District 68 Twitter Talks

I had the incredible opportunity to spend an hour after school with the staff of Murphy Elementary School yesterday to talk about the benefits of using Twitter.  As I shared the benefits for using this incredible tech tool, it wasn't so much about "how" to use Twitter as opposed to "why" educators use it.  The presentation revolved around this essential question: "How many ways can I get connected and build community by using Twitter?" Instead of just going over the basics of Twitter, I used this question to let us go deeper in our understanding.  The great thing about this type of PHAT question (pretty hard and touch) is that it allows for our brains to give us exactly what we ask for.

Take a look at the presentation slides below for my notes:

In addition, here's a link to the spreadsheet containing weekly Twitter chat dates/times, d68 staff members Twitter handler names, and recommended edutweeps/gurus to follow!

http://goo.gl/UKDnLj

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From fire to Google Glass: a technology timeline

I was privileged to spend an hour after school with a group of 2nd year teachers in our district to talk to them about strategies to promote metacognition via the design thinking model.  Before we got into the nitty-gritty of it all, we had a conversation around what the word technology really means and how a new perspective on it can impact our understanding of how to infuse technology into our instruction.  By today's standpoint, we typically think of educational technology as an electronic, computerized, online tool that can be used to enhance and engage students during our instruction.  However, if you really think of the word in the context of the definition, technology really is just something designed/built/created for the purpose of making life better/faster/more efficient.  When you think about it this way, it really opens the doors for conversation on what exactly we are implementing into our instruction because...HINT... it can definitely go beyond computerized tools.  

When you think about the use of the word over time, it makes it seem that technology did not exist before the early 1900's, but that simply cannot be the case from our mindset of what the word really means today.  If technology is anything that has been created to make life and learning more efficient, what items can you think of that belong in the gap of time where the word was virtually non-existent? 

I put the 2nd year teachers to the test (this was an activity that I picked up on in grad school and tweaked a bit).  Their quest was to create a "history of technology"... a tech-timeline if you will... that had them use post-it notes to map out what technologies have improved and directly impacted life and learning over time starting from fire and going all the way to Google Glass.  Here is a snapshot of the task (if you'd like the full lesson I used with students in the past, check it out on Google Docs here).

With a timer of 2 minutes on the board (via eg.gtimer.com), the results were extremely creative and thoughtful as the activity pushed the teachers to think differently on how they viewed technology.  There were post-it's that included...

• slate
• hieroglyphics/development of language
• heater
• toilet
• shoes
• printing press
• ink
• wheel
• dry erase

...and the list went on - it was amazing to see all that could be conjured up within 2 minutes! We stopped our activity with the Tech Timeline there, but if you'd like to do this with students there are definitely numerous talking-points to tie into this to make it something larger (see earlier link for activity on Google Docs).

How can you use this in your classroom?  How can you use this with staff in your building to create a mindset shift on the purpose for integrating technology?

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My Brain on #ICE14

I've been at the 2014 ICE conference for the last three days... yeah, it's my first time here. I can seriously say that my brain has caught on fire at ICE.  I've had the privilege to surround myself with brilliant Illinois educators and listen to my techie, passionate, guru mentors delve deep into what it truly means to engage the learners of today. When I finally have a chance to decompress and dump my brain out on my colleagues, I'll post some ideas that I've gained over the last three days. For now I'll resort to a quick snapshot of my blog posts yet to come.  D68 educators be warned! You'll probably see another one of these appear on the wall in the PD Center!

Wed. @ ICE:  Do you have lessons you can sell tickets for?

I spent the day learning from #HashtagMan...the pirate himself, Dave Burgess (author of Teach Like a Pirate, @burgessdave).  I use Twitter, but I've never taken part in a Twitter chat and I'll say that the #tlap one will be the first one I try out!  This is my first year out of the classroom, and as an instructional coach I have the power to impact the lives of all of our students.  Yet, I couldn't help but feel that my heartstrings were being tugged on (or completely torn out of my body at some points) as Dave Burgess reminded us all to teach with a fiery passion.  Three remarks of his resonated with me...

