Posts

My Twitter #TeacherTribe

By -
Image
My Twitter #TeacherTribe So I’m turning 30 this year, and I’ve grown up in the age of social media. I wouldn’t call myself obsessed, but I’m not against social media either. But one tool I never really used was Twitter. I didn’t really get it. I dabbled in it when it first started, and I was super excited when Tom Felton aka Draco Malfoy followed me in 2006 (jealous?!), but I never really used it again. Until about three months ago. And it has changed my professional life. Seriously. In the last two months, I’ve decided to hit Twitter hard. I searched hashtags like #EdTech , #GoogleEDU , #FamilyandConsumerSciences , #EdChat , #GoogleEI , #FACS , #CTEhighlights , #SayYesToFCS , #TLAP (Teach Like a Pirate) etc. I searched for anything and everything that I liked or was a part of as a teacher. In 5 days I started following over 800 people. You might think, why would a sane person do this? Well, let me tell you. I have gotten so many ideas for classroom activ
Post a Comment
Read more

Unplanned Lessons: Follow Your Plan? Psh, Follow the Students!

By Anonymous -
Image
Instead of Lesson Plan, what about Lesson Unplanned?  Times are changing and with that, so should our mindset (not could, should ). It is so easy to teach the way we were taught, or to have things go well once and never seek out another method ever again. More and more teachers are embracing students’ input in the classroom. There is an uncomfortable power shift happening from a teacher-centered to a student-centered classroom. We tend to fear the unknown (taste of a new food, where that spider went … ?, different cultures, etc.). Once we experience something new a time or two, that fear dies down and we feel more comfortable trying new things. It’s that first hurdle that’s the toughest. How many times have you heard in your classroom something like, “I don’t like this,” or “Can we learn this instead (or someday)?” At this point, do you ignore it, or run with it? Students are trying to subtly tell you that what you’re doing isn’t working for them. If you’ve
1 comment
Read more

Pear Deck: A Total Game Changer

By Anonymous -
Image
Last summer, I attended the EdTechTeam’s Summit featuring Google for Education in Colorado Springs. On a whim, I attended a session on an app I had never heard of: Pear Deck. Immediately upon entering the room, the presenter engaged us in an interactive and extremely fun activity on our individual devices. I was amazed at how simple it was to join the session on my device, and at the very easy but meaningful ways I could demonstrate my learning as we went along. The presenter controlled the pacing from her own device, and she had the power to advance our screens. The best part was that she also had the ability to anonymously display all of our answers onto the big screen at the front of the room! She could also show all of our responses simultaneously on the screen in an overlay format, which was quite fun to see--even as an adult! She then told us that she could go in later to see students’ names and responses in her own file--how helpful to monitor individual students’ progress!
Post a Comment
Read more

Tech Tips

By -
Image
Hello, colleagues! In my new position, as the technology specialist at Skyview, I am continuing to build bridges between the staff and myself. This can be quite difficult as I teach broadcasting during 8th grade's plan time and during half of the 7th grade's plan time. Some teachers that I can meet with during their "free" time is 6th grade. At the same time, I don't want to take up too much of their time. So how am I building the relationship? Through my tech tips newsletter ! Teachers ask me quite a bit how I "know so much," and the answer is that Google is my best friend and I read online A LOT. I've curated a great PLN on Twitter , and I blog once a week . I am continually learning and taking what I learn and turning it into what I need. Since, for the most part, I have the expertise in edtech, it makes sense that I share my knowledge with others! I was inspired by Mari , who I am part of #sunchatbloggers with. She is a middle school scien
Post a Comment
Read more

Getting Certified, Oh My!

By -
Image
"What's all this talk about getting Google certified? What does that do for you as a teacher? Do you get paid more? What do you have to do?" All questions that I have heard from colleagues, friends, and even my parents. My response is simple... Times are changing and I better get with the times. I am learning what I need to learn so that my students can be successful. I am a life long learner.  Getting certified doesn't mean that I get paid more monetarily, but I get "paid" by bringing these experiences into the classroom where my students can thrive and experience a new kind of learning and showcase their work. It takes a lot of extra time, personal time, to complete the necessary training to become a Google Certified Educator. But it is all very worth it in the end. I started this journey last year after attending a Google Apps for Education Summit - now G-Suite. It opened my eyes to a new world that, as a newer teacher I hadn
Post a Comment
Read more

My Oh My! They've Created a Google Site!

By -
Image
I'm always amazed by what my third graders can do with their devices. When I began thinking of ways to make my students' work visible, I had many ideas and no idea where to start. It wasn't until I began my own website that I started to think, "Maybe my students could make their own site to showcase their work". I finally set my mind to student portfolios using Google Sites! In a perfect world, I would have all my students following each step with me to create the perfect site all in one day; but, I quickly learned their sites would be a process! Home Screen  Day 1 : Students went to the google sites and created a new site. They created a title for their site, chose a background for the title and took a picture for their introduction page. I also made sure they put their site in our shared folder in Google Drive. This allowed me to have access to their site and put their site on our class site. Day 2 : Students created an "I Am" poem to
Post a Comment
Read more

#SayYestoFCS

By Anonymous -
Image
#SayYestoFCS Do you remember that feeling you finally had somewhere in your twenties (hopefully sooner), where you felt like you were starting to manage adulthood? Juggling bills, school, work, family, and friends all while trying to still figure yourself out as a human being is tough. Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) education made this process a lot smoother for me than what my friends were going through in college. Knowing how to budget my money, file taxes, successfully find an apartment while confidently reading through a rental agreement, and survive on a college student’s paycheck (did I say budget?), was the best thing I learned in high school. Family Consumer Sciences has come a long way. Our roots began growing in 1899 when Home Economics was born. We continued to grow as strong women continued their formal education to establish a strong profession advocating for anything that made living easier, healthier and better for the community as a whole. In 1994,
Post a Comment
Read more