Summer is Here!

For most teachers and students it is summer break already.  Unfortunately (maybe) for my two youngest they are still in school.  My son will be graduating 8th grade one week from today.  That means - next Thursday I will officially have two in high school and a 7th grader.

Now - I am supposed to be on summer break, too.  However, I am continuing to work on many projects.  (I have two conferences to prepare for.)  The most rewarding project of all is my son's 8th grade graduation video.  The parents of our class have trusted me to make this video.  Most of these kids have been together since kindergarten.  My son and his three best friends have been together much longer.  Ryan met these three boys when he was 3 years old.  This is quite an emotional time for me and for them because they will be going in different directions; two to one high school, two to another (each together though).  These boys have been through alot.  When they were 5 one of the boys lost their mother to breast cancer.  Although sad it does put a special bond between the four of them that I think we last a lifetime; even though they are highly competitive and have definitely had their arguments.

I'm so thankful I am able to put my technology training to work for these special kids - using iMovie!  Trust me, I have hundreds and hundreds of pictures of them to put in.  The hardest part is making two movies.  One has to be a shorten version to be viewed during graduation Mass - the other, well, it may take us all night to watch.  Like I said - the class has been together a long time; but these four boys have been together even longer.  They have played every sport together with their dads coaching most.

Not only has my son made lifelong friends but I have to with their parents.  I'm going to share the movie I made for their graduation Mass (none of the parents know about my blog so I know they won't see this! haha).  I hope you will see their bond through this video!  I can't wait to finish the extended version because I have some amazing pictures.  The four boys that have been together the longest - well, three of them have 2 sisters and one has 1 sister - and all the sisters dance or did dance!  Talk about some good pictures!

Beginner Blogger

It is probably obvious that I am new to this blogging thing.  I have read others' blogs and learned alot of valuable information.  When I read other blogs I think to myself how I would love to be able to share such insight on important topics and how awesome it would be to get a huge following.  So, that is the challenge I set for myself.  How can I inspire other people through my writing?  How can I gather a group of followers?  Let's see if I can do it!

A few years ago I went back to school to become a teacher.  I have always been passionate about technology.  After all, I originally wanted to be a computer programmer!  Any programmers out there?  You know we are a special group of people!  The countless hours of writing programs - you definitely have to love what you are doing to do the job.  That is quite similar to teaching.  At least IT jobs have a nice pay scale, unlike teaching.

Anyway, I already had my B.S. degree so I basically just took additional courses (which should have given me an additional B.S. degree but I won't complain) that enabled me to take the licensing test and receive my Indiana teaching license.  Shortly after that I was hired to teach none other than technology! What a perfect classroom for an old computer geek (I quickly was labeled this after taking this job)  I love to take apart computers and work on them but I also love to find ways to inspire the students to put the technology to use to help them in an academic setting.

It is apparent that I have a love for both technology and teaching.  While reading a coworker's blog this morning I realized that because of my passion the roadblocks of our standardized testing didn't frazzle me.  I look at it as a challenge, not a problem.  I agree with my colleague, Jeff Tron, that standardized tests are for the birds.  I have always despised them personally.  I have been lucky enough to have 2 our of my 3 children not inherit my strong dislike for these tests.  They don't seem to have the test anxiety that I and my youngest child have.  However, since there are those individuals that suffer from severe test anxiety this week has been even harder.  The state of Indiana requires all students in grades 3-8 to take a state level standardized test each year (ISTEP).  This test is supposed to tell us how much a student knows and how well their teacher taught!  What a strange way to gauge these things.  Some schools began the online testing on Monday of this week, only to be told by the state superintendent to suspend testing.  Then, we gave it a try on Tuesday - a little better but the same outcome, suspend testing.  Today we were given the green light to begin testing again.  Great, right?  No - we could test but it was suggested that we reduce the number of testing subjects by 1/2 - 50%!!  Do they not realize the stress this puts on the students, teachers, and techs?  What about schools that are K-8, how are they supposed to get all the testing done in their allotted time?

I am finding myself fielding complaints from non tech people of how they knew this would happen because technology is not reliable.  This from people that can't live without their iPhones, iPads and other devices.  They like it when it works but when it doesn't it is a see, I told you so.

Testing has concluded for today in our district for most.  All went well.  Obviously it went well, only 1/2 of the population that should be testing were actually participating.  So, CTB did not fix any issue.  They just found a band aid for the problem, a temporary fix.  I guess tomorrow another group will get to test and hopefully that will go well.  The state has paid CTB a very large amount of money for uninterrupted service during testing - don't you think we are entitled to a refund?

