Post 7 - The end is near

This last week has been crunch time for me. I made a final project goal and found myself scrambling in the end to complete my project. I dedicated my whole Saturday afternoon to completing it just because I saw my calendar after school this upcoming week and there wasn't much time. Here are my take aways from this journey.

1. Goal setting is important for many. I am one who is motivated by that. I had a deadline and even though I know I can handle time management, I still was scrambling in the end. Many of my students do not possess any time management skills so I think frequent check-ins with them, especially during longer projects, can teach them to pace themselves and have success in the end.

2. I sat for 4 hours straight. My bottom was sore, my hand was tired, and my eyes were bugging out of my head from so much concentration. I know this seems silly, I was literally just coloring, but I was making mistakes and getting tired, frustrated, and maybe a tad hangry, too. Cry baby, I know.😢 My learning moment here is to given my students a break. They need to get up and move around. It is easy to get tired and frustrated and a little break might be just want they need.

3. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Nope. Not at all. I am my harshest critic and scrutinized so much of my work. My daughters would cheer me on and tell me not to obsess over the little things! We all need cheerleaders in our lives to help us see the beauty in what we create. I hope I can be that for my students and encourage them to just try their hardest and know that is enough!

4. I am so happy with my choice of genius hour topics and know it will be a FUNctional part of my classroom environment. I did not break any bones and was always in a climate controlled environment. It was a fun and practical challenge and I will be a better teacher because of my skills and takeaways from the whole experience.

The tools of the trade. End project to be revealed on Thursday :)

Post 6 - Writing cramps

I marvel at first world problems. I worked a lot this week on my final project and found my hand cramping a lot! I'm sure this is normal for other extreme athletes. 😂 Yes, I am being facetious, but it's comical how bad my hand is cramping. I think I might need some potassium supplements. My other complaint is that my kitchen table has become my "studio" because it accommodates the best sitting posture for writing but it is quite a disaster. I need to clean up my mess - it drives me crazy but I also like to just drop in on a project in progress so want it set up. I guess this is why artists have a designated workspace! I can handle it for a few more days! Speaking of last minute projects. Before leaving for the airport last night, I whipped up a sign for my daughter Jane who was returning from her diver certification trip to the Bahamas with my husband. Long story short, I was not invited because this is his tradition to take away our "freshmen" daughter for a dad/daughter weekend. Jane wanted to get certified to scuba dive so she did all of the coursework and pool practice here in December and they did her cert dives in the Bahamas this weekend. Best part of all she can now add friend to sharks on her dive resume! She saw them on every dive!

I also got a lot of practice at school with two birthdays in class and lots of practice on the board. I really do like the dry erase markers because I can easily remove and edit my mistakes. When working on paper, my "magic eraser" is life changing. More to come on that!

My question of the week got surprising responses. 10/11 year olds really have no hindsight to rely on!

This week I learned that I like working towards an end goal and enjoy having a checklist that shows  my progress.

Hafner Dip

Post 5 - Mutiny, what mutiny?

I expected a big let down in momentum...it never happened. I have incorporated my fun lettering into my daily/weekly classroom routine and it has just become a part of the day. I like it and it has opened up a whole can of creative whoop ass into my day! I really enjoy it and find it oddly relaxing. I will say, however, the workbook is where I experience mutiny. I am much more a learn as you go, why practice upstrokes and downstrokes when I can be creating?!?! This is why I was a piano lesson dropout. I only wanted to play by ear, this didn't go over well with piano teachers who want to teach you a solid foundation. Ain't nobody got time for that...LOL!

What I learned this week: I have trouble with spacing. I practice and practice but mistakes are where I am learning!

My fun skill is coming in handy when I deliver gifts. It's that little extra oomph!

Lots of practicing...you can see where I ran out of space on the middle one. Pedro's name is Peter for real! 

The finished product!

"Thank You" cupcakes for our Teacher Librarian and Help Desk Technician, who get very little thanks for making sure MAP and IAR and all the other testing in 5th grade goes smoothly! 

