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!