New Year, New Learning - #RaesBlogChallenge   Post #4

Wow!  How do you just pick ONE new thing to learn? Do you make it school related or personal? Does it benefit others or just yourself? 

And then the light bulb goes off.....

This is usually me.....I have the best of intentions, but then I can't focus or I don't prioritize or I don't use ALL the time I have in a day to complete tasks and learn new things. 

I think what I really want to focus on is not learning just one new thing, but learning how to get more done with my time. I can plan more carefully, block time out during my day for task completion, say no to some new projects, be more present with the learning that matters, know that I love my work and it is an extension of who I am. I don't have to stop at 4 or 5. If it makes me happy I can do it until 8 or 9!

 I think Ryan G. is going to be inspirational in my quest!

#RaesBlogChallenge  #goals #2016

How I Make School Different  - #RaesBlogChallenge  Post #3

I hope that I am making a difference for teachers and that in turn helps them make things different for their students. In my position as the Instructional Coach Coordinator, I try and take care of some of the "paperwork" or "research" that can suck up a teacher's time. I also try and share useful PL opportunities. Hopefully that is freeing up their time to plan engaging lessons and/or learn something new and exciting that they can pass on. 

My big goal for making school different is to help make teachers more comfortable with the idea of failing. So many times in my own classroom I would not try a lesson if there was ANY chance that something would go wrong. What was THAT teaching my students? Nothing!  
Some of my favorite classrooms now are those where I walk in and the teacher is letting kids figure out a new program. Saying "I don't know" or "You show me". Those students are learning a whole bunch and so are their teacher and I!

So I guess that I #MakeSchoolDifferent by helping teachers and freeing up some of their time and encouraging them to take risks and show their students that failure is okay. We learn from it. 

#RaesBlogChallenge  #MakeSchoolDifferent 

Making Memes - #RaesBlogChallenge - Post #2

So, I struggle with this. I love memes and I get the humor behind them. I can even see how they can be used in an educational setting. I just really struggle to make them. I guess I am not "witty" enough....or good enough at those plays on words that memes seem to require. Nonetheless, I do love the challenge that Rae provides to me and my professional growth. She is always encouraging all of us to do more and be more! Soooo even though my meme pokes fun at her a little....I do have fun every time she asks me to learn with or from her. 

#makeameme  #raesblogchallenge

@raefearing thanks for the challenge!

#RaesBlogChallenge  Post #1

Advice from an "old" teacher to a new one...

What advice can possibly prepare you for the journey you are about to embark on? How can anyone explain the contrasting feelings you will feel in that first minute, day, month, year that you stand in front of a room full of young people? I am certainly no expert, but here are a few things that I wish someone would have said to me:

1.  Forgive yourself. Being on all day is exhausting, especially when you have worked hard on your classroom and lesson plans, when you have responsibilities outside the four walls of your classroom. You are going to make mistakes, say the wrong thing, not return a call, hurt someone's feelings, be unprepared. Forgive yourself. 

2. Do something for yourself once a week. Take a class, get a massage, watch a movie, go for a hike. It is so easy to get totally absorbed in prepping, grading, meetings, and the million other things we have to do to make our classrooms run. Make yourself a priority. Your students will benefit from the time you make for yourself.

3. Ask for help. It is impossible to know everything and do everything. Ask a colleague to explain a policy, ask a parent to grade some papers, ask your mom to pick up your dry cleaning, ask a friend to listen. We get better when we ask for help.

4. Pay it back. When you have been teaching for a few years, remember how tough that first year was. Remember the people that helped you. Remember that something special that helped you survive and then share that with a new teacher. 

We "old" teachers are very glad that you decided to join us in this amazing career. Let us know what you need. We want to help.

Thank you +Rae Fearing for the December Blog Post Challenge!

'Tis the season to give thanks....

'Tis the season to be thinking of what we are thankful for. The things that make our life and our work better. These three tools make my WORK easier and better and I am thankful for them:

iPad / Apple TV -

These tools together allow for so much exploration and exposure for students. With a few clicks I can take my students ANYWHERE and they can share with the whole class what they find interesting or have worked on. This combined tool is powerful in sharing and creating knowledge with and for students!

Google Apps for Education -

This remarkable set of apps allows for creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. We can share our knowledge with each other and the world when we use the versatile tools that Google Apps offers. Students can create presentations, share their thinking through drawing and writing, and collaborate in numerous platforms. As a teacher these tools make lesson planning and delivery, grading, and communication so easy.

