Marshall Simonds 1:1 Information Event Next Monday

On By Patrick LarkinIn iPad Integration, iPads, Marshall Simonds Middle SchoolLeave a comment

iPad MSMS.001

The BPS EdTech Team is excited to announce a technology information night for Marshall Simonds Middle School families. The event will provide important information regarding the upcoming 1:1 iPad program at MSMS. All students in grades 6-8 will have access to iPads while at MSMS during the school day. We will be discussing student responsibility, classroom workflows with the device, foundational apps, and how the devices will be managed.

Please join us on Monday, January 7 at 7pm in the MSMS cafeteria. Members of the BPS EdTech Team and MSMS staff will be providing details about the program and answering questions.

Burlington PAC Open House Next Monday

On By Patrick LarkinIn Burlington PAC, Special EducationLeave a comment


Burlington Special Education PAC will be holding an Open House on Monday, January 7 from 7pm – 9pm in the BHS Library, where you will have the opportunity to consult with a wide variety of special education experts. These experts include Special Ed Attorney Lillian Wong, Neuropsychologist Kaaren Bekken, Special Ed Consultants Sue Terzakis and Melody Orfei and Marilyn Weber, Advocate/Transition Specialist. Dr. Conti, Superintendent and Louise D’Amato, Special Education Director will also be available to speak with parents. This is a unique opportunity to have your questions answered in a low-key, informal environment, and will prove useful for parents of general education students as well!  After brief introductions in the library, the professionals will be available for private, 1:1 consultations. Take advantage of this informal, free opportunity to meet highly qualified professionals.

Recently added expert: Joyce Gillis, Program Director for the Children’s Dyslexia Center- Boston North. The Children’s Dyslexia Center provides intensive tutoring for children with dyslexia using the Orton-Gillingham approach with the latest cutting edge research based methods.
For more info on this event or the Burlington PAC please emaildandmmccarron@hotmail.com or call 781-273-5663

Day 51 – Dennis Villano, BPS Director of Technology Integration

On By Patrick LarkinIn bpsedtech, Burlington EdTech, contact groups, gmail, GoogleLeave a comment

Gmail – Creating Student Contact Groups
Google Groups.001
Burlington Public Schools is a Google Apps for Education district. All students and staff have Google accounts. One of the most powerful aspects of this consistent integration is the ability to communicate and collaborate in an organized system.

The BPS EdTech Team recommends setting up class groups or blocks for better distribution of digital content and communication to students. This process is appropriate even for beginners but does take some time initially. The time saved throughout a semester or school year after completing the set up can be a great benefit to teachers. The best part is that these groups can be used to send emails and share documents from Google Drive.

The process can be completed in a few steps that is duplicated for each student in your class or block. Check out this walkthrough video guide from BHS Student HelpDesk member Sidd Chhayani to complete the process:


Once you create a group you can use it as a recipient for emails and shared documents.
In Gmail – simply click the Compose button and start typing the name of a group in the To box. Click on the group that you want to use:
Compose

In Google Drive – click on the Share button in a document and start typing the name of a group in the Add People box (make sure to change the sharing and editing options appropriate for the document you are sending):
Drive Group

Gmail Contact Groups are a powerful tool for distributing digital content to students, staff, and community members. Organized distribution methods like this are a critical part of a 1:1 classroom.
Please check out the BHS Student HelpDesk for more technology guides and support.

A Question I Hope To Ask More In 2013 – Who Is Doing The Teaching?

On By Patrick LarkinIn 2013, Learning in Burlington, ReflectionLeave a comment

139f63a5-e1c3-4250-9823-40c938d8e15b

It doesn’t seem like that long ago when the number of administrators (and educators for that matter) sharing their stories online was scarce.  Aside from the excitement of seeing our numbers grow over the last couple of years, I continue to be energized by the potential we have to improve our schools as increasing numbers of educators share what is happening in their classrooms, schools, and communities.  Allowing others to see concrete examples of progressive ideas being implemented successfully gives others the confidence that they are not out on a limb by themselves when they consider taking similar risks.

While I am grateful to be part of a community of educators that pushes my thinking daily, there is a group out there that influences me even more, our students.   In fact, I’ll tell you that the question on  the picture above (Who is doing the teaching?) is really a trick question. The real question that we need to ask ourselves is who is doing the learning?  Or better yet, as individuals, we need to consider whether we are continuous learners ourselves.

Personally, I am constantly looking at my own daily routine and thinking about whether or not I am practicing what I preach. Am I spending too much reading, blogging, tweeting, etc?   Am I just consuming details about the efforts of others?  What am I contributing myself?

The moments that tend to impact me most are opportunities to learn with others (in-person).  I feel fortunate to be in a district where there are formal and informal opportunities to learn with and from both students and staff. In looking ahead to 2013, I hope to see the line between teachers and learners continue to blur in our schools. I hope to see more public examples of this to share within and beyond our school community.

Here are a few of my favorites from 2012!

#1 Burlington High School Student Help Desk Website

#2 Marshall Simonds Middle School Students PSA On “The R Word”

#3 Learning Every Day in Burlington – Features a daily post from a learner in our school community. 

A New Blog From Richard Byrne…Focused On iPad Apps!

