A Teacher's Journey: I Am Poem

A great way to learn more about yourself or your students is to create an "I Am" poem.  This was our first task in Edtech 541: Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curriculum. I could envision this as a great back-to-school activity for classes of any age.
There are a myriad of ways to integrate this into your 'get to know you' activities - these are just a couple of ideas:

• Have students write the poem and then illustrate them.  Display them around the classroom for Back to School Night.
• Students could add their poems to their classroom blogs to introduce themselves to their classmates.
• Pair up students. Have them interview their partners, then write the poem about their classmate.
• Brainstorm and then write a class We Are poem.

What other ways could teachers incorporate the I Am poem into their first week activities?  I would love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

Here is the link if you want to create your poem online: http://bit.ly/2bGs8U5

Everything You Need to Improve Your School!

This podcast covers it all! That's a pretty hefty statement to make about a sixty minute podcast, isn't it? But I believe that this is one of those podcasts that addresses so many needs in education today. 
A few posts back I took a poll on what it take to be a great teacher. While most everyone agreed that all of the elements were essential to being a great teacher, over half of us said that a teacher who displays their own love of learning and inspires students with a passion for growth is the most essential element to being a great teacher. This podcast definitely fits that bill. 

When asked what he would do differently to make schools better, Dr. Todd Schmidt responded, "There's a class that's not offered enough, and that class is critical thinking." Are we tapping in to students’ natural curiosity? Are we intentionally encouraging questioning and exploration? "Genius hour, 20% time, and design thinking are filling the gap students need to take control of their own learning." 
I would encourage you to listen through as host Daniel Bauer discusses with lead learner Dr. Todd Schmidt how to individualize and personalize what we do for our students by building on one another's strengths.Whether you are a teacher, support staff, a principal, or hold any role in education, you should give this podcast a listen.  

This podcast completely resonated with me from beginning to end, down to the last few minutes when one of my favorite books, LAUNCH, was mentioned. So take a walk, tuck in your earbuds, and learn how to create a better learning environment for your students.

Summer Reflections: A Teacher's Journey

Before I embark on another school year and head into my 20+ year of teaching, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on this past summer. For me it was a summer unlike many other summers I've had. At the start of the summer I celebrated 25 years of marriage to my wonderful husband with a few days away. And while I did have some days at the beach and lots of good times with great friends, I started something brand new this summer: graduate school! Getting my Masters degree in Educational Technology is something I've wanted to do for many years but could never find the time or energy. Not that I have more energy now, mind you, but with my youngest child entering her junior year of high school and my two oldest out of school, I thought 'it's now or never'!

It was definitely a whirlwind of classwork as two regular semester courses were squashed into seven weeks. Even with the fast pace, I learned so much and I'm heading back to school with plenty of new ideas for the classroom. 

But outside of the core subjects themselves, I learned something else: There is an amazing community of teachers out there willing to support you and offer encouragement along the way. Whether it was collaborating on a group project, offering advice on my blog posts, or giving me that 'You can do it!' speech when I thought that I might lose my mind, these teacher friends demonstrated the true meaning of camaraderie. 

So this post goes out to all of you out there cheering one another along on this journey. A special shout out goes to my Group A Edtech 501 colleagues: Linda B., Kendal C., Michelle A., and Glenndon W., to my blogging buddy Lisa M, and to all of my fabulous PLN friends: Dennis, Marilyn, Akilah, and Teresa (who was kind enough to write a guest post for me). I aspire to the likes of A.J. Juliani, John Spencer, and Dave Burgess.  To all of the teacher community: thank you for continuing to inspire, support, guide, and cheer. Continue to be AWESOME!

Before this gets too warm and fuzzy, I will sign off for now.

Best wishes for an amazing school year!!

Joanna

The Results Are In!! Characteristics of a Great Teacher

What is the most important characteristic of a great teacher? 

That is the question I posed a few days ago on social media. (A huge shout out to those who participated).  In an article in Edutopia Magazine  (2013), Maria Orlando EdD. described nine qualities she felt were essential for teachers to possess. So it comes as no surprise that everyone agrees: A great teacher cannot be described with one characteristic.  It is a combination of many qualities that make a teacher "great". Even though we agreed that it is not just one characteristic but a combination of many,  the results show these two qualities rank highest:

1. Has their own love of learning and inspires students with a passion for growth. Over 46% of us believe that this is the most important quality of a great teacher. When teachers demonstrate that they place such a high value on their own growth and learning, students are motivated to themselves become life-long learners.