Post 4 - Routines

Finding time to do anything is easy when you enjoy it. I have found many ways to incorporate my "special" writing practice into daily activities. I sometimes write lunch notes. Yes, I am that ridiculous parent but mine are usually silly, movie quotes or inappropriate and meant to make my freshmen laugh. Now I write with my fashionable fonts at which she rolls her eyes at me...that's a win! Anyway, I practice while watching tube at night, at school when my students are at art/pe/music/lunch and I practice with my daily schedule as seen in my picture below. Again, my skill is ok, but am finding that it is fun and my followers (Students) are along for the ride and they are always requesting that I write in fun letters for them. I even see a few experimenting on their own. If only I could TikTok this new skill, I'd be a modern day hero too them! haha.

Daily Schedule  - I like that it's fun, but I dislike that "s" very much.

Handmade card for a baby shower at school. It's a little shaky and I feel like I overdid it. Should've stuck with straight script!

Post 3 - What is my sentence?

I have had so much fun learning my new skill. My students are involved and are cheering me along... it's fun to have fans! I have a few basic pieces that I have created and have found that I have little to no talent...LOL! I have been really good about practicing and purchased a workbook to help me practice strokes. It is fun, I can incorporate it into my everyday routine with ease. It is perfect to practice in front of the Bachelor and other mindless shows. I find it soothing and actually find it fun. My skill level was mediocre going into this genius hour endeavor and now is slightly above mediocre! Yay...growth! I have gained a some confidence from the week prior and decided that there is no harm in trying something that seems hard, even if I fail because even if I do I can rip it up and throw it away and no one will know!

My sentence is: Using stylized penmanship expresses my personality and brings life to letters.

Love adding flare to a gift!

I think Stanley is pissed I was using his pillow for display purposes!

Post 2 - Genius Hour Final Rose Ceremony

I really wanted to entertain an idea that involved my physical health...workout goals, eating healthy, etc. but I have done that before. I trained for a triathlon and loved it. I liked the schedule and structure. It felt like it was cheating to do it again. I considered desserts, it would be so fun to learn how to decorate cakes. My girls loved this idea (young metabolisms) but then I realized I would gain so much weight taste testing and licking my fingers with sugary goodness. Um, no thanks, that can't happen. There was also an investment in supplies, baking materials and time that led me away from my cake fantasy.

I have wanted to take a tap class ever since "Fake Monica" and Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe from FRIENDS took a class together. After some soul searching I realized I really wanted to be with THEM, not by myself learning to tap! My family also exercised veto rights on tap. I am already doing Zumba moves all around the house and the thought of me tapping in the house would drive us all crazy! I watched several tutorials online and obviously it is learning many very basic steps first before I could throw down some mad tapping like Gene Kelly!

Learning to do a handspring, a life long dream and one that I do often in my dreams was an idea that my middle-aged body strongly disagrees with. I watched several tutorials and while my heart wants to do that, I also don't want to be in a cast with broken wrists! Each tutorial was led by a lithe teenage girl showing incredible flexibility that I am self-aware enough to know, I don't have.

Snowboarding? Sure if I were out in Colorado on the real slopes but Four Lakes bunny hill didn't feel like a challenge I wanted to pay $300 for, plus I hate cold weather. Swimming a mile? Fair enough. I knew it was attainable but ultimately I know how hungry I get when I swim and that is a problem I don't want to contend with. I also got scared away from a couch to a mile swim program that was almost in a foreign language. "4 to 8 times 100m FC with 15-30 seconds rest between each. On the first 50m of each, breathe every 5 or 6 strokes and on the second 50m breathe every 3 strokes or try a 3-2-3-2 breathing pattern." What does any of that even mean? 

So that leaves me with Calligraphy. I love fun fonts (dafont.com is one of my favorite sites) so I figured traditional Calligraphy would be fun until I realized it didn't excite me and is a little too stuffy for me. See what I mean by being undecisive?!?! Now what crazy lady? I arrived at the decision to do a spin-off of Calligraphy called "Hand Lettering." It is fun, whimsical and artistic. It is easy to do at home and has little investment because I LOVE markers and pens and already have quite a collection. I feel like it will be a skill that I can use forever and am envisioning handwritten notes, birthday announcements for my students on the whiteboard, and making people feel special that I took the time to do something with them in mind executing my own personal flare!

