A Rose and A Thorn: My Week in Review

I have a very rewarding job.  I also have a very challenging job.  Because of this, I am borrowing a tradition from a dear friend of mine, Mary Lou (@mlz123).  She had her boys share a "rose" and a "thorn" about the day each night at the dinner table.  I love this idea and want to apply it to my week...

Rose
A teacher called me into her room and asked about a web 2.0 tool that wouldn't work on the Chromebooks.  When I gave her an alternative, she said, "I knew you'd know what to do."  That's pretty nice that they can count on me for advice, help, suggestions...  :)

Thorn
Another teacher told me about some students who were 'never going to have what it takes' to pass the STAAR test.  Wow.  I was nearly moved to tears thinking, "What if that was Jake or Cooper (my boys) she was talking about?"  As educators, I think we need to always remember who our customers are - KIDS...ALL of them!

What was YOUR rose and thorn from this week?

This one is for @terrie_rambo - technolicious at ANY age!

Today, on Mother's Day, I want to reflect on one of the coolest, hardest working, most dedicated educators and moms I know.  My own mom, Terrie Rambo.  I am a fourth generation educator.  I come from a long line of people who made public education their life's work.  My mom is no exception and I know it's because of her (and my dad, who is also an educator!) that my sister (@MadameGourault) and I chose this field and have also dedicated our lives to serving students.

Last week my mom shared with me her grant proposal for a set of Chromebooks for her classroom.  She has is back in the classroom as a physics teacher in Tyler, Texas and is constantly looking for ways to use technology with her students.  She uses tools like Todays Meet, YouTube and also wants to start using Google Apps for Education to help engage her students and stay current with innovative teaching practices.  She's even attending the Texas Google Summit next weekend!  GO MOM!

I want to thank all of you veteran teachers out there who continue to learn, grow and find ways to keep up in this crazy digital world of education.  I am proud of each of you for taking a risk, doing something out of your comfort zone and proving that you can be TECHNOLICIOUS at any age and stage of your career!

I love you, Mom, and I thank you for being the absolute BEST mentor in education, in motherhood and in life.  You are amazing.

My First #EdCamp Experience

This weekend I attended my first ever edcamp and it just so happens I was also one of the organizers of this event.  {I say this very loosely, because there were MANY who did FAR more than I did!}  I want to first say that I enjoyed the day and I think Todd Nesloney, Stacey Huffine and all of their crew did a great job with EdCampWaller.  I didn't hear anyone complain, everyone was all smiles and there was a buzz in the facility as people were traveling and learning.

There has been much discussion over the past couple of days about edcamps and I want to weigh in.  My friend, Kristy Vincent {@bigpurplehat} wrote this post titled "Edcamps Have Been Hijacked."  I think this is a very candid look at what edcamps started out as and what they have become.

Being that this was my first edcamp, I have NOTHING to compare it to.  I had NO idea what this was going to look like - even though I did watch the EdCampPhilly video prior to the event.  :)  Here are my thoughts and impressions as an edcamp first-timer.

• I think a discussion/review of what edcamps are and how they work/look at the beginning of the day would be helpful.  (Note: This may have happened at EdCampWaller while I was working on updating the schedule!)  
• I heard a couple of "presenters" say ... "It's really hard to sign up to lead a session when I don't really know what people want to learn."  I think this could be solved by having a "sticky note" activity like Kristy mentioned in her post above.
• Several attendees were confused when they attended a session that was a "discussion" and not a "presentation."  Even a few of my BISD peeps didn't understand that a session could just be someone wanting to talk about "stuff." Again, I think having a demonstration or a really good explanation of an "edcamp session" in the opening would help edcamp newbies.
• A few folks were also uncomfortable with the "vote with your feet"concept.  I, personally, am not ok with just getting up and leaving someone's session!  Could this concept be improved upon?  Is there another way to do this?  Maybe if there isn't a "presenter" then it doesn't matter - you're merely leaving a round table...  ??
• I feel strongly that physical room layout is UBER important!  If I walk into a room with rows and a projector at the front of the room, I think conference-style presentation.  Simply rearranging furniture and putting the desks or tables or chairs into groups or a big circle would help give the impression of a discussion rather than lecture.

Again, I want to reiterate that I had a lovely first experience at EdCampWaller, but I am glad we have started this discussion about edcamps.   I also appreciated Dan Callahan's follow-up post about shared responsibility.  We're all playing for the same team here!  Let's keep these open discussions going so that we can all work together to create the BEST PD experiences for ourselves and our peers!!

An interesting look at the #ISTE NETS #bisdwired

Let's start at the beginning - do you know what ISTE is?  ISTE stands for International Society for Technology in Education.  This is a wonderful organization that provides resources, professional development and amazing publications for the world of educational technology.

Which brings me to the NETS.  As stated on the ISTE site:

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) are the standards for learning, teaching, and leading in the digital age and are widely recognized and adopted worldwide.

If you've ever taken the time to really look at the ISTE NETS, they're just plain good.  If you haven't, I urge you to do that now.  Here are the links...

• NETS for Administrators
• NETS for Teachers
• NETS for Students

As I was doing research and taking another look at these NETS, I wondered what they would like like in word cloud format.  I am sure I am not the first person to do this, but just in case you are like me and missed the last person who did...here's what this looks like...

NETS for Administrators

NETS for Teachers

NETS for Students

Aside from some of the big themes across the three word clouds (learning, digital, technology, USE...), the words that caught my eye were...

