ISTE 2019...The joy of missing out!

WARNING:  Long post and full of pictures!

Annnnnd that's a wrap!  #ISTE19 is over and all I can say is WOW!

I have attended ISTE every year since the last time it was in Atlanta (6 years....I think!) and I have to say that this was my FAVORITE ISTE yet!  For soooo many reasons!  Like several of my other edtech friends, Sarah Thomas and Mari Venturino, I created a schedule of all of the events that I COULD attend if I wasn't too tired, running myself too thin, or just had the time to do so.  Looking at this schedule before landing in Philly was definitely overwhelming.  I had a lot of events that overlapped or started as soon as another ended.  The point is, is that I gave myself options and choices.  In the past, I ran myself crazy trying to get to EVERYTHING to see EVERYONE!  Not this year.  I must admit that there are people that I am super sad that I didn't get to see and hug and will make it a point to connect with them next year. ISTE is just so HUGE that it's impossible to see and do everything.  Sadly, I also missed what would have been my first Google Innovator Energizer.  This event always happens the day before ISTE starts.  That day also happened to be my youngest son's birthday so being a mom had to trump being an Innovator.  I hope to be there next year!

I have waited to create this blog post as I have really had to process what happened!  LOL!  I think the best way for me to recap this amazing experience is to outline it by each day.  Here's my #ISTE18 blog!

Sunday

Chilling in first class!  

ISTE started off on a high for me!  My flight going to Philadelphia was overbooked and I was going to have to give up my seat.  At the last minute, they got me on the flight but moved me to FIRST CLASS!  This was my first time riding in first class and I loved every minute of it!  And of course I had to document it with a picture!  LOL

Our Voice Academy
Meet Up!

We dropped our bags off at the hotel and walked to the convention center to get checked in and get a lay of the land.  The convention center was HUGE!  There was a ton of walking that occurred over the week!  As a matter of fact, over the course of the conference, I walked the equivalent to a marathon!  After getting situated, I attended the Our Voice Academy (OVA) meetup.  It was refreshing to be around so many edtech educators of color that are working to share their voices in the edtech space.  The third cohort of OVA members (I am in the first cohort) was just announced and I got to meet so many of them!  I am excited to see how they take advantage of the opportunity as they begin to share their voices!

Quin (my Google
Innovator
Mentor) and I.

While waiting on the shuttle to go back to the hotel to get ready for all of the edtech meetups, I saw my Google Innovator mentor walking past the shuttle!  This was a HUGE highlight for me as this was our first time meeting in person!  I hopped off the shuttle and yelled, "QUIN!"  It was him!  We hugged and caught up for a few minutes!  Quin is JUST as awesome in person as he is over email and Google Hangouts and it was a pleasure to meet him in person and hug his neck!

After leaving the OVA meet up, I headed to the Microsoft in Education Expert (MIEE) meetup.  So many of my edtech friends were honored with some pretty darn amazing accolades!  At the end of the awards portion, they played a video of images and clips of all of the Microsoft and Minecraft trainings that have taken place over the course of the year and it was exciting to see how many educators and students that the MIEE community has touched!  We are a strong and mighty group!

Monday

Working at the
Microsoft Booth.

I got the opportunity to work at the zSpace booth and the Microsoft in Education booth and share the goodness of both with the tons of educators that walked by to check them out!  I LOVED sharing how we use these resources with our students and teachers in Atlanta Public Schools.  It was cool to learn from the educators that I interacted with and hear how they use these resources as well.

That's the cool thing about all of the technology that's out there.  All it is is a tool!  I always scream from the rooftop that it's simply a vehicle to deliver the content!  That's it!  You could have 100 different educators using the same technology resource and they could all be using it 100 different ways!  That's why it's absolutely critical that educators engage in and have a meaningful PLN (professional learning network)!  There's sooooo much to learn from one another!

My colleagues and I with the team at
@PlayCraftLearn!

My colleagues and I got to meet with the team at MinecraftEDU to talk about all things Minecraft!  We got to hear about some updates and we also got to share with them all of the awesome things we do with Minecraft in Atlanta!  Again, we were asked what support we needed and what we'd like to see.  I love that they listen!  If you think Minecraft is just a block building game, you are HIGHLY mistaken!  There are TONS of educational resources, lessons, etc for ALL content areas built right into Minecraft!

