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. 

My Favorite Ted Talk

Recently, we have been interviewing for various positions for the summer and at a high school.

A popular question that we ask during interviews is, "What is your favorite TED Talk and why?" (Don't tell my boss that I just gave away one of his best interviewing questions!)

This is a great question and it is one that is hard for many to answer.



It seems as if Sir Ken Robinson is quite popular in his TED Talk...(but people tend to forget his name in an interview).

However, my favorite TED Talk is from Debbie Sterling who is the creator of "GoldieBlox."

I first heard about GoldieBlox almost two years ago as I was preparing to give a presentation on recruiting girls in STEM. If you haven't heard of GoldieBlox, you have to check it out. Yes, its a toy--but it is more than "just a doll." The "dolls" can solve different challenges and they help girls learn about engineering and build their spatial skills.

Debbie has a great story. If you watch her TED Talk you can tell that she is smart, and that life as a female engineer has been challenging. It seems as if her mom even tried to dissuade her from becoming an engineer. She had professors who told her should couldn't, but tells the story of one of her male friends who helped her study and encouraged her to persevere--and she does!

I love this TED Talk for so many reasons. One, I would love for my daughter (she is 3) to become an engineer and I will work to empower and encourage her to build her "spatial reasoning skills" that she will need if she does pursue engineering. Two, it was a high school teacher who actually encouraged Debbie Sterling to become an engineer (I heart teachers!)!  Debbie had no idea what she wanted to study when she graduated from high school. Three, Debbie talks about the misconceptions that students (especially girls) have about STEM and engineers--that they aren't just nerds who wear ties, or guys like Mark Zuckerberg who wear hoodies.

What do you think? Have you heard of GoldieBlox before?

What is your favorite TED Talk?

National Library Week

This week is National Library Week!

The Digital Learning Team has been working hard to celebrate our librarians and to show how much we appreciate them!

My goal is to make it to all eleven of my campuses and bring soda cans with the following tag on them:

I have a hard time doing "cutesy" things, so this was a bit of a stretch. So far, the librarians I have seen have really enjoyed them and appreciate the gesture. 

We also have a Twitter Chat this week, where we are hoping to honor librarians and generate some exciting discussion on "Future-Ready Libraries."  

How is your campus or district honoring your librarians? I would love to hear some great ideas! 

What you won't learn at SXSWedu

If you go to SXSWedu hoping to learn lots of new tech tools and hear from educators who are in the field of education—you may be disappointed. I am not saying that there aren’t educators at SXSWedu, but it is a different feel and a different kind of conference.

However, that is what makes SXSWedu refreshing. It is almost like an “unconference” within the structure of a conference.

You can attend sessions/panels/hear from big names/attend keynotes/watch films/sign up for mentoring sessions. There is some opportunity for making—trying out 3D printers, building robots and a few random apps and websites—but that is not the focus of SXSWedu. (If that is more your style, you should go to TCEA. Or go to both!)  

What you can do at SXSWedu is plentiful. 

You can expand your learning. You can tweet. You can attend sessions based on topics that interest you. You can hear from futurists: and hear the vision and predictions about how education will change. 

From the Keynote speech on Wednesday morning, from Jane McGonigal. "I am making the future." 

You can also hear from entrepreneurs and people who are pushing their own products. (Which sounds a lot more negative than it is. I feel like you can learn a lot from an entrepreneur.)

You can network with people from other states and countries. You can have discussions about hot topics in education. 

Truly, to me SXSWedu is indicative of what Austin is really about.

Another person I loved hearing from was Lizzie Velasquez. She has an amazing story and is a great speaker on bullying! 

When you think about what Austin represents, not only is the city in Texas—but it is a city that is known for music, the tech industry, the University of Texas, bluebonnets, “Keeping Austin Weird,” breakfast tacos, and food trailers.  (I am sure there is more, but I digress.)

And, for me as an educator, when I leave SXSWedu, I leave with a sense and a hope that education is changing. I feel like our kids deserve it. 

A little "Thanks" goes a long way

Thank you.

Those two words were ones that I rarely heard as a teacher.

I am not talking from parents or students, but in ten years of teaching I never received a thank you note from a principal. I can honestly say that the word, “Thank you,” may have come out of my principals mouth a handful of times. (And, I worked at several schools—so this is not just limited to one principal.)

However, in my new job as a digital learning coach, I get to hear “thank you” quite a bit.