If the students didn't have to be there, would you be teaching to an empty room?

Do you have lessons you can sell tickets for?

It's not supposed to be easy.  It's supposed to be worth it! 

A few take-aways...

• Twitter filters out all of the energy vampires
• It's okay to create a superhero or supervillain to teach your content
• Three words... the mullet ratio
• Wedding photographer resilience
• Can I... How can I.... How many ways can I....?
• Creative alchemy: Zombies vs. humans vs. pirates vs. ninjas
• It's hard to be passionate about... railroads
• Pulling a red bra out of a bag may get you fired, but the kids will never forget that learning experience!

Thurs. @ ICE: Aren't you glad that we benefit from people who can't stand to be bored?

Thursday kicked off with a brilliant keynote by Mike Muir (@mmuir) followed by a mishmosh of workshops.  Although some workshops highlighted very different tools or learning experiences, they all held a common thread: giving students and teachers access to plugged-in power to amplify their voice, choice, and empowered leadership.

A few take-aways...

• Scout-like badges for adults: Digital Badges for PD
• Feed-forward instead of feedback
• Oooh... that question was P.H.A.T!
• Genius hour will seriously blow your mind
• So long KWL... Hello KWHLAQ!
• The most incredible tech tool on team common core: SubText
• 1:1 is about more than just giving all kids a device, and it is SO beyond just having phones aka "pockets of excellence"

Fri. @ ICE: #BeMoreDog!

I've followed George Couros (@gcouros) on Twitter for awhile, read his blog posts, and have viewed his TEDtalk, but this was the first time I've gotten to hear him speak in public when he did Friday's keynote speech.  I told my boss, Greg Wolcott (@TeachLearn68), that this was the best keynote I've ever seen, but then was quickly reminded that I say that for just about every keynote I see, haha. Here's a re-cap of his best points:

A few take-aways...

• Transform yourself... aka: #BeMoreDog (you've got to watch the video above).
• Embrace connectivity... and take selfies with the Pope
• I'd take a video-gram on YouTube than receive a card any day
• Newsletter 4.0... we were ALL engaged in a NEWSLETTER! Wow!
• Disrupt your routine.  We can learn a lot from Taylor Swift "Trouble" remixes
• "The need to create never goes away," says our 12-year-old self
• Kids are sick of the cyber bully talk. We’re just saying “don’t be horrible” and instead we should be saying “hey kids you have the world at your fingertips - go do something amazing!"
• A Must-Do: the Innovation Day
• insert Justin Bieber joke here.

So how can I possibly wrap-up the last three days?  Learning... it's messy, and success is equally as messy. It’s all over the place. The biggest game changer in education has NOTHING to do with technology.  Rather, it all comes down to the educator's mindset. Think differently and grow.

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We Engage 2013 Keynote and Closing Presentation

Jefferson Junior High

Friday, Dec. 13th

8:00AM - 3:30PM

Our 21st century engagement inservice, We Engage 2013, is upon us!  This Friday, Woodridge 68 staff will meet for a day of awesome sharing, empowering, and collaborating over brain-tingling goodness (aka strategies to boost overall student engagement with AND without technology).  Keynote starts at 8:05!  Staff are encouraged to bring a Chromebook from their building or BYOD (bring your own device) as guest wifi will be provided!

I am beyond thrilled to be giving this year's keynote and closing sessions!  During this time, I will go over the philosophy behind the changes to our inservice, the theme for this year (shifting control/who owns the learning), the 4Cs, and redefining the role of the classroom teacher.  Below is a copy of the keynote and closing slides (links to the videos you'll see on Friday are placed as http addresses in the slides below)!

Slideshow created on Haiku Deck (beta web version).

Our Schedule is still live on our Sched page (http://we13.sched.org).  Go there to see your schedule, room assignments, and review any information on whether or not you need to bring anything with you (noted in the session descriptions).

See you Friday!

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New Teacher Mentoring on Choosing Instructional Web Tools

Second year teachers attending today's after school workshop on Web 2.0 tools, please open the link to our shared Google Presentation sent to you via email or by clicking here.  After we're done, you also have this slide show here for your records.

