Reasons I don't do Feedly or read blogs. . . .

Reasons I don't do Feedly or read blogs. . . .Twitter and Podcasts

You see, I am a person with minimal free time. I am a wife, parent, grandparent, teacher of two grade levels at the same time, housekeeper, cook, laundry queen, traveller, glamper, book reader, and movie watcher. The last thing I want to do is bury myself in long winded narratives with minimally useful-to-me information. So, I like the condensed versions- the blurb on the back versions. The listen while doing something else version. And that is Twitter and Podcasts. I can grab quick tips and tricks, I can see that next greatest tool, and I can find ideas I can use tomorrow in class all In approximately 200 characters or less. Or better yet, an image. I can then click on a link which will take me to the blog post or show notes where I can learn more about it, contact the poster, or take it and use it. All in a matter of a few minutes-Okay, maybe longer (It's a bit like Pinterest). I listed a few of my favorite posters whom I faithfully follow in my last post so here is my list of must-listen podcasts and why it's a daily do for me:

   

Blog? Really?

So, what's my hesitation to write blog posts? Do I really think I have nothing to say?
My friends and family would have a good laugh at that! Not being a person of few words,
why do I feel inadequate to share my thoughts and ideas?
It's simple, really...Everything I would share came from someone else.
I essentially have no original ideas. Like any teacher worth their stuff, I know there are
far more gifted and talented educators from whom I can buy (or steal). My sense of
transparency and integrity prevents me from any attempt to take credit where none is due.
So, in order to appease my morality, here are a few words of wisdom I've accrued
and the educators I've learned them from. In no order of importance, by the way.

George Couros-Innovator's Mindset

Iterate Everything! Mantra of an Innovative Educator

Holly Clark-Disrupt Education, Google Infused Classroom

First presenter to introduce me to Twitter

Alice Keeler-Be yourself; It's okay to rub against the grain

First Twitter followee to DM me-Yep, she's real!

Matt Miller-Google Teacher Tribe, Ditch That Textbook

Kasey Bell-Google Teacher Tribe, Shake Up Learning

Jake Miller-Animated Gif (Yep, Hard G) Tech Tips

John Spencer-Creative Classroom, Project Based Learning

Tara Martin-Book Snaps

Lissa Highfill-Hyperdocs

NCCE Inspiration

I was lucky enough to go to the NCCE conference for two days! One of the biggest takeaways I had was that I need to let go of control a little and let my students just explore some of the technology I want them to use. This past week I decided to try it with Google Slides. My students have had one lesson on how to get to slides through Classroom, change the background, add an image and put in a text box. I decided to make this my special project for my writing rotations. I reviewed the steps with my students the day before the first group would try it and then again the day of. We also made a word bank of all of the animals we have learned about. I told students they needed to pick an animal, add a picture of it, change the background and add one fact about the animal with a text box. Once they have done this they can explore any of the other tools they would like. I was nervous, it had been awhile since they had all actually tried slides on their own but I knew I needed to give them the chance to explore. On the first day I sent the group off and told them I would be over to check on them once I had everyone else settled. Three minutes later when I walked over to check all four group members already had accessed slides and were finishing changing their background colors. I was amazed! At this point I told them I would be conferencing with writers and they needed to ask each other for help if they got stuck instead of me. Throughout the next 30 minutes I caught pieces of amazing conversations from my kinder students. I heard things like “that looks cool can you teach me to do it?” and “I don’t remember how to do this part can you help me” I watched my students use their words to walk their peers through the steps instead of taking over and doing it for one another! Looking at their slides my students have learned how to set a theme, add in shapes, create a border to their text boxes, change their text color, resize objects and so much more. I am inspired to try this more with multiple programs and can’t wait to see what these amazing kids can do!

Mind Blowing PD

I've had a goal since the day I started my new job as Instructional Technology Support Teacher. This goal was to go to as many of the District's trainings as I could. I need to see and hear what teachers are learning about in various topics so that I can think about how technology can be implemented to help support them and their students. So far I've been able to be a part of ELA training K-5, Secondary Leadership Cadre, and recently math K-5 and 6-12.

Today I'm going to focus on the math training. In the elementary training we are part of an online course through Stanford taught by Jo Boaler. In her sessions thus far, she has talked about math being an art. Something that students can explore and find the beauty in. Math should allow freedom to see solutions from many different angles, with tasks that have a low floor and a high ceiling. (This same term was used in the 6-12 math PD when referencing the types of problems or tasks students should be exposed to.) I love how the idea of problems that allow students multiple avenues to solve with lots of room for thinking, transcends grade levels!

In this latest session of Jo Boaler's class we learned about the importance of number sense and how daily math or number talks can help improve all student's number sense, even for those students in high school.  I love the idea of math talks. I think I would have been so much more successful at math, had I been a part of math talks. I've always thought I was good at math, but what I was good at was computations using specific algorithms. I truly did not understand why I was doing what I was doing. Even working through a couple of problems in this session, I was second guessing and rethinking my answers.  The first problem to solve was 18 x 5. Then later we had to solve 25 x 29.  My first reaction was to get a piece of paper and pencil and solve the problem. However the instructions were to solve it in your head without writing it down. To really think about the problem and make sense of it in your head.  After my initial panic, I slowed down, took a breath and really started to think about different ways to put the numbers together. That's when I began to understand. As part of this session, we got to see the conversations of real students (university level students) and how they approached each of the problems.  The conversations of the students was very powerful and seeing multiple ways to solve the same problem was very eye opening. Many of the strategies I would have never have thought of. And yet, when they were explained by the students, I understood and was able to see the problem in a different light. Really working on number sense through math talk is incredibly powerful tool that ALL teacher can possess.

