During yesterday’s Digital Learning Day, I had some wonderful conversations with students and staff. While we are perpetually seeking ways to include authentic and meaningful teaching and learning experiences into our pacing and scheduling guidelines, the invitation to focus on digital learning helped us pause, plan and present opportunities for staff and students to include digital tools for instruction and assignments. In a post about the National Writing Project’s partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education for the first Digital Learning Day, I commented about calling attention to the important work going on in many classrooms where educators are guiding students to use digital tools in thoughtful and powerful ways. I encourage everyone to visit Digital Is website for its many resources and reflections.

This is my shout out to my Overbrook family who welcomed “disruptions” in their schedule to participate in our small but not insignificant ways. From online testing to outdoor filming, thanks to all who played a part.

• To my conversation with new Kindergarten teacher who reads K teacher blogs for ideas and now sees the value of a twitter chat for sharing and support.

• To working with second graders using digital cameras to find examples of lines and shapes in their everyday environment.’

• To observing how students in various grades selected the tools they wanted to use to express their thoughts on digital dreams for learning. (Voki, Comic Life, Kidspiration, Wordle)

• To a fifth grade teacher for adjusting her use of a Smart Board when a student commented “the teacher uses it more than the kids.”

• To fifth graders capturing photos and videos to use in their reports about changing weather patterns and our school’s recycling efforts.

• To parents who signed up to help our second graders and to our Parent Meeting planned for a evening in March

• To lunch time buddies who asked me about “EduCon”

• To Reading Olympics Coach who asked me for help in setting up blogs for her team.

• To Grade 3-5 students who gave their best efforts in completing an online PSSA Predictive Test.

• To my after school club who worked on Digital Designs for Learning and Living in a digital world.

As I was leaving the building after a long but rewarding day, I remembered a little first grader who helped his classmate figure out why his computer wasn’t working properly. As he read the message, “connection to server not found,” he popped up and investigated the back of computer to discover the Ethernet cord had come out.  This was not the first time he demonstrated that he is definitely a kid who has what it takes to cooperate, collaborate and use digital tools for learning in and out of the classroom.