AmberTeamann — Page 30

Conferencing at #ASCD15? Here’s why you better be!

March 18, 2015 by Amber 1 Comment

ASCD is having its annual this conference in Houston this weekend. I am a member of several organizations, and attend several national conferences, in addition to local region/state events, and this by FAR is my favorite. Attending ASCD provides a chance to grow, as well as make connections with other educators from around the nation.

While, yes, I may be biased because of their outstanding communications team, there is so much that this organization and conference offers.

Keynote speakers: This year offers Sarah Lewis, who will talk about the concept of grit and play, both national hot topics. Nicholas Negroponte, the first ever TED talker, will talk about how its the EFFORT that should excite and teach us, not just the end result.
Content: This conference offers sessions that are literature rich, research based, and RELEVANT. While technology will be embedded in different sessions there isn’t a device focused buzz, or any “silver bullet” discussions that would require a “tool”. Best practices here revolve around people, ideas, and most importantly, students.
Author mixer: Steven Anderson (@web20classroom), Reggie Routman (@regieroutman) Todd Whitaker (@toddwhitaker), and my instructional coach crush Robyn Jackson, (@Robyn_Mindsteps) have all recently written books for ASCD and I’ll have an opportunity to talk with each of them, gleam any gems of greatness that I can , and will share out!
The 2015-ness: From the app to the official hashtag (#ascd15) ASCD naturally has taken the “connected” pieces and integrated them into their conference. Wifi, blog lounges, and a hearty twitter stream will all be in the background, available as needed.

I am REALLY excited about this weekend! Throw in that it is in TEXAS again this year, which means I can drive and am guaranteed to see some Texas faces, and I am counting down!

The awesome Joe Mazza (@joe_mazza) has also created an #ASCD15 Voxer group, if you’re a Voxer.

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Join in!

If you are not able to make it this year, follow the twitter stream, there is sure to be a lot shared!

Take charge of your PD, make ASCD one of your growth commitments!

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ASCD ready,

Amber

How do YOU share your genius?

March 10, 2015 by Amber Leave a Comment

When I would give twitter talks in the (not so distant past), I would be sure and mention the lists I had created that enabled a “newbie” to find connections to educational change agents, teachers in the trenches, like minded people that could become an instant resource. Now, if I were to give that same talk…I would share the lists but I’d also stress how important the #hashtag is to educational dialogue on social media.

One of the hashtags making the rounds right now is the #EDUin30 tag. This is George Couros’s new project in which he challenges you to make a short video, answering one question a week, and use the tag. He began this week with “Talk about one great idea in your classroom in 30 seconds or less. #EDUin30W1″

It’s already taken off, in true George fashion, but I have REALLY enjoyed hearing all of the different ideas from around the world. Such a simple, easy way to tap into everyone’s “best” idea.

To see the submissions thus far, check out this storify I created.

My submission comes from a 2nd grade classroom. The teacher has created musical snippets and has them embedded into her smart board lessons. Each snippet is a different transition. Her students know when the music comes on that they have to get moving, and better be there when it stops. By using popular tunes, they even sing along. Smoothest transitions on campus, and catchiest too!

Here’s my submission…

…stay tuned to see what challenge is issued for week 2!

Take 30 seconds to share YOUR genius, or learn from someone else’s!

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Sharingly,

Amber

Culture & Leadership Connections: Are you #FutureReady?

February 23, 2015 by Amber 1 Comment

Confession: I’m not that great with technology.

I know, I know…”Technically Teamann” and all that jazz. But really, I’m not great with technology.

I can’t code. I couldn’t reroute an access point. I don’t build computers. I don’t develop software. I don’t build apps. Or teach people how to do ANY of those things. I can troubleshoot (via the Google) any technical problems, but I can’t take apart a machine. I can’t write HTML or Flash. I can’t talk shop with the IT department. I’m just not that great with technology.

You know what I am good at?

I am good at making technology work for me.

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I am able to use tools that are readily available to accomplish my personal and professional goals and to develop relationships. I am good at connecting and seeing how much this benefits all of those around me. If I have a teacher who is struggling, I can connect them with an expert in just the area they need help with. If I have a student with a particular passion, I know how to find amazing resources to help them. If I need my bucket filled, I have made connections, made friends, with like-minded people who lift me up and inspire me from all over the world. I have found a way to share my experiences & my voice with anyone who cares to listen.

If you stop and reflect on our students entering the workplace, becoming grown-ups, and functioning in this world that we live in, we can all agree on a few things. We know being a good test taker is not a sought after characteristic by today’s, and most likely not future, employers. They have to know how to collaborate, how to develop relationships, how to CONNECT with others. They need to know how to be responsible for their digital footprints, how to own the data that is collected from them and about them.

These are the skills our students need, and being future-ready means we as educators have got to figure out a way to add those skills to the already overflowing plate we have in front of us.

