my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

Classroom Champions

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How many of your students get to meet a  Paralympic or Olympian? they’re not just hanging around the mall these days, are they?

Coincidentally enough on today’s jog (and by jog, I totally mean walk) I listened to my second Edu All-Stars podcast with Todd Nesloney, Stacey Huffine, and Chris Kesler and heard about this program called Classroom Champions.

 

How it works

Targeting grades Kindergarten through 8, Classroom Champions brings Olympians, Paralympians and Olympic/Paralympic games hopefuls (Athlete Mentors) into the classroom using videos and live chats.
A kind of 21st century pen-pal, each athlete mentor adopts 1-4 classrooms per year. Focusing on their own personal journey, athletes teach about the hard work of training, goal setting, competition and perseverance. Using video  lessons and live video chats, students are engaged with their athlete mentor several times per month. Our program supports teachers by helping them incorporate these activities into their curricula, focusing on letter writing, reading, geography, math, technology, goal setting and leadership.

 

Listening to to Steve Mesler, Founder and 3-time Olympian, who was their the guest star on the podcast, I got SO excited about what opportunities this could provide to a classroom full of students who want to grow up and be athletes. Every year we have some sort of college & career readiness focus and encourage classrooms to Skype with college students. I usually drag my brother, Randy, into it because of his collegiate sports experience.  He was also drafted by the Yankees, so students usually think that is pretty cool, 🙂 (Not me, I’m a Rangers girl, ;))

 

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I also plan on figuring out a way next year to get my cousin to do this…you may have heard of him? El Oso Blanco! AKA Evan Gattis who is playing for the Atlanta Braves right now, 🙂 We’ll see how far that cousin connection can get me…I know I have some old photos around here somewhere…

 

 

Regardless, I definitely plan on involving classrooms next year with Classroom Champions. One of the goals Steve mentioned was showing kids that being a successful athlete takes more than just a couple of weeks of hard work. There’s exhaustion, failure, and commitment required. That’s not what they see when they watch Kobe…and I think this program is amazing because of it! He also spoke about how eye opening it was for a kindergarten class to see a  Paralympic and think that their disability was what MADE them successful, vs being successful in spite of  it. How inspirational!

K-8 teachers can apply in the spring, but Steve encouraged teachers to pick an athlete to follow along with in the fall to get a feel for how it all works.

Thank you, Tech Ninja Todd and team for introducing me on my jog (cough, cough) to another great resource for our students!

 

sports fan,

Amber

 

 

 

An easy way to grow & learn…

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Maybe you have a long commute…or have background music while you cook dinner…or a husband who thinks you need to lose weight and so you think jogging is better with a soundtrack… whatever the reason, those moments become easy peasy ways to add some quality content and PD to your world with a podcast!

 

A podcast is free, original, and interesting content to listen to whenever you have time. There are podcasts available on just about anything you can think of, except maybe Troy, sigh. I love to learn and am always short on time so I think educational podcasts are the perfect answer.

 

I’ve found several that I now subscribe too, which is great b/c that means the content comes to me! Not sure how to subscribe? Try here or here to get ya started! There is the obvious Podcasting app on the iPhone or you can use Podomatic.

 

My current two faves are:

Techlandia Podcast 

TPFollow @ipadsammy (Jon Samuelson) and @tedrosececi (Alison Anderson)  &  @CurtRees (Curt Rees) as they take you through the world of educational technology. Listen and get professional development on your commute to school. Things you can use immediately in your classroom, by teachers, for teachers.

Faved because: Easy to listen too, practical integration ideas, varied guests…they follow a three apps to learn from, three people to follow format, interspersed with humor and relevant information…

 

 

EdAdminMinute

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The EdAdmin Show highlights the ideas and insights from the innovative school administrator’s point of view. Hosted by Chris Atkinson and featuring a roundtable of education’s brightest. Posts Fridays! (@ChrisLAtkinson)

Faved because: It’s a minute! Reviews great books directly related to being an instructional leader, not hawking a product or brand, just real application to what I do…plus, who doesn’t have a MINUTE?? 🙂

 

Have also added Shifted Learning and EduAllstars to my playlist and both seem to be worth my playlist time so far!

SL

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exerciseNly,

Amber

 

PS: Please know that when I say jog, I totally mean walk really fast. 🙂

#ISTE13 Reflections

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iste1.jpgI’m so impressed with those who have already been able to get their thoughts down in some form or another about this week’s ISTE conference. I still haven’t even gotten my voice back, 🙂 I blame @MrHooker and his rousing session at EdTech karaoke that required squeals.

