Top 10 Blog Posts of 2018

One of the things I love about posting my "Top 10" posts every year is seeing how much I've learned since they were posted. It allows me to see my growth educationally. It also allows me to see what others find interesting regarding what I do day in and day out. Without further delay here are my top 10 most read posts of 2018:

1.  Changing the Conversation about Technology: A Teenager's Attempt - This is by far my favorite post ever. This post was guest blogged by a student at my school sharing his concerns about the impact technology is having on his generation. My most read post for 2018 actually became part of the curriculum in some of the English classes at our school this year. I'm thankful for Daniel's well-written attempt at being transparent about his journey with social media. 
2. Authentic Embedded Professional Development? It's Possible - As an instructional technologist, I know that in-service days are limited. This post shows multiple ways I have created learning opportunities for our teachers in unique ways. From embedded into the day of all the students to supporting students hard work and learning from them. 
3. Navigating Social Media as a Parent  - Being an e-parent is no joke. This post targeted parents by giving them some ideas to help them navigate the social media world for their children. I'm a firm believer that modeling appropriate digital citizenship using social media as a parent is one of the best ways to teach your child how to do likewise. 
4. Embracing Myself as an Educator- like it or not.  - This seems to be a yearly blog post idea for me. Standing firm in my role as an instructional technologist when I feel like giving up. Transparency as an educator is important for teachers to both trust you and consider what you might be sharing. 
5. Are Your Children Playing Fortnite Battle Royale? - Fortnite is one of the most popular digital games out there right now. This post was to help parents decide what boundaries (if any) they wanted to create for their children regarding the information shared. 
6. Talking Social Media with Your Children -There was a time when I didn't believe any students should use social media. I don't believe that anymore. I think it is important to lead our children to use it in God-honoring ways. This is a blueprint to share with children to help them think about what they are doing digitally through a discerning lens.
7. Why an LMS? Why Canvas? - This blog post comes from our school moving forward in using the learning management system, Canvas, robustly. The concept of this post is to understand the pedagogy in using an LMS and why I feel Canvas is a good choice for our school- an LMS we can grow into.
8. The Value of Literature - This blog post is more of a personal journey post. After reading the book Wonder, I share my thoughts on its impact on me due to my own personal situations. The book reminded me of the beauty of literature and its far-reaching possibility of connecting authentic moments of our lives to our learning. 
9. Lesson Revamps for High Agency Learning - As our teachers diligently started inputting their lessons and information into Canvas this year, I found myself thinking about how this timing could be used to better instruction. Technology can be used to digitize things as we have always done or it can be used to change things forward. This blog post suggests ideas for revamping lessons for the better.
10. Alexa Blueprints- The Possibilities for Education are Growing  - Alexa in the classroom can bring up a myriad of feelings from different sides. As an educator that believes that there are some real benefits in voice user interface, I have hesitantly looked into these possibilities. Seeing this post reminds me it is time for an update on using Alexa in the classroom. Blog post coming soon! 

Student Led Professional Development

I've been at school since 6:45am.  I was anxious about my morning and the lofty goals I had. It's now 10:00am and I am basking in the glory of positive completion! This morning ended a 9 week elective opportunity for students that signed up for the "Lower School Tech Team" elective. This team has worked for 9 weeks to create an Escape Room opportunity for the lower school teachers that taught them about STEAM tools. These 8 students created lesson plans and how to videos and modeled how you can teach using an Escape Room as the lesson.

This morning all the lower school teachers had a staggered start to come in and allow the students to show them how to use Dash Cleverbots, Ozobots, Sphero Robotics, Makey Makeys, and Echo Dots in the classroom. Based on feedback from teachers in January, this was an area they felt they needed more training in. The students manned all 5 stations and had the teachers learn more about these tools. As someone that was both nervous about allowing students to lead the PD and hoping that it truly would be seen as beneficial, I truly enjoyed hearing the interactions and the "aha moments" happening as each grade level worked their way through the challenges. Every grade level got through the 5 challenges in less than 20 minutes and my hope is that the teachers will have walked away thinking about potential ways they can use these tools in their own classroom in the future.

