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Generate Instant Pear Decks

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  I’ll keep this short as the video explains most of you. Any new educational technology can be complicated to dig into from scratch as you attempt to align it to learning outcomes.  Well, a new feature that Pear Deck has introduced has taken a giant leap forward to help educators do just that.  Before we jump into the new features, if you are unfamiliar with Pear Deck and why my students and I consider it the #1 EdTech tool that helps their learning, check out the video in the previous blog post.   But if you are more concerned with why you should even dive into Pear Deck or learn about this new AI generation of Pear Deck sessions to a learning target, check out the video below. Like I said, I’m keeping it short so you have time to watch the video. If you have questions, please contact me at mohammam@elmbrookschools.org or the Pear Deck Learning team at support@deck.peardeck.com . Also, check out the amazing Stacey Roshan's video on this update. 
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Your Personal Canvas

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As a part of a recent professional development day at Brookfield Central, I gave a presentation covering how I have used the learning management system Canvas to add personalization to my assessments.  Even more than what I currently do, I higlighted how Canvas can be used to align formative and summative assessments to the same learning outcomes.  Once this is done, students and teachers can track progress towards mastery of learning outcomes.  
The personalized learning model our district is guided by was designed by Cooperative Educational Service Agency 1 http://www.cesa1.k12.wi.us.  The image below is a guide to the essentials of personalized learning. 



For more information about CESA 1 and their model of personalized learning, follow this link http://www.cesa1.k12.wi.us/programs/pers_learning_pd.cfm.

This presentation was not designed as a stand alone. So forgive me if there seems to be any gaps. 





I would love to discuss this further with any interested parties.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 6, 2015 at 7:00 AM

    Would you be willing to give a live presentation of this via Canvas conferences or Google Hangouts on Air to teachers in Oshkosh?

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    1. AnonymousMay 6, 2015 at 7:08 AM

      More context: We have just inked a contract with Canvas for our high school teachers. We are very new to personalized learning (at least in acknowledging it as a pedagogical phenomenon, many teachers have been doing some great things for a long time that weren't labeled such). I am a technology integration coach, and I'm teaching a course for UW-Oshkosh this summer on using technology to personalize learning. I would love to show some secondary teachers who other secondary teachers are not only using Canvas but rather focusing on instruction first (that's why you've chosen Canvas as your tool) and using technology to help gain greater choices, work towards mastery, and provide more specific, immediate feedback. We'd love to have you as a very informal guest speaker.

      If you don't mind, I'd also like to use your blog post "You Got Your Personalization in my PBL" with our course participants to help them reflect on assessment and personalization practices. I'm having particular difficulty with instructors who perceive their content to be so esoteric that students can't possibly have choices in the way they demonstrate understanding. It shouldn't matter, but what you teach will have particular weight with this demographic of instructor. Thanks for writing and posting!

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  2. Angela PattersonMay 7, 2015 at 4:14 AM

    Hi Mike! We'd love to pick your brain, too. You've seen how we use our own tech in our elementary world...canvas is required of us in the fall, as well. Scared, but eager to see the possibilities for our "littles" and how they are similar/different to your "bigs". Let's chat:)
    PS...we have a "Genius Hour" project on Newton right now! She asked to interview you!:)
    Team Togetherness

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