Markers, Colored Pencils, and Crayons -

While tech in education is important in this day and age, some good old fashioned tools also have a treasured place in classrooms, especially mine! I love color and I love students to express themselves and be creative with color. With a well stocked supply of colored pencils, crayons, and markers our normal work can go from drab to fab. Students can use color to highlight, underline, circle, create, edit, and stylize their work. Colored implements play an important role in the work I do and the work I ask my students to do.

When I think of teaching and the learners in my classrooms, I am thankful that I have these three things to support our work and allow us to be collaborating and creating everyday!

When I think about my life, I am thankful for my family and my community of colleagues that make life AND work fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

C

Technology Integration and Instructional Coaching

In most areas of the Technology Integration Matrix, I fall within the adaptation level. However, in the authentic area, I am sadly still in the adoption category. 
I really view this matrix as a challenge, looking at each "teaching" opportunity and trying to move the experience over on the matrix. 

Goal One: 

Working with the new instructional coaches to integrate technology into their coaching. I want teachers and coaches to use technology throughout the process or cycle. Whether it is for communication or creation, I want everyone to feel comfortable with technology. I will need to explore ways to manage their data and contacts and for keeping track of next steps. I can help myself reach this goal by looking at blogs written by experienced coaches, follow Twitter chats for ideas, and engage in professional relationships with coaches who have been successful at this.  In the constructive area of the matrix, I rated myself as in the adaptation stage. I look for stuff and then tell them how to use it. I want to provide tools and choice to teachers and coaches about managing their interactions. This will help me move along the matrix to the infusion stage. 

Goal Two: 

Part of my new position is to provide training for teachers on anything and everything. I want my trainings to be powerful for teachers and give them multiple choices for implementation and advancement of knowledge. I would like to make sure that there is a technology component to every training, something that teachers can take back to their students/classrooms. To complete this goal I can use resources in our district. I can plan/brainstorm with Rae and my fellow coaches, I can poll teachers on their needs, and I can look for my own professional learning opportunities with others that are experienced in this arena. I feel that this falls within the authentic area, my weakest area. I am just at the adoption stage here. I want to find ideas and expand my tool kit to move me over on the matrix.

Goal Three:

Digital Citizenship is such an important part of our work as digital educators. My goal is to become proficient with the new content and assessment components on the Digital Citizenship website that we use (Common Sense Media - Scope and Sequence). I want to be a resource for teachers and coaches. I can work towards my goal by exploring the site, work towards certification, and volunteer to teach lessons in classrooms. I think that this falls into the active area of the matrix, where I was at the adaptation stage.  


I always set goals, and most of the time my completion rate stinks. I am hopeful that my classmates in Cohort 2 will help to hold me accountable. 

Yay! A new group of educators to bond with and learn from. Welcome Cohort 2.

Since I am having a redo, I will sometimes try an alternate form of the same assignment. Last time I created a Voki

See her here

So this time I tried a Tellagami

See her here

I liked them both. How powerful it would be to have students do this!  Also, leaving a message for students and parents in classroom. FUN!!

I accepted this challenge from +Rae Fearing as part of the #MakeSchoolDifferent Challenge

To improve educational experiences for students we need to stop pretending that:

1. Our students can't do that.
    How many times have I heard this? TOO MANY. Our students are amazing, they can do so much more than we give them credit for. Give them a chance, get out of their way, and watch them learn.

2. Teachers will use technology to teach if you put it in their room.
     Teachers will always say yes when you ask them if they want stuff. It is in our nature. But just putting technology in a room will not guarantee that it will be used. Teachers need training, they need peers to collaborate with, they need to see great teaching using technology, they need to have a mentor, they need to be told they can do it, they need to be comfortable failing a time or two.

3. One professional learning experience on ANY topic is enough.
    So often in education we keep throwing new ideas and initiatives at our teachers and at our students. We need to choose a few that we are passionate about and STICK WITH THEM. Give teachers time to work out the bugs. Provide layered training. We do that with students right? An introduction, a check in and reteaching for students that need a little extra help or support, an enrichment for those that are getting it. If we want teachers to embrace a new movement or a new program, we need to provide some time and support.

