tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40084984949661798772024-03-15T18:09:54.803-07:00Craig's WorldAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comBlogger288125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-19321006999882473152016-08-28T16:25:00.000-07:002016-08-28T16:25:03.260-07:00The Blog is MovingHey friends!<br />
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With a new job and new responsibilities, I've decided to move my thoughts to a new blog. You can find my ramblings about life at Yealey Elementary at <a href="http://blendthatlearning.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blend That Learning</a>. I'll be writing about blended learning, Chromebooks, Google Classroom, iPads with little ones, and scads more. Please join me on my new venture and learn along with me.<br />
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Thanks!<br />
Craig<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-6187696791487802942016-08-02T08:15:00.001-07:002016-08-02T08:15:32.948-07:00New....Everything!The 2016-17 school year is going to bring some massive changes in my professional life. I'm starting a new job which means I have a new EVERYTHING!<br />
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Starting this month, I will be RTI Math and Blended Learning Teacher at <a href="http://www.boone.k12.ky.us/24/Home" target="_blank">Yealey Elementary</a> in <a href="http://www.boone.kyschools.us/" target="_blank">Boone County School District</a> (Kentucky). This is a massive change from where I've been. For 22 years, I taught and worked in private schools. My most recent role was TechLead, which was a combination of computer teacher and tech integration specialist, at <a href="http://www.mvca-oh.com/" target="_blank">Miami Valley Christian Academy</a> in Cincinnati. <br />
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Boone County School District has a major shift toward blended learning and project based learning. My experiences in these areas of education and ability to wax eloquently helped me get this job. I'll be helping our 3rd-5th grade teachers learn to implement the 1:1 Chromebook initiative we have in the district and also help figure out how to solidify everything to one learning management system platform. I'm geeking out over this!<br />
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Obviously, there will be a lot of changes and a lot I can't predict. Of course the biggest change will be the step from private to public education. Both have their own lingo, regulations, and ways of doing things. While teaching is teaching, there will be a learning curve moving into this new role. Another big change will be the shift from OneDrive to Google Classroom. While I got used to OneDrive, I am very happy to make this move. My early Google Drive experiences bring happy memories, and I'm looking forward to it.<br />
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With all these shifts, I'm not sure what that means about this blog. Do I keep it up? Do I start all over? I'm still pondering these things, but till then, please feel free to keep reading!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-24101631688418497712016-05-25T07:39:00.000-07:002016-05-25T07:39:02.781-07:00Innovation Projects -- Spring 2016<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The end of the school year is quickly approaching, but we took one more leap at Innovation Projects this spring. <a href="http://craigsworld37.blogspot.com/2016/02/more-innovation-projects.html" target="_blank"> The last time we did these projects</a>, I was extremely frustrated by Microsoft's Teacher Notebook, as I tried to force it to do something it wasn't created to do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time around, I used <a href="https://blogs.office.com/2014/10/07/introducing-onenote-class-notebooks-flexible-digital-framework-teaching-learning/" target="_blank">OneNote Class Notebook</a> and was much happier. Everything was much better organized and I could check work more efficiently and with much less hassle. If you are in a OneDrive school, I highly suggest this tool for your Genius Hour projects. I'd be happy to walk through the specifics with you. I also introduced my sixth graders to Sway (a newer piece of the Office Suite) and you'll see some Sway presentations in action below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it is, I wanted to get right to the student projects -- the true highlight reel. Here are the best of the best. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Learn how to cook an over easy egg from this sixth grader.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a Sway presentation about American Sign Language.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="500px" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://sway.com/s/R6CF7gEfcpqMhhKW/embed" style="border: none; max-height: 100vh; max-width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="760px"></iframe><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two fifth grade girls teamed up to create this video about the Civil War.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This sixth grade girl created a <a href="http://www.emaze.com/@ACCTFICT/the-ultimate-dog-quiz" target="_blank">quiz about dogs on Emaze</a>. I never heard of Emaze before these projects, but I really like what I've seen from this tool! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This fifth grade girl taught her class about sign language on her video. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Here is a 6th grade boy who wanted to hack an iPhone charger. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jRLK3CAZ4z0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jRLK3CAZ4z0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This fifth grader taught us how to make a birdhouse. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had never heard of EOS life hacks before this sixth grader suggested it for her project. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nd_h9gnEtTk/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nd_h9gnEtTk?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click the link to see a <a href="http://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WFioWvZsubf6gWbeg1twyI4igm89t7iG0tfjefcy1xs/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Google slide show</a> about how computers work created by a fifth grade boy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a great year working with these innovators, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow, learn, and create this year. I'm so glad I started Genius Hour projects in my elementary computer classes and look forward to keeping this tradition alive in future years!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-78252389702008732362016-05-04T11:56:00.001-07:002016-05-04T11:56:53.724-07:00Thanks, Coach!This past weekend was the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. I had the joy and privilege of running the 26th Mile with my 7-year old daughter. Never heard of the 26th Mile? Don't worry, I'm a newbie too. She joined the Running Club at school and "ran" 25 miles with them this spring. The last mile was run through the streets of Cincinnati and we crossed the finish line of the real marathon. It was a great experience, even if we were drenched and cold with rain by the time it was over.<br />
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Oh! The memories this brought up! <br />
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I was a cross country runner in a former life. I started in 7th grade and ran right through college. Maybe I should rephrase that. I was on a cross country team when I was younger. Maybe that's more accurate.<br />
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As much as I enjoyed the time running with my daughter, there was a lot of frustration as well. While I attempted to act only positive and encouraging on the outside, on the inside I was constantly thinking things like, "Why on earth do you need to stop and catch your breath after 10 steps?" "I can see the finish line! Why are we stopping? SPRINT!" Our practice sessions were just as frustrating...<br />
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And I couldn't help to feel a bit like Mr. Preston must have when I was a part of his cross country team as a teenager. <br />
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My first memories of running for Coach were from seventh grade. My older brother had been on the high school team, but Coach wanted some middle schoolers to round out a freshman invitational team. I joined up and had no idea what I was doing. But I was quickly acquainted with Mr. Preston's competitive nature when I heard him yell, "Go Blue!" from across a lake. (Yes, we wore blue outfits.) I couldn't help wondering how the guy could even see me from so far away. <br />
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I was not what one might call an avid runner. In fact, I was a very stupid runner. I spent all summer working at camp, chowing on unhealthy camp food, and getting fat. Then, I would go to cross country camp with a big gut and try to run 100 miles a week in August heat and humidity. I would be slow and hampered with shin splints and knee problems. Needless to say, my race times were abysmal. By the time I shed the weight and started to run competitive times, the season would be winding down, and another season would be lost to a summer of bad self-discipline.<br />
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But, Coach never gave up on me. He was always patient with me. And he always pushed me to be my best.<br />
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A miracle happened in my sophomore year. I did well enough at the end of the season to land the 8th position on our state championship team, which is fancy for saying I was the alternate to state. I got to spend an extra week running with the varsity team while my other friends were home watching Spider Man reruns. (Literally. One of my friends told me, "Have fun sucker. I'll be home watching Spidey.") I remember one practice while I was huffing and puffing trying to stay up with the other seven guys and coach running alongside me talking to me about dedication. One thing has stuck with me for the past 30 years.<br />
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<b>"Those kids who you work with at camp. What would they think if you told them you were only half dedicated to running?" </b><br />
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Coach, I'm sorry I never applied this thinking to running, but it has become a life mission to be hyper focused and do my best at everything I do. As a teacher the past 22 years I have felt those eyes watching every move and want to be the positive example they need.<br />
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Speaking of examples, we knew we had a great coach because he ran with us. No matter the workout, we knew he was out there working along with us, sweating and hurting just like we were. (Well, maybe he didn't hurt like me since he was always in running shape.) If I ever picked up "leading by example" as a leadership style, I can give Mr. Preston credit for that.<br />
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Coach didn't settle for anything but excellence. Remember my sophomore year? That was a rebuilding year, and the worst state finish I can remember. I rounded out my high school career soundly embedded on the JV team as my fast friends won states the next two years. In fact, Coach Preston and Council Rock went on to win (I think) five out of the next seven Pennsylvania State Championships. That's incredible!<br />
