hat did I learn?

In what ways have you grown as a professional while taking this course? How can you use the knowledge gained to increase your leadership within the corporation?

Last year I was an Instructional assistant in Resource at Brooks School Elementary and I worked closely with the 3rd grade team.  We planned together, problem solved together and supported each other.  It was an amazing year.  This summer taking the Blended Online Learning class really caused me to reflect how much the collaboration and team building created an environment that allowed the teachers and students to flourish.

This year I was hired as a 3rd grade teacher!!! Working with the same team!!!  Since taking this course I have been using the experience and knowledge I gained from past experiences and connecting them with online learning.  I have a resource of tools I can use and share with other teachers….even with my students!  I am so excited to guide my students in inquiry based projects using iPads and pad let and symbaloo.  To communicate with teachers more effectively and set up my classroom to keep students  engaged and provide opportunities for online learning that I could not have previously offered.

Currently I am the 'tech' person on our new team.  I am looking forward to a year of learning for all of us!!!

Digital Footprint

The digital footprints we leave have long term effects on our personal and professional lives.  We capture moments from our personal lives, our professional lives and spiritual lives….and share them without hesitation.  This opens the door for others to have a front row seat of our lives.  I share family pictures, outing with friends, ministries that I work with and admire and some work related topics.

There are many factors that I didn't consider and still may be naive about.  Saftey issues for one.  Some of my fiends caution protecting my privacy and my families'  for so many reasons.  There was a story where I live where there was a police officer met a girl online ( on purpose) and was at her house in a mater of hours.  He shared with her parents how their daughter was putting herself art risk online and how he connected with her, pretended to be someone he wasn't and was able to locate where she lived. .  Another friend told me of their friends daughter going to meet the love of her life ( who she met online) in Chicago and this person was not the young man as he portrayed online.  This young teenage girl did make it back home safe.  In short, we have to be aware of what our children are doing online and knowledgable of what's out there and the activities they are involved in.

There is the HUGE issue of cyber bullying.  This is toxic.  Lives are hurt, wasted time is spent looking at instagram and watching everyone else having the best time ever and feeling left out.  Kids are obsessed with taking self portraits and showing the world…and we are not teaching them proper guidelines.

MANY parents have shared that their kids are texting at all hours of the night/early morning on school nights…consistently!!!  These are parents of kids who are high achievers and overall look like they are doing good in school.  These are what many call the 'good kids' who are making bad choices.  One parent told me of a 5th grader " I make my daughter turning her phone by 11 each night.  My first response to that and teaching digital citizenship is to kick myself first for allowing my kids to have this much access.  Second is to take the phones and devices away.  This is not effective because even though they are fine without them as soon as they get them back the same problems arise: too much time screens, not getting homework done, drama….

Having the discussions on digital citizenship recently with my college student and 2 elem kids is slowly taking root.  This will be a process.  It has been a huge learning process for myself.  The last 5 years have been a huge eye opening experience as far as how the media can be used and I am excited to learn how to use it for my professional growth.  A few rules of thumb I try to live by ( not always successful)

1. Add value to other people by what you read and what you post/message/share

2. When texting or messaging and gossiping….decline the opportunity.  Only share what you would say to the persons face and better yet resolve it with that person IN PERSON.

3. All the activities we engage in online leave a trail that ltells our story.  Kind of like a check book register.  You can tell hat is important to a per on by the checks they write: food, eating, shopping, recreational activities….you can tell the character of a person by what he/she posts and future companies looking to hire will research who you are online….to see if you are a fit for their company.

A role we can play in making sure our students have a positive soil networking footprint is to have them write up their profile, which will cause them to really think and reflect on their life and how they want to be viewed.  This link http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-916-Getting-Ahead-Will-Your-Social-Networking-Profile-Get-You-Hired-or-Fired/ has awesome tips on marketing yourself and creating digital footprints for students on a career path.  I envision creating lessons where students read a profile and guess who the person is.  We have to model what extraordinary profile looks like.

