Skip to main content

Posts

Free Resources for Teachers

The word f ree always catches the attention of teachers, but I encounter so many teachers around the country who are missing out on a great way to get free resources and ideas.   So where is this place with free resources and ideas?  Head to Twitter. Stay with me for a minute …. even if your eyes glazed over and you don’t use Twitter. You can get resources and ideas, even if you don’t sign up for an account or ever send a single tweet.  You can still search through Twitter for free resources and ideas. Navigate to www.twitter.com Look for the magnifying glass and click it to search. With Twitter, it is all about the hashtag (#).  The hashtag is used to describe a category or topic. Jerry Blumengarten, aka @cybraryman1 on Twitter, has compiled a list of educational hashtags, https://www.cybraryman.com/edhashtags.html You can find everything from: broad topics like #edtech, grade level chats like #4thchat (tell @plnaugle - Marcie sent you), and even subje
1 comment
Read more
Recent posts
Looking Back       As your school year comes to an end, it is easy to give in to the exhaustion from all you have done this year and the exhilaration of looking forward to summer.  Once you catch your breath, don't forget to take the time to reflect.         If you still have your students for a few more days, make a quick, anonymous survey to get feedback.  Find out what their favorite activities and lessons were this year as well as their least favorite.  Ask them for suggestions to improve your class for next year.         What do you think were the best lessons and activities that you used this year?  What lessons or activities need to be reconsidered for next year?  What lessons did you learn from your students this year?  Each group of students teaches something, so what can be applied from this group?        When it is time to plan for next year, use these reflections to help you shape your plans.       
Post a Comment
Read more

Change

Change in education can be a tricky thing. When we look around, we see that in a lot of ways education still uses many traditional methods in the way we currently educate students. Educational technology has the potential to be a disruptive force, but in too many cases it has only been used to enhance education or provide a digital notebook. When we talk about change in education, a frequent point of discussion is resistance to change. Schools and districts around the country are working to determine the best methods to work with the teachers who resist change and don’t want to try new things. Helping the resistors move forward and change has been the subject of many discussions and implementation plans. Recently in the #GoogleEI, Google for Education Innovator, chat, Jamie Casap, the Chief Education Evangelist for Google @jcasap, made a point that resonated with me. Mr. Casap brought up that people are not change resistors; they are pain resistors. When we come to someone with
Post a Comment
Read more

Google Innovator Academy - Preparing

  The initial shock of getting into the Google Innovator Academy faded as the information started to flow.  We are the first cohort to have work leading up to our arrival, come in under the Innovator badge, and continue our work over a year.    The #MTV16 cohort quickly began to form relationships.  We really started working together when we got a special package in the mail. Everyone was on #boxwatch as word leaked of special arrivals. We were given the pieces to play a breakoutedu game. This started a flurry of documents and spreadsheets to find our partners and figure out the clues.  This was a great team building exercise before we even met. The special package from Google     We had weekly missions, hangouts, chats , and Voxes all going at the same time.  There were times it could get overwhelming, but we all knew we were in for a once in a lifetime experience.  My card twin and I got our very own breakoutedu game ready to play for when we got to Mountain View.  While I had
Post a Comment
Read more

Google for Education Certified Innovator - The Journey Begins

     It has been a whirlwind since January 18. I decided in December that I was going to apply to the Google Innovator Academy which I had applied to once before when it was the Teacher Academy. The revamped program requires you to have the Google Educator Level 2 certification. I met my goal of passing both Level 1 and Level 2 tests over Christmas break.     The application had some great questions and things to think about. Somehow, this one felt like it was meant for me since I had the pieces I needed to put everything together. The part where I struggle is always the video. I overthink what I want to say. This time, my concept came to me, and I used my phone to tape the first part then used an editor to record the rest. It is always tricky to get it down to one minute, but I managed that without losing my message. I submitted everything with just half a day to spare.     The day that notifications were going out was a tough one. For the first time ever, we were required to work o
Post a Comment
Read more

ISTE 2014 Highs and Lows

     Last year was my first ISTE.  I came home wide eyed and full of passion.  I told my boss that his one mistake in sending me was that I wanted to go back.  He told me that he would see what I did with what I learned.      I brought passion projects into my lab.  Passion projects were amazing!  I learned my kids in a way that I never got to know them before.  I developed deeper relationships with my kids than ever before.  The pinnacle moment was an 8th grade special needs student who presented her project on restoring antique cars.  She went 2 minutes over the maximum time, and I wasn't about to stop her.  When the kids gave her feedback, there was a respect for her in their eyes.  This is a child who stuttered and struggled to speak in front of others.  The children told her how much they learned from her, and they told her that they were amazed at what she had done.          I helped teachers participate in mystery calls.  We had experts Google Hangout Live with our clas
Post a Comment
Read more

Feeling Like A Student Again

      One of my goals for the summer is to become a Google Certified Educator.  After attending a Google in Education Summit, I knew that I wanted to get my certification.  I decided that it would be best to wait until summer so that I could focus on preparing and taking the tests.      At first, I felt the urge to put it all off because I was nervous about not passing.  Finally, I settled in and did the prep work by going through the lessons.  I used what I know about how I learn to help me prepare.  I put in the time, but I still had to talk myself into just getting started on the test.  I found a comfy spot, took a deep breath, and started.  I had to remind myself to do the things we always tell the kids: slow down, read carefully, don't worry about the time, answer those you know first, and then go back to those you need more time to answer.       I went through the test checking my work a few times.  Finally, I took a deep breath and submitted the test.  I was holding my
Post a Comment
Read more