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Mr. Preston wasn't just a cross country coach, but he was also my Algebra 2 teacher. I don't remember a lot about Algebra 2, but I do remember his undying passion for math. I learned a lot from him that year and loved math class. In fact, I graduated from high school wanting to become a math teacher. (I got sidetracked from that dream, but that doesn't discredit the initial dream). <br />
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Coach was tough -- as a coach and a teacher. But I always knew he cared. I went to a small college in the area and got this harebrained idea of becoming a hurdler for our track team. I called up Coach Preston and asked him to teach a friend and me how to hurdle. He gave up a Saturday morning to spend time with a former runner and his goofy friend to teach us a new skill. My father was in a serious accident the day before our session, and I remember asking him to pray for Dad, which of course he promised to do.<br />
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Now that I am well into my adult years, no one will ever mistake me as a runner. However, I hope they do see in me a work ethic and enthusiasm that I picked up from Mr. Preston so many decades ago.<br />
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Mr. Preston, as I enjoy my Teacher Appreciation Week, I wanted you to know that I am forever thankful for the life lessons you taught me sweating and gasping through the trails of Tyler Park. Thanks for not giving up on this kid who looked like he swallowed watermelon seeds. <br />
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Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, Coach!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-26883801785658762542016-03-10T12:13:00.002-08:002016-03-10T12:13:55.058-08:00Does Innovation ACTUALLY Work? First, let me start this post with this.... "Hi, Mom!" Yes, I have a proud mother who reads each of these posts. So, let's hope she enjoys this one.<br />
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I recently finished reading <a href="https://medium.com/@willrich45/stop-innovating-in-schools-please-b9246151be7#.wnlp719dm" target="_blank">this article</a> by Will Richardson, and I happily agreed with (just about) every word of it. In the article, Mr. Richardson argues that innovation in school can't stop at the shiny tech tools and toys we tote around our schools. No matter how we dress up our curriculum and make it look innovative, it's not really. <br />
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We all know that when an authority dictates what we learn and when we learn it, school gets really boring really quickly. We know it because we lived it. Real learning -- deep learning -- comes from exploring a topic that we have a true passion about. As educators, our job is to foster that passion, to fan its flames, and teach our students how to learn rather than what to learn. And that is when we become innovative teachers in innovative schools.<br />
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Yet, as I nodded my head up and down, a gnawing thought continued to work on me.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">How do we know this innovative thing is actually working? </span></b><br />
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Let's say you've been reading about maker space or Genius Hour or some new-fangled 21st century way of teaching and you really want to bring it to your school. You put together a great presentation about what this will look like and how it will be a great asset to your school and sit your principal down to talk pitch your idea. What if... your principal says, "That sounds great, but how do we know it will increase student learning?"<br />
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What do you say? How do we prove it's a good thing?<br />
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Gut feelings, bright and cheery faces, and snazzy TED-like talks aside, how do we know this thing we're doing is making a difference in our students' lives -- today and in the future?<br />
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And, yes, there are a lot of question marks toward the end of this post because I'm really asking these questions. I'd love to hear what sort of data you are putting together to show that your innovative philosophy of teaching is truly making a difference in the lives of your students. Please share.<br />
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Thanks!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-38663812969008150082016-02-29T11:57:00.003-08:002016-02-29T11:57:44.568-08:00More Innovation ProjectsLast week, I wrote a post about my upper elementary Genius Hour projects. In that post I mentioned that I still had a number of presentations to watch. Now that the dust has settled and nearly all students have presented, I have a few more things to show off for you.<br />
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This fourth grade girl learned how to make exploding fish (a new recipe for me) and demonstrated at home via video.<br />
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This sixth grader would like to be a triathlete one day. so she created this Haiku Deck about how to train for a triathlon.<br />
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Here is a fifth grade girl who asked her dad to teach her how to play guitar. The result is this video.<br />
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This sixth grade boy created a stop motion video about Jesus walking on the water. I love the waves in the video!</div>
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Who will win the Rodent Race? This sixth grader pitted two family pets against each other in a maze. Find out who will win! </div>
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Here is a great stop motion video teaching us how to make an origami star. </div>
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Thanks for watching! What have you been doing with Genius Hour in your class?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-10768073661878901462016-02-23T09:12:00.000-08:002016-02-23T09:12:15.500-08:00Innovation Projects in Upper Elementary: Debriefing Myself After the Winter ProjectsAs an elementary computer teacher, I see my students for about 50 minutes a week. While I love the idea of <a href="http://www.geniushour.com/" target="_blank">Genius Hour</a> in my classes, I find it hard to implement a "traditional" Genius Hour model with my students, so I developed a "Genius Nugget" concept. This is the second time this year we have dedicated roughly four weeks of classes to student innovations. Read below as I interview myself about the process.<br />
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<b>You already did these projects in the fall. Did you make any changes in the project for the winter?</b></div>
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Yes, I made a few changes based on the outcomes of the fall projects. I recognized that most of our projects before were fact-based and not truly innovations. So for this round, they had to learn a new skill or build something new. Likewise, I realized that far too many students created a PowerPoint and didn't try to stretch themselves with their presentations. That made me ban all PowerPoints, forcing a lot of videos. We also so a number of Haiku Decks, Educreations videos, and a couple web sites. </div>
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I also made some organizational changes, but I don't really want to talk about those.</div>
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<b>What were those changes? It's OK to share. </b></div>
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Well, with 61 students doing these projects at one time, I wanted one central place to collect, assess, and return student work. Microsoft has a great tool called <a href="http://www.teacherdashboard365.com/what-is-teacher-dashboard" target="_blank">Teacher Dashboard</a> that does this. I love Teacher Dashboard for most assignments. As long as the assignment doesn't need to come back to the teacher a second time, TD works like a charm. However, I quickly came to realize that this is a horrible tool for Genius Hour. I essentially wanted students to use the same document to communicate with me each week. I thought TD would help us cycle back and forth between student and me, over and over. Nope. It was a hopeless mess and wasted countless hours on my part. In the end, I was collecting work in any possible means, negating my original goal of having a super organized workflow.</div>
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In the end, this was a great way to remind my students that failure is a part of innovating. You learn from your mistakes and move on, improving all the time. </div>
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I am already planning on using <a href="https://www.onenote.com/classnotebook" target="_blank">OneNote Class Notebook</a> in the spring. </div>
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Let me add that the folks at Microsoft are wonderful. I had two separate people listen to my problems and tried to help me salvage the mess. I was really impressed with how much they were willing to help me out. Microsoft has come a long way in listening to teacher needs.<br />
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<b>What were some of your more interesting project ideas?</b></div>
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I must say that "learn a new skill" was not an easy concept for some students to understand. One boy wanted to talk about how many touchdowns a particular NFL player scored, then bopped to another similar idea, and so on. I found myself saying, "What new skill will you learn?" quite often. It was hard for some students to nail down a good idea.</div>
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What I didn't want was to create a lot of work for parents. However, I had one family that learned to ski. Another (6th grade) girl decided she wanted to learn how to drive. After her driving lesson, she switched gears and went with using a green screen. We had a few cooking demonstrations. We had students teaching themselves French, Japanese, and German. Overall, it was a great experience for most of them.</div>
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<b>How did parents react to this project? </b></div>
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Surprisingly, I got absolutely ZERO negative reaction to the projects this time around. Due to our technical difficulties, I had a lot of parent interaction, and everything was very positive. This is a unique project idea, and I think students and parents alike appreciate the ability to pursue something of interest to the student. It's a lot of work, but it's work the student enjoys doing... and we trick them into learning too.<br />
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And, tell me what teacher wouldn't want an email like this?<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: , "segoe ui" , "segoe wp" , "tahoma" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">And thank you! He really enjoyed it and worked on it passionately because he had fun doing it. As he practiced his presentation last night he said he was really glad he got to do projects like this. I know it is a lot of work for you, thank you for making the investment.</span></blockquote>
<b>What did you learn through this process?</b><br />
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I learned quite a bit, actually. <br />
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Obviously, I've already mentioned my Teacher Dashboard issues and learning that that OneNote Class Notebook is a better tool for this job. <br />
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I learned (or maybe re-learned) I need to be more proactive when looking over the shoulder of studying students. Some kids can work independently and come up with an amazing product. Others need more guidance, and I can't rely on them to come to me for help. I had a student who restarted his project two times before his parents had to intervene with just days left before the due date. It's easy to get swept up in the work that goes with 60+ projects, but it does me no good if I can't sit down next to a student to give him a hand.<br />