• Administrators - support, promote, vision, resources
• Teachers - promote, STUDENTS, tools, professional
• Students - information, media, systems, problems

I like the picture that this paints in my mind the roles are for administrators, teachers and students.  I would love to hear your thoughts, as well.  How is your district using the ISTE NETS?

And, I hope you join me at the ISTE Conference this summer in San Antonio!

What is #PBL and how do I do it?!

Our big focus in BISD this year is project based learning.  However, the PBL process can be a beast and I think sometimes overwhelm a teacher before they even get started.  I created a one-page, non-threatening document to share with BISD teachers with a few easy steps to understanding what PBL really is and how to do it.  Please feel free to use, republish, share or modify to meet your own needs!

What are the basics of PBL and how do I do it?

With help from 8 Essentials for Project-Based Learning and Manor New Tech HS Step-by-Step Guide to the Best Projects

1. Significant content - plan a project that the kids will care about
1. Start with CSCOPE Unit Performance Indicators and TEKS (must be standards-based!)
2. Consider current events, community problems, school issues - connect it to real-life!
2. A Need to Know - hook the students so they’ll be engaged and initiate questioning
1. Plan an “entry event” to grab their attention (video, speaker, discussion, field trip, mock scenario, Skype - ask your administrator/instructional coach/instructional tech to help!)
2. Here you can introduce key vocabulary and brainstorm a list of questions after the event
3. A Driving Question - should challenge the students and give them a sense of purpose
1. Use “Critical Friends” process to brainstorm and craft the perfect question with your team.
2. The Driving Question should be provocative, open-ended, complex and linked to the core of what you want your students to learn (go back to the TEKS and Performance Indicators!).
4. Student Voice and Choice - give your students ownership in their final product
1. Provide a variety of product choice examples (3-5 is ok...doesn’t have to be wide open!)
2. Design the project with the extent of student choice that fits your own style and students.  
5. 21st Century Skills - collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking & TECHNOLOGY
1. Utilize planning forms, team contracts, question slips - be sure to set clear expectations.
2. Opportunities to build 21st century skills will serve students in the workplace and in life!
3. Don’t have enough computers? PBL works great with learning stations/centers!
6. Inquiry and Innovation - answer questions with a question!
1. Encourage inquiry and collaboration among students - don’t just give away the answer!
2. Constantly revisit the list of questions you brainstormed from entry event and add to it.
3. Your students should question, research, discover answers, generate new questions, test ideas, and ultimately draw their own conclusions without you handing them the information.
7. Feedback and Revision - set timelines, have checkpoints, and use rubrics for learning outcomes
1. In addition to providing direct feedback, coach students in using rubrics to critique their own and one another’s work.  Make rubrics available up front - have clear expectations.
2. Set timelines for individual and products products and have checkpoints along the way.
3. It’s ok to direct teach (“workshops”) and have written assessments accompany rubrics.
8. Publicly Presented Product - more meaningful when it’s not done only for the teacher or the test
1. Invite parents, colleagues, etc. and have presentations outside of normal classroom.
2. When students present their work to a real audience, they care more about its quality.
3. Your Instructional Technology Specialist and Instructional Coach can help you set this up!
   
   

Get the Google Doc here.

iPads + Clay Yourself + @PicMonkeyApp = Library Fun! #bmswired

Our BMS librarian, Deb Tackett (@DebTackett) is TOTALLY awesome and always looking for ways she can stay current and keep her library up-to-date.  One of the ways she's doing this is by using iPads during her library time for activities with QR codes, fun fact scavenger hunts, internet research and having fun while learning with cool apps.

Deb is a funny lady and when she got her 4 new shiny iPads she had a clear vision of how she wanted to manage them.  She wanted teachers and kids to be able to check them out to use, but she wanted an easy way to remember who checked out what iPad.  What better way to keep up with them than to name them?!

Sure, sure...she could have numbered them and kept up with #1, #2, #3 and #4, but that is SO not Deb's style.  She decided to name her iPads Amy (A), Brad (B), Cindy (C) and Doug (D).  LOVE THIS!  We decided to take it a step further and make it very easy to recognize which iPads were checked out.  We created avatars using ClayYourself.com (a GREAT and EASY tool!) and PicMonkey (worth the cost to upgrade!) to create personas for the iPad wallpapers.

Here's what we created...

Don't you think your kids would SO LOVE to use an iPad with a name rather than a number?!

Reader's Response - TECHNOFIED!

Months ago I came across this site while researching reader's response ideas for a teacher.  Whenever I see traditional classroom ideas, I can't help but imagine their digital counterpart.  I like the list at the bottom of this website with "Other Literature Response Activities."  Without even thinking, I was mentally pairing some of my favorite web 2.0 tools with the ideas in this list.  Here's what I came up with...

Other Literature Response Activities:

• Compare and contrast characters, two books or texts, etc. (RWT: Interactive Venn Diagram)
• Create an alternate ending. (Google Presentation)
• Create a book jacket. (RWT: Book Cover Creator)
• Retell a story. (RWT: Story Map or Voki Speaking Avatar)
• Summarize a book.  (RWT: Story Cube or ABCya! Animation)
• Write a letter to a character. (RWT: Letter Generator)
• Make a puzzle depicting a scene or a character. (Big Huge Labs: Jigsaw)
• Create a poem about the text. (Diamante Poem Maker or RWT: Acrostic Poem)
• Create a crossword puzzle based on the story. (Discovery Ed: Puzzlemaker)
• Make a cartoon of your favorite scene or an entire story. (Bitstrips)
• Write a review. (Google Docs)
• Create a scrapbook. (Scholastic: Character Scrapbook)