tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53962072417947964542024-02-23T21:02:58.622-05:00The Power of Educational InnovationDemonstrating the power of educational innovation to transform learning, energize communities and inspire creative thinking.Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.comBlogger271125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-88505883718564131262017-10-22T16:56:00.003-04:002017-10-22T16:56:36.770-04:00Navigating Emotions with Kapla Blocks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-grlAwLpPTrQ/We0F1L7eFFI/AAAAAAAAFSA/UoZDhPRy2xQ2LCjdFZLYh-Na1tO4EaRBQCLcBGAs/s1600/Kapla%2BRoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="1600" height="436" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-grlAwLpPTrQ/We0F1L7eFFI/AAAAAAAAFSA/UoZDhPRy2xQ2LCjdFZLYh-Na1tO4EaRBQCLcBGAs/s640/Kapla%2BRoom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We have a <a href="http://www.kaplaus.com/" target="_blank">Kapla Block</a> room at the entrance to<a href="http://www.synapseschool.org/" target="_blank"> our school</a>. Its entire purpose is to allow students to build. Children come in the morning and at the end of the day to work on projects and to play. Sometimes parents help, mostly they don't. There is no organized curriculum connected to the blocks. There are no pictures of projects for students to refer to. There is simply a room full of blocks.<br />
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Not only is this a room for creativity, this is a room for navigating emotions and understanding the concept of impermanence. These block creations can't stay there forever. Sometimes they come down on purpose, sometimes by accident. But when they come down, there is often a sense of loss that kids must work through. At <a href="http://www.synapseschool.org/" target="_blank">Synapse</a>, social emotional learning is a core tenant of our school. Navigating emotions is one of the eight core <a href="http://www.synapseschool.org/about-us/sel" target="_blank">SEL competencies </a>that we teach. This Kapla block room has been a great vehicle for this important lesson.<br />
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<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-78581758678939346142016-01-08T23:33:00.000-05:002016-01-08T23:33:10.388-05:00Edcamp Independent Schools is coming to San Francisco 2/27/16<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you are planning to be at NAIS in San Francisco this year (or will be in the Bay Area), don't miss Edcamp Independent Schools, a free edcamp experience directly following the NAIS Annual Conference (currently in its 4th year). This year we will gather at Katherine Delmar Burke School in San Francisco, CA on Saturday, February 27, 2016.</div>
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This is an opportunity for thoughtful educators to join in a conversation about what is happening right now in the world of Independent schools. It is an opportunity for you to lead a session about a topic you are passionate about. It is an opportunity to connect in a smaller group with Independent School folks from all over the country and the world.</div>
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Registration is about to open up and space is limited, so please f<a data-mce-href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Q9nMcY8cR-73DcFHRizjqQqfn2zEAZsNeemC_ruppEg/viewform" href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Q9nMcY8cR-73DcFHRizjqQqfn2zEAZsNeemC_ruppEg/viewform" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ill out this form </a>if you are interested in attending and we will send you registration information when it is available.</div>
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Check out <a href="http://edcampis.weebly.com/" target="_blank">the website</a> to find out more.</div>
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Hope to see you there.</div>
Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-74533866126500986952015-12-05T16:15:00.000-05:002015-12-06T15:23:19.783-05:00Edcamp with Students - Finally!This Friday the middle school students at <a href="http://www.synapseschool.org/" target="_blank">Synapse School</a> (where I am the Assistant Head of School), participated in their first student lead #Edcamp. I have been trying to get an <a href="http://www.edcamp.org/" target="_blank">Edcamp</a> for kids going at my schools since I discovered how empowering participant driven learning experiences can be eight years ago. It took my amazing colleagues at Synapse to bring it to life. And I actually had very little to do with it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_-cY455zes/VmSZEAF0IbI/AAAAAAAABoo/bXYwkSiA2oo/s1600/Abby%2BFacilitating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_-cY455zes/VmSZEAF0IbI/AAAAAAAABoo/bXYwkSiA2oo/s320/Abby%2BFacilitating.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby facilitating a session on Women's Rights</td></tr>
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<b>Why</b><br />
Every year Synapse chooses a Changemaker to focus on for the year. This year our Changemaker is Benjamin Franklin. It turns out that Benjamin Franklin formed his own Edcamp style group that met weekly to discuss different topics. He called them Juntos. Using that as a connection, students considered the topics they would like to discuss and our own #EdcampJunto was formed.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">“At age 21, with his printing business established in Philadelphia and his circle of friends expanding, Benjamin Franklin formed a weekly discussion group with twelve men who shared his drive for learning and conversation. Named the Junto (derived from the Spanish to join), the club met every Friday evening in a tavern or house to discuss ‘Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy [science].’”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -National Humanities Center Resource Toolbox </span></div>
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<b>How</b><br />
My colleagues Federico Chialvo <a href="https://twitter.com/FedericoChialvo" target="_blank">@federicochialvo</a>, Katie Morgan <a href="https://twitter.com/fxluvr" target="_blank">@fxluvr</a> and Stephanie Seto, <a href="https://twitter.com/shseto" target="_blank">@shsetos</a> really took the lead on making this happen. Stephanie put together an <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WO7tkFrzDDOMq2Xuuv3euw0YBU767FjQKyovoJ9I65s/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">excellent lesson plan</a> that steps through the entire process.<br />
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<b>Here are the highlights.</b><br />
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<li>We introduced the concept of Juntos to students in a whole school meeting and then invited them to propose topics that they would like to discuss. </li>
<li>Using a simple Google Form, students proposed topics and then indicated if they would be willing to facilitate that session.</li>
<li>Once we gathered all of the topics, we created a <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/synapseschool.org/forms/d/16-4lMTRutMPr9jeFORZUiVriGtY0gg4Vg0OeKsWwA9Y/viewform" target="_blank">Google Form for students to vote </a>on the topics that they would be most interested in talking about. </li>
<li>Then Stephanie put together a schedule of the most popular topics. We divided the schedule into four 20 minute sessions. We also decided to keep the popular sessions on the schedule that didn't have facilitators and allow the kids in the room to figure out who would lead (if anyone).</li>
<li>Before we started the sessions, I gave students a little background on Edcamps and explained some of the rules. We decided not to let students leave sessions once they had chosen them (ie - rule of two feet). With middle schoolers that can get complicated.</li>
<li>There was an adult in each room, but they were not there to lead the group. However, they did participate.</li>
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<b>What</b><br />
Here is the schedule we ended up with for the day.<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Locations </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Session 1</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">9:30 - 9:50</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Session 2</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">10:20 - 10:40</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Session 3</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">10:45 - 11:05</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Session 4</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">11:10 - 11:30</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">John’s Classroom</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">John</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Session 4: Stephanie]</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Video Games</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Henry </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LARP</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ben </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sports</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Endangered Animals</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Peyton, Roxie, Danielle </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Science Room 1</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Brian B</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Session 1: Adnan]</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Possibility of Artificial Intelligence</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jasper</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Matching People to TV Characters</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Synapse Conspiracy Theories</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Beau</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hunger Games</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cara</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Science Room 2</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Chelsea</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Session 2: Adnan]</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">What will Earth look like in 10 years?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Beau</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Youtube</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nature Walks</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Food and Cooking</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Andres, Kenaan, Zach </span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Brian L’s Advisory</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Brian L</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">World Problems and Potential Solutions</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Is the universe real?