Creating Spaghetti Taco Moments

WOW!  I am still floating on cloud 9 from my experience presenting yesterday afternoon with EdTechTeam at their Virtual Summit!  Yesterday was definitely a spaghetti taco moment for me!  My presentation focused around the critical thinking strand of the 4 C's: communication, creativity, communication and critical thinking.  Critical thinking is often the least favorite of the 4 to present on, however, I welcomed and appreciated the charge of making it more engaging, liked and fun through this presentation.  Molly Bennett from EdTechTeam put this all day virtual experience together and it was AMAZING!  Participants literally participated in PD in their PJ's!  I learned so much from the other 11 presenters and am so eager and excited to begin implementing what I learned!  See my previous post before this one for more details and the schedule of the day!

I was truly honored to be presenting virtually alongside such #edtech leaders as Dee Lanier and Holly Clark (Hyperdocs anyone???)! Like I totally had a few fan girl moments!  Like, what did I do to be able to present with these phenomenal #edtech gurus?!?!?!?


Part of my presentation focused on choosing "tech with intent" and being intentional about what you want your students to know and understand before you choose the tool that will deliver the content.  I also talked about a video (included in my presentation) that I recently watched about a mom that works for Buzz Feed that did an experiment in which she told her kids, "yes" every day for a week.  One of her kids wanted spaghetti tacos for dinner!!  What?!?!?  Well, since she was doing this experiment, she had to say yes!  LOL!  And guess what....her kids ate, and ate, and ate those tacos some more....something they don't normally do. Her kids will ALWAYS remember the day that mom let them eat spaghetti tacos.  This got me to thinking that we should be creating those "spaghetti taco" moments in our classrooms and with our teachers.  What will they walk away and remember from their interactions with us?  Think about the teachers you had while growing up.  What made them memorable?  Was it the content, or HOW they made it interesting, relatable, and fun?

I also shared how we can integrate the SAMR (substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition) to improve and increase thought processing with our students.  Engaging students in activities that encourage critical thinking will create those spaghetti taco moments that will drive the content.  The technical tools are not what's important.  All the tech tools do is deliver the content that we want to and are charged with getting across.

Link to my presentation: http://bit.ly/2yl9KM5

I received some awesome feedback in both the chat on the live stream as well as through Twitter.  I definitely blushed a few times at the comments that came through Twitter:

 

 

 























The event was over 5 hours long and included not only the presentations from the 12 presenters, but a TON of awesome giveaways!  If you missed it, you missed out.  But don't fret!  Because it was streamed through YouTube, you can totally watch it again, and again, and again!

All of the presentations were amazing and chalk full of information!  My presentation began at the 4:33 mark and ended around the 4:51 mark.  I would be honored if you took a few moments to check it out!

As you are putting your lesson plans together and thinking about what you want your students to know as a result of your teaching, I encourage you to think about creating those spaghetti taco moments that they will always remember....

An awesome tool you'll use EVERY day!

I just found out about an AMAZING tool that I think every teacher could use every day!  You can find it at classroomscreen.com and it's FREE!  This is a classroom management tool, calculator, timer, random name generator, QR code generator, whiteboard, text box ALL IN ONE!!  Where was this tool when I was in the classroom?!?!?

As a teacher, the first thing I would do when I walked into my class in the morning, would be to pull this website up on my smart board.  Everything that I could possibly need during the day would literally be just a click away!  When you're finished with the tool, simply "x" it out!

The main dashboard that you land upon once you open the tool. 

Language-Select your language.

Background-Personalize your background.

Random Name-Type or copy and paste your student's names in the random name generator and click, "Choose." With each click, it will generate a new name for you. Easy Peasy!

Calculator-Self explanatory!

QR-Simply type the website that you want your students to access.  The beauty of this, is that since it's projected largely on your smart board/panel, students will be able to scan it without having to walk up to the board!

Drawing-This is the white board feature.  You have the option of the board being small or full screen.

Text-A simple text box for easy access and notes.

Work Symbols-I love this one! This allows you to click on one of four symbols that will instruct your students to work together, ask a neighbor, whisper, or to be silent.

Traffic Light-Click red, yellow, or green.  This is another classroom management tool that could represent the noise level in your class or when it's time to change and rotate centers.

Timer-Set a timer for your class with a few simple clicks.

Clock-Another simple tool.

This is what the screen looks like with all of the resources pulled up at one time!  I highly doubt that you would need to have EVERY tool open at the same time, but I wanted to show you how much real estate each of them take up! Feel free to click on the "Anatomy of Classroomscreen!" image below to access a pdf that you can download, print and share with your colleagues!

This is definitely one of the tools that I would begin utilizing on the first day of school.  This become a part of your classroom norms and procedures.  Why not use it, set the tone, and then get your students involved to utilize the tools as well?  

Getting ready for the new school year...