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Another issue a lot of families had was getting a video off of their phone or iPad and to me. Those files are too big to email, so we had to brainstorm some alternatives. When I'm done with this interview, I'm going to make a list of ways to transfer video from phone to teacher. I'll make this part of the standard "paperwork" I give to students at the start of a project.<br />
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I also learned how hard students can work. Once the project got rolling, I was amazed at how well the students settled in. There were no disciplinary problems, because students were into the project. I realized once again, that Genius Hour is such a great way for students to grow academically while also chasing down passions they have in their lives.<br />
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<b>Are there any projects you would like to share with the readers?</b><br />
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I have quite a few of them I'd love to share. At this point, I still need to hear another 20 or so presentations, but here are the best of them so far.<br />
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This 6th grade student wanted to learn about archaeology as a potential career path and taught himself how to create a Prezi in the process. </div>
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This fourth grader explored iMovie by making a silent movie.<br />
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This fourth grade girl documented her journey learning competitive cheer this year by creating a video. </div>
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This fourth grader learned about stop motion on his iPad and used iMovie to add music. While the bulk of his video is a good anti-bullying video, I thoroughly enjoyed his dancing stickmen at the end. </div>
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This is the cutest French lesson you ever get, by a lively fourth grader.<br />
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Learn about great moments and great players in baseball history from this web site. </div>
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Who are the greatest athletes of all time? This fifth grader will tell you all about it on his web site.</div>
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Here is a fifth grader who created a cardboard track in his living room and showed us how he tested in with his R/C car. Enjoy!<br />
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These three fifth grade girls worked together to learn how to make chocolate. Then, they each recorded their own videos in their own kitchens. Welcome to Food Network, ladies.<br />
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<b>Wow! That is some great learning your kids did. Thank you for showing off their work!</b></div>
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Hey, you're welcome. I'm hoping to get another group of presentations ready to show off about this time next week. There are still some good things coming. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-49079277986357708972016-02-19T11:41:00.002-08:002016-02-19T11:56:20.729-08:00#OETC16: A Review<b><span style="font-size: large;">Innovation.</span></b><br />
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If I had to summarize the 2016<a href="http://oetc.ohio.gov/" target="_blank"> Ohio Ed Tech Convention</a> in one word, that would be the word. It's not like every speaker and presenter said "innovation" or even thought about it as they created their sessions. But, innovation was always lurking under the surface of everything that happened.<br />
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It all started for me before I ever left my house in Kentucky. I was introduced to <a href="https://www.parkingpanda.com/" target="_blank">Parking Panda</a>, a site that allows you to prepay for parking, giving you a guaranteed space when you arrive on the scene. This was huge to me after being forced to park at a meter for the last day of the conference last year. ("I'll be at your session next hour, as soon as I go feed the meter!" Yup! That made me look cool at a nerd convention.)<br />
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Innovation came out loud and clear as I listened to <a href="https://twitter.com/JChanter22" target="_blank">Jaime Chanter</a> talk about her <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Yc9pUkXrcVf1rTlufr9fVjpIGJj4cW0zDovFTMfWbAE/edit#slide=id.g82fc57080_0_0" target="_blank">future club</a> and how she helps four different schools learn about coding, robotics, and maker spaces in before school clubs in Lakewood School District. Innovation was the key element to <a href="https://twitter.com/MrsKateThoma" target="_blank">Mrs. Thoma</a> and<a href="https://twitter.com/TaraCFrederick" target="_blank"> Mrs. Frederick</a> talk about using <a href="http://innovationhappenshere.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Genius Hour and coding</a> in their 4th/5th combined class every Wednesday. <br />
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It was <a href="https://twitter.com/jcasap" target="_blank">Jaime Casap</a> telling educators to find ways to innovate how to educate so (school) learning becomes relevant for this generation of learners. It was <a href="https://twitter.com/hadip" target="_blank">Hadi Partovi</a> explaining how he created <a href="http://code.org/">code.org</a> in an attempt to bring computer science to every school in America and raise the percentage of women and minorities involved in computer sciences. <br />
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Innovation was the theme of a group of teachers from <a href="http://www.foresthills.edu/" target="_blank">Forest Hills School District</a> that have incorporated <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HNgIkUyMeoL4dnJ_UgAB7-fOVmJDsN-_u5Ah4qVRdsY/edit#slide=id.p" target="_blank">blended learning</a> in their high school instruction. Each one found different ways to blend their learning, but they all have worked hard to find what works for them and their classes.<br />
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Innovation was woven through all the sessions, even those that were not so inspiring. After all, every tech tool discussed either didn't exist five years ago, or have been significantly updated in those five years.<br />
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I was struck by a pair of pictures that Jaime Casap put on the screen. On one side was a class of students sitting in rows, using iPads. On the other side was a black and white picture of a class sitting in rows listening to the teacher lecture. He pointed out that there isn't much difference between the two pictures. And, he's right.<br />
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What if I came into your room at a random time and took a picture at a random moment? Would that picture look any different than a picture taken 100 years ago? Sure, your kids may have iPads in their hands, but do those iPads radically change how instruction happens? Or, does the technology help you teach in all new ways?<br />
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I walked away from OETC this year with a bit less knowledge than I would have liked but a whole lot more drive. Seeing as the 21st century is old enough for a driver's license in Ohio, I think it's time my school implements the 4Cs of 21st century learning. I'm so happy that I attended the convention with a colleague who feels like I do. We need to make a concerted to help our colleagues use technology in new ways in our school.<br />
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I think I have renewed Innovation Project for myself. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-12734547347977574052016-01-26T10:12:00.001-08:002016-01-26T10:12:46.453-08:00Servathon Pre-Production Business MeetingWe're off with our next major video project in Media Production. The other day, our students sat down in a client meeting with our Development Department to discuss the <a href="http://www.mvca-oh.com/servathon" target="_blank">Servathon</a> videos we need to produce.<br />
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When I look at the above photo, it blows me away. There are three administrative team members in the room (one not pictured), two teachers (one not pictured), two staff members, and five high school freshmen (one not pictured), all taking part in the same meeting. How often does a 15 year old student get the opportunity to sit at a table with an adult (an authority figure) and be treated as an equal?<br />
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You'll also see the big screen in the background of the meeting. Our <a href="http://craigsworld37.blogspot.com/2016/01/using-onenote-in-media-production.html" target="_blank">OneNote Class Notebook</a> was on the screen as members of our team were typing up notes and referencing the client worksheet that was previously inputted. (See below.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Client Worksheet: Completed before the meeting and added by one of our teachers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collaborative Workspace: Students taking notes as the meeting progressed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Ub-MFmG6Do6nNMafiNnRC_2MpiX6eBaAE0czNIKy_1Hv1iYh4NK62_bqYjm_nqkOxFXilMFmcw6Pcio4Fop4RY4brwMIa_JXMA2KrxAx0qkZT6Fw26BTWuD3m7FM72bT9rB5u5H7wdnC/s640/blogger-image-1000006202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Ub-MFmG6Do6nNMafiNnRC_2MpiX6eBaAE0czNIKy_1Hv1iYh4NK62_bqYjm_nqkOxFXilMFmcw6Pcio4Fop4RY4brwMIa_JXMA2KrxAx0qkZT6Fw26BTWuD3m7FM72bT9rB5u5H7wdnC/s640/blogger-image-1000006202.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of our fearless leader and his shiny toy. </td></tr>
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The next day, two of our students sat down to brainstorm ideas and put together an initial storyboard for the videos that we'll build.</div>
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Personally, I think we hit gold with our class model. These students will learn so much this semester, not just about creating quality videos, but also about being professionals and working in a small business. I'm looking forward to what we'll see out of these students!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-37551925475429283402016-01-21T11:10:00.001-08:002016-01-21T11:10:34.199-08:00Book Review: How We Got to Now<b>Title:</b> <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-We-Got-Now-Innovations/dp/1594632960" target="_blank">How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World</a></i><br />
<b>Author:</b> <a href="http://stevenberlinjohnson.typepad.com/about.html" target="_blank">Steven Johnson</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/stevenbjohnson" target="_blank">Twitter</a>)<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
<br />
"Innovations usually begin life with an attempt to solve a specific problem, but once they get into circulation, they end up triggering other changes that would have been extremely difficult to predict."<br />
<br />
What do you think is the most world-shaping innovation ever? If you're like me, you probably thought of something like the Internet or mobile technology. But, we'd be thinking too narrowly. Maybe one day those things will make the cut. <br />
<br />
In this book, Johnson looks at innovations that have totally recreated the way we live. Here are some interesting tidbits that I enjoyed.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The creation of the printing press led to a huge need for reading glasses.</li>
