Good teaching

"Were you at NCTE?"

"Yes, were you?"

"Yes! Were you in the session with Seymour Simon and Anne Marie Corgill?"

"Yes! I was sitting on the floor in the front!"

"Shut up! I was sitting in the front row!"

"Were you at IRA?"

"Yes, were you?!"

And so it went. Kristin and I realized that we've been in the same place at the same time on several occasions but had never actually met face to face. We connected through #1stchat on Twitter and finally decided to "tweet up" for dinner back in December. (And of course, it was fabulous! Such an easy, felt-like-we'd-known-each-other-forever kind of conversation.) 

Kristin and me

Last week, I was so fortunate to visit Kristin's amazing classroom and school. As the K-2 and 3-5 schools in my district move towards having a 1:1 tablet environment, we're investigating what that looks like and how it will look for us. Since Kristin has 1:1 iPads in her first grade classroom, it was an added bonus to my visit.

I sat, amazed, as her first graders moved seamlessly about her room, making choices and finding their own path to their learning. Kristin provided the spark and the choices, and then they were off to investigate. Some chose paper and pencil, while other grabbed their iPads. This is exactly how I envision it being in my classroom. 

There were times when Kristin knew a lesson work better if they could access tech tools, so she instructed them to bring their iPads to the carpet with them. They used TodaysMeet (which is way cool, by the way!) to give everyone a voice in their classroom discussion. Oh, and they got to the site by scanning the QR code Kristin posted on her computer. 

Her classroom? Cozy seating areas. An observation window. Anchor charts. A peace table. Magazines. Photographs. Technology. Evidence of student thinking. Books. Lots of books.

My biggest take-away? Perhaps it's this...

Good teaching is good teaching, 

regardless of what technology you may or may not have.

Can certain tech tools enhance lessons and provide (perhaps better) ways of connecting? Absolutely. Can it provide opportunities that you couldn't have without it? Yes, I know this to be true from my own learning. We must investigate to find the best sites and apps to use. But still... we have to know what good teaching looks like. As another #1stchat friend, Karen, taught me... our focus needs to remain on the learning that is taking place.

My comments here cannot do justice to what I saw in Kristin's room last week. So many things caused me to snap a picture so I wouldn't forget. So many things made me smile. And yes, I had those "why didn't I think of that?" moments, too. When her kids were away at lunch and at their computer tech time, our conversations quickly turned to what we are reading professionally and what new things we're trying out. 

That's what drives me. Conversations. Connections. Always thinking and trying. It does my heart good to know there are others out there who feel that same way. I'm so lucky that our first grade chat on Twitter has brought so many amazing educators into my professional (and personal) life. I am blessed.

**UPDATE 1-22-13
A few people asked if I could share more of the bazillion pictures I took that day, so here is a slideshow of some of the ones I took in Kristin's room that day. Enjoy!