Getting Organized in the New Year: Paper vs. Digital

As the new year approaches, it is natural to want to reset and get organized for a fresh start. I pride myself on being pretty organized most of the time, but there are definitely some areas that need improvement. Now that I've been on break a few days, I've been thinking about some changes I want to make. I refuse to call them resolutions, because that word just sets people up for failure. Too much pressure! I saw on a Facebook group I belong to that some people choose a word that is their "theme" for the year, and they use that to keep them focused. When I read that, one word popped into my head-BALANCE. I tend to overbook and overload myself in all areas of my life. So, I am going to try and find balance this year.

I have used planners in the past, but I have a bit of ADD when it comes to planning. I love planners, but I tend to buy them and then bounce around from one to another without any direction. I think that might be because I need to use more than one, and I thought that I should be able to function with just one. This is also complicated by the fact that I'm a tech geek, and I use several tech tools to keep me organized. So, this got me thinking about the role that tech should play in our planning and organization.

I think this is a really personal choice. I don't think I could ever go totally digital. For one, I need the physical act of crossing things off a list to feel like I've accomplished something. Silly, I know, but it's the truth. So, I am going to set up a few different paper planners and assign them "jobs" in order to help me focus on specific areas of my life. I will discuss what I've got lined up, but first let's run down what IS digital in my life.

There are three digital tools that I would be completely lost without.
Cozi Family Calendar
I've written about this app/website before, but it's so great I'm going to mention it again! This is the main calendar that I share with my husband and teenage daughters. EVERYTHING goes on this calendar. We even have our two dogs on the calendar, because they have appointments too :) We are extremely busy people, and this helps us know where everyone is at all times. It updates in real time, so everyone can make appointments/plans without worrying about conflicts. There is also a shared list feature, but we don't tend to use it. One of the other features is a recipe and meal planning tool. I recently started using this, and I love it! I entered our favorite recipes, so I have them available on the go. There is also an Add to Cozi Meals add on for your desktop that allows you to add those recipes from Pinterest you're always pinning (and never going back to) right into the app! As much as I love this app, there is a new app I'm looking into that could possibly replace my Cozi obsession. Stay tuned! Check out Cozi at www.cozi.com

Google Keep
Most people have heard of Google Keep, but in case you haven't it is another great tool that can be shared with anyone. I usually use it as a board that keeps all of my lists. I use the app on my phone to add websites, books, websites, apps, hashtags, and ideas to running lists that I can go back to anytime I want. It is handy when you don't have time to get something down on paper. You can color code and tag the lists with key words. Check it out at keep.google.com

Google Drive
I'll be honest. Until last year, I really didn't use Google Drive. I was just so used to saving files to my thumb drive that I didn't make the switch. This year I've become an avid user! Again, most people are familiar with Google Drive, but if you aren't completely sure what it is, here's a quick rundown. It is cloud based, so there is no saving to a thumb drive or hard drive. The advantage to this setup is that files are accessible anywhere you have internet access. There is even a Google Drive app. Of course, the downfall is you need internet access so there's always the worry that when the internet goes down you're out of luck. This is another tool that is shareable and updates in real time. Always a plus when you're collaborating on a project. Check it out at www.google.com/drive

Those are my top 3 digital organization tools. Okay, on to my paper planners setup! I will wrap this up by sharing one of my new planners. I stumbled upon this one on Facebook. I clicked the link and was immediately intrigued! It is called the Commit 30 Planner. The idea behind it is that you create a goal or habit for the month and track how often you are implementing that habit. So, I thought I would give it a shot! I am currently setting up my planner for January. My goal for January is to "utilize my planners to manage my time and tasks" better. I am suppose to come up with a reward for myself if I reach my goal of 30 days. Here is a picture of my Monthly Goal page.