It's the beginning of a new year...where should you begin?

The 2017-2018 school year is upon us!  Whether you are new to the field of education, dipping your toes in the #edtech water, or you've been teaching for years, it's time to set some goals to grow your current teaching practice as well as fill your professional toolbox with some new goodies!  I get asked a lot, "where should I start?"  There's not one "right" answer to this question, but I would recommend the following:

Be active on Twitter:

I spend a lot of time on Twitter!  Not going to lie, this is where I get most of my professional development!  If you don't already have an account, go ahead and create one, and post your first Tweet!  I love that if I'm curious about a certain topic, let's say educational technology, elementary science, or STEM, that I can search for #edtech or #elementaryscience, or #stem and I am automatically connected to tons of educators all over the world that have shared this same interest. They may have posted articles, blogs, or other resources that match my interest.  It's a great place to start and I find myself getting sucked into the Twitter-verse for hours on end just searching and searching!  Following other educators allows me to see what they post in my Twitter stream so I never miss what they share.  Having access to other educators opens up my reach and source for resources to a global level!

Find an accountability partner:

I firmly believe that ALL educators should have an accountability partner.  This goes for new educators as well as seasoned educators!  An accountability partner gives you someone to check in with, someone to push you towards your educational goals, and someone to bounce ideas off of.  The field of education and instructional technology are filled with different certifications, degrees, and badges just waiting for you to gain!  Consider working on these with a fellow colleague.  Perhaps there's another educator that you know of that has what you are working towards.  Ask them to guide you and help you get to where they are!  Check in with them consistently by setting a standing calendar appointment that protects that time.  If you don't see yourself and your growth as important and protect that time, it will pass you by.  You also want to make sure that you set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely) goals with your accountability partner.  This will help to ensure that you meet the goals you set. Instead of saying, "I want to get my Google Trainer certification" or "I want to become a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert," make the goal a SMART goal so it's bound by time and relevancy!

Grow your professional learning network (PLN):

I definitely use Twitter as a part of my PLN.  In addition, I continue to make those connections with other educational technology leaders that I know I can learn from.  It's all about relationships!  As cliche as it is, I definitely consider myself to be a life long learner.  I have pursued my bachelors, masters, specialists, and am finishing up my doctorate.  I have a ton of #edtech badges and certifications.  I don't want to get too comfortable or complacent!  I remember sending my first email during my senior year of college in 1998 and thinking, "WOW....as soon as I hit enter, my mom is going to get this email!"  You have to continue to learn and grow from other educators and leaders so you stay informed, inspired, creative, and innovative!  It's always a great feeling to meet people in my PLN face to face after conversing with them online for years and years!  There are a lot of people that I follow on Twitter as well as blogs that I follow, and YouTube channels that I follow that I consider all to be a part of my network.  I am continuously learning from this group of people and this network is constantly growing, so I, too can grow!

Learn one new tool a week:

In order to stay relevant in this ever changing world, I would encourage you to learn one new tool a week.  I'm not saying to become an expert in that tool, but rather research and seek out a new tool and scratch the surface of it, how it can be used, as well as when you might be able to incorporate it into your practice.  There is sooooo much out there to learn!  Follow blogs, stay active on Twitter, talk to other educators and technology leaders to find out what they are using.  Pick and choose what you like and don't be afraid to try!  I guarantee you that your students will be willing to try and will probably help you figure out how to use whatever it is!

Don't try to become an expert in EVERYTHING:

This is a BIG one!  You can do anything, but you can't do EVERYTHING!  Don't even try it!!  Find you a couple of good apps, tools, or web 2.0 resources and become an EXPERT in those!  Once you have those down packed, add to your toolbox and master a few more!  This goes back to number 4...learning about what's out there will allow you to determine and discover when to pull what from your professional toolbox!  Trust me, you will 100% totally overwhelm yourself attempting to do it all!  There are educators and technology leaders that publish weekly tech tips that will give you ideas. I remember having a pair of educators that I was working with that had a notebook and they would write down the tools that I shared with them every week.  They would refer back to that notebook throughout the school year and pull different resources to try and utilize as they determined where it would fit into their lesson plans.

So, go forth and Tweet, identify that accountability parter that's going to push you towards your goals and dreams, grow your network, learn a new tool, and don't try to do everything!  You have the power to make this year your BEST year yet!  As the educational leader in your classroom, you drive the instruction and the way it's delivered!  I challenge you to become a "Technology Teacher Extraordinaire" this year and take your teaching practice to the next level through the integration of technology!

Microsoft Educator Community

Did you know that there is a portal full of FREE Microsoft resources for you to utilize?  How about that you could receive FREE, at your leisure professional development on all things Microsoft?  Well, you can!  The Microsoft Educator Community is chalk FULL of FREE resources, courses and quick tips to help take your knowledge of all things Microsoft to the next level!