<li>Air conditioning changed presidential elections. </li>
<li>You can't read this blog post without glass, but the amount of ways glass plays into bringing this post to your eyes will boggle your brain.</li>
<li>Inventing the light bulb was only one small part of actually lighting up a city. </li>
</ul>
<div>
What does this have to do with education? I still have hopes of one day leading my own Innovation Class, and this book may well be required reading for that class. Innovation doesn't necessarily happen in a vacuum. One person's great idea can lead someone else to another great idea. I learned how glass artisans in Venice were forced to relocate to a nearby island which caused an explosion of glass innovation. </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...by concentrating the glassmakers on a single island the size of a small city neighborhood, they triggered a surge of creativity, giving birth to an environment that possessed what economists call 'information spillover.'</blockquote>
"Information spillover" sounds exactly like what I would love to see out of the innovators in my school. By reading this book, my hopes would be that my students would see that what they create goes beyond their personal bubbles but have the potential to change the way people all around see world!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICEbuBxqNDxOAgIoGPBKoODgW1xyDIIh2VgjZ7KBSxludK0T7jmYuLRsKTiB9AfHHbF-qZgkOsUXFUinQaeWw4f6yNMDyXd5hGM2qmE-ayCF3vunV6x_i54UBneJjcMfQmFR_LtxNQkEe/s1600/51kOSUupBGL._SX329_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICEbuBxqNDxOAgIoGPBKoODgW1xyDIIh2VgjZ7KBSxludK0T7jmYuLRsKTiB9AfHHbF-qZgkOsUXFUinQaeWw4f6yNMDyXd5hGM2qmE-ayCF3vunV6x_i54UBneJjcMfQmFR_LtxNQkEe/s320/51kOSUupBGL._SX329_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-90048201313118887382016-01-20T07:54:00.000-08:002016-01-20T07:54:12.117-08:00Using OneNote in Media ProductionI co-teach a couple Media Production classes. These classes are offered to middle school and high school and are a semester long. This time frame seems to be a good length of time to teach the basics of video and sound production and give students a rudimentary skill set needed for recreational and (maybe) professional and volunteer media production. <br />
<br />
But what happens when a group of students takes the class for a second semester? <br />
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We have that <i>problem</i> this semester, as our five high school students are last semester's four plus a friend. These students have the skills they need to create great videos, but they need practice to improve those skills. <br />
<br />
Our Development Department wants videos made for our upcoming <a href="http://www.mvca-oh.com/servathon" target="_blank">Servathon</a>. Our Admissions Department wants videos made for our upcoming <a href="http://mvca-oh.com/Domain/70" target="_blank">Open House</a>. We anticipate more video requests as the semester rolls on. These videos need to be professional and serious, <a href="https://youtu.be/2Vi_nSX-ifA" target="_blank">unlike videos they may have produced in the past.</a> This requires a different focus than we had the first semester.<br />
<br />
Two days into the new semester, we set up a faux business model, calling our students employees and we are the supervisors. But we wanted a digital tool to tie it all together.<br />
<br />
Enter <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/onenote/default.aspx?" target="_blank">OneNote Class Notebook.</a><br />
<br />
We have five students all working on completely different projects, filming, editing, teaching, and learning. It's easy for someone to lose track of what he is supposed to do each day. Likewise, it's not hard for the over-achiever to get slammed with work while the YouTube wonder sits back and watches videos for four days straight. OneNote removes that problem. Every Monday we will start class with a staff meeting, assigning jobs for each day of the week and posting them in OneNote. This is especially helpful on those days when one of the co-teachers can't make it to class. We can all access the same information in the same place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdQaDQCmvmNZt600KjUDFYcLY5UuwNmFUrB1gV8ZOVM8hzWYKDXWc8cGXTlUqDNMTWUz2bc6jQEasVAWD6W9hAuMGWZCAmV4b6C-m9PtxHhUQhpw7NLgyCPnEsEDbIVGOK1ZXr5W0Zpzf/s1600/lion+productions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdQaDQCmvmNZt600KjUDFYcLY5UuwNmFUrB1gV8ZOVM8hzWYKDXWc8cGXTlUqDNMTWUz2bc6jQEasVAWD6W9hAuMGWZCAmV4b6C-m9PtxHhUQhpw7NLgyCPnEsEDbIVGOK1ZXr5W0Zpzf/s640/lion+productions.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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We have places set up for storyboards to reside and places for the guys to take notes about the mistakes they made and the ideas they have for future projects. We have collaborative space where great ideas can bloom and individual work spaces where students can jot their private ideas.<br />
<br />
Creative team meetings can happen on our <a href="http://siica.sharpusa.com/AQUOS-BOARD" target="_blank">Aquos touch screen</a>, with storyboarding drawn directly into the notebook. At the same time, students can type daily updates so "supervisors" and "employees" can have a running journal of how a project was put together. <br />
<br />
We even have a page for "employee reviews" (aka rubric) so students know exactly what is expected of them.<br />
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I'm looking forward to seeing how this semester turns out as we use this great teaching tool to guide our video productions. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-26273391492518839722016-01-12T11:13:00.001-08:002016-01-12T11:13:41.828-08:00Loving the Least of TheseA high school student asked, "Mr. Dunlap, what J-Term class are you teaching this year?"<br />
<div>
Me: "Orphan care."<br />
Him: "Oh..."</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I got a chuckle out of that conversation. I explained to the student that I have two main passions, and this year I wanted to focus on the <i>other</i> passion. As a technology teacher, the expectation would be that my J-Term class would focus on technology in some way. Most of my students know that I'm an adoptive dad, and it just makes perfect sense that I care deeply about caring for the fatherless.<br />
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We hold J-Term for our middle and high school students during the first week back from Christmas Break. Classes are roughly 2 1/2 hours long each and have nothing to do with the regular curriculum.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
One of my colleagues, Jessica Finney, and I teamed up to teach the class. I was a bit disappointed that our class had only four students, but I can honestly say that they were the <i>right</i> four students. By selecting our class, they had to give up the chance to decorate cakes, survive in the wilderness, crochet, take care of cats in a shelter, and do a host of other fun classes. Obviously, they had a reason to want to learn about serving the fatherless before they walked into class on Monday. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://showhope.org/" target="_blank">Show Hope</a> has a great student club, called <a href="http://showhope.org/be-hope/get-involved/#students" target="_blank">The Movement</a>, which provides materials necessary to launch high schoolers into action. The goal was to use this curriculum heavily to help us through the week. However, something strange happened when we got students in front of us.... They connected better with personal stories. They soaked in the stories we told and kept asking more and more questions. They wanted to watch more videos about adoption and foster care. In short, they couldn't get enough stories. </div>
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<div>
To quote <a href="https://showhope.org/author/chrisw/" target="_blank">Chris Wheeler</a> from Show Hope, the intent is to move students "from unaware to aware to action."<br />
<br />
The "unaware to aware" part was easy. We just put on a parade of guest speakers to talk about how adoption has affected their lives. I'll list the guest speakers below, but we hit a broad range of topics just by talking about personal experiences. Domestic and international adoption and foster care were certainly part of our discussions. However, we talked about <i>why</i> there is an orphan crisis to begin with -- unwanted pregnancies, abusive parents, and poverty to name a few. We talked quite a bit about the costs of adoption and ways to fund adoptions. We showed videos and looked at blogs and Instagram posts. We invited speakers in via Skype. We also talked about <a href="http://www.compassion.com/" target="_blank">Compassion International</a> which is an organization that helps to end poverty in third world counties. By sponsoring a child, you provide them with food and education to help them make a difference in their country. If you look hard enough, there are examples all around of the orphan crisis and how someone can stand up for orphans. And that doesn't always mean adoption. There are tons of ways to help someone in need.<br />
<br />
To be honest, I am stunned how much we covered in a short time. On Wednesday, we put three columns on the board (The Problem, The Solution, How a Teen Can Help) and asked them to fill the columns with their ideas. In my opinion this was a watershed moment for the class. We took all our thoughts swirling in our heads and got them written down in front of our faces.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9soJf_jTedl_j2r5nRqFst0_1FxB9AjaaPom4Yov5PGalNbkvavdApMvC4wOa7KDZAQF5zCNaRS15UZPUWOYkFjkRZ-SJzRZjwiz8NRT9f41U75a67-QZ4P6md2VzALfP5Dn3DSOQSU6/s1600/IMG_0747.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9soJf_jTedl_j2r5nRqFst0_1FxB9AjaaPom4Yov5PGalNbkvavdApMvC4wOa7KDZAQF5zCNaRS15UZPUWOYkFjkRZ-SJzRZjwiz8NRT9f41U75a67-QZ4P6md2VzALfP5Dn3DSOQSU6/s320/IMG_0747.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-kYswFbaVv7-NNqr7iuVke03hG45AMXsaBnHInMPWDgd4UmF1dwObzp0fuRgmUvamTRDGUR4zWciRyYnL0I6j12vS7A08_Qouuv6B34oep31OxHQLhvyc23WHH3F9uTcxcglgJx9R8dS/s1600/IMG_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-kYswFbaVv7-NNqr7iuVke03hG45AMXsaBnHInMPWDgd4UmF1dwObzp0fuRgmUvamTRDGUR4zWciRyYnL0I6j12vS7A08_Qouuv6B34oep31OxHQLhvyc23WHH3F9uTcxcglgJx9R8dS/s320/IMG_0746.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_nBMyur9sJL5d0OtvCmJRHR41djaPKC0RaxhX5NFCCbOC1SEZ7vwcdur52up6mJ_S2dHIHOy4nNrXGoIBuB-HIdYiYYc5uG_4Nt0H1QQDtKs15zK_QskEx5JzdqaoZPrRFOZsTA5LdoQ/s1600/IMG_0749.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_nBMyur9sJL5d0OtvCmJRHR41djaPKC0RaxhX5NFCCbOC1SEZ7vwcdur52up6mJ_S2dHIHOy4nNrXGoIBuB-HIdYiYYc5uG_4Nt0H1QQDtKs15zK_QskEx5JzdqaoZPrRFOZsTA5LdoQ/s320/IMG_0749.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In the second half of the week, we got more personal by talking to the students' peers. We had a total of four visitors, three girls who have been adopted and a fourth whose two sisters were adopted out of foster care. All four stories were incredibly different, but it helped our students see how adoption can even influence people they know well.<br />
<br />
The second part of the plan was to move from "aware to action." That was a bit tougher. First, it's not right to assume a student <i>wants</i> to be part of the solution. Second, the students need to take ownership of the action. I could certainly push them to do some things but for it to be meaningful the ideas really had to be their own.<br />
<br />
It was so encouraging to hear them talk about wanting to be adoptive parents or siblings. At least two of them are contemplating taking missions trips to China. We've talked about starting a club next year and about how a college student can be an advocate for orphans. I wouldn't be surprised if this summer finds a volleyball camp at our school for foster kids and it won't be long before awareness posters are up in the hallways at school.<br />