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Brian</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Magic Camp</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ben, Henry</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ideas for School and Ideas for Clubs</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ingrid </span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Holly’s Advisory</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Holly</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Women’s Rights</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mady, Abby</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Star Wars</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Evan, Corsa, Frankie, Eli</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Interstellar</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tryston </span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Why do things go viral?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bella </span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Danielle’s Advisory</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Danielle</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Books</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Phoebe</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Animal Sciences</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ben, Henry</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Current Events</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dinosaurs</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Spencer </span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jessica’s Advisory</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jessica</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Space</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tryston</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Animal Cruelty</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Abby , Mady</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Music</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">NFL</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Eli </span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Federico’s Room</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Federico</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Physics of the Flying Disc (AKA Frisbee)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">What is the best book ever?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Maleeha</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Presidential Election</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daniel </span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Psychology of Magic the Gathering</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Humza</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Steven’s Math Room</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Steven</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Martian</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Humza </span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">What is the best movie of the 2000s?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Theodicy</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">SSS</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Quiet Multipurpose Room</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising Teacher:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Anne</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Session 2: Katie]</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Communism, Socialism, Capitalism</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Eli </span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Will Star Wars 7 be any good? If no, what will be the outcome?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Patterns in Nature</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Minecraft</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Katie’s Writing Workshop Room</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Supervising</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Teacher:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jimmy</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">John Cena</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jordan </span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Why do you get socks and clothes for Christmas?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lisa </span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Equality with Humans and Animals</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Maleeha , Abby, Mady</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Global Warming and Climate Change</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Facilitated by:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #351c75; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">OPEN</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<b>Now What</b><br />
When we first introduced the juntos for the day, a student asked, "Is the the first Junto or the last one?" I told her, that was up to the students. If they took this seriously we would love to do this again. From everything I have heard, the day was a huge success. My daughter facilitated 3 different sessions (she is in the 6th grade at my school) and this morning she asked me if we could have Juntos every Friday.<br />
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We will definitely debrief the experience, iterate and repeat!<br />
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Have I mentioned how much I love my school lately? Wow! - the things that my faculty and students do there blow me away everyday. Stay tuned for more posts on all of the great things that are going on in this amazing place.<br />
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<b>I am also helping to organize another <a href="http://edcampis.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Edcamp Independent Schools #edcampIS </a>on February 27th, the Saturday after the NAIS confernce, at Burke's School in San Francisco. I hope you see some of you there.</b><br />
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<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-2690362613212124022015-11-27T13:06:00.000-05:002015-11-27T13:06:11.918-05:00Edcamp Foundation #GivingTuesday Campaign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vsFj_B0gUF0/Vliad42Ds1I/AAAAAAAABmQ/YhM2zM3bHMs/s1600/EdcampSupport.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vsFj_B0gUF0/Vliad42Ds1I/AAAAAAAABmQ/YhM2zM3bHMs/s200/EdcampSupport.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>The Edcamp Foundation is organizing a campaign for #GivingTuesday, which will begin on the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It is a day to encourage people to give to their favorite nonprofits, so they are hoping to connect with Edcamp folks around the world. </b><br /><br />It is a very simple campaign: $5 to celebrate 5 years of Edcamp! #IsupportEdcamp5 and #Edcamp5Challenge<br /><br /><a href="http://www.edcamp.org/">Click here</a> to participate in the $5 for 5 years of Edcamp. The Donate button on the website is all that you need! <br /><br /><b>Here is an explanation of the campaign from Hadley Ferguson, the Director of the Edcamp Foundation:</b><br /><br />"While it will raise money, the primary purpose is to show the tremendous reach of the Edcamp movement. Because every Edcamp is independently run, there is no master list of organizers or participants, so when we talk to funders, it is all very general. It would be wonderful to be able to point to this campaign and show how enthusiastic Edcamp folks are and how widespread we are.<br /><br />It would be great to be able to light up a map with every $5 donation that we receive. <br /><br />The funds will go into the Discovery grants program that we are rolling out next year. Through it, teachers will be able to apply to the Edcamp Foundation for funds to implement an idea with their students that they learned at an Edcamp." <br /><br /><b>Please donate $5.00 on Tuesday, 12/1 or at anytime between now and the end of 2015. <br />I already did!</b><br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-13149364419142079962015-11-14T17:49:00.000-05:002015-11-14T17:50:00.356-05:00The Way Education Should Be!In July of this year I started a new job. I am now the Assistant Head of School for <a href="http://www.synapseschool.org/" target="_blank">Synapse School </a>in Menlo Park, CA. The past few months have been a whirlwind of getting to know the school, the administration, the faculty and the kids. Synapse is a very young school (it is in its 7th year) with a progressive approach to learning and a mission to educate change makers. I am so happy to finally be at a school that truly aligns with my educational philosophy. <a href="http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/progressive-education/" target="_blank">Alfie Kohn wrote a wonderful article defining progressive education</a>, I am so happy to say, Synapse fits his definition to a T.<br />
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This week culminated in a "Portfolio Day" that showcased students' first trimester learning. Each child guided their parents through the many artifacts of their understandings, becoming the teacher and showing their family members evidence of what they had learned. As I went through the day both as an administrator and as a parent (my children are in 6th and 7th grade at Synapse), I was struck by the "rightness" of this school. This is how education should be, focused on the learner, not on the grade, experiential, constructivist and project based.<br />
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If you have been reading my blog over the years, I'm sure you can identify with my feelings. I have been looking for a school like this ever since I wrote my <a href="http://edtechpower.blogspot.com/2008/01/common-principles-for-21st-century.html" target="_blank">Common Principles for 21st Century Schools</a>. I feel I have finally found my educational home.<br />
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If you are planning a visit to Northern California, please reach out if you would like to visit.<br />
