Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Breakout of Typical Breakout Thinking

Do you know about BreakoutEDU? Maybe you attended the session last February where you had the chance to experience it yourself. Maybe you've participated in one with your coworkers. Maybe you've done some with your students. They are a ton of fun and there is a lot of activity hitting the 4 C's -- creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.



One thing that sometimes scares teachers off from attempting a BreakoutEDU with their kids is the set up. There are papers to be printed out and locks to set. Doing this for the first time can be daunting, but it gets easier the more times you do it.

But what if you could do a BreakoutEDU lesson that didn't require that? Sounds too good to be true, but it's totally possible! Cue the digital Breakout!

Digital Breakouts are done completely online. Students start at an initial website and solve puzzles and work through problems then submit their answers online. Even though they are not physically unlocking locks, they are still very much involved in those 4 C's. One thing that is really nice regarding the digital Breakout activities is that it is really easy to break kids into teams to work on the activity. You can put kids in groups of three, and each group can work at their own pace on their own activity.

There are some Breakout games that are free and some that are paid. You can sign in with your work Google account to create a free account and access the free games.

If using BreakoutEDU sounds like something you'd like to try in your class -- either using the box with the locks or using a digital game -- but you're unsure how to start, that's what I am here for! Let me know and I can help you find a game, set it up, and run it! If you've used a Breakout game in your class, please share in the comments! You just might inspire someone else to tackle this fun learning activity!

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Jigsaw Activities with Google Slides

I'm sure we have all had experience doing jigsaw reading -- my first experience with it, believe it or not, was when I was working on my master's degree. I remember thinking it had some pros and cons -- I liked that a long reading was broken up between multiple people so I didn't have to read as much, but I also didn't like it when I was responsible for reading something in the middle of an article but didn't always have the context needed to make full sense of what I was reading because I didn't read the information before my assigned section.

You can take the best part of a jigsaw activity and use it in your class effectively and easily with Google Slides! Think of it as crowd-sourcing for education! Here's an example of how it can be used:

Let's say you want your students to learn about the life cycle of a plant. You can easily break students up into groups and assign each group one part of the life cycle. That group researches their topic and they become "experts" in that aspect. Then each group is given one slide of a Google Slides slide deck and they put the information about their assigned part of the life cycle on the slide. When each group is done, you have a complete resource on the entirety of the life cycle that can be used by all students in the class.

This is something that can be done across grade levels and subject areas!

  • Literature: events that take place in each stage of the plot of a story or novel
  • Grammar: students create sample sentences demonstrating different uses of comma rules
  • Social studies: complete a study of a country -- geography, industry, history, culture, climate, etc.
  • Math: students explain the steps for completing a problem at the top of the slide
  • Science: students research inventors and their inventions -- one slide per inventor/invention
  • Music: students share YouTube videos of different composers' music
  • Art: students share images that depict different styles of art -- abstract, impressionism, still life, etc.
  • P.E.: students crate a warm-up routine for the start of class; put the exercise on a slide then run the slide show at the start of class for students to follow
Most of the hard work has been done for you already, too! I found this great template that you can use, too!

Have you done something like this already, or are you planning to now? I'd love it if you'd share in the comments below! 

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

You Need Some Stinkin' Badges!

It's hard to believe that teachers could be so excited about -- of all things! -- stickers, but here we are! My sticker mania started at my first EdTech Team conference in January 2016. While there, I saw all sorts of other teachers with stickers all over their Chromebooks and I wanted some, too. Then I learned that some of their stickers were freebies (like the adorable pears you can get from visiting the Peardeck booth or attending a Peardeck session) but some stickers were EARNED by completing a task or challenge or accomplishing a goal. This is what inspired me to work with our esteemed Director of 21st Century to develop some badges for our teachers to get for themselves by tackling all the new things that came with Chromebooks and "going Google".

I knew the stickers were a hot when some teachers had to relinquish their machines last year, thus losing their stickers. Mayhem ensued! I asked those teachers to let me know which badges they lost and I would send them replacements. It was tons of fun feeling the positive energy last year when teachers get new badges to proudly display. And I'm guessing that there are teachers who need some badges but don't have them.

So this week's post is a reminder to keep on doing all you can to master the G Suite for Education tools, finding ways to incorporate them into your classroom to improve teaching and learning, to keep finding ways to give your students creative, innovative learning experiences, to keep sharing the learning that is happening in your classroom, and to keep growing from the stumbles you make along the way rather than let them stop you from trying anything new.

And get some badges in recognition for the innovation that is taking place!

Want to know what badges are available for you? Check them out here!

And now that you know what's available, start to work toward those badges -- move your way through SAMR, incorporate those 4 C's, and proudly display the rewards for all your efforts! Fill out the form below to apply for a badge!

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Sharing Your Experience


This week, I sent out the call for proposals for the February institute day. I am so excited that I have already received responses! But I am eagerly awaiting more -- YOURS in particular!

Let me offer a quick Q & A here:

What can I present? I don't do anything special in my class.
You don't have to do anything "special" at all! What do you do well? What are you really comfortable with? What do your students really respond to? What do your colleagues tell you they really like that you do? What have people asked you to share with them? THOSE are the things that are worthy of sharing at our institute day! What tool, site, app, etc. have you found really useful or that kids really respond to? That's worth sharing at our institute day! What lesson have you developed that is really engaging and meaningful for your students? That's worth sharing at our institute day!

I'm not very techy, so I can't present.
This institute day does not have to be all about technology! Think back to the great sessions last February from Laura DuBois talking about the principles in the book Teach Like a Pirate. Not techy! Or the highly informative session on poverty presented by our social workers? Not techy! Or the fun session to develop the 4 C's playing BreakoutEDU? Not techy! Is there a great education book you're read recently that the principles are worth sharing? Something you learned at at conference or from a grad class? Is there a philosophy you want to tell your co-workers about? These are all great ideas for breakout sessions!

I don't want to be a show-off.
Presenting a session at our February institute doesn't make you a show-off. It makes you a leader. The number one thing teachers say they like most about that institute day is that it highlights OUR teachers and focuses on OUR students. You couldn't ask for a more positive, personalized professional development day!

I get so nervous in front of crowds!
I get it! So do I! But the best thing about this institute day is that you are in a familiar and comfortable setting with people you know and who know you and who want to learn from you. You couldn't ask for a better environment to present in! Or ask a co-worker to present with you!

I want to present, but I'm not sure what to do!
Let me know and I can sit down with you and talk with you to help you discover something that would be great to share with everyone!

I'm ready to present! Where do I sign up?
Right here! I've been waiting for your response!

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Hour of Code is Coming!