<br />
Sadly we ran out of time before we put together a solid action plan for the future, but I'm just excited to see teens with a desire to help those in need. <br />
<br />
Now, to my thank you section...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/jessica__finney" target="_blank">Jessica Finney</a> -- teacher at <a href="http://www.mvca-oh.com/" target="_blank">MVCA</a> and future foster/adoptive mom. When I say "we," many times I mean "she." Jessica has broad knowledge of anything dealing with foster care, adoption, and helping those in poverty. </li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/PSBKINGDOM" target="_blank">Shawn Baker</a> -- adoptive dad and Founder of <a href="http://www.zoeshouseadoptions.com/" target="_blank">Zoe's House</a>. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZSVfBFz3jTniMaEiqKkekz76aEQhfFl8gG_2e7NmjzXBGWpOp9eQcHbk-0HpW7mXskrk-KrfsaOwZR9SPdggzI1DoBFQfyThp4fs5O3Bp_6QrAH0abNeGbD1pzX7YEKg7oEthlw8GyIe/s1600/IMG_0781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZSVfBFz3jTniMaEiqKkekz76aEQhfFl8gG_2e7NmjzXBGWpOp9eQcHbk-0HpW7mXskrk-KrfsaOwZR9SPdggzI1DoBFQfyThp4fs5O3Bp_6QrAH0abNeGbD1pzX7YEKg7oEthlw8GyIe/s320/IMG_0781.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/rbohlender" target="_blank">Randy Bohlender</a> -- adoptive dad and Executive Director of <a href="http://www.zoeshouseadoptions.com/" target="_blank">Zoe's House</a>.</li>
<li>Lynn Woods -- <a href="http://www.truevoices.tv/cincy/" target="_blank">True Voices</a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkdHBkZjm4kf6cO9Ju4uHjf6tEEwlUA25v398QRSqyErE3QkLBTGIlZ1wtRPl6ImISMmmn6dEtMUCrbzQQ2hmP01N3Fy_L1Rv8xdoC4wmqbzM9rLo5iKq0cA6YdDSHZ0g4gb-km1Ra9m8/s1600/IMG_0782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkdHBkZjm4kf6cO9Ju4uHjf6tEEwlUA25v398QRSqyErE3QkLBTGIlZ1wtRPl6ImISMmmn6dEtMUCrbzQQ2hmP01N3Fy_L1Rv8xdoC4wmqbzM9rLo5iKq0cA6YdDSHZ0g4gb-km1Ra9m8/s320/IMG_0782.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</li>
<li>Kay Pardue -- <a href="http://showhope.org/" target="_blank">Show Hope</a></li>
<li>Chris Wheeler -- adoptive dad and Director of Student Initiatives at <a href="http://showhope.org/" target="_blank">Show Hope</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://showhope.org/" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWPqAVGcujjxq6NLknoQf8xsjqBdAjKmTMq03Krjtc8NQb9d7QSG-sozKlfOyqW80-Oq2gTNQOXPY51Hw4knIiJmK4j_rmfqxa0Jl8K10NoDm6o50AXCpc6V-AeTCeqWzmaxfPuomXPwd/s1600/IMG_0761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWPqAVGcujjxq6NLknoQf8xsjqBdAjKmTMq03Krjtc8NQb9d7QSG-sozKlfOyqW80-Oq2gTNQOXPY51Hw4knIiJmK4j_rmfqxa0Jl8K10NoDm6o50AXCpc6V-AeTCeqWzmaxfPuomXPwd/s320/IMG_0761.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</li>
<li>Robert Vilardo -- adoptive dad and Athletic Director at <a href="http://www.mvca-oh.com/" target="_blank">MVCA</a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3f2ORWwiXeBQWdT8yE30WueOWnz-mf5CrtuyOqh2UZW-xUoiIfqxP1UZe3FgZu8oC_2sOcdKgGMcZsyv1eJB43BVYggLR0feMiSJXHETZN8U1W8bZD25ao2nwabEAlLXP1t0uMOfayBGf/s1600/IMG_0783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3f2ORWwiXeBQWdT8yE30WueOWnz-mf5CrtuyOqh2UZW-xUoiIfqxP1UZe3FgZu8oC_2sOcdKgGMcZsyv1eJB43BVYggLR0feMiSJXHETZN8U1W8bZD25ao2nwabEAlLXP1t0uMOfayBGf/s320/IMG_0783.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/chicksdigworms" target="_blank">Amy Kinnell</a> -- adoptive mom and case worker with <a href="http://www.adoptionassistance.com/" target="_blank">Adoption Assistance</a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gdjcgbfs2yBZUm9Ua4zwcjFtqmqV0B-gnL4POCOlGMhozbEGXvEdaJrKEVK8gLuSf6Z8d2xT_qccbBvXC4UGomnllGjj79pRMaH9h3Qq7thMsbuQcR3Y0h9f_K49Znv5PJgGr6xSI4qH/s1600/IMG_0806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gdjcgbfs2yBZUm9Ua4zwcjFtqmqV0B-gnL4POCOlGMhozbEGXvEdaJrKEVK8gLuSf6Z8d2xT_qccbBvXC4UGomnllGjj79pRMaH9h3Qq7thMsbuQcR3Y0h9f_K49Znv5PJgGr6xSI4qH/s320/IMG_0806.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</li>
<li>Those four girls who shared with our class. They will remain nameless but we appreciate making their personal stories public.</li>
<li>The four students in class who moved from unaware to action. Wow! Can't wait to see what happens next! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TPCOj4zi2WimD1J2pY-5jejM_qiccxOqKjUUrrvucahBmQaRCc6FmHxgTU7pBUwR9YXK-6fV3GHDQ5tLR2LNRqhoOgmNax0wDt1OIn8gGtWX1XRuqVPOM8_BfDbwrwX0tTBGhp_bmAuv/s1600/12509884_10153291849288314_6154605196511214123_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TPCOj4zi2WimD1J2pY-5jejM_qiccxOqKjUUrrvucahBmQaRCc6FmHxgTU7pBUwR9YXK-6fV3GHDQ5tLR2LNRqhoOgmNax0wDt1OIn8gGtWX1XRuqVPOM8_BfDbwrwX0tTBGhp_bmAuv/s320/12509884_10153291849288314_6154605196511214123_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</li>
</ul>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-72216676310555866722015-11-13T12:00:00.001-08:002015-11-13T12:00:49.391-08:00Tic Tac Toe? I've been struggling with teaching my 4th graders about sharing documents using OneDrive. Their worlds were opened this year when we gave them email and OneDrive accounts. Before then, their documents didn't go any further than a flash drive and a printed paper. <br />
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Things are different now. They can create, share, and collaborate online in the cloud, and this isn't an easy concept to teach them. <br />
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So, today we played Tic Tac Toe. Half the students created a board (3x3 table) and shared with the other half class. They had to play 3 games and tell me who won each game. And it was a success. Everyone saw collaboration on their screen and got a feel for how the process works. <br />
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The best was hearing the collaboration in the air as students were cheering and jeering across the room and helping each other figure out the process. I'd call it a success.<br />
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Maybe next week we'll do something serious.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-27397155902028219472015-11-12T10:44:00.000-08:002015-11-12T10:44:06.423-08:00Observation Notes: Summit View AcademyLast week, I had the opportunity to observe at <a href="http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/25/Home" target="_blank">Summit View Academy</a>, the school where my daughter attends. When my principal announced that we needed to observe in another school in November, it only made sense to me to visit SVA to see how the STEAM conversion is coming along.<br />
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I <a href="http://craigsworld37.blogspot.com/2015/05/steam-academy.html" target="_blank">blogged</a> in the spring about their jump to becoming a STEAM academy and how I would love to be part of things going on there. It was a rare treat to get a "behind the scenes" look at the transition and meet with some of the key players.<br />
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I spent a couple hours in <a href="https://twitter.com/kidwellclass" target="_blank">Mrs. Kidwell's 4th grade class</a>. Mrs. Kidwell is the school's iPad expert. A few years ago she wrote a grant to receive a cartful of iPads, and today hers is the only class with a collection of iPads. </div>
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I was impressed by a few things in Mrs. Kidwell's room, not the least of which is that iPads were prevalent in every aspect of class. Students used an app to report their attendance. They used iPads during "bell ringer time" and as centers during reading group time. </div>
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Mrs. Kidwell's students are also given student project choices. Once a semester, she passes out STEAM Assignment Choice Boards with 8 project ideas. During the course of the semester, students are required to do 3 of the projects on the handout. These projects span various media and content areas, but they all reflect back on student learning and some sort of STEAM focus.</div>
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My next stop was the middle school library to see Mrs. Jones teach Digital Literacy, and I was pleasantly surprised to see her teaching a lesson from <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/scope-and-sequence" target="_blank">Common Sense Media</a> that I have taught at my school numerous times. Seeing someone else teach the same lesson showed me a few tips how I can teach that lesson better and I'm looking forward to my next attempt soon. </div>
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Mrs. Jones is tasked with starting up the school's maker space in the library, and you can see the excitement radiate on her face when she talks about it. The 3D printer is set up, but the rest is still in the planning phases. In addition to planning out equipment and supplies, she also needs to figure out how to use a maker space, library, and digital literacy class in one room. I don't envy her. Once a month, our <a href="http://www.kentonlibrary.org/2015/codersmakers" target="_blank">local public library</a> comes in to help with a Maker Club after school, which is a great way to get the idea started.<br />
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Mrs. Jones also oversees the morning announcements which are live-streamed to each class at the start of the day. I had the joy of watching the announcements in Mrs. Kidwell's room then seeing the room where the magic happens. (Incidentally, my daughter would be jealous that I was in this room. She runs through the morning announcements often during her play time.)</div>
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I also had the chance to spend some time with Mr. Chavez, the district's STEAM Consultant. </div>
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As a parent, when I heard about the STEAM initiative, I thought it would be an instantaneous change. It turns out that they are planning on a three-year transition, and the biggest hurdle so far has been melding two schools into one. That brought to mind when our school went from two principals to one, and we really started to think and act like one school. It takes a lot of work and great leadership to pull that off. Now that the administrative aspects of this transition are wrapping up, the school is starting to focus more on STEAM and how to integrate it into their philosophy. </div>
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This has been an arduous task because PreK-8 STEAM schools simply do not exist. Mr. Chavez and others are gleaning whatever information they can from whatever source they can find to make the shift. This includes talking to STEAM high schools and asking parents and other community members for help. This is where it's been fun for me to share what I know of technology integration and give some tips to help out. Our school is about two years ahead of them with <a href="https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/" target="_blank">OneDrive</a> and all the subsequent applications, and I've been able to wow them with <a href="http://www.teacherdashboard365.com/what-is-teacher-dashboard" target="_blank">Teacher Dashboard</a>. </div>
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Mr. Chavez's enthusiasm for STEAM is contagious. One of the best parts of my day was his tour of the school with an eye for STEAM change. He has studied the building and its physical space to see how rooms and courtyards can be better utilized to aide the transition. It's going to be great!</div>
