If I could Bottle This Day

Common Core, District SMART Initiative, PLCs, RTI, mClass, and more are hitting the teachers in my elementary schools this year. For a lot of us, we are going home at the end of the day thinking maybe bed at 6:00pm until 6am is just what I need, I am so exhausted. Even though I do not have a classroom, we are all feeling the stretch of new material this year and trying hard not to go into "survivor mode."

Recently, our boss's boss challenged us to think of a day when we had worked hard but went home energized and ready to do things with our family. What activities that day promoted that feeling? As I thought about what really revs me up in my job, immediately I thought about a recent challenge I had had.

As you know, we were restructured this year to reflect our base teaching certification. In that restructuring, I gained an elementary school that uses a totally different Interactive White Board than the rest of the district. I will admit that I am a SMART Board guru and have the certifications to prove it, but was totally clueless about Promethean and the ActivInspire Software. The challenge was to ensure that the faculty at that school received the same type of training that was being implemented in the rest of the district, but specific to their IWBs.

So I locked myself in my office and proceeded to use every free moment to teach myself the software and then create example lessons and handouts that conveyed the same expectations for three days of training as the SMART materials. I loved every minute of it once I got past the frustration of getting the software installed on my computer. Now I am no way the expert on it that I feel I am for SMART, but I can definitely say that am an Interactive White Board Bilingual. Confession: I even spent some of Saturday afternoons playing with the software!

The icing on the cake was the first day of training. The teachers loved it! Some have had those boards for a while, but we were able to share ideas and everybody learned something. It was like a high for me.

So what energizes me? Learning new things, creating materials (either for teachers to use in the classroom, or us to use for professional development), and having a great professional development session where light bulbs go off for the participants and me as well. If I could bottle that type of day...

Sounds of Silence

Since Thanksgiving, I have had a bout with laryngitis, (yes 22 days!). After my third trip back to the doctor and working on my double dose of antibiotics and second round of prednisone, I have been placed on vocal rest for a minimum of two days. Those two days started Monday at 5:00pm. First of all, I know those that know me think I am a quiet person. Well, I am not really. I do like to talk when I have something to contribute to the conversation and when I am with friends and family. So this vocal rest has been quite interesting.

A couple of observations, when people learn that you are not supposed to be talking, they will do one of two things: they will whisper or they will talk really loudly. It's OK. You can use your normal voice. My hearing is just fine. Second observation is the quality of my conversations have dropped because I either have to write out what I want to say or type it or try sign language, which I am not very good at!

Hopefully, the meds and the vocal rest will restore my voice. Otherwise, it will be a visit to the ENT specialist for a look inside my throat and my vocal cords. Something, I really don't want to have to experience!

Ever Heard of Kerpoof?

Okay, I admit, I have been super busy this month and didn't take the time to write a blog post. I have been actually co-teaching this month, creating content for teachers, training, training, training, and looking at lots of SMART Board lessons from teachers. I hope to do better as the year progresses, especially after Christmas.

What brings me back today? Kerpoof! Kerpoof is a website, owned and operated by Walt Disney Co., that is all about "having fun, discovering things, and being creative." Did I mention that this is free for in-school use K-8? Educators can set up an account to register students and put them into classes. Students can then work collaboratively on a project such as drawings, animated movies, cards, and storybooks. They also have a section on the site for educators in which they have lesson plans available using the resources on kerpoof. I think I am in love. Check it at at http://www.kerpoof.com or go straight to the Teacher Guide for more detail infomation.

Using Technology as a Tool

There are days I wonder how I could survive without technology because I use it seamlessly every day at work and at home. For example, we were planning a recent trip to a large city, so I Googled it to find out the best places to visit, where to stay, and even recommended restaurants. I then used the TripAdvisor App to further investigate the options I found on the web. I created a Google Doc to share with the folks traveling with me so they could add their input as we built our itinerary. And the whole process was made easier with "technology."

A colleague shared a YouTube Video with me showing a two year old interacting with a magazine and then interacting with an iPad. You guessed it, the two year old had no trouble manipulating the apps on the iPad, but had difficulty grasping how to turn or move the pages in the magazine.

Then I read about an article The New York Times recently published indicating that there is "little proof" that technology improves education in the United States. I can't help but wonder where is the disconnect? Perhaps it is because of the pockets of excellence we have happening in our schools are going unnoticed by the media. 

I want to talk about one such pocket that is happening in a classroom in Gaston County Schools. Becky Perkins, a fifth grade teacher at Sadler, immerses her students in technology so seamlessly that they often ask when are they going to get to use technology. It is so much a part of the culture of the class, they students don't recognize it as "doing technology." She has five literacy stations going on at the same time. Those five stations are comprised of :

• Adobe Digital Editions (eBook projected for small group)
• Literature Discussion Groups (using Flip Share video camera)
• Fluency Center (Students recording their reading using Audacity on the computers in order to improve their fluency)
• Listening Center (mp3 player playing audio text while students follow with printed copy)
• Literature Response Center (via Classroom Blog)

As you can see, all five stations had technology in use by the students, but it wasn't the focus. It is a tool just like I use it in my everyday life. Students see it as learning, but they are using technology to get their work completed. 

