Smore!!

This week I wanted to share with you this flyer I made up using the website Smore.
Smore is a website that allows you to design and share newsletters and flyers digitally. 

Dr. Mausbach recommended this site to me in order to complete my project on Blended Learning.  My project was a flyer with information and Frequently Asked Questions from my research of Blended Learning.   The thought behind the flyer was to give the key stakeholders in my school more information of what integrating technology should or could look like.
Please click here to preview my flyer.

This website proved to be user friendly.  I was able to take templates and use those as examples to enter in my own information.  I could insert pictures, Google Docs and web links to sites that I would want my readers to click on to gain more information.  When I am ready to share the flyer, the website offers multiple sharing tools such as Facebook and Twitter.  I can even edit it again and again as I see fit.  This will be useful to me because this summer I have the opportunity to go to a Blended Learning Symposium in Santa Clara, California.  Six administrators and educators from the rural and metro schools in the Archdiocese are being afforded this experience.  I am looking forward to learning more about blended learning and all the benefits that can be gained from it.  After attending this symposium I will be able to add any new information that I acquire to my flyer and delete any that is not needed. 

I loved this site so much that I decided to create a newsletter for my Preschool class.  I usually do a mass email at the end of the week to let parents know what we are learning and to inform them of any upcoming events.  I found that by using Smore, my newsletters come to life!  They are colorful, engaging, informational, and fun!  I was able to put in a link to a song that we did that week.  This way preschoolers can sing the song at home with their family.  I added pictures- the parents love pictures!  I inserted a Google Form link for our End of the Year Picnic.  Parents were able to click on the link and immediately complete the form and I have it in real time.  Here is the link to my Preschool newsletter if you would like to take a peek.  :)

Final Thoughts- I have learned so much these past 7 weeks and have realized three important concepts.
1)  It is so important to create a PLN for yourself.  So much is said about having a digital footprint in this world.  If you don't have any- that says a lot.  I am thoroughly enjoying my Twitter account and have gained so much information from following key people and learning from them. 
2)  Every school needs to develop a Technology Integration Plan.  Without a plan or a focus, great things might be happening at your school, however these great things are not being worked on cooperatively or collaboratively.  When the teacher that is doing these great things leaves, so do the "great things". 
3)  Building relationships.  Even with the integration of technology, that face-to-face contact with the teachers and other students is incredibly important.  It is important for the guidance, feedback, and project collaboration.    We still need to create that bond with our students because you can't get care, concern, and love from a computer.   These are gifts of the heart.

Too Much?

And then this happened....

On Fridays, our parish has Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  The students go to mass on Fridays and after mass Father prepares the Eucharist by placing it in the monstrance all while we are kneeling and singing.  This last Friday, one Kindergarten boy was intently watching Father do this.  Father carefully opened the little latch to on the back of the monstrance to place the Blessed Sacrament for prayers and adoration.  The little boy was not at an angle that he was able to see what Father was placing in the monstrance so with his background knowledge and prior experience, he quietly turned around to me and asked, "Is Father putting batteries in that thing?" :)  Ahhh....#teachable moment

This gave me a smile but also led me to reflect on everything digital.  This little boy with all of 5 years on this earth knew that when a little latch was opened that's where the batteries go and most things have or need batteries to work.  Technology is a part of the little boy's life, but how much is too much?

This week I explored and researched blended learning.  Blended learning does just what it says -it blends online learning with face-to-face instruction.  It has different looks to it in different classrooms  and schools but the outcomes in most situations include increased engagement, increased achievement and increased student performance. This is what we all want, right????

When I first heard of blended learning I was fearful that it was a push to diminish greatly the role of a teacher.  With everything technology driven and the push toward a digital world, do we even need a teacher in the classroom?  Will blended learning be the model of learning that we integrate to help us stay financially afloat by decreasing staff?  If it is, I'm not liking this idea at all...  I see students in classrooms, headphones on, hooked up and linked into the techie world.  The adult in the room, merely a supervisor, is walking around helping with technical issues, giving permissions to use the restroom, or is the official "clock-watcher".  This is not a pretty picture- dull, drab, gray....Communication, group discussions and collaborations, project-based learning, inquiry, questioning- where is it?  It is all missing...

