Technology in the Classroom

I found a new professional learning community through edWeb that is focused on teachers using technology in their classroom. I am excited to glean from their ideas! 
Technology in Schools - What, Why, and How?
http://www.edweb.net/.59b9c39a/
The series covers technology solutions for curriculum/instruction, student information/assessment, compliance, accountability, intervention, scheduling, and how to integrate the latest technology into teaching and learning.

What to teach vs How to teach

How does a teacher realize their potential as an effective and creative educator?
The task of lesson planning often focuses on WHAT to teach, but to be effective and creative focuses on HOW to teach.
I am a K-8 music specialist at a Core Knowledge school.  Core Knowledge is a program focused on curriculum alignment and scaffolding. The sequence has been given careful attention and research to identify and create  age appropriate content that builds from one grade level to the next.  Classroom teachers and specials teachers have a content connection that strengthens the scope of learning the given topic.
I for one want to spend more time on the HOW so that the WHAT is engaging and internalized.
 K-8 is a wide span and a lot of lesson planning.  My goal, in time, is to be effective at every grade level throughout the entire school year.  The Journey continues!

Life long personal development

Although I am a teacher, I am also a student.  Always learning, I strive to ask the next best question, and to not be satisfied with the status quo.
Today a read a book that furthered my life long learning and made me a better person.
The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews is a delightful story full of great advice for a fulfilling, successful life based on the way you think.  So often we defeat ourselves when our minds are full of wrong thinking, and bad attitudes.  This book gives the reader seven decisions for success all within everyone's grasp and control.  I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Re-teach what you have learned by Blogging

A very effective way to internalize your learning is to teach it to someone else.
Blogging is a great way to share what you have learned and get feedback from others to corroborate and enhance the topic.
A blog is also a great way to:
Connect with like-minded people and share insights on topics relevant to your community.
Position yourself as a thought leader, or expert on a topic
Help others by sharing your experience and education.
Make a difference in a community that is important to you.

Blog sites that are given great reviews include:
Wordpress and Blogger (by Google) have been around the longest and are the most popular because they are functional, flexible, with a strong community base, and good security.
Other options are:
 Tumblr  -  popular for photo blogging and the ease with which the community can like and re-blog. Good for photos and visual aspects.
Posterous – popular for micro-blogging, and easy for beginners.With Posterous you cannot re-blog.

This blog is hosted through Google's Blogger.  I found these features user friendly:
There are many templates to choose from, and you can customize them.  It is easy to navigate and easy to edit.  Blogger is media friendly.  The community can easily add comments to the discussion.

Teacher Effectiveness

How is teacher effectiveness measured?
     Is it the love of learning instilled in students?
     Is it student motivation and curiosity attributed to teacher influence?
     Is it test results?
This is an ongoing discussion as the Colorado Department of Education identifies teacher effectiveness and the possibility of pay for performance.

Can a teacher be effective for all students in a large classroom? Does the answer to that question change somewhere between elementary school and college?

Visit Lisa Cole at https://sites.google.com/site/lisamcoleportfolio/