Just yesterday a librarian emailed me and told me I was her “hero.” Last week, I got a really nice thank you email from a teacher that I helped teach her class iMovie.

But, I hadn’t really thought about the words “thank you,” until today when I was talking to two of my coworkers.

We, teachers don’t need gifts. (Sure, Starbucks gift cards are nice…) But, a thank you note goes a long way.

So, as a principal—when was the last time you told your teachers thank you? When was the last time you wrote one of your staff members a thank you note? If you have never done it…start now!

As a parent—when was the last time you thanked your child’s teacher? Don’t wait until teacher appreciation week (If you don't know when that is...I am not judging you.) Just, thank them today!

As an instructional coach—when was the last time you thanked someone for the great things you get to see them do in their classroom? 

March is a tough time to be a teacher, and a little thank you goes a long way!

Thank YOU for reading my blog post.

Dear Teacher: You are good enough!

Dear Teacher,

You are good enough. Repeat, “ I am GOOD ENOUGH.”

Too many times, teachers don’t think that their ideas are good enough.

I say this because our district puts on a “Technology-themed conference,” called Fusion. In reaching out to people to get them to present—several have said, “my ideas aren’t good enough.” Or, “I don’t have anything good to present on.”

But, each and every day I go into teachers classrooms and visit schools, I see amazing things on Twitter, I talk to my colleagues…I believe that good things are happening in our district and in classrooms everywhere.

We haven’t confirmed anything on our end, but in reviewing the applications for Fusion—I am so impressed. It makes me wonder when/where teachers started thinking that their ideas are “not good enough.”

Because, that could not be farther from the truth.

Teacher, you are amazing. Seriously. You deal with things that no adult should have to deal with. You are disrespected, you are knocked down, you are told to be superheroes. You are over scheduled, over planned, over graded, and over administered. (Interpret that however you want.)

You have amazing ideas. You know your kids better than most. You can tell who a child is by their handwriting. You spend more time with your students than their own parents do.  You create engaging lessons. You can adapt a lesson “on the fly.”

You love. You learn. And, you keep going.

You are good enough.

Now, you need to share your ideas with others. Don’t be afraid to come out of your classroom and out of your comfort zone. Because, you are good enough.

Blog, read a book, write a book, Tweet, take pictures, make a movie.

Show how amazing you are.

Signed, 

A former teacher 

(Re) Finding your Inspiration at TCEA

This was my second year to attend TCEA. Last year, I attended as a Project Lead the Way teacher. This year, I attended as a Digital Learning Coach.

I felt that I took away much more this year--and would I like to think it was because my “job” depended on it.

As a Digital Learning Coach, I get emails or talk to teachers each day--looking for ideas to do ____________ or an app that can _________________.

I left TCEA inspired to do more.

I was lucky enough to hear from three people that really stood out to me.

1. Angela Maiers (@angelamaiers)--she has so much passion. She spoke in the Digital Lounge which was an open space. I was lucky enough to get a spot on the stairs, where I was able to soak in her message. She gave us t-shirts and encouraged us to “find our genius.” She did a great activity with students and educators where she had us listen to each other for a minute. After the minute was up, we relayed back to our partner what we saw as their genius. Then, we added these verbs to their t-shirts. At the end of her presentation, she had the students read "The You Matter Manifesto." (What a difference this would make if you had your students read this manifesto in class!)

2. Leslie Fisher (@lesliefisher)--she is hilarious. I seriously would love to be friends with Leslie Fisher. She has a witty sense of humor, and has so many great resources. Some of my favorites were: Bloomz and Appear.in. (I am actually going to show a teacher Appear.in today because she wants to do a videoconference with a Senator from Michigan on the Flint Water Crisis.) Leslie presented many different sessions at TCEA, and definitely needed a bigger room each time.

3. George Couros (@gcouros)--he was so inspiring. I secretly loved his boy band music at the start of his presentation. Then, he showed some amazing videos that made you laugh and cry at the same time. One of my favorites was this adorable video where a father sent emails to his daughter, Sophie.

Yes, all three of these folks are pretty “famous” if you are on Twitter. But, what I found was that all three of them had the great qualities that really encompass a good presenter. 

From Angela, Leslie and George, I am able to conclude, the best presenters are those who can show passion, be humorous and inspire others--you will leave people “ready to take on the world.”