I had about 30 minutes to run over to the Google Certified Trainer/Innovator meet up before heading to the next event!  And although I told myself I didn't want to drive myself crazy getting to everything, it was important to me to attend this event as it was not only my first attending as an Innovator, but it was a chance for me to see and hug a lot of people that I hadn't had a chance to see yet!  There are a ton of updates coming from Google for Education!  One of the updates that I'm most excited about is the NEW Google Student Certification that is coming!  Students will now be able to take an exam (similar to the Level 1 and Level 2 exams that we take to show our mastery of the Google tools) and earn a certification that they can then place on their resumes!

Delivering my "mic drop" at
Flilpgrid LIVE!

Then it was time for FLIPGRID LIVE!  What an AMAZING experience!  (Side note....how many times can I say amazing in this blog post?  LOL)  I was selected, along with 8 other educators to deliver a 1 minute "mic drop" about my "why" to 1,000 educators!  This was definitely the highlight of ISTE this year!  See the video below for my "mic drop."  My coworkers and I decided to wear tutus and our "Techies in Tutus" shirts!  It was too cute!  During Flipgrid LIVE, there were TONS of updates announced!  My favorite was the AR component!  This is going to be a game changer when students return back to school!  To be able to bring the hard work of students to life in a special way....I can't wait!  I can't believe how many other edtech tools are now integrated with Flipgrid!  It was like there was update after update after update announced!  I don't know how they're going to top it next year!  Read all about the evening on the FLIPGRID blog! 

Tuesday

Tuesday morning consisted of a few meetings with different vendors.  We were able to share how we use their resources in Atlanta and also make some suggestions for what we'd like to see in the future.  I love that edtech companies are so willing to listen to their end users and actually incorporate the feedback they receive to make their products better!

Sharing how to use Google
Drawings to assess students
at the Google Playground.

I had the opportunity to share my love for Google Drawings and how to use them to assess students at the Google Playground that afternoon!  I shared how I use them and provided a ton of resources with them.  I also got to listen to the educators that stopped by my table and learn a few tips and tricks from them as well! Click here to access the resources that all of the presenters shared during their playground sessions!  I love that educators are so willing to share what they do with others!

Mike Tholfsen (One Note
Avenger!)  and I being
photobombed by Toney
Jackson
(@herhymeswithme)

My friends at Microsoft EDU hosted another awesome Hack the Classroom Event!  We go to hear about a few updates and then heard from 5 different educators about their experiences incorporating the Microsoft Learning Tools (which compare to no other) into their teaching practices!  The lives of students are literally being changed because of these learning tools!  Students are learning how to speak English as a second language.  I was inspired (as always) by Toney Jackson who shared the following message with us, "Your students are filled with potential they may never know about.  Love your students.  Dig into the core FIRST!  If we don't care, what's the purpose?  The imprint you leave on your students is a fossil and not a footprint."  I love the family that Microsoft EDU creates with their team along with the educators that decide to apply to be Microsoft in Education Experts.  They listed to the suggestions of educators and make updates to their amazing products based on those suggestions.  Being able to attend Hack the Classroom in person is always a treat!

Wednesday

On Wednesday morning, I headed back to the convention center to make a few more connections and network with a few more people!  It was my goal this year to find some great things that we might be able to use in Atlanta and I think I found some goodies!  I will share all of those in another post!  Once the conference was over, my colleagues and I decided to take a bus tour of historic Philadelphia.  I am NOT a social studies person at all but the architecture and the stories behind the buildings were so intriguing!  Here are a few pics from the tour!

Then it was time to come home!

I had such an amazing time with old friends and new ones!  Here are some of the pics that I snapped with new and old friends!

It was so refreshing to NOT have to be anywhere in particular!  I made it a point to spend a lot of time in the exhibition hall checking out new vendors and learning all about what they had to offer along with visiting vendors that I'm already familiar with to find out about all of the updates they were making to their tools!

As busy as I was, there was a lot that I missed.  And I'm okay with that.  There was definitely a joy in missing out.  Not forcing myself to be at events that would cause me to run from one to another.  I had an enjoyable time and learned a lot!  I am rejuvenated to begin the 2019-2020 school year!  Being around passionate educators that just want the best for their teachers and students has a way of energizing you.  Listening to others has a way of showing you the possibilities.  There is so much to learn.  There are so many amazing people out there.  I can't wait for #ISTE20!