Just to be clear, this is not a paid review of the Commit30 planner. I am just sharing a product that I think will be useful. I will share my other planners and their "jobs" in other posts. Check out Commit30 at www.commit30.com

This is when it gets hard

Last week, I was listening to teachers chat in the teacher workroom, and I noticed several teachers were hoarse, coughing, and sniffling. I also noticed that many of my colleagues were looking tired and stressed, including me. Then, it dawned on me after 16 years of teaching, this is when it gets hard.

October. When summer is officially over. This is when it gets hard. When the excitement of a new school year and a new group of students has waned. This is when it gets hard. When the paperwork, emails, and meetings have become overwhelming. This is when it gets hard. When our homes and families start to feel the strain of our long days. This is when it gets hard.

All of this adds up to rundown teachers who end up sick and tired and dragging through the month trying to stay afloat. I'd like to say that eventually things settle down, and we all become re-energized. But, what really happens is we adjust to this new level of stress and activity. I wish I could offer some wonderful, innovative ideas to combat the October rundown, but I think you probably already know what you need to do. Here are things to keep in mind when you're running on empty:

Accept imperfection 
That's right. I know that is hard to hear, because a lot of educators are Type A perfectionist kind of people (I know I am!). However, perfection creates A LOT of pressure. So, pick one area of your life that you can live with imperfection when things get rough. For me, it's my house. It is messy and chaotic which I don't like, but I can live with it when I have to.

Surround yourself with good people
Friends, co-workers, and family can make or break you. If you're struggling, try to distance yourself from the ones adding to your stress. Make time to have fun and laugh with those that love you and understand how hard you're working at life. I am VERY lucky to have great, supportive friends, co-workers, and family.

Prioritize
I don't just mean your to-do list (although that helps too), but also what's most important to you. My own children are at the top of my list. I'm about to have 3 college age daughters, and I make a point to spend as much time with them as I can. So, instead of working on the mountain of laundry that is growing by the day, I make it a priority to sit on the couch with them and talk and laugh and enjoy a show or movie together. Laundry can wait. Moments like that cannot.

It might sound weird after all of that, but October is actually my favorite month of the year. The weather is beautiful, and the trees are so pretty. Volleyball, hockey and football seasons start, and this year the Cubs are doing great in the post season! So, even though this is when it gets hard, try to carve out some time to enjoy what's happening around you.

An Article Review of Digital Badging in K-12 Education

Digital Badging for K-12 Students

This article examines the use of digital badging for K-12 students. It explains that digital badging is evidence of learning and/or skills inside or outside of a traditional learning environment, such as a public school. The article explains that this is a growing interest among the K-12 education community, as it provides an alternative to the traditional college path. Given the struggle most recent college graduates face finding a job, digital badging would allow job candidates to demonstrate specific skill sets that are backed up with tangible evidence as opposed to a general degree in a particular subject area. The article suggests that a potential roadblock might be standardization for badging requirements. Without some kind of standard requirements to earn a badge, the badging system will lack the credibility necessary to give badging a prominent place in the job market.

The idea of digital badging holds interest for me on many levels, but in particular, in teacher professional development. My district has launched a digital badging program that teachers can participate in through our internal professional development classes. I think this will be a successful approach to professional development, as it gives teachers a way to focus in on their own specific areas of interest. It will allow them to become “experts” in that area, and they will then be able to provide support to other teachers who are struggling. I think it will gain more momentum if badging can be aligned with professional licensing renewal requirements. Like badging for students, I see standardization of badge requirements becoming an issue in teacher professional development. A minimum set of requirements will need to be put in place, and there will need to be qualified evaluators to review the portfolios of evidence based activities. There are many details to be worked out, but I do see digital badging having a permanent place in education in one form or another.

Waters, J. K. (2013). Digital Badges. T H E Journal, 40(5), 14.

An Article Review of How and Why Educators Use Twitter

How and Why Educators Use Twitter: A Survey of the Field

This article summarizes an attempt to quantify and analyze the use of Twitter by K-16 teachers, because current research on the use of Twitter is based primarily in higher education.