And that is how I left TCEA. I was definitely (re)inspired.

How to Host a Successful Hour of Code

This week I have had the opportunity to go into several classrooms to take pictures and promote Hour of Code in our district. Hour of Code is a worldwide movement to get more kids interested in computer programming and coding. Almost every school in the district is participating and it has been very cool to go back and visit classrooms.

Here are my top 5 tips for having a successful Hour of Code:

1. Emphasize to your students that they are not JUST playing games. They are coding and learning the "how" behind gaming. Coding is everywhere and it is a great career.
2. Preview the tutorials yourself. It is easy to just send your students to the Hour of Code website, but you must know what is age appropriate for your kids. You don't have to be an expert on every tutorial, but if you have a little bit of knowledge you can steer them in the right direction.
3. Treat Hour of Code like a regular lesson. Ask the kids what they know about coding. I enjoy talking about the lack of women in STEM. I recommend that teachers show a video to get the kids engaged in what Hour of Code is. (This video has been very popular in the classrooms I have visited this week.) After the video, plan what tutorials you will allow your students to learn.

After the tutorials, wrap up your lesson. (Yes, they learned something!) You can have students discuss what they learned about coding, or you could make up a Google Form as an exit ticket. 

4. Monitor your class. Walk around. Encourage them when they get stuck. One teacher told students to remember to have a "growth mindset." (They have been discussing growth mindsets on their campus all year.) I always like it when students leave with their brain hurting--just a little. 

5. Don't make Hour of Code one hour. Let students know they can work on the tutorials at home. Also, let them know they can code with other websites and platforms--Apple has some coding activities, Google,  Scratch from MIT...everyone is getting into coding. 

How to get more teachers to participate in Twitter Chats?

As Digital Learning Coaches, we realize the power of Twitter.

Most connected educators do. But, how do we convince people (especially teachers) who aren't on Twitter how valuable it is?

This has been a challenge and one that I have realized as we have tried to get a Twitter Chat going in our district.

We have had 3 Twitter Chats so far. Our hashtag is #haysedchat. So far, we have had maybe 2-3 teachers on our chat.

I have  been trying to brainstorm some ideas with my colleagues of what we can do to get more teachers to participate.

Here are some ideas:
1. Do a "Lunch and Learn" that involves food where we get more teachers signed up for Twitter.
2. Work with administrators who are on Twitter in the district to encourage their teachers to not only sign up for a Twitter account, but to use it.
3. Assign/volunteer a campus to moderate the Twitter chat, in doing this we will pick a campus that has several Twitter users (I can think of two campuses in our district out of 24 schools that is well connected and use Twitter regularly.)
4. Work with administrators to come up with some incentives that they can provide their campus for participating in Twitter chats--jeans pass, duty coverage, lunch coverage, etc.
5. See if we can put the teachers names who do participate in a drawing for a prize of some sort. Maybe an iTunes giftcard, Starbucks giftcard, Subway giftcard, etc.
6. Maybe one day, our district could offer teachers who participate comp time or PD hours.

I think administrators are the key, as they tend to be with various issues. I think if we can get buy in from administrators, we will have more of a chance to make an impact with teachers.

Please let me know if you have any ideas. I would love to hear them!

This is one of our Twitter Chat Flyers. I made it in Canva and then our team has Tweeted it out pretty regularly leading up to the Twitter chat. 

Mirror 360: District Roll Out

Next week our district is going to be rolling out Mirror 360. This software can connect your iPad to your Projector using your Computer. This gives the teacher the ability to walk around the classroom and monitor students, while also using their iPad. Teachers are no longer anchored to their desk and don't have to trip over cords and connections. 

I am so excited because this is one of the major launches happening in our Department and District. The other is shared Macbook Carts...but one thing at a time. 

Today in Canva, I started compiling some FREE apps for teachers to use their iPads with their classes. Some of the apps are for presentation software--Google Slides and Nearpod, or a fun one for students would be Sock Puppets or Tellagami. Some of the apps could be used for quick exit tickets--Padlet, Educreations, Popplet Lite. 

The Lead4ward app has some great strategies for teachers and a timer--great for a quick formative assessments! 

Thinglink could be used for any subject, but you can really use it for infographics, maps, posters, etc.
 I am really excited about the launch of Mirror 360 in our district. I think I am most excited because I have a lot of requests coming in where I get to go help teachers use the software in their classrooms!