#WMST

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 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

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