4. There is only one way to show learning.
   Really? If there are seven styles of learning...how come we ask our students to show us what they know with a ONE size fits all project/paper/test? We, as educators, need to believe in our abilities to assess student learning in many ways. We need to give our students freedom to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that works for them.

5. That we need an "assessment" for every standard.
    So often I hear teachers say that they don't have a piece of paper that shows a student's competency on a PARTICULAR standard. Don't you just "know" sometimes? Teachers are professionals and we are smart! We understand that Susie doesn't get fractions and Bob struggles with decoding. Go with your gut. Make the call, give the grade, and back it up with your knowledge of the standards....not a score on a piece of paper from one day in your classroom.

This is it?!?!?!

Our class has come to an end...but the learning has not. I have learned so much from my colleagues and from the Teaching in the Digital Age coursework and instructor. My first exposure to the ISTE Standards for Teachers was overwhelming and scary. But as I moved through the readings, participated in discussions with others, and completed assignments, I became much more comfortable and confident. Each module in the class is designed to make you competent in one area of the standards. 

See my prezi here.....

Charlene

I have grown so much in my use of a variety of tools and my understanding of just how important it is to give our students 21st Century skills. I am looking forward to continuing my growth and looking for opportunities to put this new knowledge into practice in classrooms. I know that I will continue to learn from and collaborate with the others who have participated in this class. I am confident that I will be invited to build learning experiences for students using all that we have learned together. 
As I start a new adventure in my career, I feel confident that what I learned in this course will be passed onto coaches and teachers. 

Some cool digs...

Just as students need a learning environment that is flexible, efficient, comfortable, and learner based, so do teachers!  Whenever I have been doing an assignment for this class I have been trying to gauge it to my adult learners, the teachers that I grow and work with. So today, I am designing the perfect office/professional development space for myself, my fellow coaches, and our colleagues. 
I really envision a cafe feel....does that make sense? Some low tables and some high tables and some stand and work tables - all of which are easily moveable.  A combination of stools and chairs. A whole wall of white board for brainstorming. A bank of cubbies/cupboards for storing (let's face it....teachers have STUFF). A small kitchenette (coffee maker, microwave, refrigerator). A comfortable corner for collaborative meetings. A "Charging Station" for teachers who come to meetings with us. Because there will be five of us sharing the space, we will each need a work station, a spot to call our own. I think these could be teacher preference....some people like a table, some like a traditional "teacher" desk....flexibility and comfort are the keys here. In a perfect world I would have some funding for this, but this is an economically challenging time and I would rather spend our money on things that will benefit students in the classroom. I know that there are "leftovers" all over this district that my team could use and make their own. The main focus in my design will be the collaborative work space and the design is similar, but not identical, to my current room. I will have to rearrange some areas because there will be more of us, but I feel that with input from my new partners and creativity we can make it happen!


Orion



UNC - Charlotte


Continuing Education Center


Can you see it?  I am getting excited. It won't be this colorful or flashy, but it will be GREAT!!!!

Sketchnote.....

I was a sketchnoter....before it was cool!  I found out many years ago that kids could do a better job and get more learning from Science and History videos and math lessons if they used what Ms. K. called "picture notes".....how awesome is that! I am hesitant to take this kind of notes for myself because I get caught up in the "I can't draws"....but I do garner more knowledge and recall when I allow myself to sketchnote.

Modern Learning Environments - Sketch with Paper Fiftythree

Communication and Collaboration....2 C's in a 4C's World....

I love to talk, I love to chat, I love to e-mail.....so much so that sometimes friends and family and coworkers "hide" from me! 

With my friends and family I am always chatting either through my Google or Facebook Messenger and texting. I also use this form of communication with many of my close colleagues. I love this type of communication and prefer that to talking on the phone. We can ask and answer questions quickly with chat and Messenger or respond when we have time with text. I also like communicating and collaborating face to face, but in today's busy world sometimes that is not possible without extensive scheduling!

I try very hard to be respectful of people's time so I most often e-mail questions to co-workers that need addressing and use that as our means of communication. This allows them to answer at a time that is convenient. It surprises me that many people do not respond to my e-mails and I often have to "find" them to ask questions or get answers. I think it has to do with time constraints and comfort level. Or maybe I just bug them?!?!

As a classroom teacher, most of my families did not have tech capabilities, so I did a lot of handwritten notes and such. I am hopeful that we will begin bridging this gap with parents and that they will see the value in using those smart phones (almost everyone has one) for communication.

