Post-it Notes®

    Yes, I admit it.  

    I am a Post-it® note freak.  

    I will also admit that my use of Post-it® notes is color-coded.  I mean that when I use a Post-it® note the color represents something specific in that if the note is about a tech note or library note or student note, etc. I think it goes along with my desire (obsession) to be organized and not forget anything.   

    Today I found my new favorite app on FreeTech4Teachers by Richard Byrne.   Post-it Plus® is a free iPad app that you can use to turn your physical sticky notes into digital sticky notes.  With the free app you can snap a picture of the physical sticky notes and have them digitized where they can be re-arranged, shared with others or send them to be stored (Dropbox).  If you have multiple notes you can combine them onto one board in the Post-it Plus® iPad app.  

Now, I am one very happy & excited Post-it® note freak.  

Pham, Michael. "Post It Notes - Google Search." Post It Notes - Google Search. N.p., 1 Mar. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Five Lessons about Blogging in School

     Writing is something that I enjoy and I guess I am a bit old-fashioned in that I enjoy writing letters.  In fact, I would rather write a letter than make a phone call.   So blogging is just an extension of letter writing and I find that I rather enjoy it.   Kind of therapeutic actually…..

     Richard Byrne recently presented a workshop on blogs for teachers and school leaders and posted his presentation on FreeTech4Teachers blog.   He has a 90-page Complete Guide to Using Blogger in School that he has posted online for teachers to download and includes a slide show of 40+ classroom and school blog examples.   Here is a list of five important lessons Richard Byrne has learned about using blogs in school:

1. Don’t spend a lot of time worrying about how the blogs looks because you can always fix it later.  Just choose any template and get started.
2. Send out a blogging mission and permission notice to parents.  Always let parents know why their children are blogging and how privacy will be protected.
3. Review Internet safety and etiquette protocols with your students.
4. Create guidelines for how the class blog is to be used by students.  Talk about tone and online discussion norms.  Discuss how to offer constructive feedback.
5. Expect that something will go wrong – whether it be an inappropriate comment or grammar faux pas – use it as another opportunity to review Internet safety and etiquette.

    So am I ready to start a class blog?  Almost…..I just sent home the permission notices to parents.  Next step: Internet safety and etiquette.  

Flickr Images

Taylor, Nick. "Computer History Museum." Flickr. Yahoo!, 30 Jan. 2008. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

Assignment: We have been discussing various inventions that influenced the invention of the computer that we use today. Create a timeline of the history of computers using 8 photos from Flickr.com ("Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivs License") Add an explanation with each photo as to why you choose to include this image for your timeline.

Vincent, Scott W. "Rosetta@home Cruncher." Flickr. Yahoo!, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

Assignment: Pictured above is a photograph of the inside of a CPU. From the school project drive, save the photo to your student drive and open the picture in MS Word. Using arrows and boxes, label the various parts in the CPU that we have learned in the last week. 

Do You Feel Appreciated Today?

     One of the greatest privileges I have had as a teacher is to be a mentor to another teacher.   While I will admit that it is hard to find the time to meet and sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with all the things on my “to do” list, I really look forward to meeting over lunch or after school with my mentees.   It could be the smile on their faces when I bring along a treat that they like to our meeting or maybe it’s the sigh that they release as I just listen to what they say and not try to one-up them in the conversation.  (BTW – that’s #2 on my list of top things that people should not do to each other.  But that’s for another blog post.)   But I think it is just that it gives them a chance to feel appreciated as I share what I have seen or heard from students about the great things going on in their classroom.  Sure it’s my job to give the mentee some counseling in dealing with tough students or lessons that are not working but I feel that the day-to-day anxieties of teaching are so intense at times that everyone needs building up and to feel appreciated.  