All you have to do is go to education.microsoft.com and create an account.  From there, the sky is the limit!  You will earn badges and points for each course that you complete.  Once you've created your account, you will land your home page.  Be sure to update and edit your profile, add your picture, and all of the other important information!  To the left of the screen you will see a tab that says "Courses and Resources."

That, my friends is where the magic lives!  Take as many or as few courses as you like.  Watch the Quick Tip Videos.  Immerse yourself in all things Microsoft!  There's a lot to learn here!  Below are the top 3 courses that I would recommend to get you started:

Introduction to OneNote walks you through how to use OneNote.  I love this tool as a means to house all of my notes and ideas for projects that I'm working on.  Once you get really familiar with OneNote, you can take what you know and incorporate it into Class Notebook and Staff Notebook.  More on these will be included in a future post.  Think of OneNote as a virtual book.  You have the overall book, then you have chapters in the book, followed by pages in those chapters.  Each of them is represented by a tab (you can change the color of the tabs) and in those tabs you can add text, images, videos, audio, etc.  The GREAT thing about this tool is that you are able to collaborate online with other people that you share your Notebook with.  This means that you and your teachers or your students could all be in the Notebook at the same time, working together on the same project!  How cool is that?

Introduction to to Sway is another great course to take!  Sway might just be my all time favorite Microsoft tool!  It's super easy to use.  Sway allows you to create a presentation that flows either vertically or horizontally based upon your preference.  You can include headings, text, videos, images, etc all into a sliding presentation.  With Sway, you never have to leave the tool to do your web searches as everything is "in-app."  You can search for your images through Bing, right in Sway!  In addition, you can search and add Tweets to your Sway right from the menu bar.  The possibilities are endless!  Here is the link to a sway that I created and submitted for the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert program this year.  You'll notice that I added a Mix (below) into my Sway for an added pop.  As with OneNote, you are able to share your Sway with others and even add them as collaborators so you can work on presentations with others at the same time.

https://sway.com/j30bAQd9bnxbJIc3?ref=Link

Introduction to Office Mix.  Mix is an awesome tool that allow you to add your voice and even your live video right into your Power Point presentations!  It "mixes" your presentations up!  I added a Mix to my Sway example above.  Check it out!  Mix is a free add-in for Power Point and it allows you to be able to make your presentations interactive by adding quizzes and questions throughout the presentation.  You are able to export these "mixed" Power Points as an mp4 video so it can be viewed as a video rather than a click through Power Point.

Be sure to check out some of the amazing resources and tools in the Educator Community.  Again, they're all free!  In the coming weeks, I'm going to further discuss some of the programs and certifications that are available through Microsoft, BUT...you have to earn some badges and point first! 

Flipgrid Fever!

I have heard about the web tool, Flipgrid for a few years now but just recently got super pumped up about it!  So much so, that I applied for to be a Flipgrid Certified Educator and I found out yesterday that I received it!  Whoo hoo!  I have for the most part, been on the "response end" of Flipgrid.  However, last night, after attending my first Flipgrid Twitter chat #flipgridfever, I learned a lot of great ways that Flipgrid could be used both in and out of the classroom.  There is a lot of information out there about how to use it in the classroom with students, however now that I am in a central office position, I would like to approach this from my point of view!  So, how can you, as an administrator or member of central office staff use Flipgrid in your position?  Keep reading for some ideas!

• If you are a Principal, create a Flipgrid and have your staff create introductions about themselves.  Include their name, the grade they will be teaching, and something interesting about themselves.  You can then post this Flipgrid up on your school's website.  How awesome would it be, as a parent or future student in a teacher's class to get to "meet" their teacher virtually before face to face?  
• If you have substitute teachers that frequent your building, why not have them create their own video on a Flipgrid to introduce themselves.  As teachers need to request a substitute, they can gain a feel for who would be a fit for their class based upon the sub's responses to the Flipgrid!
• Virtual Professional Learning Communities! Why not engage your staff in some professional learning from a virtual standpoint?  Post your questions and receive feedback all in one place.  The great thing about this is that your staff is able to communicate with each other and see each other's responses.
• Virtual Book Study!  Is your team reading a book together but can't find the time to get together to discuss it?  Put together a Flipgrid in order to do so!  
• Parent Feedback can also be solicited through the use of a Flipgrid.  The Principal could post a greeting at the beginning of the year and parents could use this as a place to share kudos and good news in a positive way!
• Have teachers post a "letter to themselves" at the beginning of the school year with their goals for the year.  Revisit it again at the end of the year and see how many of those goals were actually met!

So there you go!  Just a few ideas about how Flipgrid can be utilized outside of the classroom!

Here is an article that I found that outlines some great ideas about how teachers can use Flipgrid in their classrooms!  http://www.hollyclark.org/2017/05/28/15-ways-to-incorporate-flipgridfever/