The Hour of Code is a world wide event designed to give students an opportunity to learn coding, or at least to experience it. The dates for this event are December 4 - 8 and Channahon School District 17 is taking part again! The goal is for all our students K - 8 to get an hour of coding experience over the course of that week. Currently, here is the plan for how to make that happen:

  • At NBG, students will get to have some coding experiences in the IDEA Lab.
  • At PP, Robyn will be scheduling times to come visit classes to facilitate coding activities with students.
  • At TRS, I will be requesting time to come visit classrooms to facilitate coding activities.
  • At CJHS, 7th grade students receive coding lessons each trimester through their computers arts rotation; 8th grade students will have coding lessons during their science class time.
For more information on coding and the Hour of Code event, click here to read the post I shared last year about this!

In the comments, please share your thoughts about our students getting the chance to be part of Hour of Code!

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Technology Integration -- The 4 C's

Any discussion about integrating technology into teaching and learning should also include references to the 4 C's:

  • Critical thinking
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Creativity
When you think about how we have introduced our G Suite for Education tools and the way the one-to-one program is supposed to work, you likely realize that there is a lot more you and your students can do that just do worksheets online or embed YouTube videos into a Google slide deck. Being one-to-one and having access to the G Suite tools lends itself seamlessly to developing lessons and learning experiences that incorporate the 4 C's listed above.

Take a few minutes to watch the video below that explains the 4 C's in detail -- explaining what is meant by each term as well as providing examples of what those look like.

Now here is a challenge for you: you've watched the video, you understand what the 4 C's are, and you're thinking about what you do in your classroom. Can you share in the comments section of this post one lesson you teach or an activity your kids do that uses the G Suite applications and addresses one or more of the 4 C's? This is a great way to share your ideas as well as get ideas from other people! I'll add one of my own as a comment on this post, too!

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Security

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

The last of the nine themes is digital security -- our own. Just like we take steps to keep our homes and property safe (lock our doors, lock car doors, install a security system), it's important to keep our online lives secure as well. We do that by making sure we have anti-virus software on our computers (AND making sure it is up-to-date), backing up our data and files, using surge protectors, or password protecting our home networks.

Chances are, our students don;t think much about those things since they're not the ones in charge of that. At home, their parents take care of it. At school, the technology department does it. That's why it's important for kids to understand that their access to the internet, their information, their technology, and their files are relatively safe BECAUSE there are things in place to protect them. How can we reinforce this understanding to our students? Here are some ideas:

  • At the start of the year, talk to kids about how their Chromebooks differ from a regular laptop and the difference between saving files and data to the cloud (like it happens in a Google account) or to a hard drive (like files saved on a computer).
  • When students' access to a site is blocked here at school and they get frustrated, use it as a teachable moment, explaining to the kids how the firewall prevents things like viruses from entering our network as well as preventing students (and teachers) from accidentally clicking on something that could harm our files or our school network. The firewall is our friend :-)
Just like real-life safety can be a bit of a hassle (like if you've ever locked your keys in your car or locked yourself out of your house), online security can be a bit of a hassle, too (it takes time to run updates of anti-virus software or do a backup of data, it's a pain when you forget the password to your home network). But without those protective measures in place, we leave ourselves vulnerable to far greater inconveniences -- like losing all our files or having to buy a whole new computer!

Want to learn more about some of the worst viruses ever? Check out this fascinating video!

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Health and Wellness

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

Theme 8 of 9 is about digital health and wellness. Anyone who uses technology on a regular basis needs to be aware that there are both physical and psychological risks that come with technology use.

Physical risks can include things like eye strain, neck, back, and shoulder pain, and repetitive use injury. Click here to read an article that talks about some of the physical injuries kids experience as a result of tech use. And then here's another article that outlines some really odd injuries you could sustain while using technology! But, just like there are risks associated with anything we do but we do those activities anyway, we continue to use technology -- it would be unrealistic to just stop! What can we do to minimize physical risks for our students?

  • Talk with kids about ergonomics -- explain to them and model for them how to sit in a chair while using a computer, how to position their hands, how to hold devices like an iPad or a mouse, and keep the screens far enough away from their faces.
  • Limit screen time in class to only that which is required to complete school work.
  • Give kids the opportunity to get up, walk around, look away from their screens, stretch their necks, backs, shoulders, or hands when having to work on an extended task on a computer.
  • Listen carefully for noise emanating from kids' headphones while they are listening to something on their computer, and ask kids to turn volume down and remove headphones when someone is talking.
  • Make sure kids have their devices closed when walking; looking at a screen while walking can lead to trips and falls or running into things like walls or other people -- not to mention potential damage to their Chromebooks!
  • Encourage students to dim their screens enough to reduce glare or over-exposure but not too low that they can't see their screen easily.
In addition to physical risks, there are psychological risks as well. There are some people who find themselves "addicted" to technology, finding themselves compulsively checking their tech devices, even when they shouldn't be (in class when they are not supposed to be using their devices) or when it could be dangerous (walking in the hallway). And technology can also be used for nefarious purposes, like sexting, identity theft, and cyberbullying, making victims of these online issues feel alone, scared, isolated, angry, depressed -- almost any negative emotion you can think of. Check out this article that discusses some ways that social media use can have a negative impact on mental health. What can we do for our students to help them stay mentally well in the digital age?
  • Be sure kids understand the emotional impact things like cyberbullying and online harassment can take on the victims. Helping kids develop empathy can go a long way!
  • Use teachable moments as they arise, being mindful of the age of your students. When stories come up in the news or in discussion during class, use them as a springboard for discussion (What can you do if you know someone is being bullied online? What kinds of information should you not share online to keep your identity from being stolen? How would you feel if someone posted an embarrassing picture of you online?).
  • Watch for the classic signs of trouble -- withdrawing socially, not wanting to be at school, being emotional or sensitive.
Having technology at kids' fingertips can make learning fun, engaging, and personally meaningful. But there is a possibility of too much of a good thing. Helping our students be aware of risks and helping them minimize risks when using technology is all just part of a day's work!

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Rights and Responsibilities

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

Topic 7 of 9 focuses on digital rights and responsibilities. Just as citizens of our country, we have certain rights guaranteed to us, we also have some rights guaranteed to us online as well. We have a right to freedom of expression, privacy, etc. online as well as in our non-digital lives. And just like in real life, those rights also come with responsibilities to ourselves and others.

It's important for students to understand that yes, they do have rights online, but they need to also understand that exercising those rights can be tricky.

