Our Voice Academy! The experience of a LIFETIME!!!

Last month, I received an email from THE Jennie Magiera!!!!  TOTAL fangirl moment!  In the email, she informed me that I, along with 19 other minority educational technology leaders across the nation (and Canada) had been chosen to be a part of the first cohort of the Our Voice Academy through EdTechTeam.  This opportunity brought 20 of us together along with 4 leaders (Jennie Magiera, Ken Shelton, Monica Martinez, and Sarah Thomas).

I was fortunate enough to have my blog post shared on the EdTechTeam blog.  I've posted it here, below, along with including the links:

Blog: https://www.edtechteam.com/blog/2017/12/voices-academy-entire-story/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/edtechteam/status/942771780631924737

Our Voice Academy: www.ourvoiceacademy.com

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

-Maya Angelou

This quote, by Maya Angelou, is what set the tone for a life changing weekend in Minneapolis,
Minnesota.  Jennie Magiera brought together 20 different, but like minded minority educational technology leaders from across the country (and Canada) to engage in an intense 2 days of growth, laughs, smiles, and tons of tears.  It was an emotional weekend as we learned to tell our stories and share our voices.  We all have something to say and we deserve to be heard.  Jennie led the weekend with a phenomenal crew of edtech leaders: Ken Shelton, Monica Martinez, and Sarah Thomas.   

Receiving an email inviting you to be a part of the first ever Our Voice Academy from THE Jennie Magiera was just about enough to make me freak out!  After examining the list of the other 19 minority edtech leaders that were included, I just about passed out!  The experiences that this particular group of people were able to share will never be repeated again.  And I can proudly say that I am both honored and humbled to have been a part of history.  The weekend kicked off with inspiration from Justice Alan Page, a former Minnesota Vikings football player (The Purple People Eaters-Google it!), now Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and author.  He shared his story of the power that education had on his life and encouraged us to continue to pour into the lives of the students and teachers that we interact with each and every day.  We each shared a 2 minute story during dinner to get to know each other and to become comfortable with one another.  I think it was in this moment that I truly realized that I was in the presence of some outstanding edtech leaders.

Flipgrid graciously hosted our Academy at their headquarters which was perfect as the environment fostered innovation and creativity!  The rest of the weekend’s activities included some movement activities, examining the 6 parts of a keynote, professional headshots, training and time to prepare to deliver a keynote that would be delivered to the Academy before  closing out the weekend.  To hear the stories that everyone had to tell, left me absolutely speechless.  Some of the trainings that our leaders delivered included:

Jennie:  Stage presence, how to develop a memorable keynote, storytelling.

Ken:  Slide design, image format, how to use fonts effectively.

Monica:  Slide design, all about graphics and fonts, how to appeal to the 5 senses.

Sarah:  Branding (blogging, podcasting, chats and livestreams).

The keynote that I delivered focused on using your why to drive your intention.  I shared the story of my “1 in 5.” This was a group of African American male students that I taught during my second year of teaching.  Two of the 5 are deceased, 2 of the 5 are in jail, and the fifth is a part of the 17% of African American males in the United States to earn a bachelor’s degree.  He currently serves as a police officer in a major city and is doing well!  This keynote is still a work in progress, as we only delivered a snippet of it during the Academy.  Click HERE to view the presentation that I delivered.  The story of my “1 in 5” will become a part of my larger keynote.

My top three takeaways from this whirlwind weekend were:

1. Everyone has a story to tell that deserves to be told.
2. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  Tell the ENTIRE story!!
   
3. You only see the outside of what people present to the world.  You don’t know their daily struggle.  

This was the most inspiring time that I’ve ever spent in a professional development environment in my life!  Each and every second left me hanging on the edge of my seat wanting more!  The time that I spent with the other cohort members and the 4 leaders from all different walks of life has truly made me feel like I have found my tribe.  A tribe of passionate educators that want better for this world and the students and teachers that we are able to interact with each and every day.  I can say that I have made some lifetime friendships, more of a family, that I know I can lean on and depend on for anything that I may need.  I absolutely cannot wait to see each and every one of these individuals again!  I owe a HUGE thank you to EdTechTeam, Jennie, Ken, Monica and Sarah for seeing the need to bring together this group of educators and helping us find our voices and share our stories. I am forever grateful.

Natasha Rachell, Ed.S.

Our Voice Academy-Cohort 1

Digital Learning Specialist

Google Certified Trainer

Atlanta, Georgia

@apsitnatasha

#OVAcademy

Click here for a list of the Our Voice Academy-Cohort 1 members.