Curating resources for organized planning

When I think of planning I see  files on each unit with notes and sample work and sample projects.  I would revisit the file the next year and pull from it as needed and adjusting the information I gathered to the class to fit the current needs of the students.  However, I would rather have less paperwork and file folders…binders…full of information and be able to access via internet lessons/resources and projects.

Currently I would use Evernote to keep tract of lessons/inits and symbaloo.  I need further practice in doing this but I do have the basics down.  I could copy and paste the resources used for each unit of study and bookmark them as well. I believe I could also email them directly to evernote.   I really would like to meet as a team and pick one or two resources to use this year for planning and communication.

I want to use resources that will engage students and making their own symbaloo along with blogging on the projects is a great way to document their learning/progress and have a record of all their work!

Daniel Pink video on Motivation

I found this video very interesting and thought provoking.  The candle and tac experiment along with the reward systems that were offered surprised me.  First of all, the people that were offered the highest incentive did the worst. This restricted creativity.  The old ways of "if…then…principal" can be effective in a narrow range of behaviors but this is an external motivator.  External motivators always lose effect.  This is why classroom incentives don't always keep kids motivated.  My experience in working at a psychiatric hospital where kids were hospitalized for sever behaviors showed me that extrinsic motivators do NOT keep their effectiveness.  In schools we offer more and more rewards and incentives or threaten with punishments or bad grades.  

The 2nd time they gave the test they made one simple change and took the tacos out of the box and the test became easy.  One simple move made the task easier.

Mr. Pink used scientific evidence to show that intrinsic motivation is necessary for long lasting change. the reasons he gave were:
1. Autonomy: urge to direct out own lives
2. Mastery-the desire to get better and better at something that matters
3. Purpose-yearning to do what we do …contributing to something larger than ourselves.

We all have passions.  When we tap into that and explore that passion amazing results follow.  Imagine if we guided/coached/taught/mentored our children into finding their passion/utilizing their strengths and interests…what they would accomplish.

Google allows their employees 20% of work time to be creative and use however they choose.  It amazes me that half of their products are birthed at that time.  Wow…. a new mindset…a new way of thinking… no pressure just sharing passion with a team of like minded individuals and results that are benefitting the majority!

This concept is where I want to grow in the area of my thinking and the classroom.  I want to have a time set aside for the kids to explore, create, research what they are interested in.  I don't want this to be a wasted time.  I would have to have guidelines, a framework, some guided teaching in this area and accountability.

I also want to have access to technology that will support what I am supposed to be teaching in the classroom…that can assess where each student is and monitor their progress…also evaluate and sure the information online.  In a few easy steps.  :)

I do believe each student has a purpose that goes beyond getting an a on a timed math sheet.  His purpose is bigger than the classroom or what I could even begin to know or explain to him.  However, I can provide an environment that inspires him, encourages him, and challenges him to do do moe than he could ever imagine!  I do intentionally communicate to my students their value, potential for great thinking and great ideas and that their voice matters.

Digital tool in the classroom

A recent and new digital tool I have used with a SPED student is At Spelling.  The difference this has made is remarkable.  He has a very short attention span and writing is difficult.  After working with behavior specialist and a great team of teachers we have been making progress in his time on task, engagement and assessment.  A plus spelling allows him to enter his spelling words, record each one, practice his words with visual prompts and colors and take his test.  This process would take many attempts when we tried the traditional way with pen and paper.

1. A plus spelling
2. App on his iPad
3. The App allows the student to set up spelling test, practice them using an unscrambling game ( which uses a different part of the brain)  and there are prompts during this process that keep kids engaged.  Kids can practice on the go ( at school, home…) and the student can submit the work completed via email to the teacher.  This makes record keeping for the teacher easier and shows the words students had trouble with.
4.I use it with one of our SPED kids who has a 1:1 most of the day.  This has been very successful.
5. On the SAMR level this falls into the Augmentation category.