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Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-76658903222564838082015-04-27T17:49:00.001-04:002015-04-27T17:49:14.434-04:00Beginning Again - Reflections on Edcamp San Jose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-egt-PJjGs5k/VT6sZ8ptP5I/AAAAAAAABbQ/aOUytKL4vhk/s1600/Copy%2Bof%2BEdCamp%2BSan%2BJose%2BLogo%2B(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-egt-PJjGs5k/VT6sZ8ptP5I/AAAAAAAABbQ/aOUytKL4vhk/s1600/Copy%2Bof%2BEdCamp%2BSan%2BJose%2BLogo%2B(2).jpg" height="200" width="191" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This weekend I helped to organize <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/edcampsanjose/" target="_blank">Edcamp San Jose</a>, my first west-coast edcamp. Thanks to an amazing team of organizers, <a href="https://twitter.com/TravisPhelps80" target="_blank">Travis Phelps</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/mrswroom24" target="_blank">Diane Wharton</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/mflynch" target="_blank">Mary Fran Lynch</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PrincipalUMS" target="_blank">Todd Feinberg</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/mcordesskdi" target="_blank">Matthew Cordes</a>, <span style="line-height: 21px;">and a great group of participants it was a wonderful day. At the end of the day I was fortunate enough to attend </span><a href="https://twitter.com/elanaleoni" style="line-height: 21px;" target="_blank">Elana Leoni's</a><span style="line-height: 21px;"> session on writing and reflecting. She gave us time to write about the day and encouraged us to be creative with our writing style. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><b>What follows is the writing I did that afternoon.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She had been to many EdCamps before, she helped organize EdCamps before they were called EdCamps (remember EdubloggerconEast). Back home in Boston everyone knew her. Her EdCampBoston team had been together since 2011. Over 300 people attended that conference and they all knew Liz. But since moving to California, she had had to re-establish herself, start over, begin again. It was a humbling experience. “Don’t you know who I am” she would often find herself thinking. Of course you can’t say things like that out loud. And she knew the answer, they had no idea who she was. </span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-b3ab0a2c-fcc9-d05d-df19-72cc435180f4" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EdcampSanJose was a way for her to start again. To meet new people, to find her place. But it is hard to start again, especially when you feel you have come so far. She knew it was good for her, but still it was hard. The day was cloudy. It had actually rained that morning, an uncommon event in her new hometown. As she started setting up tables and putting out food, she wondered how it would go, who would show up, what sessions would be proposed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the attendees arrived, she held out her hand, introduced herself, invited them to fill out a name tag and propose a session. She asked, “Have you been to an edcamp before?” The answer from many was “No, this is my first time.” She could hear the nervousness in their voices and the excitement too. Flipping into her encouraging mode, she assured them that they would have a great day. Reassuring herself as she said the words.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the room filled it was finally time to do the icebreaker. She thought back to all of the times she had run this ice breaker as she looked out into the room. Holding the microphone and introducing the activity felt familiar (those who know her, know how much she loves a microphone). As people began to introduce themselves to each other, the volume in the room began to rise. The other organizers filled the board with sessions and day was about to begin.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moving 3,000 miles across the country has not been easy. It has been exciting at times, exhausting, entertaining and fun, but it hasn’t been easy. Beginning again never is. But it can only be your first time once, the least I can do is enjoy the newness and make the most of it. I have to trust that I will find my place eventually. And the journey is half the fun. Isn’t it?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you to all of the people who have welcomed me along the way!</span></span></div>
Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-79866962394133894132015-03-01T09:38:00.000-05:002015-03-01T09:41:20.989-05:00We built it, but not many came... How do we reinvigorate Teachers Unplugged?<div style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 0.825em;">
<a data-mce-href="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/0170cd4fb6e7a3edb5790bf13b769ab060dff49002.jpg" href="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/0170cd4fb6e7a3edb5790bf13b769ab060dff49002.jpg" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="0170cd4fb6e7a3edb5790bf13b769ab060dff49002" class=" wp-image-1037 alignleft" data-mce-src="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/0170cd4fb6e7a3edb5790bf13b769ab060dff49002.jpg?w=225" height="214" src="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/0170cd4fb6e7a3edb5790bf13b769ab060dff49002.jpg?w=225" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); color: #222222; display: inline; float: left; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: 1.7; margin-bottom: 1.625em; margin-right: 1.225em; margin-top: 0.4em; max-width: 100%; padding: 6px;" width="163" /></a>This is the fourth year that I have helped to organize the <a data-mce-href="https://naisac15.wordpress.com/community-pages/teachers-unplugged/" href="https://naisac15.wordpress.com/community-pages/teachers-unplugged/" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none;">Teachers Unplugged session at NAISAC</a>. This is a participant driven session in which the attendees propose and vote on topics for discussion and then we sit at round tables and have two 20 minute discussions about the most popular topics. It takes some explaining as people enter, but every year we have heard the same thing from people as they leave the session, "This is the best session I have attended at this conference."</div>
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<a data-mce-href="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedpic2.jpg" href="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedpic2.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #1b8be0; float: right; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="unpluggedpic2" class="alignnone wp-image-1067" data-mce-src="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedpic2.jpg?w=225" height="320" src="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedpic2.jpg?w=225" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); color: #222222; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: 1.7; margin-top: 0.4em; max-width: 100%; padding: 6px;" width="240" /></a> </div>
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I think this has to do with the fact that the sessions are interactive and participatory. The fact that NAISAC brings together independent school folks from all over the country who are grappling with the same questions, makes the unplugged session a unique opportunity to hear and learn from the other attendees at the conference (not just the experts). We even "sketchnoted" during the discussions - putting into direct practice the <a data-mce-href="http://sunnibrown.com/doodlerevolution/" href="http://sunnibrown.com/doodlerevolution/" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none;">Doodling </a>message we had heard from Sunni Brown's talk the day before. </div>
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<a data-mce-href="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedroundtablewithsketchnoting.jpg" href="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedroundtablewithsketchnoting.jpg" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none;"></a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedroundtablewithsketchnoting.jpg" href="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedroundtablewithsketchnoting.jpg" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.7; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="unpluggedroundtablewithsketchnoting" class=" size-medium wp-image-1071 aligncenter" data-mce-src="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedroundtablewithsketchnoting.jpg?w=300" height="225" src="https://naisac15.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/unpluggedroundtablewithsketchnoting.jpg?w=300" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; color: #222222; display: block; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0.4em auto 1.625em; max-width: 100%; padding: 6px;" width="300" /></a>This year we had about 30 people attend the Teachers Unplugged session (about 50 people attended the Administrators Unplugged session the day before). Not only is this a valuable experience for the participants, but you can easily bring this back to your own faculty as an approach to Professional Development. <strong style="font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.7;">My question is why so few? And how do we get more people to attend?</strong> </div>
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I think part of the problem is our title - people don't "get" what an unplugged session is until they get to it. It is a hard concept to explain. How can we rebrand this session to better communicate its value and its benefits? I really don't want this session to die. NAIS has generously given us large rooms with big tables. I fear if we can't get the numbers, NAIS won't be able to justify the space they give us. </div>
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Please help! What can we do to help reinvigorate the interest in this session? Do you have an idea for a new session title? Something that would attract more people to give it a chance? I welcome your suggestions!!</div>
Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-27354356056238516672015-02-27T16:15:00.003-05:002015-02-27T16:15:37.238-05:0033 Great Ideas For Women In Leadership Positions<h3 class="storytitle" id="post-23" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 20px; text-transform: capitalize;">
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I attended a great session today at the NAIS Conference (National Association of Independent Schools) titled: <i>Engendering Leadership: How Independent Schools Support Successful Female Leaders.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Thank you to Lindsay Koss, Pearl Kane, Lucy Goldstein, Meera Ratnesar, Frances Fondren, Karen Whitaker and Katie Arjona for all of your sage advice!</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Here is what I learned:</span></div>
