I am crazy busy… I have literally no time to blog… but here I am. Why? Well if I don’t tell you this great story right now, it just won’t come out as amazing later. My excitement about today just has to be shared.

Let’s start with this idea that primary grade teachers are scared of technology. Nonsense… at least not at Sara Harp Minter Elementary! I have 50 district provisioned Nexus 7 tablets that I am getting out as fast as I possibly can. Why? Well because my teachers are well beyond ready to use them, and they let me know! This week I have added 6 classrooms of students to tablets for use in the classroom, and the remaining four I will get out early next week. As soon as I get them ready I literally walk them to the classroom. We don’t let technology collect dust around there! So let it be known, I see NO fear in my teachers, instead I see excitement and drive!

Then let’s talk about how teacher with tablets immediately put kids into consumption apps. Noop… not at our school.  Hours after getting the tablets today, one of my kindergarten teachers set students off on a  scavenger hunt taking pictures while looking for words they could read. This wasn’t me… not my idea… purely the first thing she put into action with these devices! Down the hall a bit I sat on the floor with another class, and after putting the student’s pictures on their profile the teacher let them work on exploring the apps. What did they do… oh a little creative drawing… some Google Earth… you know…  the kind of things where they express themselves and explore the world! Was she hovering over them like they had rare jewels? No… in fact she was the example of great ease. She showed them that she trusted them, and in turn they worked together and learned together! Amazing example of what digital leaders do.

Last… well of course I saved the best for last. How about that idea that kids just want to play games on devices? Well let me tell you about a moment when a 5 year old asks me to find shapes and bump them to her device, and I am in awe. Kyli asked me to send her a triangle. In Google images I found one and beamed it to her. She then found one and beamed it to me. Then I sent pictures where she had to look and see if she could find the triangles. She then beamed me a different shape (to see if I knew what it was, of course).  This little one gave me the greatest vision of what kinds of collaborative assessment you could do with the Nexus 7’s!  That’s right, she was showing me the very potential that lies in these tools! 

So there you have it… one afternoon… lots of theories debunked… and no room for excuses! Let’s tell those naysayers who think mobile learning is poorly implemented that they need to look a little harder. Take it from my Kindergarten crew… The potential that lies in utilizing these resources for emerging learning opportunities simply is limitless!

#tiredbutelated

jaime

I am always trying to plan technology lessons that expose students to something new, challenging, and relevant long after our class time together. This week for K-4 we Built With Chrome. This great project between Google and Lego is one that can be used in so many ways, so I wanted students to have this experience this week. I had a feeling the Legos would be a hit, but what I didn’t account for was how fascinated each class would be with Google Maps. We had conversations about geography and map skills that I never planned to have, but they sure where great. I sometimes forget that things I expose my own kids to, other kids may have not experience with. For many of the students I saw this week, Google Maps was fascinating because they had no idea such a thing existed. Many of them wanted to build where they had lived previously, where family members lived, and my little ones wanted to go to the “white place” where Santa, or the penguins lived! Several of my students have families with European or South American descent, and this was an opportunity for them to see where their families came from! These very unplanned leaning moments were the best part of the week!

While Google Maps were a hit… they were also pretty excited about those Lego bricks! Watching students build was a window into who they were. I saw creativity, detail, and patience in kids I have never seen before. I observed those who would start on a task, and 30 minutes later be adding the last perfect detail, as well as kids who looked at others work, compared themselves, and wanted to completely start over.  I watched students show grit and determination, and that was pretty great to watch!

While both Google Maps and Lego Bricks made the week, often the bigger picture is the real win. This week I stepped back and realized that for the first time this year, most of the classes were showing independence and collaboration. Instead of having everyone asking me for help, they asked each other. It was such a great observation for me. While not everyone would walk into my room and see kids “playing” with Legos online as learning, I could debate that opinion on so many levels. Every time students come into my room and are exposed to a new digital creation tool, they are also getting additional exposure to the online environment, online tools, and online vocabulary. We all know that so many of these things consistently overlap online. Each of these experiences helps me to build a school full of independent digital creators, not just digital consumers!

So with that week in the books, I have the next two weeks to plan our next big adventure. I have a pretty good idea where I want to go with my big kids already. I am so thankful for these days. While I am truly exhausted after teaching 750 kids in 5 days, the reflection makes me realize it is all worth it.