Regardless if you were there or not, be sure to follow the hashtags #ISTE #ISTE19 #ISTE2019 #notatiste #notatiste19 #notatiste2019 to see what happened!

So there you have it!  What were your ISTE takeaways this year?

Until next time, Philly!

My first #FlipHunt!

I did it!

I jumped in feet first and presented my FIRST Flipgrid FlipHunt!  Annnnnnd it was pretty darn AMAZING!!!

So...what is a FlipHunt, you ask?  Only the most amazingly awesome way to get your students engaged in learning!  A FlipHunt is a video based scavenger hunt!  It is run completely through FlipGrid and your students self guide themselves through it with very little facilitation from you!

My reflection:  

First, let me say, I am VERY surprised at how easy it was to set it up!  Once I came up with the actual questions and created the #FlipHunt document, the only thing left to do was set up the Flipgrid and the topic and set the participants free to hunt!  They LOVED it!  The energy in the room was so amazing!  There was dancing and smiles and a WHOLE lot of laughing!  I would DEFINITELY do this again and can't wait to continue to share it's ease of use and engagement with my colleagues and our students! 

Setting it up: 

So, how do you set it up?

✔  First, have a clear vision for what you want your students to accomplish as a result of completing the FlipHunt.

✔  Put together your actual FlipHunt!  You can either put it together yourself from scratch, or you can search the Discovery Library and find one there!  This is what I did for the professional development session that I led with educators last weekend!  Basically, you are putting together a document with scavenger hunt type questions for your students to discover.  They sky is the limit with this.  It could be an internet search for information.  A getting to know you activity.  An activity that has them outside looking for different things in real life.  You get the picture!

The FlipHunt that I used is below and it's adapted from one that I found in the Discovery Library!  It's hyperlinked with viewing rights!  Feel free to make a copy of it and alter it to meet your needs!  I made mine in Google Drawings but feel free to use Google Docs or whatever floats your boat!

Here it is in action!  That's organized chaos that you hear!  Check out the young lady in the back of the room getting ready to do an arabesque!  Oh yeah....she did that!

The sound of an AMAZING #fliphunt at Southern Summit last weekend! @Flipgrid @BMcClelland24 @edtechteam pic.twitter.com/4IODvVFYU6

— Natasha Rachell,EdS (@apsitnatasha) March 2, 2019

✔  Set up a Grid and your topic!  Now that you have your FlipHunt all ready to go, set up a grid with the instructions for the FlipHunt and a link to the actual FlipHunt so they can access it!  I actually displayed the FlipHunt on the board in the front of the classroom as well so they could see it instead of having to toggle back and forth between Flipgrid and the FlipHunt instructions.

This particular FlipHunt received 91 videos in less than 15 minutes!!!  And that was with educators!  Imagine if you did this in your class!

Here are a couple of ideas to get you started!

Math Idea:
What if you are a math teacher and your FlipHunt made students look for Geometry shapes in nature?  Each of the questions on your Hunt could be one of the shapes (ie. quadrilateral, parallelogram, octagon, etc).  As students found those, they would record a video and explain why that shape is the shape that it is!

Science Idea:
Have students create videos about the weather every day and talk about the different weather patterns that they see.  If it were raining one day, they could talk about the water cycle.  What if it were snowing?  What effect does humidity have?  These are all great conversation starters for your students!

English/Language Arts:
Have students create virtual reading logs over the summer and spring break!  Students can record their feedback on the books that they've read.  Perhaps the FlipHunt has different genres of reading material that you want them to read over the breaks!  Once they've read that genre, they record their video and move on to the next!

Social Studies: 
Let's say your kids are studying the candidates for an upcoming Presidential election.  Your FlipHunt could include questions/prompts about their platforms.  As students located/discovered the information about each candidate, they would record their video on the grid and discuss the candidates outlook on certain topics versus their own!

As always, if you need more information about Flipgrid in general, there is a phenomenal resource out there from Sean Fahey and  Karly Moura!  It's hyperlinked below so be sure to check it out!

Also, here is another resource all about FlipHunts!  https://kerszi.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/whats-a-fliphunt/

Have you tried a FlipHunt with your students or staff before?  How was it received?  Will you try it now?