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Leadership is a behavior<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1. Leadership is about doing not about the title</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
2. If your passions don’t align with your institution you have to listen to that and move to a place that fits.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
3. You need to know the stereotypes that are attached to you (whatever they may be) - use them for your benefit or debunk them. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
4. Be frank and clear in your communication even at the risk of not being perceived as nice.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
5. Develop a capacity for solitude - as you move up you have a smaller peer group, develop your capacity to solve things alone or with a smaller group of people.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
6. Retain your spirit of joy - It can be a joyful position. Need resiliency. Important you know how to bounce back and find the place of joy again. </span></div>
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Developing yourself<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">7. Presenting at a conference as a way to develop yourself</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
8. Rent feedback before you own it - look at the reason for the feedback and who is giving it - before you own it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
9. Be aware of your weaknesses - find people who can help you in those areas</span></div>
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Developing others<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">10. Modeling the way - you are modeling how to be a leader</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
11. Encourage leadership in each other and in your students</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
12. Classroom teaching is great training for leadership</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
13. Cultivate other people in your school</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
14. New teacher mentoring is an opportunity to build leaders</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
15. Listen and allow people to tell you their stories</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
16. Open yourself up to the people around you</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
17. Develop a protocol for everyone to have a way to think about their career arc - where would you like to be in 5 years - express aspirations and opportunities for the school to help along the way</span></div>
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Blending work and life<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">18. Work brings joy - don’t apologize or be a martyr</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
19. Can’t build walls up between work and life</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
20. Spend less time worrying about the overlap</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
21Spend more time making sure both are bringing you joy</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
22. Model as a leader what it looks like to be off line - </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
23. Eat a piece of chocolate and go for a run - what are your ways to indulge yourself</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
24. Embrace the glamour of being in a leadership position</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
25. Cultivate your mentors and your village</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
26. Times that are really hard can give you a lot to laugh about </span></div>
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Taking initiative<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">27. You don't have to know everything in advance</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
28. Finance knowledge is attainable - </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
29. </span><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/?gclid=CjwKEAiAyMCnBRDa0Pyex-qswB0SJADKNMKADK38PEalEF2w07h_DQMqiT-SSzQtJC0yAo8LXyFQJhoCFQvw_wcB" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="s1">Guidestar </span></a><span style="font-weight: normal;">- Find out what salaries are and ask for money.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
30. Don’t be afraid to talk about your value to the institution</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
31. Look in the mirror and say no to yourself 10 times - the mirror doesn’t break. Don’t back down.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
32. If you don’t get the raise ask for feedback as to why</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">
33. Negotiate for PD funds, for comp time not only for money</span></div>
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Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-88508789362498940412015-01-16T14:18:00.000-05:002015-01-16T14:18:31.276-05:00#MARCHON in remembrance of Martin Luther KingThis week at our middle school we have done a number of things to celebrate and remember the upcoming MLK day on Monday. We started as a whole school learning a little about the history of both Martin Luther King and about non-violent protest in general. <span style="text-align: center;">We watched the John Legend/Common music video (below) </span><span style="text-align: center;">of their song</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><i style="text-align: center;">Glory</i><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">from the movie</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><i style="text-align: center;">Selma</i><span style="text-align: center;">.</span><br />
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At the end of the video, we are challenged to consider <a href="http://www.selmamarchon.com/" target="_blank">what we would march for</a> and to share that with the hashtag #marchon. Students created a small #marchon poster articulating what they would march for. We gathered together in our gym to share our posters.<br />
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And then students were invited to actually march for their beliefs. We simply walked a few blocks, crossed the street and then marched back, but it was a great experience. I don't know if these kids had ever had a reason to march before. Hopefully it left an impression. It definitely left an impression on me!</div>
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Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-20156095442820994842014-12-11T13:16:00.000-05:002015-02-23T13:15:16.211-05:00Another Design Thinking PD Day for Faculty - Reimagining Creative Spaces at School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j5fefpLzhAI/VIneMzS9EhI/AAAAAAAABVk/c3jvfMP18Co/s1600/Faculty%2BLounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j5fefpLzhAI/VIneMzS9EhI/AAAAAAAABVk/c3jvfMP18Co/s1600/Faculty%2BLounge.jpg" height="200" width="190" /></a></div>
Just before Thanksgiving break I led another full day Design Thinking workshop with my faculty. Our goal was to look at our campus and consider what we could do with our physical space to inspire creativity in ourselves and in our students. Because we only had from 8:30 - 2:00pm, I decided to take my faculty through exactly the same processes that we used during our August PD day, <a href="http://www.edtechpower.blogspot.com/2014/08/using-design-thinking-to-reimagine-back.html" target="_blank">which I described in my last blog post</a>, but with a different topic. Since we had already been through all of the steps once, I was able to skip over a lot of the explanation of the how and why and move people right into action.<br />
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Because our PD was on the Middle School campus, I had students in 1st and 4th grade and faculty take videos of the Lower School campus from their own perspective and posted those to a website for people to look at. We used those along with a <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/lizbdavis/creative-learning-spaces/" target="_blank">Pinterest page of creative learning spaces</a> for the empathy portion of the design process. I also took people through a "Speed Dating" type interview process where they had a few minutes with a few different people to share what types of spaces they personally find inspirational.<br />
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We modified our "How might we" statements to focus more deeply on a particular question.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WJTUT37LRxo/VIncKsXO3oI/AAAAAAAABVE/xsYslj-UdzE/s1600/Faculty%2BWorking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WJTUT37LRxo/VIncKsXO3oI/AAAAAAAABVE/xsYslj-UdzE/s1600/Faculty%2BWorking.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>The day culminated in the making of prototypes. Faculty used a variety of materials to build their imagined spaces and then presented them to the faculty.<br />
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Overall, I think the PD day was a great success! I attribute that to a few things, a great facilitator (LOL), and a real problem to solve. Just as when we looked at Back to School Night, we are going to find ways to actually implement everyone's ideas. I think this is a key element for successful DT work. Otherwise it is just an exercise and doesn't have the same impact on the participants.<br />