Even after all these years of doing math, I had the experience of understanding math. MIND BLOWN!  The implications of what this could mean for students is staggering. It's time we get students to see the beauty in math. That math is not this stagnant, blah subject. Instead, math is  fluid and creative and full of wonder and freedom that enables all students to think, learn and succeed!

When the Teacher is Absent

In the next 3 weeks, I will be out of the classroom 4 days for district provide training.  I will have the incredible opportunity to learn from and work with some amazing colleagues!  I'm really looking forward to the experience, but...being away from the classroom for 4 days can be a challenge.

Each day I am gone from my classroom is one less day I have to teach lessons that align with the goals I have for my class.  It's one less day for me to monitor progress and adjust instruction to meet the needs of my students.  It's one less day for me to provide prompt feedback and guide students towards their learning goals.  It's one less day to connect with my students and build on the relationships we have.

However, technology has made it easier to do all of these things, even when you're not in the classroom!

This week I will be gone for 2 days.  I am attending the NCCE 2019 conference in Seattle!  We are coming off of Mid-Winter Break and 5 snow days prior to that.  I've missed a lot of precious time in my classroom and here I am missing 2 more days.  While I see the importance of attending the conference, that thought that I will be away from my students again, weighs heavy on my mind...as I'm sure it does for most teachers.

Typically, I leave lessons for guest teachers that are related to what we have done in class (a review of previously taught skills) but the tasks do not move students forward and teach them new things.  Given the number of days we have recently missed, I can't afford to do this.  I needed to plan lessons that will move us forward, so the dilemma was...

How do I teach quality lessons when I'm not in the classroom?

With the technology available these days, it has become easier to leave quality lessons in your absence.  Here are a few of the tools I use - 

Google Classroom - This is where I leave any materials students will need in my absence.  It's a tool they are very familiar with and should be able to access with little to no support.  It's also a place where students can ask questions about the assignment.  Their classmates can answer the question or I can answer it using a device like my cell phone.

Screencastify - With Screencastify, I can record videos and share them with my class in Google Classroom.  This week, while I'm gone, students will use a new tool called www.commonlit.org to access material needed for their informational essays.  Since this is a new tool, I thought I'd record a short video to show them how to use it.  I've also used Screencastify to teach math and writing lessons.

Flipgrid - Flipgrid is a great tool that students use to create a short video.  It's simple to use and highly engaging for students.  While I'm gone, I will have them use Flipgrid to reflect on their learning in math.  I can access this information before I return to class and assess their progress towards learning new math skills they tackle in my absence.  These videos will help me stay connected to my students and I can provide timely feedback as well as adjust future lessons accordingly.

My hope is that by using these tools, my class will continue to learn new material, even when I'm gone.

What tools do you use when you're absent?  How has technology changed your guest teacher lesson plans?

Using Mentimeter for Interactive Learning

Trying out a new tool!
https://www.mentimeter.com/

I wanted to engage my students in some interactive thinking using our 1:1 chromebooks, and thought I'd try out a new (to me) tool called Mentimeter! I like to think of Mentimeter as an enhanced, interactive version of Power Point. You can create slides with classroom content on them and save the presentations connected with your free account (it's as easy as 'sign up using Google'). However, don't expect it to look fancy. The slides don't have as many visual bells and whistles as Microsoft Power Point or Google Slides. They have recently added themes, but you have to upgrade for other background options and customization. I stick with the free version. I am a teacher, after all.😁

That being said, what you can expect from Mentimeter is a variety of interactive opportunities that really engage kids! It's super easy for kids to log in. And I think the simplicity of the page works well in a classroom. A couple of the interactive tools I've tried are listed below.

Open Ended: I've used this a couple times to collect discussion questions and reading notes. By sharing the results on the ProBoard, students could respond to another student's question in their quick write.

Word Cloud: I used this to brainstorm before beginning a new writing unit. We set a timer and added all the things we could remember about informational writing. The words that came up most often are shown larger in the word cloud.

What did I learn? 

• Make sure to check the box that allows students to submit more than one response (if that's what you want).
• You cannot trace a student's response back to the student since they do not have linked accounts. However, we had a nice discussion about the appropriateness of adding "butt" to our word cloud. 😒

There are plenty of other interactive features. I hope to try out the polling and voting presentations soon. Please give it a try and share your experience with us!

Using Google Doodles to Teach Elementary Research Skills

When you launch Google some days you'll find their iconic rainbow-colored logo...

However, there are some days where Google treats it's users to a Google Doodle!

According to Google...

"Doodles are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists."

I use these Google Doodles to teach my 4th graders basic research skills.

When I open my Chromebook in the morning and see a Google Doodle, I use the logo to set-up our entry task for the morning. 

The entry task is simple:

• I go to Google Classrooms and add a question.  Typically I will say, "Check out today's Google Logo.  Who is the logo about?  Tell me 3 things you learned about that person.  Please remember to use your own words and write using grade-level writing skills."
• Then, as students enter the room, they log-in to their computers and work on the entry task.
• Once kiddos have finished the work, we will briefly discuss what they learned.

My kids love this activity and learn so much from it.  They learn to read for details, informational writing skills, and research skills.  Plus they learn about some amazing people that had an impact on our world!

I encourage you to give it a try and let me know how it goes!