The thing that I am most proud of is allowing these students to have the opportunity to be part of authentic learning. The problem put before them was "The teachers want to learn more about tech tools." These kids showed up at 7:30am this morning (even though on Wednesdays their day starts at 9:00am) and enthusiastically taught their teachers what they knew. They supported without "doing it for them." Every one of them left feeling accomplished, needed, and fulfilled in what they participated in this morning. Students want authentic learning and to share their learning more globally. The morning of sharing with the lower school teachers and the website they created for reference allowed them this opportunity. Remember, this was an elective. Think on that for a moment!

What kind of PD makes teachers smile? And on Saturday? EDCAMP

Year five of Edcamp GigCity is in the books. It was in a fabulous location- Red Bank Middle School in Chattanooga, TN- and it had fabulous attendees. According to the feedback form most left as very happy campers! (pun intended).

Things I learned:

• Oops on the schedule. We accidentally used the schedule from 2 years ago instead of last year so the sign up said 9-2 but the day was laid out as 9-3. We also had adjusted times down to 45 minutes last year but the old schedule had the sessions at an hour. Our bad! We apologize for that oversight and promise it won't happen again.
• Many hands make the burden light. WOW! What an amazing organizing committee we had this year. Being the lead for the last 3 years, I am finally learning how to delegate and trust the team. I was not disappointed. Sure am thankful for a wonderful group of fellow educators. What many people probably don't know is that this is all volunteer led and run, and Edcamp Gigcity is unique in that the organizers represent higher ed, lower ed, public, and private school sectors. I love that about our edcamp! This uniqueness opens the door for collaborative thinking way beyond the walls of the school house, the district, and even the city! I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate the following organizers that planned along with me this year:
• Dr. Karen Adsit, Education Professor at The University of Tennessee of Chattanooga
• Greg Bagby, Principal at Barger Academy
• Jim David, STEM School administrator 
• Kimberly Elbakidze, Computer Science Instructor at Red Bank Middle School
• Evonne Hackett, Technology Teacher at Lakeview Middle School
• Julie King, Middle School Librarian at The Baylor School
• Arthur Williams, K-5 Instructional Technologist at Lakeside Academy
• We need to make sure we explain how edcamps work a little better for new attendees. Often people are a bit overwhelmed by the "no presenters" and "rule of 2 feet" if it is their first edcamp. We need to make sure we provide more insight on how edcamps got started and why it is so organic in nature.  
• The EdCamp philosophy makes people smile. All day long I watched as people moved around from room to room at EdCamp Gigcity with smiles on their faces. I couldn't help but ask myself, "Is this what you see when you lead PD at school?" And I answered myself (because I'm weird like that) "Not usually." So why do educators like edcamps? I have 3 theories:
• Choice- Educators are at least college graduates and sometimes/often even have advanced degrees...they love Edcamps because they get to choose what they learn about instead of being forced into a PD that may or may not interest, help, or pertain to them. 
• Voice- Educators get to ask questions and share their concerns and fears in a safe non-threatening environment. The beauty of our edcamp is that it isn't "district led" so the voices they are in a room with aren't necessarily the ones they usually hear from so it adds a freedom to learn from others. The value of being heard is important to everyone, the nature of edcamps is active participation no matter what your level of understanding. 
• Free- The event is free, the food is free, and the door prizes are both awesome and free. How does that make an educator feel? VALUED. For some educators, they rarely have the opportunity to learn outside of their school building because of cost or time. Edcamps show teachers that they are appreciated and important by creating platforms for them to learn without other things hanging over them- like lesson plans for subs and money.
• Being an #EdcampGigCity organizer make me a more connected educator. This is year five of our edcamp and every year I walk away with new edufriendships, knowledge, and ideas that I know I have a safety net for if I have more questions. Like all conferences, you get what you put into it. Allowing yourself to connect with others and hear what other schools and districts are doing brings value back to yourself and your school/district. I'm thankful for the opportunity to connect in such a big way to the Chattanooga are. #CHAedu

Authentic Embedded Professional Development? It's possible.

