Try something new!

from insprationboost.com

At the beginning of 2014 ago I read a post by Tom Whitby and a subsequent post by Pernille Ripp about setting New Year's Resolutions. Finding something relevant and attainable, finding one thing to focus on rather than several things that might spread you too thin.

Its too far in the year to make a New Year's Resolution (or is it?), but how about making a goal for the next school year? Perhaps a goal to try something new and exciting with your class? Something that can engage them and provide meaningful learning?

Here is a short list of ideas that should be fairly easy to implement. Why not pick one of these and give it a whirl?

Use Edmodo - in our school district Edmodo is available to all classrooms. Enroll your class in Edmodo and use it as a blogging platform for students to collaborate on projects. It can be used in a variety of ways, including assignments, writing, and collaborating. Students can even use it to further their learning outside of school.

Start blogging - students love to write and comment. Give them the opportunity! There are many popular and easy to use platforms for blogging, such as Kidblog.org.  Pick one, create a classroom blog or sign up all your students. Let them write what they are passionate about or give it more structure and assign them thoughtful questions.

Share your reading life - I was inspired to post my personal reading on my office door this year. The result? I had so many book recommendations by students that my to-read list for the summer is over 80 books long! Let your students know what you are currently reading and see where those conversations go.

Global Read Aloud - what if you combined the above idea and connected your students with other classrooms around the world? The Global Read Aloud picks a book to be read aloud to students across the world during a 6 week period and then asks students to connect using technology to discuss the book.

Mystery Skype - it's no secret that I'm a big fan of Mystery Skypes. Give them a try! You won't be sorry!

Evaluate your educational philosophy - it has been a few years since I've been in the classroom, but as I've observed teachers in action, read about different philosophies on blogs, and worked with amazing teachers, I've started to rethink my views on teaching and learning. Make a goal to rethink what you do in the classroom, or how you teach. Reach out to other educators and discuss what really helps students to become lifelong learners.

Try one of these out or share what new thing you are going to try next year.

Read More »

Empowering My Daughter and Saving My Sanity

About mid-July my family was at Toys R Us shopping for a birthday present. We came across some great deals on backpacks and decided to take advantage of them. Angry Birds for Adam, my soon to be 4th grade son, Doc McStuffins for Abby, my daughter just entering 1st grade, and Disney princesses for Maddy, my preschooler.

The very next day is when it started. "Is it school yet?" "Can I see my backpack?" "I wish it was school time!" School doesn't start until the last week of August! For the next few days it was cute to see their excitement for school and the chance to use their new backpacks. But the incessant questioning soon began to wear on me. My preschooler would fall down on the floor crying because she wanted to go to school and I wouldn't let her! My first grader pouted because she really really wanted to try out that backpack! School couldn't start soon enough for them! Or me!

I realized that to save my sanity I would need to find a way to help my daughters understand how many days were left before the first glorious day of school. I printed out a calendar for July and August. I showed them how the calendar worked with the days of the week and a number for each day. Together we marked the first day of school with an apple and the words "School starts". I showed them how to draw a big X across each day, indicating it wasn't a school day. We then hung the calendar on the fridge and Abby said she would mark the X each day. 

It's been a week now, and she has faithfully marked an X each morning when she wakes up. By the time I come home from my morning jog, the X is there showing we are one day closer to school and backpacks!

Since we started that calendar I have not been questioned once about the backpacks and school! Now she can look and see how many days there are.

That is my philosophy on my role as a technology integrator. Rather than have teachers always coming to me to do technology rich lessons for them, or believing that I am the only source of techno knowledge, I need to empower the them. I believe that showing teachers how to use technology, how to use it as part of their everyday instruction, and the value it adds to their instruction empowers them. I can't be the only one using Edmodo with their students, or finding great apps for the iPads, or helping students tell their next great story with Toontastic. The teachers have to be just as engaged as the students. When they are they own it and extend the learning and integration far beyond what I initially did. Kind of like the proverb about teaching a man to fish.

Now if I could just figure out a way to teach my first grader how to read a clock so that she knows not to wake up at 5 o'clock each morning, then I'll have it made!

Read More »