June 07, 2013

Karen Lirenman: Interview with outstanding K-2 Teacher 2013 #iste2013 @klirenman

First grade teacher Karen Lirenman (@klirenman) has won the Kay L Bitter Award for innovative leadership in the K-2 classroom. She'll receive this award at ISTE 2013 in a few weeks in San Antonio. You'll want to see what the younger classroom can be by listening to what she's doing. Wow!

Karen Lirenman is a grade one teacher in Surrey, British Columbia who loves to provide her students with choice in how they learn, show, and share their knowledge. She engages them globally through video conferencing, twitter, and blogging and uses technology as seamlessly as possibly to make this all happen. She started teaching in 1992.

Professional blog http://www.learningandsharingwithmsl.blogspot.ca/
Class twitter @MsLsClass. Class blog. http://www.mslirenmansroom.blogspot.ca/

Listen to the show

Essential Questions

You joined Twitter in 2011 and it changed your life. How?
You have your first grade students create hashtags. How?
How do you have your first grade students Tweet without problems? Doesn't it make you nervous?
How did your class communicate with an author over Twitter?
You say that "your first graders are in control of what to share with the world," what are some of the things they choose to share with the world?
How do you use video conferencing? How do you pick whether to use Skype, Google Hangout or Facetime?
Describe how your classroom technology is setup in the classroom?
You describe your teaching style as one "that empowers students to choose the tool that fits best for them" how does this look? How do you give choice in the math class?
What are your student's favorite apps?
How are your students writing fiction and nonfiction stories and how do they publish their work?
How do you tie in your personal and professional blog in a way that protects your student's privacy?
If a teacher is getting iPads, but they are nervous, how does the teacher get started?