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<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-88588680389686918912014-08-06T19:03:00.000-04:002015-02-23T13:15:47.673-05:00Using Design Thinking to Reimagine Back To School Night <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am very excited to share that I have started my new job as Director of Curriculum at <a href="http://www.keysschool.com/" target="_blank">Keys School</a> in Palo Alto. Over the summer the faculty read the book <a href="http://www.creativeconfidence.com/" target="_blank">Creative Confidence </a>by Tom and David Kelly. As a way to integrate their Design Thinking model into our teacher work week, we are going to use the model to reimagine our Back to School Night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We will have 3 hours on the first day and 1 hour two days later to complete the process. Here is our plan. (I would welcome your suggestions or ideas for improving upon it!) It is based on the <a href="http://joeyaquino.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/want-a-crash-course-in-stanfords-design-thinking-here-it-is-for-free-pt-1-empathy/" target="_blank">Stanford Design Thinking model </a>which is outlined in the book and which I have <a href="http://www.edtechpower.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-design-thinking-approach-to-digital.html" target="_blank">blogged about previously</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Groups Part One: </b>We will create groups with as much diversity across grade levels, experience levels, points of view etc. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold; line-height: 27.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Empathize</span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold; line-height: 27.600000381469727px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Experience what the “user” experiences</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interview: </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups will break into pairs and interview each other about their BTSN experience as a teacher, as a parent, etc.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Empathy Map: </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the interviews, participants will fill out an <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/EpicenterUSA/dtal-template-empathy-map-and-problem-statement" target="_blank">Empathy Map</a> summarizing what they heard in the interview into four quadrants:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Say - What are some quotes and defining words your interviewee said?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do - What actions and behaviors did you notice?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think - What might the interviewee be thinking (that s/he didn’t say)?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feel - What emotions might your interviewee be feeling?</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We will post the Maps around the room - Everyone will do a gallery walk.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People will return to their groups and complete 1 Empathy map that summarizes everything you saw. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups Part 2:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We will reconfigure groups so that they are more homogeneous by school (The Lower School and Middle School are on separate campuses and have separate Back to School Nights).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give out a Point of View Statement Handout where faculty come up with adjectives to describe the user and verbs to describe what the user needs and insights into why based on <a href="http://socialmedia4learning.com/visualizations/empathy-mapping-and-point-of-view-statements/" target="_blank">this blog post.</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Faculty write out a Problem Statement: <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">User + Need + Insight</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold; line-height: 27.600000381469727px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ideate - Focus on idea generation</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups will stand up and try to generate 100 ideas in 10 minutes and write them out on Chart Paper.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We will post the lists around the room. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give 5 dots to each person. Have people walk around the room and put dots on their favorite ideas.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Participants look around the room at the ideas that have the most votes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Choose</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Participants return to their groups and choose one idea to prototype (the ideas does not have to be from their original list and more than one group can choose the same idea)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold; line-height: 27.600000381469727px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prototype - Getting ideas out of your head and into the physical world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a handout</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups share their prototypes with everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Participants fill out a feedback grid for each idea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We look at the feedback and determine what we are actually going to try at BTSN.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(We follow up BTSN with a survey to further test prototype and iterate for next year.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that's the plan so far. I have about two weeks before I put it into action. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or resources that might help me improve upon it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks.</span></div>
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<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-71651747973174611652014-04-18T09:12:00.002-04:002014-04-18T09:18:00.490-04:00My Google Teacher Academy 2014 Application<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am really excited to be applying for the 2014 <a href="http://www.google.com/edu/programs/google-teacher-academy/" target="_blank">Google Teacher Academy</a> in Mountain View California this summer. I have wanted to become a Google Certified Teacher for years, but until now, I have not been available on the days the academy was being held. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year I am moving to California just in time to attend the Mountain View Academy at the end of July. (Beginning July 1st I am going to be the Curriculum Director for <a href="http://www.keysschool.com/" target="_blank">Keys School</a> in Palo Alto!) Of course, the program has become much more competitive over the years. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be accepted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of the application I had to create a one minute video that answers the question: "How do you innovate in the classroom or educational community to generate positive change?”<br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_ukaHE18wg#t=15" target="_blank">This</a> is what I came up with. I hope you like it. Wish me luck!</span><br />
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Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-75708736258003095742014-02-28T10:44:00.002-05:002014-02-28T10:44:50.646-05:00Passion Driven Professional Development - Teachers Unplugged at NAISAC14<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5N-zS9FcyvQ/UxCtIQCh_mI/AAAAAAAABHY/e7foEJ6WjGQ/s1600/unplugged+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5N-zS9FcyvQ/UxCtIQCh_mI/AAAAAAAABHY/e7foEJ6WjGQ/s1600/unplugged+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
This morning I helped facilitate our second (annual?) <a href="http://annualconference.nais.org/workshops/workshops-by-block/Pages/One-Hour-Workshops-Block-4.aspx" target="_blank">Teachers Unplugged session at the NAIS conference</a>. This is an Edcamp style unconference that allows the participants who show up to define the conversations that they want to have. Among a sea of stand and deliver presentations, Teachers Unplugged is a chance to connect with other independent educators attending the conference and discuss issues that we are all grappling with.<br />
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This is something you can run inside your own school at a faculty meeting with teachers or in a classroom with students. A number of participants asked me to list out the steps so that they could try it at home, so here they are.<br />
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I hope this is helpful. I welcome your comments, suggestions, or questions!<br />
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<b>Set Up:</b><br />
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<li>Easels with chart paper or white boards or a google form set up for people to propose topics.</li>
<li>3-5 Circles of chairs or tables set up for different discussions</li>
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<b>Procedure</b><br />
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<ul><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d2KwEvjVQMo/UxCtUf2C1eI/AAAAAAAABHg/hMEUEAkHVGE/s1600/unplugged+explanation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d2KwEvjVQMo/UxCtUf2C1eI/AAAAAAAABHg/hMEUEAkHVGE/s1600/unplugged+explanation.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a>
<li>Participants arrive and write down topics that they are interested in discussing.</li>
<li>Participants also vote for the topics that they are most interested in (the ones they wrote down and the ones others wrote down)</li>
<li>Explain the "rules" of an unconference.</li>
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<li>Who ever shows up is meant to be there</li>
<li>If no one comes to your discussion, go to another one</li>
<li>The law of two feet - if the discussion isn't what you thought it was going to be, go to another one.</li>
</ul>
<li>One organizer/facilitator runs an icebreaker that allows participants to introduce themselves to eachother</li>
<li>While the icebreaker is going on, the other organizer(s) find the most popular topics and assign them to different tables.</li>
<li>Participants choose the discussion circles in which they want to participate.</li>
<li>Participants discuss the topics for about 20 minutes and then (if there is time), they move to another circle (or stay where they are if they want to continue the conversation).</li>
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<b>Wrap Up</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>Ask participants to share with the entire group something they learned.</li>
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<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-30407292746653562072013-12-10T14:03:00.000-05:002013-12-10T14:03:05.246-05:00California Here I Come...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jB83M6Qkwpo/UqdkpqAi0uI/AAAAAAAABEA/GkY0PJcSEsA/s1600/golden-gate-bridge_900px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jB83M6Qkwpo/UqdkpqAi0uI/AAAAAAAABEA/GkY0PJcSEsA/s320/golden-gate-bridge_900px.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/vgm8383/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #0c7ead; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Andrew Vorzimer Flickr profile">Andrew Vorzimer</a><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/" style="border: 0px; color: #0c7ead; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Creative Commons by-nc license">Creative Commons license</a></em></td></tr>
