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

Growth vs. Fixed Mindset

This week we have been learning about growth versus fixed mindset. We started by reading The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt. You can find it on Amazon here.

It's a great story to get kids thinking about how to look at a problem or task differently. After reading and discussing the story, we really dove into the concept of a fixed and growth mindset and what that looks and sounds like. I used a great bulletin board set I found on TpT from Sarah Gardner. You can find it here. We went through each pair of mindsets and talked about the differences and why one is a growth mindset and the other is fixed. After, I put the bulletin board up in our hallway as a daily reminder to have a growth mindset. I think it turned out great :)

Later in the week, the students worked in groups to sort statements into growth and fixed mindset. It was a great way to check for understanding and to work on working together as a team!