Module 3 Module 3 Technology integration

As I look at the technology integration matrix I see myself in the adaptation phase.  In Science, the students did research on the iPads  to learn and explore about plants.  Then they were put into collaborative groups where they shared their findings and participated in a variety of lessons   That required participation from all members of the group.  One of my special needs students created a story on scribble press about ' The adventures of the the missing plant parts. '  A story was created and illustrated and he added audio.  The information that was in the story included the parts and function of each part of a plant.  He also made puppets for each plant part and he will act out the puppet show and share the story with the class.  

The students had opportunities to use iPads independently and in groups.  They were integrated into the plan unit.  

2.  I would like to provide Graphic organizers and spreadsheets to help students monitor their progress , set goals, evaluate and assess....Since the year is about over, I am not sure about using spreadsheets now..... 

3. However I really want to add padlet to the iPads and have the students respond and give feedback as a class..... Share their I wonder questions and answers.... Add video.... I'm curious if we could add links as well.  
On this unit.....   I plan on asking our librarian who is a tech type of wizard .....  If it is possible to add padlet and let the kids play around on it as well.   ( the post under the option link in module 3 motivated me to take a few steps towards padlet the teacher mentioned how the kids really embraced the program!!!) Kids are amazing at learning new apps.  It will 

Changing mindsets

Module 2 changing mindsets

Based on my experiences this year, there seems to be a common thread in making change which is: there must be a foundation of trust and genuine relationship in the organization.  When this is present others are encouraged to be vulnerable in their abilities and open to asking for help.  This is true for teachers and students.  We teach our students to be 'bucket fillers' to be kind, a good citizens,  hard workers and helpful to others. We diligently plan lessons, experiences, create classrooms that inspire and encourage learning that empowers students to inquire on their own….build up confidence, increase their ability to problem solve and grow ( not just on tests) but in their divergent thinking, creativity and socially. We strive to make our rooms a safe place for learning, trial and error…..and dialogue.     As teachers we have the opportunity to add value to our students' lives daily.

This also applies to our co workers. I have the privilege of working with a team of teachers who are different personality types and who have different teaching styles.  Yet they all are passionate about student engagement and growth, engaging their kids in the classroom, sharing their successful lessons, sharing their struggles and being transparent.  Sharing what works and doesn't work.  This is creating a culture where diversity is welcome, where many are listening, linking arms in planning and creating a culture that is accepting and adds value to each and every person.  This culture is growing.  Mindsets are changing.

Personally feeling overwhelmed by all the new information presented this year, I have decided to take small steps with new apps.  This past week a teacher shared A plus spelling with me.  My little autistic guy did GREAT and not only did he stay focused, record his own spelling words verbally, he is able to open the list on his own and practice his words.  This is a huge accomplishment as his attention his span and focus tend to be very short.  He is also writing stories on his iPad and illustrating them. As our team of teachers are working together and learning together we are seeing our students grow.  I am committed to learning about new ways to implement online teaching with my students.

I have been studying Cheryl Doig and her strategies for introducing learning walks, collecting data, student engagement  and assumptions.  There is information about a 3 year study of online blended learning in the classroom on her site.   I recommend this site as even the basic truths of how we as humans interpret our interactions with peers, leadership and students is crucial in leading an organization, even a classroom.  The short piece on assumptions shows how we interpret interactions and how our interpretation effects how we respond emotionally, draw conclusions and even evaluate. The ways in which we look at data and see what is actually occuring during an observation can be interpreted in many ways.  I also really liked the term learning walks and more information can be found about learning walks as well.

I have found that the teachers I am working with this year that there is a genuine commitment to learning and professional development that encourages growth both professionally and personally.  They are all in, want to be part of a team that is seeing the benefits of linking arms and opening their ways of thinking to add technology, new ways of thinking and embracing diversity.