To anyone else - feel free to browse this slideshow!  

Topic: 

Implementing the right Web 2.0 tools into instruction

Guiding Question:

Is it filter failure or information overload?

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Getting to Know Sched for WE13!

This week, staff will be introduced to our online scheduler for We Engage 13 (http://we13.sched.org).  This scheduler will be hosted on the website, Sched.org.  Take a look at the video below to get a tour of the site, and see the Google Presentation underneath to learn how to add Sched to your smart phone/print your personalized schedule.

View the W.E. 13 Schedule Page

View the W.E. 13 List of Presenters

Feature Tour for Attendees from Sched on Vimeo.

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Skyward Training

For those of you attending any Skyward training with me during the month of September, here is the information on how to find the presentation and media that will be used.  Even if you are not attending any Skyward refresher courses, please feel free to look at my documents which contain roughly 17 silent screen casts embedded into a slideshow of notes.  Covered in the notes are the following topics:

Skyward Training Topics
Logging On	New Layout/Widgets	Secondary vs. Standards Grading
Message Center	Taking Attendance	Lunch Survey
Creating Seating Charts w/Photos of Students	Grid/Reports Printing	Adding Assignments/Events
Adding Online Assessments	Scoring/Grading	Deleting Assignments
Posting Grades	Posting Comments	Category Maintenance
Display Options	Charts	Discipline
Gathering Student Information	Cloning the Gradebook

Here's a few places where items can be found:

1. Your District's Computer
• To find the PowerPoint, click on Computer, Staff Share, District Share, Skyward Redbook, Presentations
• Please SAVE AS a copy for yourself to be placed on your own H-Drive.  Be sure not to edit any material inside of the PowerPoint at the District Share location.
• All videos embedded into the PowerPoint are actually linked to an external page - all videos are hosted on Dropbox and are playable throughout the school day.
2. On Google Drive
• On my blog page, go to Presentations and Workshops, and click on the image corresponding with the Skyward presentation - it is linked to a Google Presentation
• All videos are embedded into the presentation via YouTube and can only be played at school after 3:00 pm (great resources to use if needing assistance from home).
3. My Video Container on Blendspace
• Blendspace is a great tool to bookmark materials for others to see whether they are websites, images, quizzes, directions, video clips, etc.  I've used it to place all of my screen-cast videos from YouTube into one container so you don't have to search for them. Use this if you just want the video and no notes.  The blendspace is embedded below for you to scroll through:

Note: since these videos require streaming via YouTube, please only access after 3pm or at home.

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Our Digital Footprint: Think before you post!

Would you go around freely giving out your personal details to strangers on a daily basis?  You never see people walking on the street holding signs that display their phone number, favorite color, list of friends, and current work address, but with social media we are tempted to over-share information with the world that would usually remain private. Your digital footprint consists of a collection of information that you actively put out online - whether it's status updates, photos, videos, comments (the list goes on) about yourself - and this profile of behavior builds over time with the more you add.  Have you ever wondered what you would find if you Googled yourself?  What would people learn about you?  Here's an example of how surprisingly easy it is for someone to access various information about you found in traces of your digital footprint:

As you spend the next few weeks developing a positive and collaborative learning environment with your students, consider how you can discuss with them the idea of digital citizenship.  There are plenty of resources available online (and many of which you can see in this post), but don't let the resources do all of the talking for you.  Share feelings, concerns, and questions involving social media. Most importantly, talk with them about the importance to T.H.I.N.K. before they post something online (T.H.I.N.K = is what I'm posting True, Helpful, Interesting/innovative/illegal, Necessary, Kind?).  

A lot of social media users (and some times I'm guilty of this especially on personal social networks when it comes to good food!), need to T.H.I.N.K. before they share their thoughts to the world... as seen in this Googly Gooeys graphic below:

If you'd like to discuss digital citizenship with your students, feel free to scroll through use any of these recommended resources of websites, PDFs, and video clips that can help spark discussion!

Or alternatively, click here to access this on Blendspace.

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