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Overall, I love the exchange of ideas happening between schools. I'm excited to see what's happening at SVA and love being able to share my knowledge with them. I'll be keeping an eye on how things progress over the months and years! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-26429330594292961332015-10-28T11:19:00.000-07:002015-10-28T11:19:41.323-07:00Genius Nuggets Round 1 Wrap Up: Part 2. (Good Stuff)I recently wrapped up "Genius Nuggets" in my upper elementary computer classes, dedicating a month to students creating projects of their choice and presenting them to their classes. While the students did good work overall, I did write a <a href="http://craigsworld37.blogspot.com/2015/10/genius-nuggets-round-1-wrap-up-part-1.html" target="_blank">reflective blog post</a> talking about things I learned through the process and how to make it better. Now, I want to turn around and look at the good things that came out of the process. This will be a lot happier.<div>
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<b>Good Stuff 1:</b> Parents learned alongside the kids. This was not an intended aspect of the project, but it happened. It's the nature of the beast. If kids are doing schoolwork at home, Mom or Dad are watching over what happens... and in this case some learning happened with the adults. My personal favorite was with one young lady who <i>thought</i> she sent me her video. Turns out that she didn't. Mom had to figure out how to publish it to YouTube to get it to me. It worked. </div>
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<b>Good Stuff 2:</b> Student passions really came out. I was impressed with some of the topics that came up, not the trendy fare you may expect from preteens. Here are some of my favorites:</div>
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<li>Haitian Earthquake of 2010</li>
<li>How the Internet Works</li>
<li>Behind the Scenes at the Zoo</li>
<li>How to Do a Bunny Hop (I needed clarification on this one. It's a bike move.)</li>
<li>How to Fly a Remote Control Plane</li>
<li>Learning 10 Words in French</li>
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There were a lot of good ideas, but the great thing is that students were motivated because they learned about topics that interested them.</div>
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<b>Good Stuff 3:</b> We got to listen to some excellent presentations and see some good learning. Here are a handful of the impressive ones. </div>
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<li><a href="http://legostarwarsbuildingideas.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Lego Web Site</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/iaNPd9dxPSg" target="_blank">Waterfall Braid Stop Motion</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mvcaoh-my.sharepoint.com/personal/mac_castellini_mvca-oh_com/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=vb08qHO3p8a1bJM6RMTq4AIENt%2fLveuDzlTbFo8VBCw%3d&docid=0b22df6467c78472689482e5cbf2297b6" target="_blank">Farm Life PowerPoint</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/EG0Qsj1n2HM" target="_blank">Butterfly Video</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/psrEmCp1ruc" target="_blank">Brickfilm</a></li>
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As the dust settles on this round of projects, I'm already looking forward to the next set of projects coming up in January. I'm so excited to build on this foundation and see students create some truly incredible projects. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-37545728323770208972015-10-27T11:38:00.000-07:002015-10-27T11:38:36.615-07:00Genius Nuggets Round 1 Wrap Up: Part 1. (Lessons Learned)I believe in the power of <a href="http://www.geniushour.com/" target="_blank">Genius Hour</a>. I have used this teaching model in a couple classes in middle school and tried to start an<a href="http://craigsworld37.blogspot.com/2015/03/now-announcing-two-innovation-courses.html" target="_blank"> Innovation Class</a> in our middle and high school that never really got off the ground. Since all my past outlets for Genius Hour have dried up, I decided to bring "Genius Nuggets" to my upper elementary computer classes. <br />
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We dedicated a month of computer classes (one hour a week) to what we called Innovation Projects in class. This month wrapped up last week with presentations, and now is my time to reflect on the process while it's still fresh in my mind. </div>
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Since I firmly believe that self-evaluation needs to look at the good and bad, for this first post I want to focus on the things I did wrong. Don't worry. I'll post the happy thoughts at a later time. And I'm going to be critical of myself -- not the kids. They did great. </div>
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<b>Problem 1:</b> My fourth graders weren't ready for this. Fourth grade is a big tech year at MVCA. This is the year we give them their own school email. This is a process that can't be sped up too quickly. We need to talk about email etiquette, how to send, forward, reply, and simple things like what to put on the subject line of an email. How do you explain CC to someone who has never seen a carbon copy? I also introduce them to <a href="https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/" target="_blank">OneDrive</a> in the early weeks of fourth grade. They are normally well-versed in Office products by the end of third grade, but cloud-based computing adds a whole new dimension. It takes time to learn these skills.<br />
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I can't stress enough that if I expect students to use a tool to communicate with me, they need to know how to use that tool. <br />
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<i>Lesson Learned: </i> Don't start fourth grade on Innovation Projects in October. Let them learn the tools first!<br />
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<b>Problem 2: </b>I had a lot of emails to sort through. I used email and OneDrive quite a bit for this project. Proposals, weekly updates, and presentation shares were all done via these tools. With 62 students working on this simultaneously, I was constantly sifting through my inbox for the latest update or scrap of information. This was not the most efficient use of my time.<br />
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<i>Lesson Learned:</i>Take advantage of <a href="https://www.onenote.com/classnotebook" target="_blank">OneNote Class Notebook</a> or <a href="http://www.teacherdashboard365.com/" target="_blank">Teacher Dashboard</a>. These speed up the grading process with less clicks along the way. Dashboard is relatively new and I wasn't prepared to use it a month ago. OneNote would require a lot of work to get students ready for use. However, both would speed things up for us.<br />
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<b>Problem 3: </b>Innovation connotes a creation of some sort. Most of the students turned this into an oral report with PowerPoint. This was not at all my intent. Yes, students learned about topics they were interested in. Yes, I still think the project was a success. No, I'm not happy with the "use PowerPoint (ie my comfort zone) to report something I've learned" aspect of the project.<br />
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To be fair, there isn't time or space to create (and store) things in our computer lab. Parents don't want to pay a lot of money for supplies. What I want may not be what we get, and I need to be OK with that. However, I need to do more to promote expanding horizons rather than allowing students to sink back into their comfort zones. (I am not anti-PowerPoint and have rediscovered my love for Office products. I just want Innovation/Genius time to be opportunities to grow into new things.)<br />
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<i>Lesson Learned:</i> Ban PowerPoint. Push videos, web sites, and other presentation tools like Prezi, Haiku Deck, and Educreations. <br />
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Thanks for listening to my thoughts. I'll be working on the positive sides of the project and share some of the best presentations with you. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-26611782161771922522015-10-21T10:04:00.002-07:002015-10-21T10:04:40.317-07:00How a Text Message Helped Keep Me Sane!I was on my way to lunch duty, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a text from my daughter's school. Nothing out of the ordinary, till I opened the text.<br />
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"We received a bomb threat by phone about 30 minutes ago..." </blockquote>
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These are not words you expect to read. You know evil is out there, and you know other schools have been targets in the past. You just don't expect it to hit this close to home.<br />
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For the next two hours, I went about my normal duties, but with my phone in my hand, ready to hear the next piece of news. We got a total of four messages from scary start till successful finish. All the while, I felt like the school was sharing the information they could share and I could sanely go about my day. <br />
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<a href="https://www.remind.com/" target="_blank">Remind</a> made this all possible. At the beginning of the school year we were invited to join the schools' Remind contact list and have been getting school announcements via text since the start of school. However, the administration utilized Remind expertly yesterday, sending out messages in real time so parents knew what they felt we needed to know.<br />
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I've known about Remind for a while, but never saw much use for it till the aftermath of the bomb threat. That made me think of uses we could have in our school.<br />
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<li>Parents want to know what's happening during an actual calamity event. Our own children are rarely far from our minds -- especially when we know there is danger. Remind could put parents' minds at rest and help them know the school and staff are on the job. (Seriously, somehow I was relaxed with each text message.)</li>
<li>Sometimes teachers need to know information that students don't need to know. If we had a teacher contact list, that information could be relayed to teachers and keep the kids outside the loop. </li>
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At this point, I've told our administration about Remind, and we'll see what happens. But I'm so glad that Remind was on my family's side yesterday!</div>
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On the non-techie side of the story, all is well. </div>
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<li>There was no bomb. In fact, her school was one of about a half dozen that got similar calls all around the Cincinnati Area about the same time. The FBI is looking into it. </li>
<li>My daughter's teacher rocks! She made the decision to not tell the kids what was happening and instead told them it was a drill. No stress for the kids, even though they were displaced for two hours. </li>
<li>Big applause for a couple of middle school students who joined the first graders the whole time and played games with them to keep their minds off the very long "drill." </li>
<li>The district provided the students (1500 of them) with bag lunches. This excited my little first grader, which amazes me. She missed stromboli! </li>