#MyRelaxing5

A week or so ago, my edtech friend, Mari Venturino wrote a blog called, #myRelaxing5.  In it, she talks about her commitment to take time for herself and to be conscious about taking time to relax before we finish the year 2018.

Another edtech friend, Meagan Kelly added her Relaxing 5 as well!  I love reading about what others plan to do.  It's also reassuring to know that I'm not the only one that is working towards establishing a work/life balance.  I think for us in the edtech space, we tend to love what we do sooooo much, that work doesn't ever really feel like work.  More like professional growth full of a-ha moments and problem solving.  It is, however, work, and it does indeed take us away from the relaxing things that we could be doing.

It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle of every day life and I am for one, guilty of this as well!  Mari's  blog and her challenge couldn't have come at a better time.  With the holidays right around the corner, I know this is the time that we all vow to be more present, less tech-connected, and more in the moment.

I took about a week to really think about how I would spend some relaxing time before the end of the year.

Here are #MyRelaxing 5:

1.  Spend quality time with family and friends. 
This is definitely first!  I want to be able to fully be present with family and friends this holiday season.  Tech free.  Including phones!  I want to be able to sit and watch a movie with my family or go out to lunch with my friends and not feel like I have to check my phone because I could be missing an important email or seeing what my other friends are doing and posting in that moment.  As my sons are getting older (9th grade and senior in college) I know that I will NEVER get this time back with them.  Eventually they'll move out and have families of their own so I definitely want to soak up as much time with them as I can.

2.  Get back into exercising.
Why wait until the new year?  I THINK I have a plan for this.  I'm toying around with some ideas and hope to be back in a routine sooner than later.  I love the way that exercising makes me feel.  And who doesn't want to be skinnier and in better shape? I'm excited about finding a routine that I love, that pushes me, that makes a difference, and that will hold me accountable and keep me consistently working towards a better version of myself!

3.  Give back.
There is no better feeling than giving back.  Whether it's paying for someone's coffee at Starbucks, donating food to a local food pantry, taking care of a child's need through the Purposity app (my school district set this up for our students in need and we are able to anonymously take care of their needs through the app), buying someone's dinner, just being there for a friend and asking them how can I serve them, etc.  There are so many ways that we can give back and the desire to do so seems to amplify during this time of the year when we truly have time to reflect on how blessed we are.


4.  Read more for pleasure.
I have always loved reading.  But with being in school and working on advanced degrees for the past few years, I haven't been able to read as much for pleasure as I would like to.  I am a HUGE book hoarder and have a problem with ordering books.  I have a stack of "to read" books and can't wait to work my way through  them.  As techie as I am, I still love the feel of holding a book in my hands.  I love to be able to highlight, underline and make notes in the margins.  I do listen to audio books and have read on my Kindle, but I LOVE holding a book in my hands.  I definitely plan to spend some time doing some "feel good" reading this holiday season.

5.  Get "stuff" done.
While this may not be the relaxing thing that the purpose of this blog post is supposed to contain, I don't know about you, but I have a long list of house "to dos" that I want to get done around the house.  During the Thanksgiving break I made a list of things that I wanted to get done and surprisingly, I got through a LOT of them.  After the fact, it made me feel REALLY good to finally cross some of those things off of my list that I've been wanting to do for a while.  You know, those things that would be nice to do but you never really have time to do them?  I have another list that I'm working on for the holiday break and will find a huge sense of accomplishment as I cross them off of my list!

What about you?  What are your #MyRelaxing5?  Be sure to use the hashtag when you post yours so we can all see what you're looking forward to doing in the next few weeks.

My FAVORITE Chrome Extension!

As someone that I'd like to think, stays current in the world of #edtech, I have realized that there is ONE Chrome extension that I use EVERY SINGLE DAY!  It's the first extension that I interact with every morning once I get to work, and it's the last extension that I look at before I leave to head home in the evening.  I'm sure your curious as to what it is, right?  

It's called MOMENTUM!!!!

Go to the Chrome Webstore and search for: Momentum

Once you've added it the extension to your browser, you will see the little turquoise "m." Once it's there, you're good to go!  When you click it for the first time, you'll be prompted to add your name, email address and password.  See the images below.

Each time you open a new browser, your screen will show a different picture.  This picture typically changes each day.  I have seen it change more than once in a day but plan on a new picture each day.  One day, my picture for the day was 2 beautiful chocolate brown Labrador puppies!  It was the cutest thing ever and I've NEVER seen that picture recycled again!  I look for it every day when I log into my computer with no luck! 