Professional development- Before you start throwing me shade and rolling your eyes and immediately go into "it's a waste of my planning time" hear me out. There are other ways to do it. Lately, I realized that not all of our teachers are familiar with the design thinking process. Inservice days are few and far between and teachers often need those days to prepare for the new semester. At our school we basically have them at the beginning of the school year, beginning of second semester, and at the end of the school year. All these times are terribly busy for educators. I'll be honest, I actually asked if I could use a 1/2 day in January for a Design Thinking Professional Development leader to come in and share with our teachers. Thankfully, our Lower School head of schools and our curriculum coordinator wanted to protect that time so the teachers could work in their classroom. I say thankfully because it caused me to have to become creative with how to do this.

So, we are starting a 5 week all school design thinking challenge. Each week the teachers will work through one of the 5 steps of design thinking  (this is a great link put together by one of our STEAM Business Partner's Bridge Innovate) with their students. I will send an email out to the teachers to explain the step and they will take their students to the following display on a prominent wall in the school and work on that week's step:

 I can't wait to get this design thinking opportunity underway. I hope that it proves to be beneficial to our students, teachers and possibly even our entire school as we reimagine our school and how to improve it! This challenge will create opportunities for our teachers to hit the ISTE Standards for Educators that include: Learner, Designer, and Facilitator. It will allow the students to tap into the ISTE Standards for Students that include: Global Collaborator and Innovative Designer. This challenge will also support the goals and professional development needed for our STEAM program to continue to grow forward. Stay tuned for more details. Below is an example of the email I sent out today to our teachers to explain the process and the WHY. I am striving this year to always start with the WHY.

Teachers,

Have you seen the "Designing CCS" display by the front office wall? So first of all we all owe a BIG thank you to Shonda and Myra for protecting our time to work so much in the classroom for the last two days. I know it is always helpful to start back with time to plan. That being said, Shonda and Myra didn't want to burden you with professional development learning during that time. We do desire for our school to have an understanding of the design thinking process that Jessica Yandell is utilizing during STEAM though. So what better way to learn about it than have an "all school" Design Thinking Challenge? 

Starting on Monday we are asking you to stop by the display sometime during the week with your class and come up with one area that relates to the CHALLENGE phase. Once your class comes to an agreement on what area you would like to see improvement, add your sticky note observation to the white page. It's ok if different classes pick the same thing. It's also ok to dream big. So your job is for your class to choose one photo and make observations about how to improve CCS. On your sticky note finish the following statement:

We can improve the CCS community by...

Each week we will go on to the next step and I will send an email out to you so you can see what the expectations are for that week. So while this is a learning process for your students, it is also a professional development opportunity for you. Win/win. 

Thank you for all you do to support STEAM at CCS and for the way you accept both Jessica and myself in this endeavor. Let's design CCS!

Professional Development Excitement...is it possible?

As an instructional technologist I see many different personalities of educators when I’m introducing new technology ideas. With a broad generalizing paintbrush, I find personalities fall in one of 4 categories:

• “I’m In!”
• “Show Me what you mean?”
• “I’m not convinced!”
• “Not in My Classroom!”