Asynchronous Communications/Collaborations - I love all aspects of Google for asynchronous communication and collaboration. I can e-mail or share a document and people can respond when it is convenient. Which is cool and makes communication and collaboration less threatening. When people have time to sort their thoughts and compose their messages and work, it is more comfortable. The format of our Teaching in the Digital Age class allows for a lot of this type of communication. 

Synchronous Communications/Collaborations - I have to say that I am an instant gratification girl, so this type of communication and collaboration is the one I enjoy most. If I have a question, I can quickly message/chat with a teacher or Rae and get the answer. I can hangout with other coaches instead of driving to where they are to get work done. I am a verbal / visual  learner....which in my mind means I gotta hear it and talk about it and see it to learn it. So when I can be in the same room with someone, or in a hangout or a chat I am getting the best communication for me.

I know that I have much improvement to make with communication and collaboration. I need to start using more of the tools that we have been exposed to and find ways to make my emails more exciting and valuable to colleagues! 

 

Instructional Coaching

This week I chose to focus on Instructional Coaching. I will be the new PLC Facilitator / Coach Coordinator next year for our district. We are fully implementing the idea of Instructional Coaches and I am beyond excited. Since we will all be fairly new to this model, I wanted a resource for us to gather and share information. I was surprised at how easy it was to find good information about coaching out there that really spoke to me and what I see us doing in our district. I created a Pinterest page that I will share with coaches and add to regularly. I think it will be an awesome resource!

I am trying to wrap my mind around my new position and I am apprehensive about being accepted into classrooms, so I wanted a quick video to show to teachers about what coaching IS....so they don't fear or avoid us. I found this amazing video that does a really good job of explaining what I feel coaching is.

Change is good and collaboration is empowering. I am really looking forward to moving forward with our teachers!

Teaching the Digital Way.....

The ISTE Standards for Teachers helps us to focus on what is necessary to promote digital learning and mastery with our students and for ourselves.

Section Two is about designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments.

If I were to rank myself on substandards B, C, and D....it would be a tie! I am pretty weak in all of these areas. However, in order to complete this post I will say it goes like this:

1. D - Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.
This is probably my strongest area. I believe checking for understanding often and more and more often I am using digital means to do that. I know that I can strengthen this area by exploring and creating assessments and then passing them on to teachers and classes.

2. B - Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
I have dabbled in this as a classroom teacher. It was always engaging for students when they could choose the topic and then choose a way to represent their learning. I think using rubrics also helps students to focus and manage their own learning. I can become better at this standard by helping teachers develop ways for students to track their progress digitally.

3. C - Customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
This is probably my weakest area because it demands that I let go of some of the control in my classroom by allowing students to be working on different things at different times and trusting that they are taking advantage of the freedom to enhance their education. PLUS, it takes A LOT of time to research all they possibilities for students. I can get better at this by creating at least some differentiation in activities and allowing students to choose what best fits their style.

I think what has changed the most for me is my AWARENESS. There is so much out there to choose from and use to make learning more challenging, engaging, and digital. I also feel SLIGHTLY more comfortable incorporating digital learning into my life....but for this old lady....it has been tough!

I will eventually love easel.ly - once I get the hang of it!

5th Grade DIBELS Data - 1st and 2nd Benchmark

Cool Tools for 21st Century Learners

Cool Tools for 21st Century Learners

How in the world....did people make this 4+ minutes....

How to Search - For Students

Things to do.....model and promote digital citizenship and responsibility....check!

Being a good citizen, both in real time and digitally,  is one area where teachers are being asked to be role models and leaders for students. In many cases, educators need to learn what it means to be a digital citizen and to be digitally literate so that we can pass that information onto the students we work with. This week we were asked to do just that....learn it and then show what we know and how we will teach it. It is challenging to pick ONE area to focus on, but we are lucky that we work in a community of collaborative educators, so what we could not or did not pick, was picked by someone else and can be shared. 

The International Society for Technology in Education has developed standards for teachers to use in this digital age (ISTE - Standards for Teachers). One of those standards asks us to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.

Standard 4.a requires that we model and teach ethical use of digital information. I would like to help my teachers with this important standard by creating a presentation, or finding ready to use resources that they can use with students about documenting sources found on the internet. 

