tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23263931289028290642024-03-13T22:22:09.954-07:00You Don't Know Unless You TryToday's students are no longer the students our education system was designed to teach. We must change our thinking if we are to meet the needs of today's students. However, we will never know where or how to begin unless we try. This blog provides my views and personal experiences on trying and using new technology in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning. Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-92107878192187493202020-02-16T10:01:00.002-08:002020-02-16T10:01:47.269-08:00"I'm tired.""I'm tired." This simple, honest statement was made by a teacher in my elementary building at a recent committee meeting. The teacher's comment was echoed by others in the committee, and to be honest, was echoed by me as well.<br />
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February and March are long months, and not just for teachers, students, and principals in dreary central Pennsylvania at this time of year either. Last year I spoke with a principal and assistant principal in sunny California. Interestingly enough I discovered that their school year calendar is very similar to ours and that they acknowledged the same fatigue during this time of year. While I was a bit shocked to hear this, it made me feel comforted a bit, too. And I couldn't help but think of this conversation when one of my teacher's said, "I'm tired," and what I need to do after hearing that.<br />
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So with all of us feeling tired, I need to refocus my efforts and energy, and by that I mean focus on my teachers' needs and my students' needs for this time of year. I need to continue to be out of my office and be visible throughout the school in the hallways, cafeteria, classrooms, and on bus duty. I need to take my mobile desk, stock it with some goodies, and get out. I need to not ask anything new from my teachers, and let them do their jobs. When they ask for support, I need to be there for them. I need to find a few teachers to give a #GoodNewsCallOfTheDay to, and have a faculty meeting where the only thing on the agenda are just coffee and donuts. And who knows maybe play some 90's one hit wonders in the mornings, too.<br />
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Students need support from me, too. One of my favorite things to do is use the 2x10 technique. That is just talk to a student for two minutes a day for 10 days about whatever he or she wants to talk about. The more students I can be around, the better. Another great way to connect with students is to do some flash card fun in the cafeteria with them. Play a little, "Around the World" and throw in some special guest contestants like a cafeteria worker, a teacher, or even a SRP, and play a quick pick up game of one on one. It is after all March, and with that comes March Madness!<br />
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Again, it comes back to being out of the office and interacting with as many as I can in positive ways.<br />
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Anything that I can do, not anyone else, to help bring some excitement and energy into the building, along with offering additional support, without asking anything more from my teachers or students is what my focus needs to be for February and March. By refocusing my efforts on the needs of my staff and students specifically at this time of year, hopefully February and March will be a little bit easier for my teachers and students who are working so hard this time of year.<br />
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-4822479481134781692018-08-21T19:53:00.001-07:002018-08-21T19:56:05.123-07:00Why I Left the Classroom for Administration "So there looks like there might be an opportunity for you."<br />
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At the time when I heard this, I was literally in the middle of having my best teaching year. My sixth grade blended learning classroom was going better than I could ever have imagined. I was "teaching like a PIRATE," engaging and empowering my students, making learning relevant and meaningful to them, learning along side of my students every day, watching them get that love for learning back, and getting to know my students better than ever. And yet, a career opportunity came up that made me leave all of that.<br />
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<b>Why I Thought Left</b><br />
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When I was told, "So there looks like there might be an opportunity for you," I knew it was to step in as acting elementary principal for another principal in my district who needed to take a leave of absence. I did not know how long it would be, but I knew I had to take it. Opportunities like these do not come along often, and if I wanted to take the next step in my career, it began with this opportunity. While it was an easy decision to make, it was, at the same time, the most difficult career decision I ever had to make. I was leaving behind just an absolute incredible group of students, who were doing incredible things day after day. They wanted to come into my class every day. I wanted to come to school every day. There were no discipline issues. They pushed themselves to learn more than they did the day before. They pushed me to make the next day better for them than the day before. And yet, I left them for an opportunity. <br />
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<b>Why I Really Left</b><br />
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As it turned out, I was able to return to my classroom and my students that year after spending seven weeks as acting principal. The principal I was filling in for returned from his leave of absence. I was thrilled to be going back to my students and finishing out the year with them. It just felt like the right thing. However, I was sad to leave the school I was filling in at as principal and those amazing people there. My time as principal was eye-opening to say the least, but it did let me know that I wanted to pursue administration more. At the end of that school year, I found out that the principal I was in for needed to take another leave of absence beginning in June. I ended up spending most of last year as acting principal and it appears the same will be true this year.<br />
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During this summer, I saw a lot of my former students around town. The same students I left for seven weeks to be principal. So many great memories and feelings would rush back when I saw them, and it made me ask myself, "Why? Why did I leave my students and my classroom?" It wasn't that I regretted my decision to leave the classroom to pursue administration, it was that I needed to answer my why. I reflected often trying to answer my why, and what I discovered was that those students who gave me so much then, have continued to give me so much now. They have answered my why and why I decided to leave my students and my classroom.<br />
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I realize now that I left because I want to have more of an impact than just on my classroom and my students. I want to be able to help give a building full of other teachers and students the same excitement and passion for learning that my students and I had that year. I want teachers and students to feel engaged and empowered; to have learning relevant and meaningful to them; to have teachers feel energized and excited to learn along side of their students every day as I did; and to watch both students and teachers develop their love for learning even more. That is why I left.<br />
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My students that year taught me more than I taught them, and I am still learning from them today.Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-654817901777982512018-08-12T18:59:00.001-07:002018-08-12T18:59:10.684-07:00#bekindbeincredible#bekindbeincredible<br />
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When you get a group of talented, enthusiastic, and passionate educators together to talk about school-wide positive behavior support in the summer, great and exciting things are bound to happen. And that is exactly what occurred the other day, a few weeks before the start of the 2018-2019 school year.<br />
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I am fortunate enough to work along side these talented, enthusiastic, and passionate educators as principal, and when we sat down to discuss our goals for the year and how we would accomplish those goals, #bekindbeincredible was born.<br />
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<b>Family Feud to Double Dare</b><br />
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As our school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) team began to plan our theme and what our kickoff assembly would be, we focused on the five pillars we have always focused on (being safe, here, accountable, responsible, and prepared), plus being kind. We discussed some ideas but wanted to ensure that we kept our ideas relevant for our learners. So we first came up with The Incredibles against another "family" in a Family Feud kickoff assembly. However as we thought about keeping our ideas relevant for our learners, we discussed the idea of Double Dare, since it made it a comeback this summer; long overdue I might add. This immediately clicked and we were quickly able to brainstorm the kickoff assembly. Now we had, The Incredibles, Double Dare, slime, and me, the principal, getting slimmed at the end. But we also had something far bigger.<br />
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<b>Be Kind </b><br />
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This was a focus for us last year throughout our building, but we still wanted to emphasize and build upon it this year. We want everyone in the building to be kind to one another in and out of school. As we build upon the idea of being kind this year, we can do that by reaching out beyond our classrooms via Google Hangouts and Flipgrid. By reaching out to other schools and classrooms, being kind becomes instantly relevant to our students. We all need to stop thinking about just our classroom, and begin thinking about our school, our district, our state, our country, our world, because being kind doesn't just stop after our learners walk out of their classrooms. It is something that continues with them wherever they may go.<br />
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<b>Be Incredible</b><br />
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As we were brainstorming for our kickoff assembly, the idea of #bekindbeincredible came about. At first, it was just a clever way to incorporate both kindness and The Incredibles to help make a catchy phrase for our learners to remember. However, the more we thought about it, being incredible goes beyond just the movie and catchy phrase. We want to encourage all in our building to be incredible and do incredible things both in and out of school. We want our learners to have a growth mindset and take risks. We want our learners to learn, un-learn, re-learn and then keep going forward. We want our learners to think about real-world issues and to try to solve them. We want our learners to find meaning in their education and profession. We want our learners to believe in themselves and others. We want our learners to be incredibly kind to others. We want our learners to know that each and everyone of them is incredible. In short, we want our learners to be incredible.<br />
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<b>#bekindbeincredible</b><br />
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We will be using the #bekindbeincredible all year long when we see our learners being kind and/or being incredible. I invite you to do the same with your learners this year. Let's all share the kind and incredible things that our learners do each and every day, all year long and see how powerful of an impact our learners can have.<br />
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-74252038293322526632018-04-01T18:21:00.002-07:002018-04-01T18:21:27.197-07:00Hey Google...How Can I Not Feel Exhausted at the End of a Summit?How do you normally feel after attending an all day conference or summit? Exhausted both mentally and physically? Sluggish? Overwhelmed? Funny thing happened to myself and two of my colleagues after attending a recent all day summit at Google in Pittsburgh called "Be Internet Awesome." We weren't exhausted mentally or physically. We weren't sluggish. And we weren't overwhelmed. In fact, it was the quite the opposite. We felt refreshed, energized, and full of thought and discussion.<br />
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So how did Google do this? How did they create an all day summit that was just right and left the attendees leaving refreshed, energized, full of thought and discussion? I have been wondering this since the summit and how to take Google's format back to future faculty meetings, in-services, and other conferences/summits.<br />
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Here are my thoughts about how the Google Summit on Digital Safety & Citizenship left those in attendance feeling anything but exhausted:<br />
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<b>Comfort</b><br />
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Right from the start, our hosts were concerned with our comfort. This sent a clear message right away that they cared about us. Our Google hosts also invited us to get up and move around any time we needed to. We were told we could sit in back on couches or on floor against wall if we wanted. The choice was ours. Food was in the back we were welcome to any time we wanted, as well. In addition to food, they had music playing in the background that provided an upbeat feel. Finally, everyone, including our Google hosts were dressed comfortably.<br />
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<b>Different Presenters</b><br />
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During the summit, Google had different presenters throughout. Now I wasn't counting the minutes, but it seemed like every presenter kept their presentation under 25 minutes. This not only kept us focused but also kept the day moving.<br />
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<b>Get Up & Talk</b><br />
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After the second presenter, we answered three questions with each being on a Post-It note. Then had to get up and break into groups. But we had to break into different groups based on some random similarities we had to determine. This forced us to not only get up out of our seats but also immediately start talking. Once our groups were formed, we had to put up our Post-Its on the walls, then categorize them into hopes, fears, and what things are going well. Then each group took turns sharing out. <br />
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<b>70 Minute Networking Lunch w/ Optional Activity</b><br />
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During lunch, we had the option of viewing an VR video, but we also had the opportunity to network with others during lunch, which was provided. This was one of the easier networking lunches I have attended, since we had the "Get Up & Talk" session earlier. Even with talking to some different people and attending the VR session, lunch did not feel rushed.<br />
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<b>Play</b><br />
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After lunch, one presenter spoke about the program, Interland. Then we had a chance to play around with Interland. It gave us time to explore, discuss, and ask any questions we had with the presenter or those around us.<br />
