edX Class Unit 1

What is a Powerful Learning Environment?

Over the next several weeks, the team and I are taking an edX course on "Launching Innovation in Schools." This course is sponsored by Microsoft and is great thought leadership course designed to create a focus around the change needed for innovation to occur in the classroom.

This first unit we were challenged to define what a powerful learning environment was to us.  I decided to post my sketch-notes on this:

The experience I chose to share was around a Holocaust project based learning activity with my previous district in Andover.  The wonderful Dyane Smokorowski setup a skype in the classroom session with a Holocaust survivor and classes of middle school students. Her story was incredible.  She was born on a train leaving Moscow as the invasion was happening.  Even today, Aiyana my middle daughter, remembers that experience in detail.  In addition, the students participated in creating paper butterflies that would line up around Houston stadium.  Here is a link to the lesson: ​https://www.hmh.org/ed_butterfly%20Lesson.shtml

​Defining a Problem of Practice

Our second assignment was to define a problem of practice.  This will be a problem I tackle throughout the length of this course.  It was important to me to find a problem that was closest to my work here at Omaha Public Schools.  My leading message was "Students Experience with Technology is Currently Circumstantial."  This lead to the creation of my problem.  How do we prepare teachers for when access to devices isn't an issue?  Here are my sketch-notes: