NaBloPoMo = The End

Photo (cc) michellerle

Today is the last day of November...which means it's also the last day of NaBloPoMo - National Blog Posting Month! I really can't believe that I made it, well not exactly...but almost! I feel like I need to have a little party for myself!

As mentioned before, I have learned so much from this experience...

One thing I know for sure is that as we move into December, I hope to take the lessons learned and continue with regular postings...

The Choices We Make

This amazing TEDx Talk by Amy Purdy is inspirational, powerful, and heart warming. The raw emotion she showed was so genuine and pure. She explains that the choices we make determine how are lives will be, not by what happens to us. She says you have two options when faced with hardships...

Let it beat you down OR get creative and discover a way to use it to your advantage.

Imagination allows us to break down borders, to move beyond our circumstances, to create and constantly progress.

The next time I am feeling defeated about things that are happening in my life, I will watch Amy's talk and remember to NOT let it beat me down, but rather get creative and choose to take whatever it may be as a learning experience.

iPad App Goes Viral

Book Creator has gone viral in the Lower School! Currently students in grades K-2 are all writing stories using Book Creator. I am so excited with how my teachers and students have taken to this fabulous app!

Prior to using the app, I taught a 30-45 minute guided discovery with each class.  Below is an example of a kindergarten student who created a book in about 2, 30 minute sessions...one being the guided discovery that I did with his class and the other during an indoor recess time! Imagine that...students choosing to write/create during recess!

What I thought was even cooler...was how he incorporated 2 additional apps to create and edit his pictures. First, he added pictures from his camera roll. Next, he created the rainy/rainbow pictures using the CHALK_BOARD app. Then, he took screen shots of his drawings. Finally, he used the PS Express app to rotate the rainy/rainbow pictures...saved them and then inserted into his final page...pretty amazing for a kindergartener!

The icing on the cake...seeing his reaction when he shared his book to me via email and then iBooks...now, that was priceless! 

...have I mentioned lately just how much I LOVE what I do!

(I am sure that all the elementary teachers out there can translate his writing. For everyone else...see the captions)

Cover

Leaves come from Maple trees and Oak trees
Turkeys are not fast runners, but the skinny ones are.

Lego people are delicate.
Plants need water to grow and the sun.

Rainbows come after rainy days.

The Home Stretch

Photo (cc) Anne

It's hard to believe that 27 days ago Andrew from TieandJeans suggested doing a 30 day blogging challenge....I anxiously agreed, not knowing if I could do it. 3 weeks and 6 days later...I have made the turn and am heading into the home stretch!  I did it... AND there actually may be hope for me as a blogger! Here is a reflection of my blogging journey and a few things that I have learned along the way...

• Blogging is enjoyable, when you have things to write about.

• It's a challenge on Friday nights when you want to come home from work and crash on the couch.

• Having a few posts in draft form would help with my Friday night frustrations.

• Making a list of blogging topics is an essential tool for me...I often think of things to blog about on my drive home...if I don't write them down, I forget about them (well...maybe not write them down WHILE I am driving).

• Some of my posts that were posted out of desperation for making a post that day were TED Talks, pictures, or quotes...funny thing...some of those posts generated a lot of traffic.

• Learning to move beyond my embarrassment and fear of writing. As Seth Godin says...

Just write poorly. Continue to write poorly, in public, until you can write better.

• Reading blogs, LOTS of blogs has helped me in my blogging journey.

• I don't blog for others, but for my learning...although, it is cool to look at the stats and to receive a comment or two.

• I often say that I don't articulate my thoughts well...I have learned to just write how I talk and eventually I will find my voice.

• By blogging, I am modeling to my teachers who may be interested in blogging.

• I am setting a good example to my students on how to have a positive digital footprint.

• I have more posts in one month than I have had in two years...this is exciting, people!

• I was not 100% on my 30 days = 30 posts...I missed 3 days...I still think this is a major accomplishment!

• Starting this 30 day challenge has me thinking of other 30 day challenges I can start.

• I was able to accomplish this goal because I believed in myself.

As I come to the end of my 30 day challenge...I may not write a post a day, but I KNOW I WILL continue down this blogging path...A special thank you to Andrew for pushing me out of my comfort zone!

Dare to believe - because believing makes it so.  

- Beth Mende Conny

Holiday Movie Series

I LOVE this time of year...decorating, baking, celebrating, traditions, and giving. One of my favorite holiday traditions is watching seasonal movies. Today I started the holiday movie series with Love Actually (2003). It is a British romantic comedy about different aspects of love told through ten separate stories. A must see for the holiday season!

