In honor of Valentine's day this week I would like to reflect on how much I love my job.
I have been participating in the online challenge #14daysoflovinglearning.
Each day I have been writing down reasons why I love different things about my job. For instance some of the topics were why do you love your students, how do you show your staff that you care, what does your principal do to show he is supportive, Etc. I have enjoyed this because it makes you think and it makes you realize all of the positives in your profession.
Believe it or not it is actually quite hard to come up with all of the positive answers. It's so much easier to complain than it is to praise. Why is that so true?
I was eating at a restaurant Friday night, and we had such a pleasant waitress. The manager visited our table and asked how everything was going. I made it a point to tell her that our waitress was exceptional and we were happy to have her waiting on us. The manager said, ^ Thank you so much, because most people find it very easy to complain, but most people rarely praise our staff. Thank you so much." I was so happy that I took the time to praise the waitress.
I don't think we take time to praise ourselves or the people around us at work very often. Isn't that a shame?
I found that participating in the online chat was a very reflective exercise . It made me think, and it made me realize how grateful I am. I am a glass-half-full type of person that sometimes we need to reflect positively. Take time to look around and see what's good. Start with the little things. Help a colleague, smile, ask questions, learn from someone else, borrow a good idea, try something new. At the end of the day try to reflect. Write something good down on a Post-It note and leave it on your laptop so when you get to your class the next morning you see a positive.
There is never one day that goes by that I don't realize how absolutely fortunate and blessed I am to be a technology coach in my building for the DLP program this year. Although I know it is ending, I am counting every single day as a blessing, and I am building upon the positives as much as I possibly can. #behappy #mindfulness
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Monday, February 5, 2018
February 6, 2018
I took this picture on my way in to the Winter Institute on Wednesday, January 31. This was right at the exit....yes, I pulled over to take the picture. I am a rules follower!
I thought it was so beautiful. I was so energized and ready to take on the activities waiting for us at Institute.
The drive was far for me....2 hours....but during that time, I reflected on how lucky I am to be a part of this amazing journey!
Once I got in the building, I felt the tide turn.
I could tell something was wrong.
So much disappointment about not being able to move forward with the research project.
I cannot lie.
I, too, am disappointed. But......we move forward......
On a happy note, I left winter institute, got in my car, and drove to South Carolina where I met up with my dear friends, Kelli Coons and Christin Edge. What fabulous women, and such an amazing EdCamp!!!!
Here are some pictures!
I spoke about Jennie's book to a group who never heard of it.....I was proud to represent!!
I also learned about Heather's book from Christin, I purchased one on Amazon, and I'm giving it as a prize at my school!
Keeping it all in the family!
Yes, Dee, I also printed copies of your #smashboardEDU and shared with my colleagues!!!
The very best part of Winter Institute???????
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
positives
Today, I list the positives:
The weather is improving in PA. Most of the 8 inches of snow that fell last week have melted.
The cycle 3 teachers are excited to get started.
An old professor of mine recommended me to a student as a "person of interest" in technology.
One of my innovation advocates passed her level 1 Google Certification.
I spoke in front of our school board last week about the DLP program and all of its current successes.
A representative from Future Goals/Everfi asked me to speak at a round table presentation tomorrow.
I participated in a round table discussion with Amanda De Balso about the homework gap.
Three of our buses in our school district will receive WIFI and devices for students through a grant.
The new Chromebook carts rolled out to classrooms last week.
I visited Google Pittsburgh last week for the very first time.
I spent time with the other DLP coaches at the Applied Digital Skills training at Google.
All of my paper work for DLP is now caught up and completed.
I found 30 IPADS in a closet in the office and claimed them for the DLP. Shhh, don't tell!
I visited Jen Tusik and Rachel McVeigh at their lovely schools.
Angelique invited me to visit her school.
Winter Institute is next week!!!!!!
I am working with Jornea on Flipgrid training.
One of the innovation advocates and I participated in a Kahoot training session together.
I am now Google Level 2 certified.
I began the training for the trainer portion of the Google for Education certifications.
My most reluctant teacher is now in cycle 3 and loving it!
I love my DLP 412 family!!
And, finally, I have the best mentor around!!! :)
The weather is improving in PA. Most of the 8 inches of snow that fell last week have melted.
The cycle 3 teachers are excited to get started.
An old professor of mine recommended me to a student as a "person of interest" in technology.
One of my innovation advocates passed her level 1 Google Certification.
I spoke in front of our school board last week about the DLP program and all of its current successes.
A representative from Future Goals/Everfi asked me to speak at a round table presentation tomorrow.
I participated in a round table discussion with Amanda De Balso about the homework gap.
Three of our buses in our school district will receive WIFI and devices for students through a grant.
The new Chromebook carts rolled out to classrooms last week.
