Friday, January 29, 2010

LoTi Leadership Symposium - State of Indiana

Dear Colleague,

Provided below is the agenda for the LoTi Leadership Symposium in Indianapolis, Indiana on Friday, January 29th, 2010.


• LoTi Overview
H.E.A.T.
LoTi
LoTi Sniff Test
• LoTi/H.E.A.T. Input/Output Model
• LoTi Continuous Improvement Cycle
Assess
- LoTi Digital-Age Survey
- LoTi Profiler
Plan
- Next Steps Action Plans
- Individualized Professional Development Plans
Implement (H.E.A.T. Strategies)
- Sample Web 2.0 Resource: Finding the Right Tool
- The LoTi Classroom (Online Learning)
User Name: lotiguest
Password: lotiguest
Sustain
- Classroom Walkthroughs with H.E.A.T.
- LoTi Observer
LoTi Digital-Age Schools
• 5C's of Instructional Leadership
• Summary and Reflection

Important Links:
LoTi Connection
LoTi Lounge
LoTi Classroom (Online Learning)


Resources:

Video Samples - Early Childhood Level
Early Childhood - Lifelong Learning
Early Childhood: Science - Worms
Early Childhood: Math - Counting
Early Childhood: Social Studies - Community
Early Childhood: Science: - Zoo Trip
Early Childhood: Science: - Exploring Balls and Ramps

Video Samples - Elementary School Level
Elementary Math: Fractions
Elementary Science: Food Chains
Elementary Science: Ecology
Elementary Science: Space Day Design Challenge
Elementary Science/Math/Language Arts: Weather
Elementary Science: Electricity
Elementary Math: Tessellations
Elementary Science: Weather
Elementary Science: Maui's Coral Reefs-Echinoderms
Elementary Science: Stopping Distances
Elementary Science: Monarch Butterflies
Elementary Science: Solar System
Elementary Science: Ecosystems
Elementary PE: Pulse Rates
Elementary Math: Luxury Hotel
Elementary Science: Hermit Crabs
Elementary Science: Iron Oxide Experiment

Video Samples - Middle School Level
Middle School Math: Stock Market
Middle School Math: Archimedes Spiral
Middle School Language Arts: Literature Review - Tuck Everlasting
Middle School Science: Properties of Matter
Middle School Science: Air Pressure
Middle School Science: Elements Commercial
Middle School Science: Science Journals

Video Samples - High School Level
High School Technology Elective: Video Editing
High School Math: Pythagorean Theorem
High School Math: Geometry in the Real World
High School English: MacBeth
High School Social Studies: Theodore Roosevelt and Progressivism
High School Physics: Projectiles
High School Science: Starry Night Simulation

Please leave a comment about any questions from the LoTi Administrator Institute presentation.

Thank you for attending!

Chris Moersch, Ed.D.
LoTi Executive Director
chris@loticonnection.com

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

LoTi Snapshot for Goose Creek ISD

Provided below is the agenda for our LoTi "Snapshot" in Goose Creek ISD

Let's first explore digital-age learning by viewing three short video clips below.

Now, rank the videos from Lowest (1) to Highest (3) in terms of representing digital-age teaching and learning.


Discussion: Add a comment at the bottom of this blog post now about the specific "look-fors" that separated your highest rated video from your lowest rated video.

What is H.E.A.T.?

Discussion: Conduct a H.E.A.T. analysis of the Food Chains video. Was it bringing the H.E.A.T. to student learning in terms of Higher order thinking, Engaged learning, Authentic connections, and Technology use. Discuss with your colleagues how you would have scored this video based on the H.E.A.T. rubric.

What is LoTi?

Discussion: Conduct a LoTi Sniff Test of the Elements Commercial and Biology videos. What was the LoTi Level of each video? Enter the LoTi Level of each video case study below by clicking on the LoTi Rating link.



Discussion: How does LoTi relate to H.E.A.T.? Discuss with your colleagues the relationship between LoTi and H.E.A.T.

What is the LoTi Continuous Improvement Cycle?
• Assess
• Plan
• Implement
- Sample H.E.A.T. Strategy: Online LoTi/H.E.A.T. Classes (User ID: lotiguest/Password: lotiguest)
• Sustain
- Classroom Walkthroughs with H.E.A.T (User ID: lotiguest/Password: lotiguest)

Discussion: What criteria or "look-fors" does your school district currently use to gauge acceptable "digital-age learning" best practices? How do these criteria compare with the H.E.A.T. look-fors? 


Professional Development Opportunities:

Resources:


Monday, January 18, 2010

Viking Academy School: Adding More H.E.A.R.T.

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 Agenda

1:00 pm: Opening Presentation: Chris Moersch
1:15 pm: Breakout Session Rotations
• Creating Collaborative Projects using ePals (Tracy Slattery) - Computer Lab
• Accessing the resources in eChalk (Joe Bochniak) - Classroom 1
• Using Web 2.0 resources to bolster student learning experiences (Chris Moersch) - Classroom 2

2:30 pm: Closure/Final Remarks


Web 2.0 Resources

Collaborative Project Resources

General Resources

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Engaging Students in the Year 2010

Students have a wide array of tools at the fingertips in the year 2010 and we may think that it is difficult to compete for their attention in the classroom. So how can teachers engage their students in the year 2010? The second target area in the H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T. process is Engaging Students. This represents the level in which students are actively involved in the learning process. Are they merely reporting back distilled information to the teacher or are they involved in identifying a problem and finding a solution that possesses both personal and social importance. Engaging the learner extends beyond simple compliant behavior, but moves the learner toward active involvement in the classroom. Students generating their own essential questions relating to the content is one measuring stick used to determine the amount of engagement in a classroom.

Luckily, there are also a wide array of tools for teachers at their fingertips to help engage students. Outlined below are commendations and recommendations focusing on the second target area of H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T.: Engaging Students

Engaging Students Commendations
As always you want to start off on a positive note so identifying specific strategies that the teacher used is very useful and mention specific students that you noticed that were engaged. Be thinking about passive versus active engagement. Are students just being attentive and well behaved or are they actively engaged in the activity? Are there examples you can provide of students asking questions? Is there a focus type of activity? It is also helpful in a post-conference to ask the teacher to summarize the level of engagement of the students.

Engaging Students Recommendations

One of the simplest things to remind teachers is location, location, location. Where are they in the room? Are they standing in the front of the room continually delivering information to the whole class at once or are they moving around constantly, facilitating learning, asking questions and providing guidance to students? This provides a good measure of the level of engagement in the room. Additionally, a warm-up or focus activity usually at the start of the lesson is an effective strategy for engaging students. These activities are meant to capture the students' interest and attention for what is to come. A short video clip or image is a great way to launch a lesson. Some great examples of focus activities follow:


Elevating student engagement in the classroom will certainly attribute to student success in 2010!