Powerful Learning Practice Blog
Fantastic kickoffs, PLPeeps!
We couldn’t be more excited after rolling out four successful face-to-face kickoff events for PLP Communities and launching our first PLP Virtual Academy. One thing for sure: We’ve brought together an energized group of educators ready to empower themselves and their students as connected 21st century learners. Read on!
Teaching & Writing in the Real World
My colleague Tanny McGregor works daily in West Clermont (OH)’s Dept of Teaching & Learning. She’s also the author of the best-selling “Comprehension Connections” and a sought-after speaker and professional developer. In this interview we talk about digital literacy and her upcoming book on helping students meet the challenge of Common Core standards in English/LA. “If I want my writing to be authentic,” she says, “if I want it to be current, if I want it to matter, then I need to be planning lessons, modeling lessons, reflecting upon instruction. It’s too easy to forget what it’s like to be in the classroom.”
Meet our team: Lani Ritter Hall
It's a brand new year at Powerful Learning Practice, and our Communities aren't the only ones who have exciting things happening. Powerful Learning Practice has expanded its staff (and we're still hiring!) and brought some fascinating new minds (and fresh ideas) to...
What Do Students Want?
Recently a local news reporter called me and wanted information for an article she was writing. The proposition underlying her planned article was that “students teach teachers†these days, because they know more about technology and social media than the adults tasked to instruct them. Are we really so sure about that?
It's a Vision Thing: How Steve Jobs Transformed My Life
The accessibility that is built into Apple products has changed not only my working and personal life, but the lives of millions of people with vision impairments and other challenges that can be overcome with the right technology. The fact that I can get up each day, check my mail, visit my personal learning network on Twitter, read a chapter in my latest favorite book on my iBookshelf, send and receive a text message, check the score of a game, or check in with FourSquare and locate friends, means that for me, and people like me, everything has changed. And Steve Jobs made this possible. The impact of it all cannot be overestimated.
Our coolest PLPeep, the PLP Penguin!
Your votes are in, and we've got a new, adorable PLP mascot. The PLP Penguin! This little guy will be chill'n with PLPeeps in every community. Be prepared for penguin sightings as he travels the world and shows up in posts on the PLP blog, Facebook and Twitter. Who...
Connected Coaching in Connected Spaces: The Other New Leadership Skill
Read the article “Connected Coaches in Connected Spaces,” which Lani Ritter-Hall and I submitted for this month’s Educational Leadership theme issue, “Coaching: the New Leadership Skill.” All in all, it’s a great EL edition — a power-packed resource that addresses most any traditional coaching context you might imagine. Which may explain why our piece was returned with a gracious “no thanks.” It’s a little edgy, we acknowledge, but it’s based on solid scholarship and countless hours we’ve spent learning and leading in virtual professional communities.
Five Roles of the Inquiry Teacher
My English class is currently in the midst of learning about modern-day slavery. This past week I learned how crucial the role of the teacher is in the inquiry classroom. In fact, during the course of the week, I came to see that an inquiry teacher has at least five roles to play in this exciting, sometimes frustrating, and always unpredictable process.
Virtual Collaboration for Students: What's a Primary Teacher to Do?
When I talk to other teachers about the benefits of student collaboration, often their biggest question is: How do I find other classrooms to collaborate with? If you are already connected with other educators through social media, this part seems easy, but if you are just beginning your connected journey, it’s a very real problem. If you’re still a little short on virtual teacher colleagues, I’d like to suggest three ways you can begin to connect.
Meet our team: John Norton
It's a brand new year at Powerful Learning Practice, and our Communities aren't the only ones who have exciting things happening. Powerful Learning Practice has expanded its staff (and we're still hiring!) and brought some fascinating new minds (and fresh ideas) to...