Post 1 ~Generating ideas for Genius Hour

Ugh! This is the worst. If learning how to make decisions was a genius hour option that would be the one I should pick. I hate open-ended decision making. I'm the one at a restaurant who annoys the server saying, "Can you ask me last?" and then when everyone is done ordering, I'm still left reeling and hand wringing. If I saw me, I'd say "Jeez lady, just pick. It's one meal." I have even defaulted to I'll choose two and I make the server decide for me. Why? Why is decision making (Running shoes, jeans, backpacks, etc. ) so HARD for me? It's all the same...I hem, I haw. I do eventually tire of my research phase and ultimately do make informed decisions. So here I sit. Pick anything to get better at. Oh my! Choices overload. I have been all over the map with this one.  I enlisted the help of friends and family to help generate some ideas. Swimming a mile, snowboarding, cake decorating, calligraphy, back handspring (haha, I know, right?) and tap dancing. That's a random list! Stay tuned to see how I arrived at my ultimate decision!

Cyberbullying, it's a real thing!

I would absolutely hate to grow up today with the pervasive use of technology. Being a teenager was hard enough without iPhones, iPads, texting, tweeting, FB, Instagram, Snapchat, you name it. We had payphones and answering machines. If you missed a party, you missed a party. You didn't have to see the party pics as it was happening. You didn't have to feel excluded from all the fun it appeared your friends were having without you. Being a good digital citizen comes with a lot of responsibility and maturity that today's youth don't yet possess. Queue Cyberbullying.  Unfortunately, it happens. It's real. Sometimes it's accidental but usually, it is very intentional and very hurtful. I've lived through it as a parent, as a teacher, as a neighbor, as a friend and I'll tell you what it never gets any easier. I loved this assignment and being able to revisit cyberbullying and retune my awareness and understanding of it.

Cyberbullying

Move over HGTV, here I come...

I love rearranging. I live in a house that doesn't support the reorganization of furniture so I get to relive my childhood hobby by rearranging my classroom. This project of designing a functional classroom was right up my alley. I found it to be very satisfying. As a teacher, I do monthly desk reorganization to mix it up and then every other month or two I do a whole room rehaul. The kids love it and it feels like Christmas morning! This project really allowed me to think about my dream room and what I'd love to have. My favorite addition is a stationary bike and exercise balls. I know after a long day of sitting and listening to professional development, I'd love to sit on a bike and move a little bit! I have some antsy pantsies that would benefit from the freedom of movement! I also loved being able to design the locations of the power outlets and design a technology zone!

EEND-680 21st Century Ed Leadership Reflection

My biggest takeaway from this class is the power of observation. I was moved by the #observeme movement and even volunteered to have my teammate observe me and participate in my formal evaluation cycle for her Type 75 certification program. It was very liberating to open myself up to critique from my peer and welcome her to my pre/post-conference meetings with my principal.  I enjoyed creating a google form and becoming the evaluator and watching my teammates as well. It really gave me perspective on what principals have to do during our evaluation cycles.

Teacher Observation Google Form

I was really challenged by planning a 30 minute, online, self-paced professional development on the introduction of Twitter. I incorporated some tricks that we've learned through this journey and linked a few slides in my presentation. I am glad that I have more tools in my toolbox because of this curriculum. I was inspired to do this self-paced training on Twitter based on our Capstone Project and asking teachers to use Twitter. I remember how resistant we were at the beginning of this program and how far we've all come. I thought that these "baby steps" into Twitter would be a good first start!

Twitterific

Capstone Project update

The realization that this is a huge undertaking has hit me when I think of how hard it is motivating people to do anything out of their normal day-to-day expectations. The real struggle became glaringly apparent how hard it was to motivate teachers in our district when we were asked to show up to support the negotiations committee by showing up to a board meeting wearing red. I thought there would be hordes of people, a sea of red, a sheer force to be reckoned with, but it wasn't. There were many that showed up in support of the negotiation team and the hard work put in to fight for our contract rights, but not as many as you would think. The level of return on investment should've been very high. This is our salary, insurance, and vacation that we're talking about and still, only about 1/3 of teachers showed up. SO, this gets me to the Capstone Project. How in the world are we going to get investment and teacher buy-in when there is zero return on investment? Incentives are great but we can't really offer anything of much value. Here is a digital badge, or sticker? Somehow we have to figure out a way to make it fun and easy to do. We have to get some buy-in from staff and hopefully encourage a decent level of competition and hopefully turn the spotlight on something encouraging during this bleak negotiation time.
Another struggle is the size of the group. It's tough to motivate a whole class to invest in a project. I like how we broke into smaller more manageable sized groups. From there we must rely on good faith that each group is holding their own and contributing to the success of the project.
I'm excited to see how this all plays out and to hopefully inspire some healthy competition among the grade level teams!