Researchers gave an online survey to 755 respondents who were educators representing several grades, content areas, ages, and experience. The survey included 10 items regarding Twitter usage by the respondents. The results reflected that Twitter was primarily used for professional development. The main reason educators sought professional development through Twitter was to combat isolation and to find community around common themes. Even though educators used Twitter overwhelmingly for professional development, they used it far less in the classroom and for communication. Last, the researchers found that the sample of respondents did not represent the typical age group of Twitter users in the general population (18-30), but rather an older age group (31-50).

I immediately could identify with this article, because it reflects my use of Twitter. My initial experiences with Twitter were timid and unsure, but as I expanded my professional learning network and more actively participated in chats and following hashtags I quickly realized the amazing opportunities for learning and to share resources to use in my classroom. I also agreed with the general positive attitudes and climate that Twitter has to offer. While some educators stated that they were limited by the restricted access to Twitter in their districts, I am fortunate that I don’t face that barrier. I have been very happy with some of the ways I’ve been able to implement Twitter with my first graders. I strongly feel that social media is the future of professional development. It gives teachers choice, connection, and convenience in growing as professionals.

Carpenter, J. P., & Krutka, D. G. (2014). How and Why Educators Use Twitter: A Survey of the Field. Journal Of Research On Technology In Education, 46(4), 414-434. doi:10.1080/15391523.2014.925701

An Article Review on Twitter in the Classroom

Tweeting in the Classroom

This article summarizes the use of Twitter in a high school civics classroom during the 2012 presidential election. Students were given a specific hashtag that tied their tweets to the class, in addition to, two additional hashtags that were public and used by a much wider audience. The purpose of the more public hashtags was to make the students part of a more global conversation. The article went on to discuss the advantages and limitations of using Twitter in the classroom. The advantages were that students were participating in real time events, such as, debates. It also encourages students who are more reluctant to participate face-to-face to participate more freely using a medium that they are more comfortable with. It also exposed them to a more diverse group of learners when they were able to connect to two other classes in other states. Some of the limitations were the lack of teacher control of inappropriate comments. While there were no direct attacks on other students, there were comments made that were inflammatory and served no purpose in an academic conversation. Access can also be a limitation that teachers may encounter. Many school districts block or limit access to social media making it difficult to integrate Twitter into the curriculum. The article concluded with the argument that the benefits outweigh the limitations when using Twitter in the classroom. Making global connections and allowing students to participate in real time enrich the learning experience.

While this article focuses on the high school and middle school use of Twitter, I have seen first hand the positive implications of using Twitter in the primary grades. My students have participated in global events including solving grade level appropriate math tasks and sharing their answers on Twitter, as well as, writing math tasks to share. They are participating in live streaming events benefitting from experiences that they would not otherwise be able to attend. They are learning about places and classrooms well outside the physical walls of their own classroom. There is also ample opportunity for digital citizenship lessons on the appropriate and safe use of social media. As the article stated, social media is here to stay, so rather than fight to keep it out of the classroom we should be using it to our advantage as a tool for learning.

Journell, W., Ayers, C. A., & Walker Beeson, M. (2014). Tweeting in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 95(5), 63.

Overcoming My Fear of Screencasting

I'm am certainly no tech expert, but I do know my way around the basics which means I often get tech related questions from my teaching colleagues. Since going back to grad school for my Ed Tech endorsement, I've been learning so much that I wanted to share all of the great ways to integrate and use tech with the teachers in my building. I decided to start Tuesday Tech Tips. I emailed the staff and told them my plans, and I asked them to sign up to receive the emails every Tuesday. I was surprised to see that 20+ teachers signed up, including some teachers from other buildings/districts that were referred by my colleagues.

I have always liked video tutorials related to tech. I am a visual learner, so seeing someone perform steps helps me tremendously. Also, I like the ability to pause and rewind video especially when learning something complicated. I wanted to utilize screencasting in my Tuesday Tech Tips, but I was a little intimidated by what I thought was going to be a complicated process. I also tend to be a perfectionist, and I thought I'd never get the recording "just right." But, hey, tech is all about diving in and stepping out of your comfort zone, so I decided to just go for it!

