Top Ten List of things I am going to implement this year from BLC 11

I had an incredible time last week at the Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston. It was everything I had hoped for and more! The keynote, presenters and events were inspiring, challenging, informative and fun! Although it has been around a long time I decided to take a risk and share my reflections and plans for implementation with a  Top Ten List. I hope you will read and comment on my list and share your own plans for the coming school year.

10. Collaborate for a purpose through the examples shared by Kathy Cassidy and Shannon Miller I can see how my first and second grade students can connect and collaborate with other students to extend and deepen their understanding of their community and their place and power in the world.

9. Use technology to move thinking and learning forward For the past several years I have focused on technology as the end goal and have I admit been doing analog teaching with digital tools. Marco Torres in his amazing keynote made an amazing point about really pushing thinking and learning into a digital format.

8. Finish and Sign   Peter Reynolds spoke about creativity and the importance of making sure students finish their products and sign them. It seems like a no brainer but too often I run out of time on projects and don't get to this critical point. I will also make a commitment to making sure students have an opportunity to share their projects and receive feedback.

With Peter Reynolds at the Fablevision Reception

7. Learn from my Students  As a teacher letting go and letting my students lead can be a scary and intimidating concept. If I truly want my students to feel empowered and engaged I need to be willing to let go of some of the control and follow their passion and interests.

6. Build My Professional Learning Community  I have had my Twitter and Facebook accounts for several years but I have not been using them to build my own professional network. I was so inspired by the presentations by Shannon Miller and Kathy Cassidy     to jump in and start connecting.

5. Authenticity This goes back to the idea of purpose, my students deserve a learning experience that is real and intentional. As we complain about not having enough time in the day to do what we feel we should with our students it becomes more and more important to filter everything I do through the screen of what is essential and authentic.

4. Play Time is limited as I stated above however we all need time to play, it should happen in my classroom not just on the playground or the gym, it should happen in the library and the computer lab, I should make time to play and have an ease about technology and digital learning.

3. Visioning  With my students!! I used Peter Reynolds wonderful book, The North Star  to help my students envision their hopes and dreams for the school year. This will become a cornerstone of my teaching because by asking my students where they want to go I am giving them the powerful message that I care about their visions and dreams. 

2. Problem Finders Helping my students and my teaching go from problem solving to problem finding, being open to working through something in an authentic way. Ewan Mcintosh in his keynote spoke of this and more and really opened my mind up to working in my zone of proximal development. 

 1. Joy I found joy and excitement at BLC11! I need to recreate that feeling for my students and myself every single day!