Teaching in a Paperless Classroom

We are fortunate to have a couple of teachers at the middle school with paperless classrooms. With that said, there may also be some paper-based assignments given along the way, but the move toward paperless has boded well for many of the students because of the engaging assignments, discussions, and the integration of technology. We are not a 1:1 district, but we started this pilot with classroom sets of Chromebooks and the feedback has been very positive.

The link included in this post offers the perspective of Sam Patterson and his decision to ‘Ditch the Textbook.’ Our decision to go paperless in a few classrooms was more about inquiry driven learning, and engaging students to the extent that they would be accountable and responsible for their learning.

Something to think about……

http://ditchthattextbook.com/2013/04/01/sam-patterson-teaching-in-his-paperless-classroom/

Communication is the Key!

Communication is a subject we deal with on a lot of different levels. Are you a clear communicator? How well do you communicate with others–staff, administrators, students, parents, community? When you are required to answer questions was it because you weren’t clear or there was simply a miscommunication? Were words or directives taken out of context? Do we really hear the words being used in  a conversation or do we merely ‘see’ them as a request for something else? Do you believe that many of the messages we receive are always asking for something?

Click on the link below and read a message from a colleague who provides 5 strategies to overcome ‘Message in a Bottle’ syndrome. Can these strategies help us to articulate and clearly define our thoughts? Just something to think about…………

http://leadlearner2012.blogspot.com/2014/01/5-strategies-to-overcome-message-in.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LeadLearner2012+%28Lead+Learner+2012%29