First of all, every service or site students use is governed by terms of service. Probably, most students (and adults, too, for that matter) don't bother reading the TOS when they sign up for Twitter or download Instagram or Snapchat on their phones. The problem with that is now they are not sure if they ever violate those TOS. For instance, cyberbullying or other kinds of electronic harassment is going to be a violation of the TOS. As teachers, we can help students understand the value in reviewing the TOS before using a site or a service. You could analyze, as a class, the TOS for something like iTunes or Snapchat or even Netflix and discuss with kids what some of those rules mean. I used to do this with the iTunes TOS when I taught computers and kids were always shocked to discover how many ways they were violating the rules :-)

Also, it is important to realize that the freedom kids have online does not exempt them from consequences. That is one of the topics Officer Lazzari and I try to cover with kids at the junior high in tech safety lessons, that sometimes they things you say and do online are appropriate, sometimes they're just being mean or rude, and sometimes they're illegal.

This also ties into the concept of the kids' digital footprint. Kids can make themselves look however they want to online. They can control their online reputation. Their posts on social media can and do have very real consequences -- students have lost college admission and scholarships, and adults have lost jobs and job offers because they were irresponsible online.

We can help kids understand all this by continuing to guide them in their online behaviors and interactions. When having kids send emails, take some time to teach them email etiquette. When collaborating on work, encourage kids to offer constructive feedback to their peers; maybe even model what constructive and unhelpful feedback looks like. When stories come up in current events, use them as teachable moments (obviously keeping things age appropriate); ask kids what would have been a better way to handle this or what was the problem with what the person did.

Essentially, all the etiquette we use to interact with our fellow humans in person are also in effect online. One of the most simple yet straightforward way to help kids understand this is to ask them, "What you are about to do or say online, would you also do or say that in person in front of your friends, family, teachers?" If it's not something they would do in person, they shouldn't do it online.

Need help coming up with ways to make digital rights and responsibilities clear? Reach out -- I;d love to come up with ideas for your kids!

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Law

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

This week's topic, digital law, seems pretty obvious on the surface. Digital law deals with unethical use of technology, including things like

  • Hacking into others' accounts or information
  • Accessing other people's accounts or files without their consent
  • Illegal downloading of files (music, movies, images, etc.)
  • Plagiarism
  • Creating or disseminating destructive programs (worms, viruses, Trojan horses, etc.)
  • Sending spam messages
  • Identity theft


These are all things that you likely know are illegal, and the kids probably do, too. They might not realize that things like plagiarism are also legal issues, though, so it is worth discussing these topics with kids so they understand what digital law entails.

What is not so clear with digital law, though, are questions like
  • When does cyberbullying become a crime?
  • When does free expression online become a crime?
  • When does sharing images or information online become a crime?
One way to help students understand aspects of digital law is to involve the experts: the local police. Technology safety lessons in grades 5 - 8 cover topics such as sexting, cyberbullying, and digital footprint and the legal aspects of those topics. When those lessons are taught. our school resource officer helps present the lessons by bringing in copies of laws to share with students as well as share what he has learned on the job that can helpful for kids to make good digital decisions.



One of my favorite go-to cyberbullying resources is the Cyberbullying Resource Center. Their website contains
  • Current research on cyberbullying
  • A database of laws related to cyberbullying by state
  • Blog posts with discussions of timely topics related to cyberbullying and technology safety  (like this one on Sarahah, which exploded in popularity tight at the start of this school year)
  • Resources for teachers, students, parents, and communities
In addition, other technology safety websites offer resources that address different digital law topics for different age groups, including
Feel free to browse these resources to find timely lessons to reinforce what you are already doing in your class with your kids. And as always, let me know if I can come in and help you with this or if I can assist with lessons, too!

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Etiquette

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

Today's topic is number 5 of 9 -- digital etiquette, sometimes referred to as "netiquette". Digital etiquette is exactly what it sounds like -- proper conduct when using digital tools. In fact, when people think of digital citizenship, etiquette tends to be the first thing they think of. Sometimes digital etiquette is thought of as a list of "don'ts":
  • Don't share personal information online.
  • Don't talk to strangers online.
  • Don't meet someone in person that you've only previously met online.
  • Don't share passwords.
  • Don't use inappropriate language.
  • Don't be a cyberbully.
Often, those "don'ts" are shared after an incident has occurred. It might be better to start with a list of "do's" as soon as kids start to use digital tools -- which can be pretty young!
  • Keep personally identifiable information to yourself online.
  • Only interact with people you know personally.
  • Keep passwords confidential.
  • Interact with people respectfully.
A common knee-jerk reaction to an incident of improper digital etiquette is to ban the use of the technology -- take away the phone or computer, stop someone from using an account, or close/deactivate an account. Sometimes, these kinds of punishments are necessary, ultimately, what should be done is use the incident as a teachable moment by reinforcing the learning about digital etiquette -- help the child understand what he or she did wrong and what the proper way to behave actually is.

One easy way to reinforce digital etiquette in the classroom is to give kids the opportunity to use digital tools and remind them of the expected behavior before and during use. There are also plenty of online resources. A simple Google search of "digital etiquette lessons" will return many results, including some from familiar resources:

If you're interested in planning any digital etiquette lessons for your students, let me know if you want any help! I can help you find resources, develop lessons, even come facilitate lessons with you!

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Literacy

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

Theme 4 of 9 is digital literacy. Sometimes this gets overlooked because we hear the kids we currently teach referred to as "digital natives" all the time, so often the assumption is that kids know how to use technology since they've had it in their lives from the very beginning. However, being born into an era of technology doesn't mean being born automatically knowing how to use all that technology.

I was at a conference not long ago, and the speaker told us, "Take out your phone and look at it. Do you have a current, state of the art phone? Take a good look at it and realize that for our young students, the ones in elementary school, this is the worst technology they will have in their lives." That statement hit me like a ton of bricks. My cool, current iPhone was going to be my students' equivalent of a Motorola Razr or a Nextel phone???? But this begs the question, "How do we prepare kids to be able to use technology that doesn't even exist yet?"

The key to this is NOT learning how to use the current technology at hand. Rather, the key is learning how to learn. So as not to put anyone on the spot, I'll use myself as a quick example.

When I learned Dr. Henkle was hired as our new superintendent, I also learned about what he had done at his previous district with Chromebooks and strongly suspected we were going to be using them here soon, too, so I bought a Chromebook for myself to try it out. What I did to figure out some of the things that I wasn't used to included Googling problems I had or "how do I" questions as well as watching videos on YouTube. Things I could remember, I kept in my head. Things that I was afraid I would forget got written on Post-It notes and stuck to my Chromebook until I could keep them in my head. I did nearly the same thing when I switched from an iPhone to a Pixel phone -- lots of Googling, bookmarking websites that I knew would be good sources of information, and talking to people who I knew would be good go-to people for advice on my phone.