Another pocket of excellence that I see is in a computer lab at Cherryville Elementary School. Heidi Harvey plans, creates, and then implements lessons for students in Kindergarten through third grade that is tied to the curriculum and goes along with what the students are learning in their classes. As I work on this post, I am sitting in her class as she teaches third graders how to research animals. The students' task is to find their animal and pay close attention to the images included of the animal. She is teaching Internet safety skills, valid sources, and how to recognize links to additional information. The students then are to sketch their animal as they will be making a clay model of it in art. Sounds like a real world scenario doesn't it? And she has done similar things all day with all grade levels. 

Again, these are but two examples of how technology is being used effectively and making a difference in the education of our students. So I will continue to advocate for technology integration where technology is a tool and not the focus. I agree with Kevin Hogan of Tech & Learning when he says, "To not educate students on how to use the tools and techniques (technology) they need to use in order to succeed is almost criminal."

Greatest Gift a Teacher Can Receive

A preview of the new report sponsored by Scholastic Inc.and Bill and Linda Gates Foundation called “Primary Sources 2011, America’s Teachers on America’s Schools” was recently released. The full report will be released in January. The report captures the voices and opinions of teachers from across the country on learning and public education. One quote caught my attention. An Elementary School Teacher said, “Having the resources to effectively teach and empower all students would be the greatest gift a teacher can receive.”

I am not sure I think resources would be the greatest gift, but I do think that Gaston County Schools has access to many resources to teach students. One that I feel goes under utilized is the use of Discovery Education (formerly United Streaming). There is so much more than videos available for teachers to use to empower their students, including the capability to create classes and add students to those classes. Once the student has been added, they have the access to the great video content, images, clipart, sound files, and more that teachers have, all included in the service paid for by Gaston County Schools. The students can then use that material with Web 2.0 services such as VoiceThread, Museum Box, or a host of other free sites. 

Other resource provided to classrooms in Gaston County Schools are the interactive whiteboards (SMART Boards and Promethean) that can be an effective tool when leveraged for the interactive abilities these boards provide. We have to move beyond the teacher experiencing the tool to the students experiencing the tool.

If you have any interest in learning more about Discovery Education or help with creating interactive lessons, please let me know. I will share these resources with you and help you use them to empower students.

In the meantime, I am curious, what do you think is the greatest gift a teacher can receive?

Market Place on Learning.Com

Learning.com (EasyTech) has launched a new feature called Market Place. Log in and take a few minutes to check it out. Basically they have partnered with 25 education providers (such as Khan Academy, NASA's BEST Students, LEGO) to offer standards aligned content which is already aligned to Common Core. Most of it is free although some is fee based. Check it out and let me know what you think.

SMART Table

Students have been back for a month now, and things are really hopping in the classrooms at my schools. One great thing that I have seen is the SMART Table being returned to use. Especially now that the software has been upgraded to allow teachers to do so much more when creating lessons such as including SMART Notebook lessons in a SMART Table activity pack and the ability to add audio easily to images.

If you have never seen a SMART Table in use, it is an interactive table that allows up to 8 children to touch and manipulate the objects within the activity pack at the same time. It allows students to work collaboratively to solve problems.

For those of you who have a SMART Table, I recommend you join the SMART Table Users Group at http://exchange-forum.smarttech.com/forums/447.aspx?lang=en-US. The groups offers webinars on activity pack creation and has lots of tips for using the Table.

Also, don't forget the SMART Exchange. They now have over 900 activity packs ready for you to download to the bracelet that are ready to use right away with your students. Enjoy.

New Year's Resolutions

I have never been one to make resolutions when one year fades away and a new year begins. I have, however, always been one to reflect so I can make changes and to improve. A new school year always provided that opportunity for me. I would always think about the previous school year and decide new things I wanted to try and clear out things that didn't work so well. Then I would make a list and get started.

As an Instructional Technology Facilitator, I work the same way. I think about various lessons that I have co-taught or modeled as well as professional development that was delivered the previous year. I then make a list of things I need to do to make the lessons and PD better. My main reflection for this year is how to make the follow-up activities teacher friendly. Our county is moving toward using Google Apps and my "resolution" will be to incorporate Google Docs into the follow-up. Hopefully, I will be able to hit two targets: getting teachers comfortable with and using Google Docs and making it easier for me to check on the follow-up activities. I am excitied to see how it goes!

Do You Still Teach?