ISTE marked my third conference in three weeks. To say I was tired before we even got started is an understatement. To say my brain was full was laughable. In fact, I had multiple notes that are eventually going to be blogs on the other two that were more along the lines of “the way I wish things were” and then along came ISTE.

This wasn’t my first ISTE conference. I went in 2008, also in San Antonio,  right after I was hired as a tech facilitator for our district. I can’t even remember ONE single session that I attended or an idea that I brought back. Now, understandably, that was 5 years and a three year old ago, but still. You would think there was something noteworthy about it…but nope.

This time?  I think on the ride home Matt Gomez and I had a couple hours of silence where we were both still trying to process what had just happened. From the chatter filled ride down, to the reconnecting of people that I call now call besties, to the meeting of people I respect and admire professionally…there are SO many moments that won’t be forgotten.The sessions I attended all seemed to have a reoccurring theme, as did the tweets that I saw flying across.

Technology should enhance learning, not control it. The learning comes 1st & the technology 2nd. (ala George Couros)

From technology directors, to teachers, to principals, to program/app creators, to key note speakers…everyone I came across saw and recognized that if we start with people, relationships and learning, any type of technology is going to elevate the opportunities within your classroom. The PLN that we are connected to GET that. I can’t wait to unpack it all more!

I have so much more to say…and I’ll get to it all, especially more about the WHY I am sharing, soon.

But I have a lot of story time to catch up on, 🙂

 

missed mom,

Amber

 

 

 

 

PD planning

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Had the privilege of meeting Brian Pete and Robin Fogarty at ASCD in FL a few years ago. Their session on training was probably one of the best I’d ever been too! If you haven’t ever heard of them, they have two books that I highly recommend. From Staffroom to Classroom, I & II. They give you a number of ways to conduct training with your staff that the teachers can then turn around and use in the classroom. It serves a dual purpose…giving the adults the opportunity to get up and moving, which increases their retention, and also provides strategies that they can use in their classroom with minimal fuss and effort. A win win!

 

I used a couple in the #ignite13 this week and thought giving my top three would serve as a great reminder for me to continue to utilize these great books as we start thinking about in-service for next year.

 

  • My favorite is the PMI. The PMI can be used to open a conversation about a topic or review mid session what you are talking about. It allows your teachers (or students!) to see a big picture, which with practice, can def develop those higher level thinking skills! You simply have the participants find a partner and give a P, a plus, an M, a minus, and an I, something interesting, about what you are discussing. As a whole group you can make a table, or you can call on volunteers to share.

 

  • I also like the three musketeers strategy for finding groups. Having your audience stand up and get moving is a great way to keep them awake and on their toes, 🙂 Everyone simply stands up with their hand in the air
    s they find two other people to match up with. It’s a quick and easy way to create a collaborative group that you can use over and over. People also like to share in small groups, safer in small numbers!

 

  • Give one! Get one! is a great strategy to use if you have prepared statements. It allows for meaningful interaction amongst your crowd on a train of though that you select. This can be a great icebreaker. Simply provide your crew with a list of statements or prepared questions and have them find someone in the room to share with. They give one, giving their answer or thoughts and get one, hear someone elses’ perspective.

 

Short, sweet, and easy, 🙂 I like it!

 

Again, check out “From Staffroom to Classroom” parts I & II...you won’t be disappointed!

 

 

Professional developmentally,

Amber

 

 

 

Summer studies…

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Came across two resources I plan on taking advantage of this summer. Abbreviated as mine might be, I am COVETING the 5 weeks I have off to refresh, renew, reinvigorate my passion in what I do.

 

The first, this blog post by Angela Watson, (whom I feel very honored to call an IRL BFF, :)) on the books she recommends for reading over the summer. Her “Awaken” is sitting on my nightside WAITING for me to dive in with a positive mindset. Her easy to read piece and why she includes each book will help you see an immediate connection and I hope you can find a couple to take with you to the pool. ALL of these books are easy to read, none are written like a…text book. Cough cough…

 

Second, through Zite (which I will be blogging about soon!) I cam across this Edudemic article that gives you some summer online learning options. It’s a new platform called Modern Lessons and has a ton of free online courses from learning the basics of Twitter to an advanced course on iPads in education.

 

Whatever you choose to do this summer, come back and share, especially if you read any of these books, or take a course!

 

Summer scheduleN,

Amber