My One Word for 2018

The end of the year is one of my favorite times for reflection. I don't like to set resolutions.

Of course, I always want to better myself...somehow, someway.

I have been inspired this year by some friends that I have met along the way, and that is why I am writing this post about my one word for 2018.

My word is: Hope.

If you know me or you don't, 2017 was a year that rocked me to my core. It started out with some news that changed my life. I will spare you the gory details in this blog.

Why did I choose hope?

Well, on Christmas Eve morning, I could have been feeling sorry for myself. My girls were gone, my sister was out of town, it was definitely not how I thought I would be spending the day. I decided to go for a walk. I went around my neighborhood toward the golf course and I caught the most gorgeous picture. The sun was coming up through the trees, there was a lovely reflection, and to me it was just perfect. Then, not 25 feet later in one of the lawns I saw the word, hope. It was part of a holiday decoration, but to me, that sign was placed there for me to see it.

I do have great hope for 2018. I hope to be a better person. I hope to learn more. I hope to read more. I hope to enjoy the sounds of my girls laughter, more. I hope to laugh at myself more. I hope that I might even be able to love more.

No matter how bad your day might be, have hope. Hope and knowledge that tomorrow will be better. Know that you can make it better. You have the power to choose.

So, have hope.

Who needs a Life Coach?

To start, me.

I. Need. A. Life. Coach.

2017 was kind of a crazy year. I will spare you the gory details, but just know that I am no longer the person I was a year ago. My life has changed tremendously, the only thing that has stayed the same is that I am in the same job from last year: STEAM/Elementary Science Coordinator. I love my job. I have learned a lot about content, curriculum, standards, and even about myself as a leader.

That being said, I just got off the phone from my first conversation with a life coach. It is really awesome that this is part of my job, and I am very thankful to have the opportunity to speak with him.

I pride myself on being introspective. I also pride myself on being a nice person.

For many years I thought that being very nice was a weakness. Well, no more is that the case.

Some of my big takeaways from todays conversation were as follows:

1. Kindness and wanting to be liked are not bad things.
2. There is a difference between sacrifice and service.
3. Compassion and authenticity are not traits that are easily developed in a leader.

And, now for my new mantra. I am debating on printing it out and taping it to my mirror.

"I am a nice, kind and powerful leader. And, I am effective in what I do."

(This can only be said in a superwoman stance.)

Lastly, I have to remember there are things I can control and things that are outside of my control.

https://pin.it/55s4hgw3vqdhog

Presenting at TCEA

I absolutely love presenting at conferences and when my boss last year encouraged his staff to present at TCEA, I excitedly put in 3 proposals. I did this in May before I went out on maternity leave. Guess what? All three were accepted. 

Then, I got a new job as the elementary science and STEAM Coordinator. I was worried I wouldn't even be able to attend, let alone present at 3 sessions. However, I have been able to and I am so thankful. 

Yesterday I got to present on my favorite topic, "Recruiting and Retaining Girls in STEM." I have tons of videos and love talking about this. I love sharing stories about my own 4 year old and the things I observe as her mom and as an educator who is aware of how girls can be treated in STEM fields. 

Today, I got to present with my good friend and we talked about, "Bringing the World into your classroom." We did not use Google Cardboard, but we left our participants with activities that they could use to create their own Virtual Field Trips. We had tested our activities out, and were ready to share. I had made 30 copies of the elementary activities and 30 copies of the middle school activities. With 15 minutes to go, we had about 100 people in our room. By the time the presentation started, there were over 200 people. Needless to say, I was embarrassed that I only made 30 copies--but everyone seemed to be happy...and they laughed at our jokes--even when the internet didn't work properly. 

Standing room only for my presentation with @CalebHudgens. 

It is always nice to be able to reflect on what you would do again after you present. I know that next time we will explain just a few more of the tools and we will definitely make more copies! 

It has been a great two days. Tomorrow is my last day at TCEA and I am so excited for more learning. I hope to catch a session by Leslie Fisher as she was one of my favorites when I attended the year prior. 

If you have been to TCEA and presented--or even just attended--what kind of advice do you have? Feel free to leave me a comment! I would love to hear from you! 

Leading Professional Development: Garth Brooks Style

Our last hurrah for the summer was a trip to a Garth Brooks concert in San Antonio. If you have never seen Garth in concert, he definitely doesn't disappoint. Watching him made me think about creating professional development and what educational leaders can learn from Garth Brooks. 

1. Drive: Why did they come to your session? Was it a required district training or did they come because they know you are an awesome presenter? Do they know who you are? Obviously, if you are a fan of 90's country music, you are familiar with Garth Brooks--but if you are a kid or live under a rock--you may not know who Garth is. Knowing why your audience is there is so important. 

2. Be grateful: Even if people didn't want to come to your session, thank them. They are the reason you are able to do what you do and stand up in front of a crowd. Thank your participants for coming. Garth thanked us so many times, it wasn't overdone--you could tell that he was grateful for his fans. 