#DitchSummit - Kim Strobel

Matt Miller (Ditch That Textbook) is currently hosting a Virtual Summit that he's calling #DitchSummit over on YouTube.  Basically, you can sit at home in the comfort of your PJ's and get some awesome professional development via YouTube from expert educators!  What else could be better!  On Saturday morning, I tuned in to watch Kim Strobel deliver a presentation called, "The Science of Happiness for Teachers and Students."  It was sooooooo relevant and timely, especially with the Christmas vacation lag beginning to kick in!  Kim is a happiness coach!  Who knew that such a thing existed???  I'm allll in!!!!

While watching, I decided to try my hands at sketch noting.  This is something that I've wanted to attempt for a long time but just never have.  I'd say I did pretty well for my first time!  The thing that I want to get better on is drawing more pictures/visual representations of the key points and not including as many words.  I posted my #sketchnotes on Twitter and have included them below!  Check them out!

In Kim's talk, she discussed taking time for yourself and that it's okay to put yourself first sometimes!  People tend to think that if they are successful and productive, they will in turn be happy.  In reality, it's the other way around!  You should be happy first, and this will lead to success and productivity!  Give it a try!  She also mentioned that we should have the courage to be okay with being effective.  We don't have to be perfect all of the time.  One of the things that I loved that she talked about was the importance of play in the classroom.  This made me think back to my days of being in school and made me think of my favorite teachers and classes.  They were indeed atmospheres that fostered play, creativity and fun!

The last bit of her presentation talked about the power of words and selecting a word or a mantra to carry on into the new year.  This word or mantra should be posted EVERYWHERE so that it begins to have power.  Post it on your desk, your bathroom mirror, in the car, as a screen saver on your phone, where ever you know you will glance.  Recite it and repeat it and live in it for the next year!  This past year, my word was intent.  I wanted to be more intentional with my time, energy and efforts.  I think I definitely lived in this word and am excited to begin to explore what my 2018 world will be!  This word or phrase should become your "north star" for the year.

You can follow Kim on her blog at www.strobeleducation.com.  I suggest you sign up for what she calls, a "joy drop" which will send you an inspirational message every Thursday!  How cute is that?

What will your world or mantra be for 2018?

By the way....

You can STILL sign up for the #DitchSummit!  Here's all you need to know:

It’s called the Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit. There are nine video presentations from awesome presenters on topics related to tech and solid teaching and learning. Get your free ticket at: DitchSummit.com.

HOW IT WORKS: New presentations are released every day from Dec. 15-23. They remain available until Dec. 31 so you can re-watch or catch up on any you’ve missed. They’re pre-recorded, so you can watch them whenever you want until Dec. 31. After that, the summit ends and the videos are unavailable to watch anymore.

FREE PD HOURS: You can get FREE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS for watching the videos. There’s a form to fill out after each presentation, and you’ll get an automatic PD certificate emailed to you.

FREE CHROMEBOOKS: They’re giving away two free Acer Chromebook 15’s, courtesy of Acer Education, the giveaway sponsor. Be sure to join the Chromebook Crash Course session on December 22 to enter the drawing.

Sign up for the digital summit at DitchSummit.com.

The schedule looks like this:

December 15 (Fri) -- Combining Tech and Solid Teaching Effectively (Tanya Avrith and Holly Clark, authors of The Google Infused Classroom)

December 16 (Sat) -- The Science of Happiness (Kim Strobel, happiness coach and educational consultant)

December 17 (Sun) -- Brain-Friendly Learning that Works (Dr. Pooja Agarwal, cognitive scientists and educator)

December 18 (Mon) -- How in the Google Did You Do That? (Eric Curts, Google Certified Trainer and tech blogger)

December 19 (Tue) -- How to Learn from a World of Educators (Sarah Thomas, tech coordinator and uber-connected educator)

December 20 (Wed) -- Plan Smarter, Not Harder with Edu-Protocols (Jon Corippo, interim executive director of CUE)

December 21 (Thur) -- How to Make Learning a Game (Michael Matera, teacher and author of eXPlore Like a PIRATE)

December 22 (Fri) -- Chromebook Crash Course: What You NEED (Matt Miller, Google Certified Innovator, blogger, speaker and author of Ditch That Textbook)

December 23 (Sat) -- What Schools Can Learn from Start-Up Culture (Don Wettrick, teacher and founder of StartEdUp)

Courageous Edventures Challenge - Day 7

Today is the last day of the Courageous Edventures Challenge!  I made it!!!  Today's challenge asked that we decide on a problem of practice that we'd like to tackle, to try something new and to aim big!  I think that One of the problems that I see that exists in the district that I teach in, is that we have access to sooooo much technology.  Not just physical technology, like laptops, ipads, etc, but all of the tools that are out there.  I think that we present our teachers with so much, that they can become overwhelmed and even shut down at times.  I think that we, as educators, try to do everything and do everything well.  What we need to realize is that we can definitely do anything, BUT we can't do everything!  This is hard for educators because we want to be the best at everything that we do all the time!