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I am excited to share that my family and I are moving to California this summer. I am looking for a job at an independent school in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am open to both teaching and administrative positions, particularly as a curriculum director/dean of studies or as a middle school teacher. If you know of any openings or can give me any advice for my search, I would greatly appreciate it. You can find my resume and other pertinent information on my website: <a href="http://www.lizbdavis.com/">www.lizbdavis.com</a>. Thanks!Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-65842690675726100192013-11-29T12:40:00.000-05:002015-02-23T13:15:47.662-05:004 Things I Love about Design Thinking in Education.You may be hearing a lot about <a href="http://designthinkingforeducators.com/" target="_blank">Design Thinking</a> lately (maybe just from me ;-). In my last post I laid out a <a href="http://www.edtechpower.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-design-thinking-approach-to-digital.html" target="_blank">Design Thinking lesson plan</a> that I used in one of my classes. Here are a few of my favorite things about this process of learning and discovery.<br />
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<b>1. Design thinking begins with problem finding.</b> Learners might have a general idea of what they want to learn more about. However, it is only through interviews, observations and research that students discover what the problem really is. This makes it very learner-centered. It isn't the teacher asking students to solve the problem. It's the students coming up with the problem themselves.<br />
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<b>2. Design thinking is not a linear process.</b> Once students create a prototype and test it out, they may discover they actually have the problem wrong and have to go back to the beginning to redefine it. I think this is really an important element of the process because when a student encounters failure - it isn't the end of the line. It is just a faulty step along the way.<br />
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<b>3. Design Thinking is fun</b>. It gets kids off their feet. They use colorful post-it notes and sharpies. Who doesn't love a purple sharpie? They race to think of as many ideas as they can in a limited amount of time. They wander around like spies, collecting observational data on unsuspecting people. It is an active and exciting process.<br />
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<b>4. Design Thinking is real.</b> People in the "real" world really use this process in their profession. This is a skill that students can use throughout their lives, not just in the classroom.<br />
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<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-79363084589235882472013-11-14T09:28:00.002-05:002015-02-23T13:15:47.667-05:00A Design Thinking approach to Digital Citizenship<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://designthinkingforeducators.com/" target="_blank">Design Thinking</a> is a problem solving methodology used by people all over the world to come up with new ideas. Recently there has been a lot of discussion about how to integrate this approach into education. This summer I took two Online courses to learn more about the process. I am very interested in ways to use this approach in my own teaching. </span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This fall I decided to apply this approach to my 7th grade Digital Citizenship unit which focuses on cyberbullying. It worked really well. There are many approaches to the Design Thinking Process. I chose to use <a href="http://joeyaquino.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/want-a-crash-course-in-stanfords-design-thinking-here-it-is-for-free-pt-1-empathy/" target="_blank">this process from the Stanford Design School.</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is my lesson plan. If you are interested in giving this a try at your school, I am happy to answer any questions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cyberbullying Design Thinking Activity (for 7th graders)</span></span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-4bbb66db-56de-059c-dc53-f9fbdefc68a3" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Present the idea “How might we end Cyberbullying?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Explain the Design Thinking Process: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, </span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Show Video: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfT2qqrqzgo" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Delete Cyberbullying</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tell students they are going to be interviewing each other to find out what their peers know/have experienced about cyberbullying.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student A interviews student B, Student C scribes </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student B interviews student C, Student A scribes</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student C interviews student A, Student B scribes</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student share their notes and summarize what they have learned. What common themes did they see? (5 minutes)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each group shares with the entire class a summary of their discoveries.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Individually students brainstorm 10 questions they still have about cyberbullying - Put on Post-it Notes.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put Post-it notes up around the room.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each student walks around and picks 3-4 questions to research before the next session.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Define:</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Students share with the class what they learned about cyberbullying from their research. </span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The class uses this empathy map to take notes as people share.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/U7h0oLNvvolEt0NhS4drrxIlufg-sxd4e0j1dX4rhd3o3_FPJzAJwNCj_J_QWZT6PBJ6LY5r2bKDdgzTe5dSX0tsWFdSBsipUfl1aP7pxDhVwzwBOTeab6u_" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/U7h0oLNvvolEt0NhS4drrxIlufg-sxd4e0j1dX4rhd3o3_FPJzAJwNCj_J_QWZT6PBJ6LY5r2bKDdgzTe5dSX0tsWFdSBsipUfl1aP7pxDhVwzwBOTeab6u_" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups generate 5 new “How might we" questions that are more specific (based on the research collected.)</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups share their new “How might we” questions with the class.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each group chooses a How might we question to focus on (It doesn’t have to be one of their own and it can be the same question as another group).
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ideate: </span></b></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each group on chart paper brainstorms 100 ideas for solutions in 15 minutes.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Post chart paper and all students look at all solutions.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each student has 5 post it notes and votes on the top 5 ideas they see (different color for each group).</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups pick one idea to work on. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prototype:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We didn't have time to build a prototype. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">So instead students created a commercial for their product. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They had to address the issues of cyberbullying in the commercials in order to convince people to purchase their product.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Test:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Groups share their commercials.</span></span></div>
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Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-2519953857706949462013-08-01T23:26:00.000-04:002013-08-01T23:26:12.835-04:00Resistance is Futile... Managing Resistance to Change<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change is hard. Trying new things engages a fear of the unknown that makes most people uncomfortable. It has been my job to help my faculty and students to work their way through their discomfort to a place where they can see the benefits of implementing new ideas and programs. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are a few of the ways that I have found success managing resistance to change.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Celebrate small victories and honor each step they take towards trying something new. As a teacher in the trenches myself, I understand that what we think will work in theory doesn’t always work in practice. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Empathize with the logistical difficulties of making change and help people to find ways to balance both sides. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Understand that not all change is effective. I encourage faculty and students to question change as long as they do so thoughtfully. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ultimately, I believe that if good pedagogy is at the core of the change, and there is enough support for new ideas, educators will move from resistance to acceptance over time. It is my job to help them through that process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">What strategies do you use to help people adapt and accept change?</span></span></div>
Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-10992357548644558922013-05-11T14:49:00.000-04:002013-05-11T14:49:59.621-04:00BYOD vs BYO iPad - <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ORIzeZpEnyA/UY5SoeIU5SI/AAAAAAAAA-M/7lUTgw-3VxI/s1600/airplane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ORIzeZpEnyA/UY5SoeIU5SI/AAAAAAAAA-M/7lUTgw-3VxI/s200/airplane.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritz_park/4801769382/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritz_park/4801769382/</a></td></tr>
