21st century classroom

It's official...my summer vacation is a reality! After the last day of school, I spent 2.5 weeks working with our new Common Core math standards. And most recently I spent one week in technology training. These two events have certainly stretched me beyond my wildest imagination. But definitely in a good way.

In the fall I will be teaching three sections of Accelerated Algebra 1...one section for 7th graders and two sections for 8th graders. And since this is a high school course, we will be in transition to the Common Core standards. That means we will be teaching three sets of standards: MATH-7, MATH-8, and Algebra 1. And fortunately our district has granted us double time...my students will have one block of Algebra every day. So that explains why I have been working day and night with a team of algebra teachers to create assessment documents to align with our new curriculum. :)

Meanwhile in April, I wrote a grant for our district's 21st Century Technology initiative...and I was accepted! My classroom will be filled with 30 new laptops and a wireless hot spot! So I spent last week reviewing ISTE standards and receiving a ton of cool tech information...and this week processing, recovering, and processing some more (while entering the final stages with our assessment project).

And as a result of my pending adventures, my blog will take on a new emphasis. I will continue to share my Common Core reflections and activities designed for my algebra students. But I will also share my efforts within my 1:1 classroom. I have no clue exactly what my classroom will look like in the fall, but it's taking shape as we speak.

So who else attended some professional development workshops already? Do share!

Have a great week...make it count!