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<b>Fireside Chat</b><br />
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At the end, Google put on a Q & A session through a fireside chat. It was a nice, informal way to wrap the summit up. By this point in the summit, people were all very comfortable with one another due to the day's format, which lead to a very open and honest Q & A session.<br />
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Hey Google, thanks for the summit and for not making me feel exhausted after. Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-14207810953358778792018-03-17T10:45:00.002-07:002018-03-17T10:45:33.990-07:00Instant Pot, Instant FailureThe Instant Pot I received for Christmas this past year sat for a few months before I even thought about using it. My wife would remind me frequently we had it and that I should try it (I do all the cooking in the house. She does all the laundry. Fair trade-off). When she would encourage me to use our new cooking gadget, I looked at her and our Instant Pot with a little disdain. I felt my cooking was pretty good, and besides I already had my go to Pioneer Woman dinners that couldn't be beat. So I was always a bit insulted when the Instant Pot was referenced in my house, as I felt not only was my cooking being insulted but so was the Pioneer Woman herself, Ree Drummond.<br />
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Then one night in late January it all started to change. I came home late from work to find my wife using the Instant Pot! I have to admit, the meal she cooked was pretty good, but secretively I was a little upset. I was not about to let her one-up me with the use of the Instant Pot, so I began searching for and trying out some recipes for it. I tried some baby back ribs, some roasts, some chicken and all were a complete disaster. I ruined the dinners and meat altogether and was disgusted with the Instant Pot, my dinners, and more than anything, myself. So I went back to my Pioneer Woman dinners.</div>
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Yet there was still that part of me that would not let me be one-upped by my wife and the Instant Pot itself. So I started reading the instruction manual more carefully and watching a few YouTube videos to find out where I was going wrong. It turned out that I was not letting the Instant Pot preheat enough for the its timer to begin properly. I was using my own, separate timer. I didn't understand the preheating process enough or at all really, which lead to instant failures for my dinners. But once I figured out why I was failing, I started making some pretty terrific Instant Pot meals. My favorite so far has been the gumbo. Not too spicy, not too dull. And in the words of Mr. Food, "It's umm so good."</div>
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I look at my learning experiences/failures with the Instant Pot in a very similar way of being faced with something new in the classroom. At first, I might feel a little insulted, then when others begin and start to have some success, I feel some pressure not to be one-upped. So I try the new tool or technique out and it's pretty rough. Lessons don't go so well. So I go back to what has worked all along. But when I am honest with myself, I know those I'm "serving" want something new, even though they like my old stuff, they also want a little taste of something new. So because of them and my own desire to master that new tool or technique, I start to learn more about it and try it again until I have success.</div>
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This was the case for me recently. Being a Google for Education Certified Trainer, I use G Suite tools for so many lessons. Yet, I still have to keep an open mind to the fact that there are other tools out there that are worthy teaching tools. For example, ClassFlow. I tried out ClassFlow a few weeks ago in a 6th grade classroom, and like my first time with the Instant Pot, I had instant failure. The lesson did not go as planned at all. The second class went a little better, but I still wasn't really sold on ClassFlow. Until that is, I went back and started reading and watching more videos about it, as well as asking questions to their tech support (which is outstanding by the way). </div>
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Now I am a believer in ClassFlow, just like I am the Instant Pot. And just like I'm not going to give up on the Pioneer Woman's recipes for my dinners, I'm not going to give up on my G Suite tools. But I am going to throw in a few more Instant Pot dinners and a few more ClassFlow lessons, because we all need a little change now and then. And if I embrace changes, the changes can propel me forward in my cooking and career.</div>
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<b>My Favorite Instant Pot Recipes:</b></div>
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<li><a href="https://pin.it/grey3ikfnpv55h" target="_blank">Easy Gumbo</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pin.it/zxws46d2rputdq" target="_blank">Chicken and Noodles</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pin.it/ue4fz4rgvxfezo" target="_blank">One Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Alfredo</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pin.it/hbh6q7fd3zfgwg" target="_blank">Mexican Shredded Beef</a></li>
</ul>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-54212186096733189772018-03-15T19:38:00.002-07:002018-03-15T19:38:32.212-07:00Unfinished & Unpublished Until NowSince January 23, 2017 up until now, I have been busier than I ever have before. New job beginning on January 23, 2017 (interim elementary principal), my wife and I celebrating the birth of our third child on January 24, 2017, back to my old job on March 13, 2017 (6th grade teacher), back to my old-new job on June 2, 2017 (being an interim elementary principal), becoming a Google for Education Certified Trainer in July 2017, starting my new-new job on January 22, 2018 (instructional technology coach), and becoming an Instant Pot believer after many failed attempts in February 2018.<br />
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Along the way I did try to keep up on my blogging, as I had several different drafts going, but I never made time to finish a lot of them. So below are my unfinished drafts, starting with the oldest to the most recent, that I feel I just need to "post" so I can start fresh and keep moving forward. At the end of each, I have added what I was trying to get across in the post.<br />
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<b>"You're not the teacher you were before."</b><br />
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"You are not the same teacher you were before." How would you feel if you were told that? Would you feel upset, or would feel proud? Would you consider it disrepctful or a compliment?<br />
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A few weeks ago, my principal told me that statement, and that statement has been ringing in my head ever since. The more I have thought about that statement, the more and more a consider it one of the highest compliments a teacher can receive. Why? Because that means one is a teacher that is actively seeking out change to improve one's practice and learning experience for one's students. It means one is not opening up last year's lesson planner, erasing, and changing the dates. If a teacher is not willing to change to from year to year, then how can a teacher expect their students to be engaged in their learning if there is little thought to lesson design with the students' personalities in mind?<br />
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Now, becoming a different teacher than teacher you were a year ago is difficult. Why? Because it means change. But what better to demonstrate learning to our students than by going through that process in front of them?<br />
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So how can one change? How can one become a different teacher than the one they were last year?<br />
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First, actively seek out new information. Don't wait for information to come to you. Go find it yourself. Take control of your learning, and see what's out there.<br />
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Second, don't be afraid to make mistakes. In fact, know ahead of time, that you will make mistakes. That is expected and needed in order to grow.<br />
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Third, reflect at least once a week in a journal or on a blog. You will find that is the most meaningful way to your change.<br />
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Fourth, know your purpose. Know why you want to change.<br />
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Finally, there is no doubt you can get lost when you start searching for change with all the ideas that are out there. So keep it simple. Start small, but start. Get to be very comfortable with a new idea before trying to bring in another.<br />
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<i>Keep growing. Keep learning. Keep moving forward. Become a different teacher than you were last year. So when you get hear that statement, "You're not the teacher you were before," you will take it as one of the greatest professional comments of your career.</i><br />
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<b>Finding Out Firsthand:</b><br />
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The big chair. The big desk. The office. The responsibility. What's the difference between a prinicpal's day and a teacher's day? This is something I have alway wondered about, and recently I have been able to find out the difference first hand.<br />
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A few weeks ago, I was asked to fill in for an elementary school prinicpal in my district. It was a very difficult decision to leave my sixth-grade students but it was an opportunity I could not pass up. So far, the experience has been fantastic and eye-opening.<br />
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<i>Only way to really find out what things are like, are to try it out yourself. You can read all about it and ask all the questions you want, but until you try it out, you'll never really know. </i><br />
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<b>Class Size:</b><br />
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My class size grew this year compared to last year. It grew from about 26 students to about 700 students. Quite the jump. The reason for the jump? Moving from my usual sixth-grade teaching position into an interim elementary principal position.<br />
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<i>No matter the class size, it is still necessary to appreciate and value each individual for who they are and what they bring. </i><br />
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<b>The Phone Call Home:</b><br />
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Cold and flu season. If you have children of your own, you will probably and unfortantely have to deal with colds, coughs, fevers, and flus during this time of year. As a parent of three, I cross my fingers each year around this time that none of my children get sick, but it never works and we always seem to end up in the doctor's office...just like this year, except for one difference. The doctor called home a few days later to check on my daughter.<br />
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That quick, two-minute phone call made all the difference. My daughter was feeling better but it showed me that her doctor truly cared. The doctor did not have to make that call, as I am sure his schedule was booked with other patients. Yet he took two minutes out of his day and called. As a parent, I could not ask for more. And as an educator, it made me think about one of the most powerful tools in the toolbox, the telephone.<br />
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At the beginning of this school year, I took at an idea from Principal Mark French (@PrincipalFrench) called #GoodNewsCallOfTheDay. This is simply a way to recognize good things that students are doing and calling home about it. <br />
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<i>With all the different ways to communicate in today's world, don't forget the most powerful one, the phone, and use it often for good.</i><br />
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<b>Yet Another New Position:</b><br />
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This school year has been different. Instead of going back to my sixth grade classroom for the 16th year, I went back to school but as an interim elementary principal. I filled the role of elementary principal until recently, as the principal I was filling in for came back from medical leave (he successfully beat cancer!). Now I find myself as my district's instructional technology coach, which is another new role for me. As I begin my work as an instructional echnology coach, my focus will be what I took away from my time as principal...relationships.<br />
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<i>Relationships are vital in any position. And the only way to build them is to get out of the office, make yourself visible, and listen. </i><br />
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<b>Change:</b><br />
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Change. It can be uncomfortable. It can be difficult. But if embraced, it can be a tremendous force that helps propel one forward in the best of ways.<br />
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<i>You don't know, unless you try.</i><br />
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Now it's time for me to get to work on my next post which will be coming out next week, "Instant Pot; Instant Failiure."Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-33709227673733692602017-11-01T20:49:00.000-07:002017-11-01T21:04:28.688-07:00Flipping Out for Faculty Meetings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year my classroom grew from about 25 students to about 665 students, as I made the transition from sixth grade teacher to elementary principal. It has been an exciting and enjoyable transition. It has also been interesting being on the other side of things. For example, being on the other side of faculty meetings.<br />
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September's faculty meeting I did the traditional approach. Scheduled it. Sent out an email reminder. Met with the faculty and started going over what I needed to say, offering very little time for discussion. But then I did change things up about half way through. I introduced our district's Google Expedition VR kits. I took them on a few virtual reality field trips and showed them how they could be used with any subject. Then before I knew it, it was time for the students to arrive.<br />
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As I prepared for my October faculty meeting, I thought about how I introduced the teachers to the Google Expeditions VR kits and how teachers in grades 3, 5, and 6 used those a few times each with their classes already. Both teachers and students said how much they enjoyed using the VR kits and how powerful of a learning opportunity it was for them. But I also thought about how little time I offered for discussion with the teachers at the faculty meeting. I wanted to give them a chance to discuss, but I also wanted to give them time to think about the topics before discussing.<br />