You will see the weather in the top right hand corner along with your location.  The time will always be displayed largely in the middle along with a greeting of Good morning, Good afternoon, or Good afternoon with your name!  Talk about making you feel special!  

You will also get an inspiring quote on the bottom center of your screen as a little bit encouragement every day.  You have the option to save these quotes and create your own "quote bank" and even add some of your own quotes if you like.   

In the bottom left hand corner you will see the location of where the image was taken.  It's amazing to see different images and try to guess where they're taken and then confirm your guesses by glancing in the corner.  I'm a Jeopardy buff.  What can I say?  I love a challenge!

Each day you will be prompted to enter in one MAIN focus for the day.  That's where you want to place the most important thing that you have to get accomplished that day.  It will remain there as a reminder to you that it's your main focus for the day.  Each time you open a new browser, that task will be sitting right there, staring you in the face, reminding you that you need to complete it!  It's like your own little virtual accountability partner!

EVERY day when I come into work, without fail, I click on the "ToDo" list in the bottom right hand corner.  I brain dump EVERYTHING that I want and need to get accomplished for the day.  I can even add to it throughout the day if something else comes up or pops into mind.  As I complete each of the tasks, I simply click on the check box to the left of the task and it crosses out!  It will stay there, so I can see what I've gotten accomplished for the day.  Who doesn't LOVE the feeling of crossing something off of a list?!?!?  And if you're anything like me, and you accomplish something that's not on the list, you add it and then cross it off!  Right?  Tomorrow, when I open my computer, the tasks that I didn't complete today will still be there waiting for me.  The crossed off tasks will disappear.

That's it!  A simple to do list that keeps me on track and motivates me every day.  The thing that I LOVE about it is that each time I open a new browser, I get the same screen with that to do list.  I don't have to go and search for it.  It's right there, waiting for me, reminding me that I have things that I need to get done!

Have you tried Momentum?  How do you feel about it?  What other favorite extensions do you have that you use on a daily basis?

MentorMeEdu

Where do I even begin?  😀

When I applied for the Los Angeles cohort of the Google Innovator program earlier this year, the problem in education that I identified as being passionate about solving was that of new teacher attrition.  After going though the design thinking process at the academy, I decided that I was going to work on this issue from the angle of a virtual mentoring program.

This is definitely a passion project of mine!  I don't get paid for this.  I just want to make a difference!  I am soooooo passionate about helping new teachers remain in the teaching profession and I truly believe that having a virtual mentor, someone that is non biased, not in the same school or district, is a VALUABLE resource for new teachers!  When I was a new teacher, I had a mentor in my school (that didn't REALLY mentor me) and I had a mentor at the district who was awesome.  Along the way of my educational career, I've gained a TON more mentors that have assisted me and guided me.  As a new teacher, having an innovative, seasoned, passionate mentor in my corner would have been priceless!  I STRIVE to make this a reality for new teachers so they NEVER consider leaving the teaching profession.  So that they won't get burned out.  So that they will ALWAYS remember their calling to teach and to make a difference in the lives of the students that they have the pleasure of interacting with each and every day!

Fast forward!!!  I have been assigned an AMAZING mentor, Quin Henderson (@qhenderson) who is also a Google Innovator and is seeking to solve teacher attrition through a different means.  Quin has created EdTrex that seeks to keep educators passionate about teaching so they don't leave through creating meaningful experiences!  Check out more about this awesomeness here:  https://edtrex.net/

After bouncing ideas off of him, continuous brainstorming and a LOT of research, I have been able to accomplish a lot of things!  In an attempt to toot my own horn, be my own cheerleader, and take a look at the progress that I've made, here is what I've done since leaving the academy in July:

• Launched MentorMeEdu!!!
• Created a twitter handle. @mentormeedu
• Created a website. www.mentormeedu.org
• Created interest videos and put them out into the world!
• Successfully recruited a pool of 30 PHENOMENAL mentors ready to serve new teachers.  I mean seriously....if you saw some of the names on this list, you'd be blown away!  I am so blessed that so many of you believe in this passion project of mine!  Eeeeekkkk!!!!  With this, with you believing in me and this work, I KNOW that I have to be successful in making it happen!
• Started the matching process of new teachers to virtual mentors.
• Have started creating the monthly focus/monthly curriculum that new teachers and mentors will use as a guide for their monthly meetings.
• Set up a MentorMeEdu Slack account to continue to engage both new teachers and virtual mentors.
• Reached out to various new teacher organizations in an effort to recruit new teachers to become a part of MentorMeEdu.