Through reading Courageous Edventures and doing a lot of research over the past 7 days, I think the solution to this that I would like to attempt to put into practice is to put together an official Playdate!  For those of you that haven't heard of these Playdates, they stand for "People Learning and Asking Y: Digital Age Technology Exploration.  Jennie and some of her colleagues came up with this innovative idea in which teachers are exposed to a lot but have the choice to decide what they want to play with for that day!  I mentioned the idea to my Executive Director and she is excited about the possibility of bringing Playdates to our district!  So, I've aimed big.  Now for the planning to begin.  Time to figure out all of the details, the who, what, when, where, why and how!  I'm up for it and I'm excited to give teachers time to play!  No lesson plans, no staff meetings, no requirements, just time to play.

What problem of practice have you identified that you'd like to solve?

Courageous Edventures Challenge - Day 6

Day 6's challenge asked that we create 3 goals for new things that we'd like to try and discuss them via blogging.  Let's see.....

1.  Sketchnoting
This has been on my "list of things to do" ever since I returned from ISTE this summer.  I just have not yet delved into it.  I need to go ahead and order Sylvia Duckworth's book (Sketchnotes for Educators) and just get started!  I've spent hours watching YouTube videos about it, but haven't started to implement it, which is surprising to me as I am very much so a visual learner! 

2.  Start creating YouTube content
This is another goal of mine that's been on my "things to do" list.  I spend sooooo much time on YouTube watching all kind of videos from inspirational videos, how to videos, daily vlogs, makeup videos (don't judge), cooking videos, etc...the list goes on and on!  I need to go on ahead and begin to add to what's out there!  Who knows....maybe the way that I present some content will be better received than someone else out there.  Won't know unless I try, right?

3.  Create a dynamic, inspirational keynote speech....and deliver it!
This is one thing that I know will get crossed off in the next couple of months and I am UBER excited about it!  I have started a list of topics to cover and ideas to speak about in my Google Keep app and have been adding to it like crazy!  I've also, no surprise, been watching a ton of YouTube videos about inspiration and how to deliver keynote speeches.  I used to work in customer service prior to teaching, was a high school teacher, taught teachers while working in the professional development department, so I've always been a people person.  I think it'll be interesting to put together a keynote that I not only create, but deliver as well!  Honestly, I don't think I'm any more special than the next person.  I put my pants and shoes on one at a time, just like everyone else.  I have been told in the past that I have a story to tell, that I'm inspirational and relatable.  I receive these compliments when they're given, however I'm just myself.  I treat others as I'd want to be treated.  With the things that I have been through, especially over the past year, people have asked me how I do it all, and how do I continue to be so positive.  Well, I know that I'm blessed.  I have a purpose to fulfill while I'm here on earth.  Although, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up...lol....I know that it involves helping others and being a positive, glass half full, inspirational, sunshiny person while I'm here.  I hope to be able to convey that through my developed keynote soon!

The scary thing about writing about goals, is that you make yourself vulnerable, transparent, and are putting them out there for others to read, maybe judge, and hold you accountable.  Not an easy thing to do.  I look forward to seeing how I develop and nurture these goals over the next year!

What are your top three goals that you'd like to accomplish?

Courageous Edventures Challenge - Day 5

Twitter Chats are an awesome opportunity to engaged in some right on time, relevant professional development!  By simply searching for the hashtag of your choice, you are immersed into deep conversations with educators all around the world that are just as passionate about what you are!  They are fast paced and full of goodness so you have to keep up!  A great tool to do this is TweetDeck.  This allows you to monitor your Twitter feed, notifications, messages and Twitter Chats in an easy format!  Try it out if you haven't.  It literally takes 2 seconds to set up.

This challenge came right on time!  Last night I participated in the #squirrelschat.  This is a chat facilitated by different educators once a month that are a part of the Alpha Squirrels.  Alpha Squirrels are educator ambassadors for the Reflector App.  This chat takes place on a Thursday night at 8pm EST once a month.

I have also recently participated in the #gaetc17 chat within the past week as well.  What I love about participating in different Twitter chats is that you gain the perspective of educators all around the world.  Now that Twitter has a capacity of 280 characters vs 140, the conversation that takes place has even more content and meaning.