One important facet in my role as an administrator is to empower my staff and our students to be the very best versions of themselves, knowing that our future will be about the advantage of the opportunities available. If we are increasingly moving to become a digitally competitive society, we need our students to be able to function, and function well.

Introducing these generations to their digital responsibilities and abilities is crucial!

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Leveraging technologies to partner with parents to help them understand the importance of what their child can do and the GREAT things that are happening with their students each and every day should be always be on our list of best practices. Today there are too many available options to share and connect with our families and stakeholders to not utilize them!

I’m not that good with technology, but I am passionate about using it to accomplish my goals. We only have so many hours in a day to impact the life of a child, and if by intentionally applying what we have available to model the collaboration, communication, and creation, we can get our students off on the #futureready foot!

Click here to learn more about the 2015 Digital Learning Day. I’ll be in Washington on March 13th at #DLDay with my session, “Who’s the Boss: Take Charge When it Comes To Your Professional Learning”. You can also see a complete list of presenters here.

Charge taking,

Amber

Chin up, buttercup!

February 19, 2015 by Amber 1 Comment

It’s that time of year.

Where the holiday break is definitively in the past.

Where testing pressure has started to increase.

When Spring Break is close…but not quite close enough.

Take time today to remember that we alone have the power to choose our good attitude.

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Be the kind of person who doesn’t allow other people or circumstances to dictate how we feel or treat those around us. Instead be the consistent one for those around you.

Be thankful for the impact that we have on not only our students but also on our peers.

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Choose to be happy. Choose to be positive. Choose to smile. That doesn’t mean you are unaware of circumstances, or stress, or drama, or struggles…it just means you choose to RISE above it, and be happy anyway. To let your mood be dictated by your blessings and not your afflictions.

Words from my heart,

Amber

Get organized….digitally!

February 15, 2015 by Amber Leave a Comment

When I was student teaching, I remember having the teacher next door to me take me into her room and show me her file cabinets. I was amazed. They were, to a newbie, the mecca of experience. There was a file on anything you could think of…from PD to content to parent newsletters…all neatly labeled with the most neat, handwritten labels I have ever seen. I was in awe! It became my mission to be THAT organized…and have that many resources…I was lucky enough to call her best friend and soon learned she was that awesome in all kinds of ways!

Fast forward to 2015 and I think I have less than one drawer of files, and half of them are personnel files. All of my resources are online now, stored on my computer. That being said, I was feeling the spring fever over the holidays so I took the time to do some “spring cleaning” on my files, pictures, and other things I have “collected” through the years.

I have the unfortunate habit of just saving things to my desktop, which is easy, but does nothing for a sense of organization. I created folders on my desktop that had generic titles but that would hold the types of files I seem to be always saving. These generically titled folders including things like data, teacher info, PLCs, and testing. As I am saving things I do my *best* to put them into these files. Other tips?

*** Have an external backup. I have learned from switching campuses and then districts, it was really important to have an external backup that could hold all of my professional files. I didn’t have time to go through and be choosy, I wanted it all. In case of a system crash or a problem transferring accounts, I feel much safer knowing all of my resources are backed up. I have it marked in my planner as a reminder, once a month to back up everything on my home PC and my work computer, just in case.

*** Where’s your cloud storage for working files? Do you use Google Drive? Do you use Dropbox? Is there a way for you to access what you need when you aren’t near your external drive? I am a big fan of Dropbox, but with so many districts embracing google apps for education, that also has become a viable source. Google Drive makes it easy to collaborate in real time, so the storage piece there is also handy. Whichever you choose, use it consistently.

It does no good to have your files all over the place, even if they are organized.

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*** Rename your files. Make it easy for you to remember, and search. I used to think everything needed a file folder and then everything should be in its place. But once I started naming my files very specifically, I learned it was a much quicker process to search for it by name then it was to find a file, and go through its subfolders. Instead of “math data”, I now would save it as “3rd grade math all teachers unit 4”. Again, I do still place my workable files in a generically titled file, but just searching for what I am looking for is MUCH easier.

*** Pictures and movies. My big kid is easy. All of our memories are printed out, and filed in a handy picture box. (or twelve.) In a closet. My little bit has her every moment recorded digitally. Very few of our pictures with her are printed out in a hard copy, but instead are stored in “my photos” on my mac. A very scary “safe place”. Each summer, I back up my entire photo library to Shutterfly. It takes an entire day to batch upload each and every one….but I at least know that they are all there. Thankfully, should something ever happen, I do a fair job of uploading my favorites to Instagram and Facebook as well. Bless her little digital footprint…

What tips and tricks do you have to maintain an organized digital system? I also have a plethora of other organizational ideas (that I’ll get to at some point) on Pinterest. I would love to hear what you do!

File FixN,

Amber