It’s not always easy to meet the needs of all these types at the same time, so the way I introduce to large groups of teachers during professional development is often varied. It is my goal to meet a teacher where their comfort level is and take them to the next step. Recently, we have tried a few new approaches to professional development opportunities. When I know whole school PD days are on the horizon I start asking my teachers what they want to learn more about regarding educational technology. Our curriculum director and myself then sit down and map out a hybrid “edcamp” experience for our teachers that includes not only technology options but a variety of helpful authentic “take this back and make it work” ideas. Teachers are offered 3-4 choices of learning topics every 30 minutes. This format allows the teachers to quickly digest something they might want to learn more about but it also allows them some choice in their learning path. Let’s be honest, these are educated individuals, shouldn’t they know where they could use some help? When we set up the day, we often utilize teachers that are exceptional in different areas for sharing purposes as well. This makes them feel affirmed and it grows teacher leaders as resources as well. Our goal is to ask individual teachers to share only once during the day so that they can also benefit from the sessions as well. I’ve found that teachers are much more receptive to learning from each other than from me telling them how great an idea is and I don’t even have a classroom. I often enlist my early adopters to lead sessions so that teachers see it from their real world perspective. Also, anytime they can take an app/website/idea for a “test drive” it is less scary. Setting up those opportunities during professional development days is a plus. While this is a brief introduction time, it allows me to ascertain who sees value in the concepts and to follow up for more one to one with the teachers.

This year we also introduced some new required curriculum changes to the teachers and unfortunately it was during the back to school rush. In this situation I try to make these experiences as hands on as possible and with the goal of each teacher leaving a session with a lesson plan in hand. I often will introduce the concept with a hook that they can use in there classrooms as well. For instance, to introduce a day of project-based learning curriculum writing we used a breakoutEDU game to encourage rapid learning of the basic concepts. Not only did our teachers learn about PBLs but they also found out I had a breakoutEDU toolbox available that they could utilize for critical thinking opportunities. I am a firm believer that if you want teachers to try new things and teach using different methods, you have to model that in professional development opportunities! Look for ways to create small group, station rotation, flipped learning, inquiry-based, hands on, connecting concepts to tasks type things that aid teachers in thinking outside their norm. The words "professional development" often incites moans of despair, it doesn't have to. Find the pulse of your teachers, engage them, and then ask for reflection to grow these days forward!

    

"Edcamp Style" PD- Personalizing teacher learning on a required PD day!

Last year our school had the opportunity to host Chattanooga's EdcampGigcity. Several of the elementary teachers at our school attended and many plan on attending again. After the experience it allowed the lower school curriculum coordinator and myself (lower school technology coordinator) to rethink some of our professional development days. On one day in August before the students came, and again in January of this year we set up Edcamp style PD days.

I am thankful for a curriculum coordinator that I work well with. She is someone that sees the value technology can add to the classroom and looks for ways to enhance learning in many different ways. While our PD days weren't like the traditional Edcamp style (we actually came up with the choices instead of the teachers making the choices), the teachers found the days to be useful.

So how did we decide what the session offerings should be and what did this look like?

• We both spend a lot of time with teachers and learn what their needs are. Many of our sessions were based on things teachers had asked us questions about.
• We have exemplary teachers using tools or creating environments that work. We asked those teachers to lead a session to showcase how they do things in their classroom. Two things happen when you do this:
• Teachers feel affirmed as educators by asking them to lead a session.
• Other teachers feel more comfortable asking questions and learning more from a peer because of the strong relationship bonds that already exist. Hearing "this is a good practice/tool" from a teacher already implementing is more effective than hearing it from myself or the curriculum coordinator that aren't using it practically.
• As the technology coordinator, I used it as a time to introduce new tools and practical ways to use them that would be beneficial for all grade levels in an elementary setting.

We then shared a version of this document below (see red) a day beforehand and asked teachers to think about which sessions would be the most useful for them. We even suggested that someone from each grade level attend different sessions so they could share the information with each other later but this was not a requirement.

                                         A Room               B Room                  C Room

9:00-9:30	RenWeb 1- Steve	Q & A on Integrated Units- Elaine	4 Cs of Tech Integration- Julie
9:35-10:05	Small Math Groups- Carie	Brain Pop- Myra	See Saw- Leigh Ann
10:10-10:40	Problem Based Learning in Math- Craig	Reading groups- Beth Ann	Book Talks- Sara
10:45-11:15	NWEA Resources- Allison	Small Math Groups- Carie	Formative Assessment with Technology-  Julie
11:20-12:00	Reading Groups- Beth  Ann	Positive Behavior Supports- Shonda	Mystery Skype- Julie

Session 1 Descriptions

RenWeb 1- Intro to the cloud-based version of our grade book system.