So, how did I learn?

  • Google searching
  • Saving resources online
  • Watching instructional videos
  • Making notes for myself
  • Consulting experts

This is how we can help our students develop digital literacy as well. When they go to try a new piece of technology or a new technology tool, don't feel the need to instruct them on every little detail; show them the basics and then let them try it out. Productive struggle is a great learning experience! Encourage kids to help each other when they are stuck. Let them Google the solutions or watch videos on how to do something. Don't feel like you need to be the expert -- you don't! Kids can be resourceful; we just need to encourage it and give kids the opportunities to try new things.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Communication

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

Theme 3 of 9 is digital communication. This is a biggie! For some of us, we might communicate electronically with others more than we even do face to face (whether this is good, bad, or otherwise is a discussion for another post). Since digital communication is so common, it stands to reason that there is some etiquette behind that mode of communication. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to explain and reinforce with the kids in our class.

One thing to consider is choice -- what is the best way to communicate with someone? There are so many forms -- email, phone call, text messaging, instant messaging, chatting on collaborative work, Skype/Google Hangouts/FaceTime, gaming, social media. Even though all these types of electronic communication are pretty readily available, they aren't all created equal. For instance, a supervisor who needs to let his staff know he won't be in the office one day probably wouldn't choose a phone call to each employee as the best way to communicate that. Students working together on a project who need immediate feedback might choose to use a chat feature instead of email. And a teacher who wants to invite the principal to visit his or her classroom probably won't choose to send that invitation via Snapchat! (Although that might be fun....)



A simple discussion with our students whenever they are faced with communicating electronically with someone else can help them decide the best way to initiate that communication. A discussion about the purpose of the communication and with whom they are communicating can generate ideas about the most and least effective forms of communication.

The other consideration is etiquette. Questions to consider:

  • How should I address the other person?
  • How formal should my language be?
  • How long should my message be?
  • How often should I be in communication with this person?
  • What information is okay and not okay to be shared electronically (ex.: email address -- okay to share; passwords, account numbers -- not okay to share in electronic communication)?
Again, before initiating any electronic communication, we can simply have a discussion with our students about the above questions. This will help them understand that different kinds of communication require different modes and different behaviors.

How can we help students practice their electronic communication skills? Here are some ideas:
  • Encourage students to send you an email if they have questions.
  • Find a virtual pen pal for students to communicate with.
  • Have a guest speaker visit your classroom via Skype/Google Hangouts.
  • Offer students the opportunity to work collaboratively on projects in your class.
  • Seize teachable moments, whether they come from within the classroom or from stories we hear in the media.
  • Host online discussions through Google Classroom.
  • Create activities where students collaborate and comment on each others' work using something like Padlet.
Finally, it's worth reminding students that whatever form of digital communication they choose to use, they're going to be governed by some terms of service. Here at school, on the job, at home using their personal email accounts or social media -- all of their communication is monitored in some fashion. All electronic communication can be vulnerable to being intercepted or hacked. All methods of electronic communication have items that are prohibited from being shared (i.e., using the communication for anything illegal).

Want help with this in your classroom or more ideas how to encourage improved digital communication skills with your students? Just let me know -- feel free to send me an email or a Snapchat :-)

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Commerce

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

Theme number 2 of 9 is digital commerce, which is the electronic buying and selling of goods. I don;t know if you are anything like me, but a serious amount of my shopping is done online. I am a heavy Amazon Prime user, and I do almost all of my Christmas shopping online -- including ordering gift cards! Of course, I wasn't always that way because the ability to shop online didn't always exist or wasn't that easy to do. But now it is, and chances are digital commerce is only going to continue to grow in use as time goes on. It makes sense then to help kids understand digital commerce, even thought the kids we teach don't have credit cards or debit cards to make purchases. Concepts kids should know related to digital commerce include

  • Understanding how to recognize secure transactions (like looking for operational SSL)
  • Understanding how online purchases through established accounts work (like buying apps, upgrades in apps, music, or other items work with an account like iTunes that is already connected to a credit card)
  • Knowing the risks of sharing personal information on digital commerce sites -- which can be anything from harrowing identity theft to annoying spam email)
Here are some resources you can use to talk with students about digital commerce:
If you need help tackling this topic in your class, let me know! I'd love to help you teach this important topic to your kids!

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Digital Citizenship -- Digital Access

This post builds on the ideas shared in the article "Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship".

As you have heard many times (and will continue to hear), digital citizenship needs to be reinforced continuously considering our students all have Google accounts AND we are now 1:1! Exciting, yes, and fraught with responsibility!

The digital citizenship website I referenced above lists nine themes of digital citizenship. Over the next nine blog posts, I'd like to address each one of the themes and give you ideas about how you can address those themes easily in your classroom.

The first theme listed is digital access which addresses the fact that not everyone has the same access to technology. This is true even in our school district. While all students now have a device at their disposal during the school day and student sin grades 5 - 8 are able to take their devices home, it is entirely possible that some kids can't use their devices at home. Some nay not have internet access at home, while some may have internet but not wireless access. What can we do to make sure our students have access to the resources we ask them to use at home if they are limited somehow at home? Here are a couple of suggestions:

  • Know where students can go outside of school to get internet access. There are places, like the public library, that have free wireless access. Encourage students and their families to look for the locations in our community that have partnered with Channahon School District 17 to provide wireless access for students. Here's the logo to look for:
  • Also available from the local public library are mobile hot spots. (Contact or stop in at Three Rivers Public Library to learn more about this.)
  • If you know of families who might be having a difficult time financially gaining home internet access, contact the district office. They have resources they can refer to in order to assist families as much as possible.
Giving students Google accounts and putting a device in their hands doesn't guarantee digital access. But knowing what resources are available to our students once they leave our classrooms can help bridge any digital access divides.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Get Certified!

My first badge!

When our illustrious Director of 21st Century Learning, Jeremy, was hired last year, he shared an aspiration with us: he thought it would be a terrific accomplishment if we could have 100% of our teachers be Google Certified Educators. I couldn't agree more!

We already have probably a dozen or so teachers who are Google Certified, so you know it can be done! But why? What's so great about being a Google Certified Educator? Let me share my thoughts, in no particular order.

My second badge!