The one area that I am needing to grow is in building the pool of new teachers interested in receiving a virtual mentor.  I believe that there is not only power in celebrating the successes of what I've been able to accomplish, but that I also need to be transparent and vulnerable about where my areas of opportunity are as well.  

So what do I want to continue to accomplish?  By putting this out there, into the world, I am going to be held accountable to make sure these things happen!  Before the end of the 2018-2019 school year, I want to do the following:

• Start a MentorMeEdu podcast where I interact with new teachers and veteran teachers/teacher mentors about their successes and failures along the way.
• Successfully recruit, match and engage with at least 30 new teacher/virtual mentor pairs.
• Continue to tweet consistently and build social media presence about this passion of mine.
• Present somewhere all about my journey of creating MentorMeEdu and it's impact on new teachers and virtual mentors.  

I am so excited about the future of MentorMeEdu and it's impact that I KNOW it will have on both new teachers and virtual mentors.  I am still working and making changes so that it becomes a valuable tool for all of those that join the MentorMeEdu family!  

How can you help?  I'm glad you asked!  Here you go!

• Follow us on Twitter @MentorMeEdu and retweet the tweets!
• Share MentorMeEdu with new teachers interested in receiving a virtual mentor!
• If you're a veteran teacher, become a virtual mentor!
• Spread the word!
• Send me ideas of how to grow MentorMeEdu!

Thanks so much for allowing me to be vulnerable about this journey.  Thanks for celebrating my tiny successes with me.  Thanks for any and all suggestions/help/good vibes that you send my way!  I LOVE my PLN and know that I couldn't do this without you support and guidance along the way.  For that I thank you!

90 days left in 2018....

This post is a little professional and a little personal.  Right around this time of year, I think a lot of us begin to reflect on the resolutions that we made on January 1 and examine how much progress we've made towards accomplishing them so far, along with figuring out how much we can realistically get accomplished before the end of the year. I am no exception to this!

Rachel Hollis, author of "Girl, Wash Your Face" (which, if you haven't read, you need to) has started a 90 day challenge to pick people up for these last 90 days of the year, refocus their intention, and push them towards accomplishing those goals that they set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year!  I signed up for it, because, well,  I LOVE a challenge. It began today!!  She challenges members of this challenge to what she calls, "5 to thrive!" I already know that my challenges will be #1 and #2.  I'm going to work at it though!

Every week of the challenge for the rest of the year, she will be sending out an email to those that signed up for the challenge and each of these emails will contain a powerful quote to focus on for the week.  Here's what got us started today:

Reading Rachel's words in the email that I received this morning, really made me reflect on what I set out to do this year.  At the beginning of the year, I wrote a blog post about my goals for the new year.  Read all about it HERE!  Below are the goals that I wanted to accomplish both personally and professionally.  My responses to their progress are in red.

Professionally, I wanted to accomplish:

• Launching the first Google Bootcamp in our District!  Check!  I did this!  Since then, several of my colleagues have started Google Bootcamps are their schools, with their teachers!  We've see a LOT of success from this effort!
• Creating a district wide instructional technology podcast.  I totally forgot about this one!  I'll definitely be moving this goal to 2019!  It's been SUPER busy!
• Creating a cohort of edtech superhero educators!!!  This tells me that I need to be more specific with my goals!  While I definitely believe that I've had an impact on numerous educators this year, I don't know that I'd call them a "cohort."  I take this as a lesson learned to be more specific!
• Launching the next phase of Tablet2Read.  Our district is currently working on this as we speak.  We may be moving this to 2019 but we'll see!
• Launching the second year of our Central Office Tech and Talk Series.  This one is in the works!