Here are a few more that I will be watching over the next month...

Planes Trains and Automobiles  (1987)

A Christmas Story (1983)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Die Hard (1988)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Thankful Thursday

I think Seth Godin says it best...

A great way to give thanks... 

for the privileges we've got is to do important work.
Your job, your internet access, your education, your role in a civilized society... all of them are a platform, a chance to do art, a way for you to give back and to honor those that enabled you to get to this point.
For every person reading this there are a thousand people (literally a thousand) in underprivileged nations and situations that would love to have your slot. Don't waste it.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Learning Numbers Through the Lens of an iPad

Another great day of learning in the JK house! To show their understanding of number sense, students placed various objects on construction paper to represent numbers 1 thru 10. They used the camera app on the iPad to take pictures of each number represented. I wish I could have bottled the excitement in the room! These little four year olds were so engaged in what they were doing...doesn't get any better than this! 

One Day of Peace

Imagine what life would be like with more peace in the world...even if for one day. Jeremy Gilley turns his dream into reality. Worth the 17:41 of your time...

Tweaking a Lesson

One thing I love about teaching is that when a lesson doesn't go in the direction that you had envisioned, you can tweak it and try again with another class...

Our language arts coach, first grade teacher and I planned a fiction writing lesson using the Book Creator app. First, students would gather their ideas using a graphic organizer. Then, using just the graphic organizer and their iPad they would begin writing their story. We weren't sure how this was going to turn out, but we thought we'd go for it anyway...

On Monday, Joey (LA Coach) introduced the lesson to the class. She read the story she had created and published in Book Creator and modeled how students were going to use the graphc organizer to gather their thoughts for their fiction story. The next day, I came in and did a guided discovery of the app. Students discovered the many features the app had to offer.  They practiced adding text and making layouts. By Wednesday, students were ready to begin and were eagerly waiting to start writing! How great is that?! As they began to work we noticed that most of the class knew exactly what they wanted to write. They gathered their thoughts and started typing away...a few others had a bit of a challenge taking their thoughts and putting it into a story while trying to type. To help them with the process, we decided to have them tell us their story. This seemed to help them a lot. This got thinking...

What other apps did they have on their machines that would assist them with the writing process? Then I remembered...they had Quick Voice! Quick Voice is a voice recorder app that is super easy to use...Students could use Quick Voice to record/listen to their story and then use Book Creator to draft, edit, design, and then publish to iBooks. This would be perfect! I will let you know how it goes when we try it out with the next class...

Less = More

Here's to a little life editing...

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for a job that I love and am passionate about...

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. - Steve Jobs

It Never Hurts to Ask

While visiting Cedars School last year, one of the many lessons that I learned from their teachers, was that it never hurts to contact App developers. I remember Alison telling me how they had contacted the developer of the Toontatsic App to ask them to make some modifications. To my surprise the developer worked with Cedars and made the adjustments...

Fast forward about six months and we finally had an opportunity to contact a developer. We had purchased the Magnabet App and noticed that it had a variety of punctuation marks for students to use, but it did not have a "period." I told the teacher that I was working with that I would contact the developer to see if they can add the period....it never hurts to ask, right? Well...later that night, I emailed the developer and less than 15 minutes later I received the following response...SCORE!

I was so excited that I emailed my teachers to let them know what took place and to encourage them to do the same.

On Monday, I received the following email from our Language Arts coach about contacting the developers of the Book Creator App...

Of course, I was SUPER excited for her! Here is the response she got from the developer...

And another response she received from Dan...

Lesson learned...it never hurts to ask! 

It's Not About the Flashy Tools

 Seth Godin's writes about adversity and the route to success. He says the following...

Resource-rich regions often fall behind in developing significant industrial and cultural capabilities. Japan does well despite having very few resources at all.Well-rounded and popular people rarely change the world. The one voted most likely to succeed probably won't.Genuine success is scarce, and the scarcity comes from the barriers that keep everyone from having it. If it weren't for the scarcity, it wouldn't be valuable, after all.It's difficult to change an industry, set a world record, land big clients, or do art that influences others. When faced with this difficulty, those with other, seemingly better options see the barrier and walk away.Why bother? The thinking is that we can just pump some more oil or smile and gladhand our way to an acceptably happy outcome.On the other hand, people who believe they have fewer options take a look at the barrier and realize that even though it will be difficult to cross, it's the single best option they've got.This is one of the dangers of overfunded/undertested startup companies. Without an astute CEO in charge, they begin to worry more about not losing what they've already got than the real reason they started the project in the first place.

When I read this it makes me think of schools...