  • You will come away with a really good understanding of how to use the G Suite tools, which will be of great benefit to you in your day to day work as well as when you are working with your students.
  • You will come up with lots of great ideas about how to maximize the use of the G Suite applications to enhance teaching and learning in your classroom.
  • You will definitely learn all sorts of new tips and tricks, things you didn't know you could do with G Suite applications.
  • The training is free, self-paced, and in-depth. 
  • The exam is affordable -- $10!
  • The exam is challenging, but after you complete it, you will be amazed at how much you know and the sense of accomplishment is really fulfilling.
  • Certification lasts for 2 years, which means you'll have to re-certify, but it also means that your skills will always be up-to-date!
  • You get a cool badge you can use in your email signature or to add to your online profiles!
I know a lot of teachers have already indicated interest in pursuing this certification. I am going to meet with Jeremy soon to try to plan out a way to offer facilitated sessions for interested teachers to work on this. If you're interested in this valuable professional experience, you can read more about it here

P.S. Any of my fellow Google Certified Educators who'd like to weigh in on why this is worth the time to complete, please share your thoughts in the comments!

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Handy Google Tip: Force a Copy

Have you ever wanted to share a Google Doc with a colleague or a student, but you wanted them to be able to edit the document for themselves? Sharing it with viewing or commenting privileges isn't an option then. Giving them editing privileges lets them alter your original file. You can ask them to make a copy for themselves, but sometimes they forget to do that or they don't know how.

Problem solved: force them to make a copy!

It is really quite simple:

Open the document you want to share with the other person and copy and paste the link to the document into an email message.

Now here's the important part: delete out the "edit" at the end of the URL up to the final slash and replace what you deleted with the word "copy".

Send the email.

When the other person clicks on the link to open the file, they will be prompted to make a copy. That is the only way they can actually get the file then. Like this:


Here's a quick video that demonstrates how to do this:




Wednesday, May 10, 2017

The End Is Near!

We are at the middle of May, and we are really close to the end of the school year! It's actually a bittersweet time for me -- I am looking forward to summer and the plans I have, but I also get lonely and bored kind of quick during the summer now because my kid is all grown up and lives away from home. So I get itching to get back to work kind of quick!

The end of the school year is also a stressful time -- there are so many little things to do and not nearly enough time! So, let me add to the pile :-) Here are two things for you to CONSIDER doing at the end of this school year -- or even during the summer, sitting on your patio sipping a sweet tea:

  1. Archive your Google Classroom.
  2. Upload all your H drive files to Google Drive.


Archiving Google Classroom
At the end of the school year, you may want to archive your Google Classroom. This removes it from your list of active classes as well as from your students' list of active classes. You (and your students) can still access the archived classes; they just can't be modified. This access is good for you so you can look back to see resources you used and use them in your next Google Classroom. It's also good for your students so they can go back to see resources you shared (might sound something like this: Do you remember way back in 2nd grade, Mrs. Byers had those weather websites in her Google Classroom for us to use? I could sure use those now as I work on my Dream Lab project about developing a helmet people who work outside can wear if they get stuck in a hailstorm!). Archiving is easy and quick -- a few mouse clicks! Here's a big THANK YOU to Rachel at Three Rivers who put together this terrific document explaining archiving and giving step-by-step directions how to do it (if you need help beyond this document, feel free to reach out to your building-level tech (BLT) -- Mary Jo at NBG; Robyn at PP; Rachel at TRS; or me at CJHS.

Upload Your H Drive Files to Google Drive
We had a full year of Google this year, so why not take the next big step and ditch the H drive? By uploading all your files to Google Drive, you can access them from anywhere -- no more having to be in CSD 17 to access your files! No more emailing them to yourself at home and then back to work! No more saving to a flash drive! You might be thinking that MS Office files can't go in Google Drive, but that's not true! They CAN go in Google Drive -- but they are only viewable there, not editable. If you need to edit any of those files, all you have to do is open them as a Google file:

  • Word = Google Docs
  • PowerPoint = Google Slides
  • Excel = Google Sheets
Then you'll have an editable copy to work with! (Full disclosure: if you have a highly formatted file created with Office -- lots of fancy fonts, text boxes, tab settings, etc. -- that formatting might not transfer over to Google perfectly.)

Ready to make the jump from H to Google? Just follow these steps:
  1. Open your H drive.
  2. Create a new folder called “H Drive Files”.
  3. Drag all the files/folders in your H drive into your new folder.
  4. Open your Google Drive.
  5. Click New.
  6. Click Folder Upload.
  7. Locate your H Drive folder.
  8. Click Upload.
Again, if you need help, just get in touch with your BLT!!!

Enjoy the last couple weeks of school, then have a restful, rejuvenating summer!

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Backchanneling

Have you ever been to a professional development activity (conference, grad class, etc.) where the presenter asked the audience to log into a site and ask questions or have a discussion while the presenter was presenting? If so, the presenter was asking you to backchannel.

Backchanneling is a way to extend the discussion and the learning that is taking place. It allows participants the opportunity to discuss among themselves, ask and answer questions in a non-threatening and non-disruptive way.

In your classroom, backchanneling can do the same things. It can also be a great way to engage students who might not be comfortable speaking up in class. They can still participate in a discussion without having to have all eyes on them while they speak. It is also great for you as a teacher to have an archive of the discussion and questions asked; you can go back and review the transcript of the backcahnnel to see what insights kids had or what questions they need answered.

Some ideas for using backchanneling:

  • Ask kids to generate questions they want answers to when introducing a new topic.
  • Ask kids to discuss a movie while they are watching it.
  • Use the backchannel during Socratic seminars.
  • Use a backchannel discussion while reading a story or a novel.
The backchannel I like to use the most is Today's Meet, which is free and gives you lots of control. You can keep chat discussions open or closed for as long as you want. You can archive discussions and print out transcripts, too.

Here's a short video that will give a nice overview of backchanneling. 


Let me know if you'd like to get started using this technique in your class -- I'd be thrilled to come help you with it! This can be an especially powerful method next year in particular once we are 1:1!

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Take Your Presentations to the Next Level

Have you ever been in one of these situations?

  • You're teaching a lesson that students are struggling with and they ask so many questions that you can't keep up.
  • You're teaching a lesson and the kids ask you questions you're not sure of answers for so you tell them you'll look them up later but then forget what the questions are.
  • You're teaching a lesson and at the end you ask if there are any questions; you're sure some students must have questions but they're just not speaking up because they're too shy to ask in front of everyone.
  • You're teaching a lesson and the questions are coming in fast and furious and you can't keep up with all of them.
Chances are, you've experienced at least one of these scenarios if you're a teacher. And chances are, you've also wished for a way to corral all those questions. After all, kids asking questions is a good thing -- it means they're involved in their learning, they're trying to make meaning out of what they are hearing. It just doesn't sit right to leave questions unanswered.