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So I flipped my faculty meeting. I sent out an email detailing the topics I needed to cover and then attached an optional Google Form that gave teachers an opportunity to add input on each topic, as well as a space to add anything else they wanted to share. When the teachers walked into October's faculty meeting they knew exactly what I needed them to and they had an opportunity to share with me their thoughts on the topics. But they were also in for another new experience. They were given a Breakout EDU to do. Only two teachers were familiar with Breakout EDU so it was new to just about all. It was great to see them look in bewilderment and wonder what to do with those locked boxes in front of them, however they ended up working very well together as they figured out how to unlock all the locks and open the box. Once they opened the box, they could leave the faculty meeting and more information about Breakout EDU was posted on our school's Google Classroom for their reference.<br />
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As I look to November's faculty meeting, I will continue to flip the meeting and show teachers new ideas, but also allow time for discussion. Being on the other side of things, like faculty meetings, I have taken some risks in trying new approaches and sharing new ideas, but I need to model that risk taking if I am asking my teachers to do the same. And while I am on the other side of some things, my teachers and I are still all in this together, and that is what I hope for them to see as I try different, new approaches.Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-41737154869260514732017-05-30T08:10:00.003-07:002017-06-23T17:49:31.308-07:00Not Just Any Summer Assignment: A VR Summer Learning Experience<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<span style="color: #444444;">This summer, I intend to go to Disney World and other parts of Florida, the Outer Banks, Ocean City, New York City, a Kansas City Royals baseball game, the Grand Canyon, the White House, a NHL Finals game, a cruise, and I plan to go to all of those places without leaving my house. How? With the Cardboard Camera app, Google Cardboard, and Google Classroom.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">I have given my sixth grade students one last assignment, and this assignment will run all summer long. Their assignment is to bring along their classmates on their summer vacation trips using the Cardboard Camera app, by uploading their images to Google Classroom for their classmates and myself to view on our Google Cardboards (we had a Google Cardboard make and take night in early May, so the students are really into VR now), and finally collaborating on a Google Slide (<a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hUarkwAYmfYSfNLMG2Xm6BzK7F8uefLIfT5O4iZgBJo/edit?usp=sharing" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Take Us With You On Vacation)</a>.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Benefits to this assignment:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">1. Let's start with the obvious. It is really cool. Who doesn't want to try out VR? The students absolutely love it, and because they do, the assignment is relevant and meaningful to them. They will end up exploring and learning so much because they just want to. No grades given. No doing this assignment to collect points. No due date to meet. Just learning in its purest form. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">2. It allows the students to become teachers. Learning will be happening from all of the country, and guess who is not traveling around and putting any of it together? Me. My students will be sharing their experiences with their classmates all on their own. They get to be the creators and teachers, as I get to sit back and enjoy seeing this learning experiences unfold. This assignment is completely student-centered. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">3. Anytime, anywhere learning. Wherever students go, they can create their own lessons to share for their classmates to experience anytime, anywhere with their Google Cardboards, other VR devices, or even just smartphones. For those students that never get the opportunity to go on vacation and experience different places, now they will have an opportunity to do so. They will get a chance to "go" on vacation now. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">4. 4C's will be in full bloom. Communication...check. Collaboration...check. Creativity will naturally come out as students find unique ways to capture where they are. (I can't wait for this!) Critical thinking will also naturally occur as students try to figure out where their classmates have gone and then explore those places .</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">5. This will inevitably reach a much larger audience than just my students. Have you ever been around someone using Google Cardboard or another VR device? If you did, I'm guessing you asked, "Can I see?! Can I see?! Can I see?!" Think of how many friends and family members this learning experiences will reach. My students will be sharing their experiences with their classmates and their classmates' friends and family. These 11 and 12 year old students will be teaching older kids and adults, and then learning from them as well. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">6. Maybe this is just me being a little sentimental, but it is a way for us all to stay connected a little longer. This has been a special bunch of students, and what better way to keep learning and growing together than by sharing their summer vacations with everyone in relevant and meaningful ways like this. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">I am excited that I will get to go so many places for free this summer without ever having to get stuck in traffic, but I am even more excited to see my students' learning journeys continue. </span></div>
Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-37625202810851305072017-05-30T08:08:00.002-07:002017-06-23T17:50:13.964-07:00The Gamification of PD<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<span style="color: #444444;">Spring is here. The birds are chirping. The grass is growing. The weather outside is beautiful. So, what do you think teachers are doing on those beautiful spring evenings and weekends? Why, professional development (PD) of course. More specifically, gamified PD. Over the first 30 days of our gamification approach to PD, we have had our pilot group of teachers put in over 300 hours of learning during their own time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Driving back from PETE&C 2016 with my district's technology director, Justin Arthur (@JustinTech), we started talking about all the fantastic things we saw like blended learning, G Suite for Education, and the gamification of classrooms. This lead to a discussion on professional development, and how we could bring those aspects from what we saw at PETE&C 2016 into PD. That discussion became the starting point for the gamification of PD in our district, which evolved into what it is now, Learning Pathways PD.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">What is Learning Pathways PD?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">It brings all of the elements of collaboration, customization, relevance, supportive, engaging, competitive, anytime, anywhere learning together through the use of G Suite for Education. We call our gamification of PD, Learning Pathways PD.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Why Learning Pathways PD?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Teachers have in the past, learned through scheduled day-long workshops, where knowledge was given out. But with gamified PD, teachers become engaged learners, as it connects technology to the curriculum, encourages collaboration, builds community, and it's fun. Teachers are expected to create engaging, student-centered learning environments that encompass the 4C's, so why not give them the opportunity to experience the same in their learning? </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">How is Learning Pathways PD Played?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Staff choose a level 100 G Suite course of their choice to begin. For our pilot group, we offered an introductory course, Chromebooks, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Classroom, Google Drawings, Google Slides, and Google Forms. Experience points (XP) are awarded to teachers for viewing educational resources, completing knowledge checks, performance tasks and bonus opportunities, along with completing an exit ticket. Once a course is completed, staff have a few options. They can continue onto a 200 level course or choose a new 100 level course to explore. They are the drivers of the learning. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Who Can Partciapte in Learning Pathways?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">We decided early on to invite all staff, including administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrative professionals. We wanted to build a learning culture for all in our district, so opening Learning Pathways up to any staff member emphasized our belief in that learning for all culture. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Why Start with G Suite Courses?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">A pre-assessment survey completed by staff showed a need to learn more on G Suite tools. So we decided to build our courses around G Suite tools due to the pre-assessment survey, and that our district was beginning to use more and more Chromebooks.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">What is the Set Up of a Learning Pathways Course?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Our courses are built and completed in Google Classroom. Each course begins with an announcement/introduction. This is where we give a summary of what staff will learn, and where we build community. We enjoy using pictures and videos of our district leaders in humorous ways to help bring a little extra fun into the PD experience. Next comes a question post where educational resources are posted. We ask staff to give a summary of something that sparked their interest from the educational resources. Then comes an assignment post where staff must complete a knowledge check on the educational resources in a Google Form. Staff move onto the next assignment post, performance task. This is where staff create something relevant to their position from what they learned and submit for review. Then staff have the option to complete a bonus assignment post, which is an extension of their learning from the course. Finally, they end with the last assignment post, exit ticket. Once they complete the exit ticket, which is completed in Google Forms, they are automatically directed to another Google Form which allows them to choose their next course. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">What Does the XP Get Teachers?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">With the XP staff earn, they may cash in their points for prizes. 500 XP = 11" Chromebook. 800 XP = 13-14" Chromebook. 1000 XP = 11" Touchscreen Chromebook. 2000 XP = 5 Chromebook Learning Center. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">What Are the Requirements?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Staff must attend one face to face initial meeting to get set up and familiarize themselves with the pathways program. Staff must complete three, leveled synchronous models, attend one, online asynchronous event offered multiple times and multiple days after school, and must complete and end of pilot assessment. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">What is Learning Pathways Live?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Learning Pathways Live is the synchronous event that staff must attend to successfully complete the pilot. Using Adobe Connect, we have done Pathways Live on Google Forms, Google Classroom, Quizizz, and scheduled are a teacher panel Q & A, along with a 30 in 30 session. These Pathways Live have been an unanticipated success. The energy in the "room" has been outstanding, and we have been known to give away prizes to the first person to call our classrooms, tweet us, or be a random lucky winner. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">We have heard from so many staff members involved in Learning Pathways PD, and all have been so enthusiastic about their experiences. They tell us how it has brought passion and excitement back into their classrooms. They tell us how they are trying ideas they learned in our Learning Pathways courses almost immediately after completing them. They are telling us how they are starting to collaborate more with their colleagues. They are telling us they are having fun, and work isn't work, if you're having fun. </span></div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-75564972070654467572017-05-30T08:07:00.002-07:002017-06-23T17:51:08.564-07:003D Printing<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<span style="color: #444444;">"PC load letter?!" Can't say I've said that in a long time. I love G Suite for Education, so there is little need to get frustrated with the printer, let alone print things out. Unless that is, you want to print something with a 3D printer!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">At the end of January, I wrote a grant for the Polar3D printer, and as luck would have it, I was fortunate enough to receive the grant. My Polar3D printer arrived in my classroom last week, and hopefully we will be printing tomorrow. Not only is this my sixth grade students' first opportunity to use a 3D printer, but it is also mine. So it is a very exciting time as my students and I explore this new piece of technology together. We are both learning so much already, but what I am seeing and learning from my students is incredible.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Students as engaged learners</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Before allowing my students to print, I had my students go through the tutorial lessons on tinkercad.com which is the free, web based platform we will be using to create our 3D projects. There are six tutorials which take students through different parts of the design process. Some struggled, while some excelled, but every student was an engaged learner. They were hooked as soon as they saw the 3D printer in the classroom. So when they went through the tutorials, they were asking questions without any prompting and they were answering their classmates' questions without any prompting. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Students becoming self-reflecting learners</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Reflecting is not an easy thing to do, but it is a very important thing to do in the learning process. With this in mind, I created a collaborative Google Slide where they had to explain what they learned in the Tinkercad tutorials, then they had to give quality feedback to their their peers. Their reflections and feedback on their tutorial lessons were very honest and thoughtful. And because this was on a Google doc, they were continuing this after school, well into the night. I didn't even tell them they had to finish it for the next day. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Students becoming creators</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Spinners and fidget cubes were the first things my students asked if they could create. My answer was yes. If they could design one, they could print one. But I also challenged them to create something unique. Something they needed. Something that was personal to them. And what I was finding was that out of 29 students, I was seeing 29 different ideas! My students are not just settling for the ordinary but are looking to create something extraordinary. I was seeing things from unique smartphone stands to smartphone bracelets to personalized key chains to new designs that clip onto a desk and neatly hold multiple wires and devices. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Students becoming designers</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">With their designs in mind, next came the sketch and prep. Very little direction was intentionally given to the sketching out part of the project other than, they had to sketch out their design and include measurements that went with their design. Students were thinking about three-dimensional mathematical shapes like I had never seen before. They were measuring for something more, rather than just a line on a worksheet. They were thinking about ways they needed to connect objects, or ways they needed to cut certain size holes through their design. My students were thinking about all the possibilities they needed to design their project. They were designing hinges without realizing they were designers hinges. They were just problem solving. Then once they had their design, they had to take a picture of their design and insert that into another collaborative Google Slide for feedback from their peers. Not only did they receive meaningful feedback, but they also got to share <em>their</em> idea with all of the classmates. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Students becoming teachers</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">I would be lying if I told you I had all the answers to my students questions about 3D design and printing the past few days. I would be lying if I told you I had most of the answers to my students questions about 3D design and printing, too. Truth is, my students have become so engaged and excited over their project ideas, that they are the ones that are immersed in it, and they are the ones that are answering each other's questions. They are becoming the teachers, and that is the most rewarding thing for me to see. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">While we have not printed a single 3D object yet, so much has been learned already. All I had to do was give my students a relevant and meaningful opportunity, and they took control of their learning from there. </span></div>
Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-88995284094865404372017-05-30T08:05:00.003-07:002017-06-23T18:00:16.222-07:00Blend Like a PIRATE<span style="color: #444444;">I had been sailing on a clear course for about 13 years before I decided to drastically change course for blended learning. I've been on this blended learning course for about two and a half years now. I thought I had prepared well for my change in course, but there were many times early on in my change of course, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I hit some pretty rough water and I had some real heart-to-heart conversations with myself. But the more I kept sailing, the more treasures I kept finding. This year's travel was full of so many treasures like Breakout EDU's, Mystery Skypes, 3D printing, G Suite tools for students and teachers, and engaged learners like never before. I realized that with all of these treasures I have collected, I have become a PIRATE. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Blend like a PIRATE:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Purpose </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">My first year of running a blended learning classroom was frustrating to say the least. Just when I was thinking I was making progress, something always seemed to come up to derail the progress I thought I had made. And while that year was full of frustration and uncertainty, it was also full of learning and adventure. (Read about my mistakes and my corrections from an early post Surf's Up: First Year Blended Learning Mistakes and Ways to Correct Them) Through all of the learning and adventures, the biggest thing I learned was understanding my purpose of running a blended learning classroom. I knew prior to starting a blended learning classroom, I needed to try something new and different for my students, but I was unclear of the purpose. My purpose for blended learning, which I discovered as a result of all the frustrations and hardships, is that blended learning is a way for students to find meaning, relevance, and themselves in their education during their time in education. So as I went through my second year of a blended learning classroom, I kept that purpose in mind all year long. By having understanding that purpose this year, I was able to focus more and piece together the puzzle pieces to create an effective and engaging blended learning environment for my students.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Imagination</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">When was the last time a worksheet allowed for any imagination from a student? With blended learning, imagination can come flooding back into student learning and teacher planning, especially if using G Suite for Education. Google Drawings was the perfect tool to allow imagination to come out. With Google Drawings, whatever my students could imagine, they created. All I had to do is to recognize the connections Google Drawings and other G Suite tools have to student learning, set some guidelines, then get out of my students' way. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Relevance</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Relevance is rarely found in textbook or in a worksheet, because relevance is updated about as quickly as a Twitter feed. For students that only know of a world with smartphones and the Internet, they are always finding new ideas to capture their interest (bottle flipping, slime, fidget spinners, etc.). Blended learning allows for relevance to connect to learning. This helped build the strongest relationships with my students I have ever had in my 15 years of teaching. Bottle flipping was the huge craze early on in the year, and many viewed it as a problem. However, I saw the problem as the solution. We were learning about absolute value and discussing how it relates to a number line in math class, so I connected those ideas to bottle flipping. Students collaborated on Google Sheets and Slides with the results of their bottle flipping absolute value. I had four students take the idea further by creating videos of their dogs and cats bottle flipping. Those students ended up collaborating on a video for a bottle flipping contest by their pets (the dog, Snickers, won). By making content relevant, students will embrace learning. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Anytime, anywhere</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">The best thing I have experienced in running a blended learning classroom, is that learning does not stop when they leave my classroom, but if I want my students to see this, I first must model that for them. My post about being at Home Depot one night illustrates the idea of modeling anytime, anywhere learning. The Mouse King: Of Mice and Math. My students are now taking what they learned in my classroom, and making connections outside my classroom and sharing those connections with our class by posting their thoughts and ideas in Google Classroom. They are understanding that learning transcends any class or textbook. They are understanding they are in control of their learning. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Teaching</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Don't fear that technology will take teaching jobs away with ideas like blended learning. Rather understand the power technology can have in your classroom, and use it. Technology has made my teaching so much more meaningful. I feel inspired and energized to come to school every day knowing that I don't know what my students are going to create using tools like G Suite to demonstrate their learning. But I am not the only one teaching with technology in my classroom. As the year has gone on, I see more and more teaching from my students. I see them teaching in a collaborative Google Slide with their comments, naturally going around the room to help others who are struggling and asking for their help, or quickly becoming experts on topics and teaching their peers new ways to problem solve. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Electric energy</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">There is an undeniable electric energy to my classes this year, and yes, while it there are electronic devices in my room, it is more than that. Students are energized to come into my room. They have their hands up all the time, they are asking for assignments, they are posting learning connections outside of school on Google Classroom without any prompting from me, and they are communicating and collaborating with each other so easily. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Blended learning is a change in course, and it is not an easy one to make. But the changes that occur are ones that are worth all the frustrations and hardships. Set sail on that adventure. Rediscover your passion for teaching. Allow students to find meaning, relevance, and themselves in their education. Sure you will hit some rough water, but when you find those treasures, you won't be disappointed. Blend like a PIRATE.</span>Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-34446602064264353962017-03-29T13:00:00.004-07:002017-06-23T18:03:50.268-07:00Top 10 Things I Learned from Being a Principal for Seven Weeks<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<span style="color: #444444;">For seven weeks, I was an interim, elementary principal in one of my district's elementary schools. It was an opportunity and experience that was invaluable. When I began I was nervous and full of anxiety, but when I ended, I had wonderful memories, great new relationships, and a very real and meaningful learning experience. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">So as I look back on my seven weeks as an elementary principal, and try to put things into perspective, these are my top ten things I have learned. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Be Visible</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">From my very first day, I knew I had to be out of my office and in the halls, classrooms, cafeteria, and out on bus duty. I needed to show students, parents, teachers, and staff I was there for them. I could not do that from staying in my office trying to sort through all the emails and paperwork. While those needed attention, being visible was more important. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Be Real</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">While I was filling in for another principal in his building, I still I had to be myself as I addressed issues and worked with others. I couldn't pretend or try to be someone I wasn't. If I wasn't myself, then chances were my time as interim principal would have been a disaster, and I would have left with regrets. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Be Supportive</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Whether it was support for students, teachers, parents, or staff, being supportive was probably the most important thing I did. I tried to be supportive in various ways, whether it was just being present in the hallways, cafeteria, out on bus duty, or offering to cover a teacher's class while they explore a new topic or need to collaborate with another teacher. Simply put, I listened to, talked with, and followed up with people, and I took the Rocketbook notebook everywhere I went. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Be Engaged</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">This was one of the funnest parts about the job. Going into classrooms, the hallways, the cafeteria, or out on bus duty allowed me to interact with the students, parents, teachers, and staff. Just getting to see the wonderful things going on in the classrooms and talking to everyone allowed me build meaningful relationships in the seven weeks I was at the school. One teacher asked if his students could share their Google Docs assignment with me. Of course I agreed, and I commented on each of the students' Google Docs. The students then responded to my comments. What a great way to connect to the students and get to know them in a short amount of time. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Communicate</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Being a principal I found that communication was vital to everything. If I did not communicate clearly or if others did not communicate with me clearly, then there were going to be some bumps in the road. The more everyone communicated with each other, the smoother the days went. Even if there were difficult conversations that needed to take place, I always wanted to be honest and upfront. I would always choose to talk, rather than not talk. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Build & Strengthen Relationships</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">I cannot underestimate the importance of building trusting, honest, and sincere relationships. Relationships need to be established with all stakeholders. I tried to build these relationships by being visible, listening, smiling, getting back to people, letting people know they are doing great things, giving little notes of praise and/or encouragement, attending after school functions, making phone calls (even the difficult ones), sending weekly emails, and establishing a strong, positive social media presence. Relationships always need attention. They cannot be let go. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Discipline</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">A part of being a principal that cannot be ignored is handling discipline. As soon as I began my principal experience, I had to deal with discipline issues from kindergartners to sixth-graders. They were classroom issues, bus issues, cafeteria issues. You name it and it seemed to follow me, and I was okay with that. I wanted to support my teachers and my students, even the students whom I had to talk with. By handling the discipline it was a way of supporting my teachers and students, while at the same time building and strengthening trusting relationships. Yes, I had some difficult discipline issues, but my answer was always remain calm, be firm, be clear on my expectations, and talk with the students. For some students that needed a little more help, I would ask them what I could do to help make their time at school better. By doing this, I let them know I truly was there to help them, and the next time I saw them, it made that next meeting much easier. At the end, I would always touch base with the students' parents and teachers to follow up with them, and I would also follow up with the students the next day. Discipline was more than consequences, it was more about helping students. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Pick Up the Phone</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Whether it was picking up the phone to call a parent or picking up the phone to call a fellow administrator, the phone was a great tool. Calling home to talk to a parent about their child, immediately starts to build a relationship. It did not matter if it was good new or bad news, I wanted to the parent to hear it from the school first, and I wanted to be able to connect with the parent in a more personal way, rather than an email. There were also very few days I did not pick up the phone and call another administrator for help or advice. Just because I was the principal, it didn't mean I had all the answers (especially being the newbie). I use my PLN on Twitter often for support, so why not use my PLN in my own district? I wasn't afraid to ask questions, and that was one of the smartest things I did. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">A Principal's Voice Goes a Long Way</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">As principal, it was important for me to keep in mind that what I said and how I reacted to situations would have a significant impact on the culture of the building. People looked to me to calm a situation down, not escalate it. They listened to how I spoke with others. Having that voice as principal was a great opportunity to make a positive impact on the school. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><strong>Expect the Unexpected</strong> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">From day to day, I could not predict what was going to happen next. I did use Google Keep to help keep me organized or at least give me a starting point from day to day, but it quickly got changed around. I could not change the unexpected from happening, but understanding all of the above ideas helped me handle the unexpected with a much greater sense of confidence and calmness. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Being an elementary principal for seven weeks was a honor and privilege. I was in an amazing school and witnessed everyone going above and beyond to help a fantastic bunch of students, and the students weren't the only ones learning. I was right there along with them. </span></div>
Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-59296265109267669002017-03-21T19:41:00.001-07:002017-06-23T18:04:35.349-07:00Above and Beyond<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<span style="color: #444444;">Teacher, "Recess time!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Students, "Yeh!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Teacher, "Let's play some football!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Students, "I wanna be on your team!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Teacher, "I'll be the all-time quarterback, punter, and ref."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Students, "Yeh!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Teacher, "Ready. Set. Hike."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Students, "I'm open! I'm open! Throw it to me! Throw it to me!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Recess is one of the best parts about elementary school for students, but also for teachers and principals. It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm that comes out from students at recess and how engaged they can really be.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">One of the things that I am quickly realizing as principal (just over one month in) is just how important it is to the students, parents, and other staff members to have teachers that go above and beyond for their students in ways that are meaningful and personal to their students. When I have teachers volunteering to be all-time punters, quarterbacks, and referees at recess they are building lasting memories for the students, while at the same time building stronger relationships with their students and their students' families. And that has a greater impact than many realize. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">What do you think a student is more likely to talk about when he gets home from school, the lesson on fractions or that their teacher played with them at recess? As a parent, I know if I am hearing that my child's teacher played a game with them at recess, I know my child is getting taught by an educator who truly cares about their students and sees their job as more than just that. They value their time with my child in a way that goes beyond the classroom lessons. As a principal, I love to see those connections and relationships being made stronger because I see how that builds a strong sense of trust and supportive community that is needed in the overall culture of a school. The importance of relationships cannot be overlooked.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Now, I am not expecting to see all of my teachers playing football with their students. That is obviously not the only way teachers are going above and beyond for their students. I am also seeing teachers go above and beyond by staying late to make that extra phone call home or send that extra email home when they have their own families to get home to. I see them communicating with families at home through Class Dojo or Remind, which gives the families a meaningful glimpse into their child's day. I see them talking with that troubled student over and over in a quiet, reassuring voice never once losing their patience. I see them willingly cover other classes over and over when there are not subs. I see them getting down on the ground with students in their classes and meeting them at eye level. I hear them telling parents to contact them anytime of the day or night. I see them eager to learn and try new ideas to better improve their time with their students. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">All of these teachers who go above and beyond to build strong, lasting relationships, need to be celebrated. They need to know that they are making a significant difference not only with their students or their classes, but they are making a difference in the entire building and school community. I must do my part to acknowledge and celebrate these teachers. I need to go above and beyond for them. </span></div>
Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-63240701568654960422017-02-27T19:23:00.000-08:002017-06-23T18:06:05.382-07:00My First Few Weeks as Elementary Principal<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
<span style="color: #444444;">On January 23rd, my 15-year career as a classroom teacher changed dramatically, as I began a new role as interim principal in one of my district's elementary schools. Then on January 24th, my wife and I celebrated our third child being born. It was a week full of emotions but most of all excitement. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Being a father of two, I knew what to expect with our third child. Late night feedings, sleepless nights, changing diapers (lots of diapers), and a return to the 5S's. But being a first-time principal, it was a lot like being a first-time parent. You could read all the books and get all the advice, but<strong> until you actually went through it, you couldn't really understand it</strong>. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Much like bringing my first child home from the hospital after she was born, I had some, well a lot, of anxiety going into my first day as principal. I had scheduled a full faculty meeting to introduce myself, and while I was only an interim principal in another principal's building, I still had to be myself in order to find success. Prior to my first day as principal, I <strong>created a brief video</strong> of myself using the <strong>Screencastify extension</strong>, where I introduced myself to the students. At the full faculty meeting, I asked the teachers to play the link I emailed them in their homeroom, and explained that I would then be around throughout the day to formally introduce myself to the students. I did not want to interrupt the school day with a 15 minute whole-school assembly, that inevitably would turn into at least 30 minutes, just to introduce myself. <strong>By creating the video, I accomplished three things right away. First,</strong> I let my personality and passion be shown immediately. <strong>Second</strong>, I connected with the students in a way that is relevant to them. <strong>Third,</strong> I showed the teachers how much I valued their time by causing as little disruption to their day as possible. Things were off to a good start, but after that, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from my day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">As a teacher, I knew what I was going to do day to day due to my lesson plans. Yet, as far as I knew, principals didn't make lesson plans. So I wondered, "What was I going to do?" I quickly found out as soon as the full faculty meeting was over. My day immediately got filled up on its own, without me planning a thing. I don't think I was in the office for more than 10 minutes that entire day, and I don't think I had but a three minute lunch. And that was how I wanted it. I knew I needed to do what middle school principal Beth Houf (@BethHouf) said on Twitter, "<strong>Be real. Be visible. Be engaged. Be supportive."</strong> And I needed to do these things not just my first day but every day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">As I made my way into the classrooms, halls, cafeteria, I carried around a small legal pad taking notes feverishly of all the things I needed to address after talking with the teachers, students, secretaries, and custodians. Then to give me a focus for where to start the following day, I <strong>utilized Google Keep</strong> and its label feature to create "To Do" lists. Google Keep is yet another fantastic, practical tool from Google to put in your toolbox. Like all Google Docs, my Google Keep notes became a living documents, as I found myself revising and updating them constantly. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">As my first few weeks have gone by, I have gotten into every classroom and have seen all the fantastic things going on from students and their dedicated teachers. I have talked with students, parents, teachers, have seen students working in the music room, worked with students and their parents to help make their day in the school as best as possible, left positive messages for teachers on their desks after spending time in their classrooms, gotten to begin to learn my teachers' and students' passions, attended after school functions, and participated in new Twitter chats to help build new PLN's in hopes of learning more about leadership.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">While my new role as principal has definitely been a different kind of busy than what I was used to as a classroom teacher, the position has not been overwhelming. It has been <strong>rewarding</strong>. I am in a very fortunate position to build and strengthen relationships with so many people, and that is what I find most rewarding. I am looking forward to the rest of my time in this position and continuing to work with and get to know better all the <strong>wonderful people</strong> that make up the elementary school I am honored to be a part of. </span></div>
Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-70036941022372200102017-01-17T19:11:00.002-08:002017-07-06T08:49:51.216-07:00Enter The Twilight Zone with Blended Learning<div style="font-family: tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.16px;">
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<em><span style="color: #444444;">You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone. </span></em></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">I feel that opening part of the show <i>The Twilight Zone </i>directly relates to my school year this year. This is my second full year of running a blended learning classroom, and I feel as if in some way my sixth-grade students and I have crossed over into the Twilight Zone. Strange but wonderful things are happening in and out of my classroom, that I have not, unfortunately, witnessed before in my 15 years of teaching. Students are embracing the idea that learning can take place anywhere, anytime and that their voice matters to others, as they enter a whole other dimension in Google Classroom. They are seeing learning opportunities on their own outside of the school day and wanting to share their experiences with their classmates, because they know that not only am I listening but more importantly, so are their classmates. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Enter The Twilight Zone</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">The Key of Imagination: Google Classroom</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The key of imagination unlocked the door to the Twilight Zone and to our successful blended learning year. Google Classroom has allowed me to use my imagination, as I started creating relevant, meaningful assessments through Google Classroom and other Google apps. Now, after going through half a year using G Suite for Education tools, students are posting their own learning experiences in Google Classroom, with no prompting from me, to share with their classmates. Students are not only extending their learning on their own by creating their own story lines that relate to the assessments, but they are also seeing and demonstrating learning anytime, anywhere. Now they have their own key of imagination and they are using it. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Dimension of Sound: Communication & Collaboration</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">As the year has gone on, and my students have been becoming better and better at using G Suite for Education tools, I started encouraging more communication through the comment feature in Google Docs, as well as using Google Slides where all can edit the same document to collaborate and learn from each other. Adding this dimension has given my class the authenticity it has lacked in years past. Now, students are continuously communicating and collaborating with their classmates in ways never possible before. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Dimension of Sight: Creativity</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">G Suite for Education has allowed me to give learning opportunities, that were once out of reach, to all of my students. Now students are not doing mindless, fill-in-the-blank worksheets, but rather they are creating and thinking how they can demonstrate their learning in ways that are relevant and meaningful to them. They are proud of their work and actively look to share their own, authentic, and creative work with others. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Dimension of Mind: Critical Thinking</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Students are thinking critically about the work they are producing. They are thinking how it relates to themselves, their classmates, and others in the community. They are making connections and asking me and their classmates real questions about their learning. Everyone has a voice in Google Classroom, and everyone, even the quiet students in class, are giving high quality feedback. Students are taking the enrichment ideas offered and running with them, and some are coming up with their own enrichment activities. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #444444;">Land of Shadow & Substance...Things & Ideas: The Future</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">This year, my blended learning classroom is truly preparing students for their future, not my future. The purpose of blended learning, as I see it, is to help students find relevance and meaning in their learning, during their time in education, not any previous generation's time. My students this year are focusing on the 4C's, and those will never become outdated. Those are skills they are learning now that they will use in the future, and while technology definitely helps foster these ideas, technology is not the driving force behind them. Technology or no technology, the 4C's are skills that will translate into the 21st Century. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Episodes of The Twilight Zone always ended with an unexpected twist, but the only twist here is my students are learning outside of school whether they realize it or not...and that's not a bad twist to have. </span></div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-24532691051702252332016-12-22T18:39:00.002-08:002017-07-06T08:52:12.821-07:00Snow Day? Shovel Your Way Out<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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It is 5:30 AM on a weekday during the winter and the phone rings. That can only mean one thing, SNOW DAY! I have to admit, at that moment, I do not feel like the 15 year veteran, sixth grade teacher I am, but rather, I feel like one of my sixth grade students. I roll back over in bed and fall back asleep, only to get woken up by my wife as she gets up to get ready for work (seems like she is extra loud getting ready on snow days...nah, she wouldn't do that, would she?). I tell her to, "Keep it down. I'm trying to sleep. I've got a snow day." That goes over about as well as getting a snowball in the face.</div>