     Reading Elena Aguilar’s Edutopia article Teachers: FindingAppreciation at Work reminded me that I need to thank and love on more teachers in my building. Ms. Aguilar says that “ acknowledgements help us feel seen, help us focus on what we need to do more of, and help us feel as if we’re having an impact – which is what all educators in schools want. These feelings build our emotional resilience helping us manage stress and rebound from setbacks.”  YES!  That is exactly what I have been doing with my mentees but I really need to spread the love around my building. 

     Here are just a few of Ms. Aguilar's suggestions for increasing appreciation in your work life:

•         If you don’t feel appreciated appreciate someone else first!  Like the custodian or the administrative assistant who greets and deals more with parents than most of us ever need to.  (Need I say more?)
•        If you don’t feel appreciated by your principal, talk to him.   He needs to hear what may be missing and you are probably not the only teacher with these feelings.  
•       Send notes of appreciation if you can but sending a mental appreciation helps you name the things you are grateful for. 

     Giving appreciation is much more important than receiving it.  I know that full well from loving on my mentees.   So let’s all go ahead and try this with our school staff this week – it’s going to be a good thing for your mood and your view of your school.    

Aguilar, Elena. "Teachers: Finding Appreciation at Work." Edutopia. N.p., 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

Going 1:1 with Students, but What About the Parents?

    In January, our school is going 1:1 with Chrome Books with our 6th grade students.  The plan is that in 3 years all our Middle School students will be 1:1 with Chrome Books.   This is an ambitious undertaking that affects not only the 6th grade teachers and myself but the other Middle School teachers in 7th and 8th grade too.  The 6th grade teachers have totally embraced the change from paper to almost paperless, from using Microsoft Windows to Google.  They are excited but a little anxious about the what-if's.  What if a student forgets to bring their Chrome Book to school or it needs to be charged.  What if the internet is down for an hour or two, what will we do?  The students are not just excited, they are elated to be getting Chrome Books before anyone else Middle School. 
And the parents?   Well, no one has really asked them how they feel.   
     In her article, Empathy and Research: Engaging Parents with Tech Initiatives, Devorah Heitner, says "it's worth doing some research to better understand parents' concerns. My own research suggests that these are some of parents' top concerns about kids and technology."  Teachers and students get so excited about the prospect of having more tech or more devices in the classroom, that we forget that there is a key group of people that support us daily that also need to be in the loop with our plans and goals as they are the adults that support our students at home while we are the adults in their lives at school.  
Devorah Heitner says that some of the concerns that parents have over 1:1 initiatives are too much screen time or safety on the internet.  But one of the main concerns were that "parents objected to homework turned in digitally because they felt "out of the loop" with regard to teacher feedback. In other words, they were used to visible comments from the teacher on their child's homework. The familiar "red pen" gave parents a great window into their child's progress, and now they missed this valuable feedback."  
    That means that as the Technology teacher, I need to be working with my principal and the Middle School teachers on training the parents on 1:1, as well as, the students.  In fact, I see that training the parents will take more than just one Parent Night meeting but rather teaching staff and I need to work out a planned series of nights to educate our parents who want to know more.   
      Here are a few Do's and Don't that Ms. Heitner suggests: 

Don't talk down to parents or treat them as if they are in the way.

Do take parents' concerns seriously -- and enlist them for committees to research solutions.

Don't assume that their objections are "simply" an inability to accept change.

Do communicate with parents early and often. Invite them to attend events where they will get to experience the approaches, applications, and projects their students are investigating.

Don't spend all of your resources on technology, leaving insufficient funds for parent engagement and professional development.

Do provide your teachers with excellent professional development, including in-school time to prepare, learn in partnership with one another, and get support.

Do let students lead demonstrations and experiences for their parents and other parents in the school community.

     Our January, 2015 1:1 Initiative for 6th grade will be much more successful (and enjoyable) if we have our parents feeling like they are an important part of this new venture rather than bystanders without any input or participation.

Heitner, Devorah. "Empathy and Research: Engaging Parents With Tech Initiatives." Edutopia. N.p., 3 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

Digital Citizenship Prezi

Digital Citizenship

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