Q & A on Integrated Units-

We have spent the first half of this year mapping your Social Studies and Science units. During this session, you may ask questions or discuss ideas about the work which has been completed so far and the next steps in the integration process. There will also be five integrated unit notebooks for you to examine. These completed units offer examples of enduring understandings, essential questions, approaches on how to plan a unit map, Biblical themes, performance tasks, and culminating activities.

4 Cs of Tech- We will discuss four different ways to integrate technology into your classroom- CONSUMPTION (i.e.- reading and watching opportunities), CONNECTION (collaboration opportunities), CURATION (research and finding good information), and CREATION (presentation opportunities). I will give you examples of apps and websites to be used in the classroom that represent each of the 4 C’s..

Session 2 Descriptions

Small Math groups-

This session will discuss the benefits of teaching small group math.  We will discuss tips on how to manage your rotations and utilize your math time in the most efficient way.

Brain Pop-

This session will be an overview of the features found on BrainPOP. We’ll take a quick look at units and topics covered, as well as support materials: videos, quizzes, games, activity pages, graphic organizers, and the informational text feature.

SeeSaw- learn how Leigh Ann is using Seesaw learning journal app in her classroom. It's great to keep track of student work in one place, for students to reflect on work, and for you to easily look through. You can even share it with the parents. So easy first graders can use it but it is also even being used in eighth grade!

Session 3 Descriptions

Problem Based Learning in Math-  Quickly review what “Problem-Based Learning” is and the purpose of it.  Teachers will build capacity in strategically planning and implementing daily problem solving opportunities for all students, as we look at a 6-step process for planning for the “Problem-Based Learning” portion of a lesson.

Reading Groups-

You (really) can do it all!  Really!   We all know we feel crunched to make everything happen during a Guided Reading group.  We will discuss time management and the necessary skills that will allow even the shortest amount of time to be beneficial with individualized learning.

Book Talks -

This session will introduce or reintroduce you to the concept of Book Talks, especially as it pertains to a Reader’s Workshop model.

Session 4 Descriptions

Positive Behavior Supports for the Classroom

In this session we will discuss the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA).  Do you know the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment?  These two concepts are often confused and are important to understand when determining the function of a behavior. We will discuss Functional Behavior Assessment and how it can be used as a powerful tool in the classroom. We will also discuss how to use these methods of training to encourage our students as they seek to serve Christ and His Kingdom.

Small Math Groups-

This session will discuss the benefits of teaching small group math.  We will discuss tips on how to manage your rotations and utilize your math time in the most efficient way.

Formative Assessments with Technology- Wouldn’t it be nice to know if your students got a concept you just taught? We will learn about a variety of different formative assessment tools that can give you immediate feedback from your students. This could mean less grading for you and a faster turn around on knowing what your students have actually learned! Win/win.

Session 5 Descriptions

Reading Groups-

You (really) can do it all!  Really!   We all know we feel crunched to make everything happen during a Guided Reading group.  We will discuss time management and the necessary skills that will allow even the shortest amount of time to be beneficial with individualized learning.

NWEA Resources-  Please bring your laptop and explore the NWEA website for all the resources available to help guide your instruction for your students.

Mystery Skype- Looking for ways to teach geography and connect with the world at large? Mystery skype! We will discuss how to lead your students to ask good questions, how to connect the lesson to other things you are learning in the classroom, and how to lead your students to have a global mindset in their world! We will even get the opportunity to try it out.

As you can see there were a variety of different voices sharing that day. This way even teachers that could share had the opportunity to also attend sessions as well. We asked our math interventionist, reading interventionist, IT director, exceptional education director all to be a part of this day.

