has offered. We at Kent ISD and our partnering local districts are excited to embrace this change, not for change sake, but for what we know our students need to be career and college ready. We believe that we through these shifts in HOW we facilitate instruction and HOW we engage and empower students through various learning opportunities we can help ALL students be prepared for the 21st century global economy. Together we can make this happen.

Enjoy this short video about how education has changed and I hope this provoke you to think about what you and your district can do to make this transition happen for ALL students. 

Happy New Year!

This has been a very busy year with the initial planning and the work helping districts transition to the new common core state standards.  I am very excited about this time in education.  We are at an historical point where education can make a real change and help all students' succeed in the 21st century global economy. We all used to believe that graduating from high school was what you needed to find a good life job and those with a college degree were going to have no problem finding a job.  Well our economy has proved that wrong.  Watch this video from Daniel Pink about educational changes.

What does all this mean for today's educators?  We need to think about the skills that students need for the next generation not the needs of what our generation needed.  The world has changed and we all need to work hard to get our educational practices into the 21st century. It is the right thing to do and we need to work together to help make this transition happen.  Teamwork + Communication = Success!