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Living in Pennsylvania, snow days are part of the school year and one of the great perks about being a teacher, unless you end up having too many of them. Then you have to make them up in the summer. Then they quickly become an inconvenience. They can also become an inconvenience with what you had planned for class those days. Inspired by Matt Miller's Ditch Summit session with Alice Keeler, I thought about what they shared and how I could use that to connect with my sixth grade students on snow days.</div>
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Now one thing I wanted to ensure, was that a snow day was still something to look forward to for my students. I knew whatever I created for them on a snow day, needed to be creative, collaborative, and fun. I wanted my students to be comfortable. I wanted them to be able to stay in their PJ's, drinking hot chocolate, sitting in their favorite chair, listening to their favorite music, all while in the comforts of their own home doing some math and finding relevance in it.</div>
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So I decided to use the power of Google Docs and create a Google Slides for a snow day. Below is simple breakdown of it, followed by a link to my Snow Day Class document. </div>
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<strong>Google Slides:</strong></div>
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I decided to use Google Slides to make a collaborative document called "Snow Day Class." It is ready to go in case of a snow day, in Google Classroom. This document will be made available for everyone to edit if and when a snow day comes. While all at our homes, we can still collaborate and communicate as if we were all in class together. </div>
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<strong>Slides Layout:</strong></div>
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In slide one, I have the directions for the snow day class. While the students will be asked to answer the questions I pose to them, part of the directions are for students to view their classmates' work and thinking and give quality feedback by posting comments on each other's slides. I want my students to be sharing their ideas with each other and learning from each other, as if we were all in class together, even if we are not. Slide two is my question slide, which is where I will ask all of my snow day questions. The rest of the slides are the students'. They find an open slide, add their name to it, and begin following along. The idea is very similar to a Twitter chat, only using Google Docs. </div>
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<strong>Where and When:</strong></div>
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I also created a Google Drawing that I posted under the "About" section of my Google Classroom for my students to reference. It is a simple document that tells students where the snow day class takes place and what time it begins. </div>
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<strong>Expectations:</strong></div>
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I do not expect all 29 of my students to participate in the snow day class when we do have a snow day, but the fantastic thing about Google Docs is that they are living documents. Whether it is a hour later, a day later, a week later, or a month later, students can always go back and add to it or simply review it. So if some of my students are entrepreneurs out shoveling snow and can't make it during the snow day class time, they can look and add to it later.</div>
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In case you do get a snow day, and would like a copy of my snow day document, <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eXLuZzhfeDx460VQ_8_p8xU3tFRj-GrpYl5g_0ikqMM/edit?usp=sharing" style="color: #5e0935; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">click here</a> and then make a copy. Only thing I can't share with you is my shovel. I just might need that. </div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-44892862251862617662016-12-15T21:14:00.003-08:002017-07-06T08:55:07.068-07:00What I Learned from the Elf on the Shelf<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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There I was at 7:00 AM, bleeding, blood all over my hands, kneeling over our family's beloved Elf on the Shelf, Oliver, in the dining room, and my six-year-old daughter waking up and coming down the steps. It was my worst case scenario. My little girl was going to come downstairs and see me covered in blood with our Elf on the Shelf laying on the floor and think that I did something terrible to Oliver. </div>
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Why was I covered in blood and bleeding at 7:00 AM in the dining room with Oliver laying on the floor next me? Because I was trying to make the Elf on the Shelf experience better for my daughters. The night before, I moved Oliver to a spot in our house that was just okay. I knew it was just okay at the time, but I thought it would do. The next morning I woke up, and decided I could do a better job with my placement of our elf. As I was moving him around in the dining room, so he would be hanging upside down like Batman, (much cooler than my first placement), I bumped a glass that fell to floor. I knelt down trying to catch the glass, but since I am well out of my 20's, my quickness just wasn't there, and I ended up kneeling onto a shard of glass and getting a 3 cm gash right by my knee. Four stitches later, and a bunch of Elf on the Shelf pictures put up all around my classroom by my colleagues, I was as good as new. </div>
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As word at school spread about my near holiday massacre, a few people asked me why did I move the elf a second time. Good question, but if you have young children, you know why. Every morning, since the arrival of our elf, that is the first thing my six-year-old and three-year-old look for. Then when they find him, they have to show everyone in the house. They talk about Oliver all day, and I find them quietly talking to Oliver when they think no one is watching. They draw him pictures, and write him little notes. To see that every day from my daughters is worth more effort from me in my placement of him. And as I thought about the answer to the question, "Why did I move the elf a second time?" I couldn't help but relate that to my classroom. </div>
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So here are my Elf on the Shelf Lessons:</div>
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<strong>Anything worth doing, is worth doing well.</strong></div>
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It's an old saying, but it's true. If I had moved our family's elf with that idea in mind the first time, then I wouldn't have ended up in the predicament I did. Same thing is true in the classroom (to some extent anyway). If you take time to plan well crafted lessons, it might not go as planned every time, but your efforts will be appreciated. </div>
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<strong>Your lessons are not for you, but for your students</strong></div>
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If you can see that look on your children's or students' faces, then you know you have done your job. It makes putting in the time to create relevant and meaningful lessons so much more enjoyable. Yes, enjoyable! Don't take the easy way out with your lessons. It's the only time in their life and in your life you will have that opportunity to make an impression on them. The impression you make is up to you.</div>
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<strong>If you know you can do it better, then do it better</strong></div>
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Similar to the first lesson, but worth restating. If you reflect on your work, and you know you can do better, then don't sell yourself or your students short. You might not like changing things at the time, but in the end, you'll be glad you did. And you will remember that more, than the time spent revising.</div>
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<strong>Take risks (you might end up with some stitches, but you'll learn a lot and have some great, memorable stories)</strong></div>
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This particular incident I had this holiday season, will be one my family, my colleagues, my students (kid-friendly version), and possibly those reading this blog will remember and laugh about for years to come. The risk I took ended up being memorable. The risks we take in our classrooms can end up being memorable, too. But you won't know, unless you try.</div>
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<strong>Let yourself see the wonderment in your children's eyes and use it</strong></div>
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Once you see that wonderment from your children or your students, you can't ignore it. Take time to appreciate that wonderment you see, and remember that when planning your lessons or assignments. Our children and our students can be our best motivators. </div>
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While I was waiting to get my stitches, my first stitches ever at age 38, I got a notification from one of my 6th grade students who posted something in our class's Google Classroom. She said, "I am watching CBS This Morning, and they were just talking about the best five jobs. Google was in 4th place ;)." In my blended learning classroom, we use G Suites for Education daily to collaborate, communicate, be creative, and think critically. My students are thriving. They ask for work because they know they can create their work, as compared to filling out a worksheet. They post questions about topics discussed in class, and they answer each other's questions. When I look out across my classroom, I see that wonderment in my students' eyes this year. So when I got that message, it was the only Novocaine that needed to get my stitches (well, not really, but it made me feel a whole lot better).</div>
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So what happened? Did my daughter come downstairs, turn the corner, and see me covered in blood, bleeding, and kneeling over our Elf on the Shelf, Oliver? Did she scream in shock and terror? Fortunately, no. I managed to hold my gaping wound together with one hand, while I grabbed Oliver with my other hand and shuffled to the kitchen to quickly place him elsewhere before she turned the corner. By that time, my wife was standing by the broken glass keeping my daughter out of harms way, as I hobbled through our bedroom and into the bathroom bleeding. And what do you think my wife's words were to me as I went into the bathroom, past our bedroom? "Don't get any blood on the carpet."</div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-17969887470859529342016-12-05T08:04:00.003-08:002017-07-06T08:56:06.553-07:00Road Rules on the Blended Learning Highway<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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Remember when you were pestering your parents to teach or rather let you drive? You were sure you knew how to drive, as you had had extensive training starting from a very early age. Part of that training included sitting on your parent's lap while they were in the driver's seat and they "let you" drive the car into the garage, sitting on your parent's lap again as they again, "let you" drive the lawn tractor around the yard, then gradually building up to driving the lawn tractor around the yard by yourself, and of course driving the go-karts at the local go-kart track during the summer. With all that training, you were certain you could drive and drive fast. Then when your parents finally gave you the car, you realized the power and potential speed of that car, and that you really didn't know how to drive well, let alone safely. </div>
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Learning to drive takes time, and as much as we want to get in that car and go fast, we soon realize we need to hit the brakes and slow down. Take things little by little, as we build up our driving knowledge and experience. We need to learn how to drive safely in all sorts of weather, on all sorts of roads, with all sorts of passengers, and during different times of day and night. And by the time we have all of that experience and knowledge, we realize driving isn't about going fast at all. It is simply about getting us from one place to another. How we get there, that is up to us. </div>
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Last year, was my first year in blended learning, and it was a lot like being a new driver. I had extensive training, as I read books, did research on my own, and was active on Twitter learning as much as I could about it. And I wanted to go fast, or at least I thought I had to. This year has been a lot like being an experienced driver understanding the purpose of driving. I feel like I am kind of at that all important driving age of 25 when insurance rates go drastically down. My understanding of blended learning has grown so much as I continue to learn and grow from my experiences.</div>
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So after reflecting here are my road rules for new and experienced drivers on the blended learning highway.</div>
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<strong>Road Rule 1: Slow Down</strong></div>
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Technology changes faster than teenagers want to drive, so it's too hard to keep up with everything. Don't feel that you have to learn everything at once. There are so many tools out there to bring into your classroom, that you can't possibly learn them all, but you do have eventually drive out of the parking lot and onto the road. It's the only way you will learn.</div>
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<strong>Road Rule 2: Learn the Basic Colors</strong></div>
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Red, yellow, green, and blue. Blue? No, not traffic lights, but G Suite for Education. Take time to explore Google Drive and build from there. Work towards understanding how powerful and relevant G Suite for Education can make your blended learning class. You and your students will thank you for it. </div>
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<strong>Road Rule 3: Read the Manual</strong></div>
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Many of us, me included, tried taking the written part of our driver's test without really reading the driver's manual. Some got lucky and passed, others, like me, weren't so lucky and failed. I know I went back and read the manual cover to cover three times before taking the written test again. Second time I passed. For blended learning, find a good book to use as your manual. For me, it was Catlin R. Tucker's book, <em style="color: #999999;">Blended Learning in Grades 4 - 12</em>. This has been an invaluable resource for me, and after last year, I read it a couple times over. </div>
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<strong>Road Rule 4: Learn How to Parallel Park</strong></div>
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The dreaded parallel park has gotten so much easier now in cars with back-up cameras and self parking cars, but it is still something that needs to be learned. When running a blended learning classroom, whether it is your first year or fifth year, take time to learn how to park your mind. There will be so many things and ideas constantly streaming past you, that you need to take pause and reflect. Think about where you were and where you are going next. </div>
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<strong>Road Rule 5: Share the Road</strong></div>