679 Course Reflection

This assessment class has pushed me so far out of my comfort zone. I had some very eye-opening moments and feel like Module 5 was the hardest for me to digest. Gradeless teaching made me feel so uncomfortable yet so exhilarated and I was so comforted by my classmates feeling the same way which I found out through shared discussions. One resource that stuck with me was the video with Sal Khan (He's my favorite) and I just absolutely loved his message about teaching for mastery and his analogy with house building. When he speaks, he is so clear and concise and I respect him so much. That analogy will be repeated in my classroom and shared with my students. I want them to take part in their learning and have an understanding of the goals we set and why it's important to see progress and not move on until we are ready. 
I have grown tremendously throughout this class and have filled my toolbox with great ideas to further enhance my students learning. I also think that my data collection will improve in the future and I will take several data points to inform my instruction and I will not be so crazed by the numbers and their implications...maybe that comes with experience! I will continue my learning but using gaming to further learning outcomes, using clear and concise rubrics, teaching my students to set goals and helping them construct a road map to success. The use of badges excites me and will help to further motivate my students to feel the success of their accomplishments!

This is the badge I have awarded myself for completing this challenging and interesting class! 

Show me your badge! 📛

I like when things are easy. Sometimes things are not easy, but it's always good for teachers to remember that feeling of awkwardness and having to work hard at something so that we can be more empathetic educators. Many of these assignments pushed me outside of my comfort zone but I feel like I grew and worked through that feeling of using my left hand as a natural rightie!
Gradeless teaching was eye-opening as was Kathy Schrock's massive collection of rubrics, but the assignment of Creating a Digital Badge and Digital Badge Pathway in Module 4 was my favorite. I found this to be very practical and something I will use in my classroom next year. I aligned the assignment to the RACE writing strategy that we use in 5th grade. Since I already do this in my classroom, I felt this was where technology can enhance what I am already doing. It was very fun to design the badge and I will be excited to create more to help build a digital pathway to mastery! This digital pathway is very logical to me and I think will help students visualize expectations and plan, prepare and pace themselves accordingly. There were many great learning moments, this one just really stuck with me!

“Truly wonderful the mind of a child is.” — Yoda

Dive deeper into mastery with me and my friend Yoda because everything sounds better when Yoda says it! To translate for those that don't speak Yoda: The mind of a child is a truly wonderful thing. This resonates with mastery in the classroom because while each child's mind is truly wonderful, not every mind operates the same, moves at the same pace, understands the same content or processes information the same way. Differentiation comes to mind as we need to meet each student where they are at and meet their individual needs. However, this ideology falls apart when we look at our current system of education.

In the TED Talk, "Let's Teach for Mastery, Not Test Scores," Sal Khan (My 2nd favorite behind Yoda) offers an amazing analogy at building a house in reference to mastery. You would not move to the first floor of building a house if the foundation wasn't fully set. You certainly would not move on to the second story if the foundation wasn't set AND the first floor was only 80% finished.

So why do we move students along when they have not fully mastered the material? I see this very often in our math classes. We lecture, give homework, go over homework the next day, lecture some more, more homework and so on for a few weeks until the assessment is given. If a student has earned an 80% they kind of celebrate - hey I got a B. What about that 20% of material they didn't show mastery on?  This is going to rear it's head again. Even the 95% test earner still shows that 5% is unlearned. We are creating educational gaps that will bite these students hard, later on in their schooling. We need to be patient and wait out the curricular demands and pacing schedules and help students master the information before introducing something new.

Sal was speaking directly to me, as he normally does, when he mentions students who experienced learning gaps and attributed them to the "I don't have the math gene" and "I can't learn this" as excuses. This WAS me as a student and then as an adult it all changed when I matured and persevered. I loved mastering math and teaching math to students who feel like they just don't get it!
Now I just wish it wasn't a race the to the finish line!

Patience, you must have. - Yoda

Photo credit: Sal Khan and Yoda

Effective Tech Integration

It's clear that technology is becoming the norm of expectations in the classroom but just because we use technology in our classrooms it doesn't mean it's good. I have enjoyed learning about the effective integration of technology and utilizing different tools and strategies to help my students become responsible and active digital citizens in my classroom. 