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Don't know what Remind is? Remind is an app that allows educators to text an entire group at a time. This is one-way communication, so replies are not possible. It can be used as a means of making announcements (Sign up for parent/teacher conferences) or other reminders. If you haven't heard of <a href="https://www.remind.com/" target="_blank">Remind </a>before, check it out. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-14452579794171601702015-10-01T06:28:00.000-07:002015-10-01T06:28:02.325-07:00Getting It Done in 6th GradeIt's Week 2 of our Innovation Projects, and my sixth graders are hard at work. We're learning about sharks, Australia, braids, Legos, Pokemon, and more. Here are some pictures I snapped with my iPad.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVFo7U0BfRC_tKiq68UW_fRCRR4npG7B8M3fmZgS_IuQgWqG9runk2H21aO7vKiPnU7DK2XhugscVDvwCf4QBv27QC27oxsugo7XT0fi4ObuCzMrRsPY7Ctp5Xt5nkCmqERky-1gLxLiK/s1600/IMG_3007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVFo7U0BfRC_tKiq68UW_fRCRR4npG7B8M3fmZgS_IuQgWqG9runk2H21aO7vKiPnU7DK2XhugscVDvwCf4QBv27QC27oxsugo7XT0fi4ObuCzMrRsPY7Ctp5Xt5nkCmqERky-1gLxLiK/s320/IMG_3007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Two weeks till their presentations! I can't wait!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-3910465386643318882015-09-23T07:03:00.000-07:002015-09-23T07:03:21.710-07:00Innovation in Elementary School<b>It all starts tomorrow! </b><br />
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Let's back up a bit. Last spring, I was given the green light to proceed with Innovation Classes in our middle and high school. I was pumped. I wrote blog posts. I nailed down syllabi and course schedules. I was ready to roll. <br />
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And it got cancelled. As it turns out, most of the students didn't understand what the course was about so they opted for another elective, or dove into the next AP course, or whatever. We'll try again next year...<br />
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For this year, I decided to bring innovation to the younger students. I am rolling out what I like to call "Genius Nuggets" to my upper elementary classes. Students will be given three classes to research and create the project of their choice to present to their class on the fourth week.<br />
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I got the ball rolling last week with an introduction to the entire process. Students have been emailing me all week with project ideas and I've been zipping back replies. Tomorrow, my sixth grade comes to class ready to work. Friday, we add on the fourth and fifth grades. I'm excited!<br />
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Here are some of the projects students will be working on this fall.<br />
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<li>A PowerPoint about Nicaragua.</li>
<li>A web site about taekwondo. </li>
<li>A PowerPoint of little known science facts.</li>
<li>A video about playing golf.</li>
<li>A PowerPoint about the Australian biome.</li>
<li>A PowerPoint about Star Wars.</li>
<li>A PowerPoint showing new stop motion skills.</li>
<li>A web site about Legos.</li>
<li>A PowerPoint about Gabby Douglas.</li>
<li>A PowerPoint about the Haitian earthquake of 2010.</li>
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Yes, this is very PowerPoint heavy, but I can't blame the students for sticking with something familiar. For our next round later in the year, I'll work on pushing them to a different medium. I'm just happy to see students studying. learning, and building things that interest them.</div>
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Stay tuned. I'll be updating frequently. </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-57949011858674668852015-05-28T06:28:00.002-07:002015-05-28T06:28:50.484-07:00STEAM AcademyWhen I got home from work the other night, there was a letter on the dining room table waiting for me. It was from my daughter's school district superintendent. After I got over the "oh no, what did she do now?" feeling that sunk into my gut, curiosity got the best of me.<br />
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My daughter goes to Summit View Elementary which is in the same building as a Summit View Middle School. Same building, similar names, different schools. However, the letter first said that they would actually dissolve the barrier and make it one Summit View Academy, preschool through 8th grade. (That thrilled me to no end, since she wasn't slated to go to that middle school originally.) </div>
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However, the bigger news was that SVA will completely shift to a STEAM-based curriculum. Wow! It was amazing the thoughts that dumped into my brain and swirled around in those first few moments. </div>
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<ul>
<li>How cool is that?</li>
<li>My daughter is an avid reader. I'm so glad she'll get a technology and science emphasis.</li>
<li>My daughter is an avid reader. I really hope they don't ignore the language arts.</li>
<li>Maybe they are hiring? Wait... I have a job. I signed my contract. I love my job. But, I would love to have a piece of that.</li>
<li>What a paradigm shift for those teachers. Those first couple years will be rough sailing!</li>
<li>Do they need a Genius Hour teacher? They could have Genius Hour as a special like computer, PE, art, etc. Just saying.</li>
</ul>
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In the end, I sent this tweet to her principal and superintendent. </div>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/SVEPrincipal007">@SVEPrincipal007</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Tccruey">@Tccruey</a> As a parent, I'm super excited about SVA announcement. As an educator I'm jealous I'm not teaching there.</div>
— Craig Dunlap (@Cncdky) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cncdky/status/603529894845403136">May 27, 2015</a></blockquote>
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It will be interesting to see how things go from here, but I'm excited to see the prospects. (Oh, and maybe my wife can get a teaching job there.)<br />
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I'll be sure to keep you posted.<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-83039818634708378652015-05-13T06:40:00.002-07:002015-05-13T06:40:27.546-07:00What's Next? If you spend any time with a preschooler, you know that questions abound. Those little ones are inquisitive machines! As reported by Warren Berger in <i><a href="http://amorebeautifulquestion.com/" target="_blank">A More Beautiful Question</a></i>, a child will ask about 40,000 questions between ages two and five. But, what's more staggering is that by middle school, those same kids will stop asking questions altogether.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dey1Rm5gUxw" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I am convinced that the education system is a major player in this crazy decline of inquiry. After all, we have a body of information to pass along to these kids, and we don't have time for them to dawdle with their own personal quest for learning.<br />
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One of my college professors used to us that she would ask her girls every day after school, "What questions did you ask?" The answer usually came back, "Mom, the teacher asks the questions, not us." Is this how things continue to be in education?<br />
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I was talking to a 5th grade girl yesterday, and she told me about something they heard on the radio on the way to school. "Children love to learn more than adults." Her 2nd grade sister piped up, "I love to learn!" Sadly, my 5th grade friend didn't share that sentiment. I quickly followed that up with, "No, you love to learn. You just don't love to learn the things we're teaching." After a moment of thought she agreed and told me she would love to learn about drawing.<br />
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You probably heard that my Innovation Classes have been cancelled for 2015-16 due to lack of students. (<a href="http://craigsworld37.blogspot.com/2015/05/wellmaybe-not.html" target="_blank">If not, you can read about it here.</a>) I realized this past week that I've been going at this Innovation/Genius Hour stuff from the wrong direction. Sure, it would be nice to kick off a brand new high school class full of bright inquisitive minds, and I'll still attempt to do that in 2016-17. However, I realized I have a golden opportunity to catch them while they're young.<br />
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As mentioned above, school culture is very much a top-down flow of questions and answers. "I ask the questions, and you give me the answers I want to hear." You can't just change that culture with a snappy course description that might not even be read. You can try to change that culture by talking to the students, but that didn't work for me either. However, I am in a unique position to make some of those changes beneath the radar.<br />
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I spent yesterday rewriting my overall elementary computer plans for the year. Grades 4-6 will have two or three month-long Genius Hour projects sprinkled into the year. This will give them a taste of what will come in middle school. So when my 6th graders get their course descriptions in the spring, I'll be there to pounce on the Innovation Class for them.<br />
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My not-very-well-cloaked goal is to hook them young, to re-energize their slowly dying inquisitive mindset, and to slowly change the school culture from the elementary up.<br />
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<b>We're not done yet!</b><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Incredibly astute readers are probably asking some more questions:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li>You said you were going to hook them young. Why start the Genius Hour in 4th grade? Why not start in kindergarten or preschool? </li>
<li>You are teaching middle school and high school courses. I saw that you're teaching Media Production. Why can't you sneak some Genius Hour into those?</li>
<li>What on earth does Genius Hour look like in a specials class?</li>
</ul>
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Thanks for asking. Let's take them one by one. </div>
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<li>Upper elementary is my comfort zone.From my research of Genius Hour in primary grades, the younger you go, the more structure you need in the projects. I'm going to need to get used to Genius Hour with upper elementary before I get into it with the little ones. If I don't have my sanity, I have nothing at all.</li>
<li>I'm co-teaching the Media Production classes, and I'm not the lead teacher. We're still in the process of taking general ideas and writing the course details right now. I'd like to create some student-choice video projects in there, but nothing has been decided yet. </li>
<li>These projects will be more like Genius Nuggets rather than Genius Hour. The intended schedule is below. The goal is to whet the appetite and help students see that their passions matter.</li>
</ul>
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<li>PreWeek - The week before we actually start, I will give a 5-10 minute talk about the project and send an email to parents about the project.</li>
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<li>Week 1 - Project selections and begin research.</li>
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<li>Weeks 2 and 3 - Research, building, creating, and updates with me.</li>
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<li>Week 4 - Presentations to class.</li>
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I'm looking forward to seeing good things come next year, even if they weren't exactly what I originally intended. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-44597278984098705192015-05-07T12:00:00.000-07:002015-05-07T12:00:27.292-07:00Well...Maybe NotIt would seem that starting a new course requires some main ingredients.<br />
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<ul>
<li>Admin approval - check</li>
<li>Teacher planning - check</li>
<li>Students - ummmmm... About that.</li>
</ul>