Thankfully through the research that I read this week, taking the teacher out of the equation is not what the experts recommend.  Whew....  As a matter of fact they suggest and encourage just the opposite.  With any new model or concept proposed to increase student learning, actual teaching can NEVER be omitted from the equation.   The face to face contact with teachers and peers is something that students crave (whether they admit it or not!) and allows students to build relationships in order

to collaborate, communicate, and create.  We cannot shift from a teacher focused classroom to a computer focused classroom and expect student learning to increase.  We need to gear toward a student focused classroom that uses the best blend of teacher and technology.  With blended learning, teachers can be more accessible to students beyond the walls of the school and timeframe of the school day.  This builds that relationship even further and engages students even more. Relationships are what matters and that face-to-face contact of group learning, discussions with asking and answering questions, giving and getting feedback, and a general care and concern cannot be replaced.  

Professional Growth Period

While developing my Professional Development project this week, I was intrigued by a concept laid out in Sheninger's (2014) Digital Leadership of a model of professional development called Professional Growth Period (PGP) This PGP allows staff the autonomy to learn about anything that interests or motivates them as long as it has the impact of potentially impacting student learning.  This Professional Growth Period is time (one 48 minute period)  given to teachers/staff members during contract time 2-3 times a week.  This PGP time is to be used specifically for learning, innovating, and pursuing ways to become a better educator and learner as well as to follow passions and acquire new knowledge.  In essence this is a individualized and differentiated learning plan for educators. 

Some sample activities were given:

• Develop and engage in a PLN
• Research Best Practices
• Develop Learning Activities
• Engage in Real time PD
• Learn to use Tech tools
• Collaborate with Colleagues

There were also guidelines developed that this time was to be used for professional growth and not time to make copies, get coffee/food, or socialize in the office.   To give accountability to this process, teachers were expected to submit a learning portfolio and the end of the year that demonstrated how the PGP time was used to improve professional practice.

Here is Sheninger's blog on PGP.  Within this blog, Sheninger gives specific and imp

ressive examples of how his staff demonstrated professional learning.  It is worth it to take a look at these examples.

This model is genius and worth using as a model to integrate into our professional development plan.  One of my biggest concerns about professional development has always been -TIME!  It is so typical of places that I have been that educators are not given the time or are expected to use their own time to process, develop, and integrate best practices and learning.  I don't know another profession that expects the employees to use their own time to become a master at their craft.

Differentiating learning for teachers- what a concept!  We do this all the time for students and it only makes sense to do it for teachers.  Although I would love to schedule this PGP time 2-3 times a week for our staff, in reality I know that would not be possible with our current schedule and resources.  I think this is something that we could implement slowly, possibly 2-4 times a semester, and then evaluate to determine the success and how it is impacting student learning.

Embrace Change??- Yes, I am. 

Professional Development- What do teachers need?

As I researched the topic this week, I reflected on my own experiences with professional development through my years of teaching and realized that I have had the gamut of professional development opportunities from engaging and enlightening to some that were a down right waste of time.  What is it that makes professional development successful?  These are my ideas:

Teachers need time- Whether attending a excellent workshop, an inspiring class or listening to a dynamic speaker on topics that are relevant and authentic, every teacher needs time to process the information and work out a plan as to how to integrate it within their classroom.  Too many times I have participated in professional learning and then not given the time to understand how this new learning would look like in my class and evaluate whether the concept could or would be effective to improve student learning.  Typically I attend the professional development, have good intentions of figuring how it would work in my class, and then never having the time to actually do that- only to be forgotten and thought about once in a while when the topic comes up-  (oh, ya- I remember something about that....) 

Teachers need a focus for professional development that is geared towards the staff or school needs- I think it would be beneficial to focus on only one or two issues throughout the year.  Jumping around on professional development topics throughout the year becomes too overwhelming and tends to make me "tune out".

Teachers need PD that is ongoing- At my school next year, we are going to have PD opportunities once a month for the staff.  Once a month, half a day will be used for School of Faith and the other half (or just an hour) will be used for professional learning.   In our current situation we have the typical two days of PD before school starts in August.  One day in the fall and one day in the spring and then one or two days at the end of the year in May.  A couple of other days might be thrown in the year on random topics that may or may not be relevant.  I think that with PD opportunities that are closer together in time and focused more on relevant, connected topics effective learning experiences are more likely to take place.

Teachers need time in their classroom- This is a big one for me.  I know that being forced to go to meetings knowing that I have a list of 50 things to do in my classroom does not give me the right mindset to discuss "What makes an effective teacher?" or other non specific, irrelevant topics.    I know that an effective teacher is prepared for her students and sitting idly listening passively is not getting those items checked off.  I think scheduling professional development and giving teachers time to work in their classrooms would be greatly appreciated and lead to a more interactive learning environment.

