Staff Development

What the #EduLounge was…and wasn’t…

May 14, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

Saturday was the kickoff for the Classflow #EduLounge tour. Besides the fact that I got to hang out with educational rockstars like Tom Whitby, Steven Anderson, and Nick Provazano, I was able to be a part of something designed to be different. Taking a spin from the success of edcamps, which is a nontraditional way to go about PD, the Educators Lounge wants to make you think about learning different.

What Saturday was:

Casual- No formal attire needed here, it was more about what you hearing than you were wearing. It was supposed to be a come as you are, learn as you want- type of day. You were able to come and go as you pleased, and there were snacks and drinks available. Held at the Lakewood Theater in Dallas, the entire vibe was casual and comfortable.

Inspirational- Listening to Arvin Ross was incredible. This young man has overcome more in his 22 years than many of us see in a lifetime. He spoke about unlocking your creative genius, but that isn’t want I took away. He made the statement that his life was changed when his teachers took him out for coffee, and let him know that their biggest priority wasn’t him getting an A in their class. He reminded me that if you can make a connection with a child, if you unleash his passion for learning, you’ll never have to force them to lean anything.

Reaffirming- Doing things differently is ok. Sticking your head in the sand and pretending that status quo is going to grow a generation of innovative thinker isn’t ok. There was an underlying message that encouraged taking risks, working through your failures, and taking chances in your classroom. A high schooler who had his phone taken away and was reprimanded shrugged and went on to become the CEO of the iSchool initiative, which is introducing a students-teaching-teachers approach to professional development to share a new perspective with teachers and administrators. Their mission: revolutionize the American education system through technology and promote a culture of lifelong learning.

What Saturday wasn’t:

About an app, a device, or a tool: I had the realization on the drive home that not one time were any of the speakers promoting an app or a tool as a way to change the world. Rarely in eduland these days do you find that to be true! While, thankfully, the student consumer push is fading, it still was impressive to think back through the day and realize the speakers didn’t focus on a “silver bullet”, but rather a way of thinking.

Increasing your stress level There was no pressure. There were no expectations. Being able to mingle in the crowd and have follow up conversations with the speakers allowed everyone to connect and dial down to what mattered to them. Nick walked a teacher through creating a “genius hour” mindset in his middle school classroom, despite lack of funds or technology. Tech specialists from Rockwall connected with the iSchool Initiative team about bringing them out. I don’t know about you, but typically at a conference, I don’t get to have follow up time with the folks that presented that interested me.

A financial drain. This event was free. From the light snacks to the heavier horderves, to the motivating speakers…there was no cost. The vent was also live streamed, so those not around in Dallas were able to watch as well. I know several people who had commitments but streamed it and benefited as well. In a day of budget cuts and extremely fiscally conscious districts, conferences that cost an arm and a leg just aren’t attainable for most people.The Educators Lounge is giving you access to the Godfather of Twitter and the closing Keynote of #ISTE13…for free!

I am so thankful to have been a part of this day. If you missed it and are interested in the stream, it has been archived and is available. I encourage you to check out the website, The Educators Lounge, and see when a Classflow event is coming your way!

A Proud lounger,

Amber

Let’s talk data, shall we? (wait, come back!)

March 28, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

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 great analogy. We want to apply the data effectively because if you go to the doctor when your stomach hurts, you don’t want him giving you headache medicine.

While it may seem like “busy work”, ultimately, it benefits you most of all.

If you’re already aware of the in’s and out’s of student performance, how can looking at data help you? Think of it this way, you may have a general awareness that you need to lose weight. But that favorite dress/suit? when it’s tight you know its time to trim the carbs. Looking at specific data can heighten your awareness of certain topics/concepts.

What if the results are overwhelming? Break it down, bit by bit. Take one question a week. Focus on the vocabulary within the question. Anyone can eat the elephant, just one bite at a time. Need help with question stems? Try this site.

How do I spiral this into my already action packed plans based on existing curriculum? Make cards that you can use during bathroom breaks or at lunch. Have your students answer and talk it through with a student partner. Use it as a bell ringer that first 10 minutes of class while students are filing in and getting situated. Cut a couple of assignments a week down by half. Use that time to focus on lower scored skills.

How can I teach it differently, when I’ve already taught it the best I could? Within your textbooks, there are scaffolding lessons available. Think of iStation, Study Island, Think Through Math, Ten Marks…there are a variety of sites that offer teacher lesson support. If you’re on twitter, find educators who teach similar subjects and ask to share. Check Pinterest. Check for Facebook groups. Look at Teacher Pay Teachers for ideas…get creative!

Stay FOCUSED. Don’t let yourself get lost on the tangents of “poor questions”, “bad data”, “these students”, and “overall passing percentages”. Even if 88% of your students passed, what if it was just 1 TEK or strand that could bump the rest of your kids up?

One teacher mentioned that she has her students go back over their most recent assessments and decide which areas/TEKS they struggled with the most. Students are completing different assignments, prescriptive tasks, based on where they were struggling. When you can transfer the ownership to the students, how much more powerful is that?

Be intentional with your material…there’s just not enough time in your day to miss a minute. Especially when we’re doing so many great things. I’m a big believer in a whole child focus, but there’s a time and place for data as well!

Data dug,

Amber

Have a book study via Twitter? Yes we did!