I visited Google Pittsburgh last week for the very first time.
I spent time with the other DLP coaches at the Applied Digital Skills training at Google.
All of my paper work for DLP is now caught up and completed.
I found 30 IPADS in a closet in the office and claimed them for the DLP. Shhh, don't tell!
I visited Jen Tusik and Rachel McVeigh at their lovely schools.
Angelique invited me to visit her school.
Winter Institute is next week!!!!!!
I am working with Jornea on Flipgrid training.
One of the innovation advocates and I participated in a Kahoot training session together.
I am now Google Level 2 certified.
I began the training for the trainer portion of the Google for Education certifications.
My most reluctant teacher is now in cycle 3 and loving it!
I love my DLP 412 family!!
And, finally, I have the best mentor around!!! :)
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Getting ready for cycle 3
Holiday break was much needed! I feel so relaxed and rejuvenated, and I feel as though our staff is as well.
The DLP buzz is alive and well! I'm at 99% of my staff completely on board! One of the toughest challenges jumped on the DLP train right before break. She made it very clear that she did not want any part of the program, but at the last minute, she sent me a text asking me to help her with Kahoot. I jumped on the opportunity and brought a set of IPads to her class. We only have 18, and she needed 26, but we paired up the students and got started. The students absolutely loved the interaction and the level of engagement was off the charts. She was amazed at how happy the kids were and how eager they were to keep going with harder lessons. I showed her how she could save results in Drive and use it as a quick assessment. She liked that. She is not fully interested in using too many new things, but she did agree to use Kahoot again in January, and she recently showed interest in Pear Deck flashcard factory. WINNING!
I've become quite the party planner/event coordinator! I am now expert at asking companies for swag for prizes! I recently got pear deck to give me two 1 year upgrades and some stickers swag for teachers, and Flipgrid is also upgrading 2 teachers and sent me stickers, lanyards, mugs, and a t-shirt! I purchased a mug and t-shirt from Kahoot ( I didn't mind) to give away as a January incentive. The holiday incentive was so incredibly successful, I want to keep that momentum going.
A few concerns have popped into my view of this program:
My district is starting to budget for next year. I wasn't sure if I should budget for the classroom next year or not. It is an extremely awkward feeling Not sure how to handle this.
I started to realize this was a job that was for one year. We all knew that going into the program. I do, however, see how extremely successful this is, and I really think it needs to keep going. Not with my district, however, One thing that is perfectly clear is that once the program is given over to district control, the ease, the impact, and the growth of the teachers in the classroom will cease. Immediately. The role of coach is looked upon much more favorably because of it's association with Google. The teachers do not feel threatened. The teachers trust me. They look to me for advice without fear of judgement. I am their helper, their facilitator, their guide.....I am not the administrator coming in to tell them what they are doing wrong. I fear for the program's longevity if Google/Digital promise/Ed tech are taken out of the picture.
A few comments from administration make me realize that this coaching job has to be maintained by an outside resource.....it will die once the administration gains control.
The DLP buzz is alive and well! I'm at 99% of my staff completely on board! One of the toughest challenges jumped on the DLP train right before break. She made it very clear that she did not want any part of the program, but at the last minute, she sent me a text asking me to help her with Kahoot. I jumped on the opportunity and brought a set of IPads to her class. We only have 18, and she needed 26, but we paired up the students and got started. The students absolutely loved the interaction and the level of engagement was off the charts. She was amazed at how happy the kids were and how eager they were to keep going with harder lessons. I showed her how she could save results in Drive and use it as a quick assessment. She liked that. She is not fully interested in using too many new things, but she did agree to use Kahoot again in January, and she recently showed interest in Pear Deck flashcard factory. WINNING!
I've become quite the party planner/event coordinator! I am now expert at asking companies for swag for prizes! I recently got pear deck to give me two 1 year upgrades and some stickers swag for teachers, and Flipgrid is also upgrading 2 teachers and sent me stickers, lanyards, mugs, and a t-shirt! I purchased a mug and t-shirt from Kahoot ( I didn't mind) to give away as a January incentive. The holiday incentive was so incredibly successful, I want to keep that momentum going.
A few concerns have popped into my view of this program:
My district is starting to budget for next year. I wasn't sure if I should budget for the classroom next year or not. It is an extremely awkward feeling Not sure how to handle this.
I started to realize this was a job that was for one year. We all knew that going into the program. I do, however, see how extremely successful this is, and I really think it needs to keep going. Not with my district, however, One thing that is perfectly clear is that once the program is given over to district control, the ease, the impact, and the growth of the teachers in the classroom will cease. Immediately. The role of coach is looked upon much more favorably because of it's association with Google. The teachers do not feel threatened. The teachers trust me. They look to me for advice without fear of judgement. I am their helper, their facilitator, their guide.....I am not the administrator coming in to tell them what they are doing wrong. I fear for the program's longevity if Google/Digital promise/Ed tech are taken out of the picture.
A few comments from administration make me realize that this coaching job has to be maintained by an outside resource.....it will die once the administration gains control.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Week of Christmas break
December 18, 2017
I'm giving away some swag this week.
I was fortunate enough to win a few prizes at a local conference:
2 Nearpod Gold 6 month subscriptions
1 Brain Pop classroom subscription for a year!
1 IPEVO document camera (I know!)
I asked Nearpod to send me stickers for a PD I'm doing after school today, but they sent me three more Nearpod Gold 6 month subscriptions instead. Not so bad!
I was given a $50 gift card for helping out at a local tech event. I purchased a few more items for the give away:
1 USB port extender
1 Presenter/clicker
1 Boogie Board LCD board
1 Wireless mouse
! Pocket phone charger
1 3 Pack SanDisk flash drives (8G)
All in all I'm pretty excited about the give away! I set up a ticketing system. Every teacher got 3 tickets to start. I awarded extra tickets each day to teachers implementing tech in their lessons (in a meaningful way.) It's funny how competitive adults can get!
I have a little swag sticker basket ready for the PD as well. I ordered YouTube, Google, and Emoji stickers from the Google Mountain View store. I've ordered so much from that store, my husband is going to cut me off soon! LOL I'd love some Digital Promise stickers to give as swag a well. I'll have to work on that!
I'm giving away some swag this week.
I was fortunate enough to win a few prizes at a local conference:
2 Nearpod Gold 6 month subscriptions
1 Brain Pop classroom subscription for a year!
1 IPEVO document camera (I know!)
I asked Nearpod to send me stickers for a PD I'm doing after school today, but they sent me three more Nearpod Gold 6 month subscriptions instead. Not so bad!
I was given a $50 gift card for helping out at a local tech event. I purchased a few more items for the give away:
1 USB port extender
1 Presenter/clicker
1 Boogie Board LCD board
1 Wireless mouse
! Pocket phone charger
1 3 Pack SanDisk flash drives (8G)
All in all I'm pretty excited about the give away! I set up a ticketing system. Every teacher got 3 tickets to start. I awarded extra tickets each day to teachers implementing tech in their lessons (in a meaningful way.) It's funny how competitive adults can get!
I have a little swag sticker basket ready for the PD as well. I ordered YouTube, Google, and Emoji stickers from the Google Mountain View store. I've ordered so much from that store, my husband is going to cut me off soon! LOL I'd love some Digital Promise stickers to give as swag a well. I'll have to work on that!
Friday, December 8, 2017
Half way through cycle 2
This was an interesting week in DLP.
Two of my biggest barriers were broken down, magically, I might add.
Teacher 1:
Science 7 and 8
Veteran teacher
Not interested in using technology unless he gets his very own Chromebook cart that would not be shared with anyone else, and he would only use You Tube, Classroom, and Docs, if necessary.
Something strange happened with him this week. The strange is called Coding.
I created a document with links to help teachers use coding in their classrooms this week, and I posted it to my DLP Coaching Google Classroom.
Teacher 1 visited this document, and decided to try Python Room. Yes, coding with Python.
The students loved it.
He loved it.
I asked him if I could post pictures to Twitter of his class working on Python.
He told me he might be interested in signing up for Twitter.
I walked him through the process.
Shazzaamm!
He has a Twitter account.
In one day he used coding with his students and he signed up for a Twitter account. WINNING!
Teacher 2:
Science 8/HS Science 9-12
15 year teacher
Transferred to the middle school at the beginning of this year.
Never taught middle school students.
Doesn't understand the big deal about my job.
Wrote negative comments on the teacher's Needs Survey.
I started giving badges to teachers who use technology in our middle school.
I've dropped into his classroom a few times to check in and offer help if needed.
I asked him what subject area he is covering. He said solar power and power in general.
Nearpod has a few interesting presentations for power.
Pear deck also has a great Flashcard Factory activity for studying vocabulary.
I sent him a link and asked for his opinion. That was a week ago.
Yesterday, I received an email from him asking if I'd like to see his students use Flashcard Factory and invited me into his classroom.
I immediately responded that I'd be more than happy to visit.
I watched 28 students happily communicating about vocabulary, playing the game, learning about the definitions, but most of all, I watched a teacher with a grudge about working in the middle school, smiling, laughing, interacting with, and encouraging his students to "do more."
Again, I asked him if he was on Twitter or if he would mind me sending a tweet about his students using Pear Deck. He said he was fine with me tweeting, and he said he did have an account but he hadn't used it since April.
I tweeted about the activity, posted a few pictures, and gave him a shout-out about being innovative in the classroom. He liked it, and he re-tweeted. WINNING!!!!