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Share your experiences with others, whether they are your colleagues at your school or your colleagues in your PLN. Sharing your experiences will help you more than it will help them. It gets your thoughts about your practice out of your head and results in more clarity and a deeper understanding about the importance and purpose of blended learning. </div>
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Getting my driver's license was one of the most exciting times in my life. It was something that I wanted since I sat on my dad's lap in his car as he "let me" drive into the garage. Now after 15 years of teaching, driving down the blended learning highway is just as exciting to me as getting my driver's license, and just like a vehicle, blended learning can take you to some really great places but you just have to know some road rules.</div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-83092740158405811282016-12-01T19:13:00.004-08:002017-07-06T08:57:59.661-07:00Turns Out Teachers Are Mind Readers (Thanks to Recap)<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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Imagine if you could hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas on a topic, and respond to each and every one of them without finding time to schedule individual student conferences. Imagine if your students could let you know how well they understood the topics covered during the week. Imagine how much insight you could get, and how you could adjust your teaching to meet the needs of individual students. </div>
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Well, a few weeks ago I came across Recap, a free student video response and reflection app, on my Twitter feed. It allows me to hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas, allows me to respond to each and every one of them. I checked out the site and immediately put it into action in my class calling the Recap assignments, #flashbackfridays. For 6th graders, not much is cooler than the hashtag. </div>
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My 6th grade students instantly took to it. Every one of my students are able to share their insights through a reflective process in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them. They can respond to the Recap assignments on any device that has a camera and microphone, and after they are done recording, they assess their learning about the topic(s) by selecting a "thumbs up," "thumbs sideways," or "thumbs down." Videos can range from 15 seconds to 2 minutes or longer if need be, as determined by the teacher. </div>
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My Recap assignments are simply questions for my students to share their thinking with me. Teachers have the option of asking one or more questions for their students to respond to. So a teacher could ask a general question such as, "What are three things you learned this week," request more specific feedback from students like, "Tell me the steps for dividing fractions," or even use the 3-2-1 prompt idea. Also, while I view each student's response, I can type a response to them while their video is playing. If I need to pause or rewind a their video, I can. Recap then will breakdown the students's responses into how they self-assessed their learning for quick reference for the teacher. Finally, once the due date has come, Recap will automatically create a daily review reel. </div>
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Recap is quick, convenient, relevant, meaningful, insightful, powerful, and fun for students and teachers. Finally teachers are the mind readers they need to be, thanks to Recap.</div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-56451903566543373622016-12-01T19:12:00.004-08:002017-07-06T08:59:53.758-07:00Survey Says...<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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Throughout all of my 15 years of teaching, there has been one word that has caused me, my students, and my students' families to shudder. If you are in education, and even if you are not, I am guessing you can figure out the word. The word is <em style="color: #999999;">homework</em>. Didn't take you long to shudder, did it?</div>
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The word <em style="color: #999999;">homework</em> causes many to shudder much like the word <em style="color: #999999;">shot</em> does for my six-year-old daughter when she has to go to the doctor. Not even the promise of the lollipop at the doctor's office can get her to stop her fussing over going. She dreads going days before and, of course, tries to talk her way out of it all the way up until we get called back from the waiting room. She clams up immediately when the doctor comes in, and then the tears, crying, and wailing comes as soon as she sees the shot. What should take only seconds, ends up taking emotionally draining (for everyone) minutes and minutes to complete.</div>
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Obviously shots are different than homework, but some of the emotions our children (and we) go through dealing with homework are the same. Shots have a different purpose than homework. Shots are to prevent or treat illness, where as homework is to assess student learning. Or at least it should be.</div>
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Homework should not cause students, parents, and teachers to shudder. It should be relevant, meaningful, and meet students where they are. It should be quick and manageable. It should be reflective for the student and teacher. It should be a formative assessment that helps the teacher guide instruction. It should be more for the teacher, than the students. And it should not be used against students, be it grades, placement, or punishments. </div>
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Full disclosure, I am not a fan of homework. I hate worksheets. I hate 5 point completion assignments. I hate taking time out of a child's busy night to do more work than the work they already did that day at school, and if you don't think a child has a busy night, think about dance, football, basketball, and soccer practice, family obligations, play time, dinner time, and bath time just to name a few things. I hate how homework takes away from a child being well rounded. I hate making a child and the child's family feel like they are taking the child to get a shot. I hate how homework can make a child dislike school and learning. I hate the term, <em style="color: #999999;">homework</em> and how it makes people feel. </div>
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Yet this year I am giving regular math homework to my 6th graders. I know, completely contradictory. So let me explain. I am re-branding homework and calling it "Survey Says," not because I am trying to trick my students with a different name, but because that is how I view what I am asking my students to do, as a survey. I examine and then share the results of their surveys the next day in class. Everyone can see the questions and how the class responded. We discuss the thinking involved with the survey questions and correct any mistakes in their thinking. </div>
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To create the surveys, I am using Google Forms, with the newly added quiz feature this year, and Google Classroom as my LMS for my blended learning classroom, which is where my students access their surveys. My students are asked to answer only two questions that are about the day's lesson. Using the quiz feature in Google Forms, I am quickly able to see how the class and individual students understood the lesson. The two questions always stem from the day's lesson and how we discussed it in class. It is never a prefabricated worksheet without any personal connection to the students.</div>
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A great feature about quizzes in Google Forms is the opportunity to give feedback to incorrect and correct answers. It allows instant feedback to the students to help them learn, unlearn, and relearn the lesson. And with just about all of my students having their own devices, they are able to complete their homework anytime, anywhere, and they never have to worry about losing their homework. Not only can they complete it anytime, anywhere, but I can view their results anytime, anywhere before the next day. Think about how powerful of an idea that is.</div>
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The most their surveys take are two or three minutes, and I let them know I am okay if life gets in the way and they can't complete it that night. It doesn't count against them. Each individual survey is not counted as a separate grade, rather they are part of a student's overall grade. Because I want the focus to be on learning, not only from me but from each other. I do not penalize students for trying or getting wrong answers. The students' efforts go into a class participation grade at the end of the marking period, because I want them to know their efforts and insights are important as they directly impact their classmates. </div>
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All 29 of my students have been completing their homework, or rather surveys, on a regular basis, and it is greatly helping me adjust my teaching to better meet the needs of my students. Survey says, shuddering is a thing of the past.</div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-3210010430650404522016-12-01T19:11:00.001-08:002017-07-06T09:01:38.031-07:00So What's the Difference?<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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This is my 15th year of teaching, and this is by far and away my favorite year to date. It is not that I haven't enjoyed my other years, but this year is standing out already as a special year. I have been thinking a lot of what is making this year my favorite year, and what is making it different than my other years. So these are the ideas I believe are the difference makers for me this year.</div>
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<strong>Communication</strong></div>
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This year I started using the Remind app to better connect with parents and students. It allows me to connect with parents in real-time using my smartphone or computer. In years past, I would send out emails or send home a daily report book or sorts. However, what I was failing to do those previous years is not only meet the parents where they are, but also where I am. Nearly everyone has a smartphone and nearly everyone never puts it down for more than five minutes at a time. So not only are parents getting notifications about assignments, but Remind also allows me to send pictures, send files, send links, and have individual messages with parents. It is a fast and easy way of communicating with the parents, and it has helped build stronger parent-teacher relationships than in any other year. </div>
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<strong>Blended Learning</strong></div>
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Last year was rough. This year has been fantastic. Last year was full of frustration and uncertainty, but it also was full of learning. The biggest thing I learned from running my first blended learning classroom last year, was purpose. While I understood blended learning last year, I did not really understand the purpose. The purpose for blended learning, which I discovered as a result of last year, is that is a way for students to find meaning, relevance, and themselves in their education during their time in school; not any previous generation's time in education. It is my responsibility to design lessons and assignments with that purpose in mind, and G Suite for Education has allowed me to do just that. Students are engaged and excited about my class like never before. </div>
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<strong>Patience</strong></div>
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Being patient with my students and my teaching by not rushing them with new ideas and topics has been an important aspect of this successful year. Seeing what educators across the country are doing via my PLN can be exciting but also overwhelming. As much as I would like to, there are just too many things to do them well. This year I am picking a few, getting to know how to set those ideas up for successful implementation, and knowing when to use them. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others. </div>
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<strong>Understanding</strong></div>
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Understanding the differences in my classes and students and respecting family time have made a difference this year. Each class dynamic is unique, and that must be understood and respected. And the same goes with each student. Each student is a different individual, and in order to better understand my students as soon as the year started, I had them create an infographic in Google Drawings about themselves. I then shared each student's infographic with the class. It was extremely helpful and enjoyable getting to know more about my students. Having two children and one on the way of my own, I now understand how quickly the night can go. Trying to get to the minimal homework assigned to my kindergartner, can be challenging at times. While I have not been a big fan of assigning homework for years now, having children has strengthened my belief that family time is a precious thing that should be respected and considered by teachers who want to give homework. </div>
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<strong>Creativity</strong></div>
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Before this year started, I wanted to focus on making my lessons and assignments relevant to my students, and since the year started, I have done that. Bu it has had an unintentional, yet beneficial effect. Creativity. Creativity has been in my lessons here and there in years past, but not nearly as much as it has been already this year. As I have worked on making my class relevant, I have also become much more creative with my lessons and assignments. Relevance is not found in a textbook, nor is creativity. So by focusing on relevance, creativity has reemerged in my class over and over again (#flapjackfriday, bottle flipping, mystery cafe, boo jeans, just to name a few creative lessons and assignments already this year). </div>
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<strong>Sharing</strong></div>
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Sharing ideas with others on Twitter with my PLN or with my colleagues at school has given me stronger sense community. It has strengthened my belief that the idea of our school, our students is much bigger than just my classroom, my students. I would not be where I am with my understanding of education today, if it wasn't for my PLN sharing their thoughts and ideas. Which is why this year I am focusing a lot of my efforts on sharing ideas with other teachers in my district and on Twitter. The importance of sharing cannot be ignored, even if others are ignoring your attempts. </div>
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<strong>Continued Learning</strong></div>
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As successful and special as this year has been already, I am still wanting to learn more. I do not want to become complacent. I want to challenge myself to learn more to give these students my best, because they deserve it. One idea I came across on Twitter this past week was Recap by Swivl. Recap is a way for students to reflect on what they have learned, but with a twist. Students respond to question posed by the teacher, but through a video recording. Teachers and parents will now be able to see what their student is thinking, and the students will be reflecting on their learning. Really a great way to personalize learning for my students, and I never would have come across Recap if I didn't stop learning. </div>