March 5, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

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 presence?

You have a book study chat on Twitter!

We started by choosing a book we knew would have an immediate impact on classrooms, “Teach Like a Pirate”. It set the tone for the whole inservice, and we were able to go with a “pirate” theme. (I love a good theme!) Teachers were given their books with an intro the first day we came back. We divided the book into 4 parts, gave the dates that each part was to be completed by. So as not to overwhelm, because this was a lot of teachers first foray into Twitter, we decided there would be just three questions for each part. I gave a very basic session on the in’s and out’s of Twitter. We created our accounts and wrote our bios, making sure they represented our educationally interest. We talked about hashtags, chats, and the purpose of this “global” learning space.

The book study questions were to be answered via twitter, using the hashtag #WTLAP. (Watson Teach Like a Pirate)

We used a Q1, A1 format to answer on the date given for each set of questions. The official #WTLAP chat was from 8-8:30pm, but they had 24 hours to respond to the questions before I “storified” the results.
This allowed everyone to scroll back through the tweets.

http://storify.com/amberteamann/wtlap-book-study-chat-9-9-2013.html

What did this accomplish?

It created a presence on Twitter for our staff, which helped lead to the next step of creating our #WMST hashtag, to start to document our #eduwins for all of our stakeholders.
The awareness of others to follow, based on the conversations happening, built a base for many teachers to create their own PLN.
It allowed other educational connections to be formed. We had several educators from around the world join in our chat which removed the “walls” from around our building.
Teachers were able to think and creatively share their responses for an audience of more than just our staff, including author, Dave Burgess who joined us our first night.
We were able to spend time in our campus based learning meetings focused on other instructional matters, since this was all done on their own time.
Teachers who needed support were able to ask and recieve help privately, on their own ability level. This was an incredible opportunity to offer my help and really get to know our teachers.

Here’s our handout, #WTLAP.

Special thanks to Chris Kesler, who lent me his official TLAP chat questions that we were able to modify for our staff.

chattingly,

Amber

Make an intentional DIGITAL difference!

January 28, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

Digital Learning Day is about giving every child the opportunity to learn in a robust digital environment everyday, with the goal of success in college and a career. On Wednesday, February 5, tens of thousands of teachers and millions of students across the country will participate in the third annual Digital Learning Day—a national celebration of innovative teaching and common-sense, effective applications of digital learning in America’s schools that support teachers, improve learning, and help students achieve at their highest potential. We here at Watson MST have a higher cause to celebrate this day, this is the style of learning we are leading our MST charge with. To make this day stand out, I am offering different ways that you can add some digital spice to your classroom. I’ve attached a digital challenge bucket list…if you can complete 5 of these activities through the month of February, I’ll either do a week of your duty or teach your class for three hours. Your choice! Now, 5 out of the list…that will require some extra effort on your part, but I think you can do it! Set a personal goal..can’t handle 5? Do one, do two…just make a digital difference, intentionally, this month! Day 1, I gave ya yesterday via email:

Virtual Valentines

The K-12 Virtual Valentines Project designed to teach students geographical awareness and cultural understanding while connecting classrooms all around the world for Valentine’s Day. Our goal is to circumnavigate the globe with virtual Valentines. Whether your students are in kindergarten or are seniors in high school, this project will help them learn something new. This project is being organized by the EdTech Chat ‘n Chew Podcast Team. Our mission is to help you empower your students through 21st Century learning. Throughout the year we’ll be sharing opportunities for your students to learn by connecting with others around the world. Feel free to use the twitter hashtag: #k12valentines Day 2: Have a conversation about DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP and what it means to be active learners in a world full of other people’s creativity. Start conversations about what it means to be a digital citizen from this poster, print it out, and hang it outside of your classroom.

Here is the bucket list….game on! Amber

A unified vision marches on…

January 4, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

A lot is written and shared about how important it is for a campus to have a shared, unified vision. What you are doing when creating a vision statement is articulating your dreams and hopes for your campus as well as establishing a strong foundation for your strategic planning guideline. It reminds you of what you are trying to build, and keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

During this break, I’ve read 3 (yes, 3) biographies of John F. Kennedy. Maybe the boldest vision ever articulated by any leader was John F. Kennedy’s dream of putting a man on the moon. On May 25, 1961, in a special address to Congress, he said, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” Although, at the time, very few people believed it could be done, the vision was achieved on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon.

There’s local high school has done an amazing job for creating and aligning a unified vision, thanks to the administrative leadership of their lead learner, Virdie Montgomery. (disclaimer: Virdie is the father of one of my best friends and will be the high school of my girs.) He lives, eats, and breathes his campus mantra, AHMO. From Letterman shout outs, to class point competitions that invite global participation, to hundreds of ipad photos taken daily, he has created an environment that supports students in a way that supports them as a family. Even when times are tough, they rally together in a way that defies their high school maturity. You can’t go anywhere without seeing a student, a bumper sticker, or a yard sign, that proclaims that AHMO pride.

This video was shared with me by my beast’s math teacher. It is a great example of people working together to create something really incredible. And…every member has to work hard to memorize all the music and all the steps. If even one person forgets, the whole show will not be as spectacular. It takes a unified vision to make this happen.

May your vision be as spectacular!

Vision focused,

Amber