2. Over 30% of us believe that being warm, accessible, enthusiastic, and caring is most important. Undeniably a combination of these qualities is absolutely essential.  Students need to feel valued and loved. When teachers listen, show compassion & empathy, and concern for a child's needs, they create a safe learning environment for their students.

Somewhat surprisingly, the remaining seven qualities received less that 25% of the combined votes.  This is not to say that these characteristics are not important.  In fact, a teacher that does not respect her students is going to earn very little respect herself. Likewise, being flexible, creating a sense of community, and setting high student expectations go a long way in building a classroom of compassionate, invested learners.

I did find it interesting that being a skilled leader and collaborating with colleagues earned just 1% of the votes. I know no one was suggesting that these are not important qualities, but when it comes to creating a learning environment built on trust and respect, these may not been viewed as the most vital elements. As Orlando states in her article, 

"Teaching is hard work and some teachers never grow to be anything better than mediocre. They do the bare minimum required and very little more. The great teachers, however, work tirelessly to create a challenging, nurturing environment for their students. Great teaching seems to have less to do with our knowledge and skills than with our attitude toward our students, our subject, and our work."

I'm curious.  Is anyone surprised by these results?  Any other thought or comments, I'd love to hear them.

The Journey Continues: Design Thinking in the Classroom

Like all teachers, I spend a good part of my "summers off" thinking about and coming up with ways to improve.  Improve my classroom, improve my teaching style, improve the experience for my students, & improve myself as an educator.
One goal I have is to transition to a student-centered, inquiry based classroom. Last year I introduced Project Based Learning (PBL) to my science classes and knew that I wanted to expand on the PBL model for this year. As my summer reading began, I came across a wonderful book called LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student. I was immediately hooked.
Just the dedication alone is enough to inspire you:

Co-authors, John Spencer and A.J. Juliani clearly explain how & why we need to use Design Thinking as our primary teaching model.

And so I have revised my lesson plans, tweaked my study guides, and am getting ready to LAUNCH in just a couple of weeks when my students return.  Here are some links that may help you to see how and why design thinking is right for your classroom.

1. LAUNCH by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani (I would be remiss not to include my original inspiration in my links.
2. Edutopia: Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom
3. Mindshift: How to Apply Design Thinking in Class, Step by Step
4. A.J. Juliani: The Beginner's Guide to Design Thinking in the Classroom
5. Pinterest: Worlds of Design Thinking There are tons of boards on Pinterest on Design Thinking.  Here is just one.
6. Renovated Learning Blog: Building a Culture of Creativity & Discovery in Education

Please don't hesitate to comment below with any comments, thoughts, or experiences you have with design thinking in the classroom.

How to Embed Audio into Your Blogpost

Embedding an audio link or podcast into your blogpost is easy peasy...IF you know how!
About a week ago I was tasked with embedding audio into one of my posts. "No problem!" I thought. "Piece of cake!" I thought.  I found the podcast I wanted to embed, obtained permission from the podcaster, wrote a short introduction.  All that was left was to do the embedding...
...It turns out that Blogger does not have a handy tab to embed audio.  You can easily create a link, add an image or add or video. But audio? Not so much. So I went to the Blogger Support Forum, read the suggestions, and tried to convert the podcast to an IMovie (which is what was suggested).  Turns out my 54 minute podcast would not easily convert to an IMovie due to the 30 minute time limit. Not to mention, all of the hassle of uploading pictures, uploading the podcast, migrating the pictures and audio...
...Three frustrating hours later, I requested help. I was quickly sent this video on embedding audio using a wonderful app called Soundcloud and less than 5 minutes later, had my podcast embedded!
So in order to save you the time and frustration I went through, here is the simple solution:

Hope this helps!!

Characteristics of a Great Teacher - A Poll

In a 2013 article by Maria Orlando EdD, Orlando focused on the nine characteristics she believes to be most essential to a great teacher.  All nine are necessary, but if you had to narrow it down to the MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC OF A GREAT TEACHER what would it be?
I'll leave the poll open until Aug. 8th and then share my thoughts of the results with you in a follow up post.