Well I have not blogged here since June of 2012. That was the last time I was technically a teacher. Yes I am certified in two states, and yes I am a teacher at heart, but until August of this year, I wasn’t technically a teacher. I consulted for two years, gained such great experience, but really… at the heart of it… I was a lost teacher. Even though I tried to deny it, I missed elementary school. I missed little hugs, crazy shenanigans, and all things elementary. So when Kate Matthews (@gatechteach) pointed me in the direction of a interview for an elementary instructional technology position, it seemed like maybe I would have a chance to get back into that wonderful elementary world once again. After two years of consulting however, I was well aware my vision of technology may not line up with that of school leadership. Luckily I was quite wrong, and at Sara Harp Minter Elementary  (@saraharpminter) I was going to be right at home. Not only was I about to start working in a wonderful school, but that school just happens to be a 5 minute commute… and a wonderful place for my children to go to school as well. To say this was an abundant blessing would be an understatement.

I could go on and on about the great things that happen at our school, but I want our media products to speak for themselves. I see students (all 750 in K-5) once every three weeks. That time is truly a whirlwind. I work hard to hit each of the ISTE standards twice, and infuse as many digital learning opportunities as possible into our short time together. I have opened up BYOT and let students bring a device to my room any time. I have started plans to redesign the learning space, and let kids be a valuable part of that change. I have a fourth grade digileaders team, and they meet with me twice a week during lunch. I hope to instill in them how important digital leadership truly is! Here is a little taste of what we do during those lunch meetings!  https://audioboom.com/boos/2698689-shmes-digileaders-review-the-wobble-stool-by-kore

With this short recap I will say this…  I need to once again use this blog to share the amazing things going on in our school. I need to blog regularly… and now I will! 2015 is the year to get back in the game! For now… enjoy a few media products that showcase the best of this fall at Sara Harp Minter. Follow us on Twitter… and keep an eye on the #shmesdll hashtag too! Great things are happening, and I am thrilled to be one small part of it!

This summer I am officially free! Yep- Not one single required professional development course lined up for me. I should be dancing in the rain.. singing “Schools Out For the Summer” and living it up, right? Well instead, I am sitting in front of my Mac – With a Tweetdeck full of hashtags to educational conferences around the world. Why in the world would I do such a thing? Didn’t I just prove my PD requirements were null and void this summer? Sure… but as a professional, continuous learning is important. I am not content doing things the way I have always done them, and I do want to grow and learn in regards to educational technology, curriculum, instruction, and professional development. Unfortunately I don’t have the opportunities to get to every conference out there… But I have a way to still learn and grow, all thanks to the BackChannel!

When I share the concept of BackChanneling with others, I get one of two responses. Either the educators think that is one neat way to learn, or they look at me with questionable eyes and pose the idea that BackChanneling is disrespectful to the speaker. It sends the message that one is not listening and has better things to do than participate in the lecture.

I tend to always err on the side of hopefulness, in that I hope I can illustrate enough knowledge on a matter to help someone who disagrees with me, see a potentially different view. While I am not always successful, I do attempt to bring about a different view on BackChanneling by sharing this.

1) A speaker who does not want you sharing what they have to say, might not be saying the right things.

2) A speaker can have a limited audience with just the attendees in the room, or could have a global reach with their words via a BackChannel.

3) With busy conferences and multiple speakers, why should I only be able to gain the knowledge of the speakers I go to see? BackChanneling lets me know what is happening in other sessions… which multiplies my learning exponentially.

4) Whether I can attend a conference or not has a lot of variables. Finances, travel, family or work responsibilities all weigh in on what I can and can not attend. Should I not be able to learn alongside my peers because I can’t afford to get to a conference, or I have a prior commitment? The BackChannel makes it possible for me to participate as the conference is taking place, or look back at the information shared at a more convenient time. Isn’t that a valuable learning opportunity for an educator?

So whether you are a proponent of the backchannel, or a skeptic in the wings… I hope  you take part in at least one BackChannel this summer and find that there is something to be said for a profession full of people who believe that sharing and growing together, is far better than competing and outdoing one another with a collection of held back knowledge. So I am proud to be a BackChanneling girl… and if perhaps I did not change your mind,  can we maybe just agree to disagree?