Here's some good news: you CAN manage all those questions! When sharing a lesson using Google Slides, you can enable your audience to ask questions in a back channel during the presentation! What happens is a link appears at the top of the screen for participants to type in so they can ask questions.

First, just click the arrow next to Present and choose Presenter View.


Click Start New to start a new Q & A session.

The participants see a link they can go to at the top of the screen.

Here is what they see when they go to that link:

A person can ask a question anonymously, and participants can give a thumbs up or a thumbs down (why that option is available baffles me, personally) to a question. A good way to encourage students to use the thumbs up option would be to click that if they think that is a good question or if they have the same question. You can use that as a gauge for how important it is to get that question answered -- the more thumbs ups, the more urgent.

Here is what you as the presenter see when a question comes in:

This is a great way to engage your students in your lessons and give them a way to participate. It is also great for you to have a record of what kinds of questions students asked about the lesson to help you prepare for the next time you teach it.

Give it a try! Share your experience with this in the comments! Or, better yet, can you maybe invite me in to observe your class when you use this? 

Want this information in a step by step format? Check out this page from the Help Forum!

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

True Confessions 2: Electric Boogaloo

(Is there anyone in the district old enough to get the reference in the title? Anyone? Anyone? I guess I'm old....)

While we were gone over the break, I stumbled on this post about teachers who resist change. I was hoping it might give me some ideas for how to help teachers who are concerned about our shift to 1:1 next year. I don't know that I would say that we have teachers in the district who are resistant to change, but I know that some are more excited about it than others, which is probably par for the course. But I wanted to share my own thoughts about this to hopefully help everyone feel at ease (or even be super excited) about being a 1:1 district next year!

The article says that it appears that teachers who resist change fall into 1 of 4 categories:

  • Those who resist change because they're not comfortable with their administrators
  • Those who resist change because they don't have enough confidence in themselves
  • Those who resist change because it is so much work
  • Those who resist change because they just don't want to change

I've found myself at any given point in my career in any 1 of these 4 camps.

I've worked with admins in the past whose ideas I resisted simply because I didn't like who came up with the ideas. Sometimes the ideas really were lousy, but sometimes they were good and I was having a hard time separating the idea from the person. The way I manage to overcome this is to find a neutral third party to talk with. Often that person can help me see the idea for what it is rather than for who it's from, and this helps me embrace the change more easily.


I personally fight the lack of confidence in myself on a daily basis. I have this really great job that I really do love, yet when I find myself in the company of people who are so much better than I am at certain things, I can feel threatened and insecure and want to give up. I can come up with a great idea for something but sabotage myself by telling myself that it's too much for me and I'm not good enough to do it. What I do when I am feeling insecure or lack confidence is let other people push me right out of my comfort zone. I am surrounded by coworkers, family, and friends who tell me I CAN do the things I want to do -- I'm strong enough, I'm smart enough, and the hold me accountable. I don't want to let those people down, so whatever new thing I am trying to do, well, I step right off that high dive and do it.


Since I am a lazy person at my core, resisting change because it's just too much work is another constant battle for me. What I have to do to combat this is be focused on others. This new change -- will it be a good thing for the kids in this district? How about for the teachers? How excited will everyone be when this happens? What new things will happen once we do this? The answers to those questions are what push me to get moving and tackle the changes rather than let someone else do all the hard work (liking things done MY way helps with this, too).


As far as just not wanting to change, well, I'm pretty fortunate that at the times I've felt like just coasting for the rest of my career, they've been just phases, slumps. It's normal to feel like you just don't want to do anything new, like what you're doing is fine and there's no need to change things up. After all, we teachers ARE only human. The catch is that once you're in a slump like this, you don't stay there. Again, here I rely on others to help me. I find people that I can whine and gripe to, but then I try to remember why I became a teacher (it's actually because of a really awful teacher I had in high school -- but that's a whole other story) and that draws me out of my slump.


So it looks to me like the common thread that keeps me pushing forward though change after change is people -- people who support me, people who count on me, people who have high expectations for me.

So my challenge to you is to do some soul searching. We are almost done with this school year -- our first full year using Google. The first year we rolled out a LOT of new devices. How do you feel? Knowing it's going to be another big shift next year with a device in every kid's hands, how do you feel? I hope you're excited. I hope you're looking forward to keeping up that growth mindset. I hope what you've experienced this year gives you the confidence to do ever more next year. But if you're not feeling all that excited, if you're feeling anxious or even downright hostile, I hope you can pinpoint the source of your concern and then, if it's something that I can help with, come to me. We can plan lessons together, we can troubleshoot things together, we can find resources for you and your students. If not me, then hopefully there are others you can talk to -- building levels techs, other teachers in your building. Find the people who can help you be comfortable with change and then we can all enjoy the ride!


Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Cool Tool Alert -- EquatIO

Today's post highlights a cool tool that Jeremy pushed out to students recently. This tool is called EquatIO. It is a Chrome extension, which means it lives on the Chrome browser toolbar and is accessible with one quick click of the mouse. And what's even more exciting is this a a math tool! I know that sometimes the math teachers have a hard time trying to make computers and Chromebooks fit into what they are doing, so I am hopeful that when tools like this come available, you find them useful and exciting for your kids to use!

EquatIO allows the user to create equations and formulas pretty easily by using the onscreen equations editor. It's premium features make it even easier! These allow equations to be created by handwriting either on a touchscreen or by drawing with a mouse, or by using voice input/dictation. Check out the video below to see how it works.


Another handy premium feature is the integration with Google Docs and Google forms (Sheets and Slides are on their way, too). With a simple mouse click, you can insert the equations you created into a Google Doc or Form to create formative and summative assessments very easily. Here is a video on how to use EquatIO with Google Docs:



And here is how to use it with Google Forms:


The good news: you can have 30 days of access to EquatIO's premium features for free to try them out. Once that 30 day trial is up, though, the only feature you'll have is the onscreen equation editor, so you'd have to copy and paste the formulas and equations you create. Not a huge hassle, but an extra step.

Give it a try; see what you think. Have your kids try it out in class. It was pushed out to them, so chances are at some point, they saw a window pop up on their screen asking to allow permissions for it. I'm sure some kids just blindly clicked "Allow", but some may have canceled it. If that happened, the extension is still accessible by click in the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen, then going to More Tools, then clicking on Extensions, then clicking the box to enable it.

Take the time to try out EquatIO and share your thoughts in the comments below!