3. Give 'em what they want: Don't be afraid to survey your participants about what they want to get out of your session. Do they already know a lot abut _________________? If so, how can you share information in a new way? In the case of Garth Brooks, he knows his audience wants to hear his "old" music, so that is what he plays. But, I would imagine even if you have been to a dozen Garth Brooks concerts he doesn't play the same show twice. In fact, he played a song that someone wanted to hear because he noticed their sign. 

4. Be exciting: I am not saying that you need to jump around and get all sweaty, but have some passion about what you are discussing. Passion shows through to your participants and gets them excited about what you are talking about. Garth Brooks is known for being an entertainer. He definitely has a level of excitement and passion in his shows. That passion makes the audience excited to be there. 

5. Don't forget your influences: Garth Brooks mentioned that he was heavily influenced by George Strait. He even paid tribute to him by singing one of his songs. When developing professional development properly cite your influences, and don't be afraid to show a video or something that one of your influences has shared in the past. (I am thinking of some of the amazing videos that George Couros shows in his presentations. Those videos hit you right in the heart!) 

As the summer ends, and a new school year starts--let's get excited about new learning! You don't have to be Garth Brooks, but you can still lead awesome professional development! 

What do you think? Do you have anything to add? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading! 

8th hour learning

What would you do if your boss told you, "take an hour each day to learn whatever you want." What would you learn? What would you create? What would you do?

My boss calls this time "8th Hour." I have no idea if this is a term that he made up himself, if so, perhaps this needs to be one of his TCEA presentations?

When I was a classroom teacher, I really enjoyed having my students participate in Genius Hour and I think that 8th Hour is essentially Genius Hour for Adults. Next year I might get more crafty...you never know. I bet my office mates would love it if I brought in an old computer or some old piece of technology and started taking it apart. This year I mostly stuck to learning new technology tools, reading books, and Twitter.

Anyway, here is a link to a Padlet I made that included the things I did during my 8th hour learning. (Katie's 8th Hour Learning)

I have really enjoyed my 8th Hour time. Some days, I couldn't get an hour in because of meetings or trainings, and some days I just had too much school stuff to take care of. (Which is fine, because it is all part of the job!) But, I always enjoyed the days I could take my 8th Hour.

Lastly, I found this quote and it really resonated with me:

To me, the best part of 8th Hour is having the opportunity to reflect. We can go, go, go all day--but if we don't take the time to step back and reflect--we are just wasting time. 

Thanks Justin Timberlake: What makes someone an innovator?

This morning as I was checking Facebook, one of my friends posted a video from a Justin Timberlake speech.

He had just received the iHeartRadio Innovator Award and his speech really made an impact on me. I love how he talks about not listening to your critics. 

The word "innovator" has been a word I have heard over and over again this year. Recently, we hosted a Twitter Chat that centered about the topic of being a Genius Educator. We talked about how Genius Educators are those who are willing to take chances in their classrooms. They use technology and they aren't afraid to share what is happening in their classrooms. 

Another way that the word innovator came up was through being introduced to George Couros. I got to hear him speak at SXSWedu and I was really inspired by his talk. He is energetic, he finds a way to appeal to his audience, and he seems to be a great leader. He has some great ideas that I think could really make some great changes in education. I also am really looking forward to reading George Couros's book, "The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity"  this summer. 

(Back to Justin Timberlake)...I hadn't thought about innovators as people who might be considered weird by others. I also hate using words that negatively stereotype people. For example, calling someone who is smart a "nerd or geek." Maybe it is because I am just impressed by people who can think out of the box? 

So that leads me to my topic--what makes someone an innovator? 

If you are an innovator you:

1. Take Risks

2. Dare to think Differently 

3. Do/Make/Create something new

4. Lead by developing others 

What do you think? What else could I add to this list? 

My absolute favorite tech tool this year

There are 14 days of school left.

I have learned so much as a digital learning coach. I have come across some great tools. I have learned about some amazing apps, and I have become a believer in Google Apps for Education. 

However, one of my absolute favorite tools that I have learned this year is Canva. 

If you haven't tried Canva--you have to! I seriously would die without Canva. (Maybe a little dramatic...but it is awesome!) 

I use it for everything (even my resume). 

You can share your creations with your colleagues, so they can edit them. You can download them and insert them into a blog, you can make advertisements and easily tweet them out, you can import custom images, pictures or even screenshots. 

You have the option to purchase some of the icons if you would like, but I can usually find what I need for FREE. 

Your students could use it to create different products, like posters, business cards and graphic responses. If you would like some more ideas, here is a link to a blog post that I found: Five Great Uses for Canva in the Classroom. 

Here are some examples of things I made in Canva: 

I used this as a cover for an iBook. 

I made this to advertise a new award our department came up with to recognize "Genius Educators" who use and integrate technology. 

This is an example of a digital badge that I made in Canva. 

What do you think? How could you use Canva in your classroom/school? Have you tried it yet? Let me know in the comments.