I typically have a clear and well-thought out purpose for each blog post, however for this blog post I am going to simply reflect on today's
professional development session. I lead a PD session about 7 weeks
ago for all of the staff members at my high school on social media and
technology integration, and today's session was an extension of the
previous session for any teachers interested. We asked each staff
member to choose…
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Added by Justin Tarte on November 17, 2010 at 6:17pm —
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This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the EdcampKC technology conference in Kansas City, MO. This was my first
"unconference," which basically means the entire conference was
participant-driven and each session was presented by someone who was
actually attending the conference. There was a big board set up in the
main room, and before the conference officially started any person
interested in presenting was able to…
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Added by Justin Tarte on November 9, 2010 at 7:13pm —
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I experienced two very important things recently:
1) - If you ask, you shall receive...
Last week I asked 5 students to answer 5 questions related to
education. The questions have nothing to do with my class content, nor
will the students receive anything for completing the 5 questions. I
simply asked 5 of my students to give me their opinion and feedback on
certain education related issues. The…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 29, 2010 at 8:12pm —
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If somebody asked me about the last 6 months of my life, I would respond
by saying something like this; the past 6 months have been extremely
challenging, but yet at the same time I can say with little hesitation
that I have grown more as an educator in the last 6 months than in any
other time period in my life.
The world in which we live is changing faster than anyone could ever
imagine, and because of this the educational system must evolve and…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 29, 2010 at 8:10pm —
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I just finished reading
The Learning Leader, by Douglas R. Reeves, as a part of my doctoral studies. I found the book to be
extremely well written, as well as extremely valuable for anyone looking
to gain a more in-depth understanding of school improvement.
As districts and schools look to both district and building leaders, it
is difficult not to notice the "Islands of Excellence," as well as the
islands of…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 22, 2010 at 3:43pm —
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I entered the 2010/2011 school year with two goals:
Goal 1 - Try as many new and innovative ideas in my German classes as possible...
Goal 2 - As a Professional Development Representative at my high school, I want to share as many resources and ideas with other…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 19, 2010 at 6:50pm —
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Tom Whitby has encouraged all education bloggers to write a positive blog on how we should reform the
educational setting. I have decided to revisit a previous post of
mine...
If you have ever walked into a factory that produces a finished good from raw materials, it is frankly an amazing process. Dating back to
the early 1900's, Henry Ford revolutionized…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 17, 2010 at 2:00pm —
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In my German 3 class we recently finished a story we have been reading for the last three weeks. We have done several different types of
activities to facilitate the understanding of this story, and each
different activity has proven to have both its advantages, and
disadvantages. The unique thing about the activities I have done is
that each activity is something brand new that I have never tried
before. As any educator…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 10, 2010 at 7:57am —
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My wife and I have been married for a little under three years, and about a year ago we decided that we wanted
to grow our family. As we discussed the most typical way of growing a
family (a baby), we came to the conclusion that we should start small
before taking the big leap. Last summer we purchased an 8 pound, runt
of the litter, slightly discolored, adorable, and loving yellow lab
puppy.…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 4, 2010 at 3:18pm —
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One of the beauties of education is that we get the opportunity to try and explore new ideas. In fact, we are encouraged to think outside of
the box to discover new and improved ways to engage, inspire and
motivate students. Moreover, when we have new ideas and solutions to
problems, we are forcing ourselves to evaluate and assess our current
practices. A fancy word that all educators have heard (some so much it
makes them…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 25, 2010 at 10:40pm —
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I watched this video on TED: Ideas worth spreading (which I highly recommend)
http://www.ted.com/,
and I have to say I was really intrigued by the topic. Every day at
school I get the opportunity to see students growing and
developing...some more than others, and some not enough. However
inconsistent their growth may be, one thing is for certain...the growth
and development of children can be summed up in one word - amazing! If
we…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 22, 2010 at 5:35am —
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The last 4 weeks have been extremely busy for me. We recently started a brand new gradebook and website system in my school district. This has proven to be an amazing tool and
resource as we look to ways to improve education. For all the greatness
this new opportunity provides, we have been faced with the never ending
battle of growing and developing educators so they can utilize this new
resource. As exciting as it is to work with educators…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 18, 2010 at 2:00pm —
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1 - Listen to what others are saying... Being able to speak is important...being able to listen is more
important. If you can truly listen to what others are saying, you will
be able to establish an unlimited amount of strong and long lasting
relationships. Your ability or inability to listen, will most
definitely affect the success, and the number of relationships you will
have in life.
2 - Watch what… Continue
Added by Justin Tarte on September 11, 2010 at 9:28am —
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Most students from across the country have returned to schools refreshed, recharged, and rejuvenated to continue their journey through
the educational process. As students use their summer break to relax
and simply be kids, teachers and administrators utilize their time to
both improve and develop their skills as educators. The summer provides
an excellent opportunity for all educators to refine and enhance their
abilities as…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 3, 2010 at 6:50pm —
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A year and a half ago I started my Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership. As a teacher, this program has been influential in helping
to shape my philosophy of education. In particular, I have really begun
to analyze and critique the assessment policy I use in the classroom.
Last
school year I was part of a committee that was reading and evaluating
the ideas presented in Rick Stiggins' Assessment for Learning model…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 9, 2010 at 6:20am —
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When was the last time you left your house without your cell phone? Can you remember the last time you
did not access the internet in a 24 hour time frame? When was the last time
you opened a book to find an answer? If you are anything like most
Americans, I would be willing to bet you never leave your cell phone at
home (at least knowingly), you access the internet several times a day,
and…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 9, 2010 at 6:13am —
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I will preface this post by saying I am only 15 pages into the book,
The Death and Life of the Great American School System, by Diane Ravitch. Despite not being too far along in this book, I feel empowered to share my experiences thus far.
In my short 5 years in education I have learned many things, however for
this post I will concentrate on just one. There is one thing for
certain in education...and that is,
there is… Continue
Added by Justin Tarte on August 4, 2010 at 4:06pm —
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A fabulous resource to educators is available, and the best part about it...it is free! Visit the website
http://www.ted.com/ and watch videos about "ideas worth spreading." I chose this
particular video by Sir Ken Robinson because I feel Robinson makes a
wonderful point about education. When we talk about education we need
to forget about the evolution of the school system, but rather we…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 4, 2010 at 12:13pm —
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Over the last several weeks I have had the opportunity to speak with several different people who are the
leaders/coordinators/directors/supervisors in their respective
departments within my school district. This opportunity has given me a
new found appreciation for the many intricacies of a large suburban
school district.
As a current classroom teacher I plan my lessons, go to school, teach
students, grade…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 4, 2010 at 12:11pm —
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How often do you hear students complaining about a teacher who told them to put their cell phone away, or turn their iPod off? If your school
is anything like my school, then I am sure you hear this on a daily
basis. Integrating technology into the classroom has been a hot topic
over the last several years, and as our society continues to embrace new
technological advances, Education 2.0 will hopefully continue to…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 4, 2010 at 12:07pm —
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