All in all, a very good week.
#DLPCoaching makes a difference.
#brightspots412
#Ilovemyjob
#goodthingshappeningatmcguffey
Two of my biggest barriers were broken down, magically, I might add.
Teacher 1:
Science 7 and 8
Veteran teacher
Not interested in using technology unless he gets his very own Chromebook cart that would not be shared with anyone else, and he would only use You Tube, Classroom, and Docs, if necessary.
Something strange happened with him this week. The strange is called Coding.
I created a document with links to help teachers use coding in their classrooms this week, and I posted it to my DLP Coaching Google Classroom.
Teacher 1 visited this document, and decided to try Python Room. Yes, coding with Python.
The students loved it.
He loved it.
I asked him if I could post pictures to Twitter of his class working on Python.
He told me he might be interested in signing up for Twitter.
I walked him through the process.
Shazzaamm!
He has a Twitter account.
In one day he used coding with his students and he signed up for a Twitter account. WINNING!
Teacher 2:
Science 8/HS Science 9-12
15 year teacher
Transferred to the middle school at the beginning of this year.
Never taught middle school students.
Doesn't understand the big deal about my job.
Wrote negative comments on the teacher's Needs Survey.
I started giving badges to teachers who use technology in our middle school.
I've dropped into his classroom a few times to check in and offer help if needed.
I asked him what subject area he is covering. He said solar power and power in general.
Nearpod has a few interesting presentations for power.
Pear deck also has a great Flashcard Factory activity for studying vocabulary.
I sent him a link and asked for his opinion. That was a week ago.
Yesterday, I received an email from him asking if I'd like to see his students use Flashcard Factory and invited me into his classroom.
I immediately responded that I'd be more than happy to visit.
I watched 28 students happily communicating about vocabulary, playing the game, learning about the definitions, but most of all, I watched a teacher with a grudge about working in the middle school, smiling, laughing, interacting with, and encouraging his students to "do more."
Again, I asked him if he was on Twitter or if he would mind me sending a tweet about his students using Pear Deck. He said he was fine with me tweeting, and he said he did have an account but he hadn't used it since April.
I tweeted about the activity, posted a few pictures, and gave him a shout-out about being innovative in the classroom. He liked it, and he re-tweeted. WINNING!!!!
All in all, a very good week.
#DLPCoaching makes a difference.
#brightspots412
#Ilovemyjob
#goodthingshappeningatmcguffey
Friday, December 1, 2017
Third week cycle 2
So many things to celebrate!!!
Working with a new teacher for cycle 2. History 7 is studying the Renaissance, and the teacher asked me to assist him with some interesting museum VR and possibly creating skits for Flipgrid.
He is fairly new to teaching and traditionally assigns paper/pencil activities to his students, but he is willing to try new things. I'm anxious to get started with his classes!
The big deal is the arrival of the Chromebooks so generously donated to us from Digital Promise! We are over the moon and can't wait to surprise the staff with the roll out of all the new devices!
Bright spots.....
So many to choose from!
Blogging with 8th grade ELA
Apple TV up and running with daily announcements in the cafeteria
Apple TV
Chromebook Stations/Interactive presentations in ELA7
Screencastify lesson plans on classroom
Nearpod, Flipgrid, and Peardeck, OH, MY!
I scrounged up 19 IPads and brought them to one of the math teachers. I said, "Hey, do you think you'd like to give these a try with your students?' She said, "Why not!" I cannot get them away from her! "Very Appy Teacher!"
Trying to work on using Technology to combat behavior issues....biggest bright spot yet? Tech Lounge as the monthly PBIS Incentive!!!
Working with a new teacher for cycle 2. History 7 is studying the Renaissance, and the teacher asked me to assist him with some interesting museum VR and possibly creating skits for Flipgrid.
He is fairly new to teaching and traditionally assigns paper/pencil activities to his students, but he is willing to try new things. I'm anxious to get started with his classes!
The big deal is the arrival of the Chromebooks so generously donated to us from Digital Promise! We are over the moon and can't wait to surprise the staff with the roll out of all the new devices!
Bright spots.....
So many to choose from!
Blogging with 8th grade ELA
Apple TV up and running with daily announcements in the cafeteria
Apple TV
Chromebook Stations/Interactive presentations in ELA7
Screencastify lesson plans on classroom
Nearpod, Flipgrid, and Peardeck, OH, MY!
I scrounged up 19 IPads and brought them to one of the math teachers. I said, "Hey, do you think you'd like to give these a try with your students?' She said, "Why not!" I cannot get them away from her! "Very Appy Teacher!"
Trying to work on using Technology to combat behavior issues....biggest bright spot yet? Tech Lounge as the monthly PBIS Incentive!!!
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