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I found out a couple weeks ago that I didn't have enough students signed up to support my new Innovation Classes. So, last week, I turned into a traveling salesman, going from class to class promoting my new courses. The students nodded their heads, they had looks of interest on their faces, and they didn't sign up. It's not like students weren't interested. I had a number of students tell me they <i>want</i> to take the class, but it conflicts on the schedule with something else -- like AP Physics -- and they couldn't fit it into the schedule. </div>
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I just came from a meeting with the principal and we're going to table Innovation and hope to bring it back for 2016-17. Ouch! </div>
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To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement, but at least I have a lot of legwork out of the way. I'll just start promoting earlier next year. Now that students know about it and what the class is about, I think I'll have an easier time getting that all-important final ingredient of the recipe. </div>
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Now, there are two other updates for next year that may interest some people. </div>
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<li>I will be co-teaching a couple sections of media production. In this course, we will be teaching students about video and sound production from planning to final product. </li>
<li>I will spend an hour a week in preschool as an aide and probably doing some techie wizardry. </li>
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I'm sure there will be updates on both fronts throughout the next year. And hopefully we'll be talking about the revival of Innovation in 12 months. Stay tuned...</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-82641644137638424072015-05-07T09:01:00.000-07:002015-05-07T09:01:10.911-07:00Thank You, Mrs. DeglerI was sitting in class, taking part in the discussion, when the stench hit me. All of a sudden, the room went from normal to nasty, and I had serious concerns that I forgot my deodorant that day. The whole body odor thing was still new to me, and I took it very seriously. I nonchalantly stuck my nose in my shirt to smell my pits but the smell wasn't coming from me.<br />
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Unbeknownst to me, Mrs. Degler had a Tupperware container of diced onions in the back of class. While circling the room she stealthily opened the container and let the smell waft past her students, internally chuckling at our reactions. I am certain there was an educational objective to this exercise, but I'm not sure what it was. (That was more than 30 years ago!) <br />
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This was, however, my earliest memory of learning by <i>experiencing</i> in school. <br />
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Fifth grade in my school was a big deal, because it was the last year of elementary. To be in fifth grade meant you were the top of the heap, the big kid, and I got to be a safety! (You know... the nerdy kid with the day-glo orange belt and shoulder strap who kept kids in order coming and leaving the school.) But, those of us who got to have Mrs. Degler as our fifth grade teacher were in a special kind of heaven. She was young, fun, funny, and brought onions to her science class!<br />
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Looking back on things, I firmly believe that Mrs. Degler's influence in my life is a large reason why I became an elementary teacher. <br />
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Mrs. Degler's influence didn't end when I left fifth grade though. I was very fortunate to learn the craft of teaching from Mrs. Degler as her student teacher. I learned about organization, meaningful student praise, and the use of humor in the classroom. She also gave me freedom in to explore "out of the box" teaching strategies, but what else would you expect from a teacher who spread onion smells through the room?<br />
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It's hard to believe it's been 21 school years since my second round of learning in Mrs. Degler's room. My career has taken me to three schools in three states, far from my little hometown in suburban Philadelphia. And, let's not fool ourselves. It's no coincidence that a large majority of my career was spent in upper elementary grades. The first 18+ years of my career spanned fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, and I'm convinced Mrs. Degler had a hand in that. Now, in my current capacity, I have the chance to influence students of all ages and help teachers of grades PreK-12. And I have always tried my best to be unconventional, helping students learn by experiencing. <br />
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I don't know if Mrs. Degler will ever read this, but if she does, she needs to know that by crossing paths with me twice I have had the chance to pour myself into over 1000 students and help numerous teachers along the way. <br />
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Thanks, Mrs. Degler! Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!<br />
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NOTE: I'm frantically trying to find Mrs. Degler on social media, but I did find her in the picture in <a href="http://www.timespub.com/2014/11/21/richboro-elementary-celebrates-25th-anniversary/" target="_blank">this article</a> - center, with the pink shirt.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-79334577872175471972015-04-29T09:51:00.001-07:002015-04-29T09:51:49.278-07:00what3wordsInteresting and innovative. If nothing else, those two words can describe <a href="http://what3words.com/" target="_blank">what3words</a>.<br />
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If you are reading this, you probably live in an industrialized country with an established addressing system. Maybe you have street names and a patterned number system along those streets. Or, if not, you have a system that is culturally recognizable, which is just as good.<br />
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What if you don't live in such a society? Would it be necessary to have a quick and easy address system so you know where you live and where other things are located? <br />
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What if someone came up with a completely new way to label locations all over the globe? Would it be something we could use and adapt to? Maybe...maybe not. My jury is still out. However, I'm intrigued enough to bring it to your attention and create an assignment for my upper elementary students. (And, I'm still trying to figure out how to turn it into a puzzle cache on <a href="http://geocaching.com/">geocaching.com</a>.)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/112227335?color=e6323d" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://vimeo.com/112227335">3 words to address the world</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/what3words">what3words</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's try it out. Go to <a href="http://what3words.com/" target="_blank">what3words</a>>Explore Map and enter this phrase..."verbs.debuts.pounding." You just landed on top of my office. Hope you like the place. It's your turn. Find your classroom/office/hideout and post the three word phrase in the comments section.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I love the innovation and want to promote the out of the box thinking, so I created an assignment for my 5th and 6th graders to explore the site a bit. <a href="https://mvcaoh-my.sharepoint.com/personal/cdunlap_mvca-oh_com/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=9yr6NnrMNiCFnCrQQvMafqJA1dqUN%2f0w6ZlpFBiQmGs%3d&docid=063a26beb6de34e55a896a7bb3d10f3f8" target="_blank">Catch it here</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'd love to know what you think of <a href="http://what3words.com/" target="_blank">what3words</a> and how it can be used in education and around the world. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #e6323d; color: white; font-family: 'Maven Pro', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 46px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #e6323d; color: white; font-family: 'Maven Pro', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 46px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-41917839988308857512015-04-20T05:44:00.000-07:002015-04-20T05:44:21.231-07:00Servathon 15400 servants.<div>
25 non-profits.</div>
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1 amazing school showing love to 1 great city.</div>
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Every year, my school takes a break from academics for one day to show the love of Christ to Cincinnati. Every student from every grade (PreK-12) takes part in some sort of service project either in our neighborhood or around the city. </div>
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This year's theme was "Do Something" which is very fitting for a Christian school. We spend so much time filling their heads with knowledge but sometimes we need to give them an avenue to do something with it. The Christian life isn't always about gaining new Bible knowledge but also applying it to life around us. </div>
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For the third year running, my job was to drive around and take pictures and video for our social media outlets. Unlike previous years, I traveled by myself for the day, which gave me the chance to move at a quicker pace. I was able to stop at 11 locations, from a lush green park 3 minutes from our school in the suburbs to the streets of Over the Rhine, and I was deeply moved by all that I saw.</div>
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<ul>
<li>Our second graders gathered at a local park to clean things up -- weeding, picking up sticks, and cleaning the playground -- showing love to our local community.</li>
<li>We had high school students making lunch for the Ronald McDonald House. After taking my pictures, I couldn't help but stand in the atrium and take it all in. A lot of good work happens there.</li>
<li>Our students stood on the sidewalk in one of the most notorious neighborhoods in Cincinnati and made burgers and dogs to hand out for anyone walking by.</li>
<li>I couldn't find parking at another location, but was able to pull up alongside two (legally) parked cars and take one picture. Two high school students were shoveling dirt into a wheel barrow for a peace garden next to a church in Over the Rhine. </li>
<li>A group of students were cleaning and painting an art studio dedicated to giving special needs adults the chance to be true artists. It wasn't just cleaning and painting. The interaction between our students and the artists was amazing to watch!</li>
<li>Fifth graders sorted and folded clothes at a ministry designed to bring relief to disaster victims around the world -- and were having a fun time doing it.</li>
<li>High school students cleaned and sorted products at a ministry aimed to give furniture to people who are getting their first apartment after being on the streets.</li>
</ul>
It was a day to be proud of my school and proud of these students who willingly helped their neighbors, their city, and the least of these around the world. </div>
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There are too many pictures to share here, but you can certainly look at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.734932533271163.1073741917.316038348493919&type=1" target="_blank">photo album</a> on Facebook or the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23serv15&src=typd" target="_blank">#serv15 on Twitter</a> and <a href="https://instagram.com/explore/tags/serv15/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> if you want to see more.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.com0