Are the schools with the most resources the ones with the most resourceful/creative teachers who are thinking outside the box...pushing their students to collaborate, communicate, create, and think critically?

I don't know the answer, but I can make a good assumption based upon my experiences working in various schools and counties the past 15 years...

As far as I am concerned...it's not about the flashy tools...it's about the learning.

"It's a Book, I Have to Print It"

I was reading a post by Dr. Schuester over at The View from My Windowless Office about students having to create poster board projects when they are living in a 1:1 laptop environment. She poses the question "How do we release teachers from feeling that they have to decorate their walls with student work to prove the students are learning?" She suggests that teachers use the technology that the students have so that they can share their projects electronically with peers, parents, and the community. It seems so obvious, right? Well...

Her post brought me back to a conversation I was having with a few teachers about the Book Creator App. It went something like this...I was explaining how simple the App was to use....how they could have students create picture, ABC, number, fiction, non-fiction, and how-to books with a few easy finger taps and swipes.  I proceeded with excitement to explain that the best part was when they shared their finished book, they had the option to open it in iBooks! Just imagine all your students publishing their books and seeing them on the iBook, book shelf...AND they could even email their books to their classmates! I thought wouldn't this be a way to give our students an authentic writing experience...A way for them to create, collaborate, and communicate with others? We started making progress and...THEN...the question was asked..."Can students print the books when they are done?" Why do they NEED to print, I asked? Because IT'S A BOOK and kids like having their books. All I heard was Charlie Brown's teacher saying....Wanh, wanh! I know, I know change is hard...

I guess this is why I need to head back to the "shallow end" for awhile...

36 Hours in Atlanta

Today has been a whirlwind of a day. Flew to Atalnta this morning with 7 other colleagues to visit an Apple site school in the morning. We talked shop over lunch at Atlanta Fish Market and then had about a 2 hour meeting/brainstorming session at our hotel. It was a great meeting where we hashed out what developing a professional brand looks like, discussed ways to use social media in school to develop our professional brand and as a marketing tool. In addition, we also touched upon a few curricular topics in lower and middle school. It was a high energy meeting where a lot was accomplished. I appreciated having the time to brainstorm and set some of the ideas in motion. Our meeting conversation continued into dinner at Local Three. All, in all today was a perfect blend of collaboration, socialization, and indulging in local cuisine!

A New Approach

I have been thinking a lot about my work with teachers these days. Some days feeling really great about what I do... and others are a bit more challenging. Yesterday was a perfect example of feeling great about what I do...I had about 10-12 teachers attend my weekly "Appy Hour." Teachers come to collaborate and share how they have been using their iPads in the classroom. They share new Apps, projects they may be doing with their students, and tips/tricks they have discovered. I LOVE this time. Teachers come because they want to, not because they are forced into it for PD. I may entice them with cookies, muffins, or pumpkin roll...but for the most part I think they are there to learn and collaborate with their colleagues. I received one of the nicest compliments shortly after Appy Hour was over...

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for holding these Appy Hours… Every time I go, I walk away with new apps and new ideas from you and others who join the group… Not to mention the yummy food/ snacks you share.

This made me smile and gave me reassurance that I am doing my job. Fortunately or unfortunately I do not live in Utopia. While the majority of my days are great, there are those days/weeks that are just one challenge after another. When I have these days, I often question what I could be doing differently to support my teachers...do I offer more trainings, hold more 1:1 sessions, create training documents/resources, etc, etc...

Well, today as I was going through my Google Reader I came across Jen's blog post. She articulated everything that I have been thinking for the past couple of weeks. I love her analogy of "heading back to the shallow end of the pool." She explains that there are 4 types of teachers in education today....

a.  The ones that are comfy in the deep end of the pool.   (This is pretty much anyone within my twitter network, the people who write the blogs I follow, conference speakers, the DEN network, etc) 

b.  The ones who are comfy in the shallow end of the pool.  (This includes most (but not all) of the people who participate in my projects, many of the teachers on my campus, and a majority of people I speak with through this blog and at conferences.) 

c.  The ones who are sitting in the lounge chairs near the pool.  (This includes the lurkers we all know who are seeing what is happening in education, but are still quite comfortable where they are sitting.) 

d.  And the one’s who refuse to exist that the pool even exists.   (no more needs to be said here.) 

And I have realized, and I have decided, that I am heading back to the shallow end of the pool.   I think it is much more important for me to be in the shallow end of the pool.   I know I have stopped being effective when all I do is holler “come on out, the water is fine” when indeed what I need to do is head back to the shallow end and work with the MANY there to help them get to the deep end.
So from now on, I am going to exist more with the group #2 and #3.

