Technically Yours Teamann — Page 59 — my version of transparent, collaborative leadership…with a Teamann twist

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

Are you busy, busy, busy?

February 18, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

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 traffic!

Many times busyness is equated with productivity. Just because the wheels are constantly spinning doesn’t mean you’re getting anywhere. I know that for me my to do list can shift based on priority but I literally can work 12 hour days and still not get caught up…which makes it feel as if I am not making progress.

I listened to a podcast this weekend and heard something simplified that is so common sense I am almost ashamed to admit how clarifying it was for me. The author (Crystal Paine) was discussing how hard it is for her to say no and to prioritize her tasks. She said that at the beginning of each month (day, week, year, etc) she lists her BIG goals. Her big, all encompassing, gotta be done goals. Then she files all of her tasks into alignment with those goals. If it doesn’t fit? She doesn’t commit.

I’m a big “yes” girl. I like feeling accomplished and like I’ve done more than my share, had my opportunity to get my input in. But sometimes? Sometimes I take on things that just don’t matter in what REALLY matters. I say yes just to say yes.

I want to model being a lead learner for our campus and share my passion with others, which is being positive and making school FUN without compromising academic success for every student. I believe in empowering others to be successful. If I’m going to be on a committee, or speak somewhere, does it move me closer to accomplishing that goal or detract from it?

If I want to be a super involved mom and attentive wife…is being on a committee, or speaking somewhere, move me closer to accomplishing that goal or detract from it?

What are your BIG goals in life? Are you taking on things to help you get there, or things that are actually detours? They can be REALLY great things, but still be detours. Double check that commitment list and see what you can cross off. Move out of survival mode and into PRODUCTIVE mode!

busy beaver,

Amber

Are you a yeller? Hush!

February 13, 2014 by Amber 5 Comments

***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 to tell you about…” I will also never forget the afternoon I made her get in her chair and announce to the class how sorry she was that she kept doing that and that she would never do it again.

I look back on that memory now and cringe. CRINGE. I am so thankful her mother didn’t come and just decimate me over that poor attempt of a strategy. That was my first year teaching, and thankfully, the only year that I remember having done that.

This is something I am extremely passionate about, probably because I remember sweet Emily. If you don’t like children…or interacting with people…I just don’t know that education is the job for you.

CONFESSION: I don’t think embarrassing students is ok.

CONFESSION: I also don’t think its ok to yell at students.

I’m not saying you have to be sun-shiney and roses all the time. I’m not saying that there aren’t realities that make teachers days a struggle. (or assistant principals!) I know this.

I am saying that you don’t have to be ugly. You don’t have to be sarcastic. You don’t have to yell.

Is this an unrealistic expectation in education?

Tone intolerant,

Amber

What do you do for the unloved? Be a LOVE NINJA!

February 2, 2014 by Amber 3 Comments

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 their peers. How do you foster relationships? How do you help students with social skills? Students without siblings, or in a new environment may need some additional support. A former co-worker I had used to do “Lunch Bunches” where once a month she’d bring in students that needed social skill help along with some of the more established students, and try to develop relationships.

I saw an article posted on Facebook from a friend. It was such a great example of how important dealing with some of these ostracized students can be, and why as a teacher, it should be on your radar too.

Every Friday afternoon C’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may not be honored. She also asks the students to nominate one student whom they believe has been an exceptional classroom citizen that week. All ballots are privately submitted to her. And every single Friday afternoon, after the students go home, C’s teacher takes out those slips of paper, places them in front of her and studies them. She looks for patterns.

Who is not getting requested by anyone else?

Who doesn’t even know who to request?

Who never gets noticed enough to be nominated?

Who had a million friends last week and none this week?

You see, C’s teacher is not looking for a new seating chart or “exceptional citizens.” C’s teacher is looking for lonely children. She’s looking for children who are struggling to connect with other children. She’s identifying the little ones who are falling through the cracks of the class’s social life. She is discovering whose gifts are going unnoticed by their peers. And she’s pinning down- right away- who’s being bullied and who is doing the bullying.

You can read the whole article here. (She also talked about what a “Love Ninja” this teacher was, which has given me a whole new goal in life. I want to be a LOVE NINJA!) There are students who truly need our help to be connected. They need to know how to be a friend in order to have a friend. I shared with a teacher this week how absolutely eye-opening it was for me in high school when a boy I wanted to ask to a Sadie’s Hawkins dance told my friend that I was “too immature” for him. It was such a self actualization moment for me….I had no idea. Students can be completely unaware of how they are coming across to their peers and it falls to us to help them see.

Look at your classroom…or your staff, this week. Are there connections to be made? Is someone slipping through the cracks? I challenge you to help make the unlovable feel loved.

Love ninjaN,

Amber

5 ways to stay connected to the Olympics, in class!

January 30, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

The winter games are upon us! These are such golden opportunities to teach your students using an event that is exciting, competitive, and GLOBAL. While it probably isn’t in your curriculum, I encourage you to have a conversation (at the least!) with your students about this current event.

Here are FIVE fun resources that I’ve come across to help keep you and your students engaged!

An Olympic “Opening Games” bingo game! What a way to “play” along at home!
Follow the official website of the Olympic movement to stay up to date on the latest news! Read news articles, watch videos, or view photos of latest events. Short articles offer information about Sochi such as information on the city and the sports venues, which is fascinating! You can also choose links at the bottom of the page to explore similar information for other Olympic host cities both past and future.
From working with teachers around the world, the Australian Olympic Committee has developed the Sochi 2014 Olympic Resource that features primary cross-curriculum lesson plans and student handouts themed around the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Now, while these may be the dreaded “W” word, I think you could easily turn them into an interactive bulletin board or a game. Cut’em up!
Printable Olymic medals! Have the spelling games, or math fact games…or any kinda games where you can win your own Olympic medal!

Olympic games story paper! I LOVE the create your own olympic story idea! Great for upper grades too. This one is my fave! A foldable story booklet…just imagine the creativity you could unleash here!And finally…what event would be complete without its very own infographic!

Gold medal earner, 😉

Amber