Happy testing - as happy as testing can be.  Instead of everyone complaining, the people that aren't even taking or administering the test, let's think about the students that have had their week turned upside down by this series of events.  How do you think they are feeling?  Frazzled & confused.

Take time to Learn

Ten for Tech - Take 10 minutes out of your day or even just your week to look at a new application that you can put to use in your classroom or with your PLN.  To help you get started I'll give you some ideas to try:

• Prezi
• Glogster
• Google Apps
• Twitter - yes --- give it a try!
• Pinterest (always fun stuff on here)

Introduce yourself to a new tool but don't stress out about mastering it.  Just sign up and look around.  How does it feel?  Do you think it is easy to navigate around?  Do you think it is eye catching (this is what excites students)?  How do you feel about it?

I will be using this blog to give a more in depth look at some Web 2.0 presentation tools over the next few weeks.  Watch for my reviews and tutorials - you might find something you like!

Flipped PD

Over the past couple of years educators have been hearing about the flipped classroom.  The concept of the flipped classroom is to allow students more time to actually work through lessons with their teacher close by.  Teachers prepare their lessons prior to class meeting times.  Students can view/listen to these lessons prior to coming to class.  Some teachers make their lessons available online while others create DVDs for their students.  Either way, the lessons are available prior to the class as well as after the class for refreshing their minds.

We have teachers and we have technology coordinators.  In most cases it is the tech coordinator's responsibility that their teachers have the resources and the knowledge to implement a more technological classroom.  The challenge comes down to how to inspire and educate the teachers.  A teacher's day is filled to the rim already with lesson plans, extra duties and teaching.  When the school day ends teachers then sit down and work on more lesson plans, grading more papers, helping with after school activities and also trying to have a life outside of the school.  It is an overwhelming job.  When high school graduates enter the college world and decide to become a teacher - they have no idea how much work and how tiring it can be.  All at the same time it is just as rewarding, if not more.

We are seeing the shift in education to provide more options for our students.  It all rolls back to differentiated instruction, make your lesson work for everyone in your classroom.  Why can't we do this for educators?  Teachers have very limited time to attend conferences and sit through daily workshops.  A person can only learn so much during a 40 minute plan period dedicated to professional development.  Here is where flipped professional development comes into play.  It is all over the Internet, webinars for many different applications and technology integration.  Take time to find your own comfortable learning style.  If you can learn more from listening in on a webinar then do that instead of taking an entire day away from students and your classes. 

The flipped classroom, was it introduced because of flipped professional development or should that statement be flipped?

Technology can be Overwhelming

Let me first say that I LOVE technology.  I love computers, television, mobile phones, cameras and whatever else you can imagine.  We must never forget that technology is not just the computer you use to surf the web.  Technology is (the below definitions were found with a web search but no clearly defined source):

The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, esp. in industry: "computer technology"; "recycling technologies". Machinery and equipment developed from such scientific knowledge. Let's put ourselves in a classroom as a teacher.  When you arrive at school you: * get your mail * maybe have a cup of coffee * make sure all copies and lessons are ready to go * turn on your computer * check your email Those are just a FEW things teachers do before their students arrive.  Then when they arrive it is a constant rush with not much time to stop.  Checking your e-mail is the last thing on your list, you save that for the end of the day or even when you are at home. The point here is - when do teachers have any time to begin incorporating technology into their lessons when there is so much.  Not only is there alot to do - but when it comes to integration, where do you start?  For example, you have: Wordle Blogging Typing Twitter Prezi Photo Story Story Bird Google Earth LiveBinders MashUps The list goes on and on and on; it seems to be a never ending list.  Where do you begin?  First things first - choose ONE application and learn it.  Find ways to use it in your classroom to excite your students.  When they see you using new applications they are going to be more in tune to what is going on in the classroom. Us tech "geeks" do realize that the amount of information that is thrown out to you can be overwhelming so remember - you do not have to learn it all at once.  Think about it this way - children begin learning Math in Kindergarten.  Now, when Math is introduced to them do we throw every concept at them at once?  Absolutely not, we take steps (not baby steps by any means) in the learning process.  You learn one concept and then build on that concept. Look at technology integration, or moving into the 21st Century learning community, as learning to ride your bicycle.  Take it slowly and just tackle one thing at a time.

Technology in Education Giveaway

Technology in Education Giveaway

My first blog

I am taking the plunge into blogging.  I have many reasons why:
* I LOVE technology
* I have my students blog
* I need to work on my digital "footprint

I am very passionate about sharing technology with others.  Especially with other educators.  I want to dedicate this blog to all educators out there wanting to increase their awareness of technology integration.  I hope I can touch many lives and inspire many to find ways to bring technology into their teaching.