When I read this post it was like an "Ah Ha" moment for me! Instead of getting down on myself, I am going to try a new approach and work with the teachers who are "sitting in the lounge chairs by the pool" and those "that are comfy in the shallow end of the pool." Hopefully, my willingness to go back to the shallow end will be more effective in getting more teachers to venture off into the deep end.

Happy Veterans Day

Thanks to those who are serving and have served...

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.- John F. Kennedy

Make Today a Masterpiece

This morning, I was talking with my Division Director about how fast the school year seemed to be going. We were having a hard time believing that Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. In a teachers world..we have two weeks until Thanksgiving, five weeks until winter break, and then it's all down hill from there...pathetic as it may seem - many of us start thinking about the next school year when we return from winter break.

You see, I work in a very frenetic paced school. Don't get me wrong...I THRIVE on this pace. I feel more organized and energized when the day is full. However, I often get caught up with everything that needs to be done and what's ahead, that I forget to slow down and appreciate each day for what it is..a gift, a blessing, a masterpiece.

So...on this "Thankful Thursday" I vow to slow down a bit and smell the roses...appreciate the vibrant colors on the trees and see the breathtaking sunsets on my way home. I am thankful for each day that I have been given. I will let go of the past, I am not going to be anxious about tomorrow...Instead, I will trust in today, and enjoy today, living life to the fullest.

Too often we get distracted by what's outside our control. The door to the past has been shut and the key thrown away. And you can't do anything about tomorrow; it is yet to come. However, tomorrow is determined by what you do today. So make today a masterpiece." 

- John Wooden

Life is Short...Live Your Dream

The folks at Holstee have just released a video to go along with their manifesto. If you haven't read....you MUST! 


It's a no brainer people...life is short. Find your PASSION...not tomorrow, not in a week...FIND it NOW and START LIVING YOUR DREAM!

Ah Ha Moments

                                  

I love "Ah Ha" moments! I love them more when they come from teachers! Today was a double header with the Ah Ha moments!


"Ah Ha" moment #1... chatting with a teacher about iPads. One of her comments to me was "What's so great about the iPad, is that I don't have to know how to do everything with them; and that's OK, because my students are teaching me! I am learning from them and I love it...they are so engaged and excited about learning!"


"Ah Ha" moment #2... working with a teacher after school on ways to share her human body exit interviews with students families. I could see the light bulb go off and the next thing I know we were talking about her creating a YouTube account for her class to share their video projects with family and friends.


As mentioned before, we just rolled out 400 iPads in grades JK thru 4. So...there has been a lot of change in the Lower School division at my school. 


As with anything new...change is hard. I am so thankful for the "Ah Ha" moments that these two teachers had today and look forward to more moments like these...

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.  - Alan Watts

Happiness

If you want happiness for an hour - take a nap. If you want happiness for a day - go fishing. If you want happiness for a month - get married. If you want happiness for a year - inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime - help others.
- Chinese Proverb

Teaching English to students in Na Som, Laos

Teaching English to Monks in Luang Prabang, Laos

Planting rice in Ban Chiang Yuen, Thailand

Delivering meals to elderly people in Ban Chiang Yuen, Thailand

Donating 2,400,000  kip to an island village in Laos

Fall into Reading

One of the many reasons that I love fall is that my love for reading seems to be reignited. The past two weekends I have read Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS and I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali. Both interesting and inspiring books, well worth the time to read...

In Start Something That Matters, Blake Mycoskie tells the story of TOMS, the One for One shoe company that he started. He combines lessons learned from pervious business ventures, as well as, other innovative organizations. Blake offers six steps to transform your own life or business... 

1. Finding your story
2. Facing your fears
3. Being resourceful without resources
4. Keeping it simple
5. Building trust
6. Incorporating giving

Start Something That Matters offers ideas, stories, and tips on how you can make positive changes in your life while pursuing what you love and are passionate about.

This is an amazing book about making a difference in the world. It left me feeling inspired about pursuing my passions for helping others.

I AM Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced is an autobiography about Nujood Ali, a young girl who lives in Yemen. She does not know her exact age because her birth was never registered anywhere. She was a typical girl - liked to dream, play outside and fought with her brothers and sisters. Her family fell on hard times and had to move to the city. At this time, a man who was three times her age approached her father and asked to marry Nujood. Her father agreed, feeling it would be better on the family since it would be one less mouth to feed. There was one condition that he had for his soon to be son-in-law...he insisted that Nujood never be "touched" until she reached puberty.