On By Patrick LarkinIn iPad, iPaded, Learning in Burlington, Richard ByrneLeave a comment

Richard Byrne’s Free Technolog For Teachers Blog has been one of the top resources for educators trying to integrate technology into their classrooms for quite some time.  In fact Richard’s blog was again selected as the Best EdTech Blog in this year’s Edublog awards. What makes Richard’s blog so useful is the fact that he reviews all of the resources that he posts and also has a number of publications and videos that can help teachers in their efforts to utilize more digital resources.

Well, Richard has added to his web-presence with the creation of a new blog geared towards educators looking to implement iPads in their classrooms.  At the beginning of December, Richard started a new blog called iPad Apps for School.  I have already made it a must follow and added it to my RSS feed.

Thanks for the early Christmas present Richard!

Here are a few recent posts from the new blog worth checking out:

10 Great Apps for a Teacher’s New iPad

An Augmented Reality Math Game
MeeGenius Puts Great Children’s Stories on iPads
Maily for iPad Gives Students a Safe Place to Learn to Email

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Happy Holiday Wishes!

On By Patrick LarkinIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
Wishing all of our students, staff, their families and friends a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year.  As we head off on our winter break, I leave you with some pictures from our schools this week.

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Mrs. Guanci’s First Graders 
Adrianna
Adriana, grade one at Francis Wyman
Pine Glen Holiday Concert

Memorial School – Mrs. Burns Reading Class

Ugly Sweater Day at Marshall Simonds

"It’s Just A Christmas Ribbon"

On By Patrick LarkinIn Learning in Burlington, Newtown, Sandy Hook ElementaryLeave a comment
photo-1

When my first-grader asked me about the ribbon on my jacket yesterday afternoon, I was not sure exactly what to say. A few thoughts zoomed through my head as I settled on my response which was, “It’s just a Christmas ribbon.”

While I feel a sense of relief that my six-year old doesn’t understand the nature of the events that occurred in Newtown, CT a week ago today, the reality is that what the ribbon symbolizes most to me is the precious gift that we have in our nation’s children.  As a parent of an elementary student, I have been riding the wave of emotions that so many of us have experienced in the last week.  I am continually amazed at so many of her qualities, ones that she shares with her elementary-aged peers, qualities like happiness, resilience, and innocence just to name a few.

The fallout from the events last week have impacted so many of us due to the fact that we lost 20 little ones in such a a violent and unfathomable way. As a nation, we are struggling to gain back our feelings of happiness, resilience and innocence. But while things will never be the same, I pray that time will allow us to overcome our new fears for our children so that we can be united in our unending efforts to ensure that our students our emotionally and physically safe.

There are just too many levels to this conversation for a quick and easy solution. But when I look down at the ribbon on my jacket today, my initial thoughts of this national tragedy have moved from anger to acceptance. The initial horrific pictures in my head have moved on to more positive visions. These are visions of an amazingly resilient community who has come together to support one another in the worst of times.  They are stories of strength and forgiveness from those who have been affected the most.

So what I could not say to Mary Clare is this:

The ribbon is a symbol of a community that has gone through a horrific tragedy and in dealing with these events the people of this community have shown an entire nation inconceivable resilience.  It is so much more than “just a Christmas ribbon…”

Back to School With New Worries, But The Same Plan

On By Patrick LarkinIn Burlington Public Schools, coping, sandy hookLeave a comment
Official seal of Newtown, Connecticut
Official seal of Newtown, Connecticut (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I dropped my six-year old daughter off at school Friday at about 8:30.  As I walked her in the front door, we were greeted by the Principal who greets every child who walks in the door at the school each morning. Then we ran into my daughter’s teacher who asked if she wanted to go to the classroom early with her since the buses were a few minutes from arriving. I drove away from the school feeling very much at peace with the fact that my daughter would have another great day in her first grade class and would return home safely at the end of the day.

But before my daughter finished her school day, our world was turned upside-down due to the unimaginable occurrence at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. I am not going to rehash the details here as we are all aware of the unfathomable events that took place.  However, the reality is that as both a parent and administrator I now have new worries to contend with that never would have entered my mind before yesterday.  Parents like me, who sent their kids off to school feeling the same sense of security I did with my daughter, did not have their kids return home safely.

The emotional roller coaster that we have all been on since Friday is something that is unprecedented.  But in spite of all of this, my first grader, my seventh grader, my ninth grader, and my three step-children will all return to their schools tomorrow where they will be put in the hands of wonderfully caring teachers and administrators just like those at Sandy Hook.

As we get ready to start the new week, I have been searching for words to help make sense of this. The words of Robert Evans, Ed.D. and Mark Kline, Psy.D. from Wellesley’s community mental health agency sum up the uncomfortable truth we are all grappling with:

“There is no technology or template for coping with this kind of event. We feel shock and disbelief, sorrow for the victims, anger at its unfairness…And most of us think immediately about how to be helpful to our children.”

Our ultimate goal as parents and educators is to do everything in our power to support our children during this traumatic period.  Again Evans and Kline have advice for us:

“Above all, coping with such an awful event is not primarily a matter of technique, not something best handled by a particular set of tactics that deviate sharply from one’s familiar patterns of communication. The regular routines of both school and family life are, all by themselves, a source of comforting continuity and assurance. Adults will rarely go wrong by relying on what is most basic between them and their children—caring and connection. At these times, your presence—your simply being with them, their knowing that you are available—can be just what they need.”

We will be present tomorrow and we will continue to care deeply for our students.  There will never be an alternative.

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