P.S. -- My apologies to the teachers at TRS who read through this; I see Rachel sent out some documentation to you about how to use EquatIO, so I'm sure much of what I said was redundant. Think of this post as reteaching :-)

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Safe YouTube

This week, I have a sort of guest post from NBG's Building Level Tech Specialist, Mary Jo Minarich. You may have seen her tip on how to use Safe YouTube, whether you saw it when she shared it with teachers at NBG or when our superintendent shared is district wide. You might be thinking, "If we already got this, why are we getting it again?" Well, that answer is easy: because this is so easy to do and can be a really helpful tool that it is worth sharing more than once!

Safe YouTube is a very easy way to show YouTube videos to your students without having to worry about the distracting and sometimes inappropriate ads and video suggestions that always are shown next to the video you are seeing. It also takes away all the comments from view, which can be a waste of time to read at best and completely offensive at worst.

Removing all the surrounding items on a YouTube video helps keep your students focused on the content of the video instead of scanning what's around it, asking for you to play other videos or calling attention to something they shouldn't be seeing at school. And like I said above, it is very easy to do -- it's simply a matter of a few clicks!

I encourage you to give this a try! Use it for stand-alone videos, videos you embed in presentations or QR codes, or videos you post to Google Classroom. Want to see how to do this step by step? Then check out Mary Jo's simple and engaging directions!


Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Quizzes Made Easy with Google Forms

If you have a relatively simple, objective assessment you need to give your students, you can do it quickly and easily using Google Forms. This works particularly well for formative assessments. In addition, it gives students the chance to be comfortable with using online resources and completing online assessments. You start with a regular Google Form, but once you set it up as a quiz, then you have the options to assign point values to questions, mark correct responses for an answer key, and offer feedback for correct and incorrect choices. You can even embed re-teaching resources in the feedback for incorrect answers, linking to YouTube videos, websites, or other online resources. Students can get immediate feedback about their performance on the assessment, and you as the teacher can spend less time actually grading the assessments and more time analyzing the data from the assessments. As much as I love making little videos for you, I found one that walks you through the whole process much better than I could ever do! Here it is if you'd like an easy-to-follow guide for how to use Google Forms for quizzes.


If you have already done this in your class, please leave a comments sharing how you use it and your thoughts!

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Not If, but WHEN!

Has this ever happened to you:

You put together a really cool, engaging lesson for your kids. You've pulled together all sorts of resources for the lesson, you've got everything the kids will need -- handouts, online tools -- and you've booked all the tech items necessary. The kids arrive, eager to start the fun lesson you've promised them since last week, and then the whole thing implodes because of some tech issue: the wifi is slow, a projector blows a bulb, an app isn't working, or some other unforeseen problem occurs.

Source: http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-to-err-is-human-but-to-really-foul-things-up-you-need-a-computer-paul-r-ehrlich-56288.jpg


What do you do? Hopefully, you don't give up and decide that you'll just never use technology in your classroom ever again because you just have bad luck with it.

This is why when you plan lessons that involve using technology, you really need to ask yourself the question, "What will I do when I have a glitch?" not, "What will I do IF I have a glitch?"

If you always have a backup plan, glitches become a lot less worrisome. A lesson should not be a complete waste of time simply because one of the tools doesn't work; remember: the magic in an awesome lesson isn't the technology, it's the learning experience the kids get to have. The Chromebook or iPad app or YouTube video is just one tool.

So, when the tech fizzles, what should you do?

  • Stay calm and remember that this is not a reflection on your worth as an educator -- you're not a failure!
  • Try to fix the issue, but don't spend too much time doing this.
  • Move to your plan B (you DO have a plan B, right???).
  • Later, evaluate where the problem lies, then determine how to fix the problem. Get help from people who can help you (colleagues, building level technology specialists, network administrators, directors of 21st century learning, instructional technology resource teachers, Twitter, students).
  • Pick up where you left off tomorrow with the same amount of enthusiasm!
For more inspiration on what to do WHEN the technology fails you, check out this post (it's what inspired me to write this one!)

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Organize Your Ideas with Google Keep and Google Docs

Google Keep is a great little application that works like virtual sticky notes. They are great for creating to-do lists, reminders, or even for organizing research notes or sources. They are shareable AND you can add collaborators! You can use Google Keep on a computer or on a smart phone. One example of how I use Google Keep (thanks to Erin Bettenhausen for this idea!) is for my grocery list. I have it on my phone and my husband is a collaborator on the list. Whenever we need something from the store, one of us opens up the Google Keep grocery list and adds the item.

Something else you can do that has great potential for your classroom is to add information from Google Keep notes to a Google Doc. You can find resources for research or even take notes using Google Keep then easily assemble them all into one document! Want to see how? check out this quick video I made demonstrating it!

If you're looking for ways to use Google Keep in your classroom either with your students or as an organizational tool for yourself, let me know! I can help with that!



Wednesday, February 22, 2017

#CSDFebInst -- Turn Your Spark Into a Fire!

Last Friday's institute day was so much fun for me because I got to see my friends and colleagues share with everyone some of the cool ways they make learning engaging and meaningful for students. I got to see the teachers in this district work together across grade levels, buildings, and disciplines -- this is better than any vertical articulation meeting we could plan, in my opinion! I got to talk with teachers as they left breakout sessions about the new things they wanted to try and ask me to help them. Finally, as I've been reading your feedback from the day, I feel so grateful for the overwhelmingly positive feedback -- and no one has said that they day was a waste of time. That is my primary goal: to make sure that our institute day is not a waste of anyone's precious time!

As I tried to say at the end of the day Friday, I hope you've got a spark that will start to burn brightly. Share that spark -- with your students, with your co-workers. Friday is over and done, but the excitement and the learning doesn't have to be. Here's how to keep the momentum going:


  • Share your feedback to make next year's institute even better. What did you like? What could be done better? Complete the survey if you didn't do it on Friday.
  • When you use something from the institute day, share it on Twitter! Use the hashtags #CSDFebInst and #ChannahonPride. Maybe you can even tag the person who shared this idea with you in the Tweet.
  • Share your ideas and enthusiasm at the Dotstorming page. Then give props to the posts you agree with or think deserve some recognition.
  • Go back to look at the resources from the institute day. They are all available by going to the schedule on the institute day website. You can look at all the resources -- including the ones from the sessions you didn't get to attend but wanted to. Don't limit yourself to only the ideas you picked up in the sessions you attended.
  • If you have a group of teachers in your building who would like a presenter to come talk with you, let me know. I can work on trying to find a way to get those people over to your building for a team meeting or grade level meeting before or after school. We have terrific teachers in this district, and tapping into their expertise costs nothing to the district. Why bother paying for outside experts when they are right here with us!
  • Get in touch with me or even Jeremy to come to your class to try some of the new things you want to do. Neither of us likes being cooped up in our offices; we really want to be there in the classrooms with you and your kids trying out new tools and seeing what happens.
  • Share a comment on this post about your take aways from the day. The power of that institute day comes from using and sharing what you learned.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Cool Tool Alert -- Dotstorming

Have you ever been to a professional development event of been in a class where you do an activity that involves walking the room, reading statements on big pieces of paper, then voting on or evaluating those those statements by using stickers? It can be a great way to get kids up and moving around the classroom and interacting with their peers, for sure! But there can be limitations -- if you have a really big class and it's hard to move around comfortably, or you don't have enough stickers for kids, or you have some kids who are a little shy and don't want to do something quite so public. In those cases, you can use Dotstorming!