A few highlights for me are:

The grant writing assignment. This is practical learning that will help me in the future. I enjoyed practicing this skill and being pushed out of my comfort zone by asking for something and proving that it is necessary and meets certain criteria beyond,  just want to do this!

Planning the professional learning experience was WAY harder than I thought it would be. It required much deeper introspection into the goals of the experience while incorporating some fun and taking the best of what I have learned in class and applying it to real life. Truly eye-opening!

The growth I experienced in this class is huge! The above-mentioned projects and the PBL/UBD assignment were big and overwhelming but I was able to push myself and grow!!  I feel much more confident in my ability to plan a unit and integrate technology effectively to benefit my students the most!

Multimedia Magic

I have long been a fan of multimedia and enjoy audiobooks, podcasts, video and visually pleasing materials. This class however opened my eyes to bringing all of these interests together into my classroom and my instruction. Why have I been constrained by the walls of curricular expectations and direct instruction while the non-teacher in me has enjoyed all of these other multimedia mediums? It's not that I didn't do any of it, I think I did things and didn't exactly realize what I was doing. 

I have grown as an educator by trying new things and exposing my students to new videos, audio clips and introducing them to podcasts! I will continue to improve my video skills and speaking through audio skills. I will continue to try new methods of sharing information with parents to keep them engaged and informed as well.

My favorite learned skill was the use of Quicktime. Why has this clever app been hiding in the files of my MacBook forever without any use? It is simple and effective and it's multipurpose use make it a front runner in my go to apps!

What's even better than me learning all of this is the fact that my students will benefit as well and that makes me a better educator!

Learning curves

For every time something goes right, the pendulum must swing so that sometimes it is is bound to go wrong. Making our book/trailer advertisement was a lesson in frustration for me. I tried a new video making tool called Vyond. I put a lot of time an effort into the video that I intended to use a launch to our new science unit. The time spent creating it versus the 2 minute video final product was impractical. It was also very crushing that when I went to upload my video Vyond asked for me to purchase an annual subscription $79.99. I, of course, was not about to pay that for a 2 minute video. I contacted Vyond and was told that I should read the trial agreement (in fine print) that the trail is not meant to publish pieces, but a sample of what Vyond can do. UGH!  I accepted that my video would have a watermark stamped on it forever. I showed my 2 science classes and gave them the background story and the lesson learned here is know what tools you are using so that you don't get burned in the end. I also thought this was a fun and engaging way to kick off a new unit but I will use Apple clips or another video program next time!

Screencasting...all the cool kids are doing it!

I have watched so many screencasts (Thanks, Sal Kahn) but never knew how to do it myself. This is my new favorite tool and I will be doing it again in my classroom. The learning curve was not steep and it was a seamless transition to me making my first screencast. I think the biggest benefit is in the scaffolding that it provides to students when learning a new skill especially those who are visual learners, like me! The only problem I found was not rambling on and that is not one of my strengths. I also found out the hard way that you don't want to make a mistake at the end of the video and have to reshoot the entire screencast. It was fun to do, an engaging and helpful tool, and really easy to do.

I've attached a copy of my screencast that shows how to use the amazing SeeSaw activity library.

Pretty To Look At

Graphic design is easily taken for granted but can make such a difference in the classroom. Students are drawn to colorful, bright, aesthetically pleasing images, aren't we all? Because our students all learn differently a well-created infographic can make all the difference in the world for the visual learners in the classroom. It can draw them into content and get them hooked into engagement. And being just like my 5th graders, I did not carefully read the instructions of Module 5 so I created an infographic on Picktochart. We are entering IAR/PARCC season and I thought this little flyer would help students prep for test taking. It was really fun to make and who doesn't love bulldogs, french toast, meditation, and babies. I am in for graphic design and getting our students excited!!

 

You spin me right round baby, right round...

This could be the coolest tool I have ever been introduced to. Flippity is SO cool. I immediately put it into action to pick partners for some decimal war in math class. SO EASY and I look like a genius.   Partners, trios, quads, teams etc. I can do it all in one click. Such a great site!

So I love this site for the functionality but now I have to introduce the new man I admire. I introduced him to my husband and he does too. Thanks for the introduction to the kindest and most intelligent man. Simon, you might be Superman. His logic is sound and he offers safe and sensible solutions for technology use. I have three teenage girls and overuse is a problem at my house. Three cheers for Simon!!!

Simon Sinek