The list of Twitter Chats that are out there is HUGE!  Cybraryman has curated an extensive list that I can't wait to delve into and explore.  Another awesome thing about these chats is that you can start your own!  All you need is a hashtag and the conversation can take off!  Recently, I was able to train one of our assistant superintendents to host her own Twitter Chat with her region principals.  It's taken off and she's now had 2 of them!  She used TweetDeck to facilitate her chat and schedule her posts.  Doing so, she finds, allows her to be more engaged in the chat as opposed to worrying about posting the questions/prompts and then being active in the conversation.  It's really been an amazing opportunity!

Have you tried a Twitter Chat before?  What are your favorites?

Courageous Edventures Challenge - Day 4

Today's challenge asked that we spend an hour previewing educational technology content and using EduClipper to keep track of what we find.  Being 100% transparent, I had never used EduClipper before so I deferred back to what I know and am familiar with, Pinterest!  Who doesn't love Pinterest?  I know that I do!  I did create an EduClipper account and played around with it, but to save time and really delve into the content exploration of this day's challenge, I went back to what I know.  I will revisit EduClipper at some point though.

I have created 2 boards that really speak to my work. I sometimes find myself getting lost in what I call the Pinterest "time suck."  I mean, I could spend hours on end looking around on Pinterest for tech related resources, recipes, DIY activities, home decor ideas, etc.  I LOVE all of the educational technology resources that are out there.  Pinterest doesn't just have to be for all of the girly froo-froo stuff, but there are a ton of resources out there.

https://www.pinterest.com/nrachell/google-classroom/
The first board that I'd like to share covers a bunch of Google Classroom and G-Suite resources and articles.  My board titled, "Google Classroom," has a ton of resources that I've found about how to use each of the tools in the G-Suite and innovative and creative ways on how to integrate them into the curriculum.

https://www.pinterest.com/nrachell/21st-century-education/
This board, titled, "21st Century Education" has what I refer to as all of the other resources that aren't Google related!  It really is a hodge podge of resources and I probably need to streamline it a little bit more.  When ever I find a tool that's not related to Google, I drop it on this board.  It could be about an app, a website, a tool, anything that has to do with technology integration and what that looks like for K-12 students and teachers.

Did you attempt day 4 of this challenge?  What tool did you use to curate your resources?  Did you find any resources that stood out to you?

Courageous Edventures Challenge - Day 3

Today's #courageousedventures Challenge was to spend an hour on educational technology YouTube playlists.  I spent some time on the YouTube channels of Tony Vincent, EdTechTeam and Teacher's Tech (Jamie Keet).  You definitely want to search for all of these on YouTube and follow their channels as they offer a TON of educational technology information, how to videos, tutorials, etc. You could really fall into the YouTube "time suck" with these channels!

Tony Vincent in the man behind the website, Learning in Hand.  You definitely want to check that out as well!  He is chalk full of all kinds of information from creating your own avatars, to using emojis, all kinds of web 2.0 information and everything else in between!  You can find a ton of videos on his website, but his YouTube channel also provides a lot of great videos as well.  I love the ease of his videos and how when he teaches you something, he goes step by step.

EdTechTeam is another channel that I spent some time on today.  I love this channel because there are so many different "presenters" of information that you get to gain a ton of different perspectives and you are able to learn a lot of information from a lot of different people all across the world!  I may be a little partial to this channel because I was able to present at the Best Year Yet Virtual Summit last month!  I blogged about it when it happened and I am still in awe that I was given the opportunity to present alongside some of my educational technology idols!  I digress....this channel is definitely one that you need to check out and subscribe to for all kinds of ideas!  Here you can find live author chats, demo slams, recorded webinars, etc!

The last YouTube channel that I explored today was one called Teacher's Tech and Jamie Keet is the man behind the channel.  He pretty much walks you step by step through different educational technology tools and resources. His videos are really simple and streamlined.  I like that he makes all of the content simple and easy to understand to the point that you could follow along with him and do what he's doing at the same time.  He has playlists for EVERYTHING!!!  His tutorials are Google and MAC heavy and that works for me, because so am I!  Like the two previously mentioned channels, subscribe to this one as well!  

I loved being able to explore different educational technology YouTube channels.  I heard recently, at a conference, that people are relying more heavily on learning how to do things via YouTube rather than looking for the information on Google.  With the videos that these three channels have created, I can definitely see this being true.  About a year ago I was putting together a piece of IKEA furniture for my mother and instead of reading their instructions, I found someone on YouTube that had put the same piece of furniture together and followed along with them!  If we do that for our day to day activities, like putting furniture together, then why not for learning how to better incorporate technology into our classrooms?

There you have it!  Day 3....DONE!  What YouTube channels did you explore today?