Data meetings are always fun and exciting. Teachers love when that lil’data appointment pops up in their email box. It’s a hard conversation to have because amazing teachers are already well aware of their students strengths and weaknesses. It’s still a reality in our classes. A necessary evil, if you will. My principal had a […]
Let’s talk data, shall we? (wait, come back!) Read More »
I will always remember the first conversation I had with a professional colleague about Twitter. I’d attended BLC and been swept away in a Twitter tidal wave by Liz Davis and Lisa Thumann. (This also, coincidentally enough, was where the @8amber8 moniker came from…who knew this tool would become my go to PD reference and
Are your thoughts tweet worthy? Read More »
The 2014 ASCD conference , Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, was held in Los Angeles this past weekend. With keynote speakers like Daniel Pink and Sir Ken Robinson, you knew going in that this conference was going to make you think…and it didn’t disappoint. My big take aways from this year: #5. Educators are persuaders. That
ASCD 2014 literally rocked my world! Read More »
One of the opportunities I’ve been able to take on this year with George Couros is the #SAVMP collaboration project. Each week we post weekly updates to work with administrators and their team of mentees to help develop leadership and embrace the challenges that comes with the responsibility of leading. This week we discussed teacher
Weekly Update: Teacher Leaders…are you cultivating? #SAVMP Read More »
As I sit at the airport waiting for my flight to sun shiney LA, I can’t help but smile at what a year it has been since the last time I apprehensively sat in an airport, waiting to go to ASCD. My opportunity came at the hand of George Couros. His urging that I attend
#ASCD14, here I come! Read More »
Sometimes it’s the little things that can make the biggest difference. February is a long month. It’s a solid month of instruction, leads up to Spring, and typically, both students and staff get a touch of the spring fever. We decided to have “Fab Fridays in February” and have a fun activity each week to
Time is a hot commodity for anyone, but especially for teachers at the beginning of the year. Knowing this when it came time for our staff development plans, the idea of book study made us yawn. How can you spice up a book study, engage your staff in a digital environment, and promote a digital
Have a book study via Twitter? Yes we did! Read More »
Busy is the new black. Ask anyone how they are doing and what do response do you get? “Stressed!” “Overwhelmed!” “Can’t keep up!” “Tired!” Can you imagine what would happen if you just answered that question with a “Inbox zero, task list completed, actually has time for an extra nap this week…”? It would stop
Are you busy, busy, busy? Read More »
***disclaimer: This is a continuation from a conversation happening on Voxer. Not a post directed at my current staff! 🙂 Her name was Emily. I remember her sweet round face, her blonde hair, and her sparkling personality. I also remember that she started every single composition with, “Hi, my name is Emily and I’m going
Are you a yeller? Hush! Read More »
In every classroom there are students who don’t quite fit in. They may be more mature than their peers, or less mature than their peers. They may dress differently. They may learn differently. They may laugh differently. Sometimes they may BEHAVE differently. It doesn’t take much a for a student to ostracize themself from
What do you do for the unloved? Be a LOVE NINJA! Read More »