Standard 4.b asks that we address the needs of all learners. Some of the educators that I work with are reluctant users of technology. My goal is to mentor two such teachers and model one way that even limited technology can be easily used to address technology teaching in their rooms.

Standard 4.c implores us to promote and use digital etiquette and responsibility in our own use of technology and information. I would like to share my blog with several educators and post an etiquette strategy or "nugget" they can use with their classes weekly. 

Standard 4.d encourages us to collaborate and become more globally aware. I know that many districts have people in my position. I would like to find a "coach" from another area and become "pen pals" as a way to share information and ideas. 

I really like that these standards exist and that we can find ways to use them!

TPACK and SAMR and Digital Classroom....Oh my!

As I started planning this lesson I knew I wanted to combine my goal of increasing use of Google apps with increasing best practice in classrooms. And, to be fair, there may be a lot of people who are already doing this, but I know that many teachers still struggle with how to quickly and easily use the apps with students. I think that knowing what my purpose was made it easier to choose a format that I thought would be accessible to teachers and students.

I thought that using Google forms to create quick exit tickets, formative assessments, surveys or check-ins with students would increase student engagement, ramp up teacher use of technology, and provide invaluable, immediate feedback to drive instruction. While researching I found the add-on called Flubaroo which takes using Google forms up a notch by enabling teachers to grade quizzes and give feedback to students. I am excited to start using these strategies with my teachers. I feel that this in its basic form is augmentation, but realistically, as we teach students to use forms, share results with others, and embed reteaching into feedback we can move it to modification. 

And the goals are.....

For all of the categories on the Technology Integration Matrix I fell within the adoption level. I know that I have dabbled in technology use in the classroom, but I have fallen short on using it in creative and student directed ways. As a PLC Data Coach, my students are actually teachers in fourth and fifth grade. I believe that as I learn new and exciting things, I can help them use more technology in the classroom. It is my hope that by the end of this class I will have done these three things:

First, I want to create professional development opportunities that help teachers be more digitally communicative with parents in their classrooms and at their schools. Using Google Classroom and classroom web pages can help teachers communicate with parents about big and small things that are happening. I know that a teacher's job is HUGE and learning and doing one more thing can be daunting. I will need to give teachers several options to choose from and then clear and easy to follow directions about setting up whatever THEY choose to use. I believe that this goal falls within the Active domain of the matrix. In order to accomplish this goal, I will first need to find willing victims,...ahem...teachers, that want to either try or hone this valuable undertaking. I will do research and practice with several programs and then provide training and support. There are teachers within the district that are successfully using tools like these and I will search them out and question them endlessly...

Secondly, many of the teachers at my grade level have limited technology for student use. I want to find creative ways for students to collaborate in the classroom with only one or two iPads. This goal becomes two fold...because many of those classrooms also have teachers who struggle with technology integration. My plan is to create some curriculum centered projects for students to work on and then model those lessons in classrooms. I know that I will need to see some of this "creating" in progress and many of the teachers taking this course are already doing these things. My hope is to see a few classrooms and then move forward with planning and modeling. There are many useful blogs, articles,  and websites regarding this topic and I have already started doing research on this goal. I think that this will help improve my practice in the collaboration and goal oriented domains.

My last goal seems like it should be a no brainer...especially since we are a Google district...but I really, really want my fourth and fifth grade teachers to ALL be using Drive and Google Apps to communicate with each other, share lessons and ideas, and collect/monitor student work. I know I will have to use baby steps, but I think I can begin addressing this through our work in our PLC's. I can increase my own skills in this and then push out some of our work in this format. I can also model. There are many teachers in our district who already use Google to do a lot of work in their classrooms. I will ask them to help show the others the value of this by arranging peer observations and other opportunities for collaboration.

I know that there are many, many tools and apps and such out there. I know that I have a lot to learn. I know that when it comes to technology usage some teachers are leery and reluctant. I know that I will need to be flexible and adjust these goals. I know that I can become a more digitally savvy educator!

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

Try and try and try again....

I am a learner...an adept learner at most things, but training my brain to "think digitally" is providing innumerable challenges. My brain does not move fast enough, it cannot go in many directions at once, just when I start to master something....that something is replaced with a better tool. 

In the past I have given up when things get hard. I refuse to do that with learning and teaching in the digital age. It is not fair to me and it is not fair to the students and teachers that I work with. So...even if it takes many hours, many questions, much frustration, and endless tries (and maybe some tears), I will persevere.