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I began this year's iPad pilot fully expecting that we would be come an iPad school eventually. The term "pilot" when used as an adjective is defined as an "<a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1CASMAE_enUS532US532&ion=1&ie=UTF-8#rlz=1CASMAE_enUS532US532&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=define%20pilot&oq=&gs_l=&pbx=1&fp=bfcb64d484c1031b&ion=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46340616,d.dmg&biw=1100&bih=609" target="_blank">experiment or test before using something more widely</a>." When used as a noun it is "<a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1CASMAE_enUS532US532&ion=1&ie=UTF-8#rlz=1CASMAE_enUS532US532&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=define%20pilot&oq=&gs_l=&pbx=1&fp=bfcb64d484c1031b&ion=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46340616,d.dmg&biw=1100&bih=609" target="_blank">the person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft</a>." As the pilot of this iPad pilot, it has definitely been a wild ride. Over the course of this experience my opinion has shifted considerably.<br />
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<b>There were three reasons that I thought the iPad would be the best device for us as a school.</b><br />
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<b>1. We would all have common apps that we could use for projects.</b><br />
Of these three, my biggest shift in thinking has been around number one. This became even more clear to me yesterday at a meeting of the AISNE tech directors. I thank<a href="https://twitter.com/MyTakeOnIt" target="_blank"> Jeremy Angoff </a> for helping me to expand my thinking here. I wrote <a href="http://edtechpower.blogspot.com/2013/04/putting-ipad-in-front-of-horse_4.html" target="_blank">in an earlier post</a> that I felt the iPad was getting ahead of the pedagogy and that the learning should come first. Rather than thinking about our projects as defined by the tool, I should be defining the project by the goals and letting the students find the best tool for the job.<br />
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For example, my goal with my <a href="http://www.explaineverything.com/" target="_blank">Explain Everything</a> project was to have students create <a href="http://youtu.be/8bjyCvvimLs" target="_blank">a movie illustrating one of the Greek myths that we study</a>. But this doesn't have to be done with Explain Everything (as awesome as that App is). If we focus on a goal of creating a 2-4 minute video that explains the key points of a myth, the students can decide on the best tool for the job. I think we can still offer suggestions and support, but I know that students will also do that for each other and for their teachers.<br />
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From a technology perspective this approach gets kids thinking about the goals of the project and forces them to find the tool and figure it out. Those are key skills that we all need to have TODAY (<a href="http://edtechpower.blogspot.com/2013/05/5-things-learners-today-should-be-doing.html" target="_blank">see my earlier post on the term "21st Century</a>"). In addition, it frees the teacher from having to know the tools, which is particularly helpful for our less technically comfortable faculty. Because each device will have a different set of options, the choices students make will be more varied, and perhaps even more interesting and creative.<br />
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<b>2. The iPad has a low profile, making it less of a barrier to class discussions around a table.</b><br />
Almost three quarters of my students have chosen to purchase a keyboard for their iPad, thus making this benefit moot. Admittedly the screen is still smaller than a full size laptop, but it still gets in the way.<br />
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<b>3. The iPad touch screen and size allows for reading and annotating books and articles.</b><br />
I don't have an answer for this one. The iPad is still better for annotating and reading. I would imagine that some students will choose to have two devices, an e-reader of some kind and a laptop (If they can afford it). Other students will read the old fashioned way and annotate using a highlighter and a pen.<br />
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We aren't quite done with our pilot. We are taking one more year to make this decision. It will be interesting to see where we land. At some point the plane is going to run out of fuel. (Couldn't resist the metaphor ;)<br />
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<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-63028938956554334472013-05-03T09:26:00.003-04:002013-05-20T09:24:54.932-04:005 Things Learners TODAY Should Be Doing First of all, I have finally found another word for 21st Century. I have struggled with this for a while, "21st century" is such an overused term, especially since we have been living in the 21st century for 13 years. Then it hit me, the 21st century is TODAY, right now! By labeling it anything other than that, we make it feel like we have time to get there. We have no more time, we are here.<br />
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I have also been thinking a lot about ways to simplify my vision of <a href="http://edtechpower.blogspot.com/2013/04/schools-today-should-be.html" target="_blank">what schools should be doing</a>(see my last post) and what learners should be doing. Last night I was sitting down with my cousin, who is a college professor, and my husband, who is a software engineer, trying to boil down the essential skills learners need to succeed in college and the workplace. This is what we came up with.<br />
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-32c4dee4-6a90-ee62-03a7-9143f36df636" style="font-weight: normal;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="227"></col><col width="196"></col><col width="201"></col></colgroup><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 Things Learners TODAY Should Be Doing:</span><img height="37px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/WrmxRj7gg3BtgNnlZAL4cpVp5-RJvw2qIHM9zbArbGqNR7s1_sRFvqg5PijqUErWnihrsc-nl7ZsaXw19DuE7RkyY9KS0UeHyWdRWQwTAC9poesV17hRnJImrQ" width="203px;" /><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Locally</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img height="90px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Rye1hY6MRzQkaf5oS_RU_23n6UdJXs5xW1xn2ihLIm29WNEQ0eKIpoUoy1ghVgpxYOR_gdlT3bBIUa--b5aBIuSVPytszmtnX9Zb-azhwtbz08XdTQNmrpwY7A" width="89px;" /><span style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Globally</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Inquiring</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Asking questions about ideas and issues throughout the local/school school community.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Asking questions about ideas and issues throughout the world.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Investigating</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finding and researching answers and solutions using the people in the local/school community.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finding and researching answers and solutions using the internet and other online tools.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Collaborating</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Working and connecting effectively with classmates and teachers face-to-face and online.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Working and connecting effectively with people around the world face-to-face and online.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Creating</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Building, Designing, Inventing and Producing solutions to local/school problems.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Building, Designing, Inventing and Producing solutions to global problems.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Communicating</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Using writing, video, art, and other media to share solutions with the local/school community. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Using writing, video, art, and other media to share solutions with a global community. </span></div>
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<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-79811171811809278342013-04-25T15:50:00.001-04:002013-04-25T15:50:36.587-04:00Schools today should be...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--qqDazZcLKs/UXmHSoKGiYI/AAAAAAAAA8M/4sl08oTzvxg/s1600/cool+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--qqDazZcLKs/UXmHSoKGiYI/AAAAAAAAA8M/4sl08oTzvxg/s320/cool+school.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/nfiore23/2122230324</td></tr>
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<h3>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Preparing students to interact in a global economy.</span> </h3>
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In order to prepare students to work with an international community of colleagues we need to provide them with opportunities to interact with people from around the world. Teachers also need experiences collaborating globally. Online social networks, such as <a href="http://www.twitter.com/">Twitter</a>, and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>, provide teachers with a way to meet colleagues from around the world and around the country. These Online relationships in turn provide opportunities for classrooms to connect.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Preparing students to navigate and sift through an excess of information.</span> </h3>
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In order to prepare students to search for and evaluate information, we need to provide them with opportunities to do just that. We need to ask students to find answers to ungoogleable questions and then have them not only share their answers, but also describe their search processes and defend their sources.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Preparing students to contribute to and consume in a media rich market. </span></h3>
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In order to prepare students to consume and create multi-media messages, student should be both evaluating and creating videos, podcasts and blogs. Students need to learn to be both educated consumers and producers of these messages. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Preparing students to tackle new innovations. </span></h3>
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In order to prepare students to face and conquer new technology tools, we need to provide them with opportunities to solve their own problems. We can't provide them with step by step directions, but instead encourage them to seek out new tools, figure them out and communicate their learning with classmates.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Preparing students to think creatively, take risks and come up with new ideas.</span> </h3>