I have definitely seen positive results from this. I have had one teacher in particular that followed up with me after sitting through all of my sessions and let me know how successful the use of Seesaw and Kahoot has been in his classroom. While this might be 100% personalized learning, it did give our teachers some voice and choice opportunities in what they felt might be most useful for them.

What if Chattanooga's Connected Educators Were Even More Connected?

                                                            

In the last 3 days I have posted 3 tweets that look a lot like the one below. In the 3 different ones I have tagged #CHA #hcde and #ccslearns in hopes of getting a few more noticed. So what were the results?

I had 17 unique educators notice the tweets and respond- three of them were superintendent level educators, a few were edtech edus, at least three were principals or assistant principals and the majority seem to be classroom teachers but I do not know for sure. I know for a fact that we have more connected educators in the Chattanooga area but for whatever reason the tweets weren't noticed. Which leads me to the WHY of my postings. 

Lately I've been wondering just how many connected educators were in the Chattanooga area and how I could make sure I was connected with them on Twitter? I've been wondering what these educators are doing that our school might benefit from seeing? I've been wondering who in my area is leveraging the learning ability of social media for their school practices? I've found myself wondering if the teachers in my city know about the upcoming Edcamp Gigcity and how could I make sure they know about this awesome opportunity?

Last week I had the opportunities to co-lead a session at the Administrator's Technology Academy (ATA) sponsored by the East Tennessee Education Technology Association (ETETA). While speaking to a packed out, standing room only crowd I realized there were only two attendees that I recognized - Allison Fuller-Mulloy and Amy Myhan. It dawned on me that there might be quite a few more educators from Chattanooga in the room but I just didn't know them.

What if there was a way that connected educators in Chattanooga could connect more readily? At Edcamp Gigcity last spring there was a session about citywide collaboration. Many in the room wanted it to happen. To be honest I took lots of notes, had grand plans and they all fell through in my lack of vision. But what if we all started following and creating locally based tweets that might be of interest to other educators with the hashtag #eduCHA? With #eduCHA we could let each other know when opportunities for learning are taking place, we could check to see if there is truly enough interest to create "lunch and learn" opportunities in the summer, or #CoffeeChatCHA opportunities at that cute little donut shop on Frazier Avenue one Saturday morning a month. We could connect and share triumphs, dissect failures and learn from each other more.

What if I knew that a local educator was doing something that I want to see be done at my school? We could hop in my car and head over and see it in action.

What if more educators in our area were using social media for professional development opportunities? One thing that keeps coming back to me over and over in my very small "test" was that almost 30% of the educators that responded to my tweets were administration level. What does this say? I think it tells us that many school system leaders at least see the value of Twitter for professional development. They may not expect connected educators but I think we can make the assumption they notice them.

What if more of those teachers that clicked that like button became more than "lurkers" on Twitter and actually shared things? I was a lurker for a long time before I started adding things to Twitter. There is nothing wrong with lurking and learning but each educator has a voice to share. Take a chance, model good digital citizenship skills (don't bash others or your school) and bump up your twitter involvement to see what you can add to your PLN (professional learning network).

What if more administrators took part in Twitter conversations? Some of my favorite twitter chats to participate in include Dan Lawson, superintendent of Tullahoma City Schools. Dr. Dan adds a viewpoint to chats that many teachers overlook. I am thankful for his use of Twitter because it has grown my own personal views as I have listened and learned from his viewpoint. That being said, administrators should make sure that Twitter is a safe place for teachers to be transparent and real in their sharing. Voicing opinions should be allowed. Obviously if someone is bashing the school or an individual that has to be addressed but teachers shouldn't be scared to share their fears and discouragements safely. There is too much goodness to glean from Twitter, Google +, Voxer, etc not to give teachers the power to feel free to discuss!

I am not trying to start a movement or create a subculture. I just want to be able to look beyond the four walls of my school for support and my global community starts the moment I step out of the front door of the school. Let's connect and collaborate!