Unfortunately, this did not happen...Nujood was taken from school, married off to a complete stranger, and taken away from her family. Her husband raped her, her mother-in-law beat her and made her work all the time. Najood was miserable and cried all the time. All she wanted to do was play like all the other kids in the village her age. Reluctantly her husband took her to see her family. Sadly, Najood was not going to get any help from her family. She then worked up the courage to fight for her rights and went to the courthouse to request a divorce.

This is a powerful book about courage and human spirit. It left me feeling fortunate for the opportunities that I have had and the culture in which I was raised.

I Don't Have All the Answers AND That's OK

I have had this post from Tiny Buddha in my draft folder for sometime. I love reading Lori's posts daily, but this one in particular I could relate to in many ways. As a teacher, it's easy to get caught up with what's happening inside our four walls...my struggles, my students difficulties, my parent challenges, etc. However, in reality ALL teachers have difficulties and challenges. I think if we step outside these walls, we would realize that we are all in this together, and together we may be able to grow and improve our practice and face the challenges that we have in education today.

One of the greatest lessons in my teaching career came to me just 3 years ago when I stepped outside "my walls" and realized that I DO NOT have all the answers and THAT'S OK. I stopped being a "teacher" and started to be more of a facilitator of learning. Instead of feeling like I had to have all the answers, I would work with my students to find solutions to problems and answers to questions...I let them take control of their learning. Through this shift in thinking/teaching I felt that I had a better understanding of my students; a very humbling experience for me...I was learning from my students and they from me.

In a culture that values independence and success, oftentimes above all else, it’s easy to forget we’re not alone. We’re not. And we’re not all that different. We all have struggles and challenges, and we always will.That’s actually a beautiful thing. Through problems we learn, grow and improve the world around us. Problems give us opportunities to be both bold and humble; they allow us to be both student and teacher. Don’t worry about having all the answers. No one does. It’s the questions that tie us together.

“We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.” -Unknown 

Blogging Challenges

So...here I am four days into my challenge and I am already struggling with posting something. Maybe it is because I went to happy hour and am not in the mood to write at 9:30 on a Friday night OR maybe it is that I can't think of anything to share. As I am writing this I realize that in order for me to complete this 30 day challenge I will need to make a few changes...First, I need to start a list of blogging topics. Next, I need to allow my self time to reflect. Finally, I need to learn not to procrastinate. 

I guess the important thing is that I am not giving up! I am going to persevere and make it to the end of this challenge...

I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.  ~Author Unknown

Thankful Thursdays

November marks the time that we celebrate Thanksgiving in North America. For some it may be  about the turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie and for others it may be a time to reflect on the things that we are thankful for. 


As part of my 30 day challenge I am going to start a regular post on Thursdays called "Thankful Thursday." I am going to take this time every week to reflect on the things that I am thankful for. 


So heres to my first "Thankful Thursday"... Today, I am thankful for spending time with JK and K students! I LOVE this age! They are so full of life! They are inquisitive, love to play, and nothing really stresses them out. I guess Robert Fughum really had it right when he wrote... 

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum.  See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/  ]

The Art of Conscious Listening

I love this TED talk given by Julian Treasure. He mentions that 60% of our communication time is spent on listening, but only 25% of that is retained. I like the 5 listening exercises he offers to help take back our listening...

1. Silence - take 3 minutes a day to recalibrate our ears to hear quiet again. 
2. Mixer - take notice to how many channels of sound we hear.
3. Savoring - enjoy the mundane sounds.
4. Listening Positions - move your listening position.
5. RASA - receive, appreciate, summarize, and ask

In addition to sharing the listening exercises, he suggests that we should teach the skill of listening in schools. By doing this we can "transform the world in one generation to a conscious listening world - a world of connection, a world of understanding and a world of peace." Imagine that if we all learned the art of conscious listening, what type of world it would be...I am thinking it would be a better one. 

"I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by listening."

— Larry King

My First 30 Day Challenge

One of my colleagues over at Tie and Jeans mentioned to me that he was starting a 30 day blogging challenge. It's pretty simple...30 days = 30 posts. What may be simple for some, is not that simple for me. You see...I HATE WRITING! I am not sure where my disdain for writing comes from...all I know is that it is a painful process for me.

You may be wondering...why do you have a blog if you hate writing so much? Simply put, I know in order to grow personally and professionally it is important to reflect on the experiences I have.

So, in an effort to push myself and step outside my comfort zone...I am going to stand by my teammate and take the challenge with him. I know it will be an incredible learning experience and maybe, just maybe I may enjoy the writing process.