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So what's the difference? A lot, actually.</div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-38253872372615968912016-12-01T19:10:00.002-08:002017-07-06T10:36:56.965-07:00Did You Send Out the Invites<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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Do you send out invites to your parties, or do you just hope people hear about them through word of mouth and just show up? Unless you still live at a college frat house, chances are you send out invites. The invitations are an important part to any successful party. Without them, people don't know when, where, or even if there is a party. And it could be the best party ever, but no one would know without the invitations. </div>
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Earlier this year, few of my colleagues and I went to a Breakout EDU workshop. It was something we all had a strong interest in, and something that we were excited to try when we got back to school. But then, something terrible happened. We all went back to work the next day, closed our doors, and started teaching in our own self-induced, solitary confinement classrooms. What we were so excited and energized about doing (and something that required communication and collaboration), faded away as quickly as the next day came.</div>
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A few weeks went by, and I kept looking at my Breakout EDU kit that was sitting in my room since I had received it from attending the workshop. To be honest, as cool as that black, spy-looking kit looked, it was also a bit intimidating. All those locks with all those Breakout EDU games were a little overwhelming. The box was unlocked and I was still unsure whether I could break out of it or not. Then I started thinking about my colleagues who attended the workshop with me. I sent an quick email, or invitation, asking if they would like to do a Breakout EDU game together with my 6th grade math class. Everyone quickly responded with a, "YES!" That was it. That was all that was needed in order to get this party going. A simple email inviting others to join in. So, we all eagerly got together at the end of the day on Friday of that week, determined which game to do, picked a day to do it the following week, and took our kits home for the weekend to set up. We met briefly Monday to iron out any issues we encountered from the weekend with our kits, and then again at the end of the day Tuesday to get the room set up for our Breakout EDU game the next day. The next day, the day of the Breakout EDU game, we all adjusted our schedules to be there for the party. </div>
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Now, a couple of things. First, we made time to meet. It wasn't a hour or even a half hour. We didn't request time from our principal to let us met. We just made time. It was 5 minutes here, 15 minutes there. But that time allowed us to connect and share our ideas, struggles, and excitement. Second, nothing goes the way you plan it out in your head, and this proved true once again in our planning. One of teachers accidentally locked another teacher's directional lock and had forgotten the combination to open it. Things happen, and I am glad this did happen. It allowed us to troubleshoot and problem solve together. It allowed us to come up with a solution so things like this don't happen again. Sounds eerily like a real-world situation and in school, no less! So now, when we share out Breakout EDU experience with other teachers, we can give them some preventative measures so they don't end up making the same mistakes. </div>
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We create our own self-induced, solitary confinement classrooms more than we realize. Many teachers meet briefly with colleagues at lunch, at recess, or as they walk in and out of school, and unless we are willing to send out invitations to our colleagues and make time with them, we will continue to be isolated in our classrooms. Teaching can be a lonely profession if we let it, or it can be a profession filled with collaboration, communication, creativity, and cake. So send out invitations. Get some parties going with your colleagues in your classroom. Everyone loves a good party, but you just have to invite them.</div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-1535545362896347162016-12-01T19:09:00.000-08:002017-07-06T10:38:29.129-07:00Screencasts in Google Classroom<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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This year I have been creating my own screencasts using Screencastify, the free Chrome extension available on the Chrome Web Store. Unfortunately, my screencasts would not play for me or my students in Google Classroom, until today. </div>
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<strong>How to Have a Screencast Play in Google Classroom:</strong></div>
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1. Record and name your screencast</div>
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2. Create a new Google Doc</div>
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3. Insert an image in your Google Doc</div>
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4. Locate your screencast in your Google Drive</div>
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5. Get a shareable link for your screencast (make sure link sharing is on)</div>
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6. Go back to the Google Doc you created that you inserted an image in</div>
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7. Click on image</div>
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8. Hit Control + K to create a hyperlink</div>
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9. Hit Control + V to paste your link</div>
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10. Insert your Google Doc into your Google Classroom</div>
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Screencasts can be used to flip a lesson, become part of your blended learning classroom, have students share their thinking, or anything else you can think of. And now they can be viewed in Google Classroom.</div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">This year I have been creating my own screencasts using Screencastify, the free Chrome extension available on the Chrome Web Store. Unfortunately, my screencasts would not play for me or my students in Google Classroom, until today. How to Have a Screencast Play in Google Classroom: 1. Record and name your screencast 2. Create a new Google Doc 3. Insert an image in your Google Doc 4. Locate your screencast in your Google Drive 5. Get a sharable link for your screencast (make sure link sharing is on) 6. Go back to the Google Doc you created that you inserted an image in 7. Click on image 8. Hit Control + K to create a hyperlink 9. Hit Control + V to paste your link 10. Insert your Google Doc into your Google Classroom Screencasts can be used to flip a lesson, become part of your blended learning classroom, have students share their thinking, or anything else you can think of. And now they can be viewed in Google Classroom.</span></span></div>
Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-21764471486306133182016-10-04T20:58:00.000-07:002017-07-06T10:40:12.198-07:00What Is a Ghost's Favorite Pair of Pants?<div style="font-family: tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">
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What is a ghost's favorite pair of pants? </div>
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This is the riddle I asked my 6th grade math class on a recent 3-part, Google Classroom assignment about dividing mixed numbers. The first part of this assignment was to model dividing fractions using Google Drawings. After that, they began attempting to solve the riddle. However the only way they could figure out the answer to the riddle was to successfully complete a quiz with Google Forms. With every answer, right or wrong, students were given a message. The message was either, "Try again," or a letter of the alphabet. The students were directed to record the letters of the alphabet they got after submitting their answers to each question, and they were directed to show their work and thinking on the problems they solved. Once students successfully answered all eight questions, they then had to open a Google Doc, unscramble the letters they received from the Google Form quiz to answer the riddle, and insert an image of their work and thinking on the problems they solved. </div>
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Last year, my first year running a blended learning classroom, it felt very robotic, not to mention very frustrating, nerve-racking, and leaving me filled with doubt. And I am a pretty tech-savy teacher, and I still had difficulties last year trying something new like blended learning. However, I knew I wanted to try something different; something that would make a difference for my students. Unfortunately, I was never close to creating an assignment like the one mentioned above, and I am okay with that, because I am here now. Last year, I used the station-rotation model in conjunction with more canned, online programs. Whereas this year running a blended learning classroom, it feels much more fluid and natural. I am using a teacher-designed blend with teacher-created assignments that I am trying to make as relevant and meaningful as possible. While this requires more thinking and a lot more creativity on my part, it has been worth it; not only for my students, but for me as well. I see my students using the 4C's in their learning daily. And that is where I begin to think about designing each lesson and assignment. I start with the 4C's in mind, and work backwards through my lessons and assignments. It has made all the difference in my blended learning approach. </div>
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All educators set out to make a difference in the lives of our students, but do we really know where to begin (believe it or not, student-teaching doesn't give us that answer, nor does exactly following the lessons plans a textbook company tells us to). Is it just natural that we know how to make a difference? Is it easy to do? For some, the answer is probably yes, but for others, the answer is probably no. So, how do we make the difference? Where do we begin? I suggest we start by taking risks, getting out of our comfort zone, finding ways to bring our passion into the classroom, accepting and learning from our failures (and there will be a lot of them; quite possibly 180), and building relationships with those we teach and those in our PLN. </div>
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By trying to make a difference, G Suite for Education (formerly known as GAfE), has transformed my classroom into a blended learning classroom that has relevance, meaning, and a way for my students to see themselves in their time in their education. My time in education, as a student, was the sit-and-get time. I want my students to have a different experience. I want them to be able to see relevance with their education. I want to give my students their education at their point and time in school, not mine. I want to make a difference.</div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">And one last thing, "boo jeans."</span></span></div>
Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2326393128902829064.post-41208263820953595362016-10-04T20:57:00.001-07:002017-07-06T10:42:52.816-07:00Terrible Two's? Year Two of a Blended Learning Classroom <div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
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Last year was a humbling year for me. After teaching 13 very successful years (at least successful as determined by standardized testing), I decided to I needed to try a new approach to my teaching. I could not and still cannot shake the idea that the way most of our students are learning today are the same ways in which students were taught 20, 30, 40 years ago. I felt like my students deserved more from me. I felt like my teaching needed to be more student-centered and more about their future, rather than mine. I felt like they deserved more of a purpose in their education. So, I attempted to run a blended learning classroom in my 6th grade math and science classrooms.</div>
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I spent last year blogging about my experiences and the ups and downs I had with a blended learning classroom. With all of the ups and downs, it did felt like being a first year teacher again. I took a risk, a big, year-long risk. It made me feel uncomfortable and unsure of myself. It took me out of my comfort zone. And if you are one who puts a lot of stock in standardized test scores and curious how they turned out as a result of running a blended learning classroom, the scores indicated that it was not nearly as successful as my previous years. <span style="font-size: 12.16px;"></span></div>
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So, after all that, where am I now? Did I give up on blended learning? Did I lose the support of my administration? Do I still have a teaching job? I am finding my way in year two of a blended learning classroom with the support of my administration, and I am having a much better understanding of the purpose of blended learning. While test scores might indicate that last year was a failure, I do not view it as such. It would be a failure if I did not learn from my mistakes. It would be a failure if I just gave up and said, "Blended learning does not work. The students can't do it. I can't do it." Truth is, I learned more about teaching last year, than in any other year I taught. Blogging was a big part of my learning as I reflected on my struggles and successes. My blogging and reflecting turned into a very unexpected yet very powerful personalized learning experience for me. </div>
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This year with my 6th grade math, science, and social studies classes, I am focusing my blended learning classrooms building an online learning community where the students and myself can learn from each other using Google Classroom as the platform. I am avoiding using canned programs. I am creating my own content, that directly relates to the standards, and I am focusing on the 4C's in making the content relevant and meaningful to my students. I am slowly building a solid foundation of online learning with my students in the early months, instead of rushing into things. I am not close to running a station-rotation model, which is what I ran last year. Instead I am using the teacher design blend, as discussed in Catlin R. Tucker's book, <em style="color: #999999;">Blended Learning in Grades 4-12</em>. I do intend to use the station-rotation model and other ideas from last year this year, but in more efficient ways. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">As a result of last year, I know where I want my students to be by the end of the year, and I know what to do, but more importantly what not to do, to make sure they get there. So it turned out that last year was a success, regardless of what the scores said, because it taught me the purpose of blended learning, which is not any one model or any one program. Blended learning's purpose is to allow students to find meaning, relevance, and themselves in their learning in a way that fits into their time in school and their future, not ours. </span></div>
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Bill Maddenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516503149396934385noreply@blogger.com0