I researched the various screencasting tools and decided on Screencast-O-Matic. I found it to be very straightforward and user-friendly. I chose to create a YouTube channel to upload the videos to. I've had very positive feedback from staff about the emails and videos! Each time I make one, I get more comfortable with the process. So, if you have something you've wanted to do using screencasting, I encourage you to give it shot! If you want to see what I've been able to do, check out my YouTube channel using this link https://goo.gl/th9Zmx

Thinking About Open Education Resources (OERs)

My experience with Open Education Resources (OERs) is limited, but my take on it is that they are the future of education. If you're not familiar, OERs are openly licensed educational materials that educators can use to provide quality instruction. The idea is that educators and non-profit organizations can create resources that are organized in a database for other educators to search and use. This signals a shift away from traditional textbook and curriculum purchases.

I see several advantages to this movement. The first being a tremendous financial savings. I would like to see the cost savings applied to educational technology infrastructure and devices. Another advantage is that the materials will not be limited by publishing costs and timelines driven by for profit companies. The information can be kept current and up-to-date. Lastly, it allows educators to design instruction that fits their teaching style and their students' needs. This is the biggest and most significant change we could see from OERs. It can sometimes be difficult to differentiate when using canned curriculum. If teachers have OERs available to them, they would have several options for extension and enrichment, as well as, modified resources for at risk and special ed students.

I do fear that there could be a few pitfalls to the OER movement. The first being the accuracy of the resources. Like anything else found online, you have to make sure that the information is accurate and appropriate. Another concern I have, like so many other educators, is time. The time it will take to search for and implement the resources could be extensive. It's easy to get lost in the database and lose focus. The few OERs I've looked at seem to have powerful search features and filters which will hopefully prevent a significant loss of time.

I am going to devote some time to exploring OERs to see how they might fit into my instruction. If you're interested in learning more, check out http://ioer.ilsharedlearning.org/ and https://www.oercommons.org/

epic! Updates

I am excited to share with you that I was selected to be an epic! Master Teacher, and that means I will be bringing updates on the epic! app and website! If you haven't heard of epic! you need to check it out. It is an e-book library with over 25,000 titles for children 12 and under. It is free for educators and available for home use for $7.99 per month. It covers several genres and includes audio books and books that can be read aloud. They recently added educational videos which were a hit with my first graders! The students can earn badges as incentives, and teachers can access individual reading logs for students. Now, on to a new feature...

Teachers can now create collections of books and assign them to students! You can access this feature in the search tab. Once you find a book that you want to add to a collection click "Add to" and select collection. You can create a collection, add notes/directions to students and name it, or select an existing collection to add the book to. You can view your collections under the "My Library" tab. Click the name of the collection to assign to students. This has so many possibilities! You could name collections to correspond to guided reading groups, certain comprehension skills, or research projects!

Let me know how you might use this new feature! Follow epic! on Twitter @EpicKidsBooks or on the web at www.getepic.com. To read an article review about using picture e-books in K-6 I did for grad class, click here.

Bloomz: All in One Stop for Teachers and Parents

Here's another app that I just found this summer that is at the top of my list for next year! I need to play with it more, but it looks like it will eliminate the need for a lot of other apps. Some of the features include parent-to-teacher and parent-to-parent messaging, calendar, scheduling of parent-teacher conferences and volunteer opportunities, sign up for classroom donations, uploading pictures with parent ability to comment or "like", and uploading of PDF files (newsletters, permission slips, etc). Some new and exciting features that are coming soon include behavior tracking, video capabilities, and student portfolio features. I'm excited about using Bloomz to collaborate with students and families! Check them out on Twitter @BloomzApp or on the web www.bloomz.net. You can find an article review on the use of K-12 classroom websites I did for my grad class here.

How did I miss Seesaw last year!