Dotstorming is the online version of the classroom walk-around and using stickers. Create a free account (allows you up to 5 dotstorming boards), share the link to your board with your students, let them post items (or YOU can post items), then let them "vote" by using dots!

Check out this nice tutorial for how to use Dotstorming and get some ideas for how to use it in your classroom:

Now give it a try yourself! What do YOU think of Dotstorming? Click here to vote!



Wednesday, February 8, 2017

#CSDFebInst is Almost Here!


We are just a little over a week away from our February institute day! I hope you are excited as I am to learn from our very own coworkers! I just wanted to be sure to share some information with you about that day so you are ready to rock and roll!

The day starts here at Channahon Jr. High at 8:00 in the multi-purpose room. We will end at 1:30. There is no plan for a lunch break. There will be breakfast items for the start of the day, and there will be snacks for everyone during the course of the day.

The general schedule will be to start with opening presentations, then move to smaller breakout sessions, then finish with a closing session. There will be breaks between the breakout sessions to grab a snack, hit the bathroom, stretch your legs, and talk with your friends and colleagues.

Please bring your laptop with you. Better yet -- grab a Chromebook from your school! They've got great battery life that will last you for the whole institute day! Never used a Chromebook before? No worries! There will be plenty of people around who have and will be able to show you the ropes (but you'll likely be able to figure it out yourself -- trust me!).

You can find everything you want to know about the institute day at the website dedicated solely to this epic event: bit.ly/csdfebinst. There, you will be able to see all the presenters, their topics, and links to sessions descriptions and resources for every session. This is great because you will have access to the information presented for all the sessions, including the ones you don't get the chance to attend!

You do not need to sign up for any of the breakout sessions EXCEPT for the BreakouEDU sessions. The sign up links for those are on the schedule. If you haven't experienced a BreakoutEDU, I encourage you to sign up for one -- they are a great, fun brain workout! You'll be inspired to find ways to use it in your classroom -- I guarantee it! All regular breakout sessions are "vote with your feet" as Jeremy says, which means just go to the session of your choice!

One session not on the schedule yet (but will be soon) is a session on how to use WeVideo. This is an awesome creative tool that can be used in so many ways. This session, just as an FYI, will be moderated by Erin Bettenhausen BUT will actually be led by 8th graders from CJHS.

You will also get the chance to see the 3D printers in action next week. They will be on display and printing. We will have students here from Three Rivers School to talk about the 3D printers and how they have used them in their classes.

You are ENCOURAGED during ALL sessions to share your ideas, insights, and inspirations via Twitter! Use the hashtag #CSDFebInst as well as #ChannahonPride in your Tweets. To make it easy, you will see a link on the home page of the institute day website that says, "Tweet using the hashtag"; that link will directly open up Twitter for you and automatically add the hashtag. If you don't have a Twitter account -- don't worry! You've got a week to get one set up :-) All the presenters have shared their Twitter handles on their session resources pages, so please be sure to mention them in your Tweets! It's so much fun to get that notification that someone mentioned you on Twitter :-)

Got questions about next Friday? I've got answers! Feel free to email me your questions or share them as a comment on this post.

Until next Friday, please take a look at the schedule and sessions and start to plan your day. Also consider Tweeting out your plans and excitement for the day, using the hashtag and the names of the presenters you are planning to see!

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Allies, Not Adversaries

One of the common concerns people have with infusing education with technology is a misunderstanding about how the technology can be a vital learning tool. Have you ever heard anyone say, "I didn't have a computer/iPad/email/cell phone/internet access when I was in school, and I learned plenty!" That argument can be hard to win. How can we assure all educational stakeholders that technology is an excellent and necessary tool for learning? In particular, parents are the most concerned. They want to make sure their kids are safe while using online tools, that they're not being over-exposed with screen time, or that expensive technology isn't just a toy.



Here's a nice post about how to help parents understand the value of technology in the classroom. It really comes down to involvement and transparency. If we can involve parents in the way technology is used in the classroom, they understand how it's used and see the value in it. If we let them see how it benefits their children, they see value in it.

What excites me is that after reading the post, I realized that so many of the teachers in this district already do many of the things listed! I encourage you to review the ideas in the post, keep doing the things you're already doing, and continue to implement others! Maybe you don't have a class website but would like one. Great idea! Talk to em and I can show you how to very quickly and easily make a website with the new version of Google Sites! Have you been using Google Classroom this year? If so, maybe next year you can invite parents to join your Google Classroom so they can see more closely the work their kids are doing! The more we share and involve, the more support and understanding there is!

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Up Your Twitter Game

We are less than one month away from our February institute day! One of the ways to share what you learn that day or show appreciation for the presenters is to send out a Tweet on Twitter using #CSDFebInst. Live Tweeting at conferences and other professional development events is a great way to share what you've learned, show your enthusiasm, and provide feedback to presenters.

Maybe you're not on Twitter, or perhaps your Twitter game is lacking. No worries -- it is very simple to ease yourself in to Twitter. In the past, I've shared with you a 10 Day Twitter Challenge. I pose this same challenge to you today. If you're not on Twitter or don't use it terribly often, this challenge will be a great way to get you used to using Twitter in a professional way, and then you'll be prepared to Tweet up a storm when the institute day comes!

If you're already on Twitter, I have an idea for you, too! Check out Tweet Deck! This is a great way to get the most out of Twitter with minimal effort! You can see your news feed and notifications all on one screen -- all while monitoring a particular Twitter account or follow all the Tweets with a particular hashtag. I started using Tweet Deck this year, and it has really improved the way I use Twitter to learn what's happening in the education world! If you log in to Tweet Deck today and set it up to follow the hashtags #ChannahonPride and #CSDFebInst, you won't miss out on any of the great information about our school district and our institute day!

Unsure how to get started with Twitter or Tweet Deck? Get in touch with me and I will gladly help you get set up!

Addendum: after I wrote this post, I hopped on Tweet Deck for a bit and one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter, @cybraryman1, sent out this link to his page all about Tweet Deck, so check this out for more information and help!