So What Exactly Is An Edcamp Anyway?

In a previous post I talked about professional development (PD) for teachers and how changes need to be made if school leaders want their teachers to be fully invested in growing and improving in their craft.  One style of PD that I believe in is the Edcamp.  However, I have found that a lot of school leaders (and teachers) have never heard of Edcamps or have no idea what they are.  

So here goes...  

According to Edcamp.org, an Edcamp is, "An organic, participant-driven professional learning experience. A community created by educators, for educators.  The leading edge of professional development in education." I have been to a few Edcamps over the past few years and in addition to coming away with some new ideas and inspiration, I have also become friends with like-minded professionals wanting to make a difference in their schools.

Here's a short video to give you a better idea of what a day at an Edcamp is like:

So are you sold on Edcamps yet? Great!  There are literally hundreds of Edcamps all over the world, all throughout the year.  Go to the Edcamp website and find an Edcamp near you.  Come join the fun! Hopefully I'll see you there.

Shoot For the Moon...Make a Difference in Your World

I don’t believe in coincidences. When you stumble across someone or something new, there is always a Higher purpose at work. Dr. Ryan B. Jackson is someone I stumbled across on my Twitter feed, decided to check out his blog and quickly became a fan.  This wasn’t an accident or ‘chance meeting’.  Ryan is inspiring; he’s a forward thinker and he desires to make a difference in this world. He’s someone I identify with. I want to make a difference.  Maybe not ‘world peace’ difference, but a difference in the lives of the kids I teach.  

I am far from an expert on the matter, but here are my thoughts on making a difference:

• Listen!  Spend more time listening than giving advice. Many times our students just want to be heard. Whether they are frustrated because they don’t understand their homework or they got in a big fight with their brother/sister just before school, sometimes an empathetic ear can mean the world to them.
• Observe.  This goes along with listening. Take in what is going on around you. Observe and learn from those whose lives you wish to emulate.
• Encourage.  Most people, including our students, have enough people telling them what they are doing wrong.  Tell them what they are doing right.  Point out the good. Let them know they (and their thoughts and ideas) are important to you. It struck a chord in me when Ryan said, "I never had an advocate/mentor at my school to say, 'Hey I really see this unique ability in you.' Kids need that."
• Get outside of your comfort zone. Let you students know that it is okay to fail.  Learn from your mistakes
• Don't settle. Ryan calls "good the enemy of great". Push through complacency, whether it is your own or comes from those around you.  Strive for the best.
• Keep moving forward. Stay the course when things aren't going as planned.  In the podcast, Ryan refers to this as "entropy", in scientific terms the "lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder". As a leader it translates into sticking with it when times get tough.  If you believe in what you are doing, push through.
• Finally, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." Norman Vincent Peale

And so this post: Shoot For the Moon...Make a Difference in Your World. Perhaps being that person in a child’s life who says, “You’re awesome!  You can do this!” In his podcast Courage to Create, Ryan Jackson shares his thoughts on making a difference.

And by the way, being a leader doesn't mean you have to be the principal of a school or the CEO of a company.  We can all be leaders wherever we are, wherever we are planted.  I love Ryan's phrase, "Leadership is the art of influence."  It is the "Courage to Create your own leadership style or brand".  It is the courage to step out there and make a difference.

Podcast included with permission of Dr. Ryan B. Jackson. If you want to know more about Dr. Ryan B. Jackson, check out his blog The Underdog's Advocate

Say It with a Quote

I love quotes!  A.A. Milne and E.B. White are a few of my favorite authors to get quotes from.

"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem,  and smarter than you think." Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Who could say it better than Pooh?  Or how about Charlotte:

"You have been my friend." replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing." from Charlotte's Web by E.B.White

Quotes can often express our inmost feelings and thoughts. I love to reflect upon quotes and encourage my students to do so as well.  Last year I decided to put a quote on the SmartBoard every morning and asked the students to read and discuss the quote with their group members.  Then they journaled or doodled about the quote and shared their thoughts with the class. I plan to begin our day the same way this year.

What are some of your favorite quotes?  How do they inspire you?