So my life has been quite hectic these last 5 months, with major changes ahead. Having been at my school for 6 years now, I am about to embark upon moving at the end of the year, making me think in great extent about what I want to do in my career. Change in the world of education is inevitable. Anyone with any time in the field knows that in this day and age, change is constant. The key to success, is staying open minded and current in what is trending and educationally relevant for your students. I feel I have done just that, and as a result I am ready to take on whatever lies ahead.

So what does this idea of change have to do with the classroom? Well, for a while now I have sat looking at my room, and feeling like I am looking at a stagnant theory of learning. In all the change that has happened over the decades of education, the seating arrangement has done nothing more that move from rows to groups or pods. We go in each year, and put a name tag on A DESK , and that desk belongs to that student all year. Wherever the desk goes, as does the student. Lately I have wondered why this is still even a relevant practice. Are we not staring into the world of differentiation and the flip class model? How can we possibly make either of those work when we have this stagnant seating arrangement in elementary education?  It has weighed on me now for a while, and I have to say I have big ideas about how I believe this must change!

1) No desks– TABLES (round) seating 6-8 kids

2) No name tags- Numbers or colors if you need to identify the group

3) Supplies attached to each chair in a gallon ziploc secured with zip ties (Idea prompted from a trip to LHS Killough when planning #padcampdallas 🙂

4) Teacher & tech area right in the middle

5) Fluid movement ALL Day Long- based on TRUE differentiation

This five step fix to me seemingly allows kids to move throughout the day based on where they are in the Blooms world of learning. Never are they STUCK anywhere! Kids who are strong in LA but struggle with Math are not stuck in a group that doesn’t meet their educational networking needs in all subjects. They are able to grow and move as they grow and learn!

Wherever I end up in the fall, I only hope I can encourage others to think this way, and see what possibilities lie in taking a different approach to simple classroom ideas. No great change can come, without taking great strides toward better educational opportunities.  So what if we tried this…

So with what has been a whirlwind of a year in my ever courageous plunge into fully integrating technology in my classroom, I still find myself imdulging an ah ha moment that even surprises me! If you are like me, and use technology in a multitude of ways daily, you certainly know that every day is an adventure. Doing it with 3rd graders is even more so an adventure… From…” I forgot my password.”, to “How do I upload this again?”… there is never a dull moment. My recent ah ha moment came a couple of weeks ago when I introduced my students to Glogster, and had them sign up for a single student account with my teacher code. Now, I typically do a mini lesson prior to the lab on the main features… how-to kind of things, but this time decided against it. I showed them where to go, added the link to edmodo, and told them to have at it.  The assignment- Poster Yourself… Who are you? Upon arriving in the lab, I told them that once they were on, they could spend the first 15 minutes just “playing” with the features. Quickly hands shot up with questions galore, but I told them to explore… see what they could do… 

What happened next was the kicker… While being up and roaming in the lab has traditionally been a  NO NO– I saw kids start to get up, walk over to a friend, who was trying to figure out a certain feature, and show them how it worked. Then, two or three were up… helping, showing, suggesting. Soon they returned to their seat, and resumed working on their own poster. This went on for the remainder of our lab time… and I didn’t say one single word!!! What was happening before my own eyes, was educational networking among 8 year olds!  Thus… my ah ha moment….. (as follows)…

In the last couple of years I have felt this stagnant, unexplainable, nagging itch to change roles in education. I haven’t truly known why… that is until this day in the lab. I realized that I don’t believe in the 22 individual desks scattered in groupings around the room. I do not believe in stacks and stacks of papers, or irrational standardized tests being thrown at young children these days. Where I want to be is in that room with TABLES… round ones… with tech hubs in the center. I want to tell my kids that on this day we will be studying 3D objects… and then I want them to network, brainstorm, and use technology to build a base of understanding about 3D objects. I can facilitate learning, using the information they bring to the lesson, give them a project to work on, and then watch, share, and learn right along with them. Imagine that… Project Based Learning… all the while having some authentic assessment in place. A girl can dream, can’t she?

I realize this is a slow moving train we are on here with educational technology implementation in schools, but I am holding out hope… Hope that someone reads this and has a similar ah ha moment… ( And that someone has lots, and lots of say in American Education:)  In the mean time, I suppose I will keep on trucking and making the most of my 22 individual desks…. ** sigh**