Personally, I wanted to accomplish:

• Continue growing my PLN on Twitter, learning from amazing ed tech educators! Check!
• Continue blogging, more often.  Check!
• Spotlight Speak with EdTechTeam. Check!  This has been the highlight of my year!  The opportunities that have come as a result of this have been incredible!  I've been able to meet AMAZING educators from all across the world and make a true difference!  
• Deliver at least ONE keynote this year.  Check!  I've actually delivered several!  It gets better and better each and every time that I deliver it.  It's been a true pleasure to deliver my message of the importance of finding your why and living with intention to educators all across the nation!
• Sign up for and take Classy Videos by Tony Vincent.  Check!  I did indeed take Tony's course and would DEFINITELY recommend it to others!  I LOVE that the course is still available for me to access.  I've gone back to the videos numerous times to refresh my mind with the content that he shared.  
• Renew my Google Certified Trainer status.  Check!  
• Renew my Microsoft Innovative Educator and Surface Expert status.  Check!  
• Apply for the Google Innovator program.  Check!  I applied annnnnnnd....I got in!!!  CRAZY!!!  Little ole me got in!!  I spend time in Los Angeles with 37 other edtech educators from around the United States (and Canada) learning all about the Design Thinking Process as well as brainstorming a solution to my Google Innovator Project.  More about this in the next blog, but check out www.MentorMeEdu.org for more information in the meantime!
• Being active with the second cohort of Our Voice Academy.  In process!
• FINISH MY DISSERTATION and FINALLY become Dr. Natasha Rachell!!!!  ALMOST!!!
• Attend ISTE.  Check!  
• Get healthier: eat better, exercise, drink more water, meditate.  Hmmmm...eat better, yes.  Exercise, nope!  Drink more water, at times!  Meditate, not as much as I'd like.
• Continue on my spiritual journey.  Always a work in progress!
• More to come..... There has been a LOT more and I'll blog all about this at the end of the year!

I was really dreaming big at the beginning of the year!  It's refreshing to know that I've made progress on ALMOST all of the goals that I set for myself.  With only 90 days left in the year 2018, I will definitely continue to work hard so that when I recap at the end of the year and begin to set my intention for 2019, I can cross all (hopefully) these off of the list!  It's not too late to continue working on these goals and even making a few more that I'll be able to achieve before the end of the year!

How about you, where are you with your 2018 goals?  You've got 90 days to make magic happen!

Remind is #MoreThanAMessage !

Ya'll....we need to talk!  If you know me, you know that I am all about passion for education and for engaging all stakeholders in the power of education!  Remind has launched a brand new campaign called #MoreThanAMessage!  If you have used Remind at any time in your life, whether as a parent or a teacher, you know and believe in the power of Remind as just that....more than a message!

With one of the Remind founders,
Brett Kopt at ISTE 2014!

I've been a user of Remind since back in the day when it was called Remind101.  Admittedly, when I speak about Remind, I STILL sometimes refer to it as Remind101!  I'm working on it!  I have had the pleasure of meeting the amazing brains behind this phenomenal tool at ISTE years ago!  Here we are back in 2014!

Schools across the world have so much on their plates with creating curriculum, creating safe environments that students can thrive in, creating school culture and climate and everything else that goes along with running a school!  The one thing that is sometimes hard to master and implement well is engaging families in a meaningful and measurable way.  Well, Remind has sought to create a tool that addresses just this!  The entire purpose of Remind is simple and can be put into two words....FAMILY ENGAGEMENT! When families are engaged in their student's learning, students feel valued.  They feel appreciated.  They feel important.  And most of all, they feel like they matter.  We know that students are more successful when they have parents that are engaged in their lives and in their education.

Schools have typically relied on emails, Robo calls and letters sent home to parents to communicate.  This one way communication is just that, ONE WAY!  How do we know that parents are reading the emails and notes sent home or simply pressing the "#" button to note that they've received the Robo call?  Remind creates a 2 way communication between schools and families, creating meaning and engagement behind every message and piece of content delivered.  The simplest message sent to a parent about their child's education can make the BIGGEST difference!  Students and their families begin to become invested in the same goals.

To learn more about Remind and the #MoreThanAMessage mission, immerse yourself in all of the information goodness HERE!

Besides all of the awesomeness of Remind, being able able to appeal to parents and students that speak another primary language is another way that Remind bridges the gap in communication.  As it's stated in the video above, "When you are able to help a parent, you are helping a child!"  Remind makes that a seamless process!

The vision and values of Remind speak volumes to who they are as a company and to what they strive to do each and every day for teachers, students and families all across the world.

Have you used Remind before?  What's your Remind success story?  Who have you impacted through using this amazing educational tool?