Researching some key elements that make effective professional development has given me a lot to think about when planning and preparing for next year.  Using the ideas listed above as well as the relevant research will give me a good starting point.

Teacher Tech Proficiencies

This week I did some reflecting on the basic proficiencies that I felt the teachers at my school would need to begin the process of technology integration in their classrooms.  After all, teachers need to have a comfort level with the technology that is available  in order to teach students how to use it.  This list is not exhaustive, but it does serve as a good starting point for the teachers at my school. 
 

Top 8 Teacher Technology Proficiencies at STW(according to me!)  

#8  App Aptitude- Teachers need to be able to search for recommended apps or be able to search on their own to find quality apps for student and teacher use that support the curricular goals of our school.  Teachers should know how to obtain approval and have the app downloaded onto the device being used.  Teachers/staff should know how to use the app and be able to teach the students how to use it.
#7  Search Success- Teachers need the ability to use search functions efficiently with various browsers to find quality content to enhance their instructional methods.  Getting "lost" on the internet has happened to the best of us!  To avoid this, teachers need to have the skills to do targeted searchers in order to determine what will be useful and what is not. 
#6  Communicate Clearly- E-mail and/or texting should be a basic proficiency that teachers need.  Communication is so important within a school system and being able to communicate any time at any place is helpful.  At our school we have moved to a "semi-paperless note going home" level.  After finding the free website and app Remind, we now send one-way texts and emails with ease to parents about events, activities and reminders that previously were sent home in bookbags.  So many times these paper notes get lost from bookbag to home (how this happens is a mystery yet to be solved) that we opted to try the communication method of Remind.  I have one set up for the whole school, but teachers can set this up for their individual classes as well.
The link for the Remind website can be found here. 
#5  Microsoft Master or GoogleDoc Guru-  Teachers should know how to create and share documents, spreadsheets, powerpoints, and forms.  Using Google Docs to create a survey is an effective method to get information from people quickly.  Teachers should know how to change fonts, colors, size, add pictures to their documents with ease.  (True story- I had a teacher that I worked with at a previous school that was unable to use the mouse to scroll. What???????) Sometimes we take for granted that everyone has the same skill level as we do when using these programs, which I have learned, is not true. 
#4  Socially Speaking- Using social media as an avenue for professional development has been enlightening for me.  I think every teacher could benefit from developing a PLN.  It can seem somewhat overwhelming at first, however, with support and maybe the tiniest push from school leaders, teachers can open their eyes to all the resources available to them outside of their close network of friends and colleagues.
#3  Connection Concerns-  Teachers need to be able to connect their hardware and devices (computer, ipad, projector, doc camera, Apple TV) to each other and be able to use these devices with ease.  Trouble shooting and problem solving would also be helpful in this area in determining why a device is not working like it should.
#2  Sharing (Sh)student (Sh)work-  (lame, I know!)  I love this tweet from @venspired- "The only way people will know the great things happening in your school is if you share it." We are doing lots of great things at our school that too few people know little about!  Sharing student learning outside of the four walls of our school using technology will keep us connected with stakeholders as well as the global community.  Real world authentic audience for our students serves the purpose of knowing their contribution in this world is needed.  Our students matter!

and #1  Embracing Change-   Teachers need to embrace the fact that we need to do what's best for our students now as they are growing and learning to live in this technology driven world.  Focusing on our goals within our Technology Integration Action Plan and changing instructional methods to meet these goals is vitally important in doing what's best for our children. 

EMBRACE CHANGE!!

A Little on Technology Integration...

My module this week is on technology integration.  I have spent the week researching and learning about two different models of integration- the TPACK and the SAMR. Check out the link here that briefly explains them.  Both of these models will be useful when developing a vision and a plan for technology integration at St. Wenceslaus.  Having all the stakeholders (students included) have input on the vision of how technology will be used to help support the teaching and the learning will be vitally important. 

I believe at St. Wenceslaus, we put the cart before the horse when trying to update and integrate technology.  We purchased the devices and have since found out that our infrastructure needed updated, the comfort levels of some teachers with using the computers, iPads, document cameras, and projectors has been-to say the least- uncomfortable, and simply, we did not have a plan.  Now I know that we will need to do some backtracking to develop a vision of where we want to be and an action plan of how we want to get there.  I know it is never fun to back track, however, I think this step is a must and will make our road focused for everyone.  

I had a great Aha moment yesterday....a little background first.  