This summer I stumbled upon the Seesaw app via Twitter, and I'm so bummed I didn't find it sooner! I would have loved to use it last year! If you're not familiar with Seesaw, it is a student electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) that students use to share their work with parents and their teacher. There are several format options and apps that Seesaw is compatible with, and there is a built-in teacher dashboard where all work goes for approval by the teacher before being available for parents to see. Over the last several years, I have used data binders with my students where they tracked their progress across several subjects, and then shared the binder with their parents periodically. I am going to try to eliminate those and incorporate them into the Seesaw app. What a great way for students to archive their work, and it provides their parents and myself the ability to see their growth (or lack of-yikes!) over an entire year. Once the school year gets started, I will post on our progress with Seesaw. If you're interested in learning more, check Seesaw out on Twitter @Seesaw or on the web at web.seesaw.me You can also check out a peer-reviewed article I reviewed on e-portfolios for my grad class here.

Book Review of Amplify!: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom

One of my goals was to read more professional books, and I have made a good start! I am working my way through my "Summer Stack." Today, I finished reading Amplify!: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom.

This was a great book! Here are my quick take aways:

The authors, Katie Muhtaris and Kristin Ziemke, stress that you give up some control when introducing a new tool. This was a big "aha" moment for me, because I'm kind of a control freak when it comes to well...everything! But, what they're saying makes sense. No one is talking about a complete free for all, but give your students five minutes to explore the tool first. Then, have a meaningful discussion about what they noticed and what they think they could use the tool for before you launch your introductory lesson.

I also really enjoyed the video access you get with the book. Katie and Kristin include videos of actual activities they have done in their classrooms with technology. Let's be honest. It's always better to see it in action in a real classroom setting.

The book finishes up with some great concrete lesson ideas for incorporating technology tools. They can be adapted across primary and intermediate grade levels. This is helpful when you are feeling overwhelmed, and you don't know where to start. There are great links, visuals, and tips throughout the book. Definitely worth the read! You can follow the authors on Twitter at:
@KatieMuhtaris
@KristinZiemke

Get the book here (affiliate link):

100 Twitter Followers!!

Okay, so I know some of you are thinking "Big deal! I have 10K followers!" But, for me this is a big deal. One of my goals is to build my PLN using social media. While it would be easy to be intimidated by people with thousands of followers and give up, I'm going to celebrate the small steps building up to that. Also, this is not about trying to achieve some magic number of followers. It is about putting myself out there and learning. 

One of the first books I read this summer was 140 Tips for Educators: Get Connected, Grow Your Professional Learning Network, and Reinvigorate Your Career by Brad Currie, Billy Krakower, and Scott Rocco. It was FANTASTIC! If you're thinking Twitter is too "hard" or intimidating, trust me I know how you feel! Before reading this book, I had lurked on Twitter, but I was not taking full advantage of the learning opportunities available. The book literally takes you through setting up your account step-by-step and goes on to explain all aspects of the Twitter world. I can't wait to share it with my colleagues!

You can get the book here (affiliate link).

Follow the authors on Twitter 
@bradmcurrie

@wkrakower

@scottrrocco

and don't forget to follow me @techingin and help me reach 200 followers! #140EduTips

Setting Goals

Now that I've had time to decompress from the end of the school year, it's time to start thinking about the upcoming year. Reflecting on my first year in our 1:1 tech pilot, it was exciting and stressful at times. However, it did give me renewed energy for teaching after 15 years. 

I've always enjoyed technology in my personal and professional life, but this year showed me a whole new world of possibilities for integrating tech in my instruction. So, heading into summer I've been working on setting some goals for myself. In the spirit of accountability, here they are:

*Overcome my "fear" of Twitter and grow my PLN using Twitter and other social media. 

*Go back to school for another master's in EdTech (MAET). 

*Read more professional books

*Work on getting Google certified at Level 1

*Blog more consistently :)

*Try to relax (at least a little)

So there they are! Future posts will document my progress. I've already been working hard on a few of them!