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In order to encourage students to discover new ideas, we need to create learning environments that encourage and support not just failure, but also recovery from that failure.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Preparing students for digital citizenship. </span></h3>
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In order to teach students how to interact online, we must openly discuss issues of privacy, copyright, and online behavior. Students need to understand the difference between private and public spaces and how to behave in each place. They also need to learn how to interact online in responsible and ethical ways.<br />
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I actually wrote the majority of this post back in 2008. What I said then applies today. Have schools made any progress over the last 5 years? I think so. Are we there yet? Not quite.<br />
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Is your school doing these things? Have I left anything essential off the list? I welcome your ideas, questions and comments.<br />
Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-59982285943692084712013-04-04T16:36:00.000-04:002013-04-04T16:36:08.863-04:00Putting the iPad in front of the horse...I know it is a mixed metaphor, but rolling out iPads this year has been a mixed experience. In some cases it has transformed learning, in other cases it hasn't. In many cases trying to make the iPad fit the curriculum has been like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Yes, I'm over doing it with the cliches on this post, but when the shoe fits...<br />
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Using iPads in my 7th grade English class has lead to some really interesting projects, and some great ways to make the classroom interactive. But at other times the iPad just isn't the right tool for what we want to accomplish. The bottom line is that the "what" has to drive the "how." Educators need to ask themselves, "What do I want students to know?" before they ask, "How will we get there?" Sometimes the "how" involves an iPad, sometimes it doesn't.<br />
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Where does this leave our iPad pilot? That is a good question. I wish we could find one tool to do it all, or that we could afford for students to have multiple devices. Perhaps there is a way to find that happy medium, but along the way I have to remind myself to ask the right questions.Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-57174914155739604182013-04-04T16:15:00.001-04:002013-04-04T16:15:13.179-04:00Putting the iPad in front of the horse...Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-38748348847516487272013-02-28T09:28:00.000-05:002013-02-28T09:28:00.048-05:00Teachers Unplugged - An unconference inside a conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vbcoqtoukLM/US9dX-LSw2I/AAAAAAAAA7g/2RLPmf8CZc4/s1600/teachersunpluggedt-shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vbcoqtoukLM/US9dX-LSw2I/AAAAAAAAA7g/2RLPmf8CZc4/s400/teachersunpluggedt-shirt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
For the first time ever, NAIS is offering two unconference sessions within their regular program called <a href="http://naisac13.wordpress.com/teachers-unplugged/" target="_blank">Teachers Unplugged</a>. At these sessions attendees are going to have the opportunity to shape their own learning. We will have multiple round tables and a variety of topics offered for discussion by those who show up.<br />
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This is simultaneously exciting and terrifying. I am helping to facilitate the process, but the reality is that is totally out of my hands. I have run many unconferences, edcamps, and edubloggercons and I have the same feelings everytime. Thus far it has always worked out, but letting go of that control is always disconcerting.<br />
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If you are at the #NAISAC13 conference this year, I hope you will come by and help lead or participate in a conversation. Several of the organizers are going to be wearing t-shirts to encourage your questions. Please take a moment to stop us and ask. The sessions are going to run before and after lunch in Hall G.<br />
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Here are a few of the topics that people have suggested they might talk about.<br />
<ul>
<li>Geometry, math, technology in math instruction, math courses beyond calculus</li>
<li>Plans for a maker space in their school to support STEAM initiatives? </li>
<li>New practices best practices in STEM/STEAM initiatives</li>
<li>Public-Private Partnership models (school-school and/or organization/consortium)</li>
<li>Bridging Conversations re ""Diversity & Inclusion"" & ""Teaching and Learning"" (ie intentional cross-cultural competency goals)</li>
<li>Global collaborations in the K-8 curriculum</li>
<li>1:1 laptop program</li>
<li>professional development</li>
<li>social media in the classroom</li>
<li>social media for educators"</li>
<li>How to build the Intersection of Rigor and 21st Century Skills"</li>
<li>Starting your own blog</li>
<li>Going paperless</li>
<li>iPads or Chromebooks</li>
<li>Making change in a traditional school</li>
<li>Getting the best out of middle school boys</li>
</ul>
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Please check out this form to add your own topic.</div>
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If you are planning to attend, please take a moment to let us know what topics are most interesting to you.</div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1IGR3p2jvIC8mllC--gO-5hkQiLM_rdRfAWvIdZJVC5c/viewform?embedded=true" width="500">Loading...</iframe>Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-29065206542610258042012-11-16T10:02:00.000-05:002012-11-16T10:02:12.468-05:00Two Interactive iPad Apps that Work!I recently learned about two iPad Apps that allow you to get immediate feedback from your classes. They both work really really well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearpod puts teachers in control of student iPads</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. <a href="http://www.nearpod.com/" target="_blank">Nearpod</a></span> allows the teacher to control what students see on their iPad. </b>Teachers can upload any PDF file and Nearpod separates each page into a slide. Students sign into a "room" and the teacher takes control of the slides that each student sees. If that wasn't cool enough, Nearpod also allows you to intersperse different types of interactive questions throughout the presentation to check for understanding. I tried this recently with a grammar lesson and it was great. I was able to see who was getting the concepts and who wasn't immediately.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Space Race on Socrative</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. <a href="http://www.socrative.com/" target="_blank">Socrative</a> </span>allows the teacher to create interactive quizes which students answer on their iPads</b>. Students can see immediately if they are right or wrong. You can also show a graph of the answers after students have responded and use that to spur discussion about the topic. Socrative will send you data from the session in an excel file with each student's response. The other fun feature is the Space Race which puts students in competition to answer questions first and win the race.<br />
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Both of these Apps are free, Nearpod allows you pay to upgrade for more features such as large response groups and the ability have more students in a session, store more slideshows and share them with others.<br />
<br />Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396207241794796454.post-60037615648652142802012-11-12T21:39:00.001-05:002012-11-12T21:39:55.503-05:00The Silent History - It's an App - It's a Book - It's Awesome<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i4BlLCBKyhQ/UKGxvcblmQI/AAAAAAAAA6g/te1UPQL0cGI/s1600/silenthistory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i4BlLCBKyhQ/UKGxvcblmQI/AAAAAAAAA6g/te1UPQL0cGI/s320/silenthistory.jpg" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Field Report Locations</td></tr>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-silent-history/id527403914?ls=1&mt=8" target="_blank"><i>The Silent History</i></a> is "a new kind of novel." The App itself is free, but then you have to pay for the books within the App. The book is serialized and each installment is delivered to your iDevice on a daily basis (except weekends). You must wait 8 (painful) hours between each piece of the story.<br />
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A science fiction novel set in the future about a phenomenon of "Silent" children, children who are born without speech. The story is told through "witnesses" who recount their various experiences with these kids. Each episode features a different perspective at a different point in history. There are 6 books which tell the story from 2011 - 2043. You can purchase the books separately for 1.99 or all 6 for $8.99.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lqWbmCQI_H0/UKGygQuO1tI/AAAAAAAAA6o/RPCLkjC_l2g/s1600/fieldreport.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lqWbmCQI_H0/UKGygQuO1tI/AAAAAAAAA6o/RPCLkjC_l2g/s320/fieldreport.PNG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Field Report from South Beach, Miami FL</td></tr>
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In addition to the story itself. The App uses geolocation to point you to "Field Reports." In order to read a field report, you must be in exactly the spot where it was written. Thus far I have been able to access three reports. One led me to a clearing in the woods above a middle school not to far from where I teach. The other two were on South Beach in Miami. (I was able to check them out when I was down there for my my Grandmother's birthday.) The reports themselves rely heavily on you being in that spot. It is a pretty creepy and cool experience to stand there and read them.<br />
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In many ways this is a book like any other, yet reading it this way makes it something entirely different. If you start now you will be able to marathon through the first book (lucky you) and a little bit of the second. Then you will be just like me, waiting each day for the next installment.<br />
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I think this is a brilliant idea that has great potential. Children's books in this form could really help kids get excited about reading! I am certainly loving it.<br />
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If you do start reading the series, let me know what you think.Liz B Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14855594085056447018noreply@blogger.com3