I have had a Twitter account for some time (since July 2011- wow- really that long???).  I had only followed fitness, motivational, and a few personal accounts of people I knew- ok, only my husband. :)  I only checked it maybe once every two weeks, if that.  I could not see the benefit of or even how to use it professionally.  I would go to conferences and be curious but not in the loop of the #tweeters. 

Then I started EDU 617- #culearns617.  I now follow everyone in the class and have also started following other professionals in the field of education that are geared toward early childhood education and professionals in educational leadership.  So in the past two weeks I have tweeted, retweeted, liked and favorited more than I have in the past 4 years.  I enjoy learning about what others are doing all over the country, reading their struggles and successes and finding great resources to use in my classroom.  

Lately, I have been reading about #genius hour and find the concept fascinating.  This is where time is given to students once a week to learn what they want to learn.  The students come up with essential questions, they are given time to research and then are tasked with putting together a project that shows what they learned and level of understanding.  (This format sounds very familiar to a class I am taking right now, hmmmm................)  Anyway, I want to try to incorporate something similar to this in Kindergarten.  They have questions, lots of them.  They have particular interests, lots of them and they would be so excited to use technology to learn and create something to share.  The only trouble is - HOW DO WE DO THIS IN KINDERGARTEN???  They have limited reading skills, limited writing/typing skills, and limited technology skills.  How can I make this work successfully when there is only one of me?  I did a little googling online and found a few things but I needed more information of how to even start.  

So, I did it.  Nervously I tweeted directly to a professional in this area.  This professional has 3,700 followers and is someone that I would probably never have the chance to talk to- ever!   So here I tweeted and asked a simple question:
Any ideas/resources on #geniushour for kinders. #gettingitstarted.  

After tweeting, I thought to myself- "Ok, a shot in the dark, but worth the try".  Well, less than two hours later, on a Sunday, I received three replies from her.  She gave me an idea to try and then another one to follow up with apps to look into.   I was #soexcited!  

So, my Aha moment was finally learning how Twitter can be used to connect me with other professionals outside of my circle for help and support and opening my eyes to how small this BIG world can become.   What can it do for our students????

For more on Genius Hour, click here.

Here we GO!

Hello everyone and welcome to my first Blog post.  This will be an adventure for me and I am looking forward to a lot of learning along the way.

On the spectrum of where I am with technology - beginning, intermediate, or advanced- I would have to confidently say "intermediate".  I can navigate around what I need to and am not afraid to experiment and try new things with technology, however, I have so much more to learn.

St. Wenceslaus is a small, rural school- Preschool-6th.  We have a teaching staff of 4, yes FOUR, and you guessed it- we lack a technology specialist or even someone at our school that is technology "advanced".  We muddled through updating our technology with the purchase of  iPads, projectors, document cameras, and upgraded our computers to MacBooks.  We are not a 1:1 school but that is a goal of ours in the long-term.  With the upgrade you would think (or I thought) that we would be smooth sailing and our kiddos would be on the road to being high level learners on that technology highway.  I could picture project collaborations, diversified learning, real-world applications, and responsibility for individualized learning.  What a wonderful picture!
Top 10 Reasons Todays Students Need Technology

Well, needless to say, that technology highway is leading us in the right direction but has not always been so smooth.  A few bumps in the road were expected and others hit us quite unexpectedly.  Listed below are a few of the bumps that we met along the way.

1)  Apple ID's and "the cloud"- The day that the iPads came in and opening them up in all their splendor was a great day.  However, figuring out that an Apple ID can only be used with 10 devices was another story.  And the cloud- I still don't quite understand the cloud and can't figure out why it never has enough storage.

2)  Printing from the ipad- Had to purchase an AirPrint printer!

3)  Storing and charging the iPads.  Brilliant use of old record holders.  The iPads fits perfectly into the slots and we are able to charge them together.

4)  Technology Integration- This is still an ongoing issue for us.  How do you go from only gaming apps to integrating tech into lesson plans on a regular basis?  I want my staff to know and understand that technology use is more than just a time filler by using gaming apps.  

5)  The Wireless Network- Our wireless network was not able to handle the addition of 12 MacBooks.  This means that currently a class cannot be working wirelessly on the internet all at the same time.  FRUSTRATING for students and for teachers.  We are currently working on this issue with the help of the new Tech Director of the Archdiocese and looking into updating our whole infrastructure.

We will get there- having a plan for integration should have been our first step.  We stepped into this half-blind and our learning curve has been huge!  We now have a plan and we are working our way through it.