I had a dentist appointment yesterday with whom I have known both personally and professionally for many years. His wife, a former teacher, is the receptionist for the business. As I was checking out, she asked, "Do you still teach?"

I get that question a lot. It seems like a simple question with a yes or no answer. But nothing is a simple as it seems. Yes I still teach, but no, I don't teach fourth graders or just children any longer. I am a teacher, an educator, a facilitator of Instructional Technology. Then I get 'The Question', "so what is it that you do?"

On any given day the answer to that question is different. I might be meeting with teachers putting together a unit of study for their students in which technology is integral and not just something fun to do. Another day I might be teaching a whole faculty on how to create an interactive white board lesson. Another day, I might be creating professional development on technology for teachers to complete online anytime, anywhere. Yet another day, I might be in the classroom along side a teacher as we co-teach together again with technology seamlessly included. Yet even another day, I might be meeting with teachers during their PLC time, looking at data and brainstorming ways to help students meet the goals and objectives.

There are days when I miss having my own classroom and my own students, especially at this time of the year. But I believe in what I do and believe that our "teaching" touches many and makes a difference in our students' education.

Changes

Someone once said, "If nothing ever changed, then there would be no butterflies."

Although changes are a natural part of life, change is hard causing us to want to stay in the safe and known. However, once we venture out, we experience new and wonderful things and we grow just like the butterfly.

Why the talk about change? It is appropriate at this time of the year for many reasons. Students are getting ready to change grade levels, growing another year older and wiser. Teachers are getting ready to change their classrooms from the quiet slumber of summer into a dynamic culture of learning for their new class of students.

GCS Instructional Technology Facilitators are changing as well. It is now official that we will be divided into Elementary ITFs and Secondary ITFs. The reasons for the change are many having to do with things like Revised Blooms Taxonomy, STEM, and Common Core. But one very important reason is to allow us to use our educational backgrounds to change the educational experience of our students as we help to prepare them for uncharted waters.

Change isn't easy. I will be leaving behind my two secondary schools in which I have invested five years and have formed some valuable friendships. It has been weird knowing that I will not be planning for middle school and high school and a little sad as I know I will miss being in those schools. I trust they will continue to move forward in the great strides we have made.

Change is a little scary. I have balanced my schedule with six schools before and now I will serving eight. Being the perfectionist that I am, I am already putting scenarios on paper on how I can cover those eight so at the end of the day I will look back and know I did my best.

Change is also exciting. I will be diving in deeply into elementary curriculum integration and truly use my skill set where I am best trained to make a difference in education.

I am taking my cue from the butterfly, how about you?

Great Science/Math Resources

In my previous district, I was fortunate in that we had some awesome materials to help with hands-on differentiation in math and science from AIMS Education Foundation. My students and I loved the materials. One of our favorite lessons was determining how the mass changed in gum after it had been chewed for ten minutes. The lesson is called By Golly, By Gum and is one of the free activities available to download to your computer for use.

I don't know about you, but I love free and when your combine it with great materials to help with STEM, then it is a win-win situation.

Go to AIMS Education Foundation and sign up to receive free materials throughout the school year.

Summer Planning

Much like teachers, we take the opportunity over the summer to create and plan for the upcoming school year. One great thing about our summer is the chance for our group to work together. Imagine how interesting it gets sometimes when strong personalities are in a room together for eight to ten hours a day brainstorming! But overall, it works kinda like a PLC. We all bring to the table different strengths and this is our chance to tap into that. I am always proud of the work our group turns out. The downside to spending all of this time together, is the withdrawal of that energy when we return to our respective schools.

That is where some great technology comes into play that you can use to bring the world into your classroom. We collaborate and communicate via Skype, Google Docs, and Google Chat. Would you like to learn how to do incorporate those tools into your lessons, just let me know!

Happy New Year!

No, I am not crazy, I know it is August and not January. So Happy New Year! The stores are gearing up for their back to school sales, teachers have returned to begin to put their classrooms together, and parents are scheduling last minute vacations and activities for their children. A new school year is beginning.

What does that mean for me as an Instructional Technology Facilitator? Just like teachers, I have spent the summer gathering new materials and ideas to use in classrooms with the fresh faces arriving in August. I have participated in professional development in order to improve my pedagogy and technology skills. I have investigated new technologies on the horizon. I have a had good summer!

As we turn the page on the calendar for the new year, I am excited about where we are headed in education and in Gaston County Schools. Instruction and best practices will take the forefront as we revisit Revised Bloom's Taxonomy and use it to create engaging, higher order thinking lessons for our students. We will begin to explore Common Core where the standards will now go deeper and integrate literacy and technology. We will explore cloud computing so I can be productive no matter what computer I am using and where I am as long as I have Internet connection. It will be an exciting year. Again, Happy New Year. Now to think about those resolutions!